Prepare Your Recording Equipment
If you’re a complete beginner to making music, there’s a good chance you don’t have any recording equipment other than your computer and Audacity. That’s fine for now, but to make better recordings in the future you might want to research the best USB audio interfaces and microphones.
If you already have that equipment, make sure it’s working with your computer before you start trying to record any music in Audacity. You should also look into the best methods for recording your particular instruments, including microphone choice and placement.
Smooth Fade Of The Background Music
Unless you are very lucky , the music probably goes on for some time after the narration is finished. In this case you will want to fade out the music. Decide how long you want the music to continue a full volume after the narration has finished, and how long you want it to take to fade out.
Using the Selection Tool, click in the music track at the point where you want the music to be completely faded out. Choose Select > Region > Cursor to Track End. Press the Delete key. Now click at the point where you want the music to begin fading out. Again choose Select > Region > Cursor to Track End, then Choose Effect > & nbspFade Out.
Find & Import The File You Want To Edit
Start by importing an audio file into Audacity. It supports common audio formats such as MP3, WAV, and AIFF. You need to install the optional FFmpeg library for a more extensive range of formats. Note that Audacity cannot import copy-protected music files.
To import an audio file, select File > Import > Audio.
For a quicker method, just drag and drop the files into the Audacity window.
Read Also: How To Play Music On Xbox One From Phone
How To Clean Up Audio In Audacity
There are a few different tools in Audacity that can help you clean up audio. Use the delete tool to remove any unwanted noises like bumps or interruptions. You can use the spectrogram tools to manipulate the frequencies if there is undesired frequency content.
Depending on what you are trying to clean, most tools are found in the Effect menu. Some key ones to check out: Auto-Duck, Click Removal, Graphic EQ, Repair, Clip Fix, Spectral Edit tools.
For some more powerful and easy to use clean up tools check out the Accusonus ERA Bundle. It comes with our Noise Remover, Voice Deepener, Voice AutoEQ, Voice Leveler, Reverb Remover, De-Esser, De-Clipper, Plosive Remover and Audio Clean-Up Assistant.
How To Slow Down Audio In Audacity
To slow down audio in Audacity, use the Change Speed tool. Highlight the audio clip, then select Effect > Change Speed. You will see a few different ways of controlling the speed change, to slow things down, you want to use a multiplier of below 1.0x, or a negative % change. You will be able to see the time difference of the resultant effect. Press OK to make changes.
Recommended Reading: Apple Music Thru Verizon
Why You Need To Record Spotify With Audacity
Before getting started to record Spotify songs with Audacity, let’s have a quick glance at the reasons.
Spotify users can listen to songs, playlists, albums, etc. on devices easily. But it comes with lots of limitations for both free and premium members. Free Spotify users need to make sure that the devices have connected to the WiFi network well. And ads will pop up in the middle of the song unexpectedly and automatically.
Premium members don’t have the same troubles we mentioned before for free users, but downloaded tracks can’t be playable outside the Spotify platform. If the device is not compatible with the Spotify app, you will lose the opportunity to enjoy Spotify songs even with the Premium membership.
But if you record Spotify streaming audios with Spotify, everything is solved. No matter you are using Spotify free or premium account, you can do the following things. You can listen to Spotify songs offline without ads. You can get local Spotify tracks encoded in MP3 format. And then it’s able to play Spotify on all devices, players, speakers, etc. without the Spotify app installment.
How To Compress Audio In Audacity
Audacity has a great compressor tool built in. Highlight the section of audio clip you want to compress, then click Effect > Compressor. In the compressor window you will have typical controls such as threshold, ratio, attack and release times. There is also an option for Make-up gain which will help make the levels consistent. There are controls for presents or previewing. When you are happy with the settings, press OK and the audio will be compressed.
Recommended Reading: How To Separate Voice From Background Music
Select And Change The Range Of Audio You Want
To change any part of your audio clip, first, select the part you want to change. You can cut, copy, paste, and duplicate, just like editing a selected text.
The image above shows Audacitys toolbar. So, how to zoom in Audacity? You can use the magnifiers to zoom in and out or View> Zoom> Zoom In and View> Zoom> Zoom Out .
