How To Edit Voice Audacity

1. How To Edit Audacity Recordings
2. How To Edit Voice Memos Using Audacity

I do an increasing amount of audio work; whether that's for my Free the Geek podcast, technical training videos, or longer courses.So it's important to me that I sound professional, and not like I'm all alone in a room.

In Vega Strike a similar, all-Audacity approach was used to get that effect. It was initially meant as the translator voice for incoming alien communications, but it sounded good for general radio and we used it for almost all the factions. Follow the below steps to arrange your audio in Audacity: Open Audacity application by double-clicking the shortcut or by searching Audacity in the Windows search feature. Click on the File menu in the menu bar and choose the Open option. Select your audio track and click on the Open button.

I'm not saying I want to sound like I have access to a professional recording studio.As it's nice to still have a slightly more relaxed sound.So in my never ending search for that perfect sound, I've come across a reliable process which works for me.

The video contains a quick step by step demo on how to edit an audio using Audacity software.

Best of all, it's using Audacity, which is my all-time — favourite — audio editor.If this is your first time hearing about it, Audacity is an open source (and free) application for recording and editing audio.

It has a very healthy range of features; but here's a short list:

• It can edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, or Ogg Vorbis sound files
• It can cut, copy, splice, or mix sounds together
• It can apply numerous effects, including: Normalization, Equalization, Fade In, Fade Out, Silence, & Truncation

I'll be honest, at first I was a bit dubious about using it, thinking it wouldn't give me the kind of sound I wanted, instead preferring stick to the 'safe' route of using GarageBand.But after some experimentation, I've found that Audacity's clearly the better choice.

Honestly, given I've been in open-source for so long, I should hold my head in shame for not using it sooner.But hey, using it was a bit of a learning curve.Or did I just tell myself that?

In saying that though, it's not that much of a learning curve.To be honest, what I had to learn wasn't the Audacity UI, but audio terminology.

Not coming from a studio or music background, terms such as compression, normalization, high pass, and low pass were all gibberish to me.But once I gained a basic understanding of some of these terms, everything else started becoming rather natural.

Anyway, I've rambled a bit.Today I'm going to show you how I took a basic recording and made it sound pretty polished — even sexy — using only a handful of Audacity's effects. https://ratgoo547.weebly.com/animation-development-from-pitch-to-production-pdf.html.

Recording One

This is a recording that I made up on the spot.It's nothing special, but it allows for a clear base recording.You can hear that the room sounds a bit empty, with not much in the way of sound deadening or padding.

Recording Two

Now have a listen to the second one.Better? I'm confident you'll agree.I kid you not; it's not a different room or setup.It's the same recording with a series of effects applied.Specifically, in order, here they are.

Improve Your Audio Quality From Start to Finish

Step 1. Apply Noise Removal

The first thing that we need to do is apply noise removal.Noise Removal, or reduction, is the process of removing certain noises, such as background noise, hums, whines, and taps from the recording. To do that, you first need to get a profile of the sound which you want to remove. Sketch 3 7.

To do this, you select a section of the recording which reflects what you want to remove, then click Effect -> Noise Reduction. -> Get Noise Profile.With the profile created, you then select the entire track, and click Effect -> Noise Reduction. -> OK.

Note: A tip I picked up from Cal Evans, is to always include 5 seconds of regular room or background noise at the start and end of a recording. This background noise can then be used as the base of the noise profile. Thanks, Cal.

Alternatively, you could use Audacity's excellent Noise Gate functionality, which, in recent months, I've found works equally as well as noise removal.

Step 2. Apply Compression

The next thing that we need to do is to apply audio compression.Audio compression, or dynamic range compression, reduces the difference between loud and quiet, of an audio waveform. Here's an excellent description from TutsPlus (source):

Compression is the process of lessening the dynamic range between the loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal. This is done by boosting the quieter signals and attenuating the louder signals.

