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Audacity is a free and open-source audio recorder and editing software that works on most operating systems such as Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux. It is an excellent choice for recording, editing, and mixing podcasts. It offers a wide range of features which can be found here.

In this guide, you'll learn how to record, edit, and export your podcast using Audacity.

Getting Started

Downloading Audacity

To download Audacity, go to the Fosshub download page (where the Audacity downloads are hosted) and download the latest software for your operating system for free. For example, if you wish to install Audacity on a Windows operating system, click ‘Audacity Windows Installer'. This page shows the latest version of Audacity, which should work correctly on any given Windows or macOS operating system.

How to download Audacity

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Once the download is complete, the installation file should be available on the ‘Download’ folder (or wherever your browser is set to store downloaded files).

Installing Audacity

Once the download is complete, click on the installation file (e.g. audacity-win-2.4.2.exe) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Understanding the Toolbars

When you first open Audacity, you will see a set of toolbars at the top. They may look complex, but don’t worry, they are explained below and you may only require the basic features of the toolbars.

Video Tutorial - Getting Started

Recording

Preparing Audacity for Recording

Before you start recording you will need to perform some checks and tests to ensure your recording is successful.

• Check your hardware equipment such as your microphone and speakers or headset (if you are using one) are correctly connected to your computer.

• Ensure the Device Toolbar is set correctly (see screenshot below for tips).

• Ensure that the Project Rate is set to the default rate of 44100 Hz as shown on the screenshot below. If you are creating DVD audio discs from your Audacity projects, then you will need to set it at 48000 Hz.

• Test your microphone

Finally, it is recommended that you test your microphone before you begin recording and adjust the microphone level for optimum quality. To do this, go to the Recording Meter toolbar, click the ‘Click to Start Monitoring’ button, speak at a comfortable level and increase or decrease the Microphone Volume slider, and/or sit closer or further away from your microphone so that it registers peaks around -12dB.

Video Tutorial - Preparing Audacity for Recording

Start Recording

To start recording you will need to use the Transport Toolbar and follow the instructions below:

1. Click on the red Record button (or keyboard shortcut R) to start the recording.

2. Say what you wish to say.

3. Press the Pause Button if you wish to pause your recording at any point, then press it again to resume recording.

4. Press the Stop button (or press the spacebar) when you have finished recording.

Listening to Your Recording

You might certainly want to listen back to your recording to check your performance and the quality of your recording. If you are happy with your recording, you can proceed to the next step and save/export your recording, but if you are not happy, you may wish to re-record it again and consult the previous section 'Preparing Audacity for recording'.

Here are the steps on how to listen to your recording:

1. Click on the Play button in the Transport Toolbar as shown below.

2. Click on the Stop or Pause button in the Transport Toolbar to stop
   or pause the playback.

3. You can adjust the volume using the Playback Volume slider in the Mixer Toolbar.

Saving Your Project

Once you have finished recording and you are happy or partially happy with your recording and wish to make some edits, it is important to save the project first to avoid losing any work in case a problem arises. It is also advisable to save your project on a regular basis while editing your audio. Saving your project allows you to revisit your project and continue editing.

Exporting Your Audio File

Once you are pleased with your recording and edit, and are ready to share/upload your audio file to your podcast host, you will need to export your audio file as an MP3 or WAV file.

Video Tutorial - Recording & Saving/Exporting

Editing

Having completed your recording, you might wish to edit your recording either by deleting unwanted sections of your recording, record additional material, and/or adding an intro/outro music. Audacity provides a wide range of editing functions, which are briefly introduced here.

Basic Editing

Deleting Audio

There might be reasons why you wish to delete a section of your recording. For example, perhaps you made a mistake in the middle of your recording and wish to delete that portion or delete some silence at the beginning or end of your recording.

Video Tutorial - Basic Editing

Advanced Editing

Adding a New Piece of Recording to an Existing Recording

There may be several reasons why you wish to add a new piece of recording in the middle of your original recording. For instance, you have forgotten to mention something and wish to add it, or you made a mistake and wanted to replace that part.

Video Tutorial - Adding a New Piece of Recording to an Existing Recording

Adding Intro/Outro Music

You may wish to enhance your podcast by adding an intro/outro music to your recording. You can approach this in different ways. When importing your desired music, it is advisable to adjust the volume so that all the audio tracks are at the same level. You can use effects such as Fade In and Fade Out or manually adjust the fade by using the Envelope tool.

Video Tutorial - Adding Intro/Outro Music

Additional Resources

Audacity Official Guide

You can find Audacity manual and tutorials here

More Audacity Tutorials

• How to Remove Background Noise in Audacity

• How to Use the Compressor in Audacity 

• How to Normalize Audio in Audacity 

• How to Fade In and Fade Out in Audacity 

• How to Cut a Track in Audacity