Randomize playing of multiple file in 1 wav file

[johnbmx2]

I have multiple audio files that I wanted to combine and to use in our phone system. However, the phone system itself doesn't have the capability to handle multiple music-on-hold audio. I heard that Audacity has a settings that can manage to do that. What basically what I wanted to happen is that:

1. Merge multiple audio files with 30 seconds intervals
2. After every 30 seconds, the audio files will play in random order.
3. Save the audio files into 1 wav file.

My Audacity version is 2.1.2
Windows 10.

Cheers!

[kozikowski]

To be clear, you want to dedicate a single computer all day long to run Audacity and play music into your phone system?

I know of no way to make a WAV sound file that can "know" where different cuts of music are. Even if it did, you need a computer somewhere that knows what random is. Computers tend to not do random so good. Besides, most people don't actually want random. What would you do if the system by complete chance decided to play one song three times back to back? Most people want pseudo-random where you can lock out things like that and that's a special computer program.

There may be a plug-in, but I don't know any way to make Audacity do that even in live production. Audacity tends to do things slow, off-line and later. We can prepare sound clips so some other program or device can do that.

Koz

[johnbmx2]

To be clear, you want to dedicate a single computer all day long to run Audacity and play music into your phone system?

I know of no way to make a WAV sound file that can "know" where different cuts of music are. Even if it did, you need a computer somewhere that knows what random is. Computers tend to not do random so good. Besides, most people don't actually want random. What would you do if the system by complete chance decided to play one song three times back to back? Most people want pseudo-random where you can lock out things like that and that's a special computer program.

There may be a plug-in, but I don't know any way to make Audacity do that even in live production. Audacity tends to do things slow, off-line and later. We can prepare sound clips so some other program or device can do that.

Koz

Thanks, Koz.
Not really dedicate a single computer and run Audacity 24/7. That wouldn't be ideal.
For music, of course no one would want that. But for just phone voice prompts, some people wouldn't mind hearing the same voice prompt consecutively. But i get what you're saying. Thank you for your input.

[DVDdoug]

There is some basic editing information here You may also want to make a short-smooth crossfade between clips.

2. After every 30 seconds...

Is there a reason you don't want to play whole songs?

the audio files will play in random order.
3. Save the audio files into 1 wav file.

Of course, they will only be "random" to the extent that you randomize them when you make your one-big WAV file.

There may be copyright issues if you are playing regular commercial music (i.e. music from CDs or MP3s you've purchased).

[steve]

"Random"?

If you just want multiple audio clips "in no recognisable order", then the job is quite easy. Here's a step-by-step break down:

1. Import however many audio tracks you want to use. They will appear as separate tracks one above the other.
2. Trim each track down to 30 seconds:
   1. Select 30 seconds of a track,
   2. "Edit menu > Remove Special > Trim Audio (Ctrl+T)"
3. While the trimmed track is selected: "Tracks menu > Align Track > Start to Zero"
4. Drag tracks up/down into whatever "random" order you want (Click and drag the track control panel)
5. "Edit menu > Select > All (Ctrl+A)"
6. Press the "End" key to move the cursor to the end of all tracks
7. "Generate menu > Silence" and generate 30 seconds of silence
8. "Tracks menu > Align Track > End to End"
9. Export the complete project (http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/export.html)

[kozikowski]

I think that's a cousin to a DVD trick we used to do. Nobody has ever gotten the intro screen of a DVD (Play Movie, Special Features, Languages) to smoothly loop in the five or six second cycle that most productions want.

There's always a disturbance at the loop point as the laser hitches up its skirts and skedaddles to the beginning of the loop. The solution is to make a five minute intro video which contains about a million loops. It looks like perfect, self-contained loops and nobody ever hangs around the full five minutes. If you do, to answer the door or take a pot off the stove, you will eventually see the skedaddle.

Koz