Cut and pasting tracks together

superfro · Joined: 14 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

Hi, Me and a friend are organizing a puc music quiz. Now im putting together some C.D's with the relevant music tracks.

What I want to do is put three clips of three different songs (say 30 seconds of each song) back to back, so there is no silent gaps between the three clips.

Does anyone know of any programs that allow me to cut and paste songs together in this way? Nothing to complicated just a simple program realy.

Many thanks

the audiophile · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:12 pm Post subject:

No problem.
Audacity is the program to do just what you want.
I hadn't done it with this program before so I just tried it
and it works. The best part is that it's free.
If you haven't done anything like this before it might be
confusing so if you have any probs just let me know
and I'll send you a step by step guide.
Basically you rip the tracks to the PC, import the tracks to the
program then cut or copy the bits you want to a new track then
export is as a wav file so you can burn it.
Just type Audacity into your browser and download it,
install it and you're ready to rock.
I' ve done pro editing so I can recommend it as a good
starter prog.
Smile

Cheers.

superfro · Joined: 14 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

Many thanks.......I will give it a go...cheers

superfro · Joined: 14 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

Hi, i downloaded Audacity and got it up and running, but im having trouble pasting clips back to back without any silent gaps as explained above.

A walkthrough would be helpfull ...many thanks Smile

p.s. I have managed to get the 20 second clips of the songs using Wavestudio, a program thats on my Creative soundcard, its just putting them together as one piece.

the audiophile · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:32 am Post subject:

Here goes. It's easier to do than tell.
I have WavStudio too but I find Audacity is easier to use.
I normally use Sound Forge for this work which is a lot more
accurate but will also cost you some $$$.
*TIP. I save after each move is correct.
Audacity uses it's own format (.aup) which cannot be used to burn
tracks, they have to be converted which takes time so I would
suggest you save in Audacity format until project is complete
then export to .wav for burning.

1: (obviously) Open prog.
2: Go to "FILE/open" and select 1st track.
3: Go to "PROJECT/import audio" and select 2nd track
and do same for 3rd
4: Go to "project/new audio track (this will give you
a new MONO track which is the accepted format for
use over a PA system. The stereo original will be
converted to mono.
5: Click the "solo" button on the first track.
6: If you're just using the starts of the tunes left click & hold
at the end of the section and drag to the left to highlight it.
7: Go to "edit/and click copy"
8: Left click on the new mono track and position cursor line
fully to the left (button to left of play button eg. |<< )
9: Go to "edit/ then click paste". This will put the first selection
into the new track.
10:Un-solo the first track (click solo button) and solo the second.
11: Follow steps 6 and 7 but position the cursor line in
the new track to the right of the previously copied section
then go to step 9.
12: Un-solo 2nd track & solo 3rd then do steps 6, 7 & 11.
13: You can now delete the 3 original tracks leaving you with the
new one. That's the X to the left of the file song's window NOT the
program exit button.
Note: I'm writing this on my laptop but doing each action on the
desktop as I go. I have not got any gaps between the sections.
I haven't figured out how to get them so I can't tell you what you're
doing wrong. Oops! I tried Wavstudio and didn't get them there either.
14: Now the new composite track can be edited if needed.
It all depends on how accurate it needs to be for your purposes.
You might need to increase the magnification.
(near top right of tool bar)
Place cursor at start of unwanted bit click, drag and release at the
end of it to highlight the piece.
Go to "edit/ and click cut and it will be removed.
15: Play it back. If it's OK save it. If not use ctrl+z to undo and try again.
With a bit of trial and error you will get the result.
16: Once you are satisfied with the result save it then export it as a wav file.
Go to "file/export as wav". It's then ready to burn.
Don't forget to give it a new name.

