Contents1. AudacityINTRODUCTION 3 1. Audacity The Audacity program is an example of a digital 'audio editor', which means that Audacity can record and edit audio in common digital

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AUDACITYCopyright:TheContributorsLicense:CCBY

ContentsINTRODUCTION1.AudacityWhatissound?Whatissoundrecording?INSTALLING4.InstallingAudacity2.2.1onOSXInstallingAudacityonWindowsINTERFACETrackAreaMenuBarToolBarTUTORIALSOpen/ImportanAudioFileRecordingasoundAddAnotherAudioTrackEnvelopeToolBasicEditingwithAudacityAdvancedEditingandMixingExportingAFileAPPENDICESMoreHelpLicense

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INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION1.Audacity2.WHATISDIGITALAUDIO?

INTRODUCTION

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1.AudacityINTRODUCTION

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1.AudacityTheAudacityprogramisanexampleofadigital'audioeditor',whichmeansthatAudacitycanrecordandeditaudioincommondigitalformats.Typically,oneusesAudacityforrecordingsoundssuchinterviewsormusicalinstruments.YoucanthenuseAudacitytocombinethesesoundsandeditthemtomakedocumentaries,music,podcasts,etc.

Intheolddays,audioeditingwasdonewithhugemachinesthatrecordedsoundtomagnetictape(similartothetapeintapecassettes).

Audioengineerswouldtheneditthesetapesusingrazorbladesandstickytape.Muchofthejargonusedinaudioeditingtodaycomesfromthisprocess.Makinga"cut"meantliterallycuttingtheaudiotapeatacertainpoint."Multitrack"referredtorecordingmanyseparatesoundsontoextrawidetapetofitmore'tracks'.Therecordingindustrystillusestheseterms,alongwithmanyothers,today.Manyofthefundamentaltechniqueswhichformedgoodaudiorecordingandeditingpracticesintheaudio-tapeeralaidthefoundationforrecordingandeditingsoftware.

Whilemanyofthetermsandtechniquesremainthesametoday,computersreplacedtapemachines,anddigitalfilessucceededtapes.Hence,onerecordsaudioandeditswithacomputer(usingsoftwarelikeAudacity),andstoresthesesoundsinfilesonacomputer.Thismakestheprocessmuchfasterandrequiresalotlessphysicalstoragespaceandspecializedskillsandequipment.

Audacityisapowerfultoolforrecordingandeditingaudioonahomecomputer.It'sisaverysophisticatedprogramandcandoeverythingonewouldexpectfromamodernaudioeditor.Asafree,open-sourcetool,Audacityisnotquiteasfeature-richassomeexpensiveaudioeditingsoftwareusedbyprofessionalrecordingstudios,butmoreandmoreindependentmusicians(aswellaspodcastersand

1.AudacityINTRODUCTION

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others)areusingitintheirownaudiocreations.

OnecaninstallandrunAudacityonLinux,MacOSXandWindows.

Audacity:DigitalAudio

Whatissound?Whatissoundrecording?INTRODUCTION

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Whatissound?Whatissoundrecording?Soundsarewavesofair.Wehearsoundsbecauseourearsaresensitivetothesewaves.Oneoftheeasiesttypesofsoundwavestounderstandisashort,suddensoundlikeahandclap.Whenhandsclaptogether,theycreateapressurisedwaveofairwhichmovesatabout340meterspersecond("thespeedofsound"throughsea-levelearthatmosphere).Whenthiswavereachesone'sear,itpushesontheeardrumslightly,causingittovibrateandtheindividualhearstheclap.

Ahandclapisashorteventthatcausesasinglewaveofairthatquicklydiesout.Theimageaboveshowstheshapeofthewave("waveform")foratypicalhandclap.

Othersoundwavesarelongerevents.Aringingbellservesasagoodexampleofthis.Whenabellrings,aftertheinitialstrike,thesoundcomesfromtheongoing"ringing"ofthebell.Whilethebellrings,itvibratesataparticularspeed("frequency")andthiscausesthenearbyairtovibrateatthesamespeed.Thiscauseswavesofairtotravelfromthebell,again,atthespeedofsound.Pressurewavesfromcontinuousvibrationlookmorelikethis:

Bothofthesetypesofwavesarecalledsoundwavesoracousticwaves.

DigitalrecordingandplaybackAmicrophoneconsistsofasmallmembranewhichvibrateswhenitmeetstheseacousticwaves.Themicrophonetranslatesmovementsofthemembraneintoelectricalsignals.Basically,amicrophoneconvertsacousticwavesintoelectricalwaves.

Ifweexaminedtheshapeofanelectricalwavefromamicrophone,wewouldnoticethatitlooksverysimilartotheshapeoftheoriginalsoundwave.Thefollowingisthesoundwavewesawintheaboveexplanation:


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Thefollowingistheelectricalwavecreatedbythemicrophone(noticethemeasurementfor"Current"):

Onecouldsaythattheshapeoftheelectricalwaveisanalogousto("similarto")theshapeoftheoriginalsoundwave.Thisiswhytheseelectricalwavesthatrepresentsoundwavesarecalledanalogwaves.

Indeed,earliermethodsofsoundrecordingwerethemselvesanalog:theliteralwave-shapeoftheoriginalsound,aspickedupbythemicrophone,wasphysicallyimprintedontherecordingdevice--firstintheformofsoft-waxcylinders,thensoft-waxmasterrecords,andfinallymagnetictapewhereacoatingofmagnetizedironoxide(orchromiumoxide)dustwasrearrangedbythesoundwaves.Magnetictapebecamethedominanttechnologyforrecordingaudioaswellasvideoandotherdatainthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury,untiltheadventandrapidadoptionofdigitalrecording.

ThemaindeviceusedindigitalrecordingisanAnalog-to-DigitalConverter(ADC).TheADCmeasuresthevoltageofanelectricalwavethousandsoftimespersecond.Itthenusesthesemeasurementstocreateadatamapofanelectricalwave:

Eachdotinthefigureaboverepresentsoneaudiosample.Themoresamplespersecond,themoreaccuratethemappingoftheelectricalwave.

PlaybackofdigitalaudiousesaDigital-to-AnalogConverter(DAC).Thistakesthesamplesandconvertsthembackintoanelectricalwave.Inacomputer,thiselectricalwaveissenttoasoundcard'sheadphoneorspeakersocketsandthespeakersrecreatetheoriginalsoundwavebyvibratingtheirdiaphragms.

Acomputer'ssoundcardcomeswithanAnalog-to-DigitalConverter(ADC)forrecording,andaDigital-to-AnalogConverter(DAC)forplayingaudio.Your


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operatingsystem(Windows,MacOSX,Linux,etc.)reliesonthesoundcardtoactuallyhandletherecordingandplayback,andaudioapplicationsrelyonyouroperatingsystemsothatyoucanplaysoundfiles,capturesoundstoafile,editthem,andmixmultipletrackswhileplaying,etc.

QualityTwofactorsdeterminethequalityofadigitalrecording:

Samplerate:thisistheratewhichtheADCrecordssamplesoraDACplaysthemback.SampleRateismeasuredinHertz(Hz),orsamplespersecond.AconventionalaudioCDhasasamplerateof44,100Hz(oftenwrittenas"44KHz"forshort).An'HD'(High-definition)DVDcanhaveasamplerateof96KHzoreven176or192KHz.Attheotherendofthespectrum,MPEGaudiofilesintendedforstreaming(especiallyiftheyareonlyrecordingvoice,notmusic)canhaveasamplerateaslowas11KHz.

Sampleformatorsamplesize:Essentially,thisisthenumberofdigitsinthedigitalrepresentationofeachsample.Thinkofthesamplerateasthehorizontalprecision,andthesampleformatastheverticalprecision.AnaudioCDhasaprecisionof16bits.

Highersamplingratesallowadigitalrecordingtoaccuratelyrecordhigherfrequencies.Highersamplesizesallowformoredynamicrange—betterreproductionofloudandsoftsounds.Bothofthese,ofcourse,entailthestorageofmoredigitialinformation,meaningthathigh-sample-rate/high-sample-sizeformatsaremuchlargertostoreandtransmit.

AudiofileformatsTherearetwomaintypesofaudiofilesonacomputer:

PCMstandsforPulseCodeModulation.Thisisjustafancynameforthetechniquewhereeachnumberinthedigitalaudiofilerepresentsexactlyonesampleinthewaveform.CommonexamplesofPCMfilesareWAVfiles,AIFFfiles,andSoundDesignerIIfiles.

Compressedaudiofilesaretheothertype.Moderncompressedaudiofilesusesophisticatedpsychoacousticalgorithmstorepresenttheessentialfrequenciesoftheaudiosignal--thoseaudibletothehumanear--infarlessspacethanPCMfiles.ExamplesincludeMP3(MPEGI,layer3),OggVorbis,andWMA(WindowsMediaAudio).Creatingoneofthesefilessacrificessomequalityinordertouselessdiskspace.

Thus,forexample,anaudiorecordingyoumakedirectlytoyourcomputerisoftenstoredasaWAVfile;ifyoutransfromthatsamesoundrecordingintoanMP3file(asyoucaninAudacity),theresultingfilewillbefarsmallerthantheoriginalWAVfile.Wheneditingmusic,itistypicallypreferabletoworkwith'raw'soundformatssuchasWAVorAIFFwhenpossible,thencompresstoMP3orsimilarformatonlywhenyouaresatisfiedwiththemixedandeditedpiece.


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Whatissound?Whatissoundrecording?INSTALLING

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INSTALLING3.Audacity:InstallingonLinux4.InstallingAudacity2.2.1onOSX5.WINDOWS

3.Audacity:InstallingonLinux

InstallingAudacityonFedoraThesimplestwaytoinstallAudacityonrecentversionsofFedoraistousethecommandline.Youmustberootorhaveadministrativeprivilegestoinstallsoftware.Thereare2versionsofAudacityforFedora:audacityandaudacity-freeworld.

ThelatterversionincludesavarietyoflibrarieswhicharenotpartofthemainFedorarepositories,soyouwouldneedtofirstinstallrpmfusion-free-releaseandrpmfusion-nonfree-release.Inspiteoftheseadditionalsteps,Iwouldrecommendthefreeworldversionofaudacity,sinceitwillhavemoreflexibilitywithfiletypesitcanworkwithandforexport.Gotorpmfusion.organddownloadtheappropriatereleasesforyourversionofFedora.Theserepresentadditionstoyourrepositories.Onthecommandline,type

sudodnf-yinstallrpmfusion-free-release...

wheretheellipsisattheendneedstofittherestoftheparticularversionyouneed.ForexampleinFedora26,itwouldberpmfusion-free-release-26.noarch.rpm.Onceyouhavebothoftheseinstalled,thentype

sudodnf-yinstallaudacity-freeworld

afterwhichtheassessmentofdependencies,downloadsandinstallationsshouldproceedautomatically.Afterinstallation,yourarereadytouseit.Simplytype'audacity'onthecommandlineorfindtheapplicationunderMultimediawithyourapplicationlauncher.

InstallingAudacityonUbuntubasedsystemsAstherearequiteafewflavoursofUbuntuscreenshotsarenotusedherehoweverthefollowingadviceshouldbeappropriatetomostdifferentversions.

ViatheCommandLine

AquickwaytoinstallAudacityonUbuntuistousethecommandline.

Onthecommandline,type

sudoapt-getinstallaudacity

Youwillneedtoenteryouradminpasswordtoproceed.

Afterinstallation,yourarereadytouseit.Simplytype'audacity'onthecommandlineorfindtheapplicationunderMultimediawithyourapplicationlauncher.

ViatheUbuntuSoftwareCentre

OpentheUbuntuSoftwareCentrethroughyourmainmenu.

Thenusethesearchforaudacity,selectitandclickontheInstallbuttontoproceed.

Whatissound?Whatissoundrecording?INSTALLING

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Afterinstallation,yourarereadytouseit.Simplytype'audacity'onthecommandlineorfindtheapplicationunderMultimediawithyourapplicationlauncher.

4.InstallingAudacity2.2.1onOSXINSTALLING

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4.InstallingAudacity2.2.1onOSXIfyourMachasapreviousversionofAudacityYoucanupdatethisversionbyselectingHelp>CheckforUpdates....andskiptherestofthischapter.

IfyouhaveAudacity2.1.2orearlierinstalledinyourMac,readthesectiontitled"LeftoverpluginsfrompreviousversionsofAudacity"attheendofthischapter.

Downloading1. Usingawebbrowser,gotoAudacity'ssite,andnavigatetoitswebpagewhere

youcandownloadAudacity2.2.1fortheMac.

2. ClickanyofthelinksfordownloadingAudacity2.2.1,whichincludeversions

ofthisprogramwithscreenreadersforthevisuallyimpaired.


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3. Awebpagesayingthisfileisdownloadingwillappear.


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Installing1. Onceit'sfullydownloaded,gotothefolderyourbrowserissetforfilestobe

downloadedinto—usuallyit'stheDownloadsfolder(System/Users/nameofuser/Downloads)—anddouble-clicktheaudacity-macos-2.2.1.dmgfiletoopenit.


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2. ClickanddragtheAudacity2.2.1icontotheApplicationsiconasinstructedin

thiswindow.ThiswillinstallAudacity2.2.1toyourMac.

SettingUp1. Anewwindowaskingifyou'resureyouwanttoopenAudacitywillappear.


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ClicktheOpenbutton.

2. TheAudacityinterfacewillappear.YouarenowreadytouseAudacity2.2.1.

LeftoverpluginsfrompreviousversionsofAudacityIfyouhadAudacity2.1.2orearlierinstalledinyourMacbeforeyouupdatedittoAudacity2.2.1,therewillprobablyafoldernamed"Audacity"inyourApplicationsfolder(~/Library/Applications/Audacity).

Pluginsyouwanttokeep,andAudacity2.2.1doesn'thave

TheAudacityfoldermighthaveoptionalpluginsthatyouinstalledmanuallyintotheoldversionofAudacity.

