How to Use Audacity

Audacity is a free recording program designed with the user’s needs in mind. Unlike other programs, Audacity includes a wide assortment of tools and features that allow the user to record, manipulate, and share audio files. Audacity creates digital sound files from a number of sources including cassette tapes, vinyl records, minidisks, and even streaming audio with the proper software. Although Audacity can produce CDs and work with a number of audio files, it is first and foremost an audio editing software. Audacity is a completely open source and free of charge.

Recording

As an audio editing and recording software, Audacity has many different recording options that allow users to create audio files from a number of sources. For example, the user can record speech from a computer-based microphone, mixer, or line input. Users also have the ability to create up to sixteen different channels simultaneously and use existing tracks to create multi-track CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray disks, and files. Users can control volume levels throughout all recordings and the Audacity user interface makes recording audio files easy by providing large, easily identifiable controls.

Importing and Exporting

Audacity can also import and export a wide variety of existing audio files in a number of formats. Audacity currently supports WAV, AIFF, AU, OGG Vorbis, MP2, MP3, and Raw file formats. Unfortunately, Audacity is not able to support restricted audio formats, although third party software might make this possible.

Sound Editing

As an open source sound editor, Audacity includes many different tools for modifying existing audio files. Users can cut pieces of audio tracks, splice multiple tracks together to create new audio files, record new sounds and add them to audio files, and create samples. Users are also able to smoothly control volume levels to create fade-outs, emphasize important parts, and build an ideal environment for the listener. Audacity allows the user to undo and redo an unlimited number of actions and quickly edit large files.

Special Effects

In addition to basic sound editing tools, Audacity has a number of highly useful special effects. For example, users can control both the pitch and tempo of all audio recordings and files individually or simultaneously. Users can also remove background noises such as static, hisses, and humming. Audacity comes with a built-in equalizer, FFT filter, and bass booster that allow the user to alter the frequency of audio files. Volume levels can be adjusted by using the Compressor, Amplifier, and Normalizer and can be constantly measured through the volume meters. Audacity also includes other tools and features such as the ability to create an echo and play audio files backwards.

Miscellaneous

Audacity is available under the GNU GPL public license and can run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Audacity supports a wide variety of plug-ins that provide the user with a number of special effects, editing tools, and much more. These plug-ins are available through LADSPA, VST Enabler, and the Nyguist programming language. Tracks with different formats and sample rates are automatically converted in real-time. Audacity also includes a Spectrogram and Plot Spectrum so that users can view frequencies in a graphical display.