Posted on 11/22/2014 12:04:54 AM PST by CharlesOConnell
Well, sorry, I wasn't quite correct last time. This time I followed through. This is the straight poop.
"Audacity is available for Windows, Mac, Linux; and other operating systems. Check their feature list, wiki, and forum."
Audacity is a great success, a user-community produced and managed application program that does what it's supposed to.
Years ago you used to have to pay for this software, now it's free, but you have to invest your time in learning how to use it.
The worst rub is the learning curve.
So many times, it seems impossible to find Help for the simplest tasks. (Try using Microsoft's internal "Help" system—abysmal!)
There needs to be a hierarchy of the most common tasks.
In this instance, I just wanted to set a selection span in Audacity by the numbers:
(Really, this time!)
You're not selecting from a manually selected region highlighted in the wave form. The Copy command will be grayed out if you try to select in the wave form.
When you are able to copy, you will see no indication in the selected area of the wave form. This is counter-intuitive.
The secret is, after getting your beginning & ending numbers, you Select-All, then you're allowed to manually enter numbers in the Select Left & Right at Playback Position commands, in floating number-entry dialogs.
Search by trial-&-error for your selection by time estimate, about when you started & stopped, then look at the wave form peaks to guess where the beginning and end are.
Click in the wave, play, click around, don't stop, but pause. Note the number in the gauges at the bottom. Notate your start and end points on a Notepad. Sometime increasing or decreasing in half-second increments can get you an exact fit.
Select All.
Edit > Select > Left at Playback Position.
Enter the numbers manually from those you have save.
Edit > Select > Right at Playback Position.
Do the same for the end number.
Copy.
New.
Paste.
If you have only a mono track and want stereo:
Select All. (Ctrl-A.)
Duplicate. (Ctrl-D.)
Go to the right/lower track. Evoke the downward triangle. Select Right Channel.
Go to the upper/left track. Evoke the downward triangle. Select Left Channel. Make Stereo Track.
Export to MP3.
I’ve used Audacity for years. Never got that technical. A right click and drag has always done it for me.
Now we finally know.... Thanks, I guess.
Lou Harrison - Sonata in Ishartum - Pythagorean Tuning / Microtonal Guitar | Tolgahan Çoğulu
I used to like the "idea" of just intonation.
But now I like the "sound" of pythagorean.
If you’re just cutting MP3 I use MP3 Cut. Google it, look out for hitchhikers. Clean version is elegant and does not re-encode the file.
thanks for the tip
any time.
http://www.sacra-pizza-man.org/ancient-greek-tuning-theory/
Charles, the link you’ve posted leads to a page on Ancient Greek Tuning theory at the site, rather than anything about using Audacity. Can you steer me to the location of the Audacity info? I have tried for a short time to find it, but was unsuccessful, and have other things I need to do. My wife has a project she’d like to do in Audacity, but hasn’t been too successful at it, and this info would probably help her considerably.
I like to record my voice on it and lower it using the pitch effect until I sound like Satan, then playing the recording on peoples phones “Hello, this is Hillary Clinton or as you may know me by my other name, Satan. Today I would like to talk to you about diarrhea”
If you go to Youtube and search for Audacity, there are pages and pages of tutorial videos.
I HAVE A QUESTION...
I’m just getting into playing my guitar again... and this time using various things that are currently affordable, like software to slow down a lick while keeping it in pitch, Beatbuddy drum machine...and loopers and the Borg DR-880. I know some of this stuff has been around for years...but I’m a newby..
SO HERE IS MY QUESTION TO YOU.
CAn I take a CD recording that’s saved on my computer, run it through Audacity AND CUT OUT A VOCAL PART... OR A GUITAR PART...then re-record so that I can play it and put in my own guitar and vocals?
Audacity is an amazing tool, especially for free. While I do not use it for “serious” recording projects (I use Pro Tools), I use it extensively in the songwriting process. It’s like my go-to “tape recorder” during the writing process. As the chords and melody are emerging, I record it all with Audacity. I do this because Audacity is fast to open and once open, just ready to go. Hit record and it starts (unlike Garage Band where you have to create tracks and make other settings before you can actually start recording).
The other thing it is amazing for is in the mastering process. When I have all of my mixes, I put them in DDP Creator to measure relative loudness. Then I drop all of the tracks into Audacity and adjust loudness with my various compression and limiting plugins (all of them that I have bought for Pro Tools also show up in and work in Audacity).
I also usually use Audacity to trim/fade ends in order to get the transition between tracks sounding right. Now here’s the really cool part: Audacity then lets you export multiple tracks in one operation. So, all of the modified audio gets exported with one command, rather than 10, 12, 14 (or however many tracks on the album) individual export operations. That’s a real time saver!
Finally, Audacity has a command that allows you to detect digital peaking in tracks by simply choosing it. Then visible red lines show up on the track forms. Sometimes, even though I can barely hear areas of digital peaking—they are there and this process really helps identify them.
You say Audacity has a steep learning curve and I kinda disagree. I guess if you use it as a substitute for Pro Tools, or Logic, of Digital Performer. Traction, etc., that may be true, but it is usable as a simple recording tool without much work. Moreover, I was an advanced computer user when I first got into recording almost 20 years ago and it took me three months with Digital Performer (my first “DAW”) before I could even begin to record. Now that’s a steep learning curve!! And then, after 10 years experience with “DP,” it took me three years to get comfortable with wonky Pro Tools. So, comparatively, Audacity’s a breeze!
Audacity is da bomb! Another great freebie is Irfanview, a digital image creator/editor.
ping
I’ve never heard of Audacity before. Just off the top of your head, do you know if it’s comparable to programs like Adobe Audition, multi-track audio editing programs?
I’m in radio and do commercial voice work. I would like to have a home set-up, but the audio editing software is so expensive!
Anything that can work on raw .wav format is going to be compatible with anything else that can. It’s a very standard format, with the conversions only coming in if needed for the final product.
Thanks, Fire. My husband downloaded the program and is playing with it. I can see it’s similar to other audio editing programs.
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