Normalizing Audio in Audacity

This video shows you how to make sure your training audio is exported at the correct listening level using this free but powerful tool.

[@jonskerr]

Audacity now has a plugin called RMS Normalize which only raises the RMS without affecting the other numbers. Extremely useful.

[@brendanoneil3489]

interesting... what would best fix a set of varied backing tracks -minus 2nd guitar vocals , for live peformance.? Used mp3 gain as a first attempt-good, but want something that will equalise the whole set better?

[@mryayolah]

How we get it

[@TamsASMR]

Finally found the answer I was looking for! Thank you!

[@Design4Training]

TMI Tam ASMR Glad it helped. Thanks for watching! Kevin.

[@im-a-human-person]

This is the most helpful video I've seen thus far for Audacity. It's a game changer for me. Thank you so much!!

[@Design4Training]

Thank you so much for the kind comment. I enjoy knowing they are helping people. Feel free to comment and suggest more that you would like to see.

[@OnlineCourseExpert]

Thanks for this, Kevin! I was having a heck of a time normalizing my audio between recorded talking head and separate behind-the-scenes and this worked like a charm. Appreciated!

[@Design4Training]

Glad it helped you!

[@user-nq9lv2by1c]

thank you very much this has come in real handy as im using phone audio it really needs a touch up for va projects !

[@Design4Training]

So glad to hear that, and thank you so much for watching. Stay safe and wishing you well. Kevin.

[@LearnEnglishWithDave]

Excellent video with the exact information I needed to know to prepare my files for ACX. Thank you very much for taking the time to share.

[@Design4Training]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching.

[@howisjason]

Perfect tutorial, great explanations and easy to follow. Thanks!

[@robertstephen6130]

Thanks for the tutorial. It was a simple adjustment that made all the difference.

[@Design4Training]

Robert Stephen Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@raraimler7461]

Thank you so much for this tutorial, Kevin!

[@AmazingArends]

I’ve seen a number of videos on normalizing, and they all seem to ignore the point of what normalizing is actually for.

[@papparaba5504]

Let's say I have one audio track I want to use as base for volume (I don't want it to be modified in any way). So I need to normalize all other tracks to the volume of the base track. It is possible to do?

[@kyleganes5852]

Thank You Sir . I love audacity for mastering , as LAME ( get it ? ) as it is .

[@OLDTIMEANOINTEDGOSPELMUSIC]

Thank you very much - you helped me a lot - My mix sounds much better

[@Design4Training]

Thank you so much for watching, and I am glad it helped! Wishing you good health and stay safe. Kevin.

[@TomKaszuba]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@Design4Training]

Thank you, Tom. I enjoy doing them. I appreciate you watching and stay safe. Kevin.

[@75hilmar]

I'd say if you just wanna normalize some songs you shouldn't use compression because it changes the volume ratio among the instruments which changes the song itself too much in my opinion. Otherwise this was pretty helpful.

[@Design4Training]

For music, I would agree. Even with dry voice audio, too much compression changes the pitch. Thx for your reply!

[@75hilmar]

Kevin Cassidy - Design4Training Thanks for the reply. I would go even further and say instead of just normalizing a song's maximum amplitude it would probably be better to normalize a song's integral divided by time, the integral "volume" so to speak. Because many songs start very quietly and become louder in the end.

[@Design4Training]

Agree. I do mostly all long form, mono, dry voice so my method differs a bit. Thanks for sharing for other readers who use for music, and thanks for watching.

[@dj.soulbrother]

Awesome video! Exactly what I was searching for

[@Design4Training]

Thx Ty! Glad it helped.

[@Quinnderkader]

Thank you for taking the time to do this. It helped me out a lot.

[@Design4Training]

You are most welcome! I've learned so much from so many good folks who post, it's nice to give back.

[@onlinebizjp]

Thank you for your nice video. It's very easy to use.