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Compressor -> OK. https://mwvmk.over-blog.com/2021/01/hp-printer-help-for-mac.html.

Step 3. Apply Equalization

After that, we need to apply equalization.Equalization is:

How to get a new browser. The process commonly used to alter the frequency response of an audio system using linear filters.

Why I'm using it is to both bring out the bass in my voice, giving it a rounder, deeper, bassy sound, as well as adding some treble to it, for extra crispness and vocal clarity.

Step 3a. Apply Some Bass Boost

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Equalisation.In the popup window, near the bottom, click 'Bass Boost' from the dropdown box next to 'Select Curve'. Then click OK.

Step 3b. Apply Some Treble Boost

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Equalisation.In the popup window, near the bottom, click 'Treble Boost' from the dropdown box next to 'Select Curve'. Then click OK.

Step 4. Normalize the Audio

With equalization applied, the last step we need to take is to normalize the audio.Quoting Wikipedia, normalization is:

Audio normalization is the application of a constant amount of gain to an audio recording to bring the average or peak amplitude to a target level (the norm).

In short, the key reason why I do this is to attempt to ensure that the entire track stays, roughly, at the same volume level.Everybody has natural variances when they speak, as well as other reasons why some sections will be louder or softer than others.

How to zip documents in one folder. This fact is exacerbated when you're recording audio at different times, as the sound is, without a very controlled environment and recording process, going to be different.So when you want the final piece to be consistent, you use normalization.

To apply normalization in Audacity, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Normalize.Then set 'Normalize maximum amplitude' to -6.0 dB.Then click OK.

That's a Bit of Work. Why Not Save Yourself Time & Create an Effects Chain?

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Compressor -> OK. https://mwvmk.over-blog.com/2021/01/hp-printer-help-for-mac.html.

Step 3. Apply Equalization

After that, we need to apply equalization.Equalization is:

How to get a new browser. The process commonly used to alter the frequency response of an audio system using linear filters.

Why I'm using it is to both bring out the bass in my voice, giving it a rounder, deeper, bassy sound, as well as adding some treble to it, for extra crispness and vocal clarity.

Step 3a. Apply Some Bass Boost

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Equalisation.In the popup window, near the bottom, click 'Bass Boost' from the dropdown box next to 'Select Curve'. Then click OK.

Step 3b. Apply Some Treble Boost

To apply compression, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Equalisation.In the popup window, near the bottom, click 'Treble Boost' from the dropdown box next to 'Select Curve'. Then click OK.

Step 4. Normalize the Audio

With equalization applied, the last step we need to take is to normalize the audio.Quoting Wikipedia, normalization is:

Audio normalization is the application of a constant amount of gain to an audio recording to bring the average or peak amplitude to a target level (the norm).

In short, the key reason why I do this is to attempt to ensure that the entire track stays, roughly, at the same volume level.Everybody has natural variances when they speak, as well as other reasons why some sections will be louder or softer than others.

How to zip documents in one folder. This fact is exacerbated when you're recording audio at different times, as the sound is, without a very controlled environment and recording process, going to be different.So when you want the final piece to be consistent, you use normalization.

To apply normalization in Audacity, with the entire track still selected, click Effect -> Normalize.Then set 'Normalize maximum amplitude' to -6.0 dB.Then click OK.

That's a Bit of Work. Why Not Save Yourself Time & Create an Effects Chain?

Doing all these steps by hand is fine, that is, if you're either experimenting or applying them as a one-off.But applying them over and over again manually is extremely inefficient and time-consuming.

Gladly, Audacity allows you to create effect chains, which you can apply with the click of a button.Let's create one for composed of the effects which I've outlined.

To do that, click File -> Edit Chains., which popup the 'Edit Chains' window.In the lower left-hand corner, click 'Add', and give your chain a name, and click 'Ok'.

Next, at the bottom of the right-half of the 'Edit Chains' window, click 'Insert'.From there, scroll through the commands and choose 'Compressor', then click 'Ok'.

