pub607-23

Guide to Using Audacity for Beginners

by Dara Sheere and Lauren McKenney from MPub ‘21

Here are all the things we believe any new user needs to know in order to successfully use Audacity to edit audio! Scroll to the bottom of the page for some useful tips from yours truly.

Note

Please note, this guide outlines the steps for editing audio after it has been recorded and does not provide directions for recording audio through Audacity. As well, the instructions depict how to use Audacity on a Mac, and may differ for PC users.

Introduction to Audacity

The menu bar appears at the very top of your window and includes various functions that you will need to familiarize yourself with to use the program. Please see the list below for an overview of each of the important functions within the menu bar.

File

This is where you will find commands for creating new projects, opening existing projects, and saving the project you are working on. This is also the place to go to import and export audio files.

Create a new project

• Select “File” from the menu bar, then select “New” or,
• Press command + n on your keyboard

Open an existing project

• Select “File” from the menu bar, then select “Open” or,
• Press command + o on your keyboard

Save your project

• Select “File” from the menu bar, then select “Save Project”

Select “Save Project As” to save a new project or to rename existing project

Select “Save Project” to save changes to existing project (or command + s on your keyboard)

Export your project into a different audio file format

• Select “File” from the menu bar, then select “Export” and choose the format you wish to save your project as (MP3, WAV, OGG)

Note: it is best practice to edit audio as WAV format and export as MP3

Import audio files into your project

• Select “File” from the menu bar, then select “Import” > “Audio” and select the audio file from your computer that you wish to import or,
• Drag audio file from your computer and, with your Audacity project open, simply drop the file into the program window

Edit

This is where you will find commands for undoing or redoing any edits you have made to your project or for cutting, copying, pasting, and deleting, as well as for splitting audio and adding labels.

Undo an edit you have made

• You can undo as many times as you like, all the way back to when you opened the window, by selecting “Edit” from the menu bar, and then “Undo [] edit” or,
• By pressing command + z on your keyboard

Redo an edit that you have undone

• You can redo an edit that you have undone by selecting “Edit” from the menu bar, then “Redo [] edit” or,
• By pressing command + y on your keyboard

Note: once you perform a new edit, you can no longer redo a previously undone edit

Delete audio from your project

• To delete audio but keep it available on the Audacity clipboard, use the “Cut” function by highlighting the audio you wish to delete and selecting “Edit” then “Cut from the menu bar or pressing command + x on your keyboard
• To delete audio without copying it to the Audacity clipboard, highlight the audio you wish to delete and press “Delete” or command + k on your keyboard

  • Note: if you would prefer to silence a section of audio rather than deleting it, press command + l on your keyboard

Duplicate audio

• To create a new track containing duplicated audio, highlight the audio you wish to duplicate and select “Edit” then “Duplicate” from the menu bar or,
• Press command + d on your keyboard

Create labels

• Select the place in your audio where you would like to add a label, then select “Edit” from the menu bar, following by “Labels” then “Add Label at Selection” or,
• Select the place in your audio where you would like to add a label and press command + b on your keyboard

Note: adding labels is a useful way to leave yourself notes about the audio, including places that require editing, marking segments (e.g., beginning, middle, end), and more

View

This is where you control the amount of detail you see in your audio tracks. The view menu has several submenus, but the most crucial is the zoom function.

Zoom in/zoom out

• There are many ways to zoom in and zoom out while using audacity. One way is to select “View” from the menu bar, then select “Zoom” followed by “Zoom In,” “Zoom Normal,” “Zoom Out,” or “Zoom to Selection”
• Alternatively, you can use shortcuts on your keyboard to perform these zoom functions.

Zoom in: command + 1

Zoom normal: command + 2 Note: this will return your display to the default view, which displays about one inch per second

Zoom out: command + 3

Zoom to selection: command + e

• Other options are to use two fingers to zoom with your trackpad as you usually might, or to click the icon that looks like a magnifying glass in the bar near the top of the program window

Tracks

This is where you will find commands for creating and removing tracks.

