Free, Open Source Audio Editing & Recording Software

1. Free, Open Source Audio Editing & Recording Software Training Session Bradley Knight Digital Media, e-Learning, I.C.S.

2. Audacity’s Interface http://audacity.sourceforge.net/LAME Plug-in for MP3 Conversion

3. 1 3 4 2 • CONTENTS - THEORY • Control Tool Bar -Editing Tools • -Audio Control Buttons • 2 Mixer Tool Bar • 3 Meter Tool Bar • 4 Edit Tool Bar • 5 Track Control Panel • 6 Effects Menu • 7 Importing audio 5

4. CONTENTS (Practical) Recording your voice Editing your voice Adding effects to your voice Mixing your voice with other audio Labelling tracks Exporting audio as MP3’s Saving your Project File

5. Control Tool Bar

6. CONTROL TOOL BAR EDITING TOOLS AUDIO CONTROL BUTTONS

7. Editing Tools Selection Tool Envelope Tool Draw Tool Zoom Tool Time-shift Tool Multi-Tool

8. Audio Control Buttons Skip to Start Play Loop Record Pause Stop Skip to End

9. Mixer Tool Bar

10. Mixer Tool Bar Output Volume Recording Volume Input Source

11. Meter Tool Bar

12. Meter Tool Bar Output Levels (Green) Recording Levels (Red) Used for Monitoring Input and Output Levels Bright Part – Average Audio Level Darker Part – Peak Audio Level Clipping Indicator – Too loud!

13. Edit Tool Bar

14. Edit Tool Bar Cut Copy Silence selection audio only Fit project in window Redo Zoom In Paste Zoom Out Trim away audio outside selection Undo Fit selection in window

15. Effects Menu Amplify To make audio louder Change Pitch To disguise voice Compressor Making only loud parts soft Echo To create echos Fade In Fades audio in Fade Out Fades audio out Normalize Amplifies audio to similar levels

16. To import existing audio: Click on “Project” , then “Import Audio” To import standard audio files into your project, so that you can “mix” them together in your project. e.g. music, sound effects, sound bytes, vox pops.

17. Track Control Panel

18. Track Control Panel To name track and change sample rate To Delete Track “Mute” button stops ONLY this track “Solo” button plays ONLY this track Gain Control affects volume Pan Control affects balance between speakers

19. And now for the FUN STUFF! Recording your voice Editing your voice Adding effects to your voice Mixing your voice with other audio Labelling tracks Exporting audio as MP3’s Saving your Project File

20. Thank you! Bradley Knight Digital Media, E-Learning Team, I.C.S. University of the Western Cape 021 959 2676 blknight@uwc.ac.za This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license Visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode.