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Podcasting: 101 Audacity Tutorial

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Audacity Tutorial: 17 Essential

Podcast Recording & Editing
Tips
Audacity is an amazing program, but the price tag is even better.
Podcasters like you - beginners and pros alike - can use Audacity to
edit your podcast to make it sound professional and help you
captivate listeners.

Despite Audacitys strong points, sometimes it isnt the most

intuitive program. Though, after youve got the hang of it, youll see
that the features make it worth the learning curve.

Now, before we start remember, remember to save a copy of your

podcast before you import it into Audacity.

How to Set Up Your Podcast

for Success

#1: Get Audacity to recognize your mic

The show cant start unless your recording program recognizes
your microphone. Here are the step-by-step instructions to get
Audacity connected to your mic:

On a Mac (OS X)
1. Go to system preferences from the little Apple logo at the
top left of your desktop.
Click on Sound.

 Click on the Input tab, and select the microphone

you are using from the available options.

Finally, adjust the input volume levels as necessary.

2. Open Audacity on your Mac.

3. Make sure that Audacity is set up to recognize your

microphone.

Click Audacity in the main menu then Preferences.

 Click Devices, and make sure that the selected

microphone (Under Recording > Device) is set for

your microphone.

Note: If you turn on Audacity before plugging in your

microphone, Audacity wont be able to see it. Make
sure to plug in your recording device first, and then
turn on the program.

Now test your microphone by pressing the record

button and recording a quick audio snippet. It can be

something random like Buzzsprout provides the best

customer support in the industry or something like

that. :)

In Windows:
1. First, get Windows to recognize your microphone.

Go to the control panel and access sound settings.

Click on change system sounds or manage audio
devices.

Select your microphone under audio input devices.

Check and adjust audio input properties to improve

sound quality, by adjusting levels.

2. Open Audacity

3. Make sure that Audacity is set up to recognize your

microphone.

Go to the Edit menu.

Check your Preferences and Settings for Audio I/O.

Make sure that the selected microphone (recording
device) is set for your microphone.

Note: If you turn on Audacity before plugging in your

microphone, Audacity wont be able to see it. Make

sure to plug in your recording device first, and then

turn on the program.

Now test your microphone by pressing the record

button and recording a quick audio snippet.

#2 Using pop filters

Recording a studio-quality podcast is easier than you think. The first

step is using a good pop filter. These simple devices improve your

sound quality by limiting the pop sound and excessive puffs of air
(plosives) your voice makes when you speak naturally.

Some podcasters speak into the side of their mic to minimize noise,
but a pop filter is an economical option that will give you great
results.

How to use your pop filter:

1. Choose a good NYLON pop filter. Metal ones are out there,
but not as effective. Expect to pay roughly $25. You dont
want to use a windscreen as a pop filter - they arent the
same.

2. Attach the filter following the manufacturers directions.

3. Speak into the mic - not to the side of it. Try to remember to
reign in your ps, bs, and ds. No matter how good your
pop filter is, those sounds may get past it.

Tip: Try playing back some audio recordings with and without the
pop filter to hear the difference.

#3: Check your levels before you start

recording

You can check your levels in two places - from your main computer
setting and from Audacity. We recommend using Audacity for a
more accurate reading.

Heres how to check your levels:

1. Choose your recording device from the Device toolbar.
2. Use the Mixer Toolbar to adjust your recording levels.

3. Keep your maximum peak levels around -6dB in order to

leave some space for editing.

Note: If you dont see the recording volume slider in Audacity, you

might need to tell your operating system or sound card to let you set
the volume from Audacity.

Perfecting the Sound of Your

Podcast

#4: Use a fade in or fade out to give

professional polish to your podcast

A clean fade in and fade out, will give your podcast episode a
polished and professional feel.

1. Highlight the section of the audio track you want to fade in or

out.

2. Under the Effect menu,

3. Select either Fade In or Fade Out.

Tips: Use a longer fade out than your fade in. For a more

professional sound, consider using a Studio Fade In or Studio Fade

Out, which smooths the sound and varies slightly in speed. Its a
popular effect for music recordings.

If you want your intro or outro to continue for a longer period of time
at a reduced volume level, apply an adjustable fade over the

selected section and vary it to meet your needs. If youd like to fade
between two tracks, use the Crossfade tool.

#5: Use chains to combine effects and

save your settings

Chains are used for either Batch Processing or Effects Automation.

Audacity ships with a single chain included. If you find yourself

using the same effect over and over, chains are the ideal way to
speed up your workflow.

1. Identify the techniques you use for every podcast.

2. Write down the sequence of these techniques.

3. Consider including an audio file (like your intro or outro) as

part of your chain using the Export WAV command.

4. Create your chain by selecting File >> Edit Chains >> Add.
5. Add commands and set parameters for each technique you
want to apply in the chain.

6. Click Ok to exit.

7. To apply a chain, click File >> Apply Chain. Click the right
option to apply the chain to either the entire project or
specific files.

#6: NEVER edit in MP3 format

MP3 is an amazing sound format that is great for keeping file sizes

small while still preserving sound quality. But it is a delivery format,

so you shouldnt be using it while editing.

Use your native file format (WAV or AIFF) to edit for better results.

Then you can export as an MP3 after you have your episode in its
final form.

#7: Save a copy of your epiosde, before

you start making changes
The changes you make in Audacity are irreversible. If you

accidentally delete a section of your audio, or ruin the sound, you

can kiss the original goodbye. Thats why you always want to save
a copy of your audio file before importing it into Audacity.

#8: Create an EQ setting to repair

plosives
Not sure what a plosive is?

