Freesound Forums

Hi Everyone,
I'm brand new here. I want to Skype/Face Time my two granddaughters (4 and 9) and I want to produce monthly puppet shows and I would like to have sound effects.

What I need is recommendations for relatively inexpensive (under $100 or free) software to edit/record sound effects and put them into a prearranged order so that with a keystroke I can play the next one in order.

What do you suggest?

Thanks for your help

Grandpa Patrick

The magic-word is "soundboard" : an array of on-screen* buttons, each triggers a different sound-effect,
which you have pre-loaded into it , (the sound-files usually have to be in WAV format).

( * usually can be mapped to specific computer-keyboard keys )

Physical hardware soundboards are available, possibly be easier to use & more reliable than the software simulation.

Hi
Thanks for the advise. What I a planning is going to be quite tricky. I will be Skyping on my laptop while doing a stick puppet/magic show for my grandchildren. How I am going to have Skype up and sound control software at the same time and be able to make the sounds happen while working the stick puppets is going to be a real challenge. I have nobody to help me and only two hands. Working a mouse to make the sounds happen, while watching my grandchildren on TV while watching what my hands are doing either from above or mirror or on the TV is going to be fun! Again thanks for the help and I bet I will be back for more help. Thanks!

What soundboard would you recommend considering that I want to stay under $100. I'm not a pro, I just want to entertain my grandchildren. Plus too many buttons would probably confuse me. I'm 63 with the mind of an 73 year old.

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
What soundboard would you recommend considering that I want to stay under $100 ...

I've never had the need to use one.

I just tried "Jingle Palette" from this list of freebies ...
https://listoffreeware.com/best-free-soundboard-software-windows/

It works as advertised ...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Jingle+Palette%22

Unlike the puppets, no strings attached: apparently free & fully-functional software.

Pardon my intense stupidity but I can't figure out how to download "Jingle Palette."
The only buttons I can find are "home page" "download page" "software freeware" and "free pc" but none of them lead, that I can find, a button that says "Download Jingle Palette." Can you please lead this idiot step by step into how to download "Jingle Palette"? Maybe my vision is poor. Thanks!

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
... I can't figure out how to download "Jingle Palette." ...

Go to ... http://www.jinglepalette.com/download/jingle_palette.zip

It will download the software, which is packed in a zip-file format.

After downloading the ".zip" file you have to unpack/unzip* it to get to the executable software-file inside which has the name ... "setup_jingle_palette_v445.exe"

After extracting that ".exe" file from the ".zip" file,
double (left-mouse-button) clicking on any ".exe" file should install the software on your computer.

[ * "Microsoft has included built-in ZIP support (under the name "compressed folders") in versions of Microsoft Windows since 1998." ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_(file_format) ]

Hi
Thank you so much for your help! When I click on the link that you so nicely provided I get "jingle_palette (1).zip" in the bottom left hand corner rather than going anywhere. When I click on it I get a pop up box for downloading things. Instantly another box that says "Please purchase WinRaR license" and it goes on to say "Please not that WinRaR is not free software. After a 40 day trial period you must either buy a license or remove it from your computer." It then gives you the options of four buttons- "Buy Online" "How to Buy" "Close" and "Help." I know this is going asking far more than you have a right to share, but do you have a recommendation here?

I guess they get you coming and going.

Grandpa Patrick

Hey GrandpaPatrick -

The ".zip" you downloaded is a compressed file, which just makes it smaller for easy downloading.

WinRAR is a program that knows how to de-compress these files, and it seems your computer opens that program by default whenever you interact with a .zip file.

How you proceed from here depends on what kind of computer you have, but usually if you right-click on the file there should be an option to "extract all" or "extract files". The resulting file (or folder) that comes from the decompressed .zip will be the Jingle Palette installer you're looking for.

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
When I click on the link that you so nicely provided I get "jingle_palette (1).zip" in the bottom left hand corner rather than going anywhere.

You've successfully downloaded the zip file.
You should be able to unpack it with Window's built-in functions: no need to download anything else.

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
When I click on it I get a pop up box for downloading things. Instantly another box that says "Please purchase WinRaR license" and it goes on to say "Please not that WinRaR is not free software. After a 40 day trial period you must either buy a license or remove it from your computer."

Someone must have installed WinRaR on your machine previously, (it's not from jinglepalette.com).
WinRaR is a legit program which can unpack ZIP files,
but the ability to open ZIP has been built-in to Windows for ~20 years.
Windows built-in ability to handle ZIP is being overridden by WinRaR :
if you click on a ZIP file that action will open WinRaR.
If you've had your 40 days free-trial of WinRaR, you can uninstall it,
your computer should then revert to native handling of ZIP files after you restart (reboot) it.

If in the future you find you need WinRaR, (e.g. to open ".RAR" files), you can reinstall it, and pay-up,
or use a free equivalent such as PeaZip ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeaZip

Hi Timbre
I finally got Jingle Palette downloaded. Now I need an instruction manual designed for idiots for me. Is there some kind of PDF or something that will teach me how to use it?
Warmly and thankfully,
Grandpa Patrick

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
I finally got Jingle Palette downloaded. Now I need an instruction manual designed for idiots for me.
Is there some kind of PDF or something that will teach me how to use it?

