How to remove background noise in Audacity – this is a request we’re always being asked. Removing noise from your audio is a pretty common task, but you don’t want to remove it completely as it can affect the pitch and become distorted, so you will need to establish a fine balance. We will go through the steps on how to remove background noise in Audacity.
Today’s program we will focus on is Audacity, Audacity is a free, open-source audio editing program which is easy to download and install, a great alternative to using paid providers.
Here we will show you how to remove background noise in Audacity and the steps you will need to take to achieve the noise reduction without removing any of the vocal quality.
How to remove background noise in Audacity
Now it’s time to remove the background noise in Audacity and get the right levels of noise reduction in your audio.
1. Install Audacity
Firstly grab your free copy of Audacity here. Once you have downloaded it create a new project by clicking File > Import and choose the audio you wish to remove the background noise from.
2. Select the part of your audio that’s silent
Now choose the part of your audio you’ve imported in that has silence. Once you select this you will need to go to the Effects Menu and select “Noise Removal”.
3. The noise profile
Once you have done the above you will receive a pop up like the above, this is when you will need to grab your noise profile. A noise profile allows Audacity to understand the type of noise it will need to filter out in the whole clip. Click the “get noise profile” button and Audacity will retrieve the noise profile for you.
4. Highlight Your Audio
Now select and highlight the audio you wish to remove the background noise from and go to the effects menu and go back to noise removal. Now you want to adjust the settings below to suit your needs, then click ok.
5. Listen to your audio and update
Once you’ve removed the background noise, you will want to listen through your audio to make sure it’s all correct. Then make any changes to the noise reduction and frequency to suit your sound, however, make sure not to distort the sound quality.
6. Export your audio from Audacity
Finally, you can now export your audio from Audacity – to export all you need to do is File > Export and select the file type. You can also export to MP3 or WAV in the export dropdown menu. If you need another file type, there are plenty if you click File > Export > Export Audio.
That’s it, that is how you can remove background noise in Audacity in only 6 simple steps!
We hope this article was helpful for you removing your excess background noise – feel free to browse more of our blogs below, catch you next time!
