Audacity is an easy-to-use audio editor and recorder. You can use it to: Record live audio. Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files. Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together. Change the speed or pitch of a. Ad by EthicalAds Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems. (( VIDEO GUIDE TO AUDACITY )) Complete Course at. Video Guide to Audacity is now available on mobile.
Audacity is free, open-source audio software that can be used for basic audio production.
The fact it costs nothing means it is a popular choice for beginners or those on a budget. As you progress to make more complex music within this piece of software you may ask can you use a MIDI keyboard in Audacity?
You can’t use a MIDI keyboard directly within Audacity as the software does not have the ability to record or write MIDI files or communicate with a MIDI keyboard or controller directly. Despite this, the software is capable of handling some basic MIDI information that can be used in audio production.
In this article I will briefly explain why this is the case and how you can use limited MIDI within Audacity if you require it in one of your tracks. Recording studio download for mac.
How Does A MIDI Keyboard Work?
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and was a digital language created in the 1980s during the rise of electronic instruments to allow them to communicate with one another.
No audio signals are sent via MIDI, it is entirely digital, so basically a series of 1s and 0s. This means musical information can be transferred between devices extremely quickly.
A MIDI message contains various information about a musical note including:
- Which note is pressed
- The moment that not is pressed and released
- How hard it is pressed (known as the velocity)
- After-touch
- Vibrato
- Pitch Bend
All these categories have a number associated with them between 0 and 127. For velocity for example a number 0 would be the equivalent of no sound whereas 127 is the loudest.
How Does MIDI Work In Computer Software
So how does MIDI work in a computer and allow musical compositions to be created?
Specialized Digital Audio Workstations such as Ableton Live or Logic are designed to work with MIDI files.
You can either play in notes via a MIDI keyboard or controller or draw them in using your computer mouse. These notes appear in the software on what is known as the ‘piano roll’ which looks like the image shown below.
This is a major tool in modern music production.
You can think of this a bit like a graph. The Y axis going up on the left is the note as shown on a piano keyboard and the X axis along the bottom represents time. So the longer a note is held, the longer the bar is shown on the piano roll.
This data is stored within your computer and the DAW uses plugins to convert that digital information into an audio signal which can be used in a musical track.
You can quickly switch from a piano sound to a flute sound for example without having to re-record everything because the information is stored there already as a MIDI file.
Does Audacity Have the Ability To Work With MIDI In This Way?
Unfortunately not. This is because Audacity is not a full Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) like Ableton or Logic (or the many others). If you want a full explanation of why, check out this article I wrote on the topic recently.
It is better to think of Audacity as a simple audio editor. This means it is still a very good option for basic audio work. But it really falls short when it comes to music production in many ways.
Even if you manage to get MIDI into Audacity, using the methods I will explain later in this article, you won’t be able to do much with it.
You can’t change the MIDI values associated with notes such as the velocity or length. All you can do with the MIDI file in Audacity is cutting and pasting it into different positions or moving it around on the timeline.
Can I Plug A MIDI Keyboard Directly Into Audacity?
No, Audacity is simply a basic audio editing software, it is currently not possible to plug a MIDI keyboard in and record MIDI notes into Audacity directly.
If you want that functionality you are much better off paying for one of the more advanced Digital Audio Workstations. There are so many options available now you don’t have to spend much money. There are even other free workstations that can do this which I will get onto shortly.
How To Use A MIDI Keyboard in Audacity – Some Workaround Solutions
I don’t just want to be the bearer of bad news here and tell you it simply can’t be done, I want to try and provide some solutions too!
Despite not being able to record MIDI notes into Audacity directly there are a couple of tricks you can use to record using a MIDI keyboard into Audacity.
1) Import MIDI from other free software
As mentioned already, Audacity isn’t a total write-off when it comes to MIDI. You can import MIDI files from elsewhere to use in compositions.
There are several basic Free Digital Audio Workstations capable of understanding and working with MIDI. Probably the best example is SoundBridge.
Step 1 – Download a free DAW capable of MIDI editing
Soundbridge is still free but slightly more advanced than Audacity. Download this for free and open it up.
Step 2 – Download a free VST instrument plugin
You will need a VST instrument to be able to hear any MIDI compositions you make within Soundbridge. Unfortunately Soundbridge doesn’t come with any instruments built in but there are hundreds of great VST instruments available for free online these days.
In this example I downloaded Sforzando, a very simple keyboard VST instrument which can be downloaded from here https://www.plogue.com/products/sforzando.html.
But if you want other instruments a simple google search will lead you to many great ones.
