Here's how to use Audacity
and record clean audio on your desktop.
Use our clickable sections below
to skip through different parts of this tutorial.
When you open Audacity, you will see a blank project page.
To save this new project,
click "File," "Save Project," "Save Project As."
To open an existing project,
click "File," "Open."
Step one: Choose your audio input.
To select your audio source,
click the drop-down menu next to the microphone icon
and select the source you want to use.
The program will have your device's built-in microphone
selected by default.
For most voice-over projects,
you will want to record in mono.
If you are tracking music or using multiple mics at a time,
you will likely want to use stereo.
For our purposes, we will continue with mono.
It is recommended that you keep your project rate
at 44,100 hertz
unless you have a specific reason to change it.
Make sure Audacity is playing the audio back
through the correct device.
To change your audio output,
click the drop-down menu next to the volume icon
and select the source you want to use.
Set the volume of your audio clip
using this slider next to the microphone symbol.
You will generally want to keep your levels
under minus 12 decibels in order to keep them from peaking.
To control the playback volume
on your headphones or speakers,
use the scale next to the volume symbol.
To start recording, click the red button
in the upper-left corner.
Audacity will automatically create a new track.
You can click pause to stop the recording in place.
If you click the pause button again,
the previous recording will continue.
If you click stop,
it will end your recording and bring the scrubber
to the beginning of the recording.
If you want to delete an audio track,
press X at the top of the audio track.
To create new tracks,
select "Tracks," "Add New,"
and choose either mono or stereo.
Step four: editing tracks.
To split your audio recordings,
select the desired point in the recording
and hold command + I
or control + I on a PC.
To move these split portions around within the track,
select the time-shift tool from the toolbar,
highlight the portion that you want to rearrange,
and slide it to the left or the right.
Step five: balancing levels.
To balance the audio levels of a recording,
select the envelope tool.
You can drag these two blue borders up or down
to adjust the master levels of the track.
If you need to make very specific adjustments,
click again at the beginning and end of the section
to create independent control points, the small circles.
You can drag these points up and down to adjust the volume.
Noise reduction is an effect used to help remove
or silence unwanted background noise.
While this won't be very effective on harsh sounds
such as dogs barking or car horns,
it can reduce subtle sounds like hums,
ceiling fans, or electronics.
First, record 10 to 20 seconds of room tone.
Room tone is the ambient noise
of the room you're recording in.
When you think you have enough room tone,
keep the recording going until you're ready
to jump right into your content.
When you are done with the track,
highlight the section with the room tone
and click on "Effect," "Noise Reduction."
A new window will pop up.
Select "Get Noise Profile,"
then press command + A or control + A on a PC
to select the entire track.
With the whole track selected,
click "Effect," "Noise Reduction,"
and select "OK."
To balance the bass and treble in your audio,
select "Effects," "Filter Curve."
Then click "Manage,"
"Factory Presets,"
"Bass Boost,"
and adjust the curve very slightly
until you are happy with the results.
If you already have a low, bassy voice,
you may not need much boost here.
From here, open the filter curve again.
Click "Manage," "Factory Presets," "Treble Boost."
You'll want to adjust this
based on your personal vocal tone.
Using the compressor tool will help
even out the levels in the recording
and is especially helpful
if you don't have a professional microphone.
First, select the audio portion
that you want to apply the effect to.
Then navigate to "Effect," "Compressor."
For most podcasts and voice recordings,
you should leave at default.
Apply it to the track, play it back,
and then make very small tweaks if necessary.
After applying any effects, normalize your audio.
This effect allows you to adjust the volume
without affecting the dynamic range.
Select the track you want to normalize
and navigate to "Effect," "Normalize."
For most podcasts and voice recordings,
you should leave the settings at default.
To export your finished project as an audio track,
select "File," "Export,"
"Export as MP3."
Enter the name you would like to save it as,
as well as your destination.
For voice recordings,
you should leave these settings at their default settings.
Audacity will then prompt you to enter metadata tags.
This is not necessary for personal use,
but it is helpful if you are planning
to upload to a streaming service
like Spotify, Apple Music, or similar.