How to Cut Apart Segments of Songs
- 1). Open your preferred DAW (for example, Audacity, Logic or Mixcraft). Typically the last edited session opens automatically. If this isn't the correct session, click "File" and select "Open New." Click the correct recording session from the drop-down menu.
- 2). Click "S" on the channel strip for the audio to be edited. This "solos" the audio, muting everything else and enabling you to hear the audio in isolation.
- 3). Play the track. Let it roll until you reach the part you want to edit. Once you reach the part where you want to create segments, hit "Pause."
- 4). Double-click on the audio to open it in the sample editor window. Typical DAWs have various windows, each suitable for a specific application. The sample editor window displays audio as a sound wave graphics, where peaks represent loud sounds and small spikes represent quiet sounds. This graphic enables you to make edits to specific parts of the audio using the shape of the sound wave for guidance. For example, a flat line represents the silence before a note. Use the flat line to identify the start point of a single note.
- 5). Click "View" and click on "Zoom" to enlarge the sound wave graphic. As it expands, the peaks and dips become more pronounced, allowing for more accurate editing.
- 6). Click "Tools" and select "Scissors" or "Trim."
- 7). Click the tool on the left of the sound wave. Use the peaks and dips as a visual guide for accurate snipping. This separates the audio into two.
- 8). Click to the right of the sound wave. This separates the audio into three. The middle portion is the isolated segment. You can now delete, move or copy that specific portion of audio according to your intended application.
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