Audacity Introduction
Setting Up Audacity:
Audacity is a free download from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ . It
is also packaged and can be pushed. Be sure to include the LAME
mp3 Encoder (a separate download).
Recommended Preferences (On the Edit menu, select Preferences)
1. On the Audio I / O tab, you can select your playback and
recording devices. For Recording Channels, depending on what
you will be recording, select Mono for a smaller file size.
2. On the File Format tab, consider selecting Make a copy of the file
before editing.
3. If you have not previously selected the location of the LAME mp3
encoder, click on Find Library and browse to it.
Recording with Audacity:
1. Click on to record. It will begin recording wherever the
cursor is placed. You can click on (Skip to End) to begin
recording where you left off or (Skip to Start) to record a
second track that will play simultaneously with the first track.
2. While will pause between recordings, you must click on
to stop recording or playing. You must click on stop
before you can edit.
3. To listen to your recording, click on . It will begin playing
wherever the cursor is placed.
Editing with Audacity:
1. To delete a segment of your recording, click on the selection
tool , and then click and drag over the segment. Press your
delete key.
2. You can also select segments and use the edit toolbar options,
to cut , copy , and paste segments.
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3. You can change the volume of the entire track, using the
volume option on the track menu. If only one part of the track
needs adjusting, select it and then choose Amplify under the
Effects menu. Using the Amplify setting, you can increase or
decrease the volume.
Adding Music or Another Audio Track:
1. On the Project menu, select Import Audio.
2. Browse to your saved Audio file and select.
3. The new track will appear separately under your recorded track.
4. Use the Timeshift tool on the Control toolbar to
slide a track left or right.
5. Under the Effects menu, you can customize your music track by
having the music fade in or out. Select the portion of the track
you would like to customize first. To apply the effect to the
entire track, first select the track by clicking on the track menu.
Exporting Your Project as an mp3:
1. Before you export, edit your ID3 tags. Select ID3 tags from the
Project menu. Add identifying information.
2. From the File Menu, choose Export as MP3.
Resources:
http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/17-audacity-tutorial.htm
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/onlinehelp-1.2/reference.html
http://www.edhsonline.org/other/audacity/index.html