Making a Composite Track in Audacity 1.2

[csm2]

I would like to combine two tracks into one using the mute button to turn them on & off at certain points. I assume this should be done prior to exporting but I'm not sure if the mute buttons can function in this manner. If not, would the best course of action be to duplicate part of one track and then part of the other one and copy & paste them into the new track?

Thanks for your advice

[kozikowski]

Yes, but that's working a little too hard. You can use the envelope tool to manipulate one track with reference to another. That's the bent blue line just to the right of the I-Beam tool in the tool cluster upper left. Pull the rubber band down in the areas you want muted. This tool has the advantage that you can listen to it immediately (but not in real time) and move the mute point around a bit if you need to. It also lets you fade a point in and out which is much less disruptive to the show.

There may easily be other ways.

As a production note, this theatrical effect only works if the track popping in and out is perfectly quiet and well behaved. If it's not, you could get traffic noise, refrigerator noise and computer fan noise fading in and out along with the effect.

Koz

[csm2]

Koz,
Thanks for your reply. Can the envelope that you are suggesting be used over a long stretch,like a minute or two of the song or does it only function in Muting smaller sections. The situation I am looking to fix involves two guitar tracks where the front part of one track is better and the second part of another track is better in the latter sections. They would match because of a space in the melody before the improv part starts (second track).

Thanks,
CSM

[kozikowski]

I don't think there is any limit to the length of time the Envelope tool can be active. Like I said, this tool is particular nice in your case because it will let you shape the fade between the two performances, not just hard cut. If you do it right, I bet people will not be able to tell what you did.

Koz

[djla]

I would like simply to combine two tracks into one, with both starting at the same time. How do I do that ? You talk of an envelope tool, but I cannot find that. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[waxcylinder]

@djla - to combine two tracks into one you jist need to select them (CTRL+A will select the whole project for you) and use Project>Quickmix - alternatively jjust export the project to WAV, MP3 or whatever and Audacity will do the Quickmix for you as it exports, but leaving your two separate tracks in the project. (Note that in 1.3.x Audacity Quickmix has been renames as Mix&Render).

And do note carefully that once you have mixed them you cannot un-mix them (except by using the undo and providing you have not closed the project/Audacity in the meantime) - so if you think you may need to retain the tracks separately for whatever reason then make a copy ogf the project prior to the mix-down.

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The Envelope tool is the icon with two white triangles pointing to a little white dot with a blue line passing through. With this tool selected you can set the little white dots at various points and move them (and the associated blue lines up and down - the blue lines control the volume at that point in the recording. You can use the Envelope tool to vary the volume level at different parts of the recording.


WC

[steve]

Envelope tool:

See here: http://audacityteam.org/manual/index.ph ... ls_Toolbar
and here: http://audacityteam.org/manual/index.ph ... elope_Tool

[djla]

Thank you Wax Cylinder ! It works just as you said. Thank you again !