Difference between revisions of "Learn Audacity"

Revision as of 05:04, 12 June 2017

Go back to
ICT student textbook
ICT teacher handbook

Introduction

Audacity is a free and open source multi-track audio editor and recorder for GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and other operating systems.

Basic information

ICT Competency	It is a generic audio resource creation and editing tool.
Educational application and relevance	You can use this tool to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio recordings as per your academic requirements. You can mix multiple audio's together to create educational resources.
Version	Audacity Version 2.1.2
Other similar applications	OcenAudio is a cross-platform audio editor. Wavosaur is a free sound editor, audio editor, wav editor software for editing, processing and recording sounds, wav and mp3 files. Traverso DAW is an audio recording and editing program which is very well suited to record a single voice, a band, an ensemble, a whole orchestra or any other source of music!
The application on mobiles and tablets	Ringdroid, using Fdroid - WavePad Audio Editor, using Google Play store
Development and community help	Audacity Team

Overview of Features

Importing and exporting of wav, aiff, mp3, ogg Vorbis file formats.
Recording and playing back sounds.
Editing via cut, copy, and paste, with unlimited levels of undo.

Installation

The application is part of the Ubuntu custom distribution.
In case you do not find it on your computer, you can install by typing Audacity on top search bar in Software Centre.
If you would like to install through the terminal follow these steps below:
1. Open terminal by clicking Applications->System Tools->Terminal or through Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T
2. In the terminal window, type below command and press enter to start the installation by providing your machine password:
3. sudo apt-get install audacity

Working with the application

Obtaining Audio from different sources

Audio file can be obtained from many different sources such as audio recorders in phone, camera or laptops. Audio recording in laptops can be done using Audacity which is explained in Step 3 below. Similarly audio can be recorded in other recording devices and transferred to a laptop to edit them using Audacity. Importing audio files from different sources to the laptop is explained in Step 8 of Learn Ubuntu page.

Recording with Audacity

Step 1 -This can be opened from Applications > Sound & Video > Audacity
Step 2 - When you open the Audacity application, it will show the window as above

Step 3

To start recording, click the red record button in the Toolbar as shown in the left image. Begin talking or playing any audio and continue for as long as you want. When you feel you've recorded enough, click the yellow stop button. Until you stop the recording, other functions on the Menu and Toolbar will be disabled. You can record an audio playing on your computer itself, or playing in an another external audio device

Importing audio and multiple tracks

Import Audio in Audacity.png

Importing Audio
Audio track and adding new track
Multiple tracks

To import audio, click File -> Import -> Audio from the menu as shown in the first image above. Choose the music file from your computer, and then click on Open. Once you import an audio clip it will appear in Audacity as an audio track as you can see in second image. If you want to add multiple tracks, you can do so by clicking on Tracks -> Add new -> Audio track from the Menu as shown in the same second image. With use of multiple tracks, you can record and at the same time import several audio tracks to work in Audacity as shown in third image above.

Basic audio editing

Selection of Audio
Cutting selected audio
Pasting selected audio

Similar to how we do cut (or copy) paste a selection of text in a text document, we can cut (copy) and paste a selection of audio in an audio file in Audacity. To delete a part of the track, we can select the area of track we wish to delete as shown in first image above and then press delete key on keyboard to delete. To move a part of audio to another place in same track or to another track, we need to select it first as we did before and then click on cut icon on the toolbar as shown in second image. Then the same audio can be pasted by clicking on paste icon on the toolbar as shown in third image above. The usual keyboard shortcuts for cut(Ctrl+X), copy(Ctrl+C) and paste(Ctrl+V) will also work on Audacity. Once you are done with editing, the final audio can be exported to any audio format from the Menu by clicking on File->Export and then Save.

Saving and exporting to different formats

All the edits including files can be saved in uncompressed, lossless quality using the AU format. An AUP project file is created, along with a folder with the same name as the AUP file that contains the project's audio data. For example, if you save a project as chanson.aup, a folder called chanson_data will contain the audio data. We can save the AUP project file with keyboard Ctrl+S shortcut or through File->Save from the Menu.
Exporting to different audio formats can be done with Ctrl+Shift+E keyboard shortcut or by clicking on File -> Export through Menu. List of all available export formats supported by Audacity can be found here.

