Your recordings

Record a melody idea, a hum or a rough demo right on a section of your song, so the tune you had in the car doesn't get lost. Recordings are made in your browser with your own microphone. There's no AI involved and they cost no credits.

#Where to find it

Record an idea 🎙️ is in several places:

• A section's ⋮ menu: Record an idea 🎙️, for that section.
• The / menu while you type: Record an idea (typing "record", "memo", "idea", "voice" or "hum" finds it too).
• In Write mode: 🎙️ Record in the controls, for the section your cursor is in.
• The Takes view of the side panel: 🎙️ Record an idea under Recordings, for the section your cursor is in (or the whole song).

The song's owner, editors and commenters can record. Commenters use the Takes view, since they don't have the ⋮ or / menus. Viewers can play and download recordings but can't make them.

#Step by step

1. Open Record an idea 🎙️. The top of the dialog says what it's for, like "For Verse 1" or "For the song".
2. The first time only, read the note and tick I understand: "Your recordings are saved with this song: everyone who can open the song can hear and download them. They are deleted with the song, or when you delete them." You won't be asked again.
3. If the song has a tempo, choose your options:
   • Count in (1 bar at 96 BPM) is on to begin with. You hear one bar of clicks ("Get ready… 3") and recording starts on the next bar. Click the button during the count to stop it.
   • Metronome while recording is off to begin with. Turn it on to hear the click as you sing. You'll see a reminder: "Use headphones so the click stays out of the take".
4. Press ● Record. The first time, your browser asks to use the microphone.
5. Sing or play. The level bar moves so you can see the microphone hears you, and the time counts up to 3:00.
6. Press ■ Stop.
7. Listen back, give it a Name (it starts as "Verse 1 idea", or "Idea" for the song), then:
   • Save keeps it with the song: "Recording saved. It is in Takes."
   • Record again throws this one away so you can try again.
   • Discard closes without saving (so do ✕ and Esc).

#In the song

A section with recordings shows 🎙️ and a number (🎙️2) beside its buttons. Everyone who can open the song sees it. Click it to jump to that section's recordings in the Takes view.

#The Recordings list

Open Takes in the side panel. Below the sung takes (see Hear it sung) is Recordings, grouped by section in song order. Each one shows its name, who recorded it, when, and its length.

• ▶ Play plays it.
• Download saves it as an MP3 named after the recording, ready for your phone or recording software.
• Rename changes its name (up to 100 characters).
• Delete asks "Delete this recording?" first.

You can rename and delete your own recordings; the song's owner can rename and delete any of them. If you delete a section, its recordings stay with the song under Not in a section. New recordings show up for everyone with the song open straight away.

Only one thing plays at a time: starting a recording pauses any take or other recording that's playing.

#If the microphone doesn't work

The dialog tells you what went wrong:

• "The microphone is not allowed. Allow the microphone in your browser's site settings, then try again."
• "No microphone was found. Connect one, then try again."
• "The microphone is in use by another app. Close it, then try again."
• "This browser cannot record here. Try another browser, or update this one."

If recording stops by itself, what you recorded so far is kept and you can still save it. That happens when you switch to another app or tab ("The recording stopped when the page went to the background. What was recorded so far is kept."), when the microphone is unplugged, or at the 3:00 limit ("That is the longest a recording can be (3:00).").

#Tips

• Phones stop recording when the screen locks or you switch apps, so keep the page in front while you sing.
• Name recordings by what's in them ("slower chorus, lower key") so co-writers know which to play.
• Recordings keep the sound as it is: no noise filtering, so a sung note isn't bent out of shape.

#Limits

For how your recordings are stored, see the privacy policy.