If you install the software, click on "settings" and you'll see a "Help" button ...
http://jinglepalette.com/images/screens/jingle_palette_settings.jpg

Click on the "Help" button you're taken to the instruction manual.

It's a simple program ...
If you put the cursor over one of the jingle buttons. and click on the right-mouse-button
a menu appears. Select "assign jingle" from that menu , (click on left-mouse-button).
At that point you select the audio-file from your computer which you want played when that jingle button is pressed.

Once you get squared away with a Soundboard, the next step will be making sure the sounds you trigger are passed on into your Skype audio. This may require looking through the settings of Skype or the soundboard software. Don't worry - you'll eventually get this figured out.

I had thought that the speakers on my computer would be heard on the microphone on my lapel, but I guess anytime you go through the air you are losing something as well as adding background noise. It will clearly take some experimenting. I have tech people who although are not sound technicians might be able to give me a better idea.

Thanks for the thought!

You have all been so kind to me can I ask for more help? If I find a song on say, YouTube, how can I get it on my computer so that I can put it on Jingle Palette? Thanks!

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
If I find a song on say, YouTube, how can I get it on my computer so that I can put it on Jingle Palette?

The safest (and slowest) method is to record the YouTube playing on your computer using Audacity ... https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_recording_computer_playback_on_windows.html

There are online-converters which convert a specified YouTube into an mp3, which you then download from their website.
But I don't know of an online-converter that doesn't give you a free gift of malware with the mp3 download.

There are programs you can install which will download YouTubes to your computer, and convert them to mp3s ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_YouTube_downloaders#Inbuilt_conversion_to_formats_and_devices
But I would not trust any of them.

The online-converters & YouTube-downloader programs breach YouTube's terms-of-service,
So the people who created them are not in legitimate business.
If you lie down with dogs you get fleas, (or in this case, malware).

This is all so confusing. I guess I will just have the YouTube window open small when I Skype and when I want to sing with my granddaughters just play the video. That would work, right? Less is more I guess.

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
I guess I will just have the YouTube window open small when I Skype and when I want to sing with my granddaughters just play the video.

Then you'll have 3 simultaneous audio+video streams over the internet: the two sides of Skype conversion, plus YouTube. Some internet connections wouldn't be able to cope with that amount of traffic.

I just tried one of those YouTube downloader programs which I hadn't tried before.
As with the other YouTube downloader's I've tried, you get a free trojan ...

malwarebytes wrote:
-Website Data-
Category: Trojan

and some other malware ...

malwarebytes wrote:
-Blocked Malware Details-
File: 1
PUP.Optional.ByteFence, C:\Users\XXXXXX\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpSec7910222\bytefence-installer-5.4.1.5.exe, Quarantined, [5946], [389016],1.0.8135

Whereas Audacity is a free safe audio-editor program, (no malware), which can record whatever sound your computer is playing, (e.g. YouTube playing in browser) ... https://www.audacityteam.org/

I am so stupid. I'm very frustrated that I can't do simple things. Here is my problem...
I don't know how to properly download a sound effect I have found on this site so that Jingle Palette will play it.

Okay, so here is what I do...
1. I pick a sound effect.
2. I right click on the picture of the sound wave and choose "save as..."
3. Then on my computer I choose under My Computer (C)
4. I then choose Program Files (x86)
5. Then I choose Jingle Palette
6. Then I choose the Audio Sample Folder
7. Then I change the name of the file to "Children Laughing?

But then I can't put "Children Laughing into the Audio Sample Folder because the choice is not "save" but "Open" and when I click on "Open" it says with a triangular yellow warning sign...

Select Jingle to be assigned to selected button
File not found
Check file name and and try again.

But if I go to Jingle and select "Assigning Jingle to Button" and I click on a button
It shows the "Audio Sample" file but clicking on it the "Children Laughing" file is not there.
What am I missing. Why can't I put the sound effect into the "Audio Sample" folder so that I can assign it to a button?

Thanks so very much for your help!
Grandpa Patrick

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
... I don't know how to properly download a sound effect I have found on this site so that Jingle Palette will play it.

Okay, so here is what I do...
1. I pick a sound effect.
2. I right click on the picture of the sound wave and choose "save as..."

To download a sound you have to login to Freesound ,
then click on the orange "Download" button below & right of the image of the sound-wave.

By clicking on the picture of the sound-wave & "save as..." you're saving the picture or webpage, not the sound-file.

GrandpaPatrick wrote:
It shows the "Audio Sample" file but clicking on it the "Children Laughing" file is not there.
What am I missing.

Audio software, like jingle-palette, will usually only see (display) compatible sound-files in a folder.
If your "save as..." has saved a webpage file (type ".html"), or an image file, those are NOT sound-files, so won't be visible to Jingle-palette, even though you have put them in the "Audio Sample" folder.

Also Jingle-palette only plays certain types of audio-file : those which end ".mp3" , ".wav", ".ogg".

There are sounds on Freesound which are of a type which is not playable by Jingle-palette , e.g. ".FLAC" . Audacity is a safe free program which can be used to convert FLAC to WAV ... https://www.audacityteam.org/