Ifyouwanttokeeptheseoptionalplugins,movethemtotothenewAudacityPlug-Insfolderat~/Library/ApplicationSupport/audacity/Plug-Ins.


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Disablinganddeletingduplicateplugins

TheAudacityfolderwillalsocontainpluginsthatyouwillnolongerneed,sinceAudacity2.2.1nowhasthesepluginsbundledinsidetheapplicationitself.

YoucouldjustdeletetheAudacityfolder,butthatwillnotbeenough.IfyouinstallAudacity2.2.1,andopenit,thesepluginswillstillappearincertainmenusasduplicateswhetherornottheAudacityfolderhasalreadybeendeleted,andwillnotworkifyouselectthem.Soyouwillneedtodisablethemfirst.

Therearetwowaystodisableoldplugins.

Deletethefilepluginregistry.cfgin~/Library/ApplicationSupport/audacity/.Youmightonlywanttochoosethisoptionifyouhaven'talreadyputoptionalpluginsinthenewAudacityPlug-Insfolder.

DisablethepluginsinAudacity2.2.1:

1. SelectEffect>Add/RemovePlug-ins...inthemainmenu.


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2. Choosethepluginsyoudon'twantintheAdd/RemovePluginswindow,

anddisablethem.ThenclickOK.

NowyoucandeletetheAudacityfolder,ifyouhaven'talready.

Audacity:InstallingWindows


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InstallingAudacityonWindowsINSTALLING

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InstallingAudacityonWindowsSoftwarename:AudacityHomepage:http://audacityteam.org

Softwareversionusedforthisinstallation:2.2.1OperatingSystemuseforthisinstallation:MicrosoftWindows10

RecommendedHardware:

WindowsversionRecommended

RAM/processorspeed

MinimumRAM/

processorspeed

WindowsVistaHomeBasic(32/64-bit)Windows7Starter 1GB/1GHz 512MB/1

GHz

WindowsVistaHomeBusiness/Premium/Ultimate(32/64-bit)Windows732-bit(exceptWindows7Starter)Windows832-bt

4GB/1GHz 1GB/1GHz

Windows7(64-bit)Windows8(64-bit)Windows10(32/64-bit) 4GB/2GHz 2GB/1

GHz

Accordingtotheofficialdocumentation,Audacityworksbestoncomputersmeetingmorethantheminimumrequirementsstatedabove.Forlengthymulti-trackprojects,theAudacityteamrecommendsusingmachinesofsubstantiallyhigherspecificationthantheminimums.

OlderversionsofWindows/oldhardware

ForWindows98,ME2000andXPseeLegacyWindowsDownloads.

DownloadingAudacityThelateststableversionofAudacityforMicrosoftWindowscanbedownloadedfromhttp://www.audacityteam.org/download/windows/.ThelateststableversionatthetimeofwritingthisdocumentisAudacity2.2.1.


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Clickonthe"Audacity2.2.1installer"link.Thisshouldautomaticallylaunchthedownloadofaudacity-win-2.2.1.exe.Oncethedownloadiscomplete,thisfileshouldbeshownnearthebottomofyourbrowser(inthiscasethebrowserisChrome):


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oryoucanbrowsedirectlytoyour"Downloads"directory,andlookforthemostrecentlydownloadedfile:

OpenthisfiletobegininstallingAudacitybydoubleclickingontheiconorclickingon"Open"onthedownloadswindow.

YoushouldnowseeaSetupWizardlikethis:


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Click"Next"toproceed.

ThenextstepasksyoutoreadandaccepttheLicenseAgreement.

Youcannotcontinuewiththeinstallationuntilyouhaveacceptedtheagreement,soclickontheradiobuttonlabelled"Iaccepttheagreement"andthenclick"Next"tocontinue.

YoushouldnowseeanInformationwindowlikethis:


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Thiswindowcontainsinformationsuchascreditsandachangelogthatyoumayfindusefultoread.Click"Next"continue.

YouwillnowbepromptedtoselectthefolderAudacitywillbeinstalledinto.

TheSetupWizardwillautomaticallycreateafoldercalled"Audacity"inyour"ProgramFiles"foldersounlessyouwanttoinstallitsomewhereelseyoucansimplyclick"Next"tocontinue.IfyouwishtoinstallAudacitysomewhereelseclick"Browse".

YouwillnowbeaskedtoselectwhichadditionaltasksyouwouldlikeSetuptoperformduringtheinstallation.


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Clickthecheckboxestoselectordeselecttheadditionaltasksthenclick"Next"tocontinue.

Youwillnowseeawindowdisplayingthedestinationlocationandadditionaltasks.

Checkthatthisinformationallcorrectandifitisclick"Install"tocontinue.Click"Back"ifyouwishtochangeanyoftheinstallationsettings.

Youshouldnowseeawindowlikethis:


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Click"Finish"tocompletetheinstallation.Ifthecheckboxlabelled"LaunchAudacity"istickedAudacitywillopenstraightaway.

Installationisnowcomplete.Ifyoudidn'tchoose"LaunchAudacity"intheoptionsabovethenyoucanlaunchAudacitybydoubleclickingthefollowingiconintheAudacityfolder(oronyourdesktopifyoucheckedthatcheckboxinthesecondsetupscreenabove):

ThefirsttimeyoulaunchAudacityyouwillbepromptedtoselectwhichlanguageyouwantittouse.

Clickonthedropdownmenutoselectthelanguageyouwant.


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Onceyouhavechosenthelanguageyouwant,clickon"OK"tofinishlaunchingAudacity.

TheAudacityinterfaceshouldlooklikethis:

That'sit!YounowhaveAudacityupandrunningandcanbeginmakingandeditingrecordings.


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Youmayneedtoinstallanextralibrarytobeabletoexportafileasanmp3.


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InstallingAudacityonWindowsINTERFACE

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INTERFACE6.TRACKBAR7.MENUBAR8.TOOLBAR

Audacity:TrackBar

InstallingAudacityonWindowsINTERFACE

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TrackAreaINTERFACE

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TrackAreaSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2

InAudacity,asinglechannelofsoundisrepresentedbyonemonoaudiotrack;atwo-channel(L/Rstereo)soundbyonestereoaudiotrack.Theexamplebelowisastereotracklabeled'Fiona',asloadedintoAudacity:

Letslookatsomeofthecontrolsavailabletoyoufromthisinterface(clickthearrownexttothetracknametogetthisdropdownmenu):

TrackAreaINTERFACE

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option actionName editthenameofthetrackMoveTrackUp/Down/ToBottom moveTrackUporDownwithinthelargerGUI

Waveform traditionaldisplayofaudiomaterial.

Waveform(dB) likeWaveform,butlogarithmicinsteadoflinearverticalunits.

Spectrogram displaythefrequencyspectrumoftheaudioovertime.

SwapStereoChannels swapouttheLeftandRightstereochannels(Leftappearsabovebydefault)s

SplitStereoTrack turnonestereotrackintotwosinglechannel(mono)tracks,representingtheLeftandRightstereotracks

SplitStereotoMono createtwoidenticalmonotracks,eachmixeddownfromtheoriginalLandRstereotracks.

WaveColor markdifferentinstrumentaltrackswithuptofourdifferentcolors

TrackAreaINTERFACE

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Format pickthesampleformatforthistrack:16-bitPCM,24-bitPCM,32-bitfloat

Rate setthesamplingrateofthistrack,8000to384000Hzorcustom

(greyedoutabove)MakeStereoTrack

combineaselectedmonotrackwithanothermonotrackdirectlybeneathitintoasingleL/Rstereotrack

button:WhenmultipletracksaredisplayedintheprojectGUI,selectingthe'solo'buttonononetrackwillcauseonlythistracktoplay.

button

Whenmultipletracksaredisplayed,selectingthe'Mute'buttonononetrackwillmuteitduringplay(allun-mutedtrackswillbeaudible).

GainandPanControls

LiketheSoloandMutebuttons,thesecontrolswillappearoneachseparateaudiotrackintheproject.Thetopslidercontrolsthetrackvolume,orrathertheoverallgainofthatparticulartrackrelativetoallothertracksdisplayedintheGUI.

Thebottomslidersetsthepanningpositionofastereotrack(movingtowardLwillemphasizetheLefttracksounds,movingtowardRwillemphasizetheRighttrack).

Audacity:MenuBar

TrackAreaINTERFACE

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MenuBarINTERFACE

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MenuBarSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2

LetslookatthebasicelementsoftheAudacityMenuBar:

TheMenuBarisatypicalelementinmanyapplications.ItwilllookslightlydifferenttothisifyouarenotusingWindows;mostnotablyinMacOSXthisMenuBarisnotlocatedontheapplicationwindowitselfbutatthetopofthescreeninthe"AppleMenu".Let'sgothroughtheMenuBaroneitematatime.

FileByclickingon"File"intheMenuBaryougetadropdownmenuwithnumerousoptionstochoosefrom.Aswithotherdrop-downsinthemenubar,someoptionsheremaybe"greyedout,"meaningyoucan'tselectthem;youwillonlybeabletochoosetheoptionsthatappearinsolidblack.TheoptionsavailabledependonthestateofyourAudacityprojectatthetime.ForexamplethefollowingimageoftheFiledrop-downdisplayswhenAudacityhasjustbeenopenedandnorecordingoreditinghasyetbeenstarted(thusnoaudiotracksaredisplayedintheGUI).Asinsubsequentmenusfromthemenubar(seebelow),a'>'symblolfollowingtheoptionnameindicatesthatasubmenuwillappear,withmorespecificoptionsorfunctions:

TheFileMenuiswhereyoucanadd,importandexportallthethingsrelatedtotheaudioandproject(.aup)files.

option actionNew createsanewemptyprojectwindow.

Open...selecting"Open"presentsyouwithadialogwhereyoucanchooseafiletoopen.Note:ifyouchooseanytypeofaudiofileotherthananAudacityprojectfile(.aup),youareessentially'importing'it,asin"Import"below,exceptthatanychangesmadewillbesavedtotheoriginalfile.

MenuBarINTERFACE

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exceptthatanychangesmadewillbesavedtotheoriginalfile.RecentFiles Showsthetenmostrecent.auporotheraudiofilesyouhaveopened.

Close closesthecurrentprojectwindow(willpromptyoutosavethecurrentprojectifnotalreadydone)

SaveProject savesthecurrentAudacityproject(AUP)file.

SaveProjectAs...

allowsyoutosavethecurrentAudacityproject(AUP)filewithadifferentnameorinanewlocation.

RecentFiles... Submenugivesalistofrecentfilesyouahvebeenworkingon.

ExportSubmenuexportsthecurrentAudacityprojectasastandardaudiofileformatsuchasWAV,MP3orOGG.AlsoallowsfortheexportofLabels,MIDI,aswellascombinationsofthese.Finally,allowsexportofjusttheselectedtracksorareasofatrackwithinanopenproject.

Import Submenuallowsyoutoimportaudiofiles,MIDI,LabelsandrawdataintothecurrentAudacityproject

Chains Allowsyoutoapplyachainoreditchains.Seesectionon"Chains"below.

Exit closesallprojectwindowsandexitsAudacity.Itwillaskyouifyouwanttosavechangesfirst.

EditTheEditMenugroupstogetherfunctionsforeditingaudiotracks,labelsormetadatainyourproject:

option action

UndoThiswillundothelasteditingoperationyouperformedtoyourproject(inthiscaseasoundtrackwasremoved;thelabelwilltellyouwhichoperationyouareundoing).

Redo Thiswillredoanyeditingoperationsthatwerejustundone.

Cut Removestheselectedaudiodatafromtheprojectandplacesitontheclipboard.

MenuBarINTERFACE

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Delete Removestheaudiodatathatiscurrentlyselectedwithoutcopyingittotheclipboard.

Copy Copiestheselectedaudiodatatotheclipboardwithoutremovingitfromtheproject.

Paste Insertswhateverisontheclipboardatthepositionoftheselectioncursorintheproject.

Duplicate Duplicateswhateverisselected:atracksection,atrackormultipletracks.

RemoveSpecial

Submenuallowsformoreadvancedremovalcommands:splitcut&splitdeletekeepsthematerialtotherightoftheselectionfrommovingleft;youcanalsosilenceselectedaudioortrimselectedaudio(removingallaudioinatrackexceptforselectedpart).

ClipBoundaries...

Submenuallowsyoutomanipulatetheboundarieof'clips'withinatrack:splitthetrackinto3clipsonboundariesdefinedbyyourselection,dothesameandcreateanewtrackwiththemiddle'clip',joinseveralclipstogetherintoone,ordetachatrackintomultipleclipsatsilences.

LabelsSubmenuallowsyoutoaddlabelsortexttoaudiotracklocationsspecifiedbyyourcursororselection.YoucanalsoinvoketheLabelsEditor,whichallowseditingofallexistingprojectlabels.

LabeledAudio

Submenuallowsyoutoperformeditoperationssuchascut,delete,splitcut,splitdelete,silence,copy,join,detachetcontheaudioofselectedrangelabels(usefulforbatchoperationsonaudiowithlikelabels).

Metadata... Allowsyoutoeditthemetadatatagsthatwillbeappliedtoexportfiles.

Preferences... OpensadialogwindowthatletsyouconfigureAudacity.

SelectTheSelectmenuprovidescommandsfordefiningselectionregionswithinyourproject(whichyoucanthenedit,delete,exportorapplyvariouseffectstoinothermenus).Thesefunctionscansavetimeandbemuchmoreprecisethanselectingaregionmanuallyviayourmousecursor.

option actionAll Thiswillselectallaudioinalltracksinyourproject.None Thiswilldeselectallselectedregionsinyourproject.

TracksThissubmenuhascommandstoextendthecurrentselectionupand/ordownintoalltracksintheproject,orintoallSync-Locked

MenuBarINTERFACE

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Tracks and/ordownintoalltracksintheproject,orintoallSync-Lockedtracksinthecurrentlyselectedtrackgroup.

RegionThissubmenuhascommandsfordefiningselectionregionsbyeithertheplaybackhead(toitsright,toitsleft)orbythecursorposition(cursortotrackstart,cursortotrackend)andalsoletsyoustoreandretrievethepositionoftheeditingcursor.

