Project Description

You are given a set of "stems" from a recording session and are asked to provide a stereo mix. Here are the steps:

1) Acquire the audio stems
2) Create an Audacity session and import stems into Audacity tracks
3) Organize interface and rename the tracks
4) Analyze tracks and create an initial balance
5) Add effects if required
6) Export as a stereo file

Before You Begin: Install Audacity and Read the Audacity Tutorials

Audacity is free software with a surprising number of features. It can be installed on both PC and Mac, and is installed on all the computers in the PSU Music Technology Lab.

If you have not already done so, download and install the version of Audacity that matches your system from the Audacity download page.

Before you begin this assignment, access the Audacity Info page, and check out some of the options--there are links to the Audacity website, and to the page that allow you to download the application. Note that there is a link to our Recording Tutorial, too.

Click on the link Audacity Online Tutorials. On the resulting page, read the tutorials in the Basics and Editing for Beginners sections. You don't need to do any of the work they suggest, but read thru and familiarize yourself with these basic concepts before moving into this assignment.

If you have the time, we recommend first doing the Audacity Editing Tutorial. This will demonstrate some ways of working with the application that are not covered in this tutorial.

Note: The assignment is written from the standpoint of the Macintosh version of the application. If you are using the PC or Linux version you may need to translate slightly.

Part 1: Acquire the Audio Stems

•If you have not already done so, download the stems from the link provided by your instructor.

You may have already received this link in an email. If so, skip to the next step.

If you simply click the link, it will download the file to a default location on your computer. If you are on a Mac, this will usually be your Downloads folder.

If you want to download to a particular location, on a Mac hold down the Control key and click the link. From the resulting menu, choose Download Linked File As... then navigate to the place you want to save the file and click OK.

The file that is downloaded is a "zip" file, a file that has been data compressed. In some cases, the computer will automatically "unzip" or uncompress the file for you. If what you find on your hard drive is a folder, and not a file with the extension .zip, skip the next step.

•Find the file you've downloaded. Double-ciick its icon to unzip it.

You should now find a folder with the name of the project.

•Open this folder. Select one of the folders representing the songs we recorded and open it.

•Inside the song folder you chose, select the folder representing one of the takes, and open it.

Inside this folder you will see a set of audio files. These files are in WAVE format, which you can tell from the extension .wav. These audio files are what are called "full format" audio files, meaning high quality (and large) files.

Notice that the files are identified by the song number, name, and take, and then are numbered 1-8 to represent each of the tracks we recorded.

Part 2: Create a Session and Import Audio

•On your computer, open the application Audacity.

As you first open the application, you may get some dialogues regarding tips or configuration. Typically you can just say OK to dismiss.

If all is well, you should see an empty Audacity window on your screen. If you don't, go to the File menu and select New.

On your screen make both the Audacity window and the window containing your audio files visible.

•From the take folder on your screen, find the icon for the first audio track, and drag it into the empty Audacity window.

At this point you may get a dialogue asking how you want to handle the import.

It's important to understand that audio editors like Audacity do not incorporate the content of audio files directly into the Audacity file. Rather, Audacity accesses the files directly from some other part of the hard drive.

It is possible to have Audacity simply access audio files from the file you downloaded. However, assuming you have enough space on your hard drive, it is usually better to copy the files as they are imported. In that case, click the button labeled "Make a copy..." then hit OK.

If you find this annoying, you can also click the "Don't warn..." button.

If for any reason this doesn't work, in Audacity go to the File menu and select Import > Audio. In the resulting window, navigate to the downloaded folder and locate to the take folder you want. Highlight an audio file and click OK and it should import.

With either of these processes, you should be able to select multiple files in a single import. You may need to navigate the saving options dialogue each time, however.

When this process is complete, you have a window in which each audio file is represented by a track. Notice that the track name matches the name of the audio file.

At this point, let us save our work.

•Go File > Save Project.

You may get a warning dialogue make sure you want to save as a .aup file--yes, you do, so click OK.

Navigate to the save location and open the folder. Notice that it contains both an Audacity file, and a folder of audio content. This is where your audio was copied in the steps above.

It is a good idea to save periodically while working in any application.

Part 3: Organize Interface and Rename Tracks

•On the top track in the Audacity window, click its name.

This will result in a "contextual menu" with some options for changing track parameters.

•Select name.

•In the resulting window, rename the track.

You can name the track for the instrument, or maybe instrument-placement (like guitar-front), or for the microphone used.

At this point we are ready to start mixing!

Part 4: Analyze Tracks and Balance

At its heart, mixing music is the art of balancing. At the basic level, this means setting track levels that result in a pleasing blend of the different musical elements--nothing too loud, nothing too soft, everything can be heard. Some tracks may be more important that others and will be more "out front" but if an element is included in the mix, it should be audible and clear.

We also have the ability to put elements in different places in the stereo field (left-right) to allow even more differentiation.

So a good first step is to simply change the level and pan of the tracks in an attempt to create a pleasing balance.

To do this properly, however, we need to first analyze what we're dealing with.

•In the navigation section of the Audacity window, click the Play button to start the transport.

At this point, you should hear playback from the tracks. If you don't, check the Troubleshooting section of the Audacity documentation.

•With the music playing, look at the left hand section of the top track, and find the solo button. Click it to "solo" this track.

When a track is soloed, all other tracks are muted. You can solo more that one track at a time.

•Listen to this track carefully, and make some determinations as to its sound.

