Audacity Users...

[Dan Schultz]

I recorded last night's holiday concert and I need to either boost the narration or reduce the music. Both aren't taking place at the same time. Is there a way to level the entire recording without having to 'pick' what I want to change?

I have eight tunes plus narration on one track.

[DonShirer]

The Audacity manual says that to select multiple regions:
     Do one of the following:
     Hold down the Shift key as you click the regions in the timeline.
     Drag around the regions to enclose them.
This doesn't work. When you shift click on the 2d region, Audacity selects all the waveform from the first region to where you clicked.
Using the standard (Mac) method of Command Clicking to select another region doesn't work either. It starts playing the selection. Maybe we should complain to the mfr?

But anyway, after copying in the file, I think it's safer to select each region separately, then apply the Amplify Effect to increase or decrease the db level for one region at a time, since you probably have to test each selection to make sure you've got it right. Its the selecting that takes most of the time, not the amplifying.

Don Shirer
Westbrook, CT

[burningchrome]

I prefer to use the Normalize function instead of Amplify. Normalize finds the loudest part of the selection (say -16 dB) and raises the volume so that the loudest part is zero dB. This way, you get right to the edge without going over. First, Select All, then Normalize. This will raise the volume of everything equally and the music will be as loud as you possible. Then you'll have to go through and highlight each section of narration separately and hit the Normalize button again. This will just raise the volume of the narration.
The trouble you might run into is if you have a fair amount of background noise from the audience or the HVAC or wind, the sudden jump in volume of that background noise will be very apparent. Try to make the selection at the most quiet (closest to zero) point. If you can't get it acceptable, you can double track it and crossfade, but I'll expand on that only if you need me to.

[Dan Schultz]

I prefer to use the Normalize function instead of Amplify. Normalize finds the loudest part of the selection (say -16 dB) and raises the volume so that the loudest part is zero dB. This way, you get right to the edge without going over. First, Select All, then Normalize. This will raise the volume of everything equally and the music will be as loud as you possible. Then you'll have to go through and highlight each section of narration separately and hit the Normalize button again. This will just raise the volume of the narration.
The trouble you might run into is if you have a fair amount of background noise from the audience or the HVAC or wind, the sudden jump in volume of that background noise will be very apparent. Try to make the selection at the most quiet (closest to zero) point. If you can't get it acceptable, you can double track it and crossfade, but I'll expand on that only if you need me to.

I've thought about doing that but was hoping for a more 'user friendly' solution. It's tough to separate the narration from the music without first adding a couple of seconds of silence. I can do it but was just looking for something a bit more accurate and quicker.

[Yane]

Your best hope of doing this automatically is the Compressor effect, which will minimize the difference between the loudest and softest sounds. You'll have to tinker with the thresholds and other parameters to get it do what you want without screwing up the music. Not sure how well the one built in to Audacity works for this sort of thing; there are ways to add more effects to Audacity, the main drawback is that you can't fiddle with the effect parameters and hear the impact immediately. Probably the only way to accomplish what you want is to manually fiddle with the levels following Burnngchrome's advice.

[Dan Schultz]

Your best hope of doing this automatically is the Compressor effect, which will minimize the difference between the loudest and softest sounds. ....

Funny... I've been using Audacity for about ten years to do simple edits, separating tracks, etc. and never knew what the 'compressor' effect did.

Many thanks for you advice. I did have to 'fiddle' with it for a bit but the loud band and soft commentary came together nicely.