Add a new track

• To add a new track, select “Tracks” from the menu bar, then select “Add New” and choose the type of track you would like to add

Mono track creates single channel audio (this means if you’re listening through headphones, you will only hear the audio through one ear); you can select either left mono or right mono

Stereo track creates two channels of audio, one left and one right (this means if you’re listening through headphones, you will hear the audio in both ears)

Time track is used at the same time as one or more audio tracks, and allows you to progressively increase or decrease playback speed and pitch over the length of the audio

Label track creates a track where you can add any labels (e.g., text for annotation or transcription) Note: keep labels under 260 characters, otherwise the label will not load when the project is reopened

Effects

This is where you’ll find most of the tools needed to edit your audio beyond the basic commands found in the “Edit” menu. I will briefly review those that I use most frequently below.

Amplify

• Use this tool to change the volume of the selected audio track(s)
• You can input the value you would like to set as the peak amplitude for your track in the “New Peak Amplitude” box; this ensures that all audio in your project does not exceed your desired peak

Note: to set a peak amplitude for a single track in your project rather than for all tracks, use the “Normalize” function found in the “Effect” menu

Fade In & Fade Out

• The “Fade In” and “Fade Out” tools allow you to gradually increase the volume of the highlighted audio, or to gradually taper off that piece of audio

Note: see the “Tips” section below for a note on using the “Fade In” feature to correct plosives in your audio

Loudness Normalization

• This tool allows you to change the level of the audio. It can be applied to the entire track(s), or to any section(s) that is louder than others by simply highlighting the section and selecting “Effect” then “Loudness Normalization” and inputting your desired audio level

Note: you can easily visualize which sections are louder than others based on the size of the sound waves; you can then apply the “Loudness Normalization” function to achieve a more balanced audio level throughout

Noise Reduction

• This tool can be used to reduce the presence of constant background noise, such as humming, whistling, buzzing, and hissing noises. However, if the background noise is very loud (for example, recording is done in a busy café), then it may be impossible to satisfactorily remove it.

Note: to use this tool, you need to record a sample section of audio (~5-10 seconds) with only the background noise in order to create a “noise profile”; the noise profile allows the program to detect which noise in your recording belongs to the background (and can therefore be eliminated)

Some Useful Tips

Below is a list of tips I learned through trial and error, that might be useful to anyone starting out on Audacity for the first time.

• Use labels! They’re a great tool for marking any sections you need to go back and edit, and you have up to 260 characters to leave yourself a reminder of what that edit will entail. They’re also great for noting segments longer audio files (e.g., a 2-hour podcast), so you can easily visualize key parts in your dialogue.
• Make sure to use the normalize loudness function, as it helps to avoid unintentionally scaring your listeners with any of the louder outbursts in your dialogue.
• Edit your audio file wearing over-the-ear headphones plugged in to your computer—this tip was given to us by podcast guru Hannah McGregor, and she was not wrong. Bluetooth earbuds don’t cut it.
• On your first pass through your audio, only do major edits, such as completing larger audio segments (for example, anything over 5 seconds). Once you’ve shaved off all the major edits, then you can go back and work on smaller edits. (Just like you wouldn’t copyedit a text before it’s been structurally edited.)
• Zoom in while you’re editing! This is crucial, as you can visualize smaller details in the soundwaves that you might not have otherwise seen, which lets you edit content with greater precision.
• There’s a fine balance between over-editing and under-editing your audio—it takes practice to know when enough is enough.
• It will be much easier to avoid popping vocals than it will be to edit them out, so do try to keep this in mind while recording. If you do need to edit out plosives in your audio though, one possible way is to do this is by using Audcity’s “Fade In” effect. Zoom in to the percussive sound and highlight it using your cursor, then select “Effect” from the menu bar followed by “Fade In”; these steps should help to neutralize the sound.
• Make sure to record a short sample of only the background noise so that you can apply the noise reduction function if needed.
• If recording a conversation, try to avoid having more than one person speak at a time, as it makes the editing process much trickier to do seamlessly. Alternatively, have each person record on a different track, so that one person’s audio can be cut or edited without affecting the other person’s.