Audacity is a feature-rich free audio editing software. Read this article to find out how to install it on your device and use it.
Audacity is one of the best audio editing programs: this app allows you to both create audio recordings, podcasts and songs, as well as improve the quality of existing tracks, but it also provides great tools to cut, mix and merge multiple audios together. What’s more, the program is totally free, open source and available on any device or operating system. With Libero Tecnologia, find out how to install the app on your PC or smartphone, how to use it and how to make the most of the wide range of features available.
How to install Audacity
To install Audacity on your device, first go to the app’s home page and from the menu bar at the top, select Download: from the drop-down menu that opens, choose the operating system of the device on which you want to download the program, and proceed with the download. If you are using a Windows computer, once the download is finished, open the audacity-win-x.exe file on your device and follow the installation wizard, making sure to select the Italian language.
The procedure is similar if you are using a Mac or OS X device: once downloaded, open the dmg package and drag the folder to the Applications path. To run the software for the first time, since it is not from the Mac App Store, right-click on its icon and select Open. Audacity is capable of recognizing most audio formats such as WAV, AIFF, MP3 and Ogg Vorbis, but in some cases you may need to download plug-ins to your computer, which are easily available online.
How to use Audacity
Now you can start using all the features the app offers and unleash your creativity. In this short guide Libero Tecnologia takes you through the main features of Audacity.
Making audio recordings with Audacity
To start recording in Audacity, first select the device you want to record with: you can choose to use a microphone for your voice, or record audio from your PC speakers; then set your recording preferences (mono, stereo, volume, etc.). Now click Rec in the upper left corner and create your audio track: when you’re done, click the Stop button, and from the File menu, select Export to save the file to your device.
Edit an audio file with Audacity
One of Audacity’s most popular features is undoubtedly the ability to cut or delete portions of a file. To edit an audio track, first import it into the program by clicking File and then Open, move to the Edit section of the app, and select the portion of text you want to delete: Cut will paste the portion into another audio track, while clicking Delete will permanently erase the recording.
Improving Audio Quality with Audacity
One of the most useful features for improving the quality of an audio is the Noise Removal feature, which lets you remove noise in the background: to do this, once you’ve imported the track, select the portion you want to edit and move to the Effects section click Noise Removal and from the menu that opens choose Edit Noise Profile. Another useful option can be the Compression effect, which allows you to reduce the volume differences between the various sources in a recording. You can select Preview to hear the result, or OK to apply the changes.
Adjust volume and speed with Audacity
The other tools that make Audacity an extremely useful app are those for adjusting the volume and speed of audio files: if you want to increase the volume of a recording, just go to the Effects >Amplify menu; make sure you’ve checked Allow clipping to avoid distortion. To change the speed instead, just use the Effects >Change tempo and pitch section; move the slider forward or backward to speed up or slow down the recording. To change the speed of your voice without altering the overall duration of the song, use the Effects>gt;Change pitch tool.
Mixing audio tracks
Audacity is also an excellent software for mixing audio tracks and lets you work on multiple files simultaneously. Una volta importate le diverse tracce potrai regolarne il volume e l’orientamento, utilizzando gli appositi cursori sulla sinistra. Se invece vuoi spostare una traccia in modo che parta prima o dopo rispetto alle altre, dalla barra degli strumenti con l’icona ↔, seleziona lo strumento Spostamento temporale. A lavoro ultimato clicca sul pulsante Play per ascoltare un’anteprima e, se ne sei soddisfatto, salvalo recandoti nel menu File>Esporta
audio.