SpectralThisadvancedfunctionisusedtomakeselectionsthatincludeafrequencyrangeaswellasatimerangeontracksinSpectrogramview.SeeSpectralSelectionfordetails.

ClipBoundaries

Thissubmenuallowsyoutomakeselectionsbasedonanyclipsyouhaveinagiventrack:previousclipboundarytocursor;cursortonextclipboundary;allofpreviousclip;allofnextclip.

CursortoStoredCursorPosition

Definesaselectedregionbetweentheplaybackhead(duringplaybackorrecord),orinothercasestheactiveeditingcursor,andthepreviouslystoredcursorpositiondefinedbySelect>StoreCursorPosition.

StoreCursorPosition

Storesthepositionofaneditingcursor,orplaybackheadduringplayback/record,whichcanthenbeusedwiththepreviouscommand.Notethatthereisnovisualcueforthestoredcursorposition.

AtZeroCrossings

helpstoavoidclicksateditpointswhenmakingcutsandjoinsbymovingtheedgesofaselectionregion(orthecursorposition)veryslightlysotheyareatarisingzerocrossingpoint.

ViewTheViewMenuisusedtomanagethedisplayofthetracks("channels")forbestviewingoftrackdetails,andalsohasvariousoptionstoshowandhidesomeinterfaceelements:

option action

ZoomThissubmenuallowsyoutozoominbypercentage,zoomoutbypercentage,backtodefault,andinsothattheselectedregionfillstheentirescreensize.

TrackSize

Thissubmenuallowsyoutozoomin/outsothattheentireprojectfitsthewidthoftheprojectwindowortheheightofthatwindow;italsoallowsyoutocollapsealltracks(hidingtheirmute,solo,panandvolumecontrols),andtore-expandcollapsedtracks

Skipto Thissubmenuallowsyoutoskipyourcursortothestartortheendofagivenselectedregion,withoutchangingthezoomlevel.

History...BringsuptheHistorywindow,whichlistsallundoableactionsperformedinthecurrentproject,includingimportingandeffects,along

MenuBarINTERFACE

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History... performedinthecurrentproject,includingimportingandeffects,alongwiththeirimpactonthediskspaceusedbytheoverallproject.

Karaoke...Thisshowsabouncingballthatfollowstextasaudioplays.TheKaraoke...commandisenabledwheneveryouhaveatleastonelabeltrack.Ifyouhavemorethanone,itusesonlythefirstone.

MixerBoard...

Thisisanalternativeviewtotheaudiotracksinthemaintrackswindow,andisanalogoustoahardwaremixerboard.EachaudiotrackisdisplayedverticallyinaTrackStrip,withitsownpairofmeters,gainslider,panslider,andmute/solobuttons,echoingthattrack'scontrolsinitstrackcontrolpanel.FormoredetailseeMixerBoard.

Toolbars Thissubmenutoggleson/offatotalofeleventoolbars,ofwhichallbutScrubtoolbarandSpectralSelectiontoolbarareshownbydefault.

ExtraMenus

Toggleson/offasetofextranavigationmenus(after"Help")withlessfrequentlyusedcommands

ShowClipping Toggelson/offthedisplayofclippedsamples.

TransportTheTransportmenuincludestherecordandplaybackcommandsalsoaccessiblethroughtherecord/playbackGUIbuttons,withsomerefinementsofthese:

option action

Play Thissubmenuallowsyoutostart,stop,pauseorloopplaybackofaselectedtrack.

RecordThissubmenuallowsyoutostart,stop,pausearecording,recordanewtrackfromcurrentcursorposition,oropentheTimerRecorddialogtoschedulewhenarecordingendsandbegins.

Scrubbing

ThissubmenuallowsyoutotoggleintoScrubandSeekmodes.Scrubbingmeansmovingthemousepointerrightorleftsoastoadjusttheposition,speedordirectionofplayback,listeningtotheaudioatthesametime.SeekingissimilartoScrubbingexceptthatitisplaybackwithskips,similartousingtheseekbuttononaCDplayer

CursortoThissubmenuallowsyoutomovethecursortothestartorendofanyselection,trackorclipyoumayhave,ortothestartorendoftheprojectasawhole.

PlayRegion

Thissubmenuallowsyoutolockplaybacktothecurrentpositionofaplaybackregion(whichnowappearsasaredsegmentwithinatrack).Whilelocked,playbackisconfinedtothisregion.Thisregioncanthenbeunlockedhereaswell.

RescanAudio

Rescanforaudiodevicesconnectedtoyourcomputer,andupdatetheplaybackandrecordingdropdownmenusintheDeviceToolbar(see

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AudioDevices

playbackandrecordingdropdownmenusintheDeviceToolbar(seeToolbarssection).

TransportOptions...

Thissubmenuallowsyoutomanageandsetvariousoptionsfortherecordandplaybackcontrols.

TracksTheTracksmenufeaturesoperationsallowingforcreating,deleting,muting,panning,aligningandlabelingmultipletracksatonce:

option action

AddNew Submenuallowsyoutoaddanewmonoorstereoaudiotrack,labeltrackortimetrack.

Mix Submenuallowsyoutomixorrenderyourselectedtrackstoasinglemonoorstereotrack.

Resample...Allowsyoutoresampletheselectedtrack(s)toanewsamplerateforuseintheproject,leavingthelength,andhenceplaybackspeedandpitchofthetrack,unchanged.

RemoveTracks

Removetheselectedtrack(s)fromaproject(onlyifpartorallofatrackhasbeenselected)

Mute/Unmute Submenuallowsyoutomuteorunmuteallprojecttracksatonce.

Pan SubmenuallowsyoutochangetheL/Rpanningofallselectedtracksatonce.

AllignTracks Submenuallowsyoutoalignselectedtracksinrelationtoeachotherortothecursor.

SortTracks Submenuallowsyoutosorttracks(toptobottominGUI)bytheirnamesorstarttimes.

Sync-LockTracksOn/Off

Toggleson/offthesync-lockfeature,whichensuresthatlengthchangesoccurringanywhereinadefinedgroupoftracksalsotakeplaceinallotheraudioorlabeltracksinthatgroup,evenifthosetrackswerenotselected.

Generate

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TheGenerateMenuallowsyoutoinsertvariousgeneratedaudioelements(tones,noisesandsilence)intoatrack,eitherextendingthetrackorreplacingaselectedregion,orinsertingtheelementintoanewtrack:

Thedurationofthegeneratedaudio(wheninsertedintoanexistingtrack)isdeterminedbythelengthofyourselectionandthepositionbytheleftboundaryofyourselection,orbyaspecifiedduration.Ifnoselectionismadeandnodurationspecified,thedefaultlengthinsertedatthecursorpositionis30seconds,orwhateveryourmostrecentpreviousentereddurationwas.PleaseseeExamplesofGeneratorUsageforsomedetailedexamplesofusingtheAudacitygenerators

name action

Add/RemovePlug-ins...

Thedefaultplug-insforAudacityareshownlaterinthismenu:Pluck,RhythmTrack,RissetDrumandSampleDataImport.Thisoptioninvokesadialogwhichallowsfurtherplug-ins(foreffects,generatiorsandanalyzers)tobeaddedorremoved.

Chirp...

ChirpproducesfourdifferenttypesoftonesliketheToneGeneratorbelow,butalsoallowsseparatesettingofthestartandendamplitudeandfrequency(hencethe'chirp'effect).AswithTone,frequenciescanbespecifiedanywherebetween1HzandhalfthecurrentprojectrateasshownintheSelectionToolbar.

DTMFTones...

Generatesdual-tonemulti-frequency(DTMF)toneslikethoseproducedbythekeypadontelephones.Foreachtoneyouwishtogenerate,enternumbersfrom0to9,lowercaselettersfromatoz,andthe*and#characters(emulatingatelephonekeypad).

Noise...InvokestheNoisedialogallowingyoutogenerate3differenttypesofnoise--white,pink,andBrownian--andspecifyamplitudeanddurationofeach.Experimenttogetasenseofthesedifferenttypesofnoise.

Silence... Generatessilence(audioofzeroamplidute)eitherappliedtoagivenselectedregionofaudio,oratthecursorwithadesignatedduration.

Tone...

Generatesoneoffourdifferenttonewaveforms:Sine,Square,SawtoothandSquare(noalias),thenameofeachcorrespondingtoitsappearancewhenzoomedinsufficientlytoseeeachwaveformcycle.Experimenttogetasenseofthesedifferenttones.Frequency,amplitudeanddurationcanallbespecified.

Pluck... Createsasinglesynthesizedplucktoneatthecursorwithabruptorgradualfade-out,andselectablepitchcorrespondingtoaMIDInote.

RythmTrack...

TheRythmTrackdialogallowsyoutocreateatrackwithregularlyspacedsoundsataspecifiedtempoandnumberofbeatspermeasure(bar),alsoallowingcontrolofduration(inbarsorwholeseconds),starttimeoffset,specificbeatsound(5options)andMIDIpitchofstrongandweakbeat.ThisisNOTa'drumtrack'butcouldbeusedasametronomeforsynchingadrumtrack.

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RissetDrum...

Producesasinglerealisticdrumsoundconsistingofasinewavering-modulatedbynarrowbandnoise,anenharmonictoneandastrongsinewaveatthefundamental.Canbecopiedandsynchedwithotheraudiotoproduceadrumtrack,withbeatsofvariouspitch,volumeanddecay.

SampleDataImport...

Anadvancedfeaturewhichproducesaudiofromimportednumericdata

EffectTheEffectMenuallowsyoutoapplyawide(potentiallyinfinite)rangeofeffectstoaselectedaudiotrackorregion.NotethatthismenucannotbeaccessedwhileanytracksareinPlaybackorRecordmode.

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Notethatthemenupicturedhererepresentsthedefaulteffectsplug-insinAudacityasofthe2.2.1release(andthereareadozenmorebelowthosepicturedinthemenuhere).Thefollowingtableaddressesonlysomeofthemostfamiliareffectsfromamongthoseavailable.Withinandbeyondthisset,youareencouragedtoexperiment.

name actionAdd/RemovePlug-in...

Functionsjustlikethe'Add/RemovePlug-in..."featureoftheGeneratemenu(andAnalyzemenu).

RepeatLastEffect

Appliesthemostrecently-usedeffecttoanewselectedtrackorregion.

Amplify thiseffectincreasesordecreasesthevolumeofatrackorsetoftracks.

BassBoost thisisasmoothfilterwhichcanamplifythelowerfrequencieswhileleavingmostoftheotherfrequenciesalone.

Change changesthepitch/frequencyoftheselectedaudiowithoutchanging

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Pitch thetempo.ChangeSpeed

changesthespeedoftheaudiobyresampling.Makingthespeedhigherwillalsoincreasethepitch.

ChangeTempo changesthetempo(speed)oftheaudiowithoutchangingthepitch.

ClickRemoval

thiseffectisdesignedtoremovetheannoyingclicksonrecordingsfromvinylrecordswithoutdamagingtherestoftheaudio.

Distortion appliesadistortioneffectfamiliarfrommuchmid-andlate-1960srockmusic.

Compressor compressesthedynamicrangeoftheselectionsothattheloudpartsaresofterwhilekeepingthevolumeofthesoftpartsthesame.

Echothiseffectrepeatstheaudioyouhaveselectedagainandagain,softereachtime.Thereisafixedtimedelaybetweeneachrepeat.Effectfrequentlyusedforvocalsoundsinliveperformance(andguitarsoundsforsomegroupslikeTheWho).

Equalization boostorreducefrequencies.FadeIn appliesalinearfade-intotheselectedaudio.FadeOut appliesalinearfade-outtotheselectedaudio.

Invert thiseffectflipstheaudiosamplesupside-down.Thisnormallydoesnotaffectthesoundoftheaudioatall.

NoiseRemoval

thiseffectisidealforremovingconstantbackgroundnoisesuchasfans,tapenoise,orhums.Itwillnotworkverywellforremovingtalkingormusicinthebackground.

Normalize allowsyoutoamplifysuchthatthemaximumamplitudeisafixedamount,-3dB.

NyquistPrompt

allowsyoutoexpressarbitrarytransormationsusingapowerfulfunctionalprogramminglanguage(foradvancedusers).

Phaserthename"Phaser"comesfrom"PhaseShifter",becauseitworksbycombiningphase-shiftedsignalswiththeoriginalsignal.Much1970srockmusicmakesheavyuseofphasing.

Repeat repeatstheselectionacertainnumberoftimes.Reverse thiseffectreversestheselectedaudio.Wahwah justlikeaguitar'swah-wahpeddle.

InadditiontotheseandothereffectsavailablebydefaultfromtheEffectmenu,manyothereffectplug-insareavailableasNyquisteffects,LADSPAeffects,LV2effects,andVSTeffects.Beyondthespecificlinkssuppliedhere,referencingthesedifferentgroupsofeffects,seeAudacity'soveralleffectsdocumentationpage.Asnotedthere,someeffectsdonotsupportthe'Preview'function,whichallowsyoutopreviewtheresultofapplyinganeffecttoanaudiotrackbeforeapplyingitpermanently.

AnalyzeTheAnalyzeMenugivesyoumanyoptionsforfindingoutaboutthecharacteristicsofyouraudiotracks,andlabelingkeyfeatures.ThefivedefaultAudacityplug-insshownatthebottomofthemenu,butmanymoreplug-insareavailable.Ratherthanmodifyingyouraudiotracks,asinEffectfunctions,Analyzefunctionstypicallycreateanewlabeltrackindicatingtheaudiofeaturesyouareseeking.Theselabelscanthenbeusedforexportoreditfunctionsorformixing.

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name actionAdd/RemovePlug-ins... ActionisidenticaltoAdd/RemoveforGenerateandEffectmenus

Contrast...

Analyzesaselected,singlemonoaudiotracktodeterminetheaveragermsdifferenceinvolume(contrast)betweenforeground(thespeech)andbackground(music,audiencenoiseorsimilar).Thepurposeistodetermineifthespeechwillbeintelligibletothehardofhearing.

