Make Your Own Real Music Ringtones

If you change ringtones very often, you know the costs can add up quickly and they often do not include the part of the song you wanted or expected.

There’s an easy way to solve these problems. Make your own real music ringtones.

Ringtones can be made from 'real' songs, midis, videos or something you have created. It’s not difficult to make your own ringtone if you use the right software but you must have Internet access from your computer.

Locate or Create Your File

Do you have the song or sound you wish to make into a ringtone on your computer? If not, purchase it as an mp3, make a custom recording and save it as an mp3, or copy a sound or song from a cd.

Any song or sound will work but you need to keep in mind that a ringtone is short. Ideally, a ringtone should be between 15 and 30 seconds but some phones will allow up to a minute.

Find a Program

There are several excellent programs available and many also assist you in making cellphone wallpaper. They range from free of charge to more than $30.00.

Here are three examples:

If you don't want to download extra programs, Myxer (http://www.myxer.com) is a perfect fit. There are no fees associated with the use of Myxer. It's easy to use and the ringtones it produces are top quality. You can even choose the volume of your ringtone.

DJ Tone Xpress can be downloaded from Cnet's Download.com and used for a free trial period. Ringtones will stop working after the trial unless you register ($9.99 usd). Using the registered version you can also create PC tones and it has a social widget which updates when you make a new ringtone.

Nearly all ringtone programs have similar interfaces and steps. One program which is totally different is from veteran open-source audio software provider Audacity.

Audacity's free cross-platform program also requires the download of an additional library to make ringtones.

Make Your New Ringtone Using Myxer

Note: Since no downloads are necessary, this is the simplest to explain.

1. Go to Myxer and select ‘Make Your Own’ from the menu.

2. Locate your song or sound file using 'Browse' and upload it.

3. Wait while the song is processed. This will take a minute or so.

4. You’ll see your future ringtone returned as a waveform. If you’ve never seen one, it can be intimidating at first. It looks very similar to the results of a polygraph (lie detector) test.

Basically each vertical line represents the amplitude of the music or voice it has detected. A big crescendo will have higher amplitude patterns. Softer portions will be represented by shorter lines.

Knowing this can help you locate the portion of the song you are seeking. Moving the bars one line left or right may be all that is needed to perfect your ringtone.

Real Music Ringtones5. Press the play button and then stop it at the section you want as a ringtone.

Tip: For best results, use both ‘fade in’ and ‘fade out.’ Don't forget to adjust the volume for the new ringtone by using the pull-down menu on the right.

6. You can tweak the results by sliding the orange bars. Take your time and move them as much as necessary to get the best results. When you are satisfied, press ‘continue.’

7. The next screen will require you enter your cellphone number. Enter it and select ‘next.’

8. This screen just informs you a download link will be texted to your cellphone after you select ‘send.’

9. Once you send it, your new ringtone will be processed.

If you can select the link, do so. Save the ringtone. Then select it on your phone the same way you would if you had purchased a ringtone.

If you can’t select a link from text messages, don’t panic. On the website, a confirmation screen tells you that your text has been sent. One the right side of that same screen are three options.

Make Your New Ringtone Using Audacity

Note: Windows files must be converted to mp3s.

To begin you must obtain a separate library to compress mp3s. One such library is called LAME. Download and decompress the file (watch where you do this).

Start Audacity and open the ‘Edit/Preferences/File Format’ menu. Choose ‘Find Library’ near the bottom and select the folder in which you decompressed the file and click LAME.

Set the bit rate at128 Kbps. If you need to save space on your cellphone, you can choose a lower bit rate however this will result in reduced sound quality.

Now you're ready to construct your ringtone.

  1. Choose ‘Open’ in the 'File' menu and locate your mp3 file.
  2. Drag your mouse to the section of music you want for your ringtone. Press your space bar to listen to the selection. [See No. 4 & 5 in Myxer for more help]
  3. When you are satisfied, select ‘Export selection as mp3’ from the ‘File’ menu.
  4. To transfer the ringtone, use Bluetooth, a USB connection or email or text it as an attachment. Save the ringtone and select it in your phone menu.

Success

Congratulations, you have made your first personalized ringtone.

Keep in mind you have not purchased the rights to these songs, so don’t try to sell your 'real music' ring tones. If you choose to become a dealer, you will need to obtain proper licenses. You can sell original ringtones.

With practice your ringtones will improve and you can always try different programs to find the one which best suits you.

Go impress your friends, family, classmates or co-workers with your new skills.