Record Audio Input

Using Audacity

(1: Recording)

Main Controls:

Record audio input:

Click on the ‘Record’ button when you are ready to start your input.

When finished click the ‘Stop’ button.

You can choose to ‘Pause’ a recording at any point and then resume the recording.

TIPS

• When recording inputs it’s best to record several short tracks rather than one long track.

• Have the microphone about six inches away.

• Check the sound level the first time you use audacity.

The red slider is the level of sound going into the microphone, the green slider shows level of sound going into computer. You don't want these to go beyond the red and green line. You can alter level on the slider bar if necessary.

Record additional tracks

Click to start a new track

You can continue to do as many recordings as you like. Each time click on record button, stop then press record button again and you will see another track appear.

You can delete a recording.

It’s best to mute the other tracks when doing additional recordings.

Import Audio:

Select ‘Import Audio’ from the ‘Project’ menu

Browse to the relevant folder and select the file you want to

import.

Import audio recorded on a digital sound recorder.

Import music, remembering to consider copyright. Find free music on audio network website (free in school)

Play a track:

Click the ‘Play’ button to play.

Clicking the ‘Solo’ button will play only the selected track.

Clicking the ‘Mute’ button will stop the selected track from

being played.

Deleting a track: Clicking on this cross will delete the track permanently.

Using Audacity

(2: Editing)

Edit Toolbar:

Sounds to edit can be recorded directly into audacity, imported into Audacity (see import audio in section 1), or dragged from other places.

Click on sound file and drag into audacity

Cut part of a track:

You can get rid of bits of unwanted sound, edit to help it make sense or edit to shorten.

1. Click on magnifying glass with a plus sign to make track easier to see

2. Click and drag over part of recording you don't want.

3. Click on scissors to cut.

4. If you make a mistake or don't quite remove all of the bit of sound, click on undo and have another go.

Keep part of a track:

Highlight the section you want to keep and click on ‘Trim outside selection button’

– this will remove everything to the left and right of the selection.

Duplicate a track:

Select the part of the track you’d like to duplicate. Select edit, duplicate

Move a track:

To move a track along the timeline:

Click on the ‘Time shift’ tool.

Click and hold down the left-hand mouse button and move the track along the line to the desired location.

Change order of tracks:

You can change the order of tracks using the track pop-down menu.

Move track up – exchange places with the track above this one.

Move track down – exchange places with the track below this one.

Adding an effect to a track:

Select the track you want to add an effect to and click on the ‘Effect’ menu on the toolbar.

Choose the effect you want from the list.

Bring together tracks:

To bring together two tracks:

Hold down shift key.

Drag over the tracks.

Select project.

Click on Quick Mix.

They are now one track.

Using Audacity

(3: Saving sound file and project)

Saving your project:

You will need to save your work so that you can work on it at a later date.

To do this click on ‘File’ on the toolbar and select ‘Save project as’.

Give the file a suitable name and choose an appropriate location to save it in.

Exporting as a WAV file:

When you have completed your project you can export it as a WAV file – an industry standard format for uncompressed audio.

To do this click on ‘File’ on the toolbar and select ‘Export as WAV’.

NB Before exporting as a WAV file, make sure you have saved your project as an Audacity file (see above).

Exporting as a MP3 file:

You can ‘Export as MP3’ file if you have a LAME MP3 encoder on your computer.

Download dll file from

The first time you try to export an MP3 file, Audacity will ask you to locate your MP3 encoder. Locate the file indicated above. From then on, Audacity will not need to ask you again and you will be able to export MP3 files easily!

Using Audacity

(4: Balancing sound and mastering)

You can import a piece of music,record a voice talking over it and balance the sound.

Import music:

Select project.

Click on import audio.

Sometimes this will appear as two lines of sound.

You may need to reduce volume.

Record voice:

Click on red button to record your voice over the music.

You now have a new track with your voice recording.

Edit any pieces of sound you don’t want.

Adjust volume on either track.

Add any other recordings you want to be part of the project.

Master the tracks:

You may want to reduce the width of the tracks so that you can see them all.

• Hover at the bottom edge of a track to get two way arrow.
• Click and drag the track until it is narrow enough to fit all the tracks on your screen.

• Move any of the recordings using the two way arrow to lay them in the order required.

Don’t forget you can change the order of the tracks by clicking on the small arrow by audio track and choosing move track up.

Music not long enough? - don’t forget you can choose edit and duplicate, move your new track with the two way arrow to fit on the end of the piece of music, select project and Quick Mix to join the tracks together.

Check sound by clicking the play button.

Alter the volume of tracks as needed. (You will need to open up the track to see the volume control.)

Use the envelope tool to make parts of a track softer or louder.

You can pull up or push down parts of the track using this tool.

e-learning curriculum team – with thanks to Northern Grid for some of the images.