How to Make a Multi-track Recording with Audacity

by Tina Gasperson

Making multi-track recordings was once the province of those with access to a recording studio, but with the help of a free application called Audacity, anyone with a computer and a microphone can record and edit multi-track audio.

Audacity is an open source audio manipulation application that is easy to download and install. Follow the on-screen instructions, and then launch the application. To begin recording, plug a microphone into your computer or check to see if your computer has a built-in microphone and use that. Recording with a microphone is the default state in Audacity, so click the record button and begin speaking or singing. If everything is working as it should you’ll see the level indicators moving. When you’re done recording this first track, play it back to make sure it is the way you want it to be, then save it as a new project by clicking on File, then Save Project As. Give it a name and click Save.

To add a new track, with your new project file open, click on Project, then New Audio Track. A new space for the track will appear underneath the track you just recorded. Now, when you click record, the original track will play while at the same time recording your new track. This makes it easy to sing along in harmony or unison, or to play an instrument to accompany your singing. Save this track, and start a new one. Now you can add more voices, a percussion track, or a new instrument, either by playing the instrument into the microphone, or by plugging your electric instrument into the computer. For example, if you have an electric guitar with a 1/4″ connection, you can purchase a 1/4″ to 3.5mm adapter, plug the guitar into the computer’s microphone jack, and record your guitar using the method described above.

Once you’re recorded all the tracks you want, Audacity provides a full range of effects that you can apply selectively to certain tracks and even to small portions of tracks. Some of these effects include pitch and tempo changing, chorus effects, reverse play, and fade-ins and outs. Spend some time experimenting with these effects and don’t worry about ruining your recording–they’re all reversible.

When you’re all done with your new multi-track recording, you can export it as a .WAV or .MP3 file and share it with the world.

Tina Gasperson (tinahdee@gmail.com), affectionately known as Computer Lady by her family, has been writing about IT, home computing, and the Internet for more than a decade.