How to remove background noise in Audacity

In this video, you'll learn how to remove unwanted background noise using Audacity.

Be sure to watch all the videos in our Audacity Tutorial playlist - bit.ly/AudacityPlaylist

It’s a real downer when you capture an amazing interview or voice-over narration, only to realize that the neighbor’s lawnmower was running in the background.

Noise reduction allows you to remove certain audio frequencies while minimizing the impact on the parts you want to keep (namely, your voice).

There are 3x steps to applying noise reduction in Audacity.

1. Get A Noise Sample

The noise sample is what tells Audacity which frequencies to remove and which ones to keep.

Use your Selection Tool to highlight a “silent” portion of your audio track, where no one is talking and it’s just the background noise. Then click on the Effect tab on the top of your screen and select “Noise Reduction.”

Once you see the pop-up, click “Get Noise Profile.”

2. Apply Noise Reduction

Now that you have your unwanted frequencies identified, select the entire track and go to Effect - Noise Reduction once again.

Tell Audacity how much you want it to reduce those frequencies by changing the “Noise reduction (dB)” field.

When you’re ready, click “OK”

3. Tweak The Settings

Often the first time you apply noise reduction it doesn’t turn out exactly the way you wanted it to. Maybe it didn’t reduce the frequencies enough and that lawnmower is still hanging out in the background.

Undo the previous noise reduction effect by clicking Ctrl + Z (for Windows) or Cmd + Z (for Mac) and repeat the process from Step 2, only this time change adjust your settings before clicking “OK” again.

==== Time Stamps ====

00:32 - Get A Noise Profile
01:44 - Apply Noise Reduction
02:51 - Tweak The Settings

===================

INTERESTED IN STARTING A PODCAST?

You can watch our "How to Start a Podcast" video series to get up and running in no time: bit.ly/2L25sAW

Start your podcast for free with Buzzsprout at bit.ly/2pGU2ux