Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision Next revision Both sides next revision | ||
|
audacity [2015/05/24 08:58] slackermedia |
audacity [2015/08/10 23:38] 127.0.0.1 external edit |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| - | [[{arrowp.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;}apps|]] | + | <WRAP centeralign> |
| - | + | <wrap fa>R</wrap> [[ardour|Ardour]] <wrap fa>S</wrap> [[filters|Filters]] <wrap fa>Q</wrap> | |
| - | [[{arrown.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;margin-left:2.5em;}blender|]] | + | </WRAP> |
| ====== Audacity ====== | ====== Audacity ====== | ||
| Line 48: | Line 47: | ||
| <WRAP indent> | <WRAP indent> | ||
| - | Digital audio workstations render sound in regions or containers, so the user only edits an instance of the sound. Regions can be cut and restored at any time, effects are applied to tracks rather than the sound itself, and so on. This is called non-destructive editing, and Audacity does not have it. This does not mean that your sound files are destroyed when edited in Audacity, but it does mean that Audacity's workflow is less flexible than a full-featured DAW. | + | Digital audio workstations render sound in regions or containers, so the user only edits an instance of the sound. Regions can be cut and restored at any time, effects are applied to tracks rather than the sound itself, and so on. |
| + | |||
| + | This is called non-destructive editing, and Audacity does not have it. This does not mean that your sound files are destroyed when edited in Audacity, but it does mean that Audacity's workflow is less flexible than a full-featured DAW. | ||
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> | ||
| Line 57: | Line 58: | ||
| ===== Install ===== | ===== Install ===== | ||
| - | There is a Slackbuild for Audacity on [[http://slackbuilds.org]], but it has two options, which you probably want for maximum flexibility (in fact, the only reason that Audacity is not included in the default ''Slackermedia-huge'' queue file is that these options require manual activation). To activate the optional ''soundtouch'' and ''twolame'' features, first ensure that ''soundtouch'' and ''twolame'' are installed. If you used the ''Slackermedia-huge'' queue file, they are, but to verify: | + | There is a Slackbuild for Audacity on [[http://slackbuilds.org]], but for maximum flexibility, it should be installed only after ''soundtouch'', ''twolame'', and [[ffmpeginstall|ffmpeg]] have been installed. If you used the ''Slackermedia-huge'' queue file, the first two are, but to verify: |
| <code> | <code> | ||
| - | $ ls | + | $ ls /var/log/packages/ | \ |
| - | /var/log/packages/ | grep -E -r 'soundtouch|twolame' | + | grep -E -r 'soundtouch|twolame' |
| </code> | </code> | ||
| If you need to install either library, do so through [[http://slackbuilds.org]] (you can use ''sport'' from a shell, or visit the SlackBuilds website directly). | If you need to install either library, do so through [[http://slackbuilds.org]] (you can use ''sport'' from a shell, or visit the SlackBuilds website directly). | ||
| - | Assuming both are installed, install Audacity, prepending the install command | + | Read the section on [[ffmpeginstall|installing ffmpeg]] to learn more about that. |
| - | with these variable settings: | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | <code> | + | |
| - | SOUNDTOUCH=yes TWOLAME=yes | + | |
| - | </code> | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Installing directly from [[http://slackbuilds.org]]: | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | <code> | + | |
| - | # SOUNDTOUCH=yes TWOLAME=yes ./audacity.SlackBuild | + | |
| - | </code> | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Or with a front-end like ''sport'': | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | <code> | + | |
| - | # SOUNDTOUCH=yes TWOLAME=yes sport i audacity | + | |
| - | </code> | + | |
| + | Assuming everything is properly installed, install Audacity. The build will auto-detect the libraries needed. | ||
| ===== Stability ===== | ===== Stability ===== | ||
| Line 135: | Line 120: | ||
| The UI layout of Audacity on a Slackermedia system is minimal, removing excess toolbars such that only audio input and ouput settings, sample rate, VU Meter, and the tools remain. | The UI layout of Audacity on a Slackermedia system is minimal, removing excess toolbars such that only audio input and ouput settings, sample rate, VU Meter, and the tools remain. | ||
| - | {{ audacity.png }} | + | [{{ audacity.png?666 | This application should be on everyone's computer. What's that? it already is? Very well, then! }}] |
| The keyboard shortcuts are simplified and are aimed for more efficient work. | The keyboard shortcuts are simplified and are aimed for more efficient work. | ||
| Line 242: | Line 227: | ||
| A standard cut (but not a standard delete) leaves behind a visual scar, of sorts, marking where you have just cut out audio. This is actually a convenience ''Undo'' feature; ''click'' the marker, and the cut audio will be returned in place (but you will also still have a copy in your clip-board). In other words, it converts a cut to a copy. | A standard cut (but not a standard delete) leaves behind a visual scar, of sorts, marking where you have just cut out audio. This is actually a convenience ''Undo'' feature; ''click'' the marker, and the cut audio will be returned in place (but you will also still have a copy in your clip-board). In other words, it converts a cut to a copy. | ||
