FREE OPEN SOURCE AUDIO RECORDING AND EDITING SOFTWARE

USING AUDACITY

AUDIO FORMATS

• Lots of formats• .wav – very common, uncompressed (big files), lossless,

nearly universal playback ability• .mp3 – very common, compressed (little files), lossy,

nearly universal playback ability • .wma – Windows audio, may have Digital Rights

Management for copy protection• m4p – ITunes format – WILL have Digital Rights

Management for copy protection (probably won’t play back on another computer)

• .ogg – free, open source, uses Vorbis format to play• Librivox – public domain audio books

• .ra – Real Audio, use in decline

RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

• Just like a tape recorder or VCR• Pause, play, stop, rewind, fast forward, record

• Recording shows up as a waveform• Useful to find silence, pauses or extraneous noises if

editing

EFFECTS MENU

• Effects>Amplify• May have to enable “clipping”

to apply the effect

• Effects>Fade In• Effects>Fade Out

• Effects>Remove Noise

EDITING TRACKS

• Playback to find the spot you want to cut• Use the waveform to find

the silences• Use the selection tool to

select the cut• Left click and drag• Hit Delete or Cut to make

the edit• Ctrl + Z to undo an edit

• You can also replace the selection with silence

cut Replace withsilence

Selection tool

ADDING MUSIC TO YOUR PROJECT

• Import tracks you want to mix•http://www.mfiles.co.uk/ and find TWO songs appropriate for your restaurant track. Save and import the two files into your audacity project. Remember to save to YOUR named folder on the desktop.

YOUR MUSIC MUST…

-Fade in and Fade Out (both songs)

-Each song should be 15 seconds each

- At 20 seconds into your track become louder than all the other tracks (see SoundDay2 for a reminder on how to adjust volume in individual tracks)

- Have the tempo pick up at 25 seconds to the end– remember tempo is also in the Effects section.

FINAL CHECK LIST

Two Songs that…Fade In and OutAre 15 seconds each in lengthGet louder than all other tracks at 20 secondsIncreases tempo at 25 seconds

Four Sound Effects includingOne Walla that lasts the full 30 secondsOne Dish or Glass Crashing (10 Seconds into the track)People Laughing (at 15 seconds into the track)Plates or Glasses Clinking

SAVING YOUR PROJECT

-Save project as ClassYOURNAMEEx: 1MRSGREENE

- After you have saved the project, export the file as a .mp3 or .wav

- Email both the AUDACITY file and the .WAV/.mp3 to mbhsgreene@gmail.com