Step 3 – Setup your MIDI Keyboard
Plugin your MIDI keyboard to your computer via USB. Then go to Preferences in SoundBridge and select MIDI on the left as shown in the image below. From here you should be able to select your MIDI keyboard as the MIDI input device. Click the switch to turn it on.
Step 4 – Add a new MIDI track
Add a new MIDI track and select Sforzando (or whichever instrument you downloaded) from the instrument box and record your MIDI file.
Step 5 – Edit the MIDI
You can then edit the MIDI file within the piano roll by double clicking on the track you’ve just recorded. You can change the note lengths, velocity and all other aspects of the MIDI in here.
Step 6 – Export your MIDI file
Once you are happy you can go to File > Export MIDI Tracks and export to a location of your choice.
Step 7 – Open your VST Instrument On Its Own
To get this to play in Audacity. Make sure you have your MIDI instrument (Sforzando or similar) open before you open Audacity. Simply open it like you would open any other piece of software on your computer.
Step 8 – Open your MIDI file in Audacity
You can then drag and drop in your newly saved MIDI track and it will appear in Audacity as shown below.
Step 9 – Playback your MIDI in Audacity
You can get this to playback in Audacity by going to Preferences > MIDI Devices and selecting the VST instrument as the playback device.
That was extremely complicated but I wanted to show it can be done. The reality is even then you will end up with potential issues in Audacity with latency and creshing.
So unless you specifically want or need to use Audacity then you may simply ask yourself if you’d be better using other free DAW software such as Soundbridge instead. It is much easier to work within one piece of software for the whole project.
2) Via an App on Your Phone Or Tablet
Audacity may not be capable of understanding MIDI directly from your MIDI keyboard, however, most phones or tablets are with the use of simple free apps.
This means if we can find a way to connect our keyboard to out phone or tablet, we can use this as a way to translate MIDI into an audio file and record that into Audacity.
For this method you are going to need a couple of pieces of equipment.
- A USB to USB C (or other type depending on the phone or tablet you have) OTG Converter
- 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (if you have a microphone input on your computer) or
- An audio interface
Step 1 – Connect the MIDI keyboard to your device
Using the OTG converter cable connect the USB from your MIDI keyboard to your device.
Step 2 – Download a MIDI app
Use an app such as ‘perfect piano’ which will convert the MIDI notes you press on your keyboard into an audio signal. Perfect piano has many different instrument sounds included for free, from a simple grand piano to an organ and much more.
Step 3 – Connect the phone or tablet headphone output to your computer
You then need to get that audio signal from your phone into your computer so you can record it in Audacity.
If your computer has a 3.5mm microphone input (such as the one shown below). You can simply use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to connect.
If you do not have this you will need to use an external soundcard of some sort. An external soundcard is also known as an audio interface. There are many very cheap options available now for under $50 in many cases and are an essential item in any music studio, so well worth the investment.
As you can see the inputs on an external soundcard/ audio interface are 1/4 inch inputs so you will need to buy a 3.5mm to 1/4inch cable to input from your phone to the interface. The interface itself connects to your laptop of a computer via USB.
Step 4 – Open up Audacity and select your device
When you open Audacity you should see a bar at the top where you can select your recording device. Here either select your microphone input or your audio interface.
Step 5 – Hit record
Once you have the correct input device selected you can hit the record button and anything you play on the keyboard through the phone app will be recorded into Audacity.
Concluding Remarks
So it is possible to work with MIDI in Audacity, importing tracks and even playing them back. But it is a very long and complicated way of doing things and with so much other software available for very cheap (or even free) such as Soundbridge. Perhaps you are best looking elsewhere if MIDI is something you want to use regularly.
Audacity is still a great piece of free software for basic audio production and if you simply need to add some MIDI to an existing project then I hope you can use these tricks to do so.
Aug 26,2019 • Filed to: Record Audio • Proven solutions
Open source software is the new it-thing. Who doesn’t like one that comes without the hassles of an exorbitant cost? This makes the Audacity app so popular. A free audio editing application allows one to record any kind of sound or audio, and on top of it all – allows post processing in the normalization, trimming and fading.
Here, you can use your scissors anywhere. A snip here and a snip there – and Voila! – your music is ready; just the mix that you wanted it to be. Not only these. Audacity comes with the additional features of scrubbing, multi-track mixing, amplitude envelope editing, copying, pasting and so much more.
But again, every human being is as different as chalk and cheese. What someone likes may not be liked by someone else. Hence, ‘Audacity’ is not always everyone’s cup of tea. But, there’s nothing to worry, if you are someone who doesn’t value the Audacity app. There is an array of other options to choose from. Here are a few Audacity alternatives:
iMusic - Discover, Download, Record and Transfer Music
- Download music from more than 3000 music sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, Hulu, Spotify, and much more through copying and pasting the URLs.
