Audio Editing

Basic Control

Tools

• Selection: Lets users select and highlight a range of audio.
• Envelop : Used for making smooth volume changes.
• Draw: Enables users to manually redraw the waveform.
• Zoom: Allows users to zoom in and out of the track.
• To zoom in: Click on the track with the Zoom Tool
• To zoom out: Right-click/Shift and Click on the track with the Zoom Tool
• Multi-Tool: Combines all the other tools in one. One tool is available at a time, according to the mouse position and modifier key chosen.

Audacity supports common audio file formats including AIFF, FLAC, MP3, WAV. For Mac users, it also supports Apple formats like M4A(AAC) and MOV.

To import an audio file:

1. From the menu, select File > Import > Audio.
2. You can also drag and drop the file directly into the project window.

Once imported, you can use the toolbar to play or edit your audio file.

1. Before recording, make sure that you have selected the right Audio Host (MME in most cases), Recording Device and Playback Device from the Device Toolbar.

Tips: If your microphone doesn’t appear on the dropdown list, go to the menu and select Transport > Rescan Audio Devices.

2. To start recording, press the Record button   from the Transport Toolbar.

Tips: Always start recording with 5 to 10 seconds of silence to capture the ambient sound. This will be used to remove the background noise in your audio recording.

3. To end recording, press the Stop button  from the Transport Toolbar.

Always save an Audacity project before editing!

From the menu, select File > Save Project > Save Project.

1. Select an ambient sound section.
2. From the menu, select Effect > Noise Reduction. The Noise Reduction window appears.
3. Select Get Noise Profile. The pop-up window closes.

4. Select the entire recording, go to Effect > Noise Reduction again and click OK.

To select a portion of your audio track, use the selection tool. Select and drag the portion you want to edit (it’s very much the same as what you would do when you want to select and edit text in a word document).

You can use the delete key or standard copy, cut and paste key combination to edit your audio.

Tips:  

1. Your mouse pointer will change to a hand with a pointer finger when hovering near the edge of the selection, you can then use this hand pointer to extend or contract your selection.
2. Use the Z key to make smooth cuts.
3. Zooming in and out to display more detail over a shorter length of time.
4. When you remove a portion of the track, Audacity automatically moves the audio after the selection backward to fill in the gap. If you want to delete a section without moving, use Edit > Remove Special > Split Cut/ Split Delete instead.

1. From the menu, select Effect > Amplify.
2. Type in a new value in the Amplification (dB) box to adjust the sound volume. 

Positive Amplification values make the sound louder, negative values make it quieter.

Otherwise, you can also drag the slider to the right to make the sound louder or to the left to make it quieter.

1. From the menu, select Edit > Labels > Add Label at Selection. The label will be added to the Label Track.

You can also use the shortcut Ctrl + B to add labels

2. To delete the label, right-click inside the label’s text box and select Delete Label from the dropdown menu.

Audacity can export your project files to a number of audio formats including WAV, MP3, AIFF and FLAC.

To export your audio, select File > Export Audio from the menu, then choose the file format you would like to export to.