PlotSpectrum

displaysthePowerSpectrumoftheaudiooveraselectedregion(ie,agraphoffrequencies(thehorizontalscaleinHz)againstamplitudes(theverticalscaleindB).

FindClipping...

DisplaysrunsofclippedsamplesinaLabelTrack,asascreen-readeraccessiblealternativetoView>ShowClipping.Arunmustincludeatleastoneclippedsample,butmayincludeunclippedsamplestoo.

BeatFinder...

Createsalabeltrackwhichattemptstoplacelabelsatbeatsinaselectedaudioregionwhicharemuchlouderthanthesurroundingaudio.Thistoolworksbetterwithsomegenresthanothers;itwillnotnecessarilyworkwellonatypicalmodernpopmusictrackwithcompresseddynamicrange.

RegularIntervalLabels...

Placeslabelsinalongtracksoastodivideitintosmaller,equallysizedsegments.Canbeusefulfordistributingalargefileontheinternet.Youcanchoosethenumberoflabelstobecreated,ortheintervalbetweenthem.Eachlabelproducedcontainsthechosenlabeltext.

SampleDataExport

Advancedfeature:Readsthevaluesofsuccessivesamplesfromtheselectedaudioandprintsthisdatatoaplaintext,CSVorHTMLfile.

SilenceFinder

Dividesatrackbyplacingpointlabelsinsideregionsofsilence.Usefulifyoujustwanttosplitarecordingintotracksatspecificboundaries,withoutremovingthesilencesbetweenthem.

SoundFinder

Dividesatrackbyplacingregionlabelsforsegmentsofsoundthatareseparatedbysilence.Usethistomakelabelsshowingtheexactregionofeachtracktobeexported(usefulforexampleifyouwanttosplitupafull-lengthCDorLPrecordingintoindividualsongtracksforexport).

Audacity:ToolBar

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ToolBarINTERFACE

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button action

Willpauseduringplaybackorrecording.Pressagaintounpause.

Presstheplaybuttontolistentotheselectedaudio(orallaudio)inyourproject.

Pressthestopbuttonorhitthespacebartostopplaybackimmediately.

Presstomoveplaybackheadtostartoftrack.

ToolBarSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2.1

TheToolBarsarewhereyouchoosetoolstodirectlyworkonthetracks.ThereareeightmainToolBarsintheAudacityGUI,shownbydefault:

TransporttoolbarToolstoolbarRecordingMetertoolbarPlaybackMetertoolbarMixertoolbarEdittoolbarDevicetoolbarTranscriptiontoolbar

Belowwewillwalkthroughtheindividualcontrolsineachtoolbar.

TransportToolBar

ThesecontrolswillbefamiliarfrommostRecord/Playbackdevices.Let'slookateachbutton:

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Presstomoveplaybackheadtoendoftrack.

presstherecordbuttontorecordanewtrackfromyourcomputer'ssoundinputdevice.

ToolsToolbar

Thistoolbargroupstogetherarangeofcommonly-usedfunctionsthatcanalsobeaccessedfromtheEdit,Select,ViewandTracksmenus.

button actionSelection--Clicktoselectastartpointforaudioplayback,orclickanddragtoselectarangeofaudio.

Envelope--Allowssmoothvolumechangestobemadeoverthelengthofatrackbymeansofembeddedvolume"controlpoints".Clickinthetracktocreateacontrolpoint,thensetthevolumeofthatpointbydraggingoneofitsfourverticallyarranged"handles".Whenyoucreateothercontrolpointsatdifferentlevels,asmoothcurveisinterpolatedbetweenthem.Seetutorialchapterforexample.

DrawSamples--DrawToolenablesyoutomanuallyredrawthewaveforminatrack;itcanthusbeusedtomakevolumechangestoindividualsamplesortoeliminateclicks,noiseetc.

Zoom--Left-clickthisbuttonzoomsinonestepatthepositionofthemousepointer.Clickanddragzoomsintothedraggedregion.Thedragdrawsadottedregioninthewaveformwhichisfittedtotheentiretrackwidthwhenyoureleasethedrag.Shiftandleft-clickorright-clickzoomsoutonestepatthepositionofthemousepointer.Shiftanddragzoomsout

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outonestepatthepositionofthemousepointer.Shiftanddragzoomsoutbasedonthedraggedregion.Thedragdrawsadottedregioninthewaveformandwhenyoureleasethedrag,theaudioattheleftedgeofthedottedregionisrepositionedatthestartofthevisiblewaveform.

Time-shift--Whenselected,thistoolletsyousynchronizeaudioinaprojectbydraggingindividualormultipleaudiotracks,notetracksoraudioclipsleftorrightalongtheTimeline.Alsousethistooltodragindividualtracksorclipsupordownintoanothertrack.Multi-tool--Foradvancedusers:Thiscombinesallfiveprevioustoolsinone.Onetoolisavailableatatime,accordingtothemousepositionandmodifierkeychosen.Theshapeofthepointerchangestoshowwhichtoolisactive.IfyouexitAudacitywithMulti-ToolModeselected,itwillbealsobeenablednexttimeyoulaunchAudacity.MoredetailonMulti-ToolModehere.

RecordingMeterToolbarWhenAudacityfirstlaunches,thismeterwillbeinactiveandthusdisplay"ClicktoStartMonitoring",asbelow.

Ifyouclickonthetoolbar,ORclicktherecordbutton,thismeterwillactivateandmonitortheaudioinputlevelfromwhateverinputdeviceyouhaveselected(withseparateLandRchannelsiftheinputisinstereo).Asshownbelow,themeterreadsgreenuntiljustbefore-6dB,atwhichpointthetipstartsturningyellow.Ataround-3dBitturnsred,indicatingthatyourrecordinginputistoohighor'hot'anddistortionorclippingmayoccur.

Dropdownmenu:clickingonthemicrophoneiconwillinvokeadropdownmenuwhichallowsyoutoenable/disablemonitoring(sameasclickinginsidethemeteritself)andcanalsolaunchan"Options"dialog,allowingyoutosetthemeter'sstyle,visualorientation,thescaleformatandotherparameters.

PlaybackMeterToolbar

ThePlaybackMeterwillactivatewhenyoubeginPlaybackonanexistingtrack(withseparateLandRchannelsifthetrackisstereo).AswiththeRecordingmeter,thePlaybackmetertipturnsyellowaround-6dB,andredjustbefore-3dB,indicatingthatthevolumeonyourrecordedaudioistoohigh,Audacitymayhaveclippedtheaudio,and/ordistortionmayoccuronmoststandardplaybackdevices.

Dropdownmenu:clickingonthespeakericonwillallowyoutoinvokean"Options"dialogsimilartotheonefortheRecordingMeter.

Note:forbothmeters,ablueline(asshownaboveinactiverecordingmeter)indicatesthemaximumpeaklevelattainedinthatchannelduringthecurrentplaybackorrecordingsession.Thislinewillremainuntilanewmonitoring

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button action

removestheselectedaudiodataandplacesitontheclipboard.

copiestheselectedaudiodatatotheclipboardwithoutremovingitfromtheproject.insertswhateverisontheclipboardatthepositionoftheselectioncursorintheproject.

deleteseverythingbuttheselection.

erasestheaudiodatacurrentlyselected,replacingitwithsilenceinsteadofshorteningthetrack.

thiswillundothelasteditingoperationyouperformedtoyourproject.

thiswillredoanyeditingoperationsthatwerejustundone.

zoomsinonthehorizontalaxisoftheaudio,displayingmoredetailandlessduration.

zoomsout,displayinglessdetailandmoreduration.

zoomsinuntiltheselectedaudiofillsthewidthofthescreentoshowthe

sessionisstarted.

MixerToolbar

Theleft-handslideradjuststhevolumeleveloftheinput(recording)deviceyouhaveselectedintheDeviceToolbar.Theright-handslideradjuststhevolumeoftheoutputdeviceyouhaveselectedforPlayback.

DeviceToolbar

TheDeviceToolbarallowsyoutoselectwhichdeviceyouwouldliketouseforinput(recording)andforoutput(playback).TheoptionsavailableineachdropdownwilldependonwhichAudioHostyouhavechosenintheleft-handdropdown,aswellaswhichphysicaldevicesareinstalledin/attachedtoyourmachineandenabledwithyoursoundcard.Formoreontherelationshipamongthesethreeselectors,fordifferentoperatingsystems,seetheofficialAudacitydocumentationfortheDeviceToolbar.

EditToolbar

Thistoolbarprovidesalternateaccesstocommontoolsaccessiblethroughthe"Edit"and"View"menus.Takingthebuttonsindividually:

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selectioninmoredetail.

fitstheentireprojectintheavailablescreenspace.

TranscriptionToolbar

TheTranscriptionToolbarisintendedtoassistwithmanualtexttranscriptionofrecordedvoice.IthasitsownPlay-at-Speedbuttonwhichplays(orrestartsplayback)atthespeedsetbythePlay-at-Speedslider.PlaybackcanbepausedandresumedattheadjustedspeedusingthePausebutton intheTransportToolbar.Double-clickingontheslideropensupaPlaybackSpeeddialogformorepreciseadjustmentoftheplaybackspeed.

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ToolBarTUTORIALS

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TUTORIALS9.OPEN(IMPORT)AFILE10.RECORDING11.ADDANEWTRACK12.CREATINGFADES13.BASICEDITING14.ADVANCEDEDITING15.EXPORTING

Audacity:OpenFile

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Open/ImportanAudioFileTUTORIALS

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Open/ImportanAudioFileYouwillneedtohaveanaudiofileavailabletoedit.Ifyoudon'thaveonelocally,downloadanMP3or.wavfromsomewhere.Makesureit'snottoobig:1-4minutesisfineforallourtutorialpurposesinthisbook.ChooseeithertheOpenoptionortheImport>AudiooptionfromtheFilemenu(thedifferencebetweenOpenandImportwillbediscussedshortly).

PleasenotethattheseandallfollowingtutorialimagesarecapturedfromAudacityrunningonWindows,soifyouarerunningMacorLinuxinstead,yourGUImightlookslightlydifferent.

Youwillthenbepresentedwithawindowwhereyoucanbrowsetothelocationoftheaudiofileonyourcomputer:


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Youcanseeintheaboveexampletherearealargenumberofaudiofileshere,someasMP3sandothersasAudacityprojects(markedwiththeAudacitylogo).Notethatthisdirectoryalsocontainssomevideo(MP4)filesandstaticimagefiles;selectinganyofthosewouldtriggeranerrormessage.IwillselectFiona.mp3,adancemixIcreatedpreviouslyinAudacitybasedonvocalizationbymycatFiona:


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IfInowpressOKthefilewillbeimportedintoAudacity.

OpenvsImport,SavevsExport

Itshouldbenotedthatforaddingthefirstaudiotracktoaneworemptyproject,"opening"astandardaudiofilesuchasMP3or.waviseffectivelythesameas"importing"thatsamefile,throughtheImportfunctionfurtherdownintheFilemenu.IneithercaseAudacityimportsthefileintoitsownproprietaryformat,addingittoanopenAudacityprojectwhichwillbesavedasanAUPfile.However,ifyouropenAudacityprojectalreadycontainsoneormoreaudiotracks,additionaltrackscanonlybeimported,not'opened',tobeaddedtothatproject.Forthisreasonitisprobablybettertogetinthehabitofalwaysaddingstandard-format,non-Audacityaudiotracksvia'Import'ratherthan'Open'.Youshouldreservethe'Open'functionforopeningAudacityproject(.aup)filesthemselves(whichcanonlybeopenedthroughOpen,notthroughImport).

Conversely,afteryouhaveedited(orcreated)audioinAudacity,ifyousimplyselect"SaveProject"or"SaveProjectAs..."itwillsaveasanAUPfile,whichisproprietarytoAudicityandcannotbeplayedoreditedinothersoftware.Togettheaudiobacktoacommonfileformat,youwillneedtoExporttheopenproject(forexample,asanMP3or.wav)throughtheExportfunctionfurtherdowntheFilemenu.

OncetheimporthasfinishedyouwillseetheaudiofiledisplayedintheAudacitywindow.ThefileIchoseisinstereoformat,sobothleftandrightchannelsaredisplayedinasingletrack:


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That'sit!Theaudioisnowreadyforeditingorothermanipulation.

Audacity:RecordingASound

RecordingasoundTUTORIALS

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RecordingasoundSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2.1

RecordingsoundwithAudacityisverystraightforward:youjustneedtohaveacomputerthathasasoundcardwithatleastamicrophone(mic)orlineinput.

GettingstartedBeforemakingarecordingyouneedtomakesurethatthedeviceyouwanttorecordfromisconnectedtotheaudioinputofyourcomputer'ssoundcard.Todothisyoucanuseyourcomputer'ssoundcontrolpanelorthecustommixerapplicationforyourspecificsoundcard,selectingtheinputdeviceyouwanttouseandverifyingthatyouaregettingsoundintothecomputerfromthatdevice.NotethatyoucanalsouseAudacity'sownRecordingmetertotestwhetheryourdesiredrecordingdeviceisinputtingproperly,andatappropriatelevels.However,andespeciallyifthisisyourfirstattempttorecord,itispreferabletofirstuseyourOScontrolpanelorsoundcard'smixerapplicationtoverifyaudioinputconnectivity.ThenyoucanlaunchAudacity.

MacOSXRecordingConfiguration

IfyourMachasabuilt-inmicrophone(mostdo),Audacity2.2.1forOSXshouldalreadybeconnectedtoitonceitisinstalled.ThismeansyoucanstartrecordinginAudacity2.2.1rightaway.

RecordingSoundUsingAudacityinOSX

Torecord,simplypresstheRkey,andanewaudiotrackwillappearandautomaticallystartrecording.Youcanthenspeak,and/orplayanyothersoundsonyourMac.


