Here’s a way to make free iPhone ringtones out of any mp3 file for the current version of iTunes, 7.6.2. Because my instructions involve the GarageBand software (iLife ‘06 version), these instructions are for Mac only, but the general concept can be replicated for Windows. Your goal is create a less-than-30-second clip of an mp3 file, convert it to an AAC audio file (.m4a), then rename the file extension to .m4r, which is the iPhone’s ringtone file extension. Let’s get started.
- Open GarageBand and create a new project.
- Find an mp3 file you want to make a ringtone out of.
- Drag and drop the mp3 into GarageBand. You’ll see a window pop up showing you the progress of the conversion process.
- Find a portion of the song you want to make an mp3. Now edit out the rest of the song until you have a clip that is less than 30 seconds long. If you don’t know how to edit in GarageBand, see my instructions at the bottom of this post.
- Now, export your song and create an AAC file. To do this, go to the Share drop down menu and select Export to Disk.
- Give it a name and save it either to the desktop or wherever you want to keep your ringtones.
- Now, change the name of the file extension from .m4a to .m4r.
- Drag and drop the .m4r file into your iTunes library.
- Connect your iPhone. Go to the Ringtones tab for your iPhone in iTunes. You will see your new ringtone. Check the box next to the ringtone and sync. You’re done.
How to edit in GarageBand:
To edit, you’ll need to snip away portions of the song. If you hit play in GarageBand, you’ll notice a vertical red line runing across the screen. Follow the vertical red line upwards and you’ll see an arrow on the ruler at the the top. Stop the song, and position the arrow by clicking and dragging it to the point of the song you want to get rid of. Now press the command key and the letter T at the same time. This will create a split in the track. Click in a gray area of the screen, then click the section of the song you want to delete. Hit the delete button. Continue trimming until you have a 30 second or less clip. Keep in mind that with GarageBand, you can mix, mash, trim, cut, add effects, etc. S0, if you want to get tricky and mash together two songs, you can.
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