Creating Custom Backing Tracks

[Nevv]

HI,
I am very new to Audacity. I have only used Audacity to change the key to a mp3 file. Is it possible to use Audacity to create a custom backing track using an existing mp3 file ... for example, can I take the song Jump by Van Halen in mp3 format ... remove all instruments except the keyboards and add a click track which can be panned to the left or right? ... so the click track can be sent to the drummer and not to the PA?

[steve]

You can't selectively "un-mix" a recording.
Once the instruments have been mixed together into a single mono or stereo track (in the recording studio), then that's it, they are baked in together like flour and eggs in a cake - you can't "un-bake" them.

There's a trick called "centre pan removal" that sometimes allows the lead vocal to be removed from a song, but it depends on the vocal being dead centre of a stereo mix, with no stereo effects on the vocal and no other instruments panned dead centre. In most modern recordings these precise set of requirements are not met, so it doesn't work.

You can add a click track to a song, and you can pan the song and/or the click anywhere you want. To do this, just create a click track, then use the track "pan" slider to pan it left/right as required, pan the music track in similar fashion, then when you Export (File menu > Export) the tracks will be mixed together.

[Nevv]

I have the keyboard track to the song jump with a click track ... unfortunatey, the isn't panned to the left or right? Can you help?

[kozikowski]

The clicks are burned into the same track with the keyboard? Is it a mono track -- one waveform line instead of two?

If both of the green playback meters jump at the same time, or you only have one waveform, then, no. The clicks are burned into the show and as above, you can't split up instruments after they've been mixed. Where did you find the keyboard track?

Koz

[Nevv]

At karaokeversion.com. They have custom mp3 accompanient tracks (created themselves). They have the whole song for example & you can mute out which instrument, etc that you don't want. Decent quality, but the click isn't/can't be panned.

[steve]

You could buy two mixes - one with the music, mixed as you want it with no click track, and one with only the click track. Then use Audacity to mix the two together as described in my first post.

[Nevv]

Do you mean this part of your first post ...

You can add a click track to a song, and you can pan the song and/or the click anywhere you want. To do this, just create a click track, then use the track "pan" slider to pan it left/right as required, pan the music track in similar fashion, then when you Export (File menu > Export) the tracks will be mixed together.

I can get the two tracks as you stated ... but to be honest, the paragraph above is greek to me. lol. Maybe if there was some way to simplify it for me. lol. I obviously know how to open the track in Audacity, but from there, with regards to the above, I'm lost.

[steve]

First I'd recommend that you upgrade to Audacity 1.3.14.
Audacity 1.2.6 is really old and hasn't had any bugs fixed for years (development on the 1.2.x series ended several years ago)
Audacity 1.2.6 will still be available for a short while, but will be finally "retired" when Audacity 2.0 is released. (Audacity 2.0 is based on 1.3.14 and is currently undergoing final checks before release).

You can get 1.3.14 from here: http://audacityteam.org/download/

These instructions are for 1.3.14 (I've not used 1.2.6 for a long time).

To import multiple files: "File menu > Import > Audio"
The imported files will appear one below the other.
If you need to adjust the position of either file to the right or left (so that they synchronise properly), use the "Time Shift" tool (look for the button with a double headed arrow <--> )

To "pan" a track so that it plays from the left or right speaker, use the "pan slider" which is in the panel on the left end of the audio track. (see here for details about all the parts of an audio track: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Audio_Tracks )

You can also adjust the volume of each track by using the track "volume" slider (just above the "pan" slider).

When you have it sounding as you want it, you will need to "Export" it to create a normal audio file.
File menu > Export
I'd recommend that you export in WAV format.
(See the "Save and Export" section of this tutorial for more details: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Tuto ... sic#export )

[Nevv]

I did it! LOL. Thanks for the help Steve. I've got another question ... I have a keyboard backing track for the Styx song Too Much Time on My Hands. It's from a different site than the previous. There isn't a click track? Can I create a click track for this mp3 file using Audacity with the end result being keyboard track in the left or right and the click in the opposite?

[steve]

Generate menu > Click Track

The difficult part is getting the tempo exactly right. This can be quite tricky, so you'll need patience.

With some music it is possible to see the main beats as peaks in the waveform. If you can see the beats, you need to count the number of beats in a minute (or the number of beats in 30 seconds, then double it).
If you can't see the beats, play the song with a watch in your hand and count the number of beats in one minute.

Once you know the BPM (Beats Per Minute) you can generate a click track: "Generate menu > Click Track"

If you find that the generated Click Track is a bit too fast, Undo (Edit menu or Ctrl+Z) and remake the click track with a slightly lower BPM.
If you find that the generated Click Track is a bit too slow, Undo (Edit menu or Ctrl+Z) and remake the click track with a slightly higher BPM.

You will probably need to use the Time Shift tool to make the tracks line up correctly.