Audacity is a freeware sound and music editing program. It can be used to create original compositions, as well as to edit existing music. For the purposes of this workshop, we will simply look at shortening existing tracks and ‘fading out’ to supplement presentations.

Basic Steps to edit existing sound recordings or music tracks

(if you need music, I have some on the Files and Links page)

(the Audacity toolbar)

1. Open Audacity
2. Select File, Open, and then find the file you want to use on your computer
3. To shorten the file, use the selection tool (the very first one on the toolbar – it looks like a capital I) to highlight what you want to trim off, and then click delete
4. To make part of the music quieter, use the envelope tool (the one that is second on the toolbar – it looks like 2 white triangles pointing at each other) to click the beginning, middle, and end of the area you want quieter. Then drag the middle dots down to lower the volume. (If you want a longer period of quietness, you can add more dots in between the start and finish, and pull them down too).
5. To record your own narration during this “quiet time,” simply click that big red button and talk. A new track will automatically open up, and you can move it to where the quiet time is by using the time shift tool (the bar with 2 arrows on either end).
6. When you are all finished, click File, Export as MP3 to save your file. You can then insert this as your soundtrack into the movie you’re making!

With just these tools, you can trim and edit sound files to accompany your presentations. Movie Maker only allows 1 audio track to accompany a movie, but with Audacity you can put many together (such as background music behind narration) and make a great soundtrack to your show.

For much more, I highly recommend the WikiEducator site about Audacity. It provides very clear instructions for advanced operations.