Next, scroll through the commands and pick 'Equalization', but this time click 'Edit Parameters'.You'll see the same dialog as you would have when you were applying the effect manually.

How To Edit Audacity Recordings

Click 'Base Boost' at the bottom and click 'Ok', and click 'Ok' again to add the effect.Next, add 'Equalization' again, but this time, when you open 'Edit Parameters', choose 'Treble Boost'.Then finish adding the effect as before.

Finally, add the 'Normalize' effect.As with equalization, click Edit Parameters and, as before, set Normalize maximum amplitude to -6.0 dB.Then, finish adding the effect, and the chains finished, so click 'Ok' one last time.

To use a chain, you have to 'Apply' it in Audacity's terms.So, open a recording, click 'Apply Chain', and in the 'Apply Chain' dialog which opens, pick the effect chain to use, and click 'Apply to Current Project'. How to install ubuntu on windows 8. That will then apply all of the effects, with the parameters supplied, in the order in which you set them up, to your current project.

That's a Wrap

And that's how you can use Audacity to make an average recording sound far more professional. If you want to do even better, make sure you're using a decent microphone, such as my personal favourite one, the MXL 990.

Just a reminder, if you're not male, perhaps skip on the bass boost.But then, you already knew that, right?If you're an audiophile, or do voice recordings, what is your process for making your voice sound at its best?Share your thoughts in the comments.

You might also be interested in.

This guide is for those who want to be walked through the process step-by-step. It was developed by Ian M. Cook and Dumitrita Holdis.

This guide is available as a .pdf

And below:

1. Import the audio you have previously recorded

• Use Track One for your main audio track (e.g. narration, interview, discussion)
• Place the audio material in sequence (e.g. intro narration, interview, outro). When you import multiple tracks, the audio will appear on different tracks. Move it so that all the audio is on one track.
• Leave an empty track underneath for editing
• You will add music, sound effects or secondary audio later in the editing process

2. (Re)listen to your material

How To Edit Voice Memos Using Audacity

• Decide what sections you want to keep or delete & think about if you want to change the order Easy studio software.

3. If you have background hiss, computer noise or other wanted noise remove it

• Use the noise reduction tool

4. Delete unwanted material

• Delete any material that you will not use
• For now just concentrate on the large chunks that you don't need, don't worry about coughs or other minor noises that you want to fix.

5. Move everything into the right order

• Use the empty track as a temporary space when you move stuff about

6. Go through the audio and fix all the unwanted noises

• Sometimes you will want to delete and close the gap, for example if there is a cough
• But sometimes you will not want to close the gap and yet still remove the noise, for instance if somebody breathes loudly. For such occasions copy a section of audio during which nobody is speaking (e.g. at the start of the recording) and paste it over the unwanted noise. This will preserve the natural pacing of speech.

7. Make the volume consistent throughout the podcast

• Normalise the levels, choosing -2.0 for your peak amplitude
• Amplify any areas that remain too quiet

8. HIGHLY OPTIONAL - Improve the audio quality

• Use the compressor tool to make parts sound louder, more ‘in your face', softer or so on
• Use the equalisation tool to manipulate the frequencies, for instance if you want to make a voice less nasal or deeper

9. Add music or sound effects

• Remove the empty track by clicking on the X

• Import your music or sound effects
• Delete sections that you will not use , e.g. you might only want the first 30 seconds of a song
• Move the music/sound effects to the area you wish it to be
• Change the volume of the music as you wish using the envelope tool, e.g. have the music start loud, and then become quieter as you speak over the top, before becoming louder again

• If you are using music/sound throughout the podcast, remember that there are two ways to paste, one that shifts everything else on the track and one that doesn't.
• Now that you have material on two tracks you might need to move many things at once, pay attention to if you want material to move as one or independently

10. Export your finished podcast

• Export it as an mp3 and think about your meta data.