Lesson 21

21. How to Change the Tempo of a Sound in Audacity

Resource Type:

Tutorial Video

Duration:

3 minutes

Outcomes:

Learners are expected to:

SO 4.12.          adjust the tempo of a sound sample using the Change Tempo effect

SO 4.13.          examine a piece of sound and apply an appropriate amount of Change Tempo effect

Suggested Evaluation:

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

How to Mess Up a Piece of Music

Instructors may choose to observe learners complete this task as the evaluation method.

Procedure:

There will be times when an existing sound may be a little too short or too long for your needs. Also, there will be times when a piece of music may a fast or slow. Audacity’s Change Tempo effect is great for making these adjustments.

To adjust the tempo the first thing you need to do is select the portion of sound you with to change. Once you have done this you need to go to the EFFECT menu and select CHANGE TEMPO.

You will now see the Change Tempo window where you will find a Percent Change window with a slider. For this exercise we will be using the percentage method for changing tempo, but you can explore the other options in this window. By placing a positive number in the Percent Change window you will increase the tempo by that percentage. By placing a negative number in this window you will lower the tempo. The same effect can be achieved by using the slider.

Once you have entered in a number in the Percent Change window click OK. Once Audacity has processed your change you can click PLAY to hear your new tempo. If you are not happy with your new tempo you can go to the EDIT menu and choose UNDO to return to your original tempo and start the process again.

The Change Speed effect is different than Change Tempo in that Change Speed will change both the tempo and the pitch of a piece of music. Change Tempo only effects the tempo and leaves the pitch unchanged.