Quick Way to "Solo" Multiple Tracks?

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

Hello,
I’m using Windows 7 and vers. 2.1.2 of Audacity.

I have a recording session with many tracks. I thought I might start by adjusting just the drums and there are six tracks of drums. Every time I want to work on them I have to click “Solo” on each track. Or is there a faster way to do this?

Same for working with the entire rhythm section.

Or I guess I could mute the tracks I don’t want to hear? That might be faster. So then I tried selecting tracks I didn’t want to hear and chose “Mute all Tracks” but that function ignored the tracks that I selected and muted EVERYTHING.

I just beginning but I’d like to work faster and easier in Audacity and I find this clicking on Mute or Solo buttons kind of tiresome.

pete in oakland

2

The keyboard shortcuts can sometimes be quicker than using the mouse:

Ctrl+U Mute all tracks.
Shift+Ctrl+U Unmute all tracks.
Shift+S Toggle “solo” on/off for the current track. Use in conjunction with the up/down cursor keys and the “Muli-track” solo button option (see the bottom of this page: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tracks_preferences.html#behaviors)

3

Steve, Do attempt to Shift + toggle while the song is playing or paused?

4

Is that a question?
“Shift+S” works for me on Audacity 2.1.3 alpha on Linux.

5

Thank you, Steve for the keyboard shortcuts. Yes, using the up/down keys and Sft-S is SOMEWHAT faster.

Fortunately, the Effects work on all selected tracks. I just wish the Solo function worked this way also.

pete


6

What would the Solo button do on all selected tracks? Or do you mean a setting that selecting a track automatically soloed it?

Did you enable the “Multi-track” Solo Button Mode? I think you will do better with that mode.


Gale

7

Thank you, Gale, for this though I was a little thrown by your terminology. I guess you meant to select “Standard”, the first choice under Preferences, Tracks, Solo Button. I’m getting more comfortable with the keyboard short cuts to Solo 7 drum tracks and work just on them. Still, wouldn’t be faster to select them and click on a Solo button just once to make them the only active/audible tracks?

pete

8

I just repeated Steve’s suggestion, but yes in 2.1.2 the choice you want is called “Standard”. In the next 2.1.3 version of Audacity, that option is called “Multi-track”. People involved in Quality Assurance and Development always work with builds using the latest not-yet-released code.

Selecting three tracks then use a command or menu item to solo selected tracks is one more step than clicking three Solo buttons. Is such a command or menu item what you want?

Is what you really want a fourth option for Solo Button “Selected tracks” or some such name, whereby whatever tracks are selected are soloed?


Gale