Audacity/C3/Edit-an-audio-using-Audacity/English-timed
Time | Narration |
00:01 | Hello Everyone.
Welcome to this tutorial on Edit an Audio in Audacity. |
00:07 | In this tutorial, we will learn to edit an audio track in Audacity. |
00:14 | To record this tutorial I am using
Ubuntu Linux OS version 14.04 , Audacity version 2.1.2 |
00:25 | To practise this tutorial, learners should
Have installed Audacity on their system and |
00:32 | Have working knowledge of Audacity software |
00:36 | If not, for more details, refer to the Translation and Dubbing series on this website |
00:43 | I will use this timed-script for editing purpose. |
00:48 | To practise alongside, the same script has been provided in the Code Files link of this tutorial.
Please download and use it. |
00:58 | Now let us open an existing Audacity project file to edit the audio. |
01:04 | Earlier, we had dubbed an audio and saved it as Hindi-What-is-ST.aup on our machine.
We will open that same file here. |
01:16 | Now, go to the saved folder and double-click on Hindi-What-is-ST.aup to open the file. |
01:25 | The .aup file opens up. |
01:28 | We can see the audio track here. |
01:32 | Before proceeding further, it is advisable to make a copy of the project file. |
01:38 | In case of any major editing mistake, we can always use the original audio recording. |
01:45 | To make a copy, click on File and then on Save Project As option.
Give a suitable name. |
01:55 | I will give a name as Copy-Hindi-What-is-ST.aup. |
02:02 | Select the location.
I will choose Desktop and then click on Save. |
02:09 | Now, we have a copy of the original recording. |
02:13 | We will continue with this project file. |
02:17 | First let us learn how to Zoom In and Zoom Out. |
02:22 | Place the cursor on the audio track. |
02:25 | On the Edit Toolbar click on Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons. |
02:32 | We can see how the audio track gets zoomed in and zoomed out. |
02:39 | Next, let us learn how to filter out disturbing background noises. |
02:45 | Select the portion on the audio track which has the noise.
Remember to select a portion without voice. |
02:54 | Now in the Main Menu, click on Effect and then on Noise Removal/Noise Reduction. |
03:03 | Step 1: Click on Get Noise Profile.
On doing so, the selected portion will be considered as a noise sample for further processing. |
03:15 | Then click anywhere on the timeline to deselect the portion. |
03:20 | Once again, in the Main Menu, click on Effect and then on Noise Removal/Noise Reduction. |
03:28 | Now in Step 2: Change the value in the field Noise reduction. |
03:35 | Use the recommended value or a lower value, that reduces the noise to an acceptable level. |
03:42 | I will choose an appropriate value say 18.
You may also use the slider. |
03:50 | Higher values will remove the noise completely. |
03:54 | However, it will also result in distortion of the voice in the audio track. |
04:00 | Hisses and hums will become more prominent, as well.
Hence, choose this value carefully. |
04:07 | Make sure that, in the Noise section, Reduce/Remove radio button is selected. |
04:14 | Then click on OK. |
04:17 | It may take some time to remove the noise, if the audio track is very long.
The process is now complete for this sample. |
04:26 | Now, let us play the recording by clicking on the Play button. |
Add the audio | |
04:37 | The noise is now removed from the entire track. |
04:41 | Note: In some cases, you may have to repeat the process to further reduce the noise. |
04:48 | However, too much of noise reduction, may give a metallic effect to the recorded voice.
Hence, do noise removal carefully. |
04:59 | Let us now save the project file by pressing Ctrl + S keys. |
05:05 | Do so regularly as we go along. |
05:08 | It is advisable to save the project file whenever we have done any modification. |
05:15 | Let us now increase the volume of the audio segment that has been recorded at a lower volume. |
05:22 | Select the portion in the audio track, then go to Effect and then on Amplify. |
05:30 | We can see a value in the Amplification box. |
05:34 | This is the optimal amplification value for this file, recommended by Audacity.
But we can also enter another value if we want to. |
05:45 | To reduce the volume, enter negative values, say -10. |
05:51 | To increase the volume, enter positive values, say 15. |
05:57 | It is advisable not to amplify the audio above the recommended value in the box. |
06:03 | Too much of amplification will also enhance the background noises, hisses and hums. |
06:10 | We can also use the slider to adjust the values.
I will keep the value as 10. |
06:18 | Check the Allow Clipping option. |
06:21 | Then click on OK. |
06:24 | Sometimes, an audio file contains unwanted repeats and unwanted sounds. |
06:30 | We can remove these by using the Cut, Copy and Paste options. |
06:36 | First, I will split this audio clip as per my Timed script timings. |
06:41 | Let me play the audio. Press the Play button in the VCR controls. |
Add the audio | |
06:53 | I have stopped at the end of the first sentence, by pressing the Stop button in the VCR controls. |
07:00 | I need to split the audio here. |
07:03 | For that, click on the Selection Tool.
Make sure that the cursor is at the end of the first sentence. |
07:11 | Now press Ctrl+I, which is the shortcut to split the audio track into separate clips. |
07:18 | Then, slide the next clip to the timing that we want. |
07:23 | I will slide it to the timing given in my Timed script. |
07:27 | For this, click on Time Shift Tool. |
07:30 | Observe that the cursor is now changed to double-headed arrow. |
07:35 | I will shift the clip by pressing the left mouse button and dragging it to the required time. |
07:43 | I will repeat this process once again for the next sentence.
