How do I make a jingle louder without distorting the sound?

[phillai]

At work we all have sales jingles whenever we sell owt and I wanna make and amplify a bit of music and make louder without distorting the sound.
Can someone advise me on how to do this?
The jingle I make will be played on crap speakers as well...
Also, as I better recording it at a lower bit rate and lower Khz?
What software is good for this?
Thanks to all replies in advance.

[EvilBoris]

You could try something like this, free and cheerful.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Multimedia_and_Graphics/Misc__Sound_Tools/Wave_MP3_Editor.html

Load up the sound file, highlight the section of the sound you want to amplifiy and choose effects: amplify and choose the percentage of amplification you want.

That'll do a decent enough job of making something quiet quite a bit louder.