| - | {{audacity_cutsplice.png }} | + | [{{audacity_cutsplice.png | Slicing and dicing. }}] |
| ''Right-click'' the marker to heal the audio region; the audio remains cut. but the marker disappears. There is no harm in leaving the marker, except that sometimes it might get in the way and restore audio that you did not mean to restore, or just be visually distracting. | ''Right-click'' the marker to heal the audio region; the audio remains cut. but the marker disappears. There is no harm in leaving the marker, except that sometimes it might get in the way and restore audio that you did not mean to restore, or just be visually distracting. | ||
| Line 284: | Line 269: | ||
| Sound monitoring, to the inexperienced, might feel a little upside-down; the loudest safe level for speakers to output is marked as 0dB. Levels less than 0dB are logarithmically quieter. Related to that are these two things to keep in mind about sound: loudness is relative, and sound is cumulative. | Sound monitoring, to the inexperienced, might feel a little upside-down; the loudest safe level for speakers to output is marked as 0dB. Levels less than 0dB are logarithmically quieter. Related to that are these two things to keep in mind about sound: loudness is relative, and sound is cumulative. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [{{ audacity_vu.png| Watch your levels.}}] | ||
| Loudness is relative in part because you can never be sure whether your audience has their speakers turned up very loudly or turned down. So it does not suffice to blindly insist that a sound effect of an airplane is definitely louder than chirping crickets, or that a cymbal crash is louder than a bass flute, because you can mix them such that they exist at the same level of loudness, or you can mix them such that they are nearly at the same level. If you want some sound to be definitively louder than others, then you must mix it that way. | Loudness is relative in part because you can never be sure whether your audience has their speakers turned up very loudly or turned down. So it does not suffice to blindly insist that a sound effect of an airplane is definitely louder than chirping crickets, or that a cymbal crash is louder than a bass flute, because you can mix them such that they exist at the same level of loudness, or you can mix them such that they are nearly at the same level. If you want some sound to be definitively louder than others, then you must mix it that way. | ||
| Line 307: | Line 294: | ||
| The **Tracks** menu provides most (but not all) functions for managing tracks. | The **Tracks** menu provides most (but not all) functions for managing tracks. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [{{ audacity_env.png | Automation in Audacity.}}] | ||
| * **Tracks > Add New > Audio Track** defaults to a mono track, so use **Stereo Track** if you need a stereo container for stereo-coupled audio. Mono audio cannot be moved to a | * **Tracks > Add New > Audio Track** defaults to a mono track, so use **Stereo Track** if you need a stereo container for stereo-coupled audio. Mono audio cannot be moved to a | ||
| Line 314: | Line 303: | ||
| * To convert a stereo track into two separate tracks, click the track name (the label at the upper left corner of the track) and select Split Stereo Track or Split Stereo Track to Mono. The former keeps one track as Left and the other as Right, while the latter marks both of the resulting tracks as Mono. | * To convert a stereo track into two separate tracks, click the track name (the label at the upper left corner of the track) and select Split Stereo Track or Split Stereo Track to Mono. The former keeps one track as Left and the other as Right, while the latter marks both of the resulting tracks as Mono. | ||
| - | {{ audacity_env.png }} | ||
| === Effects in Audacity === | === Effects in Audacity === | ||
| Line 332: | Line 320: | ||
| Audacity calculates effects based on the audio stream contained in a track and then applies the results back to the audio stream. The only way to change the effect then is to Undo, recalculate and re-apply. This means that an audio stream must be present in order for an effect to be heard, so if you apply reverb or an echo delay with a 2 second decay to a piece of audio one second in duration, you will only hear one second (probably less, depending upon the response time and tail level) of reverb. To hear all two seconds, generate a second or two of silence and attach it to the audio clip, then apply the reverb. | Audacity calculates effects based on the audio stream contained in a track and then applies the results back to the audio stream. The only way to change the effect then is to Undo, recalculate and re-apply. This means that an audio stream must be present in order for an effect to be heard, so if you apply reverb or an echo delay with a 2 second decay to a piece of audio one second in duration, you will only hear one second (probably less, depending upon the response time and tail level) of reverb. To hear all two seconds, generate a second or two of silence and attach it to the audio clip, then apply the reverb. | ||
| - | Audacity ships with several common effects, but since it is compatible with | + | Audacity ships with several common effects, but since it is compatible with LADSPA, it has full access to any LADSPA effect you have installed, including the Steve Harris LADSPA pack installed by ''slackermedia-huge.sqf''. |
| - | LADSPA, it has full access to any LADSPA effect you have installed, including | + | |
| - | the Steve Harris LADSPA pack installed by ''slackermedia-huge.sqf''. | + | |