Zooming in and out helps you make the most of the window space. Once you select a specific range of audio and click on play, you can listen to only the selected part.
How to split audio in Audacity?
If you make any mistakes, you can always click on Edit > Undo.
How to trim audio in Audacity?
Make sure to stop the audio by pressing Space if its still playing. Select the excerpt you want to delete. Click on Edit > Remove Special > Trim Audio. You can undo or redo if you make mistakes. After you delete the selected parts or trim the audio, the remaining excerpt might be away from the tracks beginning. Use Tracks > Align Tracks > Start to Zero to align it.
However, this is not necessary when exporting the file because Audacity ignores the white space while exporting.
How To Trim Audio In Audacity
To trim an audio clip in Audacity, highlight the unwanted sections of audio and press Backspace, or in the menu Edit > Delete. This will remove the highlighted section from the timeline. Cmd/Ctrl + T will also trim the ends off around your selection. If you make a mistake, you can always press cmd/ctrl+Z to undo.
You May Like: How To Add Music To A Video On Iphone
Setting Up For Recording
Whether you want to record live instruments with a microphone or make a beat using samples, its no harm learning the software basics.
After opening Audacity, the first thing you need to do is check the Device Toolbar and set up your audio host and projects input and output.
The Audio Host is the bridge between Audacity and the sound device youre going to be using. Depending on your operating system, your Audio Host can be changeable or not. According to the official Audacity Manual, the Audio Host works like this:
On Windows, you have three options:
- MME: The most compatible and Audacity default
- Windows Direct Sound: Potentially less latency
- Windows WASAPI: Supports 24-bit recording devices
On Mac, the only option is Core Audio.
On Linux, there is generally only one option: ALSA, but other options could be OSS or Jack Audio Connection Kit .
Suppose youre using an audio interface to capture sounds, such as a Behringer, M-Audio, PreSonus, or Focusrite you need to choose it in the Recording Device section, located beside the microphone icon within the toolbar. Youll then select the number of channels in the device youre going to be using to record.
Finally, youll choose the output, found beside the headphone icon, which could be either a pair of earbuds connected to your computer or a set of monitors connected to your audio interface.
- Set Latency Compensation to zero
- Leave Buffer Length at its default value
An overview of the Devices Tab in Audacity
Add Music Production Effects In Audacity
To use effects in Audacity, highlight the section you want to add effects to, then click Effect from the menu bar and choose an effect. When you do so, a separate window opens with all the controls and parameters for that effect.
After you click OK, Audacity reprocesses the selected audio so that it permanently has the effect applied to it. For safety, you might want to create a backup of your tracks by going to Edit > Duplicate first, then Mute the duplicate track.
When you’re first learning how to make a song in Audacity, it’s tempting to use too many effects. Especially when there are so many available to you. But you’re better off sticking to the following options until you’re more comfortable using them well:
- Amplify: Make sections of the recording louder or quieter as needed
- Compressor: Apply compression to create an even volume throughout the track
- Fade In / Fade Out: Smoothly transition from silence to music to avoid extra noise
- Graphic EQ: Change the tone of each track so they create a full sound together
- Noise Reduction: Get rid of background noise from your recording environment
- Reverb: Create a virtual space for the instruments to make them sound more natural
Read Also: Can I Make A Playlist On Apple Music
How To Record Multiple Tracks At Once In Audacity
To record multiple tracks you will need an audio interface that has multiple inputs. In the audio recording device settings, you should be able to choose the number of inputs that are recorded based on the availability of your interface. Once this is set, when you click record, it will record all sources simultaneously to separate audio tracks. This is how you could record multiple separate voices or instruments from a bunch of microphones.
How To Change Pitch In Audacity
Audacity has some great tools for pitch and time control. If you want to change the pitch of a sound without changing its length , highlight your clip, then select Effect > Change Pitch. On the effect tool you will see controls for changing pitches by semitones, or a continuous Hz change. The effect can be previewed before rendering. When you are happy with the settings press OK to update the file.
