All fans of audio and video recording know that there is nothing more annoying that has caused ambient noise to creep into an audio track. This is something that can completely ruin our recording, although fortunately it is also possible to solve it in a fairly simple way and totally free. Today we explain step by step how to eliminate ambient noise from recorded audio without spending money.
Eliminate ambient noise from audio recorded with Audacity
There are several tools that we can use to remove ambient noise that has seeped into an audio recording. In this case we will use Audacity , one of the best programs that we can use to edit audio tracks, and which also has the great advantage that it is free software and therefore totally free.
Another advantage of Audacity is that it is available for a large number of operating systems, so that you can benefit from its features regardless of the platform you use on your PC.
The first step will be to download the Audacity program from the project's official website. After downloading, we just have to install it on our computer and we can use it.
Once we have installed Audacity, we just have to open it to import the audio file that we need to edit to eliminate ambient noise. Doing so is as easy as going to the " File " menu , and then from the import options select " Audio ".
With this, you will see your audio file fully loaded in the Audacity program.
The next step is to take a sample that clearly tells Audacity what noise is, so that we can completely remove it from our audio file. To achieve this we only have to select a small fragment of the audio in which only the noise that we want to eliminate is heard.
To select this fragment, you have to click and drag with the mouse. Let's imagine that the section of the audio that we have selected in the following image contains only the ambient noise that we want to eliminate.
Sound professionals usually record a small section of a few seconds at the beginning of their tracks, in which only the background noise is heard. This is a good practice that we can use when we make our recordings, it will make the task of selecting that small fragment that only contains ambient noise much easier.
Once you have selected the fragment of the track that only contains the background noise, go to the “ Effect ” menu and choose the “ Noise reduction ” option . With this Audacity will automatically take the area you have selected as a sample of the ambient noise you want to eliminate.
With this, a window will appear in which you will only have to accept to eliminate the ambient noise from your audio track. You will also see that there are three small sliders that you can use to adjust the noise removal tool. You can try playing with these values if the noise is not eliminated satisfactorily.
The truth is that each case is different, so we cannot give you a magic formula for how you have to adjust the three sliders to completely eliminate ambient noise. Generally a 15-20 dB noise reduction parameter, a medium sensitivity setting and a very low attack time will suffice, but it is something we cannot guarantee.
This should have removed the annoying ambient noise from your audio track. We hope you find it very useful.