Audacity (audio editor)

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Not to be confused with Audacious (software).

Audacity
Audacity Logo 2-2-0.png
Audacity Version 3 in Dark Theme.png
Audacity Version 3 screenshot showing the timeline, track, and basic controls
Developer(s)The Audacity Team
Initial releaseMay 28, 2000; 21 years ago (2000-05-28)
Stable release3.0.4 (August 26, 2021; 21 days ago (2021-08-26)[1])
Repository
Written inC, C++ (using the wxWidgets toolkit)[2][3]
Operating systemWindows, macOS, Linux, other Unix-like systems[4][5]
PlatformIA-32, x86-64, PowerPC
Size83.3 MB: Windows
98.4 MB: macOS
includes downloaded Manual
Available in38 languages
List of languages
TypeDigital audio editor
LicenseGPL v2 or Later, CC-BY-3.0 (documentation)[6] [7]
Websitewww.audacityteam.org

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.[4][5] The project was started in the fall of 1999 by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg at Carnegie Mellon University, and released on May 28, 2000 as version 0.8.[8][9]

As of August 26, 2021, Audacity is the most popular download at FossHub,[10] with over 110.7 million downloads since March 2015. It was previously served from Google Code and SourceForge, where it was downloaded over 200 million times.

Audacity won the SourceForge 2007 and 2009 Community Choice Award for Best Project for Multimedia.[11][12] It is licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.[6][7]

In April 2021, it was announced that Muse Group (owners of MuseScore and Ultimate Guitar) would acquire the Audacity trademark and continue to develop the application, which remains free and open source.[13]

Features and use[]

In addition to recording audio from multiple sources, Audacity can be used for post-processing of all types of audio, including effects such as normalization, trimming, and fading in and out.[14] It has been used to record and mix entire albums, such as by Tune-Yards.[15] It is currently used in the Sound Creation unit of the UK OCR National Level 2 ICT course.

Audacity's features include:

  • Recording and playing back sounds[16]
    • Scrubbing (Version 2.1.1 and later)[17]
    • Timer Record[18] – schedule when a recording begins and ends, for unattended recording
    • MIDI playback (version 2.2.0 on)[19]
    • Punch and Roll recording - for editing on-the-fly (version 2.3.0 on)
  • Editing
    • Via cut, copy, and paste, with unlimited Undo levels[20]
    • Multitrack features including navigation controls, zoom and single-track edit, project pane and XY project navigation, non-destructive and destructive effect processing, audio file manipulation (cut, copy, paste)
    • Amplitude envelope editing[21]
    • Precise adjustments to speed (tempo) while maintaining pitch, to synchronize audio with video or for precise running time[22]
    • Conversion of cassette tapes or records to digital tracks by splitting the audio source into multiple tracks based on silences in the source material[23]
  • Cross-platform operation – versions for Windows, macOS, and Unix-like systems (including Linux and BSD).[24] (It uses the wxWidgets software library for a similar graphical user interface on various operating systems.[25])
  • Large array of digital effects and plug-ins.[26] Additional effects can be written with Nyquist, a Lisp dialect.[27]
    • Built-in LADSPA, VST and Nyquist plug-in support[28]
    • Noise Reduction based on sampling the noise to be minimized[29]
    • Vocal Reduction and Isolation for creation of karaoke tracks and isolated vocal tracks[30]
    • Pitch adjustment maintaining speed, and speed adjustment maintaining pitch[31]
    • LADSPA, VST and Audio Unit (macOS) effects support real-time preview (version 2.1.0 on) (real-time preview does not yet support latency compensation)[32]
    • Saving and loading user presets for effect settings across sessions (version 2.1.0 on)[33]
  • Support for multi-channel modes with sampling rates up to 96 kHz with 32 bits per sample[34][35]
  • Audio spectrum analysis using the Fourier transform algorithm[36][37]
  • Importing and exporting WAV, AIFF, MP3 (via LAME encoder, now integrated), Ogg Vorbis, and all file formats supported by libsndfile library. Versions 1.3.2 and later supported Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC).[38] Version 1.3.6 and later also supported additional formats such as WMA, AAC, AMR and AC3 via the optional FFmpeg library.[39]
  • Detection of dropout errors while recording with an overburdened CPU
  • From 2.3.2 on, a mod-script-pipe for driving Audacity from Python (can be enabled in Preferences)
  • Full user manual included with the application (Windows and Mac),[40] available to download, or accessible online without downloading
    • Most dialogs and error messages have a "?" help button to link the user to relevant pages in the manual
  • Four user-selectable visual themes (version 2.2.0 on)[41]
    • Four user-selectable colorways for waveform display in audio tracks (version 2.2.1 on)[42]

Audacity supports the LV2 open standard for plugins, and can therefore load software like Calf Studio Gear.[43]

The version 3.0 update (March 2021) introduced a new project file format, .aup3, using an SQLite database to store each project in a single database file.[44]

The 3.0.3 update (July 2021) introduced crash reporting and error reporting for database errors; optional update checking was also added.[45]

Limitations[]

Audacity does not support instrument VST (VSTi) plugins.[46] It lacks dynamic equalizer controls and real time effects while recording, and does not natively import or export WMA, AAC, AC3 or most other proprietary or restricted file formats; rather, an optional FFmpeg library is required.[47]

Language support[]

In addition to English, Audacity is available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Corsican, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Marathi, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Welsh.[48]

The documentation, the Audacity Manual, is available only in English.[49] The Audacity Forum offers technical support in Spanish, French, Russian and German.

