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Audio Editing & Production

A guide to Audacity, GarageBand and FL Studio, three free Digital Audio Workstations.

Toolbar Elements

  The toolbar at the top of the program is comprised of the following sections, labeled in the image below:

  • Transport: Pause / Play / Stop / Rewind / Fast Forward / Record
  • Tool Picker: Select / Envelope / Draw / Zoom / Timeshift / Multitool
  • Edit Toolbar: Cut / Copy / Paste / Trim Audio / Silence Audio
  • Zoom Toolbar: Zoom In / Zoom Out /  Fit Selection Width / Fit Project Width / Zoom Toggle
  • Recording Input Audio Meter 
  • Master Output Volume Meter
  • Playback Speed Slider
  • Internal Mixer Tools: Recording Volume Slider / Playback Volume Slider

A screen shot that points out the location of various aspects of Audacity's Graphical Interface.

 

For more information about the Toolbar, view a more detailed guide here:

Track Elements

The Track Components consist of the following, labeled in the image below:

  • Track Menu: Renames, reorders, recolors, or splits a stereo into two mono tracks 
  • Mute: Silences all regions within the track
  • Solo: Silences all regions in all other tracks
  • Volume Slider: Adjusts volume of an individual track
  • Pan: Moves the audio generated by this track to the left or right in a stereo field
  • Condense/Expand: â–²Minimizes vertical width of a track; â–¼Condenses track
  • Select: Selects all regions within track

A screen shot that points out the location of various aspects of Audacity's Graphical Interface.

 

For a more in-depth look at the Track components, click the link below:

Subjects: Studio