1. OPEN AUDACITY program. 2. SAVE YOUR FILE to our shared network “Y” drive. Under computer, choose “ j2-mm$”. Save under “J1 Radio” in your group’s

folder. Save this way: J1-FIRSTAUDIO-Firstname. You are saving an .aup file. Later, you will export your recording as a .mp3 so there will eventually be two files in the folder with your name on it.

3. IMPORT YOUR AUDIO by going to file>import>audio. Choose your .mp3 file by searching for it on the Y drive.

This is what the screen looks like when first imported (note: there is more to this clip, which can be accessed by moving the slider bar at the bottom):

You have just one track in stereo (two parts which, in this case, are mixed and identical).

4. FIND YOUR TRACK. You will need to edit your track to only include your reading of your script, plus about :03 of ambient noise before and after. So, listen to the entire track to determine where it starts.

ZOOM in to see exactly where your track starts. If you zoom in too far, zoom back out again.

The “zoom in” (+) and “zoom out” (-) buttons are to the right of the edit toolbar:

You can also highlight your section and click on view>zoom to selection

Make sure your full track is now visible on the screen with ambient noise before and after.

5. FIND THE START OF AMBIENT NOISE. The reason you want to zoom in is to find the exact point where you want to start your track. Zoom in to see the sound wave and find the “flat” space before you begin to read. In the example I am using, someone talks just before the track I need so I need to put my entry point immediately after that outburst (see the vertical grey line just before the :02 mark). Compare this zoomed in screen to the screen above:

6. SELECT AND DELETE unwanted audio, both before and after your track.

Click on the selection tool (upper left hand corner of edit tools box):

Left click on your track entry point, then drag to the left to beginning of audio to highlight (see darker grey area to left below). Click on the “cut” button on the toolbar (scissors) or the delete button on your keyboard.

Area to be cut is highlighted: What screen looks like after highlighted section has been cut:

Repeat steps 4-6 to remove unwanted audio after your track as well.

7. EXPORT your track as a .mp3. It’s a good idea to first save your .aup file one more time in case you need to re-edit in the future. To export as a .mp3, go to file>export. Save your file in your group’s folder using the same file name as before, but export it as a .mp3. If a box pops up asking for more information, press okay.

8. TEST your track by listening to the .mp3. Double check that it has the right file name and is in the right folder.