68 LXF249 May 2019 http://www.linuxformat.com
TUTORIALS Audio editing
Audacity’sinterface
Although technically Audacity can record multi-
channel digital audio, the interface really isn’t designed
for it – it’s meant for simple recording in mono or
stereo. If you’re looking for a Pro Tools replacement,
Audacity isn’t it: try Ardour or QTractor instead. But if
you’re looking for an easy to use wave editor and a fast,
simple way of making stereo mixes, it may be what
you’re looking for. Audacity lets you get deep into the
wave form and perform easy cuts and edits, making it
very popular among technicians who want to cut
together quick edits, and apply basic effects without
getting bogged down by a complex interface.
Nevertheless, Audacity has undergone some
changes lately, and at first glance some long-time users
might have their nose put out of joint. So for the new
users we’ll give you a walkthrough of the major features,
and for the veterans we’ll show you what’s changed and
how to adapt to it. We won’t be showing you all the
features, but we will cover enough of the essentials to
start a workflow.Sounds good
In order to show you how Audacity works, we first need
to have some audio to play with. You can either import
some existing audio or just record random sound (blank
silence is fine) – it doesn’t really matter, as long as
there’s an audio track of some sort.
If you want to add some existing audio tracks, you
can run through a maze of GUI prompts if you really like,
or you can just click and drag them onto the editing
field. As for recording audio, just hit the Record button
in the main toolbar, and if you’re using an internet mic,
clap your hands a few times – that should show up on
the waveform. Press Stop when you’re done and we’ll
be able to look at Audacity properly.
The Device Toolbar lets you change which sound
card you want to use, and which audio host will run the
system – likely ALSA, maybe with the option for JACK.
For your recording device, you will probably have
options for Default (most likely an ALSA device) or
Pulse. ALSA will probably run quicker and be kinder
on the system, though Pulse will likely be easier to get
working if your system is already configured around it.
Perhaps of chief importance is the number of
Recording Channels. Here you can choose betweenigaudio suites are great, but they can be
intimidating to say the least – sometimes
youjust want something that works without
havingtothinktoo much about it. Enter Audacity,
from: http://www.audacityteam.org.
Audacityhasbecome popular on all desktop
platforms,andhas started popping up on YouTube
tutorialsquitea bit. Known for its ease of use and
intuitiveinterface, Audacity is perhaps the audio
equivalentofMicrosoft Paint (erm...–Ed) – it can’t do
deeplycomplicated tasks, but then it was never
intendedtodoso. It’s designed around simple controls
thatmostpeoplecan guess their way around... though
thatdoesn’tmean you can’t achieve some great results!Advanced audio
recording and editing
John Knightreturns to his old recording friend Audacity once again,
andfindsthingshave become a little more advanced.
B
AUDACITY
OUR
EXPERT1
Main Toolbar
Where your primary tools are kept, such
asSelection,TimeShift,ZoomandEnvelope.
(^2)
Track Controls
Tools for muting, soloing tracks and
changing the gain and the pan. This is where
youreallyshapeyoursoundscape.
(^3)
Track Menu
Provides a bundle of more advanced
controls, such as mono-stereo conversion,
as well as renaming and moving tracks.
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Collapse Button
Squishes up any track into a kind of sliver
whichcanbeexpandedlater.
(^5)
Zoom Controls
Dedicated buttons for specific zoom
functions, including zooming into a selected
portionofa wave,orzoomingout100%.
(^6)
Recording Options
Choose which audio system you want
to use, which device to record from, mono or
stereo, and change the playback device.
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John Knight
writes ebooks on
how to play the
drums, when he’s
not playing with a
Commodore 64
emulator.