Tutorial - Audio Editing Masterclass

Intermediate

PC/MAC
Although Cubase was used to
illustrate these examples, most
sequencers which include digital
audio and all audio editing
packages offer similar functions.
The methods for carrying out these
functions vary only slightly. The
end results should be the same for
whatever package you use.

Like the binary system on which it’s based, nobody

is in two minds about digital audio: on or off – you
either love it or hate it. Simple. It’s probably safe
to assume anyone reading a magazine like this falls
decidedly into the former camp, but there are
those – professional musicians and producers
amongst them – that given the choice would have
nothing to do with digital audio and rue the day it
was unadvisedly settled upon on us.

The most common argument is that slicing music up

digitally just isn’t natural to our ears – no matter how
many thousand times a second we perform the trick.
Strangely, the same people aren’t heard to lament
about the visual effect on our eyes of slicing up movie
images (only a few tens of times per second) – presumably because cine projectors have always worked
that way.

It’s also unlikely that these people have had to struggle to record on formats such as 8-track 1/4-
inch tape, or worse, 8-track cassette tape with its minute track widths and serious speed stability
problems. If they had, they might just come to appreciate what it’s now possible to achieve using
a basic set of audio editing tools and the kind of functions included on even the most basic of
sequencers.

Obviously, these vary from application to application, along with the quality of results you can
expect to achieve, but one of the biggest growth areas over the past few years has been the rise
of stand-alone audio editors such as WaveLab, Cool Edit Pro and Sound Forge. Using this kind of
software, you can perform functions on a domestic PC that would have left professional studios
gaping in awe just a few years ago.

In fact, there are countless digital audio editing processes that couldn’t have even been attempted
in the days of analogue recording. Some are strictly corrective procedures, some may be regarded
as creative. Others fall somewhere between the two stools. Let’s look at a couple of examples of
what’s possible...

Repairing mistakes and glitches walkthrough 1-18

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Back to the tutorial introduction

Repairing mistakes and glitches walkthrough, 1-9

You’ve just recorded the perfect vocal track for a Here’s the waveform of the vocal track, centred on
song, but on listening back, you realise there’s just the chorus containing those ‘problem’ notes. In fact,
one little problem with a couple of notes in the second this section is actually showing the entire chorus and a bit
chorus. Can anything be done about it? Of course it can more besides, so zooming in a little (or even a lot) might
(we wouldn’t be here otherwise). Let’s have a look at the help make your target section easier to work with
waveform in your digital audio editor... efficiently.

Having zoomed in close enough to where the problem Once isolated, we can highlight the relevant section of
lies, it’s usually possible to identify individual words the waveform and zoom in further.
and see where they start and end. This will make it easier Providing the tuning isn’t too far out (and if the vocalist
to correct whatever problems you’ve got. Here, the cursor was that bad, it’s unlikely there would only be two notes to
is placed immediately before the offending notes. worry about), we can correct the problem using the pitch
shift function.

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First we need to ensure that only the offending By auditioning the highlighted section, we can decide
section of audio is selected. As with most sounds, the whether we have identified the correct area of the
initial attack is quite sharp and well-defined, so we can see waveform to be fixed, and if so, select the pitch shift
exactly where the words begin. And because other words function from the appropriate menu. The actual method of
follow them, we can usually find a good end point for our pitch shifting will vary from program to program, but the
edit, taking into account natural decay. end result is always the same.

If you have a good musical ear, you should be able to Normally, raising or lowering the pitch of a sound
hear whether the notes are sharp or flat; if you have would shorten or lengthen it. But with sophisticated
a really good ear, you may be able to decide by how much. digital audio techniques, this is something we no longer
For the rest of us, it’s trial and error, I’m afraid. Here, the need worry about. The computer re-calculates the length of
pitch may be finely adjusted in cents or more radically in the waveform relative to the pitch change to ensure it still
semitones. fits into the available time.

By leaving the section of the waveform highlighted

you can listen to the effect of the processing in
isolation, but it’s usually better to start playback from an Next Page
earlier point to ensure the pitch change operation has been
successful within the context of the song.
* click images to enlarge...

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Repairing mistakes and glitches, 10-18

But what if the problem isn’t a one of tuning? Suppose At this later point in the song, the words are repeated
the vocalist has stumbled over his words or sung correctly, which happily makes it very easy for us to
them incorrectly. Providing the correct words are repeated copy them. The two waveforms are similar in appearance,
elsewhere in the song, we should be able to do something but because of the problem with the earlier one, you’ll see
about this too. Start off by again highlighting the section of that the central section looks slightly different.
the waveform where the problem lies.

By zooming in on the waveform, we get a good view Most applications will auto-select the nearest zero-
of the start and end points of the section we need to crossing points as you drag the cursor across the
copy and paste, and we can accurately highlight it – but waveform. This helps ensure any future splicing is as click-
just how accurate do we really need to be? Fortunately, not free as possible. But with some programs you may have to
necessarily as accurate as you might think – but this zoom in to the level of individual samples and select the
depends on your software... zero-crossing points manually.

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How copying is carried out will also depend on the Again, if your audio editor automatically selects the
software. Some applications have an insert function zero-crossing points for each edit you make, the
but leave you having to remove the part of the waveform copied waveform should drop into place without any
you want to replace. Others allow you to highlight a section glitches whatsoever. Start playback a few seconds before
of similar length, then paste the copied audio over it to where you dropped the edit in and check that everything
relace one with the other. sounds OK.

If you do hear a glitch as a result of a bad edit or Zoom in until you can see the ‘spike’. It should be a
perhaps a click which has crept into your recording, few samples in length and clearly visible above the
there are a couple of ways of dealing with it. Start by height of the rest of the waveform. Highlight it, choosing
highlighting the section of the waveform where the click zero-crossing points on either side if your software doesn’t
occurs. Extend the highlight a couple of seconds either side do this automatically. Then select the ‘Quieten’ function
of the click. from the menu.

If this doesn’t lower the height of the click sufficiently,

select it a second or third time until it can no longer
* click images to enlarge...
be heard. Alternatively, carry out the same copy and paste
editing techniques described in steps 9-15, using a section
of waveform close by which contains no clicks.
Back to the start

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