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YoucanalsorecordsoundbyselectingTransport>Record>Recordinthemainmenu:

WindowsandLinuxRecordingConfiguration

WindowsandLinuxusecontrolsthatcanbeaccessedentirelyfromtheAudacityGUI.Firstyouneedtochoosetheinputdevice.AswesawintheToolbarschapter,theDeviceToolbariswhereyouselectyourdesiredRecordingDevice(second


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dropdown),aswellasdesiredAudioHost(firstdropdown:forWindowstheoptionswillbeMME,WindowsDirectSoundandWindowsWASAPI--seeDeviceToolbarformoredetailontheseoptions).HereyoucanalsoselectwhetheryouwantMonoorStereorecording(seconddropdown):

TestingAudioLevelsNowthatyouhaveeverythingsetupandreadytogoyoucanbegintherecordingprocess.

Beforemakingtherecordingitisimportanttopreviewtheloudestsectionofthesourceaudiosothatyoudonotendupwithadistortedrecording.

ForthisyouwillusetheRecordingToolbarandMixerToolbar,asdetailedintheToolbarschapter:

Therecordingmeterherewillautomaticallybeactivatedwhenyoubeginanactualrecording;butsinceinthiscaseyouwantapreview,simplyclickanywhereonthemetertoactivatemonitoring.Nowplaytheloudestpassageoftheaudioyouwanttorecordand,whiledoingso,lookattherecordingmeter:

Attheloudestpointintheaudio,thegreenbarshouldideallystretchallthewaytoaround-9dB(decibals);it'stipwilturnyellowbetween-9dBand-6dB,whichisawarningmargin,andwillturnredjustbefore-3dB(whichindicatesthatyourinputisistooloudor'hot',andmaybeclippedbyAudacity).Adjusttheinput/recordslideroftheMixerToolbardownward(towardtheminus)ifyouseeanyredormuchyellow;adjustthesliderupwardifyourmaximuminputor'peak'isfarshortof-12dB.

Whileanidealinputlevelpeakisbetween-12dBand-9dB,ifyouhavedifficultyhittingthistargetzonewithinputslideradjustments,itisbettertoerronthesideoftoolittlerecordinginput(notgreenallthewayto-12)asopposedtotoomuch(aredtip).Theoutputvolumeofaquieterrecordingcanalwaysbeboostedinasubsequenteditingstage;butatoo-loudrecordingwillbe'clipped'byAudacity,meaningitistooloudforAudacitytoprocessandthetopandbottomofthewave-formwillbechoppedoff,thuslosingsomeoftherecordedwaveinformation.

RecordingNowthatyou'vetestedyourinputdeviceandrecordinglevels,youarereadytomakeyourproperrecording.

Clickthe"Record"buttonontheTransporttoolbar:


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thenplaytheaudioyouwishtorecord.Oncethesoundsourcehasfinishedclickthe"Stop"button:

Yourrecordingisnowcomplete.ItshouldappearintheAudacityGUIasasingleaudiotrack,showingeitherasinglechannel(ifyou'vechosenmonorecording)ordualL/Rchannels(ifyou'vechosenstereo).HereIhavemadeastereorecordingofasimplechordriffonaccousticguitar,frommybuilt-incomputermic:

Notethatthe"ProjectRate(Hz)"dropdownonthebottomleftindicatesthatIhavemademyrecordingatasamplerateof44100Hz(44KHz).Thissamplerateiscompatiblewithtraditionalmusic-CDsoundquality,andisthedefautforAudacity'srecordingmode.However,inthedropdownIcouldsettheratetoaslowas8KHz


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orashighas384KHz(whichwouldproduceaveryhigh-fidelitybutverylargesoundfile).

NowlisteningtoyourrecordingwiththePlaybuttonontheTransporttoolbar:

Ifyouarenotsatisfiedwiththerecording,youcandeleteitfromtheprojectusingtheXintheupperleftcornerofthetrackbar(orbygoingtoEdit>Deleteinthemainmenu).However,beforediscardingarecordingcompletely,youwillwanttoconsiderwhetheritcanbeeditedorotherwisemodified,usingAudacity'smultitudeoftools,tobringitclosertowhatyouhadinmind.Onlyexperimentationandpracticewillhelpyoudecidewhethertoaimforperfectionintherecordingitself,oredititafterthefact.

Ifyoudecidetosavetherecording,dosobyselecting"SaveProjectAs"fromthe"File"menu(thiswillsavethewaveformasis,includingallseparatetracksintheproject,allowingyoutocomebacklaterforeditingandexport).Asthisisanewproject,youwillbepromptedforaProjectnameaswellasthelocationtosavetheProjectfile:


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That'sit!Yourrecordingiscompletedandsaved.Ifyouwanttoaccessthisprojectagainforeditingand/orexporttoacommonaudiofileformatsuchasMP3,useFile>Open(notImport,whichwillnotworkwithAupfiles)andbrowsetothelocationofyoursavedAudacityproject.

Audacity:AddTrack

AddAnotherAudioTrackTUTORIALS

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AddAnotherAudioTrackSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:1.2

Audacityenablesyoutomixmultiplesoundstogether.YouwillneedAudacityopenandanaudiofilealreadyloaded,andthenyoucanaddasmanynewfiles(orrecordedtracks)asyoulike.

AddingyournewtrackAudacityshouldbeopeninfrontofyouandyouwillhavesomeaudioalreadyloaded.Inthisexamplewewillbeworkingwiththeaudiotrack'Fiona'Iopenedinfirsttutorial,sowhenIreopenthe'Fiona'projectmyAudacitywindowlookslikethis:

Now,wewishtoaddanotheraudiotracktothismix--inthiscaseapre-recorded


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trackthatIhaveonmycomputer.Todothis,inthemainFilemenuchooseImport,thenAudiofromthesubmenu.(Notethatwhenaddinganewtracktoanexistingprojectwithoneormoretracks,youmustuse'Import'ratherthan'Open',whichwouldcauseanewprojecttoopenratherthanaddingyournewtracktotheexistingproject.)

Whenyouhavedonethisafilebrowserwillopen,bydefaultinthesamedirectoryinwhichAudacitylastopenedorimportedfrom,orsavedorexportedto.InthiscaseIwillchosearecordedguitarriff(asmp3file)residinginthesamedirectory:


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InowpressOpenandthefilewillbeimported.Asexplainedpreviously,'Importing'meansthatthefilewillbeconvertedintoAudacity'sproprietaryeditingformat,anditwillappearintheAudacitywindowasanewtrack.Theimportingprocessitselfcanbenearlyinstantaneousorsomesecondslong,dependingonthelengthandcomplexityoftheimportedfile.

WhenitiscompletethenewtrackcanbeseenintheAudacitywindow,directlybeneaththeexisting'Fiona'track.Thenewtrackisalsoinstereo,soittoodisplaysbothLandRchannels:


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Ifyoudon'tseeyournewly-addedtrackimmediately,youmightneedtoscrolldownonyourAudacitywindow.Notethatthereareseveralwaystominimizetrackdisplayverticallysoastoseemoretracksatonce.Oneway,asIhavedoneherewiththe'Fiona'track,istohoveryourmouseoverthelowerboundaryofthattrackuntilyourcursorbecomesanup-and-down-arrow;thenthatboundarycanbedraggeduptomakethetrackmorenarrow.AnefficientalternativeisView>TrackSize>FittoHeight,whichwillshowalltrackswithintheavailablewindowheight.

PlaybackandExportingIfyounowpressthe'Play'Button:

youwillhearbothtracksplayingbackatonce.IfyouwerenowtoExportthisproject(forexampleasanmp3or.wav),thetrackswouldbecombinedtogetherintoonesoundfile.You'vejustdoneyourfirstsoundmixing!


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Ofcourse,thingscanrarelystopatthispoint.Notethatbydefault,thenewtrackisaddedtotheprojectwithitsstartingpositionflushleft(point0onthetimeline).Sincetheoriginaltrack'Fiona'alsostartedatpoint0,andsincethenewlyaddedtrackisconsiderablylongerindurationthantheoriginal,thisdifferenceshowsupbothvisually(asinthescreenshotabove)andaudibly:duringplayback,oncethe'Fiona'trackends(atabout28seconds),onlythesecondtrackisaudiblefortheremainderofitsrun.Toproperlymixthesetwotracksintoacoherentsound(orascoherentasafelinedancemixandaslowbluesguitarcouldeverbe),youwouldneedtodosomeadvancededitingofoneorbothtracks,tomakethemboththesamelengthand/orwithmatchingorcomplementarybeatsandsoundfeatures.Wewillcoversomeofthisinsubsequenttutorials.

Audacity:EnvelopeTool


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EnvelopeToolTUTORIALS

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EnvelopeToolTheenvelopetoolisamongthemostusefuleditingtoolsforAudacityusers.ItallowsyoutoalterthevolumeofindividualtracksinAudacity,whichisespeciallyimportantwhenyouarecombining('mixing')severaltrackstogether.

OpenAudacityYouwillfirsthavetohaveAudacityopenwithmorethanonetrack.Wewillbeginwithmy'Fiona'projectfromtheprevioustutorial,withsomeeditingofbothtrackssothattheyarenowexactlythesamelength(IdoubledtheFionatrackendtoend,andslightlytruncatedthebluesguitartrack).Atthispoint,then,myAudacityprojectlookslikethis:

ActivatingtheEnvelopeTool


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TheEnvelopeToolhasaniconintheAudacityToolsToolbar,whichlookslikethis:

Whenyouclickonthisbutton,thetracksaresurroundedbyablueline.Comparethescreenshotabove(beforeactivatingtheEnvelopetool)tothisone:

YoucanseetheEnveloptoolbuttondepressed,aswellasthebluelinesaroundeachchannelofeachtrack.Thisindicatesthattheenveloptoolhasbeenactivated.

AlterthevolumeThebluelineactuallyrepresentsthevolumeofeachchannel/track.Youcannowlowerthevolumeonchosensectionsofatrackbychangingtheshapeofthisblueline(asopposedtoalteringthevolumeoftheentiretrack,usingthevolumecontroltotheleft).Todothisclickonthebluelineatanyparticularpointinthetoptrack(inthiscase'Fiona'),andyouwillseesmallwhitesquares,orcontrolpoints,appearwhereyouclicked:


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Nowyoucan'grab'thebluelineatthepointwherethesesquaresappear.Toshowyouhowthiscanchangethevolumeofjustonepartoftheaudio,clickonthebluelineataseparatepointnearwhereyoufirstclicked.Asecondsetofbluesquaresnowappearsatthatnewpointonthetrack(toptrackonly):

Nowplaceyourmousecursoronthetopwhitesquareinthissecondset(totherightofthefirst),andwhileyourmousefingerisstilldown,dragthesquaredownwardstoreducevolume:


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Youwillnoticethatthisactionreducestheamplitudeofthewave(ie,thevolume)ofboththeLandRchannelsofthis(Fiona)trackuniformly,takingtheearlier,left-handpointasits'hinge'.TheseparateguitartrackbeneaththeFionatrackisunmodified.Ifyounowplaybacktheprojectyouwillhearthevolumeofthemodified(top)track'fade'smoothly,followingtheshapeofthebluelines,andcontinueatthelowervolumewhilethelowertrackplaysunmodified.

Mixing2trackstogetherInmixingtwotrackstogether,sometimesyousimplywantonetracktohaveasingle'fadeout'inrelationtotheothertrack,astheaboveexampledemonstrates.Morecommonly,though,youmightwantto'crossfade'thetwotracksinanumberofdifferentplaces--ie,fadeonetrackinwhilefadingtheotherout--sothatdifferentsegmentsofthetwoaudiosourcesareemphasizedatdifferenttimes.Toaccomplishthis,simplyclickonthebluelinesofeithertrackwhereveryouwanttocreatea'hingepoint'forfadinginorout.Theresultcouldlooksomethinglikethefollowing.Bearinmindthatthisisstillaverysimplifiedexample,asthispieceisonlyabout55secondstotalduration--a4-6minutesongcouldhaveanynumberofcross-fadeoperations:

Ifyouhaveinadvertentlyaddedasetofcontrolpoints(whitesquares)thatyoudon'tneedorwantforvolumeadjustment,youcansimplygraboneofthosewhitesquaresanddragitentirelyupordownoutofthetrack.YoucanalsoalwaysuseEdit>Undotoundothemostrecentoperation(s).


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InnerControlPointsforGreaterVolumeGain

Notethatsofarwehavebeenusingonlytheoutercontrolpoints,orthefurthesttopandbottomwhitesquares,tomanipulatetheblueenvelopelines.Theinnercontrolpointshavethesameeffect,butthesecanbeusedtoincreasethevolumebeyondwhatisvisibleinthetrackview.Forexample,ifIwantedmylower(guitar)tracktocomeinlouderthanitdoesabove,Icouldusetheinnercontrolpointstoaccomplishthisbydraggingthetoponeup(orthebottomonedown);seethiseffectappliedinthescreenshotbelow.Notethatsincetheentireenvelopeherecannotbeshowninthetrackviewnow,thesolidbluelinehasbecomedottedforthatsegment.

Finally,weshouldnotethattheenvelopecontrolonlyallowsthevolumeofagiventracksegmenttobeincreaseduptothepointwheretheinnercontrolsquaretouchesthetrackborder(asshownhere).Ifyouwanttoamplifybeyondthatrange,de-activatetheEnvelopefeature,selectthesectionyouwantamplifiedandgotoEffects>Amplify...,whichwilllaunchadialogwithvariousamplificationoptions.Beadvised,though,thatdependingontheoptionschosen,usingtheAmplifyeffectcaneasilyproducedistortion-levelamplification,whichisnearlyimpossiblewiththeEnvelopetoolunlesstheoriginaltrackisalreadyextremelyloud.

Audacity:BasicEditing


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BasicEditingwithAudacityTUTORIALS

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BasicEditingwithAudacitySoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2.1

Asfarasaudioeditingsoftwaregoes,Audacityisaboutaseasyasitgets.Whichisnottosayit'sfallingoffalog:ifyouhaven'teditedaudiobeforethenthewholeconceptcangetalittlebewildering.Howeverwithalittlepracticeyoushouldbeabletomakefastworkofediting.

Firstly,youwillhavetohavesomeaudiotoedit.YoucaneitherrecordsomeaudiousingAudacity,oropenanaudiofilefromyourcomputer.