Advanced features

Audacity is a full-fledge audio editor which has many advanced features. This page lists tutorials that provide step-by-step instructions for performing all the interesting things with audio in Audacity.

Ideas for resource creation

This tool can be used to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio as per academic requirements and to mix multiple audio files together to create educational resources.

References

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Template:Book-sidebar}}
-=Introduction=
+===Introduction===
-Audacity is a free and open source application, its easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. The interface is translated into many languages.
+Audacity is a free and open source multi-track audio editor and recorder for GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and other operating systems.
-==ICT Competency==
+====Basic information====
-Its a Generic audio resource creation tool.
-==Educational application and relevance==
-You can use this tool to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio's as per our academic requirements and you can mix multiple audio's together to create educational resources.
-==Version==
-Audacity 2.1.2
-==Configuration==
-Its part of Ubuntu custom and no need to configure.
-==Overview of Features==
-* Importing and exporting of WAV, AIFF, MP3 (via the LAME encoder, downloaded separately), Ogg Vorbis, and all file formats are supported.
-* Recording and playing back sounds.
-* Editing via cut, copy, and paste, with unlimited levels of undo.
-==Other similar applications==
-'''Ocenaudio'''
-OcenAudio is a cross-platform, easy to use, fast and functional audio editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyse audio files without complications. OcenAudio also has powerful features that will please more advanced users.
-'''Wavosaur'''
-Wavosaur is a free sound editor, audio editor, wav editor software for editing, processing and recording sounds, wav and mp3 files. Wavosaur has all the features to edit audio (cut, copy, paste, etc.) produce music loops, analyze, record, batch convert.
-'''Traverso DAW'''
-Traverso DAW is an audio recording and editing program which is very well suited to record a single voice, a band, an ensemble, a whole orchestra or any other source of music! Both the home and professional user will find Traverso attractive, it's clean interface is easy to learn, and enables you to work quickly and efficiently!
-==Development and community help==
-[http://www.audacityteam.org/ Audacity Team]
-=Working with the application=
-==Functionalities==
 {| class="wikitable"
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:COL Opening Audacity.png|450px]]
+|ICT Competency
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_2_Main_Window.png|450px]]
+|It is a generic audio resource creation and editing tool.
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 1 -This can be opened from Applications > Sound & Video > Audacity
+|Educational application and relevance
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 2 -When you open the Audacity application, it will show the window like this.
+|You can use this tool to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio recordings as per your academic requirements. You can mix multiple audio's together to create educational resources.
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_3_Start_Record.png|450px]]
+|Version
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_4_Add_New_track.png|450px]]
+|Audacity Version 2.1.2
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 3- To Start Recording,
+|Other similar applications
-Click the red record button in Transport Toolbar then begin talking or playing. Continue for as long as you want. When you feel you've recorded enough, click the Stop button.
+|
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 4 -To Add new track, choose Tracks menu > Add new > Audio track
+# [https://ocenaudio.com OcenAudio] is a cross-platform audio editor.
+# [http://wavosaur.com Wavosaur] is a free sound editor, audio editor, wav editor software for editing, processing and recording sounds, wav and mp3 files.
+# [https://traverso-daw.en.softonic.com/ Traverso DAW] is an audio recording and editing program which is very well suited to record a single voice, a band, an ensemble, a whole orchestra or any other source of music!
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_5_Multipal_Track.png|450px]]
+|The application on mobiles and tablets
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Import Audio.png|450px]]
+|[https://f-droid.org/repo/com.ringdroid_20703.apk Ringdroid], using Fdroid -
-|-
+WavePad Audio Editor, using Google Play store
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 5-add Multiple tracks, we can add more tracks as per requirements
