Music Library Staff Guide: Audio Editing & Cue File Creation

Watch this video on how to edit with Audacity!

• Open an audio file in Audacity (if Audacity is not yet installed, download from here: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/) 
• Audacity stores track markers ("Labels") in a separate, specialized track. Add [a] New Label Track from the Audacity Tracks drop-down menu.                                                                     

• Edit as needed.  Always listen to every change you make to ensure that your edits aren't jarring/unnatural-sounding. While editing, type Ctrl+B to add a marker right before the start of a piece, movement, commentary or significant occurrence (such as general recital announcements, commentary, or disruptions).  You can keep track of off-program occurrences by selecting the text box and adding text to the marker.                         

How to edit:

• Start from the opening remarks/announcements or the first work
  • If audible, art music starts at the intake of breath; popular music starts at count off
  • Highlight and cut (Ctrl+x) or delete (Backspace) the sounds of stage entrances, applause for performer entrances, tuning, benches creaking as the performer readies themselves, spit valves being emptied, etc.  Omit the fire announcement and pre-recorded music sometimes used as intro or intermission music, with the exception of original electronic compositions
  • Do not remove speech from the performers/stage directed toward the audience 
• Retain applause following a work (as stated above, delete applause for performer entrances), judiciously fading for listenability (see below)
• From the Process menu, judiciously raise the volume in sections the are close to inaudibility or lower the volume in extraordinarily loud sections.  On average (there will be much variation in art music or on programs featuring a variety of instruments/ensembles), the waveform should stay between the .5/-.5 lines in Audacity.  Loud brass or amplified instruments will typically produce larger waveforms.  Unamplified plucked instruments (guitar, harps) will produce small waveforms.  

 

If you encounter a clipped waveform like the following, see Michael for how to undo the damage as best we can.  If the audio was recorded from DAT or cassette, make sure the Gain button hasn't been pushed on an Audiohub interface.  If the DAT or cassette was recorded using the high gain setting, you'll need to re-record.

• Highlight and cut (Ctrl+x) or delete (Backspace) overly long portions of silence (or relative silence) typically found between movements or pieces. 
• Judiciously taper in pauses preceding performance beginnings and taper out long applause by highlighted an area and fading in or out (choose Fade in or Fade out from the Effects menu. There are several types of fades. For more info: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/fades.html). 
• Strive for transitions you might expect in a commercial recording.

• In Audacity, Export your edited audio to a WAV file (File>Export>Export as WAV).
  • Export to the Musicarchive folder in Blair Performance Archive--FLAC files (EDITED). When exporting/saving edited files, strip " - " and the title that follows from the file name. (Ex. For 2004_0408_20T - Spring Tubafest, save as 2004_0408_20T.)
  • Mind your sample rate and bit depth. Your edited files should be saved at the same sample rate and bit depth as the master file.
    • Sample rate is displayed at the left and bottom of the screen 
    • Audacity opens all files for editing at 32 bit float. There is no reason to save them at 32 bits. You'll make the file huge without any audible benefits! 
      • Save 96,000 sample rate audio (these are usually digitized analog formats) at 24 bits.
      • Save 48,000 (usually DAT tapes) and 44,100 sample rate audio (usually digitized digital formats) at 16 bits.

• Export your Label Track to a .txt file (File>Export>Export Labels)
  • Export to the Musicarchive folder in Blair Performance Archive--FLAC files (EDITED).
• Open the text file you generated from the FLAC files (EDITED) folder, and copy (Ctrl+C all contents)
• In your browser, go to cuegenerator.net
• Paste the data copied from the text file into the Cue Generator Timings field.

