How to Create a Mandolin Sound in Audacity
Audacity is an open-source digital audio workstation, or "DAW." While it lacks the fidelity and some functionality associated with industry-standard programs like Pro Tools or Cubase, it serves as an adequate introduction to the concept of computer-based recording and editing with the added benefit of not costing a dime. You can use Audacity's various editing tools to manipulate your recorded sounds. For example, with the Pitch-shift tool, you can manipulate a guitar recording to sound like a mandolin.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Double-click the Audacity desktop icon. It may take a few seconds for the program to fully launch.
-
2
Click "File" and select "New." This opens a brand new recording window.
-
-
3
Click "Record" and play your guitar part for approximately ten seconds. Play the loudest part of the song so Audacity receives the maximum possible volume. Audacity uses your computer microphone to record, so the quality will be limited. If you have a PC microphone, plug that into your microphone socket before you press "Record."
-
4
Press "Stop." Play back the recording. If the guitar is too loud and sounds muddy, move away from the microphone. If it is too quiet, move closer to the microphone. If you are using a separate microphone, move it around to capture the best sound.
-
5
Press "Record" and perform a take. If at any point during the recording you notice that the volume units meter is flashing red, stop recording and move further away. The flashing red volume units meter is a sign of volume overload.
-
6
Press "Stop" when finished. The audio is represented on-screen by a wave-form graphic. The peaks and dips represent volume changes.
-
7
Right-click on the wave-form graphic and select "Copy." Click "File" and select "New Channel." This opens a new channel strip. Right-click on the channel strip and select "Copy." This puts the original audio into a second track.
-
8
Click "File" and select "Change Pitch." In the "Semitones" box, type in "12." This makes the second audio file a full octave higher than the original. Since the mandolin is a soprano instrument, its typical range is approximately one octave higher than the guitar. Depending on the tuning, the lowest string on a mandolin is approximately the same pitch as the third highest string on a guitar. This increase in pitch approximates the register and tone of a mandolin.
-
9
Adjust the "Gain" settings of both audio tracks. It's important to have a blend of the original guitar and the pitch-shifted guitar. Mandolin strings are arranged in pairs called courses. These are an octave apart, so for an authentic mandolin sound, you need to retain the original guitar audio to create an octave interval with the higher-pitched audio.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Play single notes rather than chords when making your recording. Chords that are pitch-shifted can sound "muddy."
References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
