For musicians, tempo is a constant concern. We need to have control over our tempo in order to make great recordings. We need to learn to adjust the tempo of a recording when required and we also need to learn to record with a consistent tempo. In both of these tutorials you will learn these skills in Audacity.

This video tutorial #21 of #19 in this series. You can see a full list of the available Audacity tutorials at the end of this post.

21 How to Change the Tempo of a Sound in Audacity

Procedure:

There will be times when an existing sound may be a little too short or too long for your needs. Also, there will be times when a piece of music may a fast or slow. Audacity’s Change Tempo effect is great for making these adjustments.

To adjust the tempo the first thing you need to do is select the portion of sound you with to change. Once you have done this you need to go to the EFFECT menu and select CHANGE TEMPO.

You will now see the Change Tempo window where you will find a Percent Change window with a slider. For this exercise we will be using the percentage method for changing tempo, but you can explore the other options in this window. By placing a positive number in the Percent Change window you will increase the tempo by that percentage. By placing a negative number in this window you will lower the tempo. The same effect can be achieved by using the slider.

Once you have entered in a number in the Percent Change window click OK. Once Audacity has processed your change you can click PLAY to hear your new tempo. If you are not happy with your new tempo you can go to the EDIT menu and choose UNDO to return to your original tempo and start the process again.

The Change Speed effect is different than Change Tempo in that Change Speed will change both the tempo and the pitch of a piece of music. Change Tempo only effects the tempo and leaves the pitch unchanged.

19 How to Create a Click Track in Audacity

Procedure:

A click track is an essential tool for recording. Without a click, even the most talented musicians would find it difficult to keep each track exactly in time as they record. While recording, your click track serves as your conductor or metronome to keep you exactly in time. Learn to use a click and it will be your best friend in the studio.

When you first begin playing with a click track you may find it a little strange. The more you play with a click track you will become more comfortable with it. Eventually you will be completely at home playing with the click and your recordings will sound VERY professional.

Audacity has a built-in ability to create a click track. Some of the click track parameters you can customize are, the number of bars (measure) or duration of the click track, the number of beats per bar or meter, the sound of the click itself, and the strength of pulses of the click track.

To create a click track you can follow these steps:

1. Open Audacity, start a new project and go to the GENERATE menu
2. Select CLICK TRACK...
3. You will now see the Click Track window.
4. Go through all the settings to create the click track you need.

Start experimenting with the settings. The setting that you will work with the most will be “Tempo,” “Beats Per Measure” and “Number of Measures.”

When creating a click track for a recording figure out how long you want your track to be. You may not know the number of bars you need exactly, so estimate. Once you have created your click track do a quick run through your song to ensure you have enough bars. Give yourself a few extras at the beginning of your recording for your convenience when getting ready to start.

As you record each of your tracks it is a good idea to count out loud along with the click before being playing. Counting can be edited out later and will give you a clear visual and sound reference as you sync up your tracks.

Learn Audacity Series

The following is a list of all the Audacity tutorials and activities found in this video series

TUTORIALS

1 How to Create a New Audacity Project

2 How to Open or Import Audio Files in Audacity

3 What are Audacity Tracks

4 Audacity Transport Controls

5 How to Save an Audacity Project

6 How to Record

7 How to Set Input Volume Levels

8 How to Export MP3 and WAV Files

9 How to Select and Delete Sound

ACTIVITY 1 - My First Recording

10 How to use Undo and History in Audacity

11 How to Use the Zoom Tools

12 How to Use the Time Shift Tool

13 How to Use the Change Pitch Effect

ACTIVITY 2 - Make Your Voice Sound Like a Chipmunk

14 How to Use the Fade In & Fade Out Effects

15 How to Download Sound Samples from the Internet

16 How to Use the Amplify Effect

17 How to Edit Metadata

18 How to Multitrack Record

19 How to Use a Click Track

ACTIVITY 3 - Multitrack Recording in Audacity - Beatbox

20 How to Make Silence

21 How to Use the Change Tempo Effect

22 How to Use the Equalization Effect

23 How to Reverse Sound

24 Stereo Mono

ACTIVITY 4 - How to Mess Up a Piece of Music

25 How to Remove Vocals from a Recording

SETUP TUTORIALS

SETUP 1 How to Install Audacity

SETUP 2 How to Configure Recording and Playback Hardware

SETUP 3 How to Install the LAME Encoder

PROJECTS

PROJECT 1 - Create a Halloween Soundscape

PROJECT 2 - Interview a Superhero

PROJECT 3 - Create a Radio Play

---

Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors

---