Myna is a new browser-based audio editor from Aviary.com that is a lot like GarageBand and Audacity. Because it's browser-based, Myna requires no software to be installed and works on Mac, Linux, and Windows computers. With Myna, you can:

• Record your voice, up to 60 seconds at a time
• Import audio
• Choose from thousands of high-quality musical loops, intros, and ends
• Drag and drop audio clips
• Trim and loop clips
• Add fade-ins and fade-outs
• Add effects like reverb and pitch change
• Save your project on aviary.com and embed an mp3 on your site with provided code
• Download to your desktop as mp3 or wav

Here's an example music remix made in Myna (Click "Open in Audio Editor" to see and edit the tracks and timeline).

GarageBand podcasters will feel right at home, as the tracks, timeline, and libraries are set up much like GarageBand's. I find the selection of loops to be incredible. I think some podcasters will create music in Myna and then import it into GarageBand or Audacity. That's because recording audio directly in Myna can only be done in 60 second chunks and requires processing and uploading time after each recording. Of course, you could use Garageband or Audacity to record your audio and then import it into Myna as well.

Myna's library is limited to musical loops. If you needed sound effects, you could certainly download them from sites like SoundSnap and import into your Myna project.

All Myna projects are automatically shared on avairy.com. If you want to keep projects private, you'll have to upgrade to the Pro version for $25 per year. Though, after downloading a project's mp3, you can delete it from Myna and it would no longer appear on aviary.com.

Keep in mind that because it's web-based, you will need to create an account in order to save your work. Since your project is stored on the web, it can be accessed from any computer with Internet access. That means students could start an audio project at school and finish at home.

The musical loops in Myna are licensed for non-commercial use, making Myna very useful in schools, particularly for podcasting. Many would pay money for software that does what Myna does for free!

See how Myna works in the site's instructional YouTube video:

Labels: podcasting