How To Remove Background Noise In Audacity

Are you recording any important audio? If yes, then finding background noise in the audio is quite irritating. You may hear a hiss or wind noise in the audio file. Most people have a headache when they cannot rerecord that audio.

Fortunately, you can use Audacity and remove unnecessary background noise. Audacity is audio editing software and is entirely free of cost. The background noise is reduced to a greater extent so that the recorded audio will be clean and professional.

The article discusses how to remove background noise in Audacity. So, keep reading this article to learn more regarding the information.

How Can You Avoid Noise In First Place?

Background noise in recorded audio is quite painful. You can try the first few things to reduce background noise as much as possible. For instance, try to always record in a quiet room. If you record audio in a room with thick walls, it will help numb the sound.

However, if you donot have a quiet room, you can do a few things to numb the sound. We are listing some of them below.

• You can use a noise gate so that it will reduce the unwanted background sound picked by the audio recording device.
• You can use acoustic treatment to reduce the echo sound picked by the audio device.
• You can use pop filters to reduce background noise.

Noise Removal Tool In Audacity

The noise removal tool is one of the most essential tools in Audacity. This tool will help to remove the background noise from a selected audio or video file.

You must first select the section from the audio file containing background noise.

You have to tap on the noise removal button, which is usually on the toolbar, and then tap on the Get noise profile. It will help the software analyze the section containing the most background noise in the audio file.

You need to select the entire audio file next, click the noise removal button, and then remove the noise. The software will now remove the background noise from the audio file.

The noise removal tool in Audacity is relatively easy to use, and you can remove the background noise in an audio file within less time.

Most people think the noise removal tool in Audacity software will remove all the background noise from the audio file. But in reality, it is not so.

The tool will numb the background noise in an audio recording to a maximum extent but cannot altogether remove it. It is because the noise removal tool will first detect the background noise and then reduce its amplitude.

But there are a few background noises that the tool cannot detect and reduce its amplitude. It includes air conditioning sound, ambient sound, and traffic noise.

What Is Hiss Noise?

Hiss is the unwanted noise that appears unnecessary on your audio recordings. The audio recording device, microphone, or any external factors like wind or fan noise cause it.

The hissing sound produced by any recorded device will vary depending on component quality. So if you have an extremely low-quality recorded device, it will record your voice poorly.

How To Remove Background Noise In Audacity?

Have you recorded any speech, music, or podcast? If yes, then you have to deal with background sounds unless you dont have a professional setup.

Audacity is an audio software editing tool that helps to remove the background noise from recorded audio within a few minutes. The usage of this software is quite simple and easy. You need to follow the below steps to remove background noise in Audacity.

1.Download The Software

You need first to download the Audacity software. The software will work perfectly on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

• Go to the Audacity website and download it.
• Install Audacity on your device.
• You can now open the software.

2.Import The Audio File

You must load your audio file on the Audacity software to remove the background noise. So click on the main menu and then import and then audio.

Now search the audio file which you need to edit or remove the background noise. You can click on open after searching the file. The file will open as a waveform in the timeline.

3.Select Noise Sample

Your next duty is to select the part in your audio recording which involves background noise.

You can take the help of a selection tool. Try to left-click on the starting part of the selected portion and then drag the cursor to the end of the selected portion.

The chosen portion should be at most two minutes and involve noise in the room. 

4.Use The Noise Reduction Tool

• Go to the menu bar, click on the effect, and then on noise reduction.
• Click on get noise profile button and wait for a few seconds.
• The function will analyze the room tone to remove the noise in the next step. The room noise here can involve a computer fan, wind noise, etc.

5.Select the Complete Track 

Now you need the complete audio track to apply the noise reduction tool. You can use the shortcut CTRL +A to select the audio file.

6.Choose The Settings

• Now go back to the menu bar, click on the effect, and then on noise reduction.
• The noise reduction dialogue box will appear.
• You will find three options in the step 2 dialogue box, i.e., noise reduction(DB), sensitivity, and frequency smoothing bands.

Noise Reduction(dB)

This tool will do the work of volume reduction in decibels of the noise in the audio file.

You need to select its lowest number to get the best results.

Sensitivity

This tool will highlight the amount of noise signal to be considered as noise. You can set it here from 0 to 24. You must set the value as low as possible to remove the background noise. Setting the highest value here can also have an adverse effect on your audio recordings.

Frequency Smoothing Bands

The slider will adjust the frequency bands in the software and try to reduce its nose.

You can set the frequency smoothing band a 3. But you must set it lower than three to edit music or speech.

There will be two options for noise, i.e., Reduce and residue.

Reduce is the option to help the software remove unwanted noise from the audio file.

Residue does the work just the opposite of reduce option. It will remove almost everything in the audio file.

You need to complete all the settings and click Ok so that the noise reduction tool will be applied entirely to the audio track.

7.Play With Settings Till You Get The Right Audio File

Removing background noise from selected audio files is an art. You need to play with the settings repeatedly. You can do it by pressing CTRL + Z or clicking on edit and then undo, which is usually in the top bar.

8.Export The Final Audio File

Once you are satisfied with the audio file, go to the file in the top bar and click on export.

You will find various options like Export as MP3 or exporting a WAV, OGG, or audio. So, if you are doing an edition of podcasts, select export as MP3. If you are editing a youTube video, export it as WAV.

Also Read : How To Decode iPhone Analytics Data ?

What Are The Tips And Tricks You Need To Follow While Using The Audacity?

If you are not satisfied the first time with the results obtained in Audacity software, then you can use below tips and tricks while using this software editing tool.

1.Run The Noise Reduction Tool

You must use the noise reduction tool repeatedly to get the best results. If you apply only once, the results will not be much satisfactory. Ensure not to create artifacts while editing the audio file.

2.Analyse The Noise

Adjusting the settings in the noise reduction dialogue box of the Audacity software helps remove the background noise. But if the audio files involve a lot of noise, like traffic noise, then the Audacity software will not effectively remove noise.

3. Constant Sound

If the audio file involves constant background noise, it can remove it. But if the background noise keeps on varying, removing the sound in Audacity software may not be effective.

4. Click And Pops

You cannot remove clicks and pops in the audio file using this software.

5. Distortion On Track

When you run the noise reduction tool, it can form distortion on the audio file. However, you can reduce it by making changes in settings.

Remember, there are no particular settings that you can apply in all the audio files. You have to do the settings according to the audio file you selected for editing.

6. Sensitivity

There is a sensitivity setting in the noise-reducing dialogue box. Setting the improper sensitivity value can badly impact the audio track.

7. Normalization

You have to run normalization after completing all the settings. It will ensure that the volume level is consistent all over the audio.

Go to the menu bar and then click on the effect button. You will find normalize button. Just click on it to normalize the volume levels.

Conclusion

Removing the background noise from an audio file cannot be done by simply one click. You need to practice in the Audacity software several times to remove all the background noise from an audio file.

The best thing is noise reduction tool in the Audacity software is powerful and relatively easy to use. You need to try a few times to get acquainted with the tool. The noise reduction tool’s settings can help get a clear and professional audio file.

We have listed above the methods for using Audacity software and removing the background noise from the audio file. Hope you like it.

Thank you for reading this article.

FAQ : How To Remove Background Noise In Audacity