iTunes Audio Conversions!

Hey All!

Here is how you convert files in iTunes…

The default file format for audio in iTunes is the proprietory format .aac or “Advanced Audio Coding” and it is not compatible with a lot of video or audio editing software. So we have to convert the file type to one that is readily utilized.

Mp3s are compressed audio formats meaning that they are squished down to remove “unnecessary” information (bytes) to make the file smaller at the expense of audio fidelity or quality. You never want to work from or to the Mp3 format (unless you have to)… It is in essence a squashed audio format used (badly) to make audio files smaller to fit on to mobile mp3 players.

Now we want something “lossless” or uncompressed audio so that we can get the best sound with the full range of dynamics (high, med, low frequencies)… and that is where .wav (Wave) and .aiff (Audio Interchange File Format” which is a quicktime version of wave).  These are full quality audio files and they are big! But we don’t need to worry about big audio files on a computer… as long as you are keeping your HDD (hard drives) clean, yo!

Okay so we need to convert the iTunes default format of .aac to .wav or .aiff. We can do this using iTunes… !

NOTE on file formats…! These: .aac, .wav, .aiff, .doc (word document), .jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) etc… ARE all file “extensions” used to signify file type and alert user and computer how to use/read the file.

We are gonna change some of your settings in iTunes … So please, write down the original settings so you can change them back after you are done with the conversion.

Okay… So open iTunes. Go to > iTunes > Preferences >(window “General” pops up) > Click on “Import Settings” > (new window “Import Settings” pops up) > Click on “Import Using” drop down list and select: .aiff or .wav > Click on the “Settings” drop down list and select: “High Quality…” > Click “OK” to close “Import Settings” window > back in the “General” window navigate to the “Advanced” Tab/Icon > Under  “iTunes Music Folder Location” click “Change…” to put the new files somewhere else on your computer away from your iTunes music (I use my desktop… after i create a folder for the files to go to) > Click “Ok” on the “General” window.

Now… find the music that you want to convert in your iTunes Music and highlight the song or songs (using control-click) and go to “Advanced” (top toolbar) > click on “create wave (or aiff) version. iTunes will then convert the file and save it to the specified location. It will also show up in your iTunes music folder. Navigate to the new folder using the finder and there you go!

Enjoy!