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 6-To import audio, From the main menu, select File > Import > Audio. The audio selection window will display.
-Choose the music file from your computer, and then click on Open. A new track will added to your project at the very bottom of the project window. Once you import an audio clip it will appear in Audacity like this; it is called an audio track.  Just like you can cut (or copy) paste a selection of text in a text document, you can cut (copy) and paste a selection of audio in an audio file.
-|-
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_6_Delete_middle_Song.png|450px]]
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Cut selected audio clip for moving to other place - audacity.png|450px]]
-|-
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 7- To delete, copy or cut the part of track, select the area  of track to and then press DELETE button from keyboard to delete, right click and choose copy or cut to make copy or cut.
-Once you choose the copy or cut option, then  move your mouse cursor to wherever you want to add in track. then right click on track and choose PASTE.
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 8- Cut selected audio clip for moving to other place
 |-
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Paste selected audio clip to other place - audacity.png|450px]]
+|Development and community help
-| style="width: 50%;" |[[File:Audacity_7_Export_Metadata_Edit.png|450px]]
+|[http://audacityteam.org/help/documentation/ Audacity Team]
-|-
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 9- Pasting selected audio clip
-Once you choose the copy or cut option, then  move your mouse cursor to wherever you want to add in track. then right click on track and choose PASTE.
-| style="width: 50%;" |Step 10- After you have completed your recording and editing work, Click "File"> "Export", here "Save as" box will appear, rename your track to whatever you want to call it. Select file format (for Ex: .wav, .mp3 etc) and then click SAVE.
-Once you click on Export, then you can also enter some meta data about the audio.
 |}
-==File formats for creation==
+====Overview of Features====
+* Importing and exporting of wav, aiff, mp3, ogg Vorbis file formats.
+* Recording and playing back sounds.
+* Editing via cut, copy, and paste, with unlimited levels of undo.
+====Installation====
+#The application is part of the Ubuntu custom distribution.
+#In case you do not find it on your computer, you can install by typing <code>Audacity</code> on top search bar in Software Centre.
+#If you would like to install through the terminal follow these steps below:
+##Open terminal by clicking Applications->System Tools->Terminal or through Keyboard shortcut <code>Ctrl+Alt+T</code>
+##In the terminal window, type below command and press enter to start the installation by providing your machine password:
+##<code>sudo apt-get install audacity</code>
+===Working with the application===
+====Obtaining Audio from different sources====
+Audio file can be obtained from many different sources such as audio recorders in phone, camera or laptops. Audio recording in laptops can be done using Audacity which is explained in [[Learn Audacity#Step3|Step 3]] below. Similarly audio can be recorded in other recording devices and transferred to a laptop to edit them using Audacity. Importing audio files from different sources to the laptop is explained in [[Learn_Ubuntu#Step8|Step 8 of Learn Ubuntu page]].
+====Recording with Audacity====
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="250px">
+File:Audacity_1_Option_Menu_To_Open.png|Step 1 -This can be opened from Applications > Sound & Video > Audacity
+File:Audacity_2_Main_Window.png|Step 2 - When you open the Audacity application, it will show the window as above
+</gallery>
+[[File:Audacity 3 Start Record.png|left|frame|Step 3]]
+To start recording, click the '''red record''' button in the Toolbar as shown in the left image. Begin talking or playing any audio and continue for as long as you want. When you feel you've recorded enough, click the '''yellow stop''' button. Until you stop the recording, other functions on the Menu and Toolbar will be disabled. You can record an audio playing on your computer itself, or playing in an another external audio device
+{{Clear}}
+==== Importing audio and multiple tracks ====
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
+File:Import_Audio_in_Audacity.png|Importing Audio
+File:Audacity_4_Add_New_track.png|Audio track and adding new track
+File:Audacity 5 Multipal Track.png| Multiple tracks
+</gallery>
-==Saving the file==
+To import audio, click File -> Import -> Audio from the menu as shown in the first image above. Choose the music file from your computer, and then click on Open. Once you import an audio clip it will appear in Audacity as an audio track as you can see in second image. If you want to add multiple tracks, you can do so by clicking on Tracks -> Add new -> Audio track from the Menu as shown in the same second image. With use of multiple tracks, you can record and at the same time import several audio tracks to work in Audacity as shown in third image above.