| === Saving === | === Saving === | ||
| - | Saving your work in Audacity can be done in two ways; you can export to an | + | Saving your work in Audacity can be done in two ways; you can export to an audio file or you can create a project file to save all of your changes in a format that Audacity can continue to edit later on. With few exceptions, it is recommended to save your project, and export your work for your final product. |
| - | audio file or you can create a project file to save all of your changes in a | + | |
| - | format that Audacity can continue to edit later on. With few exceptions, it is | + | |
| - | recommended to save your project, and export your work for your final product. | + | |
| - | Creating an Audacity project is as simple as choosing File > Save Project. An | + | Creating an Audacity project is as simple as choosing **File > Save Project**. An Audacity project is not self-contained by default, so it behooves you to create a new folder to hold your project files, or else use Slackermedia's [[planter|Planter]] application to manage your projects. If you use a ''Planter'' directory structure, place the Audacity project file (the ''.aup'' file) within the ''sound/session'' directory. |
| - | Audacity project is not self-contained by default, so it behooves you to create | + | |
| - | a new folder to hold your project files, or else use Slackermedia's Planter | + | |
| - | application> application to manage your projects. If you use a Planter | + | |
| - | directory structure, place the Audacity project file (the .aup file) within the | + | |
| - | sound/session directory. | + | |
| - | A project folder is created by Audacity and placed alongside of your .aup file; | + | A project folder is created by Audacity and placed alongside of your ''.aup'' file; it contains edits of audio clips used in your project and is meant to be used by Audacity rather than by humans, so it's best left alone. To that end, Audacity will by default prompt you whenever you import audio to either make a copy of the audio into its project folder or to just use the file as-is (change the default in Audacity Preferences). This boils down to linking or embedding (or dynamic versus static linking, to use a software analogy); if you feel that you are managing your audio files carefully (''Planter'' helps with this) then there is no need to copy files to Audacity's directory, but if you have no structure for keeping dependent audio sources along with the Audacity edit, then you should allow it to manage audio for you, at the cost of larger Audacity project folders. |
| - | it contains edits of audio clips used in your project and is meant to be used | + | |
| - | by Audacity rather than by humans, so it's best left alone. To that end, | + | |
| - | Audacity will prompt you whenever you import audio to either make a copy of the | + | |
| - | audio into its project folder or to just use the file as-is. This boils down to | + | |
| - | linking or embedding (or dynamic versus static linking, to use a software | + | |
| - | analogy); if you feel that you are managing your audio files carefully (Planter | + | |
| - | helps with this) then there is no need to copy files to Audacity's directory, | + | |
| - | but if you have no structure for keeping dependent audio sources along with the | + | |
| - | Audacity edit, then you should allow it to manage audio for you, at the cost of | + | |
| - | larger Audacity project folders. | + | |
| - | Exporting | + | === Exporting === |
| - | At some point, you will want to export your project as a self-contained, | + | At some point, you will want to export your project as a self-contained, distributable audio file. Since there is no **Master Out** channel in Audacity, listen to your entire project carefully before exporting, monitoring the output levels for distortion. You may not hear distortion in Audacity but if the volume meter exceeds 0dB then there will likely be distortion in the final output. Either go back to the problem areas and manually adjust the volume. |
| - | distributable audio file. Since there is no Master Out channel in Audacity, you | + | |
| - | should listen to your entire project carefully before exporting, monitoring the | + | |
| - | output levels for distortion. You may not hear distortion in Audacity but if | + | |
| - | the volume meter exceeds 0dB then there will likely be distortion in the final | + | |
| - | output. Either go back to the problem areas and manually adjust the volume. | + | |
| When ready to export, set the sample rate for your exported file in the | When ready to export, set the sample rate for your exported file in the | ||
| Selection toolbar. | Selection toolbar. | ||
| - | To export, select File > Export. | + | To export, select **File > Export**. |
| - | In the Export window, set the audio codec that you want to use with the | + | In the **Export** window, set the audio codec that you want to use with the dropdown menu in the lower right corner. This menu is populated according to the codecs that you have available on your system, so on a full Slackermedia install, you should have access to every major audio codec, even if only by using an external export engine. |
| - | dropdown menu in the lower right corner. This menu is populated according to | + | |
| - | the codecs that you have available on your system, so on a full Slackermedia | + | |
| - | install, you should have access to every major audio codec, even if only by | + | |
| - | using an external export engine. | + | |
