How to Use Audacity Audio Editor. Updated Guide

Audacity it is probably best free audio editing software It is open source, "works" on all major OS from PC (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux) and offers a wide range of features to satisfy all users, from beginners to advanced users. Learn more about this software with this guide that teaches you how to how to use Audacity.

Allows you to make audio recordings, podcasts and even songs, enhance existing recordings or music tracks, mix two or more audio tracks, and much more.

Now, illustrating all the features of Audacity would be almost impossible, or rather, it would take dozens of posts to do so, but if you want I can show you the most important ones and help you take your first steps with this incredible audio editing program.

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How to use Audacity

I have done the tutorial using Audacity version 2.1.2, but the instructions in it apply to all recent versions of the software (which has not changed much over time). There (Thanks to its simple user interface). I probably won't surprise you with this news, but the first step you need to take is to install Audacity on your computer.

How to install Audacity

1. «Download the program» on its official page, by clicking download Audacity;
2. On the page that opens, «select the name of the operating system installed on your PC» (Audacity for Windows if you use Windows, Audacity for Mac if you use OS X or Audacity for GNU/Linux if you use Linux);
3. «Proceed to download Audacity» by clicking the Audacity xx installer link if you are using a Windows PC or the Audacity xx .dmg file link if you are using a Mac;
4. When the download is complete, «open the file audacity-win-xx.exe» (if you use Windows) and «click the Yes button»;
5. Make sure Spanish is selected in the language selection menu and «completes the installation process» Audacity by clicking OK, then Next (four times in a row), Install, Next, and Finish.

Go to Audacity

If you are using a Mac

1. «Open the dmg package» that you downloaded from the Audacity website;
2. «Move the program folder to the OS X Applications folder» on your Mac;
3. To start the software the first time, since it is a program that does not come from the Mac App Store, «right click on its icon» y «press open».

How to install Plugin (LAME) in Audacity

Audacity It is able to "assimilate" files in WAV, AIFF, MP3 and Ogg Vorbis, but to enable MP3 export you need to install a free plugin called LAME MP3. To download the LAME MP3 plugin on a Windows PC:

1. «Connect to their website» y «click on the LAME_vxx_for_Windows.exe entry» in the middle of the screen;
2. Later, «run the program».
3. «Click on the Yes buttons», Next (three times in a row), Install and Finish to complete the installation.

Download Lame

If you use a Mac

1. «Download the LAME MP3 plugin»;
2. «Connect to this website» y «press the entry Lame_Library_vxx_for_Audacity_on_OSX.dmg» in the center of the screen;
3. When the download is complete, «open dmg package» which contains the plugin, «start the Lame Library vxx for Audacity.pkg executable» that is within it;
4. «Click Open first» and then Continue and Install. Then «enter your user account password on OS X», press the Install Software and Close buttons and you're done.

I also want to tell you about the FFmpeg plugin that allows you to edit M4A/AAC, AC3, AMR and WMA files in Audacity. It is available for Windows and Mac OS X (although Audacity can already open M4A, MP4 and MOV files).

Download FFmpeg

How to make audio recordings with Audacity

Now you can start using Audacity, to start a recording in Audacity:

1. First you must «choose input device», which is the microphone you want to use for recording;
2. Then «click on the microphone icon drop-down menu» (at the top of the window) and «Select the name of the microphone» you want to use for the microphone (for example, built-in microphone to use your PC's built-in microphone);
3. Then «choose whether you want to make a mono or stereo recording» in the adjacent drop-down menu and set the recording volume using the appropriate adjustment bar (the one next to the other microphone icon);
4. Personally, I suggest you leave the volume bar in the middle or even a little lower to avoid the annoying “crackling” effect.

If you are using a Windows computer, you can also set your computer's speakers as the sound source for Audacity. The program therefore records not your voice, but all sounds played on your computer's sound card (e.g. video, Internet radio, etc.).

To set speakers as audio source in Audacity

1. «Select Windows Wasapi» in the MIME drop-down menu (the one next to the microphone icon on the left) and the Speakers item in the drop-down menu to select the input device (instead of the microphone);
2. Now «press the Rec button in Audacity» (the red dot) at the top left and «create your audio recording»;
3. If you wish, you can also pause the program (by clicking the button at the top left) and resume recording later;
4. When you have finished your recording, «press the Stop button in Audacity» (also in the top left corner) and save the final result by selecting Export Audio from the File menu;
5. Then in the next window that opens, choose the “format in which you want to save the file”. Using the “Save as” drop-down menu, give the file a name and «click Save» to start exporting the file to the selected folder.

