How to Bleep Curse Words on a Mac on an MP3 File

With editing, you can enjoy an audio track on your MP3 with comedic sounds replacing offensive words.

Whether it's for podcasting, Internet radio or some other purpose, you may find a time when you want to use a certain MP3 audio track without the curse words that come with it. If you have a Mac, chances are good that you have the iLife software as well, meaning you can use GarageBand to edit out the curse words on your audio track.

Instructions

1. Import your MP3 to the iTunes folder on your computer, if it's not already there.

2. Open GarageBand. Select "New Project," and then "Podcast," and then click "Choose." Give your song a name at the next page, and click "Create."

3. Click "Audio" from the Media Browser on the right hand side of the GarageBand window, click "iTunes" to open your iTunes folder, and then find your MP3 track from the list of available audio.

4. Click on your MP3 and drag it to the upper middle pane of GarageBand. The track may take a short time to process.

5. Locate the curse words on the track by pressing the space bar to initiate the playhead. You can "scrub" through the track by pulling the arrow for the playhead to the right; then press the space bar again to play the track.

6. Select the portion of the track that you want removed. Click on the "scissors" tool near the bottom left of the GarageBand window to display the audio track in the lower middle window. Put your cursor at the place where you want to remove the audio, then left-click your mouse and drag the mouse to the right to select the entire curse word. Press "Delete" to remove that portion of the track.

7. Locate an adequate "bleep" for your track. Click the "eye" icon near the bottom right of GarageBand, and then click the microphone icon just under the "Loops" heading on the right; then click "Stingers" to see a list of the various sound effects that may work for this purpose. Some of the selections under "Comedy" may be appropriate, depending on your track and your audience.

8. Drag the desired effect to the GarageBand timeline, in the "Jingles" section, just above the now-deleted part of your audio track.

9. Click "Share," and then "Send Podcast to iTunes" to send your newly bleeped track straight to your iTunes folder, or simply click "File" and then "Save As" to save the track among your GarageBand files.

Tips & Warnings

• Garage Band does not have a specific "bleep" sound effect such as you may have heard on TV or the radio, so if you want that specific sound, locate another MP3 or audio track and import it into iTunes, and then lay it over the MP3 in the manner described above.

References

• Media Commons at Penn State: Editing Audio in Garageband

Resources

• Apple: iLife