[@CandidWithPiyush]

hello..thanks for the explanation. could you please explain the difference between normalizing and compressing? they both look same to me😅 PS: i did search on google and youtube but none one could explain it

[@Blogdeunoperador]

Help me a lot, thank you.

[@Design4Training]

Thank you so much for watching! Kevin.

1:08 Effect > Normaize

[@BronzeOrwin]

Amazing, after seeing something this useful I had to comment and like the video. Thanks a bundle.

[@Design4Training]

Thank you so much. Glad you liked it. Normalizing will set the loudest part of your recording to where you desire it, but the best advice is to try and record at near -3 db using your gain control so you don't have to alter the volume too much in post. Thanks for watching!

[@DonCorrigan1]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@AmazingArends]

“The audio looks a little low”. But I thought the point of normalization was to make soft passages and loud passages about the same. Otherwise, why not just use the amplify command?

[@sorma007]

Thanks! RMS plug in is a life safer tool!

[@rheymarcalbalos6928]

Why is -1 the "magic number" in normalizing an audio file? Thank you for the informative video BTW.

[@Design4Training]

-1 is the peak loudness for broadcast listen ability. Many people go to -3, but I consider this number more for mixing music, say when you have to have a voice be heard over it. The voice would be mixed to -1 in that case. Since my work is mostly dry audio on one track, I go right to that number. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!

[@biscorbit]

@@Design4Training so if taped a Live concert and I feel negative one is still a tad soft, would I then try negative 2? Would that also increase the levels of the wav making it louder than negative one?

[@lashlarue7924]

PSA: normalizing may not be the way to go; you're permanently altering the signal when you do this. Normalizing is a hack. You should just try to get a signal that has enough amplitude to begin with!

[@Design4Training]

You are exactly right, Lash. Normalizing as a process should be quite minimal if you set your levels right. If you apply a bit of post compression, it's always good to re-normalize at the end, but it should be a small touch, not a crutch for bad levels. Thanks for watching!

[@87channels]

Absolutely top, thank you! I've left a like :)

[@Design4Training]

Glad you got something from it! Much appreciated. Kevin.

[@davidjheldenbrand]

Helpful and concise! Good job.

[@Design4Training]

Thx, David!

[@sojannedos]

Thank you man. You're amazing!

[@JohnHolton]

This was really helpful. Thanks!

[@Design4Training]

Great, thanks for watching John!

[@evaldasmencinskas2991]

nice video thank you .you made my life on youtube more simple :)

[@samner9215]

Thanks so much! This really helped me out

[@cristinadriviera8144]

Dear Kevin. You're great. Can I de- sibilance entire tracks all in one go in audacity?

[@raxlyy6416]

please tell me............after i did everything you did, i got this hissing noise....what to do?

[@ShaniBro]

Same Hare

[@dazzleyouedits4577]

Increase your DB in Noise Reduction.

[@scottvincent6194]

Raxly. A

[@shanmalik5133]

Thank u..sir for the best teach..

[@JavaTutorRU]

Thank you! Does this operation normalise also a volume in a video if it consists from several parts with a little bit uneven sound?

[@lerulara]

Thank you!

[@sebastianell]

hi thanks for ur videodo you need to export the file after for the changes to be saved or is it fine just by doing it with out saving ?

[@freduhr]

Thank you for this helpful video :D

[@Design4Training]

Thx Frederic!

[@ellenx9412]

easy and quick , subed

[@Design4Training]

Thank you so much. Glad it helped you. Stay safe and stay creative. Kevin.

[@brendanoneil3489]

what would best fix a set of varied backing tracks -minus 2nd guitar vocals , for live peformance.? Used mp3 gain as a first attempt-good, but want something that will equalise the whole set better? is the RMS effect better for this?

[@nick_decastro]

Stupid question, but is the compression still important even with the normalize effect added? And is it better to go with normalize or equalization for a dvd of music videos?

[@Design4Training]

It is actually a good question. Remember compression makes the loudest parts quieter and the softest sounds louder. In mixing music, it is not likely you would want all tracks of possibly different voice and instruments have the same presence or loudness all of the time. I am not as versed in music mixing, but hope that helps and gives you some thoughts.