Try saving this three times fast - "Peter Piper picked a patch of
pickled peppers."

The popping ps are plosives. Even if you have a pop filter like we
recommend in Tip #2 some plosives might still sneak into your
recording.

You can use this tip to minimize their effects:

1. Highlight the problematic section of your recording.
2. Open Effect and select Equalization.

3. You should see a flat line. If not, click Flatten.

4. Starting roughly at 160 Hz, set a curve the drops from the

midline gradually by intervals of 2dB, with the last four set to

-20dB.

5. Save this curve with a title you can remember, like Plosive
Fixer.

6. Click Ok, and watch the highlighted section correct itself.

7. To adjust multiple sections, click Repeat Equalization under

the Effects menu.

8. Finally, listen to the section again to see check the changes

the equalization has made to your sound file.

Use Amplify, Compress, and

Normalize in the Right
Situations
Its easy to get carried away with the wide array of editing and

processing effects in Audacity, but too much of a good thing is

exactly that - too much. The following Audacity tutorial tips will help
you get the best sound from your recordings by using three of the
most popular techniques in the right circumstances.

#9: Using Amplify

1. Check your audio track for peaks or dips that fall outside
your ideal volume levels.

2. Apply the amplify technique with a positive number if you are

aiming to increase a dip, and by a negative number if you

need to decrease a peak. You can do this by clicking Effect

>> Amplify.

3. Remember: You do NOT want to use Amplify if DC offset is

present, and you do NOT use Amplify if you are using a
chain.

#10: Using Compress

1. If your entire track is filled with peaks and dips, apply this
technique to the entire track to bring the levels closer
together.

2. Use this technique carefully. It can leave a track sounding

too flat if overdone.

3. Highlight the portion of your track that youd like to

compress. Then click Effect >> Compressor.

#11: Using Normalize

1. Apply this technique to bring the gain of the entire track to its
max without clipping.

Note: If DC offset is present, you can and should use

Normalize with DC Offset Correction.

2. Never normalize multiple tracks that include intentional

variations in peak volume, because youll lose the effect.

3. Highlight the audio youd like to change. Then click Effect >>
Normalize.

#12: Truncate Silence

Nobody wants a bunch of dead air in the middle of their podcast.

Use this tip to remove some of the silences to keep your podcast
episode flowing:

1. Highlight your audio track.

2. Click Effect >> Truncate Silence.

3. Set your Operation mode to Truncate Detected Silence.

4. Set your Level to the appropriate level; anything that falls

below this will be deleted.

5. Choose the Duration that a pause must last for in order to

be considered silence. Silences that last longer than this

amount of time will be ignored. Periods of 10 seconds are

good candidates for truncation.

6. Set the Truncate control to 2-5 seconds.

7. Set Compress to 50 percent.

#13 Remove The Snakesssss

If your podcast is plagued by hissing, dont worry you can eliminate

it.

Remove excessive s sounds with a D-esser plugin like Digital Spit

Fish D-esser, or you can do it from within Audacity by following
these simple steps.

NOTE: This tip works best if you are editing a podcast with
significantly higher intensity on your ss.

1. Select and Duplicate the control track.

2. Put your control track into Waveform dB.

3. Identify the dB barrier that most of your track falls below, but
your ss go above.

4. Auto Duck the selected audio, most likely between -18dB

and -20dB. The maximum pause and fade in and fade up
lengths should be significantly shorter than normal (0.1
seconds max).

#14: Use keyboard shortcuts during

playback to save time

Audacity includes many keyboard shortcuts that can take time to

discover. Use this cheat sheet to see all the shortcuts in Audacity.
During playback, the following shortcuts are the ones youll need on
hand. Courtesy of Midnight Music (PDF).

Shortcut

Action

Start playback

Space bar

Stop playback

Space bar

Listen to a selection

Space bar

Play up to selection

Record

Shortcut

Action

Pause

Skip to start - move playback cursor to beginning

Home

Skip to end - move playback cursor to end

End

Move playback cursor a little right/left (while stopped)

Right/left arrow

Loop play - play selection over and over

Shift+space

Preview a cut - play 1 second before and after a selection

Skip playback cursor back one second during playback

Left arrow

Skip playback cursor forward one second during playback

Right arrow

Skip playback cursor back 15 seconds during playback

Shift+Left arrow

Append record (add recording to the end of the current track)

Skip playback cursor forward 15 seconds during playback

Shift+R

Shift+Right
arrow

#15: Whatever you do, dont overdo the

effects

With noise reduction, compress, truncate silence, etc. Youve got a

lot of toys to play with. Its better to use these effects in moderation.
If they are overdone your podcast can be left sounding uninviting
and artificial.

#16: Add intro and outro music with

studio-quality sound

Create separate intros and outros instead of recording them with

each episode. You can import them as audio files later, and save
yourself plenty of time and hassle in the process. Using

prerecorded stock or royalty-free audio is usually a good option.

How to add an intro or outro with Audacity:

1. Find audio you can use legally. Audio Jungle is a good place
to start.

2. Import the audio by clicking File >> Import >> Audio.

3. Use Tip #4 to fade your music in and out.

#17: Export to the highest quality

After youve got your episode sounding exactly how you want you
want, youll want to export it in the best delivery format. Wed
recommend exporting as an MP3 (Constant, 256 kbps, Joint
Stereo?) or Ogg Vorbis (Quality 8).

Tip: Think twice before exporting in .AU. Windows does not

support .AU so we dont recommend using it.

Now that youve learned the basics, get out there and start

podcasting! Remember that while pro-quality sound is important, its

the content of your podcast that is going to win you listeners.
Best of luck!

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