Audacity: A Guide for Public Information Officers

We are big fans of Audacity at JGPR Academy. We recently included it in our guide to free and open source software for Public Information Officers (PIOs) and every JGPR staff computer and laptop comes with the software installed for our staff when they join up.

This guide is designed to help Public Information Officers (PIOs) use Audacity effectively to produce high-quality audio announcements, podcasts and social media communications. Audacity is a free, open-source digital audio editor and recording application.

As of 2024, Audacity is world’s most popular free software for recording and editing audio. It is highly competitive with the expensive Adobe Audition editing tool.

Recording Audio

Setting Up Your Microphone

1. Connect your microphone to your computer.
2. Open Audacity, go to Edit > Preferences > Devices.
3. Under ‘Recording’, select your microphone from the ‘Device’ dropdown menu.

Recording Your First Track

1. Press the red ‘Record’ button to start recording.
2. Speak clearly into the microphone.
3. Press the yellow ‘Stop’ button when finished.

Editing Audio

Basic Editing Tools

• Selection Tool: Selects portions of the audio track for editing.
• Cut, Copy, and Paste: Removes or duplicates selected audio.
• Undo and Redo: Reverses or reinstates your last changes.

Noise Reduction

1. Select a portion of the recording where only background noise is present.
2. Go to Effect > Noise Reduction and click ‘Get Noise Profile’.
3. Select the entire track you wish to clean.
4. Reopen Noise Reduction, adjust settings if necessary, and click ‘OK’.

Trimming and Adjusting Audio

1. Use the Selection Tool to highlight unwanted parts at the beginning or end of the recording.
2. Press ‘Delete’ on your keyboard to remove unwanted sections.
3. To adjust volume, highlight a section and go to Effect > Amplify. Enter the amplification or attenuation level and click ‘OK’.

Adding Music and Sound Effects

Importing Audio

1. Go to File > Import > Audio and select an audio file to add to your project.
2. Use the Time Shift Tool to position the new audio correctly relative to your voice recording.

Layering Tracks

1. Adjust track levels using the slider next to each track to ensure balance between voice and background audio.

Exporting and Sharing Audio

Exporting Your Final Project

1. Ensure all tracks are as desired and properly aligned.
2. Go to File > Export and choose the desired format (e.g., MP3, WAV).
3. Name your file, select a location to save, and click ‘Save’.
4. Fill in the metadata fields (optional) and click ‘OK’.

Sharing Your Audio

• Upload the exported file to your organization’s website, social media platforms, or email it directly to stakeholders.

Best Practices

• Regularly save your project to avoid losing work.
• Use a pop filter to minimize plosives (like p and b sounds) in your recordings.
• Keep background noise to a minimum when recording voice.
• Review audio levels and quality by wearing headphones during editing.

Conclusion

This guide provides the basics to get you started with Audacity for public communications tasks. For more detailed editing techniques or troubleshooting, consult the Audacity manual or community forums.