[@rhodatacaldo4947]

what if you have long audio, how do you normalize it in one command only?

[@NickiBratz]

Will normalizing my audio to -1 effect the quality? Most of my waves are being decreased from to much decibel and some are being raised from to low thx

[@LaryssaFiu]

This was very helpful, thank you =)

[@craptaxidriver]

Help. There is no sound at all. It says check playback device settings and project sample rate. I've done both and there's still vo sound. Can you help please.

[@k00lrunningz84]

When you are finish Normalizing your mp3 file. Do you export the file or does it automatically update the file in your folder.

[@Design4Training]

You to export once you are done making any post effects changes. Thanks for watching!

[@erijonmehmedi]

What version of audacity is this ?

[@vinnykeys8146]

For best audio quality, should I normalize a music audio track prior to amplifying it? THANK YOU

[@Design4Training]

Hi Vinny. Thanks for watching! I always like to normalize at the end of my other effects. This way the sound is clean as I want it before I make it any louder. Hope that helps!

[@myrandommindtv]

Thank you my dude!

[@trininite]

my normalize effect as well as many other effects are grayed out

[@khubaib1995]

How do you balance between louder and quieter parts of the recording ? I've seen that after normalizing, only louder parts are audible, while softer parts are still too quiet.

[@zalinger8925]

Sounds like a job for the "Amplify" tool under the effects menu. Highlight the area you want to change and click effect>amplify...gives you the choice to adjust + or -

[@khubaib1995]

@@zalinger8925, thanks for your advice. However, it's tedious to do when you have a very long clip. I've found using Compression and Limiter helps. This video talks about it : kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJuapJV4o8xgipo

[@zalinger8925]

@@khubaib1995 Thanks for the link. I'm new to compression and limiting, but definitely would be tedious the other way.

[@Weap0nsgradePine4pple]

I've got massive verticals in my audio, what do I do to reduce them? It's mainly from keyboard hits.

[@Design4Training]

Normalization will help those transient spikes. But once you hit "0", you can't repair the audio, so you might also change your mic gain setting to give yourself some more head room. Thx for watching!

[@johnnyparker2128]

genius

[@Design4Training]

Thank you, Johnny. Glad it was helpful. Thank you for watching, and stay safe. All the best. Kevin.

[@SimpleTipsofficial]

If I have more then one tracks.. Do I select them all and normalize them?

[@Design4Training]

+Drey Wylde Yes, although since I do voice over, I have mine on a single, mono track. Good luck!

[@DesertVox]

How do you raise the volume of ONLY the low/weak parts?

[@Daegarn]

Desert Vox what you are looking for is compression.

[@mikehammond2620]

I would do this with the envelope.

[@dexblue]

Merci ...

[@Design4Training]

Vous etes empris.Bon chance!

[@asfasf1313]

When I do it, the normalise function is greyed out.

[@trininite]

me too

[@peterburton3095]

You need to select the waveforms 1st.

[@slipmud84]

Is there a way to remove feedback sounds?

[@Design4Training]

The Noise Removal tool can help, but it depends on where the feedback is coming from. You are always better off trying to find it and remove it on the front end than try and get rid of it in post if you can.

[@smokemachines666]

hi Kevin normalize this way is good for mastering afterward or should i leave headroom ..thanx

[@Design4Training]

If you are mastering for later use other than the one track like my work has, leave yourself some head room. When you set your gain level in your audio interface, try to come in about -3 to -6 for your peak levels and leave yourself some room so you can bring it up later. Always safer that way. Thanks for watching!

[@Design4Training]

As long as you don't hit 0, you will be fine. I record into the red a bit at -1 before compressing. If you are new to voice, give yourself a bit more head room so you peak at -6 and normalize later. I feel the best sound comes from recording a bit "hotter", but you have to regulate your vocal volume or you can ruin your audio if you don't have a front end noise gate. Thanks for watching!