You have a demo on your phone and a few thoughts you want to keep with it. This guide follows Borrowed light, a fictional song, from importing the first recording to comparing versions and sharing notes.
Afterglow calls the song's home a project. Each recording inside it is a track, such as Demo 1 or Mix 2. Your notes stay with the track they describe.
The examples show our development app on an iPhone simulator. The sharing screens use Files; the Voice Memos steps are below.
Bring in your demo
In Voice Memos, select your recording, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Share. If Options offers a format choice, choose Rendered, then Done. That creates a regular audio file with your recording's effects and layers included. Apple's Voice Memos guide shows this step. Afterglow declines the editable format and asks for the rendered version instead.
Choose Afterglow in the row of apps. If it is hidden, scroll across to More. For a recording in Files, touch and hold the file, then choose Share and Afterglow.
The Add audio sheet shows the file, a track name taken from the filename, and an Add to choice. In a new library it starts on New project, so enter the project's name. Here, the track is Demo 1 and the project is Borrowed light. Tap Add.
Afterglow imports a copy and opens it in the player. Your original recording stays where it was.
Start inside Afterglow
You can also start from the app. An empty library has one Add audio button, which opens Files.
Choose the recording, and the same sheet asks for the track name and the project.
Try a sample opens an example if you want to explore first. Once you have projects, the plus button in Library adds audio too, and the sheet suggests the project you were last in.
Open the player
Imported tracks open in the player. Press Play to listen. Drag the waveform to move through the recording, or use the curved arrows to skip five seconds back or forward.
The down arrow closes the player. Tap the track name in the bottom bar to open it again. The separate waveform button at the bottom right opens your list of tracks.
Write a note at a moment
Tap Add note at the moment you want to remember. Write your thought, then tap Add note again. Our example is "Could the guitar come in here?" at 0:25.
Tap a note's timestamp to play from that point. Tapping the note text returns to that position without changing whether playback is running.
The note's three-dot menu has Edit note, Resolve note, and Refine timestamp. Resolving keeps the note and marks it done; Reopen note brings it back.
To move a timestamp, choose Refine timestamp. The editor opens with the keyboard closed and the refinement waveform in view. Drag the waveform, or tap the time and type it. Press the small Play button to preview the position, then Save.
Give a passage a name
In the player, tap Add label, enter a name such as Chorus, and tap Save. After your first label, use the plus beside the label strip to add another.
Tap a label to jump to it. The tag icon opens your labels for editing. Their timestamps use the same editor as notes. The player also shows Intro for the audio before your first label.
Add another version
Share the next recording to Afterglow. Add to suggests the project you were last in; open it to choose another one or start a new project. Check that it shows Borrowed light.
Name the track Mix 2 and tap Add.
You can also open the tracks button at the bottom right and choose Add audio. Select a track's name to switch to it; its Play button starts playback.
Mix 2 has its own notes and label positions. Demo 1 and its notes stay in the project. Afterglow remembers which track you had selected in each project when you reopen the app.
Compare versions
Open Tracks, then Compare tracks. Press Play beside either recording to listen. Starting the other track switches playback to it.
With a Chorus label in both tracks, choose Chorus in the strip at the bottom to return each recording to its own Chorus position. In this example, that is 0:25 in Demo 1 and 0:30 in Mix 2. You can drag each waveform independently.
Start returns every track to the beginning. Sync moves the other tracks to the selected track's timestamp, stopping at the end of a shorter recording. You can still move each track separately afterward.
The tracks button at the top right changes which recordings appear in the comparison.
Share your notes
Tap Share notes beside Notes, then choose Copy, Save to Files, or another app.
The text includes the project, track, labels, timestamps, and comments. Saving to Files creates a file named after the project and track, such as Borrowed light - Demo 1 - Notes.txt. Sharing notes does not send the recording or create a shared project.
Find and edit your projects
The Home button returns to Library, where you can search by project name.
Inside a project, the three-dot menu has Edit project for its name and artwork, and Edit track for the selected recording's name.
Swipe left on a note, track, or project to reveal Delete. A short message offers Undo for a few seconds; tap it if you change your mind.
Keep your library safe
In Settings, sign in with Apple or Google to sync your library. Signing in is optional. Your recordings, notes, and labels then stay available on another phone.
Restore from Backup adds projects from a ZIP saved by an earlier version of the app beside your current ones.
Your library lives on your device. Sign in to sync before deleting the app or moving to another phone. Settings also has your usage-data preference and a link to the privacy policy.
