How to edit an audio file

Often while working on an audio file, whether it be a podcast draft, interview, song demo, or montage, you’ll need access to a variety of tools to ensure you can edit your content effectively. Notetracks is a cloud-based audio workstation with a vast number of powerful micro-editing, annotation, and collaboration features that make revising your work, from podcast drafts to music montages, easy, intuitive, and quick.

To begin, click the ‘New Project’ button, select audio as your file type, and give your project a name.

Notetracks – How to create a brand new audio project

Then, start recording your audio either by clicking the ‘Add or Record New Track’ button on the left side of the screen, or by utilizing the playback tools at the bottom of the platform. If you already have your audio recorded, you can also drag and drop the file you’d like to edit into the waveform.

Notetracks – How to add an audio file, such as a podcast draft or song demo

Once your audio file is ready to be edited, click the ‘Editing’ icon in the top header of the workstation.

Notetracks – How to begin editing your audio files

Right click on the audio waveform to view some editing options, including Split, Add Fade In, Add Fade Out, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete. Additionally, you can select the waveform and drag it to move it along the track.

Notetracks – How to access the editing tools

To split your audio track, navigate the playback controller at the bottom to the point in the file you’d like to separate, and then click ‘Split’.

Notetracks – How to split an audio file

To trim an audio file, navigate your cursor to the edge of where you’d like to trim the audio and drag left or right to adjust the amount.

Notetracks – how to trim an audio file

To add a fade in or fade out to your audio file, select the option you’re looking to apply to your draft and adjust the triangular line on your waveform to the duration you’d like your audio draft to fade.

Notetracks – How to add a Fade In or Fade Out effect to your audio file

To cut audio, drag the cursor to where you’d like to cut the audio file, right click on the audio draft, and select cut. This can be helpful in removing gaps of silence or unwanted noises.

Notetracks – How to cut an audio file

Additionally, you can copy and paste your audio files into the project as well. This is especially useful for recurring sound effects, consistent introductions and conclusion clips, and repeating instrumentation; saving time editing your audio file all together.

Notetracks - How to cut and paste an audio file

You can also add additional tracks to the audio file to create song mashups and montages, insert sponsored ad reads into your podcast episodes, or add sound effects to your audio draft. You can repeat the steps to add an audio track into the workstation and then begin to edit several files at once.

Notetracks – How to add an additional audio file to your project draft

You can adjust each audio file individually utilizing the micro-tools underneath the track title. You can adjust the volume, change to solo, mute the track, and switch the tag colour.

Notetracks – How to access individual track controls

When you’re finished editing your audio file, navigate to the bottom right hand corner of the screen and click the ‘…’ button. You’ll be greeted with two download options, either your mix (the audio file and project itself) or comments only. Once you’ve downloaded your edited, cut, and trimmed audio file, it’s one step closer to distributing to your listening audience!

Notetracks – How to download an edited audio file

Editing an audio file, such as editing a podcast draft or song demo, is an essential step in the production process that can significantly improve the quality, clarity, flow and audience engagement of the final product. Notetracks’ collaborative ability allows for podcast editing teams, music producers, and audio engineers to work alongside each other from anywhere with it’s impressive commenting, annotating, notetaking, stamp, and drawing features. Working together with careful editing of podcast episodes, montages, and songs allow for better artistic structure and creation, encouraging a higher rate of focus and enjoyment for the listener.

By utilizing Notetracks’ impressive editing library of micro-tools and features, your next audio project, whether it be a podcast interview or a brand new single, will be in excellent form for commercial release. With it’s strong collaboration, annotation, and commenting tools, Notetracks is the perfect platform to take your audio editing to the next level alongside your team.

Sign up for Notetracks today here.

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