What would be the next step once you learn to record your voice?
You should learn to fix the loudness first.
It is non-negotiable.
Loudness editing does not mean just “Normalize” or “Amplify” (there is more to it, and I will explain).
If you ignore this advice, I can guarantee that you will spend more time learning proper audio editing than is required.
It does not matter what the purpose of your audio editing is —audiobook, voice-over, podcast, or content creation.
Your loudness must reach a certain level for a better listening experience.
The overall volume has to meet some requirements to be accepted on some platforms.
Usually, these volume levels are called “Peaks,” “RMS,” & “Lufs.”
However, just achieving a certain Peak or RMS is not the end of the story.
You have to achieve those in a specific way to make the listener’s experience great.
Loudness is not the only issue in your audio.
You can not fix all your audio problems as soon as you learn to record.
The more experience you gain, the more problems you can spot.
You will feel lost if you start with complex problems like noise reduction, room Echo, or EQ.
Because those require a bit of advanced knowledge in audio editing.
If you start with loudness first, the later process becomes easy. Loudness-fixing skills also bring up other audio editing skills.
You will develop the necessary skills to identify other major audio issues.
So, how do you learn to fix the loudness?
You actually need to learn a couple of audio effects well for that.
It does not matter which audio editing software you are using. The principles or basics are the same across Audacity or Adobe Audition or any other DAW.
Which effects to learn first?
You must learn 2 effects very well to control the loudness of your audio – Normalization and Compression.
Every audio editing software has these 2 effects.
You will often find loudness requirements in RMS or Lufs.
Proper normalization and compression techniques will help to achieve the required RMS of Lufs.
You will need to use effects like Loudness Normalization to fine-tune RMS or Lufs level.
But the main work is done with Compression.
Loudness normalization is a mere fine control tool.
Beginners make a mistake here. They only learn the Normalization technique and Ignore the Compression effect.
Ignoring compression is one of the root causes of failure to achieve the desired loudness level.
The purpose of Normalization and Compression is quite different.
Normalization sets the maximum loudness of the audio.
In other words, it sets the “Peak” level.
Compression does not set the “Peak” level.
Compression balances the overall volume level based on the “Peaks.”
The overall audio becomes comfortable to listen to from this balancing work.
In technical terms, it is called controlling “Dynamic range.”
You may wonder why you need to control the Dynamic range.
Will it not be enough to “increase” or “decrease” the loudness of the overall audio?
If you increase or decrease the loudness of the overall audio, it will happen in the same proportion.
An effect like “Normalization” or “Amplify” increases or decreases volume level in the same proportion.
That means every point of the audio gets the same increase or decrease.
But practically, we do not want that.
While recording, we say some words louder and some words softer.
Sometimes, we must emphasize something, or our natural speaking style is like that.
We had to talk like that to evoke emotion. If the voice-over lacks emotion, it becomes robotic or monotone.
Proper compression techniques will keep the emotion, and improve the overall listening experience at the same time.
How to learn these effects properly?
To learn the loudness-controlling effects, you will get tons of materials on the internet.
- You can learn from YouTube videos
- You can learn from different articles
Learning from free materials will take a longer time. There is also the risk of misinformation with free content.
So you have to watch several videos and articles to learn the proper techniques.
Alternatively, you can take my Audacity Courses. I have 2 courses on Audacity and offered as a bundle:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mastereditor/e/187119
This bundle has 2 courses. The beginner’s courses ensure that you know all the necessary audio concepts.
You will know how to execute those with Audacity.
The Advanced course is the next step after you become comfortable with the beginner’s concept.
Most people wrongly think they have gone past the beginner’s level. But as they lack a proper concept, they waste years to figure out simple things.
To keep the bundle price affordable, I kept the bundle price closest to a single course.
The best deal would be to take a Lifetime Membership: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MasterEditor/membership
Lifetime Membership will give you access to all current and future courses and audio tools.
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