Editing and normalizing audio in Audacity
Audacity
Demo summary
The host demonstrates how to use zoom tools, delete gaps across multiple tracks, and apply a normalization effect to audio waveforms in Audacity.
Step-by-step
- Use the zoom tools to inspect the waveform
- Select the empty gap across both tracks and press Delete
- Press Command A to select all audio across both tracks
- Go to Effect, then Volume and Compression, and select Normalize
- Set the normalization to -1 dB and click OK
- Select a silent section of the track to use for a noise profile
- Go to Effect, then Noise Removal and Repair, and click Get Noise Profile
- Select the entire track and apply the Noise Reduction effect
Options
- Apply different processing effects to individual tracks instead of both
- Use basic settings for noise cleanup
Watch out for
- You must select both tracks before deleting if you want to remove a gap from the entire timeline
- You must capture a noise profile from a silent area before you can apply noise reduction to a track
Tips
- Normalize audio to -1 dB to ensure tracks have roughly the same amplitude
- Apply more processing to guest tracks if their audio quality is lower than the host's
Highlights
“there is definitely a technical learning curve with Audacity”
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