How to amplify certain sounds and decrease volume on others?

[bigsmallie]

Hey guys! Complete newbie here. I just started using audacity a couple of days ago, and so far, I'm loving it. It's a fantastic program with lots of cool features! I do have a couple of questions though.

Without boring everyone with details, I'll just give you guys a basic idea of what I'm trying to do here. I have an audio file I'm trying to enhance because there is some very loud foreground sound (TV, etc), but the background sound is what I'm concerned with hearing, and it is, at times, very quiet (whispering, etc). How would I go about decreasing the volume of the foreground while amplifying the lower volume portions of the recording? Also, during a good portion of the first few minutes of the recording, there is somewhat loud, steady noise that I'd like to get rid of because there is intermittent spaces of quieter sounds of interest. Please note: In it's raw form, some of the quieter background noise is audible and somewhat intelligible when the volume is cranked through a good audio system or earphones. With that in mind, there has to be a way to make it even better, right?

There's quite a bit riding on this, so any help you guys could offer will be greatly appreciated!

[bigsmallie]

Sorry guys! I posted this in the wrong forum earlier. =(

Hey guys! Complete newbie here. I just started using audacity a couple of days ago, and so far, I'm loving it. It's a fantastic program with lots of cool features! I do have a couple of questions though.

Without boring everyone with details, I'll just give you guys a basic idea of what I'm trying to do here. I have an audio file I'm trying to enhance because there is some very loud foreground sound (TV, etc), but the background sound is what I'm concerned with hearing, and it is, at times, very quiet (whispering, etc). How would I go about decreasing the volume of the foreground while amplifying the lower volume portions of the recording? Also, during a good portion of the first few minutes of the recording, there is somewhat loud, steady noise that I'd like to get rid of because there is intermittent spaces of quieter sounds of interest. Please note: In it's raw form, some of the quieter background noise is audible and somewhat intelligible when the volume is cranked through a good audio system or earphones. With that in mind, there has to be a way to make it even better, right?

There's quite a bit riding on this, so any help you guys could offer will be greatly appreciated!

[kozikowski]

You know the old spy movies where the two guys want to talk in private but they're in an unsecured room? They always turn a radio or TV on and talk over it because it's almost impossible to dig a conversation out of the resulting mess.

It's still impossible.

You may be able to suppress that one constant noise over a portion of the "show" with the Noise Removal Tools -- in Audacity 1.3.12. Tools in Audacity 1.2 are very basic, crude, and obsolete.

http://audacityteam.org/download/

Getting rid of the TV, unless somebody argues with me, can't be done. All those noises and interferences are now performers in your show and you can't separate performers.

Koz

[steve]

What you are asking for is a little short of magic. Probably the closest that you will get is to even the volume level out so that the quiet parts are a bit louder. You can try Chris's Dynamic Compressor ( http://pdf23ds.net/software/dynamic-compressor/ ) for doing this. (Use a high "compress ratio" and experiment with the other settings for best results.)

You may also get some improvement using the "Equalizer" effect - If, for example, the loud noise contains a lot of bass frequencies, you can use the Equalizer to turn down the bass frequencies, leaving the treble frequencies relatively louder.

You are unlikely to achieve much significant improvement (if any).

Also, it's not necessary to post the same question more than once (double posting can waste time and cause confusion so it is preferred that you post a question just once).

[bigsmallie]

Thanks for the responses, guys! I'll definitely try those and see what happens, but I was afraid that it was asking a bit much of a program to do that with a live "performance".

For what it's worth, I am a member of several online forums, and I know the rule about double posting. Only reason I did it was because I honestly posted it in the wrong place before (1.3 forum section) when I'm on the 1.2. Sorry...didn't mean to offend.

Thanks again!

[whomper]

...
It's still impossible.
...
Getting rid of the TV, unless somebody argues with me, can't be done. All those noises and interferences are now performers in your show and you can't separate performers.
Koz

the kgb did it
mossad probably could too
cant say about cia

it is all a matter of how much time/money you are willing to spend

kgb did something i would not have believed possible
up to a mile away
they could listen to the power line
and pick off the conversation in your room
that vibrated the filament in a light bulb
and modulated the power line signal
and pulled that out from under your tv
and every other building on that power line

you have to see it to believe it
i saw the proof
you should remain skeptical
but dont discuss any secrets within a mile of anything electric!:)