How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Nisko · Post by **Nisko** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:55 am

I have quite a few "short" sound bites that I would like to use in Windows Sounds and other apps. The problem is that the sounds are so short that they don't play. By the time Window's player loads, the sound is gone. A good example is attached. I don't know how to use Audacity at all. Would some kind soul tell me how to do this using Audacity? Thank you...........

Post by **steve** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:32 am

Nisko wrote:I have quite a few "short" sound bites

How many is "quite a few"? are we talking about 10's or 1000's?

Nisko · Post by **Nisko** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:47 pm

Perhaps 20 - but I'd do them myself if I knew how. The one I attached is the most important right now. Thanks.

Post by **steve** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:59 pm

The simplest solution would be to use a better audio player - one that doesn't chop off the start of the file (I use Foobar2000 on Windows - it can play virtually any type of audio file, it opens quickly, is light on computer resources, can convert between different formats, and is free).

However, to answer your question:
1) Import the track into Audacity (either "File menu > Import > Audio", or drag the file onto the main Audacity window).
2) Click on the track
3) Click the "Home" button (moves the playback cursor to the start of the track)
4) Generate menu > Silence
5) Enter the amount of silence that you want and click OK
6) Export your edited audio as a new file.

Nisko · Post by **Nisko** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:18 pm

Thanks! What is the Home button (what does it look like?)? There are 6 places in the Generate Silence choice box. What are the units? I downloaded Foobar2000 and, to try it for what I'm trying to do, I'll have to change associations. Maybe tomorrow.

Post by **steve** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:34 pm

Nisko wrote:What is the Home button (what does it look like?)

Nisko wrote:There are 6 places in the Generate Silence choice box. What are the units?

By default they are "seconds" (as it says).
If you click on the little black triangle just to the right of the numbers you can change the units (for example hh:mm:ss + milliseconds)

Nisko wrote:I downloaded Foobar2000 and, to try it for what I'm trying to do, I'll have to change associations.

You can install Foobar2000 and manually open files with it (from the File menu) without changing file associations. If you find that you like Foobar2000 you can set up the file associations later - If I remember correctly you would do that in "preferences".

Nisko · Post by **Nisko** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:37 am

I was looking for a Home button on the Toolbar. Sorry - and thanks for staying with me. I don't even know the name of the default windows player that pops up when I play a *.wav file - but I hate when it cuts the sound short. That's why I want to add a second to the beginning of the files I use. Does Foobar2000 load that much faster than the Windows player?

Post by **steve** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:40 pm

Nisko wrote: Does Foobar2000 load that much faster than the Windows player?

On my machine Foobar2000 opens really fast.

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How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

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Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?

Re: How do I add silence to the beginning of a *.wav file?