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Getting Started in Audacity

Tips before you get started

1. We always encourage users to make a duplicate copy of their original audio recording file. Edit using the copy, this decreases the chances of losing important files or data.
2. Keep all vocal recordings, sound effects, & music files organized and know where they are.
3. Remember to save your Audacity project often. (a project file is NOT an audio file)
4. To get usable audio from an Audacity project, you must export your project as an audio file

Editing Audio

Editing audio can be comparable to editing a text document. You can highlight an area you want to delete, and hit the delete key. You can move pieces by highlighting, then copy and pasting to the desired location. It's easy to be intimidated by a software you may not have used before, but diving into it with that comparison in mind can make things easier and less stressful.

Watch the short video below for an editing demo

After watching that video, hopefully you will see just how easy editing a simple audio track can be. You may be left wondering, how do you clean up audio, add music or sound effects? In the below video, we will show you how to add sound effects and background music.

At this point, you should have a nice grasp on how to do simple edits to an audio track and add more tracks for other sounds (effects or music). The next step is exporting your project to get a usable audio file that anyone can listen to on almost any device.

1. In Audacity, click File>Export and select the desired file format (commonly .wav or .mp3)
2. WAV format is a lossy format, but can take up more space
3. MP3 is a smaller format, better for devices with limited storage or sending over the internet
4. DON'T forget to also save your Audacity project, in the event you need to return to change something, then just re-export another audio file when you're done!

Additional Resources

If you have any questions about anything covered above, you can reach out to us via email at SMC@UA.EDU, or via phone at 205-348-4651 and we will do our best to make sure your audio project is exactly what you want it to be.