ART 250 — Introduction to Digital Practices

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Tutorial 4: Audacity

Audio Processing

Objectives
Overview
Requirements

Examples

Step-by-step

 

Objectives

Students will create a multi-track sound file while learning the Audacity interface elements.

Overview

This tutorial is intended to provide students with a basic knowledge of sound design. It encompasses basic Mac OS functions with the integration of Audacity's tools & operations.

Alternative sound recording options not included in this tutorial may be demonstrated by instructors separately. Also, file formats will be addressed for the purpose of sound file integration with a variety of applications.

Review prior to the tutorial:

Musique Concrete

Sound Collage

Musical Montage

Field Recording

Karlheinz Stockhausen

Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Schaeffer, Luc Ferrari

Brian Eno

Topics Covered

In this tutorial the student will learn to:

  • play a sound using Audacity
  • select, copy and paste portions of a sound
  • change the pitch of a sound
  • work with multiple tracks within a document at a time, mix them, set left/right balance and volume
  • apply Effects (amplify, reverb, echo, pitch shift, tempo, fade in, fade out, normalize, equalize)
  • generate noise, silence, tones
  • record sound & voice at appropriate levels to avoid distortion

Requirements

In-class. Follow the steps to create an audio file based on the example presented. Your final sound file should be no longer than 10 seconds.

Submit: Native Audacity project file and sound files (data) folder as well as your exported Mp3 file, all uploaded to to the appropriate section of VS Server 2/Coursework/ART 250.

   

Last updated August 22, 2009 . © 2009 University at Buffalo