Audacity Forum

Hi, I am a brand new user of audacity. Can anybody explain in simple detail how to change tempo. Not all of my files have tempos listed with the songs.
Thanks.

Not all of my files have tempos listed with the songs.

Just count the beats for 30 seconds or a minute.

It's usually easier if you count:
1, 2, 3, 4
2, 2, 3, 4
3, 2, 3, 4
4, 2, 3, 4
5, 2, 3, 4...

There are programs that try to determine the beat automatically, but because music varies so much, nothing is as good as a human.

GoldWave ($50 USD) has a beat counter plug-in that works with the mouse. You play the file and click the mouse on every beat, and it does the counting, timing, and calculations for you.

If you mean actually changing the tempo in Audacity, make sure the track is fully stopped (not paused) and either choose the whole track, or with the mouse some portion of it, then go to the Effects menu and then the Change Tempo effect. You may have to experiment with different tempos to get the feel of it.

Thanks Polkat. I'll give it a try and see how it goes.