auto duck

How to Auto Duck in Audacity

How to Auto Duck in Audacity

 

auto duckSo a duck walks into a bar….

Now, if you had been on my mailing list then you’d have heard the rest of that joke.

Don’t worry, I don’t make a habit of telling bad jokes to my subscribers (although I don’t think the duck joke’s bad!) but if you’re not on my list then you could be missing out on other stuff.

You’d better fix that, eh? 😉

Anyway, it’s not that kind of duck that I’ll be talking about in this post.

Although I do love ducks. Ducks are awesome.

No, in this post I’m sharing a little tutorial about how to Auto Duck in the Audacity audio editing software.

If you don’t know what Auto Duck is, think of the times you’ve heard a voiceover, say, during the intro to a podcast, radio show, etc. Did you notice how the music level dipped whenever the person talked? Well, that’s what Auto Duck does. It ‘ducks’ the level of the sound. Automatically. Hence, “Auto Duck”.

Basically, if you do any kind of audio stuff where there’s a voice talking over the top of some background music, you need to know how to do this.

So take a look at my tutorial below and hopefully you’ll come away armed with something new and useful to be able to use in your online marketing.

 

 

So there we have it!

I hope that you found this tutorial useful.

If there’s anything else that you think I may know about and you’d like me to make a tutorial video about it, then feel free to let me know in the comments below and I’ll see what I can do. 🙂

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Glenn is a Certified iPro Masters Partner

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16 thoughts on “How to Auto Duck in Audacity”

  1. Hi Glenn,

    I have never used audacity myself, but heard it is a great software for podcast. But I’m bookmarking this post for future use.

    Podcast is a powerful tool, and I might use it in future. your post gives a great insight into it.

    Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!
    Nisha Pandey recently posted…How can you Generate More Money from your Site?My Profile

    1. Hi Nisha,

      Audacity is a great piece of software to use for all sorts of audio work, especially for audio newbies.

      I know of some people who are running very successful podcasts and I think it’s a good area to go into if you can. It isn’t for everyone so I think that there’s much more potential to get noticed than a lot of other methods because there will be many people who won’t do them.

      Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great weekend too. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Two Top List-Building TipsMy Profile

  2. Hi Glenn!!

    Great little post you have here. This will come in handy down the road
    when I start doing anything using audio files. Thanks for the information.

    Talk to ya soon…….Chris
    Chris DeeWaard recently posted…Payday Again!!My Profile

  3. Hey Glenn,

    Now that’s pretty cool. I do use Audacity but mainly for taping things and not really recording stuff like that but that’s mainly because I didn’t know how! Some of the instructional videos I’ve found online are horrible and I walk away even more confused than before.

    I love yours and thanks for taking us through this. I’m saving this post because I will be reverting back to it.

    Great job on the video Glenn, thanks again.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted…Magical Monday: Blog Content, SEO, Guest Posting, TOC, Make MoneyMy Profile

    1. Hey Adrienne,

      I’m so glad you found my video helpful. I’m going to try to do more of these type of posts going forward. I have a lot of tech experience, both in audio and IT, so I’m sure that I’ll be able to share some valuable stuff.

      I hope you’re having a great weekend. The sun is shining here, FINALLY! 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Change Your Thinking, Change Your LifeMy Profile

  4. Hi Glenn,

    The duck joke was so clean and really funny. You truly have the gift of comedy.

    This is a keeper, I’m going to hold on to this post, when I start doing podcasts. It’s a good product you’ve turned us onto and to top it off it’s free.

    You’re always so helpful Glenn with your sharing and helping each one of us and I thank you for that.

    You have a wonderful weekend!

    Linda
    Linda Schrier recently posted…Personal Freedom In Internet MarketingMy Profile

    1. Hi Linda,

      I’m glad you found the duck joke funny! And my jokes are always clean – no room for anything else here! 🙂

      It’s definitely worthwhile getting hold of Audacity. I do pretty much all my IM audio stuff with it these days because it really does everything I need it to. I’m glad you found the tutorial useful.

      Take care! 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What a Busted Shoulder Taught Me About Reaching Your GoalsMy Profile

  5. Hi Glenn
    That Auto Duck tutorial was very helpful. It’s funny how I have been using Audacity for a while, and must have seen the tab called ‘Auto Duck’ many times. Information overload prevented me from clicking it to see what it was – so my new rule now is to check out all the menus, tabs and features that come with my programs! Thank for the heads-up and valuable helpful info… I am an Auto Duck convert! Richard
    Richard Seaton recently posted…How I earn $1000 commissions on my day offMy Profile

  6. I love the duck joke….soooooooooo funny. I use audacity so I found this feature to be of a great help…I would like to know what kind of microphone you use because there is no interference with your voice and it is very clear….I have microphone headset that I purchased for around $25.00 and have to edit out the noises…got any ideas on that …thanks again….Jennifer

    1. Hi Jennifer
      I just got started with podcasting myself, and had to hunt around for a better mic, as my headset was giving background noise which was a nightmare to deal with. I found this mic very good – any of the ‘BLUE’ range are good for what we want – and this is a simple USB mic with no drivers needed. I also see it has gone down in price to $39 – – I paid $49 a month ago!! Here’s a link… http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006DIA77E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00
      good luck
      Richard
      Richard Seaton recently posted…How I earn $1000 commissions on my day offMy Profile

      1. Yes, Richard makes a good recommendation here. Blue make very good stuff and you can’t go wrong with the Snowball iCE. I shall be getting one of these myself soon and now that Amazon are doing them for £39 (I’m assuming you meant pounds, Richard, not dollars – if it’s $39 then I want that one! lol!) with free postage then that’s pretty good.

        Having said all that, I’ve literally just checked Amazon and it seems that the Blue Snowball (not iCE) is going for just £10 more. Although the iCE is a good and perfectly adequate mic, the Snowball is a much better one for podcasters, etc because it has a switch that enables a uni-directional frequency response. In other words, the Snowball iCE can pick up surrounding noise, whereas the Snowball can be switched so that it picks up only what is directly in front of it. The only problems is I reeeeaaaallly want the white one but that’s more expensive! lol! 🙁
        Glenn Shepherd recently posted…EMA 001: The Number One Newbie Traffic Mistake That Could Cost You Thousands (And Your Sanity!)My Profile

    2. Hi Jennifer,

      I’m glad you liked the duck joke! 😛

      I use two different microphones. Well, actually I use three, depending on what I’m doing. For my podcasts I use my pro studio mic which is a Thomann t.bone SC300 condenser mic. For stuff I’m doing at my laptop, such as tutorial videos like the one above, I use a Trust headset and for my on-camera videos (that I shall be doing more of going forward) I use a Vivanco EM216 lavalier mic.

      When you say that you have to edit out the noises, it all depends on the what and why – i.e. what the noises are and why they are there. If you’re talking about a general fuzzy, noisy mic then the best suggestion would be to get a new, better quality one. Whether it’s a case of noise through a poor quality mic or just general background noise, there are things that can be done to improve the sound quality but it does all depend on what the cause is and thus, the nature of the recorded signal. There’s compression, noise gating, EQ, filtering, noise reduction – there are so many factors involved and each one could be a course on its own. I would have to hear an example of the recorded signal in order to give a definitive answer and say, “Ah yes, that’s being caused by such-and-such. You can limit that by doing such-and-such”.

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…EMA Podcast 002: “6 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Online Business”My Profile

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