You can keep written notes with an audio file and tie each one to a particular moment. In Afterglow, you import the file, open it in the player, and add a note at the point you want to remember. Selecting that note later starts playback there.
Afterglow is an iPhone app we're building for listening to audio and keeping track of your thoughts about it. A note might describe something you noticed, a question, or a passage you want to hear again. You write the text yourself.
Keeping a note with its recording
Imported audio lives in projects. Each file becomes a track with its own name, notes, and labels. You can keep several recordings together while keeping their notes separate.
A note stays in Afterglow's library alongside the track. It doesn't become part of the audio or change the file's embedded information, such as its title or artist. Sending someone the original audio file therefore won't include the notes you wrote in the app.
Returning to a timestamp
Each note has a timestamp. In the example below, a note belongs to 0:34 in a track called Mix 2. Selecting it opens the player at that point, so the text and the passage it refers to stay together.
You can change the wording and timestamp in the same note editor. Moving through the waveform lets you adjust the position before saving. If the thought belongs a little earlier or later, you don't need to create another note.
Notes can also be marked resolved. They remain with that version of the recording, where you can refer to them again.
Bookmarks without a written note
A label gives a position a name. It can mark a section such as a chorus, or any other point you want to return to without writing a comment.
Labels and notes both provide a way back into the recording. A label names the place; a note holds what you wanted to say about it. You can use either, or both.
Sharing the notes
Afterglow can share notes as text. The export includes the project and track names, timestamps, and labels placed on that track. The recipient can read it without installing the app.
An excerpt from the fictional project shown above looks like this:
Borrowed light - Mix 2
Chorus (0:34)
-------------
0:34
Love this vocal. Could we keep the guitar from Demo 1 underneath it?
The audio is shared separately. The exported text is a copy: editing a note later doesn't update a message or file you've already sent. Share it again when you want someone to have the revised notes.
Notes on another version
Importing a new version creates another track. Earlier notes stay with the recording they describe, even if the new version has a different introduction or length.
You can keep those versions in one project and compare them by listening. To keep a copy of the library with its audio and notes, the app also has backup and restore.
