Making Multiple Levels in One Track

[mslack]

Hi, I'm new to Audacity, and here's what I'm trying to do:

I have a song imported into its own track just fine. I want it to play normally for about 30 seconds, with the rest of the song at a much lower volume so a voice over can be added on another track. I have the two sections made just fine using Amplify, but how can I make the two portions fade together? I want it to sound like all I did was grab a volume knob and turn it way down. Help please?

[Gale Andrews]

I have a song imported into its own track just fine. I want it to play normally for about 30 seconds, with the rest of the song at a much lower volume so a voice over can be added on another track. I have the two sections made just fine using Amplify, but how can I make the two portions fade together? I want it to sound like all I did was grab a volume knob and turn it way down.

The simplest way I would do it is to Edit > Undo the Amplify on the second portion so that the whole track is at the correct starting volume. Then use Envelope Tool. Hit F2 on your keyboard to switch to Envelope Tool.

Suppose you want the volume to start fading down at 30 seconds and reach its lower level at 32 seconds. To do that, put a control point at 30 seconds by clicking underneath 30 seconds on the timeline, at the top of the waveform so that the blue envelope line is between the two triangles of the cursor. Now click at 32 seconds but further down from the top of the waveform. Now you can drag the uppermost white dot (the control point) down to the level you want.

It's still easy enough to use Envelope Tool from where you are now but it needs more explanation.

Another way to do what you want is to use Auto Duck instead of Envelope Tool.


Gale