Audacity is designed to process and record podcasts. This utility contains a package of functions with which you can completely edit your own voice. For example, you can make it soft or coarse and so on. Let's take a closer look at how to use Audacity. In fact, this is nothing complicated, but great functionality can confuse a beginner.
About program features
As noted above, the set of functions is quite large, and it may be difficult to understand how to use Audacity the first time. Therefore, let's look at the example of the latest version of the program. You can export and import audio files in MP3, WAV, FLAC format. In addition, you can record, for example, from the microphone of a webcam or other source, there are no restrictions. With a modern sound card (multi-channel), you can record up to 16 channels. If noises are generated, you can remove them using a sample that is automatically set. There is also the possibility of changing the tone while maintaining the tempo or vice versa. The libsndfile library allows you to save the result in almost any format. Of course, the Audacity program has much more functions, but if all of them are listed, it will take a lot of time.
Supported Formats
It has already been said that this utility works with almost all modern extensions of audio files. One of the most important formats is AUP, which is native to this program. It is in this extension that all projects are stored. If you plan to use the record in other utilities, it is recommended to transcode the file, since AUP reads only Audacity. Windows standard WAV format is also supported. Its characteristic feature is that all files are not compressed. If you use the Mac operating system, you can use AIFF. For computers Sun / au, as well as Next, the formats of the same name are used. A distinctive feature is that compression with a low coefficient is used. Of course, the free Audacity program also supports MP3s. In the latest version, Ogg Vorbis has been added. This extension is considered to be an analogue of MP3, but the sound quality here is an order of magnitude higher.
How to use Audacity?
It all depends on what exactly you want to do. In any case, you will need the main toolbar. Here you can work with the selection, which allows you to select individual parts (fragments) of the record, cut them and paste. There is also such a useful feature as “Envelope Change”. This tool will help you adjust the attenuation and increase the volume in individual sections of the track. There is also the ability to shift recordings in time, scaling, and much more. As for the main panel of buttons, then everything is simple. It contains the most necessary functions, such as "Start", "Pause", "Stop", "Rewind and skip to the end of the track", as well as "Record". First you need to deal with this and only then move on.
How to save in Audacity?
Regardless of your intentions, you should be able to save the result. There is absolutely nothing complicated here, just press the key combination Ctrl + S or select "Save" in the menu. Please note that the changes will be recorded in AUP format, so if you intend to use the recording in other programs, it is recommended to choose a more common extension. You can export the file using the menu or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + S. It is also possible to change the save location and title of the recording. After you have done everything, you can be calm, especially since when you exit the program you will be asked to rewrite the result again for further use in Audacity.
Consider the "Edit" menu
Here you can undo the latest changes, which will help to avoid mistakes, because the presence of such a function allows you to take a step back and not lose anything. This menu contains such important options as “Copy” and “Paste”, and you will need them almost every time. To completely extinguish any signals on a specific section of the track, you can use the "Fill with silence" function. For scaling, there are corresponding options, such as "Zoom In" and "Zoom Out", there is still the opportunity to resize a specific section of the podcast. As practice shows, often the whole record is not required, but only a piece of it is needed. In the "Edit" menu, you can select the "Trim" function and thereby delete everything that turned out to be out of the selection. In principle, this menu has already been completed. It is worth paying attention to the drop-down menu, which opens by right-clicking on the track. It displays basic information on an open record.
Design, creation and effects
If you don’t understand the menu data, it will be very difficult to create a high-quality podcast. In the Project menu, for the most part, you'll be importing. This includes audio tracks, codes, notes, and there is also the ability to download Raw files. As for the "Create" menu, here you can insert a pause into the track using the "Silence" function, for this you need to select a part of the record and click on the corresponding function. In addition, it is possible to create waves (spectral) of different lengths and amplitudes. The number of effects in the program just rolls over. There is no point in describing them all. There are interesting possibilities, for example, normalization. It allows you to even out the sound level of the entire recording, which is extremely useful. The FFT filter is good for boosting and attenuating frequencies. Besides all this, there is inversion and repetition. Using functions is very simple. To do this, just select the sections of the tracks and apply the necessary options. It has already been noted above that you can both cut the Audacity piece of the track and paste, the same applies to noise, which can be added or removed.
A little more about using the program
To make you more confidently navigate the menu, we recommend that you remember several combinations of hot keys. You can create a new project using the combination Ctrl + N, to open it you need to press Ctrl + O, and to close Ctrl + W. You can call up the settings menu using the combination Ctrl + P. As for navigation, then everything is quite simple. You can start and stop recording with the space bar, and increase - Ctrl + 1, decrease - Ctrl + 3. In addition, you can import a track using the combination Ctrl + L. As you may have noticed, the utility is quite functional, so it is suitable for both professional and novice users. And since everyone can learn how to use Audacity, the program is of particular interest to those who like to record tracks and podcasts.
Conclusion
As already noted above, not all functions are described in this article, and this is due to the fact that they are incredibly many, and you can talk about them indefinitely. You can change the tone of the podcast, its pace, as well as speed, but this is far from all the possibilities. There is a function of dividing the track into many parts, noise reduction and much more. One can say that one of the best products for working with audio is Audacity. How to save your project to MP3, you now know, most importantly, save the result as often as possible. That's basically all that can be said on this topic. If you plan to learn the utility at a professional level, then use the technical documentation.