Combining files

[Mihaly]

I'm submitting some audio files for a composer's grant. The grant requirements specify only 4 tracks can be submitted with a total time of 30 minutes. I would like to combine 11 excerpts from an orchestra piece into one track. I've planned my submissions so that I won't exceed the 30-minute limit: Track 1 is of a chamber music piece, Track 2 is of a solo piano piece, and Track 3 would be the orchestra piece excerpts. All of the audio files from Tracks 1, 2, and 3 add up to a little more than 28 minutes. How can I combine the 11 excerpts into one audio file? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Windows 7 Pro
Audacity-win-2.1.2. exe

[Trebor]

... I would like to combine 11 excerpts from an orchestra piece into one track ...
... How can I combine the 11 excerpts into one audio file?

Audacity is a multi-track audio editor : you could open all 11 tracks in Audacity at-once by dragging & dropping them into Audacity. However, as you've worked out the order the excerpts will be played, combining two tracks a time will get the job done ...

click on this image to see it in its entirety

Demo of Mix & Render combining 2 stereo tracks.gif (449.67 KiB) Viewed 1517 times

The tracks are moved using the time shift tool.
When you want to combine, select All, (Ctrl+A), then "Mix & Render" from the tracks menu.
Wash rinse repeat.

[Mihaly]

Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't understand how that would accomplish what I have to do. I'm now down to 8 tracks; I had to cut three of them because I was over the 30 minute limit. I wish we could simply send a CD, where it's very simple to have Track 1 with the chamber music piece, Track 2 with the solo piano piece, and Track 3 with the 8 orchestra piece excerpts. And burning the .wav files to a CD automatically gives me the usual 2" silence between the excerpts. (However, it's easy enough to add that to the .wav files with WavePad.) Then I have to convert the .wav files to .flac files because .wav files are not accepted. Sorry for the initial typo of "combing" for "combining".

[Trebor]

Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't understand how that would accomplish what I have to do. I'm now down to 8 tracks ...

The animation above showed a method of combining two tracks into one.
If you keep repeating that process you can add more tracks, one at a time, until you accumulate 8, or 11, or whatever.

Alternatively you can open all the tracks you want to combine in Audacity at once ...

three tracks dragged & dropped into Audacity

Combining 3 stereo tracks in Audacity.gif (983.25 KiB) Viewed 1506 times

If you are opening 8 tracks at once consider saving your work as an Audacity project format ,
before you mix & render, and save [export] the finished-product in WAV format.

Useful Tip: Pressing "Ctrl+Z" undoes whatever edit you just did.

[steve]

There are many variations on the method described by Trebor.
One of the simplest:

1) Rename your files so that they are in alphanumeric order according to the order that you want them to play.
The easiest way to do that is to prefix the names with a two digit number, for example:
01concerto.wav
02symphony.wav
03pianosonata.wav

2) Import all of the files into Audacity. They are imported in alphanumeric order of the file names.
If you need to change the order, tracks may be dragged up/down by clicking and dragging from an empty part of the panel on the left side of the track (where it says the sample rate and sample format), but if the tracks are named in the correct order they will already be in the correct order.

3) Ensure all tracks are selected (Ctrl + A to select all)

4) Tracks menu > Align tracks > Align End to End
The tracks are now automatically adjusted so they will play one after the other.

5) (Optional) Make any edits / modifications to any of the tracks.
For example, you may want to adjust the spacing between tracks, which can be done using the Time Shift tool.

6) File menu > Export Audio (see here for details: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/file ... ialog.html)
The project is exported as one continuous file in the selected format.