# How do I insert a period of silence into a voice track?

**URL:** <https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-do-i-insert-a-period-of-silence-into-a-voice-track/44520>\
**Category:** Windows\
**Created:** [January 8, 2017, 7:17am UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-do-i-insert-a-period-of-silence-into-a-voice-track/44520 "2017-01-08T07:17:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Gale\_Andrews](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gale\_Andrews](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/Gale_Andrews)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-do-i-insert-a-period-of-silence-into-a-voice-track/44520/2 "2017-01-08T15:47:08Z")

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> [@Alessandra](#):
>
> Windows Vista and the most recent version of Audacity.

Please look at Help \> About Audacity… and give us the actual Audacity version number (all three numbers).

> [@Alessandra](#):
>
> I am making a meditation tape with accompanying sounds and music. So far I have completed the voice track. Periodically throughout the voice track I give the instruction to concentrate on the breath, and then leave a period of time silent. I want to change all of these pauses for silence so that they are of a uniform length, they aren’t at the moment, but insert extra time in without wiping bits of what comes after.

At its simplest, click in the blue waves where you want to insert silence, Generate \> Silence… and choose the length of silence to insert.

The only way I know of to automatically make different silence lengths of uniform length is to reduce the silence using [Truncate Silence](http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/truncate_silence.html). However having made uniform short silences, you could extend them uniformly using the experimental [Extend Silences](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/extend-silences/34612/1) plugin.

Note that silences inserted by either method are absolute silence. If it sounds odd to have “room noise” (the silence in your recording) followed by absolute silence, copy some “room noise”, click where you want to paste then Edit \> Paste the room noise. The [Punch Copy/Paste](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/punch-copy-paste/28906/1) plugin may make this much easier, once you have the silences of uniform length.  
  
  
Gale

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