I use audacity to make sound effects for halloween props. I am working on a zombie thing and I need a file that I can set on repeat and it will constantly play but I don’t want it to sound obvious that it is on repeat. I have a sound effect that I am trying to work with and I am taking it out of the middle of it so there is never any silence. What would be the best way to do this without it making it have that jump in tone when it repeats? I tried to copy a section that started and ended with the same number that is show on the left side of the screen. Any ideas?
You are asking about “glitch free looping” - and it is a bit of an art.
There are various techniques, depending on what kind of sound it is.
One method that works well for “pad” sounds (long, non-percussive sounds) is to make the loop in three overlapping parts.
You need Audacity 1.3 for this (not 1.2)
For a Halloween theme, let’s say that we have a sound of wolves howling against a background of ice cold wind.
First, make a duplicate of the track. You now have the original on Track 1 and the copy on Track 2.
Then, find a “non-critical” point somewhere near the middle (somewhere that the volume is low and there are few distinctive sounds).
In the copy of the track, select from this non-critical point to the end and cut it (Ctrl+X).
Create a new track (make sure it is mono/stereo the same as the others) and paste the cut section into the new track.
You now have the original on Track 1, a copy of the first half on Track 2, and a copy of the second half on Track 3.
Use the Time Shift tool (double headed arrow) so that:
Track 3 starts at time=0 seconds.
Track 1 starts a few seconds before the end of Track 3.
Track 2 starts a few seconds before the end of Track 1.
The overlap of the tracks is important.
Note that our composition starts “in the middle”.
It also ENDS “in the middle”, so when it is looped, the start and the end will exactly match.
We now need to smooth the change overs where the tracks overlap.
Select the section at the end of Track 3 where it overlaps Track 1 and apply a fade out.
Select the same section of Track 1 and apply a fade In.
Select the section at the end of Track 1 where it overlaps Track 2 and apply a fade out.
Select the same section of Track 2 and apply a fade In.
Press Ctrl+A (select All)
Press Shift+Spacebar (loop play)
If this sounds OK, you can now Export your masterpiece as a WAV file.
Do NOT export as an MP3 as this will add a short bit of silence to the beginning.
Great Tutorial. Thank You!
Great tutorial thanks Steve for sharing precious information it’s also very helpful for me.