- Transfer music between a computer, iPhone, iTunes Library, iPad, iPod and Android phones making it easy to share songs.
- Record music from radio stations and streaming sites and gets the identification of the songs including the title, album artist, and genre.
- It acts as a management toolbox that lets you manage iPad, iPod, iPhone and Android phones iTunes Library through options like backup iTunes, recover iTunes Library, fix iTunes music tags and covers as well as remove music DRM protection.
- Batch download of files is supported where you can download up to 100 songs at the same time.
- 1 click to transfer downloaded music and playlist to USB drive to enjoy in car.
- Ability to burn downloaded songs and playlists to CDs easily.
Part 1. Top 3 Audacity App for iPad and iPhone
Here’s what iOS Music and you has to say about it. 'Hokusai will convince you that audio was meant to be edited with a touch screen — it's just so natural within this app that you’ll find yourself consistently coming back to it.' - By iOS Music And You
Do you need to import or record a track and adorn it as you wish to? Try out the Hokusai app for your Apple devices. You can mix tracks, export to wave or MP4 format, and then send it to your computer. The undo option also allows you to remove your previous edits and start from scratch. Upgradation will add the following tools: per-track volume/mute dial, Time Bar (time line/ruler), AudioCopy/AudioPaste, grain synthesis, noise gating, time-stretching, echo, reverb, distortion, resonance grunge, vocal leveling, high/low/band-pass/notch-cut filter, monster voice, and more.
So what are you waiting for? Get your hands on it now!
Created by Jorgen Aase, this Audacity app alternative allows you to create your own music in the lightest and fastest possible way. It’s lightweight and without the frills of excess features. It allows you to use additional instrumental effects like drum loops, multi track audio recording, audio bounce, freeze and multi-track export – with lots of samples. It’s connection with Dropbox is seamless, which is a great add-on. The latest version is 1.3 – you can get it on iTunes with the provided link.
This one’s got really high ratings on iTunes.
With this app, you can do the following tasks: select the audio file of your choice, copy, cut or paste as you want to, redo/undo instantly and apply various kinds of effects like normalizing the audio to a certain level, fading in, pitch shifting/time stretching, compressor/limiter, delay, and filter for adjusting the intensity of the frequencies.
Well, it’s costly. With its free version, you just get the Audio Editor devoid of all its editing features. If the price is giving you a headache, here’s a customer review on iTunes to go by – “I used this app during a live radio broadcast (I also use Voice Record). Both are awesome apps. If I could change one thing it would be the option of having access to a multi-track feature. App allows music imports; however, from what I can tell it ends up on the same track with my voice - not helpful. I paid for the upgrade - give me one more track at least. Awesome sound quality! Love the extra features that Voice Record doesn't offer.” (LushLife, 2009)
An NCH Software product, the WavePad app follows on the similar lines of audio editing set by Audacity. It allows you to record, edit, and then adorn your song with effects. The final product can be shared with your friends and family. It also allows you to record your own voice, with sound effects like high pass filter for audio clarification. It’s easy and hassle free to use, especially for people associated with the music industry or having a penchant for it. Journalists and interviewers can also use it accordingly.
By Android standards, the MixPad app is highly recommended. With this app, the skill of editing and creating music comes within the ambit of your mobile phone. With sample rates of 6 kHz to 96 kHz, it supports most audio formats and features additional effects like EQ, compression and reverb. Finally, you can upload your music, burn to a CD and share it with others.
Here’s a customer review for it:“Best mixing app hands down I've looked for years for the one to use and this one is absolutely great. Thumbs up. The ads are as annoying as hell, but it’s worth it to get this free. Thank you so much to the person who created this and please don't go changing it.” (by Jacob Worthington Goddard).
With a complete range of over 100 music styles including EDM, hip hop and dubstep, and a 8-channel mixer, the app gives you enough food to chew.
Outlined below are a few features taken from the app description:
Audacity Tablet Price
- Choose from over 100 styles such as funk, hip hop,drum & bass, jazz, dubstep, trap, rock, techno, house, movie scores, ambient and jazz.
- Thousands of professional circles: From soul vocals to fantastic bass lines and saxophone samples
- Correct harmonies and tempo
- Play with outstanding real-time effects
- Record and share your tracks with friends
- Upload songs right to the “SoundCloud”
Audacity App
So, this is the list of the alternative to Audacity app for iPhone, iPad and Android that you can use. What if you don’t like Audacity? No need to worry since there’s still a lot more you can choose from.