I would like to take parts from within one song, as well as from two different songs and join them to create a new song for my daughters dance routine. I’ve used GarageBand in the past, but it seems that it’s lots of trial and error to get a seamless joining of two different clips. I’m wondering if Audacity would be a better choice for this. If anybody could comment on whether Audacity is a good choice for this…and if so, how I would go about doing this, I would really appreciate it. I’ve also had someone suggest Virtual DJ for this, but If I am correct, Audacity may be a better choice. Thanks in advance for any help.
parts from within one song
We can cut a segment or selected notes from the middle of a song, but we can’t split out the violins from a mixed orchestra.
Open Audacity and File > Import all the songs. They will appear one atop the other and try to play at once.
When they all arrive, File > Save Project. DanceTune2014-02-01 That’s your safety copy so you won’t have to go through all that again if something bad happens.
Use the Time Shift Tool (two sideways black arrows) to shift the songs sooner or later (left to right) so they sound in roughly the right places.
Each time you get to a point where you would absolutely not want to have to go through all that again, File > Save another Project with a slightly different name. DanceTune2014-02-01-a, DanceTune2014-02-01-b.
Then, the envelope tool (two white arrows and bent blue line) will give you volume bands on top and bottom of the tracks. Use these to fade each track in and out as needed.
This is an example of a cross-fade between two tracks:
If the actual sound of each track doesn’t match, you can use the volume slider to the left and/or apply Effects as needed.
When you’re done, File > Export and Audacity will mix down to a single sound file. File > Save a Project first. FinalDanceTune2014-02-01.
You have to add software for Audacity to create an MP3.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_installation_and_plug_ins.html#maclame
I make that sound so easy, but you will be there a while.
Koz
Thanks Koz,
Will the envelope tool make a smoother, more seamless, joining of the two clips than using the “fade in” and “fade out” effects? I’ve used the “fade out/fade in” at the junction, but would like it to sound smoother at the transition.
Thanks