Architecture[]

Software architecture of Audacity showing how the software is built in layers

The diagram illustrates Audacity's layers and modules. Note the three important classes within wxWidgets, each of which has a reflection in Audacity.

Higher-level abstractions result from related lower-level ones. For example, the BlockFile system is a reflection of and is built on wxWidgets' wxFiles. Lower down in the diagram is a narrow strip for platform-specific implementation layers.

Both wxWidgets and PortAudio are OS abstraction layers, containing conditional code that chooses different implementations depending on the target platform.

Reception[]

As free and open software, Audacity is very popular in education, encouraging its developers to make the user interface easier for students and teachers.[50]

CNET rated Audacity 5/5 stars, calling it "feature-rich and flexible".[51] Preston Gralla of PC World said, "If you're interested in creating, editing, and mixing you'll want Audacity."[52] Jack Wallen of Tech Republic praised its features and ease-of-use.[53] Michael Muchmore of PC Magazine rated it 3.5/5 stars and said, "Though not as slick or powerful as programs from the likes of Adobe, Sony, and M-Audio, Audacity is surprisingly feature-full for free software."[54]

In The Art of Unix Programming (2003), open-source software advocate Eric S. Raymond wrote of Audacity, "The central virtue of this program is that it has a superbly transparent and natural user interface, one that erects as few barriers between the user and the sound file as possible."[55]

Some reviewers and users have criticized Audacity for its inconvenient UX design, unsightly GUI, destructive editing, and comparative lack of features, contrasting it with competing products that require fewer actions to perform tasks such as noise reduction.[56][57]

In 2021, Anthony Spadafora of TechRadar reported: "It's been over nine years since Audacity last released a new numbered version of its free audio editor but fans of the open source software can now download Audacity 3.0. With the release of Audacity 3.0, the company has made a number of significant improvements to its software including adding new features, fixing over 160 bugs and introducing a brand new project file format."[44]

Data collection controversy[]

In May 2021, after the project was acquired by Muse Group,[58] there was a draft proposal to add opt-in telemetry using Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica to the code. Users responded negatively, feeling the developers had betrayed their trust and made Audacity spyware.[59] The company decided to use error/crash reporting and optional update checking instead.[60][61]

On July 7, 2021, independent FOSS commentator Alexandre Prokoudine wrote in Libre Arts[62] that he believed Audacity was far from being spyware.

Muse Group published a revised privacy policy on July 22 for Audacity 3.0.3,[63] stating that the only data being collected was crash/error reporting and update checking, that the data was anonymized, and that both reports were optional and user-controllable. They said, "We do not collect any additional information for law enforcement or any other purpose".[64] They also removed the draft provision that discouraged children under 13 from using Audacity.

Derivatives[]

