That’s a question many people ask themselves. Is there any good, reliable, and free software that I can use to record my voice or other sounds from my computer? Yes! In this article, we’ll show you precisely what you need to do to find a quality, professional-grade audio recording software without paying a dime.
There are many free audio recording software programs available for PC. Free audio recording software often offers essential tools to start, which is good enough for a starter. However, if you’re looking for something with more features, you should consider purchasing a paid version of an audio editing program.
The best free audio recording software for pc is Audacity software.
Audacity is a free and open-source audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems. It is mainly used for recording live audio, editing sound files and creating podcasts, etc. The interface of this software is very user-friendly to use. It has all the features you need to edit your audio files like cut, copy-paste, delete etc. It also provides many effects applied to any sound file, such as noise removal or amplification.
Who Can Use Audacity?
Audacity software can be used to edit both audio data (the sound) recorded by the computer’s sound card or mixer and digital audio files that have been loaded into the program. As a result, Audacity can be used by musicians, podcasters, speech therapists, or anyone else who needs to manipulate sound on their computer.
How to Use Audacity
The following is a step by step guide to help you as a beginner to use Audacity for the first time like a pro:
Step 1. Download Audacity
Download Audacity and install the software from the website www.audacityteam.org
Step 2: How to use Audacity to record
- Check to see if your microphone is connected.
- Go to Edit > Preferences to check your microphone and Audacity settings. Setting suggestions:
- I/O Audio >> [Mono (1)] >> [OK] Recording Channels
- >> Highest Quality Sample Rate [22050 Hz] >> Default Sample Rate [OK]
- To begin recording, click the red Record button.
- To stop recording, press the yellow Stop button.
- By selecting File > Export as, you may export your work.
Once your recording is complete, sometimes you may need to change your voice for special use.
Step 3: Import Your File
You may have a ready recorded file. Find the file you want to modify and import it. To begin, open Audacity and import an audio file. It can play audio files in MP3, WAV, and AIFF formats. For a wider choice of formats, you’ll need to install the optional FFmpeg library.
Select File > Import > Audio to import an audio file.
Alternatively, the drag & drop the files into the Audacity window for a faster way.
Copy-protected music files cannot be imported into Audacity.
Step 4: Examine the Waveform.
Audacity’s stereo waveforms like the image above. Where the waves approach or are closer to the top or bottom, the audio is louder (vice versa.) The length of the audio clip is indicated by the ruler.
Examine the waveforms for any DC offset, or a waveform that is not centered on the horizontal line at 0.0 amplitude. The majority of the time, it is caused by using a malfunctioning audio interface when recording.
To eliminate the DC offset, select the clip and click Normalize.
You may play and pause the audio by clicking the play and stop buttons, or you can use the Space button as a shortcut.
Step 5: Choose and Alter the Audio Range You Desire.
To alter any element of your audio clip, simply choose the section you wish to alter. You may alter a chosen text by cutting, copying, pasting, and duplicating it.
Zooming in and out allows you to make the most of the available area in the window. When you choose a certain range of audio and press play, you can only hear that portion.
You can always choose Edit > Undo if you make a mistake.
How to Trim Audio in Audacity
If the audio is still playing, make sure you hit Space to stop it. Choose the excerpt you wish to get rid of.
Select Edit > Remove Special > Trim Audio from the drop-down menu.
If you make a mistake, you may undo or redo it. The remaining snippet may be away from the track’s beginning after you erase the selected bits or reduce the audio.
To align it, go to Tracks > Align Tracks > Start to Zero.
When exporting the file, however, this isn’t essential because Audacity ignores the white space.
How to Split Audio in Audacity
1. Select the split point in the clip with the selection tool.
2. After that, choose Edit and Clip Boundaries.
3. Split is the option to choose.
4. To split the audio, use the keyboard keys Command + I on a Mac or Control + I on a PC.
Step 6: How to Increase Volume in Audacity
- Depending on the part you want to amplify, select a range of tracks or the entire track.
- Select Effect > Amplify from the drop-down menu.
- A door will swing open. -3.0 dB is the new peak amplitude (ideally.)
- To avoid peaking, make sure “Allow Clipping” is unchecked. Then press OK.
Step 7: How to move Audio in Audacity
Select the Timeshift tool from the drop-down menu.
By clicking on the waveform, you may choose a track.
Simply shift it left or right on the timeline by dragging it left or right.
Step 8: How to use noise reduction in Audacity
- Choose a section of the waveform that is entirely made up of noise.
- Select the Noise Removal tab from the Effects menu.
- Select “Get Noise Profile” from the drop-down menu.
- Select and highlight the area from which you wish the background noise to be removed.
- Select Noise Removal from the Effects menu.
- Make the necessary adjustments and then click OK.
If your audio is seriously distorted, you need to know how to fix audio distortion.
Step 9: How to slow down audio in Audacity
- Choose whatever section you’d want to slow down.
- To select the full track, click to Edit > Select All.
- Select Effect > Change Tempo from the drop-down menu.
- Set the speed of the track by dragging the slider to the left.
- Click OK.
Step 10: How to Use Audacity Fade Out
a. To go to the end of the music, click the Skip to End button.
b. Zoom in to catch the final one or two seconds of the video.
c. One second before the end, click the waveform.
d. Select > Region > Cursor to Track End from the drop-down menu.
e. Then go to Effect > Fade Away to let the sounds fade out smoothly.
Step 11: How to Bass Boost in Audacity
- Choose your music (entire track or a part of it.)
- Select Effects > Bass and Treble from the drop-down menu.
- Keep the treble at 0 and adjust the bass to your liking.
- When you’re finished, click OK.
Step 12: How to Use Autotune in Audacity
To autotune in Audacity, you’ll need to download the GSnap plugin, which is entirely free. This plugin is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Copy the GSnap plugin’s file into Audacity’s “Plug-Ins” folder to install it. Then, in Audacity, activate the plugin.
Add the GSnap plugin under Effect > Add/Remove Plug-ins.
GSnap will then appear on the Effect tab.
To Autotune chosen audio, click on it.
Step 13: Exporting Your Final Project
Keep in mind that selecting File > Save Project > Save Project just saves the file as an Audacity project, which can only be accessed using Audacity. You’ll need to export your file if you wish to open it in other programs like Windows Media Player or Apple Music/iTunes.
Before you export the file, go to Import/Export Preferences and uncheck “Show Metadata Editor before to export step” under When exporting tracks to an audio file.
This Metadata Editor adds more information to the file about the voice or music. If you need to, you can always go back and check it.
How to Export an MP3 File
In the save dialog menu, select “MP3 files.”
To change the bit rate and other variables, go to the Options menu.
How to Export a WAV File
- Select File > Export > Audio from the File menu.
- Change the name of the file
- Select a place for the file to be saved.
- Choose “WAV (Microsoft) signed 16-bit PCM” from the “Format” drop-down option at the bottom of the save window.
- Save the file.
Step 14: Make a test of your audio.
Run a test on the audio file you just saved. In Windows Media Player or Apple Music/iTunes, open the output file (not the Audacity project file, or AUP in short).
If you wish to make more modifications to the final version in the future, remember to save the changes in your Audacity project file.
Benefits of Using Audacity
This program has many benefits that can help you improve your audio recordings. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of using Audacity.
1. It is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, so it will work with whatever computer you use.
2. It is easy to learn how to use, even if you have no experience with audio editing software.
3. It includes a wide range of features that allow you to do everything from basic editing to complex sound design.
4. It is constantly updated with new features, so you can always be sure that you are using the latest version.
