Clearing the Clutter: Streamlined Methods for Reducing Ambient Noise in Audio Editing Software (Audacity & FilmoraPro)

How to Do Noise Reduction in Audacity and FilmoraPro Easily

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

For a recording to have good audio quality , it needs to have as little background noise as possible. Background noise is any constant sound which was not intentionally added to an audio recording. The lesser the background noise a listener can hear, the better the quality of an audio recording. This is why noise reduction is a very important part of the finishing process for audio recordings.

Noise reduction is the process of getting rid of any constant background noises or interfering sounds that muddy the clarity of your audio recording or distract from its substance. With noise reduction, you can get rid of constant background sounds like the hum of a machine, the buzz of a fan, whistles, whines, and hisses.

The good news is that with software like Audacity, amateurs and professionals can easily do noise reduction in a few simple steps. In this post, we show you how to easily do noise reduction in Audacity.

Part 1: How to do noise reduction in Audacity

Audacity is a lightweight opensource audio recording and editing software that’s used by many serious podcasters and vloggers. It has PC and MAC versions, and it can be downloaded with an easy-to-read manual. Before you begin the noise reduction process, assess your audio recording, taking note of parts that have background noise and the different background sounds in the recording. You should also form the habit of taking a separate recording of the ROOM TONE. You can know more infomation of Audacity from PCmag review . This recording will provide a clear sample of the background noise in the room and will be very useful in the noise reduction process. See steps below:

• The first step is to create a NOISE PROFILE. This profile tells Audacity the nature of the noise to be reduced or eliminated from the audio recording. To create a NOISE PROFILE, open your ROOM TONE recording and click on EFFECT > NOISE REDUCTION.
• If you didn’t make a ROOM TONE recording, then open the audio file you want to process. Once opened, click and drag over a section that contains mostly noise to select it. Then, click on EFFECT > NOISE REDUCTION.

• Once a new window labelled ‘STEP 1’ opens, click on the ‘GET NOISE PROFILE’ button. This creates the NOISE PROFILE which Audacity will use in the noise reduction process.

• Next, select the entire audio file that requires noise reduction. Then, select NOISE REDUCTION from the EFFECTS tab on the top menu bar.
• When the new window labelled ‘STEP 2’ opens, take your time to enter the settings that give you the desired level of noise reduction. Carefully adjust the bands for NOISE REDUCTION, SENSITIVITY and FREQUENCY SMOOTHING.

• Now, click the PREVIEW button to hear the effect of your noise reduction settings. If you are not satisfied with the preview, you can adjust the settings bars until you achieve a good result.
• You should also click on the RESIDUE radio button to hear the sounds that will be eliminated from your recording if your chosen settings are applied. This can be very useful as some settings can result in the loss of valuable audio content. If you hear valuable audio content captured in the residue, adjust your settings accordingly. Try as much as possible to minimize the loss of valuable audio content.
• Once you are satisfied with your audio preview and residue, click the OK button with the REDUCE radio button selected. This will perform the noise reduction effect on your audio recording.

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Conclusion

Keep in mind that noise reduction is not a perfect process and strong noise reduction settings can result in the loss of valuable audio content. Whether you choose to use Audacity or Filmora, try to strike the right balance between getting rid of background sounds and retaining valuable audio content.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

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