I find help files tell you how to operate different features on a one by one
basis - not how to integrate them as in a step by step method so it's not
easy to explain quickly. I apologise if this seems dumbed down but I figure it's the best way to explain what to do.
I hope it helps. Cheers:)
PS. If you still have probs just ask. I can follow my own instructions
but they might be as clear as mud to someone else. So it goes.

the audiophile · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject:

An embarassed G'day. Crying or Very sad

This update is written with cap in hand, red faced and
head hanging in shame!
In step 4 I said to create a new mono track when it should
be STEREO. Although, as I said, it's played mono over a PA you
can't burn a single mono track to CD - the program won't do it
and a CD player won't be able to read it.
I found this out about 7 or 8 years ago and completely forgot.
I was transferring some stuff from mono open reel tape so I
had to copy and paste the single track into a second to give two
tracks.
In your case the original is stereo and if you make a new stereo track
there won't be a problem.
Everything else in the run through is the same.
To play without gaps the three sections have to be edited together
into one track. If cut, pasted and copied as three separate pieces
to a CD the burner automatically creates a pause between them.
That's the only reason I can think of for that to happen.
(ref note in last post).
Hope I got back to you soon enough. Rolling Eyes

superfro · Joined: 14 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

What can I say...your a star! thanks very much. It was written pretty clear and easy to understand and WORKED!!! If you live anywhere near sussex, england come to the quiz haha.....

Thanks again buddy, much appreciated

superfro · Joined: 14 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

Hi again.......Many thanks for your help again,

I have 1 more question as you seem to know your stuff on this program.

Can I mix one track into the other ( over lapping ) as a D.J. would instead of one track then straight into the other? Just to make it more intresting........many thanks again.

P.S. If its to much of a problem, tricky , or just to much to explain, dont worry ...thanks

the audiophile · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:08 am Post subject:

Yo.
Yes it can be done (just tried it with full songs) but......
Just using 20 second or so clips might not make it worthwhile
but it's worth a try to see what happens.
The fade in and fade out wil need to be very short although
this would give a cross-fade and won't make the transition
so sudden.
Each clip would need to be on a separate track and moved
forward with an overlap ie: (the __ = silence)

T1---------
________T2..........
_______________T3..........
That's just the concept at this stage.
I'm out of time at the moment to give the step by step but I'll
post it later today (he says with a Brummy accent)
Catch ya later.

the audiophile · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:44 am Post subject:

Chapter two - Crossfades.

1: Go to file/open - track 1
2: Project/import audio - track 2
3: Project/import audio - track 3
4: Project/new stereo track (times 3)
Suggest you name the new tracks to avoid confusion.
Click on "audio track" to the left of the new track window.
5: Now copy and paste first selection to new audio track 1
selection 2 to new track 2 and the same for track 3.
6: Save as Audacity file. If you save in this format you can come
back to it at a later date to add/delete/tweak/replace as needed.

*TIP. If you haven't discovered it already if the default vertical
size of the tracks are too high to fit all on the screen move the
cursor down to the bottom of the lower track till an up/down arrow
appears then click/hold and move up to reduce the height.

7: Delete the original full files.
8: Fade ins and outs.
The first track might not need a fade in 'cos it's a natural start but I'll
go through the whole routine anyway.
The other tunes might not need it either if the selection is from the start.
If the clip is from mid-song you will need to.
To fade in:
Click and hold about 5 seconds from start and drag to the left to highlight
then release.
Go to "effect/fade in" & click. Solo & play back to check.
To fade out:
Effectively the reverse. Click/hold & drag to the right about 5 secs from end
and release.
Go to "effect/fade out" and click. Play back to check.
Do the same on the other tracks.
Now tracks 2 and 3 need to be off-set to the right.
Click on track 2 to position the cursor line about half way along the fade-out portion of track 1.
Go to - "project/align and move cursor" and click "align with cursor".
Track 2 will be moved forward.
Mute track 3 then play back from start to check the cross fade.
As track 1 fades out track 2 will fade in.
If it doesn't sound right do a re-do till you get it - when you do save it!
Then do it all again for track 3 by positioning the cursor line half way along the fade out section of track 2.
The visual should look like steps down from the left.
Play it all back.
If it's all OK save it then export it as a wav file for burning.
The three separate tracks will be combined into one track ie. mixed down.

I used approx 20 second clips to try it out but 15 secs should still work OK.
Don't make the fade ins / outs too long or you might not get enough meat
in the sandwich. About 5 secs works quite well but does not need to be to
the millisecond.

TIP 2; Don't be a slave to the screen when checking - close your eyes or
look away and LISTEN. It's what it sounds like not what it looks like.

Cheers. Razz

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