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Everyday editing

Make your first audio edit

Turn a rough recording into a trimmed, faded clip and save a version you can revise.

On this page
  1. Open and listen
  2. Keep the useful passage
  3. Listen and save two versions

Open and listen

Open a local recording with File → Open Local File… or drop it onto the editor. Press Space and listen once to find the part you want to keep. For this example, imagine a 30-second take with the useful sound from 3 to 24 seconds.

Your original file is never modified. Save a project copy first if you want an easy return point beyond undo.

Keep the useful passage

  1. Drag across the useful audio, then type 3 and 24 in the Start and End fields of the selection toolbar.
  2. Choose View → Fit Selection and listen to both boundaries. Press Z if you want the edges nudged to zero crossings.
  3. Choose Edit → Trim to Selection (Cmd/Ctrl+T). The remaining clip is about 21 seconds long.
  4. Drag across the first half second and choose Process → Fade In. Repeat at the end with Fade Out, or drag the round fade handles at the region’s edges instead.

Use your recording’s actual times. If a boundary cuts into a word, undo, widen the selection, and trim again.

Listen and save two versions

Play the opening, the middle, and the ending. Choose File → Save Project… for your editable copy, then File → Export → Export Local as MP3 for a shareable file, or Export Local as WAV for uncompressed audio. Open the export in a player to confirm the result.