There are many easy-to-use editing tools in Audacity. In this video you will learn how to use the Zoom Tools as well as how to select and delete audio.
This video tutorial is a combination of both Tutorial 11 and 9. You can see a full list of the available Audacity tutorials at the end of this post.
11 Audacity Zoom Tools
Procedure:
When editing sound in Audacity it is useful to be able to zoom in and resize certain areas of your project. Audacity provides you with several zoom tools to allow you to resize your projects as you need.
The first Zoom tool is part of the editing tools. It looks like a magnifying glass. With this tool you can use your mouse to zoom in or out on tracks. Once you have selected this tool from the toolbar you left-click on the part of a waveform you want to enlarge. Right-clicking (or shift key left-click) will zoom out.
Audacity also has four other zoom tools you can use. From left to right they are Zoom In, Zoom Out, Fit Selection and Fit Project.
Zoom In and Zoom Out will zoom in and zoom out on a waveform. When you select a portion of a waveform, by clicking Fit Selection that portion will fill the entire Audacity editing area. This is great for getting a better look at a specific part of the waveform. Fit project will fit the entire project to the full editing area.
9 Audacity Select and Delete Functions
Procedure:
Selecting and deleting sound is something you will use often as you edit sound in Audacity. When you find a piece of sound that you would like to remove first choose your Selection tool.
Click and drag the Selection tool over the portion of the waveform you want to remove. Press your DELETE key.
When deleting a portion of sound that is followed by further sound Audacity will move the later sound into the space where the deleted sound existed. You may not want this to happen. In some cases “Silence Audio” may be a better option. To Silence Audio select the sound you want to remove and go EDIT -> REMOVE AUDIO -> SILENCE AUDIO. When you use Silence Audio the remainder of the track is unchanged.
Learn Audacity Series
The following is a list of all the Audacity tutorials and activities found in this video series
TUTORIALS
1 How to Create a New Audacity Project
2 How to Open or Import Audio Files in Audacity
3 What are Audacity Tracks
4 Audacity Transport Controls
5 How to Save an Audacity Project
6 How to Record
7 How to Set Input Volume Levels
8 How to Export MP3 and WAV Files
9 How to Select and Delete Sound
ACTIVITY 1 - My First Recording
10 How to use Undo and History in Audacity
11 How to Use the Zoom Tools
12 How to Use the Time Shift Tool
13 How to Use the Change Pitch Effect
ACTIVITY 2 - Make Your Voice Sound Like a Chipmunk
14 How to Use the Fade In & Fade Out Effects
15 How to Download Sound Samples from the Internet
16 How to Use the Amplify Effect
17 How to Edit Metadata
18 How to Multitrack Record
19 How to Use a Click Track
ACTIVITY 3 - Multitrack Recording in Audacity - Beatbox
20 How to Make Silence
21 How to Use the Change Tempo Effect
22 How to Use the Equalization Effect
23 How to Reverse Sound
24 Stereo Mono
ACTIVITY 4 - How to Mess Up a Piece of Music
25 How to Remove Vocals from a Recording
SETUP TUTORIALS
SETUP 1 How to Install Audacity
SETUP 2 How to Configure Recording and Playback Hardware
SETUP 3 How to Install the LAME Encoder
PROJECTS
PROJECT 1 - Create a Halloween Soundscape
PROJECT 2 - Interview a Superhero
PROJECT 3 - Create a Radio Play
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