Audacity basic tutorial (1)

Main Controls:

Pause

Play

Time shift tool

Record

Skip to start

Stop

Selection tool

Skip to end

Edit Toolbar:

Cut		Paste		Silence	Redo		Zoom out

Copy		Trim outside selection		Undo		Zoom in

																																																																					

Recording audio input:				

Click on the ‘Record’ button when you are ready to start your input.  

When finished click the ‘Stop’ button.  

When recording it’s best to record several short tracks rather than one long track.								

Importing Audio:

Select ‘Import Audio’ from the ‘Project’ menu.

Browse to the relevant folder and select the file you want to 
import.

Using Audacity (2)

Playing a track:

Click the ‘Play’ button to play.

Clicking the ‘Solo’ button will play only the selected track.

Clicking the ‘Mute’ button will stop the selected track from 
being played.

Deleting a track:

Clicking on this cross will delete the track permanently.

Moving a track:

To move a track along the timeline:

Click on the ‘Time shift’ tool.

Click and hold down the left-hand mouse button and move the track along the line to the desired location.

		You can change the order of tracks using the track pop-down menu.

Move track up – exchange places with the track above this one.
	
Move track down – exchange places with the track below this one.

Trimming tracks:

Highlight the section you want to keep and click on ‘Trim outside selection button’ 
– this will remove everything to the left and right of the selection.

Adding an effect to a track:

Select the track you want to add an effect to and click on the ‘Effect’ menu on the toolbar.  

Choose the effect you want from the list.

Using Audacity (3): saving

Saving your project: 

IMPORTANT:  You will need to save your work as an Audacity file (aup) so that you can work on it at a later date !!  To do this click on ‘File’ on the toolbar and select ‘Save project as’ (now you are saving it as an Audacity file). 

Give the file the appropriate name and save it in your team’s folder.

Exporting as MP3 file:		

When you have completed your project you can export it as MP3 file. To do this click on ‘File’ on the toolbar and select ‘Export as MP3’.		

Remember: Before exporting as MP3  file, make sure you have saved your project as an Audacity file (see above). You CAN NOT modify and edit an MP3 file!