Audacity Basics

Overview Audacity is a free, open source audio editing program that is available for PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. It allows users to trim, mix, and adjust the sound qualities of audio files to create sound compositions containing music, narration, and sound effects.

Installing Audacity 1. Download Audacity For PC: http://www.audacityteam.org/download/windows/ For Mac: http://www.audacityteam.org/download/mac/ 2. To have access to all of the effects and audio file formats, be sure to install the LADSPA plug-ins, LAME MP3 encoder, and the FFmpeg import/export library.

Gathering Materials Gather all of the files you are planning to use in your project and put them in one folder. Audacity links to sound files used in a project. Sound files located outside of this folder may lose their links if you choose to move your project from one computer to another before creating your final mix down file.

Creating a Project 1. Choose a Project Rate from the drop-down menu. 44100 is CD quality. 3. If you receive a warning, click OK. 2. Open the File menu and select Save Project As. 4. Navigate to the folder that you created in the previous step. Name the Project File and click Save.

Adding a File to a Project 1. Open the File menu and select Import  Audio. 2. Select a file and click Open. 3. Audacity opens the file in an Audio Track. **If you have trouble importing WMA files, make sure that you have the FFmpeg import/export library installed. See Slide 20 for details.

Adding a Second Audio Track 1. Open the File menu and select Import  Audio. 2. Select a file and click Open. 3. Audacity opens the second file in another Audio Track just below the first track. **If you have trouble importing WMA files, make sure that you have the FFmpeg import/export library installed. See Slide 20 for details.

Trimming Audio Files 1. Click the Selection Tool button. 4. Click the Trim button to keep only the selected audio in the track. 2. Click and drag to select the portion of the waveform that you wish to change. 3. Click the Cut button to delete the selected piece of audio.

Splitting Audio Within a Track 1. Select a portion of the audio clip that you wish to detach from the original clip. 2. Open the Edit menu and select Clip Boundaries  Split.

Moving Audio Within a Track 1. Select the Time-Shift tool. 2. Click and drag to move the split section of audio along the track.

Changing the Audio Volume Level of an Entire Audio Track To raise or lower the volume of all audio files on a track, click and drag the track’s volume slider.

Changing the Audio Volume Level of a Section of Audio in a Track 1. Click the Envelope Tool. 2. Find the point on a particular track where you wish the audio adjustment to begin. Line up the space between the two arrows of the Envelope Tool between the shaded and non-shaded areas on the track.. 3. Click on the border. Two white dots appear.

Changing the Audio Volume Level of a Section of Audio in a Track (continued) 4. Click and drag the white dot to lower of raise the volume at that point in the track. 5. Adding additional points will allow for gradual adjustments.

Creating a Self-contained Audio File for the Web or a CD The Save option in Audacity creates a project file that can be opened in Audacity only. To turn a project file into a self-contained file that can be burned to a CD or uploaded to the web, you must export it as an MP3 or WAV file. 1. Open the File menu and select Export.

Creating a Self-contained Audio File for a CD 1. To create a larger file with CD quality, select WAV from the Save as Type drop-down menu. 2. Name the file and click Save. 3. Enter relevant Metadata information and click OK. 4. Click OK to create a stereo file.

Creating a Self-contained Audio File for the Web 1. To create a smaller file, more suitable for the web, select MP3 from the Save as Type drop-down menu. 2. Name the file and click Save. *If you don’t see the MP3 Files option, you need to install the LAME MP3 encoding library from Audacity Downloads webpage. See Slide 18 for details.

Creating a Self-contained Audio File for the Web (continued) 4. Click OK to create a stereo file. 3. Enter relevant Metadata information and click OK.

Installing the LAME MP3 Encoding Library If you can’t export MP3 files, you need to install the LAME MP3 encoding library. 1. Go to the Windows or Mac Download page of the Audacity website. 2. Under Optional Downloads, download and install the LAME MP3 encoder.

Installing the LAME MP3 Encoding Library (continued) 3. Open Audacity. Open the Edit menu and select Preferences. 4. Select Libraries from the side menu list. 5. Click Locate and navigate to the library file you installed. 6. Click OK.

Installing the FFmpeg import/export Library If you have trouble importing WMA files, make sure that you have the FFmpeg import/export library installed. 1. Go to the Windows or Mac Download page of the Audacity website. 2. Under Optional Downloads, download and install the FFmpeg import/export library.

Installing the FFmpeg import/export library (continued) 3. Open Audacity. Open the Edit menu and select Preferences. 4. Select Libraries from the side menu list. 5. Click Locate and navigate to the library file you installed. 6. Click OK.

Further Audacity Resources Audacity Quick Help: http://manual.audacityteam.org/quick_help.html Audacity Manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/