• Enter the following in the Cue Generator form.  Transcribe from the program using the suggested formatting.  Don't worry about diacritical marks (accents, umlauts, etc.) unless you're comfortable with typing diacritics
  • File name: Enter the file name of the WAV file you just edited, including the .wav extention
  • Performer: Transcribe the name(s) of the featured/headlining performer(s) or enter "Various" if no performer(s) is/are featured
  • Title: Transcribe the program title, usually printed in a larger or more prominent font.  Preceding "presents" statements should be omitted
  • Tracklist:
    • Transcribe each track in this format: [Track performer(s) or Performers in addition to the featured performer(s)] - [Composer Name]: [Work]. [Movement] (the red font is only being used to emphasize punctuation that's shorthand for certain functions in Cue Generator)
    • Typing Enter will start a new track
• Example:
  • Title: A Senior Recital by Charles Anderson, Trumpet, Polly Brecht, Piano
    • In the following track notes, the Sampson and Haydn are works for trumpet and piano. No performer track notes are needed for Polly Brecht, the pianist, because someone with access to the title and the audio file can infer that Polly is playing the piano. Katy Halama is singing in the Handel with Charles and Polly.  Jonathan and Tiffany are performing with Charles in the Cassella.
  • Sampson: Litany of Breath
  • Charles Anderson, Polly Brecht, Katy Halama - Handel: Let the bright seraphim
  • Commentary on Haydn concerto
  • Haydn: Concerto for trumpet in Eb. Mvt I
  • Charles Anderson, Jonathan Rodgers, Tiffany Fuller - Cassella: Sinfonia
• Check to make sure all tracks (especially the last) have a start time that corresponds to your label file
• Select Save Cue to File
• Open the file with Notepad
• Save the .cue file to the Blair Performance Archive--FLAC files (EDITED) folder. A cue file needs to be in same file directory as its corresponding audio file in order to serve it's purpose (tracking and potentially splitting an audio file into tracks).

• After logging into the BPA, click on New Record at the bottom of the screen to bring up the cataloging interface
• Enter Title information as per the program, when available.  You have license to change the following
  • The punctuation can be changed, if needed
  • Only title beginnings and proper names should be capitalized (with the exception of German, which should be transcribed as written) 
• Select the main contributors under Performer or Instructor according to the following guidelines: 
  • Performer is used for persons actually performing in some capacity.
  • Instructor is used to list contributors of a different nature.  This is used for studio recitals, lectures, and masterclasses.
  • If an ensemble has a specific name for the group (e.g., Blair String Quartet), do NOT make added entries (or links) for the individual members of that group.
  • Student performers should only be entered here if they are a key participant in a major performance (e.g. solo or duo recital, concerto soloist, etc.)
  • Faculty members should always be entered.
• Under Notes, enter the performers in the following format: Performer, instrument ; Named Ensemble (Performer, instrument ; Performer, instrument).  Students should be entered here.
  • Example: Roger Wiesmeyer, oboe ; Polly Brecht, piano ; Blair String Quartet (Christian Teal, Cornelia Heard, violins ; John Kochanowski, viola ; Felix Wang, violoncello).  More performer examples can be found following these instructions.
• Under Repertoire/Content enter information regarding the actual performance, and not just what the program lists. This should be in the following format: 
  • Title, op. #. Title of excerpt (start time, e.g., 2:54) / Composer (Performer, instrument ; Performer, instrument) -- Title, op. #. Title of excerpt (12:57) ; Title of second excerpt (15:22) / Composer (Performer, instrument ; Performer, instrument) -- Title, op. # (3:22; 6:42; 9:15) (all movements are present and have generic titles [e.g., Allegro, Adagio, Presto, etc.].   More contents notes examples can be found following these instructions.
• Under Administrative information, choose the format of the original master, the classification number (e.g. DVD 2007 0927 .15T), the original call # (e.g., T0426078P), and the filename for the program (e.g., 2007_0927_15T.pdf).  Check the box for Audio available, and enter the filename of the appropriate .m4a file (e.g., 2007_0927_15T.m4a).
• Under Other notes, type any other information that may be needed to clarify anything, such as if the audio master was defective.  Any links to other relevant records should be entered here using regular HTML and the URL of the other record.  Ask Jake or Michael for assistance with creating links in the Other notes field.
• Save the record and double-check that the links to the program and audio file function properly. 
• Email ranges of completed Record Numbers (found at the bottom of each BPA record) to michael.jones@vanderbilt.edu.