  • Audacium - an Audacity fork without update checking and error reporting and with new features[65]
  • DarkAudacity - a customized version of Audacity with a dark theme. It uses the same audio engine, but has a darker, more modern theme and some additional small changes[66]
  • Sneedacity - an Audacity fork created by members of "/g/" (4chan's technology board) that removes update checking, error reporting, and the outdated conan build system[67]
  • Tenacity - an Audacity fork that removes update checking and error reporting code added to Audacity 3.0.3 (July 2021), adds some new features, and fixes long-standing Linux packaging issues with vendored dependencies.[68]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Release Notes 3.0.4". Audacity Wiki. August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ^ SourceForge (July 2004). "Project of the Month July 2004 - Audacity". Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  3. ^ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2004). "E-Commerce and Development Report 2004" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder". audacityteam.org. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "About Audacity". audacityteam.org. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Audacity Team. "License". Audacity. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Audacity README.txt
  8. ^ "Version 0.8: May 28, 2000" in README.txt of audacity-win-0.8.zip
  9. ^ "Credits". audacityteam.org. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  10. ^ FossHub.com. "Download Audacity".
  11. ^ "SourceForge.net: 2007 Community Choice Awards". Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  12. ^ "SourceForge.net: 2009 Community Choice Awards". Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  13. ^ Rothman, Philip (April 30, 2021). "Muse Group formed to support MuseScore, Ultimate Guitar; acquires Audacity". Scoring Notes. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Podcasting with Linux Command Line Tools and Audacity". Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  15. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (May 2, 2011). "World of Wonder: How Merrill Garbus left the theatre and took the stage." The New Yorker. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  16. ^ "Playing and Recording". Audacityteam.org.
  17. ^ "Scrubbing and Seeking". Audacityteam.org. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
  18. ^ "Timer Record". Audacityteam.org.
  19. ^ "Note Tracks". Audacityteam.org.
  20. ^ "Edit commands in Audacity". Audacityteam.org.
  21. ^ "Audacity's Envelope Tool". Audacityteam.org.
  22. ^ "Change Tempo". Audacityteam.org.
  23. ^ "Copying tapes, LPs or MiniDiscs to CD". Audacityteam.org.
  24. ^ "Cross-platform downloads for Audacity". Audacityteam.org.
  25. ^ "wxWidgets Cross-platform GUI Library". Audacityteam.org.
  26. ^ "Index of Effects, Generators and Analyzers in Audacity". Audacityteam.org.
  27. ^ "Nyquist Plug-ins Reference". Audacityteam.org.
  28. ^ Audacity development team . "Audacity: Plug-ins and Libraries".
  29. ^ "Noise Reduction". Audacityteam.org.
  30. ^ "Vocal Reduction and Isolation". Audacityteam.org.
  31. ^ "Change Pitch". Audacityteam.org.
  32. ^ "Real-time preview of effects". Audacityteam.org.
  33. ^ "Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers". Audacityteam.org.
  34. ^ "Multichannel Recording". Audacityteam.org.
  35. ^ "Audacity Tracks Menu". Audacityteam.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  36. ^ "Plot Spectrum". Audacityteam.org.
  37. ^ "Audacity's Spectrogram View". Audacityteam.org.
  38. ^ Audacity development team (October 30, 2006). "Audacity 1.3.2 a 1.2.5 released". Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  39. ^ "Importing Audio". Audacityteam.org.
  40. ^ "Audacity Manual". Audacityteam.org.
  41. ^ "Themes". Audacityteam.org.
  42. ^ "Waveform colorways". Audacityteam.org.
  43. ^ "Calf Studio Gear - Audio Plugin Pack". SourceForge.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b Spadafora, Anthony (March 18, 2021). "Audacity 3.0 finally lands after years of waiting". TechRadar. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  45. ^ Muse Group. "Desktop Privacy Notice". Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  46. ^ "FAQ:How do I install VST plug-ins? - Audacity Manual". Audacityteam.org. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  47. ^ "Audacity: Features". audacityteam.org. March 22, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  48. ^ "Languages - Audacity Development Manual". manual.audacityteam.org. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  49. ^ "Audacity Manual". manual.audacityteam.org. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  50. ^ Jaworski, Nick; Thibeault, Matthew D. (2011). "Technology for Teaching: Audacity. Free and open-source software". Music Educators Journal. 98 (2): 39–40. doi:10.1177/0027432111428745. ISSN 0027-4321.
  51. ^ "Audacity". CNET. November 8, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  52. ^ Gralla, Preston (October 22, 2008). "Audacity". PC World. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  53. ^ Wallen, Jack (July 18, 2011). "Giving Audacity its due: An audio editor with serious functionality". Tech Republic. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  54. ^ Muchmore, Michael (February 5, 2010). "Audacity 1.2 review". Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  55. ^ "Studying Cases". www.catb.org.
  56. ^ Lewis, Daniel (December 3, 2012). "7 reasons I'm switching from Audacity to Audition (and why you shouldn't)". Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  57. ^ McLean, Matthew (June 1, 2017). "Audacity Vs Adobe Audition CC | Where Should I Record & Edit My Podcast?". Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  58. ^ Rothman, Philip (April 30, 2021). "Muse Group formed to support MuseScore, Ultimate Guitar; acquires Audacity". Scoring Notes. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  59. ^ "Audacity 3.0 called spyware over data collection changes by new owner". AppleInsider. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  60. ^ Speed, Richard. "Audacity's new management hits rewind on telemetry plans following community outrage". www.theregister.com. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  61. ^ Tantacrul (May 13, 2021). "Actions we propose to take on PR #835 #889". GitHub. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  62. ^ "The audacity of privacy". GitHub. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  63. ^ "Update to Our Privacy Policy & Apology". GitHub. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  64. ^ "Desktop Privacy Notice". GitHub. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  65. ^ "SartoxOnlyGNU/audacium". GitHub.
  66. ^ "DarkAudacity, a customised version of Audacity". darkaudacity.com.
  67. ^ "Sneeds-Feed-and-Seed/sneedacity: Audio Editor". GitHub.
  68. ^ "tenacityteam/tenacity", GitHub, July 7, 2021, retrieved July 7, 2021
Notes
  • Franklin, Jerry (2006). "The Sheer Audacity: How to Get More, in Less Time, from the Audacity Digital Audio Editing Software". 2006 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference. pp. 92–105. doi:10.1109/IPCC.2006.320394. ISBN 978-0-7803-9778-1. S2CID 23353302.
  • Mazzoni, Dominic; Dannenberg, Roger B. (2002). "A Fast Data Structure for Disk-Based Audio Editing". Computer Music Journal. 26 (2): 62–76. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.72.7855. doi:10.1162/014892602760137185. ISSN 0148-9267. S2CID 1709255.
  • Bernardini, Nicola; Rocchesso, Davide (2002). "Making Sounds with Numbers: A Tutorial on Music Software Dedicated to Digital Audio". Journal of New Music Research. 31 (2): 141–151. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.41.1211. doi:10.1076/jnmr.31.2.141.8089. ISSN 0929-8215. S2CID 15597769.

Sources[]

External links[]

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