TP6044 Multimedia Innovation
Sound Forge: Sound Editing Tutorial
Introduction
Sonic Foundry Sound Forge is an old sound editing software. The first version came in 1990s. The version
we are using for this tutorial (4.5). Sound Forge was later bought by Sony in 2003 and currently released
at version 10.
Workspace
When you first open Sound Forge, your workspace will be empty and looks something like this:
Toolbars
There are two toolbars at the top of the workspace: one for editing (the Editing Toolbar), and one for
controlling the recording and playback of sound files (the Transport Toolbar).
Transport
Toolbar
Editing Toolbar
The functions for each icon in the default Transport Toolbar and Editing Toolbar are shown in the
diagram below:
More Toolbars can be accessed by selecting View> Toolbars… from the Menu Bar. The Preferences
window will pops up with the Toolbars tab selected.
Opening and Saving File
You have two options of opening files.
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Create a new file: an empty file used for recording new material.
Open an already existing sound file (a sample clip, song, etc.).
To create a new sound file, select File>New from the Menu Bar or click the New button on the toolbar.
To open an already existing sound file, either click Open on the toolbar, or pull down the File menu and
choose Open. When you open a sound file, it will be rendered in a window as waveforms.
To save a file, make sure your data window is first selected. Then, pull down the File menu and select
Save As.
Select the folder where you want to save the file in the Save In field. In the Save as Type field, choose
the type. You can specify more setting (format, attributes and region list). To finally save the audio file,
click Save.
The Data Window
Each opened sound file has its own Data Window as shown earlier. There are some navigational buttons
across the bottom of the Window:
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The Zoom in/out buttons controls the horizontal scale of the sound wave.
The Level Zoom in/out buttons changes the vertical scale of the sound wave.
The Maximize Width button changes the view so that you can see as much of the sound wave as
possible in the window.
The Playbar buttons allow you to jump to the beginning or end of the sound, play, stop, or loop
(repeating continuously) the sound.
Playing a Sound
There are several ways to play a sound in the data window. First, you can click Play All on the Transport
toolbar.
Clicking Play on the Transport toolbar will act as a looping playback. Finally, you can also use the Play or
Play Looped button in the Playbar. You can also use the other controls, such as Stop, Rewind, Forward,
etc. for further control of playback.
While a file is playing, a vertical bar, moving across the sound wave, shows where you are in the sound
file.
You can begin playing back at any point in the sound by clicking where you want to start, and then
clicking Play. To play only a short section in the middle, click and drag the mouse across the segment
that you want to play, then click Play. (Don't click the Play All button, it will ignore the selection or
placement of the cursor and play the entire sound).
Basic Editing Operations
Sound editing can be used to cut clips down to size, extend the length of a clip, and remove extra noises
between sounds, among many other things. In the Edit menu, there are many common editing
operations:
In order to edit any section of a sound file, you must first highlight it. Listed below are the common
editing operations:
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Cut: deletes a selection from the sound file, and copies it to the clipboard. (control + X)
Copy: copies a selection from the sound file onto the clipboard. (control + C)
Paste: inserts the material on the clipboard into the sound file at the cursor position. (control +
V)
Paste Special:
o Mix: mixes contents of the clipboard with the current selection. (control + M)
o Crossfade: Crossfades (blends the overlapping area) the contents of the clipboard with
the data in the window. (control + F)
Trim/Crop: deletes all the data outside of the selected region. (control + T)
Clear/Delete: Deletes the selection. (Delete)
Undo: Reverses any change made. You can repeat the undo command to return to previous
versions of the sound file. (control + Z)
Using and Applying Effects
You have the option of adding all sorts of effects to your sound file. The Effects menu lists the different
effects offered by Sound Forge:
Here are some brief definitions of the effects:
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Chorus: imitates the effect of having multiple sound sources for the same sound
Delay/Echo: creates copies of the sound file which are mixed into the sound to generate echoes
Distortion: distorts the sound. May make the sound "fuzzy"
Dynamics: alters the volume of the sound file
Flange: creates a wish-washy effect
Noise Gate: reduces extra noise between sounds in the file
Pitch Bend: Alters the pitch of the sound
Reverb: simulates the acoustics of different settings, such as a hall, a shower, a room, etc. This
effect is most commonly used. (It makes sounds a little "warmer")
You can apply an effect to a section of the sound or the entire sound. First, highlight the selected region
of the sound (or the entire sound) you want to apply the effect. Pull down the Effects menu and choose
the effect. Change the options in that effects window to what you would like, and hit OK. Listen to the
sound. Applying effect will alter the audio file, so make sure you made backup of your original files. To
reverse the effect, use the Undo button.
The Process Menu
The Process menu provides you with more editing tools for the sound.
Here are some brief definitions of the most common Processes:
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Fade: controls level of volume.
o Graphic: allows you to place multiple fades throughout the sound.
o In: fades the sound from 0 to 100 percent.
o Out: fades the sound from 100 to 0 percent.
Graphic EQ: allows you to raise and lower certain frequencies within the sound.
Insert Silence: allows you to place a certain amount of silent time at a cursor location.
Pan: controls the left/right of the sound.
o Graphic: allows you to place multiple points of panning throughout the sound.
o Left to Right: pans from left to right.
o Right to Left: pans from right to left.
Reverse: reverses the sound.
Time Compress/Expand: enables you to speed up or slow down the sound, making the length
longer or shorter.
Volume: controls the overall volume of the sound.
Just like effects, you can apply certain processes to sections, or to the entire sound. Highlight the
selected region (or the entire sound) and from the pull down the Process menu and choose which
process you want. Processes are also a form of Destructive Editing. You must hit Undo in order to return
to the original sound.