Before you save your recording, would you like to edit it, improve its quality and/or remove the so-called downtime? No problem, read the next chapter of this tutorial and find out how to do it.

How to edit audio files with Audacity

As mentioned above, Audacity contains many tools for editing and enhancing sound. Let's try to analyze the most common ones.

Cut/remove audio

Among the most used functions in Audacity is definitely the one that allows you to cut or delete parts of audio files. To cut a portion of your recording or an existing audio file (which you can load into the program by selecting Open from the File menu), «select it in the Audacity graph», go to the Edit menu and select Cut or Delete from the latter.

The difference between the two options is that with “Cut” you have the possibility to paste the trimmed portion of audio to another point in the recording, while with “Delete” the audio portion is permanently deleted.

If you are unable to correctly select the audio portion you want to delete, «make sure the selection tool» (the black “I” icon) is active in the Audacity toolbar and “increase the Zoom level of the graph” by clicking the magnifying glass icon with the “+” symbol next to it.

Improve audio quality

Now let's see how to use Audacity to improve the quality of our recordings (as much as possible, of course). One of the most useful features, in this regard, is the noise removal function, which allows you to automatically delete all annoying noises from your recordings (e.g. background noises, sirens, etc.).

To use it, «select a part of the recording that contains the noise to remove», then «go to the Effects menu» and choose Noise Removal from the latter. In the window that opens, «click the Process Noise Profile button», let Audacity process the noise profile to be removed and «select the entire recording graph» (or the part you want to remove the annoying noise from).

Then «go back to Effects > Noise Removal», adjust the noise reduction settings to your preference and «click the Preview button» to preview the final result and then «Click OK to apply the changes».

Another very useful feature for improving recordings is compression, which allows you to reduce the "volume" differences between the various audio sources in a recording whenever a certain dB threshold is exceeded.

In the Threshold Settings window that opens, background noise, and so on to your liking, «click the Preview button» to hear a preview of the final result and then press save.

Adjust audio volume and speed

Other features that make Audacity extremely useful are those that allow you to adjust the volume and speed of audio files. Let's find out more about them.

If you want to increase the volume of an audio file or part of it, «select it in the Audacity graph and go to Effects > Amplify». In the window that opens, «choose the number of dB» that you want to increase the volume of the recording with the adjustment bar and «click the Preview button» to hear a preview of the final result below, «Click OK to apply the changes».

Make sure there is no check mark next to Allow clipping to avoid sound distortion. If you want to normalize the volume of a song (or recording) so that there are not too many differences between its parts, «select the entire track in the Audacity graph» and go to the Effects > normalize menu.

To change the speed of a recording

«Select the audio part you want to change» in the Audacity graph and go to Effects > Change Tempo and Pitch in the window that opens, «move the tempo adjustment bar» forward (to speed up the audio file) or backward (to slow down the audio file) and then click “Preview” to see the final result, then click “OK” to save the changes.

If you want, you can also change the speed of the voice in a recording without altering the overall length of the song. In this case, you have to select the part of the audio you want to change in the Audacity graph and go to the Effects > Change pitch menu.

How to mix multiple audio tracks with Audacity

Audacity is a multitrack editor, which means you can work on more than one audio track at the same time and “mix” multiple audio tracks into one.

To import multiple music tracks or recordings into the program, «Go to File > Import > Audio» y «select all audio files» that interest you (together or one by one, it makes no difference). When you are done, you can edit each track individually as we saw before or you can “mix” everything together using the tools that Audacity provides.

If you want to adjust the volume or orientation of a track (i.e. whether the sound should feel a little more to the right or left) you need to use the adjustment bars next to the track on the left. If you want to move a track so that it starts before or after the others.

«Select the time shift tool» from the Audacity toolbar (the ↔ icon) and «move the graph with the mouse»If necessary, you can also add a new live recording to the songs already in the Audacity program by clicking the “Record to Program” button.

Once you have created your mix, «click the play button» to preview it in real time and, if you are satisfied with the result, save it by going to File > Export Audio.

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