AUDACITY TUTORIAL - SOUND DESIGN!

Topics Covered

In this tutorial the student will learn to:

• play a sound using Audacity
• select, copy and paste portions of a sound
• change the pitch of a sound
• work with multiple tracks within a document at a time, mix them, set left/right balance and volume
• apply Effects (amplify, reverb, echo, pitch shift, tempo, fade in, fade out, normalize, equalize)
• generate noise, silence, tones
• record sound & voice at appropriate levels to avoid distortion
• exporting Audacity project files to MP3 or WAV for integration with other applications

Step-by-step

Note: Before launching Audacity, open System Preference and set the SOUND>INPUT to Internal Mic (iMacs) or External Mic (Mac minis and Pros). Also check the volume of your computer. Set it loud enough to hear but not too loud as to disturb others. Use headphones (plugged into the small speaker jack on the back of the computer) if available.

1. Create a New file

Name it [your_last_name]-ex3.aup and Save As… to a New Folder titled [your_last_name]-Ex3 on your Desktop. Be sure to include your name in the title of the Audacity file…this will ensure that the data folder that is created automatically by Audacity will also have your name on it should you need to turn it in to your professor.
When Audacity asks if you want to Save all Audio into your project, answer Yes.
Note that Audacity saves out two elements: a Project file (.aup) and a Data folder. The data folder may contain numerous sound samples. The .aup file and its accompanying data folder must always be moved together, and never renamed.

2. Connect to the UBBox and select a background sound

Open the exercise 3 audio resources. Drag a sound out of the Backgrounds folder to your new Exercise 3 folder.
Open the file in Audacity. Select 15 seconds of the file and copy and paste it into your exercise 3 file.
Select all and run the Normalize effect.

3. Manipulate 15 second background track

Select all or portions of the track and experiment with applying the following Effects. Stop when you’ve altered the sample so that it is no longer recognizable and you feel you’ve got something interesting to start with.
Reverse
Change Speed
Change Pitch
Change Tempo
Fade In/Out
Bass and Treble
Amplify
Experiment with the Envelope tool to add and drag handles to control the amplitude within the track.
Save your document.

4. Import additional sound segments

Drag-and-drop additional sound samples from your Sound Excursions folder on the server, or use the Import command under the Project menu. You may have to change the file type in Adobe Media Encoder to a WAV. The imported file will appear on an additional track. You can then use cut, copy, paste and the time-shift tool and move around the chunks of sound you are starting to assemble.
Try selecting a portion of one of your samples, then experiment with the Edit>Clip Boundaries>Splitcommand and the Edit>Duplicate command. What is the difference between them?
Remember to Normalize and adjust Gain and Pan as needed.
Your goal here should be to have at least 5 separate tracks running simultaneously in your piece. Apply the effects you used in step 3 to further manipulate your samples.
Save your document.

5. Record audio with mic or external recorders

You can record audio into the built-in mic of your computer. Go to the Audacity menu and select Preferences. Set the input device to Built-In Audio and select a 2 Channel Stereo file. Then, make sure that the microphone is set to “Monitor Input”. When you want to record, you don’t need to make a new track…a new track will be made automatically for you. Be sure that your cursor is at the beginning of your file, and when you’re ready, just press the Record button (with the red circle) and start making sound. You can always Undo Record if you don’t like the results.
Save your document.

6. Generate tones, silence, noise

Select a short portion of one of your tracks. Then go to the Generate menu and choose Tones, Silence or Noise to see the difference between these sound generators. You can Undo what you create in this step, or leave it in the final work if you like it.
Save your document.

7. Experiment with L/R panning and gain of each track

The controls for Left and Right Panning, (moving a stereo sound around spatially from left to right), and Gain (volume), can be found to the left of each track. Experiment with adjusting these settings for each track. This is known as “mixing”. You are preparing your multiple track recording to be “bounced down” to a stereo sound file.
Save your document.

8. Export the Audacity file to Mp3

Export as MP3. Make sure that the tracks you want to be present in the are not muted. If you want to preserve stereo channels, make sure your final mix down contains both channels.
Go to File, Export. Choose  MP3. You might be asked to “edit id tags” for your Mp3…you can ignore this step and just hit OK. Audacity project files must be converted to Mp3 or WAV in order to be used by Flash and other programs.

9. Submit Mp3 file according to your instructor’s directions.

Save and Close your project file. Do not change the names of either your project file or its accompanying data folder. Do not move one without the other. Do not put the project file inside the data folder. In other words, do not change the relationship between the project file and the data folder.
Copy your exported Mp3 file to a location as explained by your instructor.

VOCABULARY

Technology

sampled audio

Converting audio from analog to digital in a 2-step process: sampling (rate) and quantization (bit depth).

MIDI

Musical Instruments Digital Interface. Standard protocol for communicating between electronic instruments. Allows instruments to be controlled by hardware or software sequencers.

waveform

A plot of amplitude against time. Provides a visual indication of the perceptual qualities of sound.

pitch/frequency

The perception of the relative highness or lowness of a tone. Higher wave frequencies = higher pitch. Measured in Hertz/cycles per second.

loudness/amplitude

Related to the audio’s volume. Greater wave amplitude (height) = greater loudness. Measured in decibels – 0 is maximum, lower negative numbers approach silence.

timbre/tone color

The perceived difference between two sounds of identical pitch and loudness. Refers to the quality of a note that distinguishes different types of instruments. The different shapes of the waveform reflect the difference timbre.

sine wave

A smooth repetitive oscillation, representing gentle sloping increase in amplitude then gentle sloping decrease.

square wave

A wave that reaches maximum amplitude instantly, remains there, and then instantly drops to minimum amplitude. Represents digital info, on or off.

