When I did the Halloween Jack ‘O Lantern activities, I needed a sound clip for the finale with several people talking at once. Since there was only me to do it, this could have been a problem. But luckily I had Audacity to help me out. Audacity is a powerful, and better yet, free sound editing program, and you can read more about it right here in the Attic.
I started out by recording my sound clip, using the default New document in Audacity. The default is a stereo sound track, so the waveform for the clip is displayed twice, one above the other. I went to File and chose New again, to open a second new document, and recorded the same clip using my voice slower and in a slightly higher pitch, just to make it a little different.
Using these two short recordings, I was able to generate what sounds like four different people talking together, their voices overlapping but not precisely. Here’s the general procedure; but if you want to try it, download the PDF from the bottom of the page for more detailed instructions and screen shots.
- 1. Record several stereo samples, saying the same words at slightly different pitch. Save each sample.
- 2. Use the drop-down beside the waveform to access Split Stereo Track. Do this for each sample.
- 3. Select individual tracks and make changes as desired, such as pitch changes, insert a short silence at the start, change tempo slightly. Save each sample again.
- 4. Add blank audio tracks to Sample 1. You need one for each track in the other samples. Example: If you recorded 3 stereo samples, you eventually would have 6 tracks. Add 4 blank tracks to Sample one, so there is space for all 6.
- 5. Copy each track in the other samples and paste each into a blank track in Sample 1. Save the combined sample.
- 6. Select two adjacent tracks. Use the drop-down to access Make Stereo Track. (Undo the split). Repeat this for each pair of tracks.
- 7. Select one of the new stereo tracks, go to Tracks menu, Mix and Render. Select again, Tracks menu again, Make Mono. Condense each stereo track down to a mono track in this way.
- 8. Select a pair of mono tracks, and repeat from step 6. Continue eliminating tracks until all the sounds are combined into one. SAVE!!!!
- 9. (Optional) Adjust the project rate down, if file size is priority.
- 10. Export the finished sound effect as .wav or better yet as .mp3.
Application(s) needed: Acrobat Reader, Audacity.
Subject area: Technical Tip.
Level: Teacher, Author.
Download-Tutorial
ManyVoices.pdf (110.5 KB) PDF file of expanded instructions, including screen shots from Audacity. Requires Acrobat Reader to open tutorial, and Audacity application to create the sound effect.
