Open Audacity, then use ‘File u003e Import u003e Audio…’ in the toolbar repeatedly to import all of your recordings. They should be stacked on top of each other on separate tracks (these are the horizontal blocks running along the screen).u003cbru003eu003cbru003eYou can name the tracks with e.g. ‘Urdu version’ and ‘English translation’ to stop you from getting confused while editing. Just click on the track’s default name and select ‘name…’ to rename it.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eDoes your audio appear in stereo or mono? If it’s in stereo, it will look like the track has two parts, and if it’s in mono it will look like it has one part. If it’s in stereo, mix it down to mono using ‘Tracks u003e Mix u003e Mix stereo down to mono’.
Click on the numbers below to move on.
Aligning
You might notice that your English-language translation isn’t exactly the same length as the non-English-language recording. That’s OK! Sometimes it can take longer to say the same thing in a different language.
For this next bit, you might need to zoom in a little bit. Use ‘Selection Mode’ to place your cursor at the very beginning of your recording, and then click on the ‘zoom in’ icon to get closer to that section.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eGo to ‘Time Shift Mode’, and then drag the tracks so that the English-language translation begins about 3 seconds after the non-English-language recording (use the timings above the tracks to help you). This means that the listener will hear a little bit of the original language before they hear the English translation come in.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eWhen you’re ready to zoom out again, you can use the zoom out icon to do so.
Envelope Mode
Go to ‘Envelope Mode’. You can click at the very top or bottom of a track to place a little dot (called a ‘Node’). Place a node on the non-English-language track at the point where the English-language translation begins, and another about half a second before this. You might need to zoom in again to do this. Click on the first node you placed (where the English-language translation begins) and drag it towards the centre of the track to reduce the volume. You want the non-English-language recording to start off at a normal volume, but then to go very quiet so that the listener can hear the English-language translation over the top.
If the English-language translation ends before the non-English-language recording ends, you can bring the volume of the non-English-language recording back up at the end. Just add another node on the non-English-language track at the point where the English-language translation ends, and another about half a second after this. Drag the second node to the top of the track to bring the volume back up.
Listening Back
Go back to ‘Selection Mode’ and click on one of your tracks to move your cursor back to the beginning. Use the ‘Play / Stop’ buttons to listen to the whole thing. If the volume of the non-English-language recording isn’t low enough, it will be difficult to hear the English-language translation and you might need to go back to the previous step and drag your nodes a bit closer to the centre of the track to bring the volume lower.
Audacity won’t let you use some functions when you’re in ‘Pause Mode’. If something isn’t working, you might just need to hit ‘Stop’ and try again.
Mixing the tracks
Once you’re happy, mix the two halves together into one. In Selection Mode, highlight both tracks together and then use ‘Tracks > Mix > Mix and render’.
Exporting your work
Use ‘File u003e Export u003e Export as WAV / MP3’ to export your recording-plus-translation as an audio file. Give it a name and save it in a safe place.
You can now start using the Level 1 ‘How to edit’ instructions, treating this WAV file just like your other recordings and importing it along with the rest.