TherearesomesimplemethodsthatformthebasisofeditingwithAudacity.Wewilllookatdeletingsectionsofaudio('cutting'),aswellasshiftingaudio.Withthesetwomethodsyoucanalreadydoquitealot.

Cutting/DeletingYouwillneedtohaveAudacityopeninfrontofyouwithanaudiofilereadytoedit.Theprocessofeditingrequiresthatyoufirstknowyoursourcefilequitewell,ormorespecificallytheaudiotrackwave-formofthatfileloadedintoAudacity.Youneedtoknowexactlywhereacutneedstobemade,toachievesomeintendedeffect,soplaytheaudiotrackrepeatedlyandlistenforwhereyouwanttomakeyourfirstedit.

Letsassumeyouhavechosentheareatobecut.Youneedtonowselecttheareabyclickingonwherethecutshouldstart,holdingdownthemousebutton,anddraggingthemouse(eitherleftorright)totheendoftheareatobecut.Theareatobedeletedwillbehighlightedinalightershadeofgreythantherestofthetrack(noticealsothatwhenyouselectanaudioregioninAudacity,yourmousecurserchangesintoapointinghand):


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IntheaboveexampleyoucanseethatIhavehighlightedtheareafromabout1:32to2:17,aselectionofabout45seconds.TodeletethisselectedregionIcannowclickontheEditmenuandchoose'Cut':

Weshouldobserveherethat'Cut'and'Delete'aredistinctfunctions,withtheimportantdifferencethatwithCut,theselectedaudioregionisremovedfromthetrackbutloadedontotheclipboard(fromwhichitcanlaterbePasted,ifdesired),whilewithDeletethatsegmentsimplydisappears.Butwitheitherfunction,onceyouselectitintheEditmenuyouwillseethattheselectedregionofyouraudio


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trackhasdisappeared,andthelengthofthattrackwillhavebeenreducedbyacorrespondingduration:

Focusingontheareatobecut

Ifyouhavejustopenedanaudiofile,pressthegreenplaybuttontolistentotheentiretrack:

Onceyouhavelistenedtoityoumaywishtotakesomenotestohelpyoudecidewhichareayouwishtodelete/cut.Youcantakenotesthatreferencetheexacttimeinthetimeline,or--probablyeasier--youcanaddalabeltrackandinsertalabelmarkingtheexactpointorsegmentyouthinkmightbeacandidateforediting.Itisalsoagoodideatoreplaythesegmentthatyouwillcuttomakesureyouareselectingtherightarea.Todothisyoucanselectthearea,asdescribedabove,andthenpresstheplaybuttonandAudacitywillonlyplaybacktheselectedarea.Thiswillhelpyoudecideiftheselectedareaisactuallytheaudioyouwishtodelete.Ifit'snot,clickinganywhereoutsidethattrackwilldeselectthatarea,andyoucantryagain.

Ifyouneedtofocusclosertotheaudiotomakea'finer'cut,clickonthemagnifyingglass+icon:

Thiswillenlargethetimescaleshownandgiveyouamoredetailedviewoftheaudiowave-form.Rememberthatthiswave-formisanexactvisualrepresentationoftheaudiosignalitself:toeditone,atwhateverlevelofdetail,istoedittheother.Youcan'zoomout'oftheaudioagainbypressingthemagnifyingglasswiththeminussigninit:

PastingIfyouwishtoshiftaudiofromoneplacetoanotherthenyoucaneasilydosowithAudacity.Firstselecttheareayouwishtoshift.IwillusethesamesegmentIusedinthecuttingexampleabove.Now,asbefore,chooseEdit>Cuttoremovetheselectedregionfromthetrackandplaceitontheclipboard.

Finally,clickontheremainingaudiotrackatthepointyouwhereyouwantthisaudiotobeshiftedto.


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IntheaboveexampleyoucancanseethatIhavedecidedtoinserttheaudioataboutthe2:47mark.NowchoosetheEditmenuandselectPaste:

Theaudiosegmentwillnowbeinserted,andyouifyoulookattheAudacitywindowyoushouldseetheselectedaudioinitsnewplace:

Nowyoucanexperimentwithcuttingandpastingaudio!Inthenextchapterwewillseemorecomplexexamplesofcutting,copyingandpasting,appliednotonlytosingletracksbuttomultipletracksacrossaprojectaspartofwhatwecall"mixing"audiotracks.

Audacity:AdvancedEditing

AdvancedEditingandMixingTUTORIALS

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AdvancedEditingandMixingSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2.1

TherearemanymoreadvancedstepsforeditingthatyoucancarryoutwithAudacity.Someofthemorecommonincludeaddingsilence,trimmingaudio,advancedcuttingandpasting,splittingandjoiningtracks,andusingpanning.Wewillcovereachoftheseoperationsbelow.

AddSilenceYoumaywanttoaddasilencetoatrackforseveralreasons.Ifwetaketheexampleofatwotrackprojectwithonetrackasmusicandtheothertrackasavoicetrack,wecanimaginethatwemightwanttoinsertasilenceinthevoicetrackforseveralsecondstoallowusto'fadein'themusic.Thiswouldworkinaradioadvertisementorintroductionforaradioshoworpodcast.

HereIhaveloadedanaudiotrack(inmono),andastereomusictrackbeneathit:


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Wenowclickinthevoicetrackwherewewanttoinsertsilence.

Whenthevoicetrackisselectedyouwillseethecontrolsetofthattrackgoadarkercolor,andatthepointofselectionitselfyourcursorbecomesapointinghand.HereIhaveselectedtheverystartofthevocaltrack,asIwanttoinsertsilenceinthattracktoallowthemusictocomeinbeforethevoicebeginsspeaking:

Wearenowreadytoinsertsomesilence.DothisbyselectingGenerate>Silencefromthemenusatthetopofthescreen.


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Selecting'Silence...'fromtheabovemenuwillgeneratethe'Silence'dialogshownbelow,wherewecansetthedurationofthesilencetobeinserted.Thedefaultsilencedurationis30seconds,asshown.30secondswouldbequitealongsilenceinourexample,butwhenyouareaddingSilenceitiseasiertoaddmoreandthendeletesomeofitthantoaddinadditionalsilence.SoI'mgoingtokeepthedefault30secondstostartwith:

Press'OK'.Wewillseethesilenceappearasaflatlineintherelevanttrackoftheproject.


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Asnotedabove,30secondsisaverylongsilenceforourpurposes;aftersomeexperimentallisteningIwillendupcuttingitdownto11seconds.Meanwhile,notethattheactualaudiowaveformofthevocaltrackhasbeenpushedallthewaytothefarrightofthewindow;inothewordsthetotalvoicetrackisnow30secondslonger,includingthesilenceatthebeginning.

AfterIhavetrimmedthesilencedownto11seconds(Iselectthefirst18secondsandusethe'cut'tool,notshownhere,toeliminatethatsegment),Inowhaveanaudiomixwith11secondsofmusicbeforethevoicecomesin.However,themusicisstilltooloudtoserveproperlyas'background'totherestofthevoicetrack.TofixthisIwillusetheenvelopetool(seepreviouschapter)tocreateasmoothfadeoutinthemusictrack,justbeforethevoicecomesin:


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IfIdeterminedatthispointthatthevoicetrackwasstilltooquietinrelationtothemusictrack,Icouldeitherincreasetheoverallgain(volume)ofthevoicetrack,ordecreasethatofthemusictrack.Agreatdealofaudiomixinginvolvesplayingwiththerelativevolumeofdifferenttracks.

TimeShiftToolThetimeshifttoolallowsyoutoalterthetimelocationoftheaudioonaparticulartrack.Thisisusefulwhenyouarearrangingaudioondifferenttrackssothattheyareheardoneaftertheotherinasequence.Indeed,thiswouldhavebeenanalternativeapproachtotakeinaddressingourvoice-and-music-backgroundscenarioabove.Inthescreenshotbelow,Ihavedeletedtherestofthesilencefromthevocaltrack,sothatnowboththevocalandmusictracksbeginoncemoreat0.00seconds(I'veleftthe'fade'inthemusictrack,asIwillstillwantit):


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Ourgoalnowistoshiftthevoicetracktotheright,sothatitdoesn'tbeginuntiltheappropriatemomentinthefade-outofthemusictrackbeneathit.Todothis,weselecttheTimeShifttool fromtheToolstoolbaratthetopoftheworkspace:

Thenweselectthetrackwewanttomove,anddragitleftorrighttooccupyanewtimelocation.InthiscaseI'mdraggingthevoicetracktotheright,untilitbeginsatthe11-secondmark.WhenInowplaytheprojectback,theeffectwillbeexactlythesameaswhenthefirst11secondswereoccupiedbysilence,sinceAudacitytreatstheopeningblankspaceexactlyasitwouldadurationofexplicitly-definedsilence:

Inothercases,however,youmightwantonetrack'swaveformtobeginonlyafteranothertrackendsentirely,ratherthanoverlapping,asabove.Forthescreenshot


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below,Ihavetruncatedthemusictrackafterthefade,sothatitwillnolongersoundinthebackgroundofthevoicetrack:

Ihaveactuallydraggedthevoicetrackjustbeyondthenewend-pointofthemusictrack,inordertoshowthatAudacityhasguessedwhatI'mtryingtodo,anddrawnaguideline(oftencalleda'snapline')formeattheprecisepointwherethelowertrackends.Inpractice,youmayormaynotwanttoalignyourtrackspreciselythisway,alongtheguidelines:inthisinstance,Iwouldprobablywanttogivethemusictrackatleastanothersecondortwotofadeoutcompletely,asthevoicetrackwascomingin.Butperfectend-to-endalignmentiseasy,asyoucansee.Indeed,ratherthantime-shiftingmanually,youcouldalsouseTracks>AlignTracks>AlignEndtoEndtoexactlyaligntwoselectedtracks.

TrimmingAudioTrimmingaudiotracksisusefulwhenweonlywanttokeeponepartofagiventrack.Itisalsodifferentfromusingthecutordeletefunctionasitmaintainsthetimelocationofthepartofthetrackwewanttokeep.

Asanexample,wearegoingtotrimamusictracktoonlyincludethesegmentafterthefirst32seconds.FirstweclicktheSelectiontoolfromtheToolstoolbar:

then,usingthemousecursor,weselecttheregionofthetrackafterthe32-secondmark.Notethatforpurposesoftrimming,weselectthesegmentofthetrackwewanttokeep,notthepartwewanttodiscard:


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Asalways,whenwehaveselectedaparticularregionofaudioitshouldshowupinalightercolor,asabove.NowweclickontheTrimbuttonoftheToolstoolbar:

OncewehaveclickedtheTrimbutton,onlytheregionweselectedshouldremaininthetrack:


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Noticethatthefirst32secondsisnowgone,buttheremainingaudiowaveformhasnotshiftedtotheleft(to0seconds),asitwouldhavehadweinsteadselectedthefirst32secondsandusedEdit>CutorEdit>Delete.Trimmingisthereforeagoodwaytopreservetherelativepositionofasegmentofaudiotrackinrelationtoothertracksintheproject,andtotheoveralltimeline.

AdvancedPastingAswesawinthepreviouschapter,notonlycanyouCutorCopyasegmentofaudiotrackinAudacity,youcanalsoPastethatsegmentatadifferentlocation,andasmanytimesasyouwish.Wedothisbyselectingtheaudiosegmentofinterest,thenusingEdit>CutorEdit>Copy,dependingonwhetherwewantthatsegmenttoremaininitsoriginalplace.WecanalsousetheCutorCopybuttonsontheToolstoolbar:

BothCutandCopywillloadtheselectedaudiosegmentontotheclipboard,whereitwillremainuntilweeitherendthecurrentAudacitysessionorCut/Copyadifferentsegment.Wecanthenplaceourmousecursorwhereverwewantthe


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segmenttogo,anduseEdit>PasteorthePastbuttononthetoolbar:

Pastingisusefulforanynumberofreasons.Youmightlikeaparticularmusicsegmentforbackgroundtoyourvoiceorothermusictracks,butfindthatitistooshort;inthiscaseyoucansimplycopyandpastethatsegmentendtoendinthesametrackuntilitistherequiredlengthwithrespecttoothertracks.

Ofcourse,pastedsegmentsneedn'tbeendtoend,orevenbepastedintothesametracktheywerecopiedfrom.OneofthemostinterestingusesofpastinginAudacityisfor'sampling',whenyou'vefoundaparticular(typicallyshort)segmentofsoundthatyouwantrepeatedatregularintervalsorotherappropriatemomentsintheoverallaudioproject.GivealistentotheBeatles'"TomorrowNeverKnows"or"RevolutionNo.9"forearlyexamplesofextremelycomplexsamplingorsoundcollageofthiskind.Inthatera,thesoundengineershadtoliterallycopyandpastedozensorevenhundredsofmagnetictapesegments,andsometimesrundozensoftapeplayerswithloopedtapesegmentssimultaneously,toachievethiskindofsoundcollage.Happily,withdigitalmusicandeditingtoolslikeAudacity,wecanachievecomplexcollagesoundscapeswithrelativeease.Considerthefollowingexample:

Visibleherearethetopthreetracksofafive-trackaudioprojectIcreated.Itis


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structuredaroundtwomainelements:ablues-guitarsegment(thirdtrackdown,duplicatedonceend-to-endtoproducetheoverallsonglength),andthepurringandvocalizationofanoldcatnamedMarx,fromanoriginallyquiteshortsoundrecordingwhichhasbeeneditedandduplicatednumeroustimesintracktwo,resultinginacontinuous1:45audiotrackofpurringpunctuatedbyashortplaintivemeowatregularintervals.Theshort,intensewaveformsegmentspicturedintrackonerepresentthesoundofaspoondroppedonthekitchenfloor,anincidentalnoiseintheoriginalMarxrecordingthatIpickedout,amplifiedandusedforfurtherperiodicpunctuation.Aswithanyotherkindofcollage,audiocollagelikethiseither'works'ordoesn'tforagivenlistener;youcandecideforyourselfinthiscase:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaqPzmURSMo.ThepointhereissimplytoillustratetheenormousscopeforcreativitymadepossiblebytherelativehandfulofeditingtoolswehavesurveyedinAudacitysofar.

