- Getting Started
- Using the Edit View
- Selecting and Editing Waveforms
- Combining Audio Clips in Edit View
- Applying the Stereo Field Rotate Effect
- Adding a Favorite
- Exploring on Your Own
- Review
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Selecting and Editing Waveforms
You may need to isolate a section of a waveform to apply an effect, listen to a section of sound more carefully, or trim an unwanted section of sound. In this section, you will select and edit a section of a waveform.
- Double-click in an empty area of the Files panel below the file list, or choose File > Open, to import a new file into the Edit View.
- In the Import window, navigate to the AA_03 folder on your hard disk and select the ZildjianSizzle.cel file, then click Open. The file is imported into your Files panel.
- From the Sort By drop-down menu in the Files panel, choose Filename, if it is not already selected. The ZildjianSizzle.cel file appears at the bottom of the file list. Double-click this file to display the waveform. The name of the waveform is displayed at the top of the Audition window. Press the spacebar to play the file. Press the spacebar again to stop playback.
- Choose Edit > Copy to New to make a new copy of this sound file. When you are working in the Edit View, all changes you make
to a sound file are destructive. Making a copy of your file ensures you have an unedited copy of the original sound file.
Close the original ZildjianSizzle.cel file by right-clicking the file name in the Files panel, then choose Close Files from
the context menu.
This removes the original file from the Files panel and you can now make modifications to the copy. The copied file is named ZildjianSizzle (2)*. The asterisk at the end of the filename indicates that this file is unsaved or that you have made changes to the file that require the file to be re-saved. This is a useful indicator to inform you that you need to save to retain any changes made.
- Choose File > Save As from the File menu. In the Save As window, name the file ZildjianSizzle_edited.cel and click the Save button.
- Double-click the ZildjianSizzle_edited file to view its waveform. This audio file has a few seconds of silence at the end of the sample, which you will remove. If your time display is not in Decimal format (minutes, seconds, milliseconds), change it now by choosing View > Display Time Format > Decimal (mm:ss.ddd).
- Place your cursor at the beginning of the waveform, then click and drag to the right, ending the selection at the 9 second
mark. Make sure you are selecting both channels of the file by confirming that both channels are highlighted in white as you are selecting them.
The Selection/View panel controls (located in the bottom right corner) show the beginning and ending points, as well as the total length of both the selection and the section of the waveform that’s currently visible.
- The Selection/View panel displays the length of your selection along with the total length of the waveform. The total length should be approximately 13.3 seconds, and the selection should be approximately 9 seconds, which is located in the End field. If necessary, adjust the length of your selection by grabbing either of the two yellow range boundaries, and slide them to the left or the right.
- Click and drag the right range boundary, represented by the yellow triangles at the top or bottom of the timeline. Drag to the left to shorten the selection to approximately the 6 second mark.
- Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and click near the 4.5 second mark in the waveform to shorten the selection further. This is another method to modify a selection.
- Choose Edit > Trim to keep the main crash of the cymbal and delete the silence. Trimming retains the information within a selection.
You can also delete the information within a selection.
- Place your cursor at the 3 second mark; click and drag to the right to select the last 1.5 seconds of the waveform. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove this section.
- Press the Home key on your keyboard to return the start-time indicator to the start of the audio file, and press the spacebar
to play the shortened clip. Although the sound fades out, it does not completely fade to silence. You can confirm this visually
by clicking the Zoom In Vertically button (
) three consecutive times.
The height of the waveform increases so that you can view it in greater detail. Note that the decibel readings on the vertical ruler along the right side changes as you zoom in.
- Using the Selection/View panel controls as a guide, select the waveform from approximately the 2.5 second mark to the end of the clip. Choose Effects > Amplitude > Amplify/Fade (process). The Amplify/Fade window is displayed.
- Click the Fade tab within this window. From the list of presets, choose the Fade Out option. You may have to scroll down through the list of available presets
to locate the Fade Out preset. Below the Presets section, make sure that the Enable Preroll and Postroll Preview check box is selected and then click the Preview button. Audition plays the selection as a loop, allowing you to listen carefully to the result of the effect. You should now hear
the end of the cymbal as it fades out to silence. Uncheck the Enable Preroll and Postroll Preview check box and hear the difference
in the sound. Preroll and Postroll Preview plays one second before the beginning of the selection (Preroll) and one second
after (Postroll), and is useful for comparing the original sound with the edited version.
Note
You can change the length of the preroll and postroll duration by right-clicking on the Play button (
) in the Transport panel, and choosing Preroll and Postroll options.
- Click OK to commit the Fade Out effect. The waveform fades to silence. Press F2 or choose Edit > Repeat Last Command to access the Amplify/Fade window again. The previous settings of the fade out should still be intact. Click OK to apply the effect again. Applying the Fade Out
effect twice creates a faster fade out.
Preroll and Postroll can also be used in the Edit View. For example, if you would like to hear how the sample leads up to the fade out, you can do so by changing the behavior of the Play button.
- If necessary, select the last 1.5 seconds of the waveform which have been faded. Right-click on the Play button () in the Transport panel and choose Play Preroll and Selection. Click the Play button and Audition plays one second of the
sound before the beginning of the selection.
This is an extremely useful technique for previewing effects because it allows you to maintain the original selection. If you need to make changes or add another effect, you can do so.
- Right-click the Play button and select the default behavior, Play from Cursor to End of File. Press the Home key to send the start-time indicator to the beginning of the session.
- Choose File > Save. Because you created this file as a copy at the start of this exercise, the original cymbal crash (ZildjianSizzle.cel) remains untouched.
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