To download Audacity
- Audacity is a free, open-source application that is
available for Windows, MacOS 9, MacOS X, and Linux. Go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ to download the version for your computer. Also be sure and
follow the links to download the LAME library if you want to
export to MP3.
To digitize audio from a CD
- insert the audio CD in the drive.
- open Audacity and select File->New (if necessary) to
create a new document.
- select Project->Import Audio
- navigate to the audio CD and select the track you want to
open.
- the complete track should open up in Audacity.
Basic controls in Audacity
- the controls are located at the top of the Audacity
window. Audacity begins playback from the cursor (click on the
waveform with the Selection tool). If you have selected a portion
of the waveform, Audacity will only playback the highlighted
segment.
(from left to right: beginning play record pause stop end)
To crop (delete unwanted) audio from your document
make sure the "Selection Tool" is selected at the top of the
window and drag across the part of the waveform that you want to
delete. Note that if you have more than one track, you must drag
across all tracks.- select Edit->Delete
- NOTE that if you will be adding fades, you might want to leave
a second or two of extra audio at each end.
To add "fade ins" and "fade outs"
- make sure the "Selection Tool" is selected at the top of the
window and drag across the part of the waveform where you want the
fade to occur.
- select either "Fade In" or "Fade Out" from the Effect menu.
To save as a WAV for burning a CD or as an MP3 for use on the
web
- first, audition your file by clicking the "skip to start"
button to fully rewind, then click the "play" button. Make sure
you have no unnecessary silence at the beginning or end.
- open the Audacity Preferences (either under the Application
menu, or the File or Edit menu, depending on your platform).
- click on the "File Formats" tab and select your desired MP3 bit
rate (usually between 128-192 for stereo audio).
- Click OK.
- select either File->Export as WAV or File->Export as MP3 to create the file