SplittingStereoTracksandCombiningMonoTracksSometimeswhenyouarerecordingyoumayonlyrecordonechannelofyourtrackcorrectly;ortheremaybesomeotherreasonthatyouwanttoonlyworkwitheithertheleftorrightchannel.

Belowweseearecordedtrackwithonechannel(theleft)muchlouderthantheother:


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Ratherthanre-recording,wearegoingtoworkononlytheleftchannel(thetopone).Soweneedtoselect'SplitStereoTrack'fromthedropdownmenuwecaninvokebyclickingonthetrackName:

WecanthendeletetheRightchannelsignal,asithasnowbecomeaseparate


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track.DothisbyclickingontheXtotheleftofthattrack'sname:

Ifwenowplaytheoneremainingtrack,we'llbeabletohearthatthesoundisonlycomingthroughonechannel(L).ThiscanbeseeninthegreensignalofthePlaybackmeterinthescreenshotbelow:

WewillalsonoticethatthePansliderofthistrackisallthewaytotheLeft(thishappenedassoonaswesplittheonetrackintotwo,withthesecondtrack'sPansliderallthewaytotheRight).Sotofixthis,wecansimplymovetheslidertothemiddle,andthetrackwillnowplaythesamemonoaudiosignalthroughbothLandRchannels.


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Ifyouneedthistracktoberenderedinstereoagain,thereareseveralwaystodothis.First,youcansimplyExportthetrack(File>Export)asanMP3,whichwillopenadialogallowingyoutochooseaChannelModeofStereoorMono(seenextchapterfordetailsonExporting).Ofcourse,inthatcasethetwochannelswillbeidenticalastheywillhavebeenderivedfromthesinglemonotrack.

Ifyouwantedinsteadtohavetwochannelsthatyoucouldeditorapplyeffectstoseparately,youcouldselecttheentiretyofthistrack,thengotoFile>Duplicate,whichwillcreateaseparate,identicalmonotrackbelowthefirstone.Onceyou'veeditedoneorbothmonotrackstoyoursatisfaction,youcanrecombinethemintoasingle,stereotrackbygoingagaintothetrackdropdownofthetoptrackandselectingMakeStereoTrack:

Ofcourse,theMakeStereoTrackfunctionwillalsoworktocombineanytwomonotracksthataredirectlyadjacentinyourAudacity,eveniftheyhaveseparateorigins.Justkeepinmindthebasicfunctionofstereosound:anyLandRchannelsthatarenotperfectlysynchedupmetronomically,andotherwisemusicallycoherent,canmakefordifficultlistening.

Audacity:ExportingAFile

ExportingAFileTUTORIALS

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ExportingAFileSoftwarename:AudacitySoftwareversion:2.2.1

ProjectscreatedinAudacityarealwayssavedinAudacity'sownuniquefileformatthatcannotbeopenedbymostothersoftware.Itisthereforenecessarytoexportprojectstomorecommonfileformatsinordertousethemwithotheraudiosoftwareormediaplayers.

Audacitycanexportinthefollowingcommonformats:AIFF,MP3,WAV,OggVorbis.Therearealsohalfadozenorsoadditional,morespecializedformatsthatcanbeselectedviaFile>Export>ExportAudio...;howeverwewillfocusonthemorecommonformatshere.

AIFFandWAVfilesprovideuncompressedCDqualityaudio,sooneoftheseformatsshouldbeusedifyouwanttoopenyourAudacityprojectwithothermusicproductionsoftwareorCDauthoringsoftware.AIFFisproprietarytoApple,whileWAVwasoriginallyproprietarytoMicrosoft,sothesetwoformatstendtoplaybetterwithAppleandWindowstoolsrespectively.

MP3andOggVorbisarebothcompressedaudioformatssotheyhavelowersoundqualitybutmuchsmallerfilesizes,makingthemidealforuseinmediaplayers.AnimportantdifferencebetweenthesetwoformatsisthatOggVorbisisacompletelyopenstandardwhileMP3isnot.However,currentreleasesofAudacityincorporatetheLAMEMP3encoder,andMP3isbyfarthemostwidelyadoptedcompressedaudioformatforplaybackdevicestoday,makingitagoodchoiceforreachingthewidestaudience.(Ontheotherhand,weshouldnotethatsingle-trackOGGfilescanbebundledtogetherasMOGGfiles,whichpreservetheseparatetracks:thislatterformatcannotbeexportedfromAudacitybutitcanbeopenedbyAudacity,whichmaybeofinteresttorockmusicfansbecausemanyclassicrocksongsarenowavailableasMOGGs,courtesyoftheRockBandandGuitarHerogames,givingAudacityusersaccesstotheoriginalmultipletracksofthesesongs.)

ToexportafilefromAudacityyouneedtohaveatleastoneaudiotrackopeninyourAudacityproject.Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveafileopenfromarecordingoreditingsession,seetheinstructionsinthechapteronOpening(Importing)aFile(includingthedifferencesbetween"Opening"and"Importing").

HereIhaveopenedmyaudiofile'Fiona':


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Toexportthisfile,gotoFile>Export,thenfromthesubmenuchoosetheformatyouwanttoexportas:


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Onceyouhavechosenyourformat,awindowwillopenallowingyoutoeditthefilenameandbrowsetothelocationwhereyouwanttosavethefile.Youwillalsohavevariousformatoptions,dependingonthespecificformatyouhavechosen.HereistheexportwindowwithformatoptionsforMP3:


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Onceyouaresatisfiedwithyourfilename,savinglocationandformatoptions(unlessyouareamoreadvanceduseritisnotabadideatostickwiththeAudacitydefaultsonthelatter),clickon"Save"andtheExportprocesswillbegin.Thetimeittakestoexporttheprojectwilldependonthelengthandcomplexityoftheproject(forexample,howmanyseparatetracks)aswellastheprocessingspeedofyourcomputer.

Whenexportingiscompletetheabovewindowwilldisappear.Youshouldnowbeabletoseethefileinthefolderwhereyouchosetosaveit.

That'sit.YoucannowenjoylisteningtotheresultsofyourAudacityprojectthroughotheraudiosoftware,transferitontoyourportablemediaplayer,orshareitwithothers.

ExportingAFileAPPENDICES

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APPENDICES16.ADDITIONALHELP17.CREDITS

Audacity:Help

ExportingAFileAPPENDICES

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MoreHelpAPPENDICES

101

MoreHelpFormorehelpwithAudacityyoucantrytheseavenues:

AudacityUserGuideYoushouldfirstlookattheexcellentdocumentationprovidedbythedevelopersthemselves,athttp://manual.audacityteam.org/index.html.Thispagelinkstoamulti-dimensionaluserguide,withinterfaceandmenuwalk-throughs,tutorials,FAQsandmore.

AudacityWikiTheAudacityWikiprovidesawealthofadditionalinformationonthepast,presentandfutureofAudacity,alongwithawiderangeoftipsandtutorialscontributedbythelargeusercommunity.

AudacityForumYoucanalsotrysearchingthroughtheofficialAudacityforumforinformation.

http://audacityteam.org/forum/(alsolinkedfromthepageabove)

Theforumscontainalotofpostingsfromusersonmanytopics.Youcanusethesearchsystemtolocatetopicsorjustbrowsethecategories.Ifyoudon'tfindwhatyouwantthentrysubscribingtotheforumsandpostingyourquestiontotherelevantcategory.

Thereareafewthingstokeepinmindwhenaskingaquestioninaforumortoamailinglist.First,beasclearasyoucanwithyourquestionandprovideanyinformationthatyoumightthinkwouldhelpsometotrytohelpyou.Youmight,forexample,includeinformationabouttheoperatingsystemyouareusing,orvariousspecificsthatrelatetowhatyouaretryingtoachieve.Additionally,itisalwaysgoodpracticetoalsopostbacktoanyforumormailinglistifyoumanagetosolveyourqueryandincludeclearinformationonhowyousolvedthepuzzle.Thisissothatsomeoneelsethatmayhavethesameissuecanresolveitusingwhatyouhavefoundout.Ifpossiblepostbacktothesamethread(discussiontopic)sothatanyonesearchingthroughtheforumcanfollowthediscussionincludingthesolution.

MailingListsMailinglistsaregoodplacestolookthroughforanswerstoquestions.Thesubscription(alsothearchivesarelistedoneachinfopage)informationislocatedhere:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/contact/lists

Youcanalsosubscribetothemailinglistsandaskaquestion.Pleasenotethesuggestionsaboutpostingtoforumsandmailinglistsintheabovesection.

YouTubeVideotutorials

MoreHelpAPPENDICES

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Aswithnearlyeverythingelsethesedays,youcansearchYouTubefortutorialsonusingAudacity.ManyofthesearealsolinkedfromtheAudacityWikiabove,butgiventhenatureofYouTube,newtutorialsappearregularly.

WebSearchAsidefromYouTube,searchingthewiderwebisalwaysuseful.IfyouarelookingforproblemsarisingfromerrorsreportedbytheAudacitysoftware,tryenteringtheerrortextitselfintoasearchenginesuchasGoogle.Besuretoeditoutanyinformationthatdoesn'tlookgenericwhendoingthis.Somesearchenginesalsoenableyoutotrysearchesofmailinglists,onlinegroupsetc,thiscanalsoprovidegoodresults.

IRCIRCisatypeofonlinechat.Itisnottheeasiesttouseifyouarenotfamilairwithitbutitisaverygoodsystem.ThereareavarietyofsoftwaresforalloperatingsystemsthatenableyoutouseIRC.TheIRCchannelforAudacityiswhereanumberofthedevelopersareonlineandsome'superusers'.Sologgingintothischannelcanbeusefulbutitisveryimportantthatyouknowexactlywhatyouaretryingtofindoutbeforetryingthisroute.Theprotocolforusingthechannelisjusttologin,andaskthequestionimmediately.Don'ttryandbetoochattyasyouareprobablygoingtobeignored.Itisalsopreferableifyouhavedonesomeresearchusingtheothermethodsabovebeforetryingthechannel.ThedetailsfortheIRCchannelare:

IRCnetwork:freenode

Channel:#audacity

Audacity:Credits

LicenseAPPENDICES

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LicenseAllchapterscopyrightoftheauthors(seebelow).UnlessotherwisestatedallchaptersinthismanuallicensedwithCC-BY-SAlicence.

Authors

ADDANEWTRACK©adamhyde2007,2008Modifications:FlosstestTwo2007TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

REWRITEOFMANUALFORAUDACITY2.x

MathewRoberts2017

ADVANCEDEDITING©mickfuzz2009

BASICEDITING©adamhyde2007,2008Modifications:TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

CREDITS©adamhyde2006,2007,2008

WHATISDIGITALAUDIO?©AnthonyOetzmann2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008AleksandarErkalović2008mickfuzz2009RafeDiDomenico2008SethWoodworth2008TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

CREATINGFADES©adamhyde2007,2008Modifications:

LicenseAPPENDICES

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TWikiGuest2010TomKleen2008douglas2010

EXPORTING©AdamWilletts2006Modifications:adamhyde2007,2008PeterShanks2007TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

ADDITIONALHELP©adamhyde2006,2007,2008

OSX©AdamWilletts2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008CarlaMorris2008MariaInmaculadadelaTorre2009TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

UBUNTU©adamhyde2007,2008Modifications:MariaInmaculadadelaTorre2009TWikiGuest2010TomiToivio2009douglas2010

WINDOWS©AdamWilletts2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008CarlaMorris2008MariaInmaculadadelaTorre2009mickfuzz2009TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

INTRODUCTION©AdamWilletts2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008,2009RafeDiDomenico2008TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

MENUBAR©AnthonyOetzmann2006

LicenseAPPENDICES

105

Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

MP3INSTALLATIONWINDOWS©mickfuzz2009

OPEN(IMPORT)AFILE©adamhyde2007,2008Modifications:TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

RECORDING©AdamWilletts2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008mickfuzz2009TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

TOOLBAR©AnthonyOetzmann2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008BrentSimpson2008TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

TRACKBAR©AnthonyOetzmann2006Modifications:adamhyde2006,2007,2008TWikiGuest2010douglas2010

Freemanualsforfreesoftware

GeneralPublicLicense

LicenseAPPENDICES

106

Version2,June1991

Copyright(C)1989,1991FreeSoftwareFoundation,Inc.51FranklinStreet,FifthFloor,Boston,MA02110-1301,USA

Everyoneispermittedtocopyanddistributeverbatimcopiesofthislicensedocument,butchangingitisnotallowed.

Preamble

Thelicensesformostsoftwarearedesignedtotakeawayyourfreedomtoshareandchangeit.Bycontrast,theGNUGeneralPublicLicenseisintendedtoguaranteeyourfreedomtoshareandchangefreesoftware--tomakesurethesoftwareisfreeforallitsusers.ThisGeneralPublicLicenseappliestomostoftheFreeSoftwareFoundation'ssoftwareandtoanyotherprogramwhoseauthorscommittousingit.(SomeotherFreeSoftwareFoundationsoftwareiscoveredbytheGNULesserGeneralPublicLicenseinstead.)Youcanapplyittoyourprograms,too.

Whenwespeakoffreesoftware,wearereferringtofreedom,notprice.OurGeneralPublicLicensesaredesignedtomakesurethatyouhavethefreedomtodistributecopiesoffreesoftware(andchargeforthisserviceifyouwish),thatyoureceivesourcecodeorcangetitifyouwantit,thatyoucanchangethesoftwareorusepiecesofitinnewfreeprograms;andthatyouknowyoucandothesethings.

Toprotectyourrights,weneedtomakerestrictionsthatforbidanyonetodenyyoutheserightsortoaskyoutosurrendertherights.Theserestrictionstranslatetocertainresponsibilitiesforyouifyoudistributecopiesofthesoftware,orifyoumodifyit.

