Record audio using Voice Memos on Mac

Apple has brought several iOS app to Mac OS since Mojave. These apps include Apple News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home. Apple said third-party developers will be able to start moving over their own apps for iOS to the latest version of Mac OS in 2019. Before the move, we need to use the stock media player, QuickTime Player, to record audios on Mac. Now we have the dedicated digital audio recorder on Mac, the Voice Memos app. It is easier to use than QuickTime. In this quick guide, we’ll show you how it can help us record sound on Mac in easy steps.

Record sound using Voice Memos on Mac

Make sure you have already upgraded to the latest Mac Mojave. Open the Launchpad on Mac, find and run Voice Memos app from there. If it is the first time you open this new app, you’ll be prompted to grant it the permission to access your location data. By default, Voice Memos saves your recording with the name of your location where they are recorded. If you don’t want the app to access your location information, you can click the Don’t Allow button block it now. Or go to its preference settings to disable it later. Click Voice Memos from the top menu bar, select Preferences, then disable the Location-based naming. On your Mac, go to Settings > Security and Privacy > Location Services. Click on the lock icon at the bottom left before you can edit the settings. Enter your account password. Then uncheck the box next to Voice Memos to stop the app from accessing your location info.

voice memos app mac

To make a quick sound recording, click the Record button on the bottom-left corner. During the recording process, you can click the Pause button, and then Resume anytime you need. Finally click the Done button to finish.

Edit voice memos and sound recordings

All sound recordings will be listed in the left panel. You can click to play them on your Mac. To edit a recording, select the recording from the left panel, then click the Edit button at the top-right corner to get started. At this moment, you will be able to record over something with the ‘Replace’ tool, trim the voice recording and insert new audio into the file.

Export and share voice memos and sound recordings

Select an audio recording from the left list, then click the Share icon at the top right corner to share it directly through Mail, AirDrop, Messages, etc. To export sound recordings from Voice Memos app to Mac, simply drag it from Voice Memos app to the desktop or any folder in Finder. All your voice recordings will be saved, shared and exported in the .m4a format. You can play the sound recordings using iTunes, QuickTime Player and many other popular music players.

Capture system audio on Mac

Voice Memos and the QuickTime Player can only record audio from Microphone not from your computer. If you like to record streaming audio, or system audio, you will need to use a third-party sound recorder. Check out this tutorial to record system audio on Mac using Audacity, an open source free audio recorder app, or this guide to record Mac system audio using Snagit, a premium screen capture and audio recorder.