Guide to Editing using Audacity
Stephanie Hopkins
Introduction This guide covers the most basic functions of Audacity. To learn how to make a more professional
product, there are some great resources available on the internet:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials is a good starting point
www.binaryblue.com.au/podbank is a useful Audacity tutorial
Some things to be aware of before you begin:
Audacity records sound in its own .aup format and so later on your recording will need to be
compressed and converted into MP3 format, before it can be uploaded to the internet
Do save your master file before you do any editing or converting
Do save your project frequently to ensure you don’t lose hours of work!
The main functions are easy to use and identify. When recording, use record and pause buttons
and only use the stop button when you have completed that track. Make sure you make a
detailed plan for your project, involving the students of course, writing notes or a script before
recording. You will save lesson time!
Finding your way around the main Audacity functionsThe toolbar looks like this:
Selection tool
Zoom tool
Envelope tool
Draw tool
Multi-tool mode
Time shift tool
Skip to start
Play Record Pause Stop
Skip to end
Key features from the drop-down menus
Cut
CopyPaste
Trim
outside
selection
Silence
selection
Undo
and
redo
Zoom in
and out
Fit
project in
window
Fit
selection
in window
Save your original file and your new edited version
separately. Also, remember to save often in case
the software or system crashes
Tool for converting to MP3 in preparation for
uploading to the internet; it requires Lame to
be installed
Use when saving individual segments
of a longer recording
Input level meterOutput level meter
Use to split a track; note that
when you do this the rest
appears in a new audio track
Imports .wav, .mp3, .aiff, .au, .ircam and .ogg formats.
If importing from iTunes you may find the file is an
MP4 which Audacity cannot import, however JHymn
software is available to ‘unlock’ this format. Be aware
of copyright if you are going to publish your final
creation as a podcast and use ‘pod-safe’ music
Create a new layer of audio
Manual versions of the shortcuts on the toolbar
Recording and cuttingTo learn how to select, cut, amplify and fade out there is a very basic but great fun Audacity tutorial at
www.edhsonline.org/other/audacity
Try this!Plug in your microphone, check the settings and you are ready to record. Use the record and pause functions, then click stop when you have completed the recording. If you use stop and then want to
add more, this will be recorded as a different track. The level of the recording is shown in blue waves.
For simple cutting, you can zoom in using the magnifier to trim more precisely. Use the selection tool to highlight the section you wish to edit out and then click on Cut.
Make the selection louder
Make the selection quieter
Fade the sound in/out, which is handy for a
‘radio’ style if you want to intersperse
spoken word with music
Sound levelIf the sound level is a bit low, you can use the selection tool and then the Amplify function to
rectify this:
Amplified result:
Importing a pre-recorded trackImport a track by clicking Project>Import audio, then find your file. This might be something you
recorded previously in Audacity (.aup format) or Windows Sound Recorder (.wav format). This will
appear as a separate track.
Import all the required tracks (all individual recordings you want to include in the podcast) then you
can prepare for the editing process. If you have multiple tracks, you can adjust the size of the
windows to fit more on the screen and so facilitate the process of lining up your tracks accurately.
Rename your tracks
Re-order your tracks
Click on the drop-down
arrow and select Name
Click on the drop-down arrow
and select Move track up.
Repeat until the desired
position is achieved
Using musicIf you use music in your podcast, it must be ‘pod-safe’ or copyright-free. This means it is subject to
the creative commons license. If you don’t want to compose your own music, why not use recordings
of students’ compositions, adding an exciting cross-curricular flavour to your project? Alternatively
there are many sources of ‘pod-safe’ music online, but by its very nature it is rather hit-and-miss in
quality. It is also possible to import audio from iTunes, but not in MP4 format. The JHymn software
‘unlocks’ this, converting it to MP3 and therefore making it compatible to import into Audacity. The
JHymn site gives guidance on copyright issues, and of course states that this software was not
invented to assist the black market! Always be extremely cautious and never publish a podcast online
containing music that is copyrighted.
www.podsafeaudio.com
www.jamendo.com/uk
www.magnatune.com
http://music.podshow.com
EditingIn order to listen to an individual track you need to isolate it. This can be done by selecting either the
solo (which mutes all other tracks) or mute functions (which just mutes the selected track).
Moving part of a track along the timeline
Splitting a trackIf you want to split a track to use sections of it in different places, select the part you wish to separate
and click Edit>Split and that part will appear below the other tracks in a new track.
The envelope tool
Click on the selection tool and highlight the
section you want to move
Click on the
time-shift tool and then drag
the section
along to the
desired place
This is very handy indeed. It enables you to make very subtle but precise changes to the volume
levels of the track. In this example I used it to fade the music and keep it low in the background while
I was talking, then bring it back up again.
Select the section of music you wish to edit and then click on the envelope tool. Blue lines will
appear around the wave. Click on the points where you wish to bend the volume and small white dots
will appear. Drag these dots up or down to alter the amplitude of the sound.
Fit project in windowThis enables you to view your whole project. This is useful for checking how the tracks fit together
and for reviewing your progress.
To finish my creation, I used the fade out tool to bring the volume down to silent. Once you are
happy with the product, save it as an .aup file and then you are ready to convert it and go public!
Envelope tool
Converting to MP3 First ensure you have downloaded the Lame MP3 encoding software at
www.free-codecs.com/download/Lame_Encoder.htm
After downloading, unzip the Lame file into the same folder as Audacity. The first time you export
a file as an MP3, a connection will need to be made with the Lame software. When you click
Export as MP3 Audacity will ask you to browse for the file, so go to the Audacity folder, open the
Lame folder and double-click on the .dll file:
Select File>Export as MP3Please note that the first time
you do this a connection will
need to be made with the Lame
software. Audacity will ask you
where it is saved. Subsequently
the conversion will happen
without interruption
Complete the dialog box as
fully as you can
In My Computer, locate and open the saved MP3.
Stephanie Hopkins
AST in MFL
July 2007
Save in your chosen
location
Double-click to open and
iTunes will open automatically
and play your file