Lesson 13

13. How to Change Pitch

Resource Type:

            Tutorial Video

Duration:

            3 minutes

Outcomes:

            Learners are expected to:

SO 4.9 - adjust the pitch of a sound sample using the Change Pitch effect

Suggested Evaluation:

Learners can be evaluated through the completion of the following activity:

Make Your Voice Sound Like a Chipmunk

Interview a Superhero

Radio Play

Procedure:

The pitch of a sound refers to the sounds frequency. In other words, rumbling thunder has a low pitch and a squeak of a mouse has a high pitch. Audacity allows us to easily change the pitch of a sound and this tutorial will show you how to do it.

Open Audacity and either open a sound file or record a new sound. Use your SELECTION tool to select the portion of sound you would like to change. If you would like to change an entire track you can click the tab found on the left of the track.

Once you have select the sound you wish to chance click on the EFFECT menu and choose CHANGE PITCH effect.

You will now see the CHANGE PITCH window. There are several methods to changing the pitch in this window. In this tutorial we will be using the slider located at the bottom of the window.

By moving the slider to the right the ‘Percentage Change’ number will increase and by sliding to the left it will decrease. Increasing this value will raise the pitch of the sound, while decreasing the value will lower the pitch. Once you have the Percentage Change number you want you can click OK.

Click the PLAY button to listen to the pitch change you have made. If you are unhappy with the result you can go to the EDIT menu and select UNDO. This will return your sound to its original pitch. Now you can retry the CHANGE PITCH effect.