Add Sound to PowerPoint

Spice up PowerPoint with Sound

Adding sound can really spice up your PowerPoint presentations.

Most of the time, you won't want background audio during worship. However, there are times when you might, such as:

a special musical presentation during offering

a special presentation to kick-start the sermon

a special presentation before worship to help your members and visitors reflect

a special presentation for meetings, classes and other gatherings.

The possibilities are almost endless.

But the really cool thing is that you can turn your life-less PowerPoint presentations into video-like presentations.

Before we get ahead of ourselves - you might want to make sure that your hardware has audio capability. You have to have the ability to plug into the church audio system. Not sure if you do? Click the link to read more on the Basic Requirements for PowerPoint

Now that that's taken care of, let's go on.

Step 1 ...
Adding sound is easy, although the steps may vary a bit based on the version of Powerpoint you're using.
The first step is to build your slides.

Next you have to decide what kind of audio you'd like to add (voice, music, special effect, etc.).

Then you have to decide where you're getting the audio from (your computer, music CD, web, etc.).

You can even record your own audio if you have a mic connected to your computer and the software to edit it.

Step 2 ...
Open your presentation. Decide which slide you want the audio to start on.
For this exercise, we're going to have a song play in the background starting with the first slide. The song is also stored on our hard drive in MP3 format.

On the menu, select

Insert, then

Movies and Sound

Note that you're given four choices from which to get your sound. Your choices are:

Sound Gallery (sound clips downloaded from Microsoft website) File (stored on your computer) CD

Record your own sound

Most of the time, you'll choose #2.

After making your choice, you're asked to make another decision.

Do you want your sound to play automatically or after you click on it?

If you click, No, then you'll have to click the speaker icon to make the sound start.

For this exercise, we want it to play automatically when the presentation is opened.

After you've successfully added your sound, you'll see a small icon appear on your slide. You'll want to hide it so that's not visible during your presentation.

To do this,

Right click on the icon

Select ORDER and then

SEND TO BACK

You icon should now be behind your image on not on top of it.

Step 3 ...
Now that you've got sound, you have to configure it.
You can make the audio start playing on the first slide and continue through the last slide. Or you can start and end on different slides.

If you're really good, you can choreograph your sound to the slides - making the slides change at specific audio points.

On the menu, select SLIDE SHOW and CUSTOM ANIMATION. A new window opens.

Select the MULTIMEDIA SETTINGS tab.

Look in the white box on the top left corner and make sure your media file is selected (media 3, in this case).

We want our sound to play throughout the entire presentation. So we're going to make sure CONTINUE SLIDE SHOW box is selected.

We also need to change the slide number that we want the sound to stop playing on.

In this case, we want our last slide number in the box below.

A Few More Options
If you click the More Options button, you can loop your audio. This is helpful when your slide show lasts longer than your audio does.
Now that you have your audio playing throughout your entire slide show, the last thing to do is to rehearse your timings.

This is where things start to get a bit tricky.

All these adjustments are made under the Slide Show option on the menu.

If you want to configure the slides to transition after a certain time limit, you'd select Slide Transition

If you want to configure each slide's transition manually, you'd select Rehearse Timings.

Using the Slide Transition options is the simplest. Divide the length of your song by the number of slides.

Then configure your slides to transition after this time. This way, your slides end when the music does.

However, if you don't have many slides, then slide transition may be too slow.

Using the Rehearse Timings option requires a lot more effort. But the rewards are great!

Every situation is different. It's best to experiment with the different options until you get the slide show looking and sounding the way you want.

Enjoy!

PowerPoint Help

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Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved
Focus On Him!



	Spice up PowerPoint with Sound Adding sound can really spice up your PowerPoint presentations. Most of the time, you won't want background audio during worship. However, there are times when you might, such as: a special musical presentation during offering a special presentation to kick-start the sermon a special presentation before worship to help your members and visitors reflect a special presentation for meetings, classes and other gatherings. The possibilities are almost endless. But the really cool thing is that you can turn your life-less PowerPoint presentations into video-like presentations. Before we get ahead of ourselves - you might want to make sure that your hardware has audio capability. You have to have the ability to plug into the church audio system. Not sure if you do? Click the link to read more on the Basic Requirements for PowerPoint Now that that's taken care of, let's go on. Step 1 ... Adding sound is easy, although the steps may vary a bit based on the version of Powerpoint you're using. The first step is to build your slides. Next you have to decide what kind of audio you'd like to add (voice, music, special effect, etc.). Then you have to decide where you're getting the audio from (your computer, music CD, web, etc.). You can even record your own audio if you have a mic connected to your computer and the software to edit it. Step 2 ... Open your presentation. Decide which slide you want the audio to start on. For this exercise, we're going to have a song play in the background starting with the first slide. The song is also stored on our hard drive in MP3 format. On the menu, select Insert, then Movies and Sound Note that you're given four choices from which to get your sound. Your choices are: Sound Gallery (sound clips downloaded from Microsoft website) File (stored on your computer) CD Record your own sound Most of the time, you'll choose #2. After making your choice, you're asked to make another decision. Do you want your sound to play automatically or after you click on it? If you click, No, then you'll have to click the speaker icon to make the sound start. For this exercise, we want it to play automatically when the presentation is opened. After you've successfully added your sound, you'll see a small icon appear on your slide. You'll want to hide it so that's not visible during your presentation. To do this, Right click on the icon Select ORDER and then SEND TO BACK You icon should now be behind your image on not on top of it. Step 3 ... Now that you've got sound, you have to configure it. You can make the audio start playing on the first slide and continue through the last slide. Or you can start and end on different slides. If you're really good, you can choreograph your sound to the slides - making the slides change at specific audio points. On the menu, select SLIDE SHOW and CUSTOM ANIMATION. A new window opens. Select the MULTIMEDIA SETTINGS tab. Look in the white box on the top left corner and make sure your media file is selected (media 3, in this case). We want our sound to play throughout the entire presentation. So we're going to make sure CONTINUE SLIDE SHOW box is selected. We also need to change the slide number that we want the sound to stop playing on. In this case, we want our last slide number in the box below. A Few More Options If you click the More Options button, you can loop your audio. This is helpful when your slide show lasts longer than your audio does. Now that you have your audio playing throughout your entire slide show, the last thing to do is to rehearse your timings. This is where things start to get a bit tricky. All these adjustments are made under the Slide Show option on the menu. If you want to configure the slides to transition after a certain time limit, you'd select Slide Transition If you want to configure each slide's transition manually, you'd select Rehearse Timings. Using the Slide Transition options is the simplest. Divide the length of your song by the number of slides. Then configure your slides to transition after this time. This way, your slides end when the music does. However, if you don't have many slides, then slide transition may be too slow. Using the Rehearse Timings option requires a lot more effort. But the rewards are great! Every situation is different. It's best to experiment with the different options until you get the slide show looking and sounding the way you want. Enjoy! PowerPoint Help Return to Home Page Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved Focus On Him!