You May Like: Renew Apple Music Membership
How To Increase Volume In Audacity
To increase the volume of an audio track, use the gain control on the panel. Moving the slider control to the right will increase volume, moving it left will decrease it. The Audacity mixer allows for +/- 36dB of gain control per track. Make sure it isnât too loud and distorting, this will be indicated by red overload on the meters.
Fix M4a Audacity Error
You can install the FFmpeg Library to enable Audacity to support more common formats such as AC3, AMR, M4A, MP4, WMA, etc.
Install the FFmpeg Library here: https://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl
The download page is a little obscure and complicated, but once you go through this page, you will find that there offers FFMPEG for both Windows and Mac OS X. You can navigate to the corresponding section based on your computer version. Here I take FFmpeg for Windows as an example. Scroll down to find “FFmpeg for Windows and latest Audacity versions” and choose an FFmpeg zip option based on the Audacity version you’re using. Download and install the plugin to add Audacity M4A support.
After the installation, you are able to open M4A in Audacity.
Read Also: How To Use Family Sharing Music
Insert Your Music Or Sound Effects Into Audacity
Audacity presents three options for inserting audio into an open project: drag the audio file into your project window, or Audio menu > Import > Audio , or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd-Shift-I or Ctrl-Shift-I . Position your audio where you want it by dragging with the Time Shift Tool and clip it as necessary.
How Do I Apply Amplitude Adjustment
To maximize the volume of your recording, you can use the ‘Normalize’ effect.
- Extraneous noises in the recording can cause Normalize to create unwanted changes in the stereo balance, or prevent recordings being made as loud as they can be. Extraneous noises should be edited with Click Removal, Repair or Amplify before the Normalize step.
You May Like: How To Make Playlist On Apple Music
How To Normalize Audio In Audacity
Use Audacityâs normalize tool to flatten out your audio levels instantly.
Highlight the audio clips you want to normalize, then click Effect > Normalize. You can then set the normalization level and preview the change, before committing the effect.
Normalisation is the process of evening out volume levels, so if you have a quiet sound, you can use this to get it up to levell.
How To Remove Background Noise In Audacity
Audacity has a noise reduction tool that can get rid of unwanted background noise. Highlight the audio you want to de-noise, then select Effect > Noise Reduction. First you will need to get your Noise Profile, this is how Audacity knows what noise to remove and what to keep. So loop a second of the background noise, then click Get Noise Profile. Once it is scanned, you can control the amount of noise reduction, sensitivity and frequency smoothing. Donât forget to test it in preview before pressing ok!
Audacityâs noise reduction tool is quite basic, for more advanced, but easy to use denoiser, check out ERA noise remover.
Don’t Miss: Why Is Apple Music Family Sharing Not Working
Adjusting Volume With Auto Duck
Audacity contains a handy tool, Auto Duck, for automatically reducing your background audio when you have speaking in another track. This is called ducking . Before you try Auto Duck, make sure that your background audio is immediate above your vocal track. When you’re ready, select the portion of the music that you want to edit , then go to the Effects menu > Auto Duck.
As great as this feature is, it makes destructive edits, which you cannot re-adjust later.
What Is Audacity
Audacity is a free-to-use, open-source digital audio editor and recorder software designed for macOS, Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems like Unix-like.
As of March 17, 2021, Audacity has become the most popular download from FossHub, with over 109 million downloads. And this number is only as of March 2015. With previous downloads added, the number goes up to approximately 200 million downloads.
There must be a reason a lot of people download and use this software. So, what features does Audacity have?
You May Like: Apple Music Wont Sync
How Do I Amplify
Use the Amplify effect to change the volume of your audio track. Amplify always preserves the relative volumes of the tracks and/or channels.
Moving The Clips To Work With The Music
Using the Time Shift Tool drag the third narration clip so that the start of the clip lines up with the third label. Audacity will help you line this up perfectly – when the start of the clip lines up with the third label a yellow Boundary Snap Guide will light up. Similarly, drag the second narration clip to line up with the second label, and drag the first narration clip to line up with the first label. Your project window should now look something like this:
You May Like: Xbox One Play Music In Background