Editing can help you turn your raw audio files into a professional sounding final product that you are proud to share. While there are many different editing techniques, the following instructions will walk you through some of the most common.
Removing Silences
Unwanted silences are often created at the beginning or end of an audio track when there is lag between when you start recording and when you start speaking, or between when you stop speaking and when you stop recording. By removing unwanted silences, you can create professional sounding audio clips with only a hair of silence on either end. To remove unwanted silences from a track:
- Zoom in to the point in the track that contains the silence so that you can view it in the waveform (usually the beginning or end).
- Click and drag over the silent sections of the waveform.
- Press Delete.
Introducing Fades
Fades are gradual transitions in amplitude that ensure smooth transitions between tracks. Recommended best practice is to include a few seconds of Fade In at the beginning of a track and a few seconds of Fade Out at the end that carries you into silence. Doing so can help prevent clicks and glitches by keeping your sound from suddenly exploding in and out of existence. To add a Fade In to your track:
- Zoom in to the beginning of the track.
- Highlight a few seconds of the waveform, starting at the beginning and including just a hair of your target sound.
- From the Effect dropdown in the Menu Bar, select Fade In.
To add a Fade Out to your track:
- Zoom in to the end of the track.
- Highlight a few seconds of the waveform, including just a hair of your target sound and ending at the end.
- From the Effect dropdown in the Menu Bar, select Fade Out.
Moving Clips
When you’re editing multiple tracks, you may want to move a clip horizontally on the x-axis of the waveform and assign it to a new position in time. To move a clip:
- Select the Time Shift tool in the Tool Palette.
- Click and drag the appropriate sound clip until it is positioned in the correct spot.
Balancing Volumes
If the volumes of your overlapping tracks seem unbalanced (e.g.: if the volume of your voice relative to the introduction music seems off), you’ll need to balance volumes to make them more equitable. To change the volume of a particular track, adjust the Track Volume Slider to the left of each track panel.