Introduction: How to Make a Ringtone

This Instructable will show how to easily create a ringtone for your phone using simple programs like iTunes, Garageband, and your Bluetooth File Exchange software. Enjoy!

Step 1: Select a Song

First you will need to open your iTunes player. I used iTunes because it makes it very easy to drag and drop files. Then, find the song that you want to make a ringtone with. I used Seed 2.0 by The Roots because it is a completely, utterly, badass song.

Step 2: Making Your Garageband File

Next, open up Garageband. I'm sure you can use other audio editing software, but Garageband is probably the quickest and most user friendly. Select "Create a New Project." Then name your project (preferably the name of the song you're converting) and click "Create."

Step 3: Delete Default Track and Add New Track

GB will automatically create a default track for a piano. This won't work for importing the song, so go to "Track" in the toolbar and select "Delete Track." Then select "Track" and "New Track" and click "Create" in the selection window.

Step 4: Drag and Drop Song FIle

This is where the magic happens, baby. Go back to iT, reduce the window size enough so you can still see your song in the playlist area, but also so you can see GB behind the iT window. Click and hold the mouse on the song from iT, drag it over to the new track you just made in GB, then drop. (then make sure after the song imports, you drag the wave file back the beginning of the track, which is measure 1.)

Step 5: Preparing the Song for ITunes

Now you have to make the song short enough so you can set it as a ringtone later on your phone. Place the playhead (the triangle at the top of the timeline with the red line) at measure 10. You can set it before 10, but on my phone it makes the ringtone last about as long as the caller is calling. Then, while the wave file is selected (highlighted orange) press Apple (command on Macs and Ctrl on Pc's) + T. This will split the track into two section. Deselect everything, then select the second half of the wave file, on the right. Delete this part of the wave file so that only the 10 measures worth of music is left.

Step 6: Smoothing Out the Song

This step is optional, but it makes the ringtone a little more streamlined. Over to the left of your music track, there will be a dropdown button that is an upside down triangle. Click the button and a new part of the track will appear. This is the track's volume. You can add points along the blue line below the track to set levels. I use it to fade the song out at the end of the ringtone. You can also do this at the beginning.

Step 7: Export to ITunes

Next, in GB, select "File" and "Export to iTunes." Make sure your playhead is at 1 when you do this, because if it is way past the end of the song, it will export everything from 1 to the play head.

Step 8: Converting in ITunes

Now convert the song to an .mp3 file in iTunes by selecting "Advanced" from the toolbar, and "Convert Selection to MP3." In your playlist, this will leave you with two files that are named the same, but one is your RT and the other is a larger .aiff file. The .aiff file is unnecessary, so you can delete it if you want, but make sure you don't delete the .mp3.

Step 9: Send Rintone to Your Phone

Now you can send the RT to your Bluetooth enabled phone. If you read this far and don't have bluetooth, sorry, but you should have read the intro too:) Go to your Bluetooth File Exchange by clicking the BT icon in the upper right corner (or however you get to it.) Then select "Send File" A window will pop up asking you to select the file you want to send. Search for your .mp3 file labeled with the song name, and click "Send." At this point you may have to take some steps to connect your phone to your computer via BT, but phones are all different so I won't try to explain that. (My phone asked for a PIN # which is a generic number you make up on your phone and then type the same number at your comp. It's a security device so other people can't send you virus files and shit.) Then click "send" in the "Send File:" window and you should receive a message on your phone asking you if you want to receive the file. Press ok on your phone and watch it download. Or make a sandwich.

After that you should have your .mp3 ringtone! It should be 550kb in size or less. If not it might not work on your phone. Enjoy your new ringtone!

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