Let's Talk About
Oral History

Throughout the Ages, oral history was the traditional way people learned about their ancestors. Nowadays, it is rare to use this method to pass on your family history. But, it can be a wonderful way to do so!

Families have stories

Think of the impact of hearing the voices of relatives, especially those who lived long before you, telling about their lives and their experiences. You get the opportunity to hear them, in their own voices and with the unique nuances of their personality, describe the most significant events of their lives.

It's like time traveling.

As you might imagine, the retelling of military experiences can be extremely powerful. Veterans are often kidded about telling their “war stories”, but let’s face it, these experiences had a lasting impact on these veterans and sharing those experiences allows others to understand how important they are to them. Of course, these are invaluable history lessons for future generations.

An ongoing effort to preserve their stories, the Veterans History Project, is directed by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. This is an excellent oral-history project (the Association of Personal Historians is now affiliated and helping) and you can learn more about it here.

A soldier with child in Iraq - photo by Damir Sagolj / Reuters News Service ***Note: Think about the many members of the Armed Services currently oversees in areas like Afghanistan and Iraq. They will have experiences that need to be remembered and preserved, not to glorify them, but to tell their story.****

This photo taken Damir Sagolj - Reuters News Service - shows something we normally don't see in media pictures from Iraq, a poignant moment with a soldier and child.

Today there are many ways to preserve your family history or tell your life story. This doesn't mean that oral history should be discounted. On the contrary, the improvement of recording equipment and the ability to transfer digital recordings to a computer and make a CD or DVD keepsake make audio recordings a terrific format.

If you want to capture people's stories by interviewing them you probably are interested in what kind of portable digital audio recorder you should invest in.

That's a big topic. There's quite a lot to choose from. Much of the decision depends on 1) how much interviewing and recording you are doing and 2) what you can afford to spend.

If you are just doing it for your friends and family (and probably not as a business) you can get away with using one of the less expensive models. An example is the Olympus VN-4100PC Digital Voice Recorder. You can find it for less than $50.

If you are recording for an organization or need to preserve the oral histories and quality standards are important then you will be looking at more advanced models. Some of the standard professional brands are Marantz, Tascam, Zoom, Edirol, Fostex and Sony. And, yes, Olympus has some higher end models, too.

The good news is that digital audio recording advances continue to be impressive, and like computers, they seem to be getting better and better without big increases in price.

I recently purchased the Tascam DR-40. It has a number of excellent features, is compact enough for traveling and does a terrific job. It's also a lot of "bang for the buck". I purchased mine for just under $200.

You'll want to consider how much recording time your device can handle, the microphones (built in as well as input options), what format the files are preserved in, how they transfer to a computer, the size of the device...and these are just a few considerations. Don't let it overwhelm you. With the Internet it is relatively easy to research, shop and compare.

Here are some helpful sites to give you more information, compare brands, equipment and price:

www.transom.org

www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/recorders/buying-guide.php

www.soundprofessionals.com

www.bswusa.com

Of course once you upload your recordings to a computer you will need to transcribe, and maybe even edit, your oral histories. Once again, there are many software options. I find that the free Audacity works great - you can get it here.

Before You Let the
“Good Times Roll”...Prepare!

When you prepare to record an oral history consider the setting. You want the person you interview to be comfortable and ready to talk. You want to be prepared with your questions. Make sure there aren't going to be unnecessary interruptions.

Avoid background noise. Check for open windows, the hum of a refrigerator, or noisy ceiling fans or air conditioning. Turn off the phone ringer. Make sure you aren't getting background noise like pets. Chirping birds or an occasional barking dog may not seem like a big deal at the time, but will be annoying when you playback the recording.

If you are seated at a table make sure the microphone is closest to the person you are getting the story from. If the table is glass covered or hard surface put a blanket or table cloth down to absorb sound. In addition, some rooms can have an echo, like the kitchen.

For higher quality recording consider using a lavalier microphone clipped to a lapel or clothing near the head of the person being interviewed (note: for this method you are probably using two microphones, one for the subject and the other for the person conducting the interview, so you will need a recorder with two inputs, or a splitter).

Test out the recorder with some normal conversation first and then play it back to see how it sounds. Make adjustments as necessary.

You also might need to coach the person you are interviewing. People can often trail off at the end of their sentences, particularly when recalling sensitive or emotional memories. Politely remind them to speak clearly and slowly.

You can learn more about oral history through the Oral History Institute.

Learn about the "art" of digital story telling, including how it can be used in education and business with this article at OnlineUniversities.com

StoryCorps is a national project to instruct and inspire Americans to record each other's stories in sound. They are an independent nonprofit project. Over the past few years StoryCorps has made great strides and even been recognized with the prestigious journalistic Peabody Award (in 2007). The project has also caught the attention of the media, including National Public Radio. Visit StoryCorps

Get additional helpful information at:
Association of Personal Historians
A member directory, many helpful articles and information about personal history preservation.

Oral History Society
What is Oral History? How can I use oral history? The Oral History Society gives lots of great information.

Back to Your Life Is Your Story Home Page

Let's Talk About Oral History

Before You Let the “Good Times Roll”...Prepare!

Let's Talk About
Oral History

Before You Let the
“Good Times Roll”...Prepare!