Sound editing

Sound editing
    
Defination:-

Sound editing is a process that
requires both skill and instinct.
Today, most sound editing is done
digitally using specialized software.
It wasn’t always this way. Magnetic
tape and tape recorders were first
invented in the late 1940s. Using
magnetic tape for recording and
editing sound was the status quo
until the mid 1990s when computers
and digital software revolutionized
the sound editing process.
The editing process was slow,
tedious, and sometimes unstable. To
edit sound with magnetic tape, the
user had to find both points on the
tape where the splice needed to
occur, place the tape in an “editing
block” which provided a pre-cut
splice area sunken at a 45 degree
angle, place the tape in the block,
use a razor blade to cut the tape in
the 45 degree angle groove, and then
physically join the magnetic tape
back together with a specially
designed editing tape.
And if you screwed up the splice,
then you had to undo everything, use
the editing tape to put the magnetic
tape back the way it was, and then
try again. It was tedious and
sometimes frustrating work. The user
had no visual of the recorded sound
to refer to, either. It was all done by
ear.
Editing Today
Now a computer user can own
software which is as powerful as an
older magnetic-tape based 64-track
recording studio. It’s an amazing
amount of power and a user can
acquire many software applications,
may free or extremely low in cost.
Editing is both a skill and an art. Yes,
there are proven methods which
allow an editor to create a better
product that anyone can learn but
the proficient editor over time also
acquires a sense for eliminating,
adding or accentuating audio for
projects.
Why do we edit? Mainly for
aesthetics but proper editing also
keeps a listener’s attention. Long
audio pieces - or audio that has
extraneous sound in it - tends to
bore listeners. Shorter audio
accentuated by music, sound effects
or sound punctuation keeps a
listener’s attention and helps you
make your point.
Whether you are editing sound for
personal or professional reasons, a
home video, a website, a powerpoint
presentation or any other project, you
will achieve more personal pride
from a good product and your
listener will be treated to a more
enjoyable experience.
Tools you will need
This course was designed using
Audacity, a free sound editor. It is
available for Windows, Mac OS and
Linux/Unix systems. http://
audacity.sourceforge.net/
Today's task is to download Audacity
and install it. Once you have done
this, familiarize yourself with the
program.
The help file is very well done and
can easily help you learn the basic
commands for opening, editing and
saving files. (It is important you do
this because this editing course is
not a course in how to use this
program.)
Although Audacity is a very powerful
program, the only thing you need to
do now is learn the very basics. In
our next lesson, we will begin
editng
Sam