This is a good time to consider the microphone and its placement in the recording session. Also notice the degree of "bleed" from other tracks. The more bleed there is, the more other instrument levels will be altered by levels on this track.

You might also notice problems on this track, like unwanted noise or a bad tone that may need to be fixed later,

You might make some notes at this point.

•Now go through and solo the remaining tracks, analyzing and making notes as you go.

•With a sense of the instruments involved, create a diagram as to how you want them positioned left to right.

•Using this diagram, use the Pan control on each track to position its sound in the stereo spread.

You may want to pan all the tracks for one instrument to the same spot. You can pan things a little bit, or pan them "hard" right or left for a wider spread.

Bleed will play a role in this process. In a project with a lot of bleed, you may want to pan similar to how the instruments were physically located during the session.

•With your left right spectrum approximated, begin to adjust levels on each track to balance with other tracks.

This is truly a balancing act, especially when there is bleed. The main test is: does it sound like these instruments playing in this room? Don't overthink this, your ears are always the final arbiter.

As you mix, keep an eye on the meters at the top of the window and make sure you are not clipping (showing red). If the meters are hot, but it doesn't sound very loud, turn up the volume on your speakers.

Part 5: Add Effects

Before tackling effects in Audacity, I recommend you read through Effects for Beginners and the links at the Effects page.

Audacity is a little different from applications like Pro Tools or Digital Performer, in that it applies effects "destructively." This means you can only apply an effect to a track, or a portion of a track, after which the track itself is altered. You can go Edit > Undo right after that if you want to remove the effect, but later in the project you can't return the track to its original condition.

Applications like Pro Tools or Digital Performer can work that way, but they can also use a mix window to insert plugins non-destructively on individual tracks.

In Audacity, to simulate this process involves duplicating the track and applying the effect to the duplicate "100% wet," then mixing the effected track in with the original, non-effected track.

First, tho, we have to go get the effect. This tutorial involves a plug-in called GVerb, which is installed on the computers in the Music Technology Lab, but not necessarily on your machine at home.

For Mac users, click on this link--

http://gaclrecords.org.uk/swh-plugins-mac-0.4.15.zip

This will download a zip file. Unzip it and open the resulting folder, then open the Archive folder. Inside, find the file called gverb_1216.so and drag it into the Plug-Ins folder inside the Audacity folder in the Applications folder.

I will find instructions on PC install and update when I do.

Quit and restart Audacity, and the GVerb plug-in should show up below the separator line. Whew.

Now let's apply some reverb.

•In Audacity, click the left-hand panel of the track to which you want to add reverb.

The track with highlight to show that the whole track is selected.

•Go Edit > Duplicate to duplicate the track.

A duplicate track will show up at the bottom of your window. You may want to move it up so that it is positioned just below the original track. You can just drag the track itself, or click the track name and select Move Up from the menu.

•Rename the duplicated track to identify it as an effect track.

•Highlight the new effect track.

•From the Effects menu, select the effect you want to add, e.g. GVerb.

•In the resulting window, make sure th Dry signal level is set to -70.

We are using this new track to provide an effect, so we don't want any "dry" or unaffected signal.

•Feel free to make additional changes in the reverb characteristics, then hit OK.

Part 6: Export

•Make sure nothing is selected in your project.

If something is selected, click anywhere in a blank area to deselect everything.

•Access the File menu, and select Export.

•In the resulting window, give your file a name. Use the extension .wav.

Audacity can also export in the mp3 format. Instructions to follow.

•Navigate to your project folder.

•From the Format menu at the bottom of the window, select WAV..., then click Save.

•The Edit Metadata window will appear. Enter information if you want.

If you get a warning dialogue saying your tracks will be mixed into a stereo file, click the box next to "Don't show this warning again", then click OK.

A WAV file should appear in your project folder.

If you want to export in mp3 format, read below--

MP3 Codec

An mp3 file is a "data compressed" audio file format. To create an mp3 from a different audio format requires a piece of software called a "codec." There are a couple of different versions of these codecs, and they can be acquired for free, but they have to be installed separately from Audacity. Once installed, you have to tell Audacity where it is on your hard drive.

In the Music Technology Lab, the codec we are using is has this file name: libmp3lame.dylib.

We downloaded this file (for free) put it in this location: main hard drive > Library > Application Support > audacity (in other words "on the main hard drive of the computer, open Library, open Application Support, open audacity").

We then told Audacity where to find this file, by going Audacity > Preferences to open the Preferences window, then selecting Libraries from the left column. In the resulting view, to the right of MP3 Library, we clicked Locate, and navigated to the location mentioned above. So when you create an mp3 file, if it saves as described above, all is well.

However, if you are on a Music Technology Lab computer, and try to save as mp3, you may get a dialogue asking for the location of an mp3 codec.

If so, just click Browse, locate to the location mentioned above, select libmp3lame.dylib, and click OK. Your mp3-save should proceed properly.

On a different computer, click Download, and follow the instructions on the resulting web page. This is tricky, but with care you may be able to sort it out.

If you are still having trouble with this, either in the lab or elsewhere, contact your instructor for additional assistance.

•Check your work in an audio player on your computer, e.g. Windows Media Player or Quicktime.

On a Mac, you can also simply select the audio file and hit the Space bar to audition it.

•If there is something you want to change, open your Audacity file, make changes, and create a new file until you get one that sounds correct.

•If your file sounds right, submit the file to your Instructor according to the instructions for your course.

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