Editing Audio Files

Sometimes it's necessary to edit the audio files to remove noise, clicks and pops, or even amplify it if it's very soft or reduce its volume if it's too loud to begin with. One of the most popular software editing tools is Audacity, a free download: https://audacityteam.org

For example, suppose you need an extra second of no sound before a song starts. With Audacity, simply import the audio file, put the cursor at the beginning of the display and "generate silence" for one second. The top pair of L/R channels shows the original; the bottom pair shows how the silence has been added, shifting the start of the song by one second:

Another example, suppose you've recorded a song from a vinyl record and you have noise at the start of the recording when the needle was placed on the record. First, highlight the section you want to edit and hit the delete key to remove it; or instead of deleting it, perhaps you'd just want to generate silence into that same area instead. Audacity give you plenty of options and effects you can apply to a whole audio file or just a portion of it.

These brief examples are just to whet your appetite and whole books have been written on audio editing. Audacity is just one tool you can use -- there are many, many more that are available at little or no cost. You can effect fade-ins and fade-outs for smoother transitions between your audio selections, amplify them both up or down, and if you practice a bit, you can make a selection shorter by deleting a verse or even extending it by copying/pasting a bridge section between a couple verses -- and your listeners likely won't even notice!