| - | Inbuilt Codecs | + | **Inbuilt Codecs** |
| For all of the inbuilt codecs: | For all of the inbuilt codecs: | ||
| - | 1. Type in a name for your exported file in the Name field at the top of the | + | -Type in a name for your exported file in the Name field at the top of the window. |
| - | window. | + | -Choose where you would want to place the exported file in your filesystem. |
| + | -Optionally, set options for the codec (such as quality or bitrate) using the Options.... | ||
| + | -Click the Save button in the lower right corner. | ||
| + | -For some codecs, you may be prompted to fill in optional ID3 tags. | ||
| - | 2. Choose where you would want to place the exported file in your filesystem. | + | **Exporting Using External Programmes** |
| - | + | ||
| - | 3. Optionally, set options for the codec (such as quality or bitrate) using | + | |
| - | the Options.... | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | 4. Click the Save button in the lower right corner. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | 5. For some codecs, you may be prompted to fill in optional ID3 tags. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Exporting Using External Programmes | + | |
| To use an external programme for exporting: | To use an external programme for exporting: | ||
| - | 1. Select External Program from the codec dropdown menu. | + | -Select External Program from the codec dropdown menu. |
| + | -Click the Options button at the bottom of the window. | ||
| + | -Enter the command you want to run in the Command field. | ||
| + | -Place a tick mark next to Show output to be notified when the external command has finished running. | ||
| - | 2. Click the Options button at the bottom of the window. | ||
| - | 3. Enter the command you want to run in the Command field. The synax of the | + | The syntax of the command will depend upon what external application you are invoking; for example, to pipe audio through ''speexenc'': |
| - | command will depend upon the command; for example, to pipe audio through | + | |
| - | speexenc: | + | |
| - | | + | <code> |
| - | speexenc --quality 5 --comp 5 --vbr --denoise --author "Slackermedia" - "%" | + | speexenc --quality 5 --comp 5 --vbr --denoise --author "Slackermedia" - "%" |
| - | | + | </code> |
| + | But to send it through lame: | ||
| - | But to send it through lame: | + | <code> |
| + | lame - "%f" | ||
| + | </code> | ||
| - | + | In both cases, the ''-'' represents a path to ''standard in'' and ''%f'' is a place-holder for the output filename placed in the **Name** field. In other words, the application (''lame'' or ''speexenc'' or whatever) opens a tunnel to standard in as its source of input data, and Audacity sends its output data to standard in, and thus a connection is made. Not all applications accept data from ''standard in'', but many encoders do, so generally this should work. The place-holder of ''%f'' in this context makes your external command non-specific to the project, so that you can use it later on. | |
| - | lame - "%f" | + | |
| - | | + | |
| + | What command you use and how you use it is dictated by the command syntax itself; if you are not a regular user of the encoder that you want to invoke, look up the syntax and do a few tests in a Unix shell first. Running it as an external command from within Audacity is not the way to learn an encoder, so get familiar with it first, and then try invoking it from within Audacity. | ||
| - | In both cases, the - represents a path to standard in and %f is a | + | ===== More Information ===== |
| - | place-holder for the ouput filename placed in the Name field. In other | + | |
| - | words, the application (lame or speexenc or whatever) opens a tunnel to | + | The full official Audacity manual is online at [[http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/index.html]] |
| - | standard in as its source of input data, and Audacity sends its output data | + | |
| - | to standard in, and thus a connection is made. Not all applications accept | + | |
| - | data from standard in, but many encoders do, so generally this should work. | + | |
| - | The place-holder of %f makes your external command non-specific to the | + | |
| - | project, so that you can use it later on. | + | |
| - | What command you use and how you use it is dictated by the command syntax | ||
| - | itself; if you are not a regular user of the encoder that you want to | ||
| - | invoke, look up the syntax and do a few tests in a Unix shell first. | ||
| - | Running it as an external command from within Audacity is not the way to | ||
| - | learn an encoder, so get familiar with it first, and then try invoking it | ||
| - | from within Audacity. | ||
| - | 4. Place a tick mark next to Show output to be notified when the external | ||
| - | command has finished running. | ||
| <WRAP tip> | <WRAP tip> | ||
| **See Also** \\ | **See Also** \\ | ||
| - | Sox \\ | + | [[sox|Sox]] |
| - | mhWaveEdit \\ | + | /* |
| - | soundkonverter \\ | + | [[http://slackbuilds.org/result/?search=mhwaveedit&sv=|mhWaveEdit]] \\ |
| - | Sweep | + | [[http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=29024|Sound Konverter]] |
| + | */ | ||
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> | ||
| - | [[{arrown.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;display:inline-block;float:right;}blender|]][[{arrowp.png|border:0;background:none;width:0;float:right;}apps|]] | + | |
| + | <WRAP centeralign> | ||
| + | <wrap fa>[[ardour|R]]</wrap> <wrap fa>[[start|S]]</wrap> <wrap fa>[[filters|Q]]</wrap> | ||
| + | </WRAP> | ||