Forexample,ifyoudistributecopiesofsuchaprogram,whethergratisorforafee,youmustgivetherecipientsalltherightsthatyouhave.Youmustmakesurethatthey,too,receiveorcangetthesourcecode.Andyoumustshowthemthesetermssotheyknowtheirrights.

Weprotectyourrightswithtwosteps:(1)copyrightthesoftware,and(2)offeryouthislicensewhichgivesyoulegalpermissiontocopy,distributeand/ormodifythesoftware.

Also,foreachauthor'sprotectionandours,wewanttomakecertainthateveryoneunderstandsthatthereisnowarrantyforthisfreesoftware.Ifthesoftwareismodifiedbysomeoneelseandpassedon,wewantitsrecipientstoknowthatwhattheyhaveisnottheoriginal,sothatanyproblemsintroducedbyotherswillnotreflectontheoriginalauthors'reputations.

Finally,anyfreeprogramisthreatenedconstantlybysoftwarepatents.Wewishtoavoidthedangerthatredistributorsofafreeprogramwillindividuallyobtainpatentlicenses,ineffectmakingtheprogramproprietary.Topreventthis,wehavemadeitclearthatanypatentmustbelicensedforeveryone'sfreeuseornotlicensedatall.

Theprecisetermsandconditionsforcopying,distributionandmodificationfollow.

TERMSANDCONDITIONSFORCOPYING,DISTRIBUTIONANDMODIFICATION

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0.ThisLicenseappliestoanyprogramorotherworkwhichcontainsanoticeplacedbythecopyrightholdersayingitmaybedistributedunderthetermsofthisGeneralPublicLicense.The"Program",below,referstoanysuchprogramorwork,anda"workbasedontheProgram"meanseithertheProgramoranyderivativeworkundercopyrightlaw:thatistosay,aworkcontainingtheProgramoraportionofit,eitherverbatimorwithmodificationsand/ortranslatedintoanotherlanguage.(Hereinafter,translationisincludedwithoutlimitationintheterm"modification".)Eachlicenseeisaddressedas"you".

Activitiesotherthancopying,distributionandmodificationarenotcoveredbythisLicense;theyareoutsideitsscope.TheactofrunningtheProgramisnotrestricted,andtheoutputfromtheProgramiscoveredonlyifitscontentsconstituteaworkbasedontheProgram(independentofhavingbeenmadebyrunningtheProgram).WhetherthatistruedependsonwhattheProgramdoes.

1.YoumaycopyanddistributeverbatimcopiesoftheProgram'ssourcecodeasyoureceiveit,inanymedium,providedthatyouconspicuouslyandappropriatelypublishoneachcopyanappropriatecopyrightnoticeanddisclaimerofwarranty;keepintactallthenoticesthatrefertothisLicenseandtotheabsenceofanywarranty;andgiveanyotherrecipientsoftheProgramacopyofthisLicensealongwiththeProgram.

Youmaychargeafeeforthephysicalactoftransferringacopy,andyoumayatyouroptionofferwarrantyprotectioninexchangeforafee.

2.YoumaymodifyyourcopyorcopiesoftheProgramoranyportionofit,thusformingaworkbasedontheProgram,andcopyanddistributesuchmodificationsorworkunderthetermsofSection1above,providedthatyoualsomeetalloftheseconditions:

a)Youmustcausethemodifiedfilestocarryprominentnoticesstatingthatyouchangedthefilesandthedateofanychange.

b)Youmustcauseanyworkthatyoudistributeorpublish,thatinwholeorinpartcontainsorisderivedfromtheProgramoranypartthereof,tobelicensedasawholeatnochargetoallthirdpartiesunderthetermsofthisLicense.c)Ifthemodifiedprogramnormallyreadscommandsinteractivelywhenrun,youmustcauseit,whenstartedrunningforsuchinteractiveuseinthemostordinaryway,toprintordisplayanannouncementincludinganappropriatecopyrightnoticeandanoticethatthereisnowarranty(orelse,sayingthatyouprovideawarranty)andthatusersmayredistributetheprogramundertheseconditions,andtellingtheuserhowtoviewacopyofthisLicense.(Exception:iftheProgramitselfisinteractivebutdoesnotnormallyprintsuchanannouncement,yourworkbasedontheProgramisnotrequiredtoprintanannouncement.)

Theserequirementsapplytothemodifiedworkasawhole.IfidentifiablesectionsofthatworkarenotderivedfromtheProgram,andcanbereasonablyconsideredindependentandseparateworksinthemselves,thenthisLicense,anditsterms,donotapplytothosesectionswhenyoudistributethemasseparateworks.ButwhenyoudistributethesamesectionsaspartofawholewhichisaworkbasedontheProgram,thedistributionofthewholemustbeonthetermsofthisLicense,whosepermissionsforotherlicenseesextendtotheentirewhole,andthustoeachandeverypartregardlessofwhowroteit.

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Thus,itisnottheintentofthissectiontoclaimrightsorcontestyourrightstoworkwrittenentirelybyyou;rather,theintentistoexercisetherighttocontrolthedistributionofderivativeorcollectiveworksbasedontheProgram.

Inaddition,mereaggregationofanotherworknotbasedontheProgramwiththeProgram(orwithaworkbasedontheProgram)onavolumeofastorageordistributionmediumdoesnotbringtheotherworkunderthescopeofthisLicense.

3.YoumaycopyanddistributetheProgram(oraworkbasedonit,underSection2)inobjectcodeorexecutableformunderthetermsofSections1and2aboveprovidedthatyoualsodooneofthefollowing:

a)Accompanyitwiththecompletecorrespondingmachine-readablesourcecode,whichmustbedistributedunderthetermsofSections1and2aboveonamediumcustomarilyusedforsoftwareinterchange;or,

b)Accompanyitwithawrittenoffer,validforatleastthreeyears,togiveanythirdparty,forachargenomorethanyourcostofphysicallyperformingsourcedistribution,acompletemachine-readablecopyofthecorrespondingsourcecode,tobedistributedunderthetermsofSections1and2aboveonamediumcustomarilyusedforsoftwareinterchange;or,c)Accompanyitwiththeinformationyoureceivedastotheoffertodistributecorrespondingsourcecode.(Thisalternativeisallowedonlyfornoncommercialdistributionandonlyifyoureceivedtheprograminobjectcodeorexecutableformwithsuchanoffer,inaccordwithSubsectionbabove.)

Thesourcecodeforaworkmeansthepreferredformoftheworkformakingmodificationstoit.Foranexecutablework,completesourcecodemeansallthesourcecodeforallmodulesitcontains,plusanyassociatedinterfacedefinitionfiles,plusthescriptsusedtocontrolcompilationandinstallationoftheexecutable.However,asaspecialexception,thesourcecodedistributedneednotincludeanythingthatisnormallydistributed(ineithersourceorbinaryform)withthemajorcomponents(compiler,kernel,andsoon)oftheoperatingsystemonwhichtheexecutableruns,unlessthatcomponentitselfaccompaniestheexecutable.

Ifdistributionofexecutableorobjectcodeismadebyofferingaccesstocopyfromadesignatedplace,thenofferingequivalentaccesstocopythesourcecodefromthesameplacecountsasdistributionofthesourcecode,eventhoughthirdpartiesarenotcompelledtocopythesourcealongwiththeobjectcode.

4.Youmaynotcopy,modify,sublicense,ordistributetheProgramexceptasexpresslyprovidedunderthisLicense.Anyattemptotherwisetocopy,modify,sublicenseordistributetheProgramisvoid,andwillautomaticallyterminateyourrightsunderthisLicense.However,partieswhohavereceivedcopies,orrights,fromyouunderthisLicensewillnothavetheirlicensesterminatedsolongassuchpartiesremaininfullcompliance.

5.YouarenotrequiredtoacceptthisLicense,sinceyouhavenotsignedit.However,nothingelsegrantsyoupermissiontomodifyordistributetheProgramoritsderivativeworks.TheseactionsareprohibitedbylawifyoudonotacceptthisLicense.Therefore,bymodifyingordistributingtheProgram(oranyworkbasedontheProgram),youindicateyouracceptanceofthisLicensetodoso,and

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allitstermsandconditionsforcopying,distributingormodifyingtheProgramorworksbasedonit.

6.EachtimeyouredistributetheProgram(oranyworkbasedontheProgram),therecipientautomaticallyreceivesalicensefromtheoriginallicensortocopy,distributeormodifytheProgramsubjecttothesetermsandconditions.Youmaynotimposeanyfurtherrestrictionsontherecipients'exerciseoftherightsgrantedherein.YouarenotresponsibleforenforcingcompliancebythirdpartiestothisLicense.

7.If,asaconsequenceofacourtjudgmentorallegationofpatentinfringementorforanyotherreason(notlimitedtopatentissues),conditionsareimposedonyou(whetherbycourtorder,agreementorotherwise)thatcontradicttheconditionsofthisLicense,theydonotexcuseyoufromtheconditionsofthisLicense.IfyoucannotdistributesoastosatisfysimultaneouslyyourobligationsunderthisLicenseandanyotherpertinentobligations,thenasaconsequenceyoumaynotdistributetheProgramatall.Forexample,ifapatentlicensewouldnotpermitroyalty-freeredistributionoftheProgrambyallthosewhoreceivecopiesdirectlyorindirectlythroughyou,thentheonlywayyoucouldsatisfybothitandthisLicensewouldbetorefrainentirelyfromdistributionoftheProgram.

Ifanyportionofthissectionisheldinvalidorunenforceableunderanyparticularcircumstance,thebalanceofthesectionisintendedtoapplyandthesectionasawholeisintendedtoapplyinothercircumstances.

Itisnotthepurposeofthissectiontoinduceyoutoinfringeanypatentsorotherpropertyrightclaimsortocontestvalidityofanysuchclaims;thissectionhasthesolepurposeofprotectingtheintegrityofthefreesoftwaredistributionsystem,whichisimplementedbypubliclicensepractices.Manypeoplehavemadegenerouscontributionstothewiderangeofsoftwaredistributedthroughthatsysteminrelianceonconsistentapplicationofthatsystem;itisuptotheauthor/donortodecideifheorsheiswillingtodistributesoftwarethroughanyothersystemandalicenseecannotimposethatchoice.

ThissectionisintendedtomakethoroughlyclearwhatisbelievedtobeaconsequenceoftherestofthisLicense.

8.Ifthedistributionand/oruseoftheProgramisrestrictedincertaincountrieseitherbypatentsorbycopyrightedinterfaces,theoriginalcopyrightholderwhoplacestheProgramunderthisLicensemayaddanexplicitgeographicaldistributionlimitationexcludingthosecountries,sothatdistributionispermittedonlyinoramongcountriesnotthusexcluded.Insuchcase,thisLicenseincorporatesthelimitationasifwritteninthebodyofthisLicense.

9.TheFreeSoftwareFoundationmaypublishrevisedand/ornewversionsoftheGeneralPublicLicensefromtimetotime.Suchnewversionswillbesimilarinspirittothepresentversion,butmaydifferindetailtoaddressnewproblemsorconcerns.

Eachversionisgivenadistinguishingversionnumber.IftheProgramspecifiesaversionnumberofthisLicensewhichappliestoitand"anylaterversion",youhavetheoptionoffollowingthetermsandconditionseitherofthatversionorofanylaterversionpublishedbytheFreeSoftwareFoundation.IftheProgramdoesnotspecifyaversionnumberofthisLicense,youmaychooseanyversioneverpublishedbytheFreeSoftwareFoundation.

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10.IfyouwishtoincorporatepartsoftheProgramintootherfreeprogramswhosedistributionconditionsaredifferent,writetotheauthortoaskforpermission.ForsoftwarewhichiscopyrightedbytheFreeSoftwareFoundation,writetotheFreeSoftwareFoundation;wesometimesmakeexceptionsforthis.Ourdecisionwillbeguidedbythetwogoalsofpreservingthefreestatusofallderivativesofourfreesoftwareandofpromotingthesharingandreuseofsoftwaregenerally.

NOWARRANTY

11.BECAUSETHEPROGRAMISLICENSEDFREEOFCHARGE,THEREISNOWARRANTYFORTHEPROGRAM,TOTHEEXTENTPERMITTEDBYAPPLICABLELAW.EXCEPTWHENOTHERWISESTATEDINWRITINGTHECOPYRIGHTHOLDERSAND/OROTHERPARTIESPROVIDETHEPROGRAM"ASIS"WITHOUTWARRANTYOFANYKIND,EITHEREXPRESSEDORIMPLIED,INCLUDING,BUTNOTLIMITEDTO,THEIMPLIEDWARRANTIESOFMERCHANTABILITYANDFITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE.THEENTIRERISKASTOTHEQUALITYANDPERFORMANCEOFTHEPROGRAMISWITHYOU.SHOULDTHEPROGRAMPROVEDEFECTIVE,YOUASSUMETHECOSTOFALLNECESSARYSERVICING,REPAIRORCORRECTION.

12.INNOEVENTUNLESSREQUIREDBYAPPLICABLELAWORAGREEDTOINWRITINGWILLANYCOPYRIGHTHOLDER,ORANYOTHERPARTYWHOMAYMODIFYAND/ORREDISTRIBUTETHEPROGRAMASPERMITTEDABOVE,BELIABLETOYOUFORDAMAGES,INCLUDINGANYGENERAL,SPECIAL,INCIDENTALORCONSEQUENTIALDAMAGESARISINGOUTOFTHEUSEORINABILITYTOUSETHEPROGRAM(INCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTOLOSSOFDATAORDATABEINGRENDEREDINACCURATEORLOSSESSUSTAINEDBYYOUORTHIRDPARTIESORAFAILUREOFTHEPROGRAMTOOPERATEWITHANYOTHERPROGRAMS),EVENIFSUCHHOLDEROROTHERPARTYHASBEENADVISEDOFTHEPOSSIBILITYOFSUCHDAMAGES.

ENDOFTERMSANDCONDITIONS

Documents

Contents1. AudacityINTRODUCTION 3 1. Audacity The Audacity program is an example of a digital 'audio editor', which means that Audacity can record and edit audio in common digital