Is it possible to listen to music while recording something else?

Q  I followed your ‘Build a PC for £150’ article and was very pleased with the result, but I have a Windows 7 sound-related problem.

However, when recording music using the free Audacity sound-editing software, I cannot get any sound from my speakers as the recording is taking place – though recording otherwise works fine. I do not know if the problem lies with Windows 7 or Audacity.

Cliff Evans

Read more: digital music help | Audacity tips

A  There are two things to check. First, right-click the speaker icon in the Notification Area of the Taskbar at the bottom right and choose Recording devices. Now click to select your microphone before clicking the Properties button. In the Microphone Properties dialogue box, click the Listen tab and then make sure the ‘Listen to this device’ box is ticked.

Then, switching to Audacity, choose Preferences from the Edit menu and on the Audio I/O tab of the Audacity Preferences dialogue box that appears, click to tick the box labelled ‘Software Playthrough (Play new track while recording it)’.