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Audacity Tutorial

This document provides a tutorial for using the audio editing software Audacity to remove background noise from audio clips. It includes instructions for installing Audacity, opening sample audio files containing background noise, selecting portions with only noise, applying noise reduction effects, and exporting the processed audio files. The objective is for students to learn how to refine audio by removing unwanted ambient sounds to create more professional videos and podcasts.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
180 views

Audacity Tutorial

This document provides a tutorial for using the audio editing software Audacity to remove background noise from audio clips. It includes instructions for installing Audacity, opening sample audio files containing background noise, selecting portions with only noise, applying noise reduction effects, and exporting the processed audio files. The objective is for students to learn how to refine audio by removing unwanted ambient sounds to create more professional videos and podcasts.

Uploaded by

api-533357373
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Audacity- Get Rid of Background Noise

Objective

Students will be able to refine an audio clip by

taking out any background noise that may be a

result of electronic hums or outside ambience; this

is done in order to create more professional videos

or podcasts. A still shot from the sample video made


in this tutorial

Abstract

Using a cross-platform audio editor such as Audacity

demonstrates how it looks and feels to work with digital

waveforms of sound. Getting accustomed to listening to

digital sound when creating content and developing a good


Audacity
ear is essential to becoming a professional.

Guide for Windows computers

Ensure that Audacity is installed on the school computer. If not, the school

technician, system administrator, or the teacher needs to install the program. There is

nothing nefarious about this software as it is open-source, free of any price tag, and free of

any viruses. Download Audacity here.

You do not need to worry about permission if you are using your own computer.
Once you’ve installed Audacity and downloaded “av101 is very epic” which can be

found here (click the download icon in the top right), notice that it is an .mp3, which is

lossy. A lossy file is compressed and some of the quality is taken out, but we are

working with it because it is such a common audio file format.

1. In Audacity, click File.

2. Click Open, and then find the downloaded sound file and open it.

3. Make sure that you see soundwaves similar to the one shown in picture 3 below.

4. Select (by clicking and dragging) a portion of the audio that has ONLY background

noise. A good three to five seconds should do the trick.

5. Go to Effect -> Noise Reduction. Then click Get Noise Profile.

6. Go back to the timeline, press Ctrl + A so that you select everything, and then go

to Effect -> Noise Reduction and click OK.

Locate the
“av101 is very
epic.mp3” file
in the window
that appears. It
may be in your
Downloads
folder.

Never have I ever... cringed more hearing my own


voice.
Notice that the waveforms in the selected area are present— not absolutely thin. This means there
is some sound. Try pressing X to listen to a preview and press X again to pause.

If you have portions highlighted, pressing Spacebar will ONLY play the selected portion. Click
anywhere on the timeline to get rid of your selection, but keep in mind that you need to have
background noise selected in order to continue with the tutorial, or this will not work.

Use the X key in Audacity instead of the Spacebar in order to Pause


instead of Stop.

• Pause keeps the cursor where you left off


• Stop starts over

You can use your mouse as a placeholder if you want to click at a


certain point to listen to something over and over again.
Go back and hit Ctrl + A

Did you SEE THAT??? The line… it’s thin. You

should notice that the sound is thin where the noise

was! This means you have successfully gotten rid of

that pesky electronic hum of my air conditioner.

High five yourself. (Side note: you may be able to still hear it slightly; you can always

increase the Noise reduction in decibels in order to make it even quieter, or gone

completely.)

Did you know?


In the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl + A, the A stands for “All”. It is
also designed so that only the
fingers on your left hand can reach
it, just like Ctrl + Z (undo), Ctrl + X
(cut), and Ctrl + C (copy)!
Very convenient, and very epic.

This is just a test run— the next step is to do the same process but for “fountain

ambient noise.mp3”. You can download it at the Google Drive link here. This file is
going to need more intensive noise reduction by increasing the Noise reduction (dB)

and Sensitivity when prompted. Export this audio when finished.

Now you can send both audio files to your instructor by clicking File, Export, and

Export as MP3. Choose where you want it to save. Then send it through whatever

platform you use for school so your teacher can grade it.

Grading Criteria

Audio clips will be graded on whether or not the noise was reduced. The clips can be appraised

by opening the mp3 in Audacity and looking at the waveforms, or just listening by ear.

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