Play the audio. |
Add tha audio | |
07:55 | I have stopped the audio by pressing the Stop button. |
07:59 | I will split the audio here. For that, click on the Selection Tool. |
08:06 | Make sure that the cursor is at the end of the second sentence. |
08:11 | Now I will press CTRL+I to split the audio. |
08:16 | Ensure that the Time Shift Tool is selected. |
08:20 | Press the left mouse button and drag it to the required time. |
08:25 | Likewise, we can split and slide the remaining segment of the audio, as per the requirement. |
08:32 | Notice that there are 4 individual audio segments, at their respective timings on the audio track. |
08:40 | Save the file before moving ahead by pressing Ctrl + S. |
08:45 | Now let us learn to cut, copy and paste on the Audio Track. |
08:51 | Ensure that Selection Tool is selected. |
08:55 | Then click on the Audio track at the beginning of the third sentence |
09:00 | Play the audio. |
Add the Audio file | |
09:11 | I have clicked on the Stop button to stop playing the audio. |
09:16 | We can see that the third sentence ends here. |
09:20 | But it has some unwanted sounds and repetitions which we need to delete. |
09:26 | Select the portion of the audio that needs to be deleted, by dragging the mouse. |
09:33 | Then press the Delete key on the keyboard. |
09:37 | Note that when you do this the remaining audio segments move forward on the audio track.
That audio clip has been removed from the audio track. |
09:48 | Now let us learn to move an audio clip from one place to another place on the audio track. |
09:55 | Select the audio clip that needs to be moved. |
09:59 | In the Main menu, click on Edit and then click on Remove Audio or Special and then select Cut.
Or else use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+X |
10:14 | Note that when you do this, the remaining audio segments move forward on the audio track.
Which means it will change the timing of the remaining audio segments. |
10:26 | And, we need to re-arrange the timing of the remaining audio segments all over again. |
10:33 | What if we don’t want to change the timings of the remaining segments?
Let me show you what to do. |
10:41 | First, undo the last action by pressing CTRL+Z keys. |
10:47 | Then again select the audio clip once that needs to be removed. |
10:52 | Now, press Ctrl + Alt + X keys on your keyboard. |
10:58 | This will not only cut the audio segment but also keep the remaining segments in their place. |
11:05 | Please note the difference between the two actions. |
11:09 | Next, select a portion of an audio segment to be copied. |
11:14 | I will select a portion here and click on Edit and Copy.
Or else use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C. |
11:25 | To paste, move the cursor to the place where the audio segment needs to be placed and click there once. |
11:33 | Then click on Edit and Paste.
Or else use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V. |
11:43 | Notice here - the 2 segments appear to be merged.
But it is not so. |
11:49 | Merge the two segments by clicking on the joint between the 2 segments. |
11:54 | Now you can move the whole segment wherever you want. |
11:59 | Let me zoom out here to view the whole audio segments. |
12:04 | Observe that if I try to move this audio clip to the beginning of this track, I am not allowed to do so. |
12:12 | This is because there is no sufficient space available there to accommodate this clip. |
12:18 | Now, let us try the first audio segment. |
12:22 | Drag the 1st audio segment and move it to the end of the fourth audio segment. |
12:28 | After creating space, we are able to move the second segment to the beginning of the track.
This is because now there is enough space available here. |
12:40 | So the standard rule is to first create sufficient space on the track and then move the segments. |
12:48 | Undo the last action by pressing CTRL + Z keys. |
12:53 | Once all the edits are complete, save the project file once again. |
12:58 | Lastly, we need to Export the final project into a format suitable for playback. |
13:05 | Let us export this file into mp3 format. |
13:09 | For this, go to the Main menu bar. Click on File and then on Export. |
13:15 | The Export file dialog box appears.
It will ask us for a name. Enter the preferred name for this file. |
13:26 | I will name the file as Hindi-What-is-ST. |
13:30 | Also select the location where it has to be saved.
I will choose Desktop. |
13:37 | Below this, we can see a drop-down called file type or Format. |
13:43 | It has various audio formats like wav, mp3, ogg, etc. |
13:52 | I will choose MP3 files as the format. |
13:57 | Then click on Save. |
14:00 | Next we will get a dialog called Edit Metadata. |
04:05 | Here, we can add the Artist Name and other information as per our requirement.
I will leave these fields blank. |
14:15 | Click on OK.
This will save the output as Hindi-What-is-ST dot mp3 file. |
14:22 | This may take some time to complete. |
14:25 | Now, go to the folder where we saved the file.
Here is the mp3 file which we exported. |
14:32 | Let us play this file using any standard audio player. |
Add the Audio file | |
14:49 | This brings us to the end of the tutorial. |
14:52 | Let me summarize the tutorial. |
14:55 | In this tutorial we have learnt how to-
Open an existing dot aup project file |
15:03 | Zoom in and out on the audio track
Filter background noise |
15:09 | Amplify the audio
Cut, copy, paste, delete, move an audio clip |
15:17 | Merge two audio clips
Save and export the audio into .mp3 format. |
15:25 | As an assignment, edit an audio file using the timed-script. |
15:31 | The video at the following link summarises the Spoken Tutorial project.
Please download and watch it. |
15:39 | The Spoken Tutorial Project Team: conducts workshops and gives certificates
For more details, please write to us. |
15:49 | Please post your timed queries in this forum. |
15:53 | Spoken Tutorial Project is supported by the NMEICT, MHRD, Government of India.
More information on this Mission is available at this link. |
16:05 | This script has been contributed by the Spoken Tutorial Team.
And this is Mousumi Medhi from IIT Bombay signing off. Thanks for joining. |