Using Audacity

This tutorial aims to provide a comprehensive guide for using Audacity to create and edit podcasts. If you use this tutorial for a class or workshop please consider adding your name and project to the list below.

Overview
An overview of the Audacity interface and how to modify the preferences for basic podcasting.


 * What is Audacity?
 * The Interface
 * Setting your Preferences

Recording and importing audio files
How to record audio into Audacity using a microphone, and importing audio files into the Track Window from your computers hard-drive.


 * /Recording using a microphone/
 * /Importing existing audio files/

Editing tracks
The basics of selecting and editing parts of a single track, as well as using the envelope tool to fade-in and out sections. Fading-in and out can be useful for putting music behind spoken segments of your podcast.


 * /Editing tracks/: selecting, cutting, pasting, silencing, and deleting.
 * /Zooming//
 * /Fading in and out/

Working with tracks

 * /Moving tracks/ (the Timeshift tool)
 * Track control panel and options
 * naming and labeling tracks
 * track mute and solo buttons
 * gain slider
 * pan slider
 * /Sorting tracks/ (by start-time or name)
 * /Viewing your project/ (Fit in Window & Fit Vertically)

Using Filters

 * Using filters
 * Removing noise
 * Equalizing

Saving and exporting a project

 * /Saving/
 * /Exporting/
 * /Editing ID3 Tags/

Hosting your Podcast

 * http://www.odeo.com
 * http://www.archive.org - The Internet Archive was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format.

Glossary
See: /Glossary/

Video

 * Audacity Tutorial (YouTube video 04:09). Covers downloading and installing Audacity; downloading LAME mp3 codec; changing some preferences and installing LAME.
 * Audacity: Recording with the Microphone (Blip.tv video 0:52).

Tutorials

 * Audacity at flossmanuals.net
 * Audacity Wiki
 * Audacity tutorial
 * Podzone Audacity Workshop - printout of selected pages from this tutorial for Audacity workshop. (PDF 771k)
 * Recording and Editing Digital Sound using Audacity - Flexible Learning Toolbox from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.

Projects that have used this tutorial

 * New Zealand Tourism Research Institute as a training resource for participants in the Western Southland: Podzone Country project.
 * Waiheke Island Podcasting Project