Sawtooth wave

A wave that ramps sharply upward and then drops.

Triangle wave

A wave that ramps sharply upward then sharply downward.

Vibrato

Modulation of pitch.

Tremolo

Modulation of amplitude.

sampling rate

How frequently an analog signal is captured. Doubling the sampling rate from will double the file size.

bit depth

How much data is captured for each sample. Doubling the bit depth from 8-bit to 16-bit will double the file size.

dynamic range

the range of volume between the quietest and loudest sounds. Digital dynamic range: goes from -infinity (silence) to zero (loudest). Sounds above zero clip or distort.

waveform editors

For working on mono or stereo files one at a time. Record and edit audio files. Good for simple assembling of audio and for audio enhancements.

multitrack editors

Allow for work with multiple audio tracks. The concept of audio composition in two dimensions: the horizontal axis as time and the vertical axis as the audio elements.

mixing down

Exporting the audio by combining all of the tracks with effects. The mixed down audio piece contains no separate tracks.

Pan

Spreading the audio signal into the left and right channels over time. Can create an impression of the sound source moving across from one side to the other.

Normalize

Maximizes the amplitude of a waveform so that the loudest parts of the wave approach -1db.

Envelope

“Wraps” the waveform and allows for the increasing and decreasing of amplitude over time.

Practice

pitch

In visual arts, tone refers to a color’s value—lightness and darkness—which have their implied moods. Higher pitch, like lighter value, may convey positive emotions, such as cheerfulness and hope. Lower pitch, like darker values, may convey negative moods, such as melancholy and fear.

loudness/silence

Loud sounds can grab attention; silence can attract by creating an absence, like the negative space in images. Silence can enrich the sounds that come before and after it.

source

A physical entity causing an acoustic pressure wave.

stream

The perceptual grouping of auditory elements into a whole.

proximity and similarity

Tendency to group auditory elements that are similar in pitch, timbre, loudness, and time as a stream.

common fate

If sounds start and end at the same time or change in loudness and pitch together they may be perceived as emanating from the same source.

good continuation

Abrupt changes in sound are perceived as a new source coming in, but continuous and gradual changes are perceived as the same source changing.

closure

The tendency to fill in lost fragments of sound to make the stream seem intact.

Figure–ground phenomenon

Complex sound may be grouped perceptually into separate streams, and we primarily attend to one stream at a time, although still aware of the other sounds. The attended stream of sound stands out as the figure or foreground, and the unattended streams become background.

past experience

Past experience influences our apprehensions. Arbitrary meaning can be made to connect with the sensory input. Connection between a sound and a visual image can be established by repetitious, simultaneous presentation of the sound and the image.

unity, variety

Unity occurs when different elements of a piece work together to make a whole. Adding variety can create interest. Unity and variety, while appearing to be two opposing concepts, emerge as a similar concept of different implementation. Adding variety by altering only one auditory element or property—pitch, loudness, timbre, or pacing—at a time can make it sound familiar and give listeners a sense of gradual evolution.

harmony

In music, the pleasing relationship between notes in a chord. The relationship between simultaneous audio units can create harmony or discord.

balance

The harmonious adjustment of volume and timbre among instruments. In digital audio, the relative dominance of various auditory elements in a harmonious way.

repetition and rhythm

Can offer a sense of familiarity and stimulate memory. Familiarity often draws attention and thus creates emphasis. As in imagery, repetition in audio also can convey a sense of unity.

emphasis and focus

Can be added by creating differences. May have to build up similarity before difference can be noticed. Loudness and silence can draw the audience’s attention. Emphasis and focus also can be created by repeating a similar audio unit.

perspective

Sound can be used to convey a sense of location and environment. Acoustics is the study of how sound transmission in space is influenced by the way different places reinforce, absorb, and reflect different parts of sound.

stereo

By creating these auditory experience (placement of sounds into left and right channels) one can create a mental, spatial moving image.

mono

By creating these single channel audio, one can create a mental, spatial moving image.

stereo/mono/doppler effect

By creating these auditory experience (placement of sounds into left and right channels; increasing or decreasing volume in a single channel; or increasing then decreasing pitch, one can create a mental, spatial moving image.

Context

mashup

“A digital media file containing any or all of text, graphics, audio, video, and animation, which recombines and modifies existing digital works to create a derivative work”
— en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(digital)

copyright

Gives authors ownership and rights to the use & sale of their works for the life of the author plus 70 years and for works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier.

public domain

Copyright-free ideas and inventions that can be built upon by following generations.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Enacted in 1998 to stop copyright pirates from defeating DRM restrictions, but has resulted in impeding competition and innovation, and chilling free expression and scientific research.

Creative Commons

Nonprofit organization that provides a licensing structure that creates a balance between the reality of the Internet and the reality of copyright laws to maximize digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.