Getting Started With Creating Digital Audio with Audacity

The digital audio world can get complicated. Instead of going into technical details, we will focus on digital audio basics including formats, creating and editing digital audio using an audio editor, Audacity. This quick getting-started guide is an introduction to how to record, edit and export audio using Audacity. Download Audacity

Important: you will need to download both the software and the mp3 encoder to your local
machine. 1. Go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ to download Audacity to your computer. 2. Download LAME mp3 encoder file from http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/ 3. Save the zip folder to anywhere on your computer. 4. Unzip it and save the file lame_enc.dll. You need to remember where you save this file because the first time you use the "Export as MP3" command, Audacity will ask you where lame_enc.dll is saved. Digital Audio Basics Digital audio is created by recording the audio using the microphone on a computer. Digital Audio Technical Terms Bit Depth: In Digital audio, bit depth describes the number of bits of information recorded for each sample. It determines the quality of the audio and size. 16-bit is the quality used by audio CD's 24-bit is used in higher-end audio. 32-bit float is the highest quality that Audacity supports, and it is recommended that you use 32-bit float unless you have a slow computer or are running out of disk space so that when you save it to a compressed format, such as mp3, the quality will remain good. Sample Rates The sample rate refers to the amount of data sampled every second measured in Hz or kHz (one kHz being 1 000 Hz). 44100 Hz is the sampling rate of audio CDs

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Digital Audio File Formats Digital audio comes with a big file size. Audio file formats use a codec (short for compressor/decompressor) to compress a large amount of data into a more manageable file. Different audio formats give different level of compression for different delivery purpose, for example: mp3 allows a good compression of original audio to be delivered via internet. Their small file sizes allow faster web delivery. Because compression will throw away data and thus the audio quality suffers, its a good practice to rrecord your initial sounds at high quality with higher sample rates and bit-depths. The most popular audio compressed formats you'll encounter on the web

.mp3:

Cross-platform/great compatibility. small file size/ Windows only

all major audio player/ almost all mobile devices and software audio player can play mp3 audio Window Media Player

.wma:

.rm

Cross-platform

RealPlayer

Uncompressed audio format: high audio quality, and huge file size This is the default uncompressed audio format on Windows .wav .aiff This is the default uncompressed audio format on the Macintosh

Record Audio with Audacity 1. Connect a microphone: You can use a regular microphone, USB microphone or headphones to record your audio. Built-in mic wont produce the best quality. 2. Verify that the microphone or headset is turned on by going to Start->Programs>Accessories->Entertainment->Volume Control->options->Properties->Recording. Make sure the Select box under Microphone is checked.

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3. Open Audacity and click the red button. When you finish, click stop button.

4. If you hit record button again after you press stop button, your recording will appear on a new track. 5. To save to an Audacity project for re-opening later in Audacity, go to File > Save Project as an .aup project file. Select your location and name your save appropriately. Selection tool - for selecting the range of audio you want to edit or listen to. Time shift tool - for sliding and aligning tracks left or right or to move the entire audio clip around inside its track General Tips

SAVE OFTEN CTRL + Z or Edit > Undo to undo the previous edit. There is unlimited Undo (and Redo). Obey copyright laws

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Tips:

If you hold down the Shift key, the Play button changes to a Loop button, which lets you keep playing the selection over and over again Edit Audio The basic editing tasks are exactly the same as Microsoft Word. Cut, delete, copy and paste all work the same in Audacity. 1. Stop the player 2. Click, hold and drag to select the section (CTRL+A to select the entire audio). 3. Then go to Edit menu to perform any of those editing tasks.

Silence a piece of audio 1. Select the unwanted piece of audio. 2. Select Silence from Edit menu. 3. After that, you can record a substitute audio. Note: The new audio will appear in a separate track. 4. Export as a WAV or MP3 file. To export to an audio file for use in other audio programs on your computer, choose File >> Export.

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Mix two audio tracks together 1. Open one audio file (for example, the voiceover). 2. Select Import Audio from the Project menu and open the other sound (for example, the background music). 3. Listen to your sound using the Play button. Audacity automatically mixes them together. 4. Use Time Shift tool to sync two tracks. 5. To merge two track as one track: go to Tracks menu >> Mix and Render 6. Export as a WAV or MP3 file.

Add Audio Effects 1. Click and drag to select the audio that you want to add effects. 2. The frequently used effects include: o Fade In/Out Zoom In on the track Select the portion of the audio you want to apply the effort Click on Effect > Fade Out/in. o Amplify (increases or reduces the volume of selected audio)

Export the Finished Audio File To export as a MP3 or WAV file: Go to File menu>Export Export File Formats File Format Audio Quality File Size Compatible with Most media players Most media players Audacity. Codec needs to be installed on users PC Best format for

.wav format .mp3 .ogg (open source format)

Excellent Good

BIG (uncompressed) Small (compressed) Small

Audio CDs, High Quality Audio Web audio Not recommended right now

Good

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