Getting Started
Open Audacity found in the applications folder.
Save your project
(preferrably after every edit) File > Save navigate to your hard drive and create a project folder. This folder will contain all your audio files and edit information.
Inside your folder there will be the Audacity project file with a .aup extension and a folder ending with _data.
For example, inside the folder called interview if the project was named October there would be a file called October.aup and a folder called October_data.
Always keep the project file and data folder together.
Importing audio
File > Import > Audio navigate to the audio files that you want to import. Audacity can import WAV, AIFF, AU, IRCAM, MP3 and OGG files. WMA files can also be imported with the FFmpeg libraries installed.
If Audacity opens a warning screen click the option that says "Make a copy of the files before editing (Safer)" and click OK.
Tools
Transport Toolbar
- controls playback and recording
Tools Toolbar
- chooses various tools for selection, volume adjustment, zooming, time-shifting of audio and a multi-function tool
Meter Toolbar
- displays levels for playback and recording
Mixer Toolbar
- controls the mixer settings of the sound card
Transcription Toolbar
- plays audio at a slower or faster speed, affecting the pitch
Edit Toolbar
- cut, copy, paste, trim, silence, undo, redo, sync-lock, zoom
Tracks
Adding Tracks
Tracks > Add new > Audio track, Stereo track, Label track, or Time track
Mono track
-this is one audio file recorded with one microphone
Stereo track
-this is one audio file with a left and right track recorded with a stereo microphone. Stereo tracks can be split into two mono tracks.
Label track
-this track allows you to add markers or regional markers to the whole project or individual tracks
Track Control Panel
Click on the black arrow to view a pull down list of options for each track - allows you to rename the track, provides sample information, waveform view, spectrogram view, mute or solo the track, increase volume and pan left-right function.
Waveform view: vertical axis represents amplitude or loudness and the horizontal axix represents time.
Spectogram view:the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis is frequency; a third dimension indicating the amplitude of a particular frequency at a particular time is represented by the intensity or colour of each point in the image.
Editing
Playback
Listen to your project hit the spacebar on your keyboard to Stop or Play
Zooming
Zooming In/Out helps you make accurate selections of your waveform.
Selection Tool
Highlight a portion of audio using your Selection Tool
Labeling Tracks
Label tracks and take notes of your project Listen to your audio and make labels.
- Go to Tracks > Add New > Label Tracks
- Tracks > Add Label at Selection
- Name your label.
- Use Tab on your keyboard to select forwards to the next label, and SHIFT+Tab to select backwards to the previous label.
Editing Audio
- Open a blank track - this will be your working pallet.
- Tracks > Mono track or Stereo Track
- Choose the Selection tool
in the Tools Toolbar. - Highlight your audio then Edit menu > copy
- Select a point in your empty track then Edit menu > paste
Envelope
Let's you control a tracks volume changes smoothly over time.
- Select the envelope tool.
- Click a beginning, end, and middle point on your audio waveform.
- Click and hold on a point to increase or decrease the volume.
Effects
Equalization
Allows you to increase or decrease desired frequencies.
Noise Removal
Removes unwanted background noise.
Normalize
Increases the overall volume of your waveform equally.
Exporting
File > Export this command exports the entire project except muted tracks. File > Export Selection this command exports only selected tracks.
Format:
Select .wav for a high quality uncompressed file but bigger file size.
Select .mp3 for a lower quality, compressed, but small file size.