-You can also save as project to continue the edits, for this go to FILE from menu bar and select SAVE . It will save in .aup format. Again you can open with Audacity and can continue the editing work.
-==Export and publishing files==
+==== Basic audio editing ====
-After completing the editing task, if you need a output final file, then go to FILE from menubar and select EXPORT option and the select file format as MP3 and click export.
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
-Can export its file as MP3, WAV, AMR etc
+File:Audacity 6 Delete middle Song.png|Selection of Audio
+File:Cut selected audio clip for moving to other place - audacity.png|Cutting selected audio
+File:Paste selected audio clip to other place - audacity.png| Pasting selected audio
+</gallery>Similar to how we do cut (or copy) paste a selection of text in a text document, we can cut (copy) and paste a selection of audio in an audio file in Audacity. To delete a part of the track, we can select the area of track we wish to delete as shown in first image above and then press '''delete''' key on keyboard to delete. To move a part of audio to another place in same track or to another track, we need to select it first as we did before and then click on cut icon on the toolbar as shown in second image. Then the same audio can be pasted by clicking on paste icon on the toolbar as shown in third image above. The usual keyboard shortcuts for cut(<code>'''Ctrl+X'''</code>), copy(<code>'''Ctrl+C'''</code>) and paste(<code>'''Ctrl+V'''</code>) will also work on Audacity. Once you are done with editing, the final audio can be exported to any audio format from the Menu by clicking on File->Export and then Save.
-==Advanced features==
+==== Saving and exporting to different formats ====
-*Record live audio
+# All the edits including files can be saved in '''''uncompressed''''', '''''lossless''''' quality using the '''''AU''''' format. An '''''AUP''''' project file is created, along with a folder with the same name as the AUP file that contains the project's audio data. For example, if you save a project as <code>chanson.aup</code>, a folder called <code>chanson_data</code> will contain the audio data. We can save the '''''AUP''''' project file with keyboard <code>'''Ctrl+S'''</code> shortcut or through File->Save from the Menu.
-*Record computer playback
+# Exporting to different audio formats can be done with <code>'''Ctrl+Shift+E'''</code> keyboard shortcut or by clicking on File -> Export through Menu. List of all available export formats supported by Audacity can be found [http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/export_formats_supported_by_audacity.html here].
-*Edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis sound files
-*Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together
-*Numerous effects including change the speed or pitch of a recording
-=Installation=
+==== Advanced features ====
-{| class="wikitable"
+Audacity is a full-fledge audio editor which has many advanced features. [http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorials.html This page] lists tutorials that provide step-by-step instructions for performing all the interesting things with audio in Audacity.
-|-
-! Method of installation !! Steps
-|-
-| From Ubuntu software Centre || Go to Ubuntu Software Centre and type Audacity in search box and Click on INSTALL
-|-
-| From Terminal || Open Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), and then type below command.
- sudo apt-get install Audacity
-|-
-| From the web ||  [http://www.audacityteam.org/ click here to download from website]
-|-
-| Web based registration || Not Applicable
-|}
-=The application on mobiles and tablets=
-FOSS Android Apps on Fdroid - [https://f-droid.org/repo/com.ringdroid_20703.apk Ringdroid]
-Google Play store -  WavePad Audio Editor  - Ringtone cutter
+=== Ideas for resource creation ===
-=Ideas for resource creation=
+This tool can be used to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio as per academic requirements and to mix multiple audio files together to create educational resources.
-You can use this tool to create own voice recordings, modify existing audio's as per our academic requirements and you can mix multiple audio's together to create educational resources.
-=References=
+=== References ===
-[http://www.audacityteam.org/ Audacity Team]
+# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audacity Audacity Wikipedia page]
-[http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorials.html Audacity Tutorial]
+# [http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.html#using Audacity Manual]
 [[Category:Explore an application]]