Sound Forge: Sound Editing Tutorial

Getting Started

• Your Workspace:

When you first open Sound Forge, your workspace will be

empty:

When you open a sound file, it will show in this window.

• The 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).
 • Opening a File:
You have two options of opening files.
1. Create a new file: an
empty file used for recording
new material.
2. Open an already
existing sound file (a sample
clip, song, etc.).

To create a new sound file, either click the New button on

the toolbar,
or pull down the File menu and choose New:

To open an already existing sound file, either click Open

on the toolbar,
or pull down the File menu and choose Open.

• Saving a File:

1. Make sure your data

window (see next section) is
selected.
2. Pull down the File
menu and select Save As.
 3. Select the folder
where you want to save the
file in the Save In field.
4. In the Save as Type
field, choose .wav, if it isn't
already specified.
5. Click Save.

• The Data Window (Sound file window):

Each opened sound file has its own Data Window.

There are some navigational buttons across the bottom of
the Window:

1. The Zoom in/out

buttons controls the
horizontal scale of the sound
wave.
2. The Level Zoom
in/out buttons change the
vertical scale of the sound
wave.
 3. The Maximize Width
button changes the view so
that you can see as much of
the sound wave as possible in
the window.
4. The Playbar buttons
allow you to jump to the
beginning or end of the
sound, play, stop, or loop
(repeating continuously) the
sound.

Editing Your Sound

• Playing a Sound:

There are four ways to play a sound:

1. Click Play All on the

Transport toolbar.
 2. Click Play on the
Transport toolbar. (This will
act as a looping playback.)
3. Click Play on the
Playbar
4. Click Play Looped
on the Playbar

While a file is playing, a vertical bar, moving across the

sound wave,
shows where you are in the sound file.

You can also use the other controls, such as Stop, Rewind,
Forward, etc.
for further control of playback.

• Playing part of a Sound:

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:

1. Cut: deletes a
selection from the sound file,
and copies it to the clipboard.
(control + X)
2. Copy: copies a
selection from the sound file
 onto the clipboard. (control
+ C)
3. Paste: inserts the
material on the clipboard into
the sound file at the cursor
position. (control + V)
4. Paste Special:
a. Mix: mixes contents of
the clipboard with the current
selection. (control + M)
b. Crossfade: Crossfades
(blends the overlapping area)
the contents of the clipboard
with the data in the window.
(control + F)
5. Trim/Crop: deletes
all the data outside of the
selected region. (control + T)
6. Clear/Delete: Deletes
the selection. (Delete)
7. Undo: Reverses any
change made. You can
repeat the undo command to
return to previous versions of
the sound file. (control + Z)

• Practice Basic Editing:

Let's practice some simple cutting/trimming of a sound file.

First, download this clip:

Rapper's Delight

Now its time to start editing:

1. Open the sound file in

Sound Forge
2. Play the clip to
familiarize yourself with
what you are working with.

You will notice two sections of the clip: an introduction,

and a main segment
 (when the bass comes in with a new drum beat). Our goal
is to get rid of the
introduction section.

3. You can either

trim/crop the main section, or
delete the introduction.

a. To trim/crop:
highlight the section
wanted, and then click
on trim/crop.
b. To delete:
highlight the
introduction and click
delete.

To get the best cut, you want to zoom in to the spot where the main section comes in and work
from there.

After your editing, the sound clip should sound something

like this:

Rapper's Delight Cropped

Congratulations! You've successfully learned how to do

simple Editing.

Effects and Processing

• The Effects Menu:

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:

1. Chorus: imitates the

effect of having multiple
sound sources for the same
sound.
2. Delay/Echo: creates
copies of the sound file
which are mixed into the
sound to generate echos.
3. Distortion: distorts
the sound. May make the
sound "fuzzy".
4. Dynamics: alters the
volume of the sound file
5. Flange: creates a
wish-washy effect.
6. Noise Gate: reduces
extra noise between sounds in
the file.
7. Pitch Bend: Alters
the pitch of the sound.
8. Reverb: simulates the
acoustics of different settings,
such as a church hall, a
shower, a room, etc. This
effect is most commonly
used. (It makes sounds a
little "warmer").

• Applying Effects:

You can apply an effect to a section of the sound or the

entire sound.
 1. Highlight the selected
region of the sound. (or the
entire sound)
2. Pull down the Effects
menu and choose the effect.
3. Change the options in
that effects window to what
you would like, and hit OK.
4. Listen to the sound.

Effects are a form of DESTRUCTIVE EDITING (meaning

it actually alters the file).
To reverse an effect use the Undo button.

• Practice with effects:

The best way to know what kind of effect you need is to

have a basic
understanding of what each effect sounds like.

Download this file to practice adding effects:

You've Got Mail

First, add the effect. Then, listen to the sound. Finally,

click undo and try
another. You can also add effects on top of each other,
which can make
the sound very interesting.

• 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:

1. Fade: controls level

of volume.

a. Graphic:
allows you to place
multiple fades
throughout the sound.
b. In: fades the
sound from 0 to 100
percent.
c. Out: fades the
sound from 100 to 0
percent.

2. Graphic EQ: allows

you to raise and lower certain
frequencies within the sound.
3. Insert Silence: allows
you to place a certain amount
of silent time at a cursor
location.
4. Pan: controls the
left/right of the sound.

a. Graphic:
allows you to place
multiple points of
 panning throughout
the sound.
b. Left to Right:
pans from left to
right.
c. Right to Left:
pans from right to
left.

5. Reverse: reverses the

sound.
6. Time
Compress/Expand: enables
you to speed up or slow down
the sound, making the length
longer or shorter.
7. Volume: controls the
overall volume of the sound.

• Applying a Process:

You can apply certain processes to sections, or to the entire

sound.

1. Highlight the selected

region. (or the entire sound)
2. Pull down the
Process menu and choose
which process you want.
3. If a dialog box comes
up, set the options to what
you would like, and hit OK.
4. Listen to the sound

Processes are also a form of Destructive Editing. You must

hit Undo in order
to return to the original sound.

• Practice with Processing:

 Like using effects, the best way to learn processing is to
practice using the
different forms.

First, Download this clip:

Livin on the Edge

Practice adding different forms of processes onto selected

sections of the
sound. Be sure to click Undo after each try.

Next, try mixing a few processes.