There are many good sound editors available for the
PC. We recommend Screenblast Sound Forge Studio because
it is supported well, is reasonably priced, and works
well for the novice and expert user.
You can purchase Screenblast Sound Forge Studio for
about $53 at the Tech
Store or Journey
Education.
Screenblast Soundforge Studio is a slightly stripped
down version of Sound Forge. For basic audio editing,
Screenblast will do wonderfully. However, if you start
doing a lot of audio editing and want to be able to work
with play lists, control the effects you apply to your
audio with greater precision, have a greater choice of
plug-ins and import / export file types you'll want to
choose the regular version of Sound Forge.
If you're just looking to play around with digital audio
before jumping in and buying anything, try downloading
a demo of Screenblast Sound Forge or a freeware audio
editor like Audacity.
Sound Forge's
Interface
Please note that much of this tutorial
is from the Screenblast Sound Forge quick start manual
- available for download at http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/.
Many of the concepts in this tutorial are applicable
to other audio editing programs as well.
images/audio_editing_SF_images
- Standard toolbar - Provides quick
access to some of the most important common tasks.
- Transport bar - Contains basic audio
transport buttons.
- Play meters (docked) - Displays
the level of the output audio signal. These maters
can be toggled on/off by choosing Play Maters from
the View menu. Right-clicking the play maters displays
a shortcut menu that allows you to precisely configure
the appearance of the meters.
- Workspace - This is the area located
behind the data windows. Audio selections dragged to
the workspace automatically become new data windows.
Windows such as the Regions List and Play list can
be docked along the edges of the workspace, as you
see in this example.
- Data window - Contains audio data
as a waveform as well as a number of commands used
to edit and process audio.
- Status bar - Help and processing
information appears on the left side. The boxes on
the right side display the playback sample rate, bit
depth, channel configuration (mono / stereo), length
of the active data window, and total free storage space.
With the exception of the free storage space box, you
can edit these boxes by double-clicking or right-clicking
them. When no data windows are open, only the free
storage space box contains a value.
- Marker and region list (docked)
- A marker is a tag placed in an audio file that is
used as a reference file. Markers make navigating a
file easier and more efficient. Regions identify ranges
of time and provide a way to subdivide an audio file.
Standard toolbar
 Creates
a new data window.
 Displays
the open dialog.
 Saves
the current audio data.
 Saves
the current file with a new name or format.
 If
you have a Screenblast account with Sony, this will allow
you to upload your sound file to your Screenblast website.
 Removes
the selected audio data and places it on the clipboard.
This command has no effect if there is no selection.
 Copies
selected audio data to the clipboard. This command has
no effect if there is no selection.
 Inserts
a copy of the clipboard data at the current insertion
point. If there is a selection, this command replaces
the selected data with the clipboard data.
 Mixes
a copy of the clipboard data with the current audio file.
The mix start point is either the cursor point or the
start or end of the selection in the destination data
window.
 Plays
the audio on the clipboard.
 Removes
all data from the file that is not currently selected.
This command does not copy data to the clipboard. This
command has no effect if there is no selected data.
 Reverses
the last edit operation.
 Reverts
the previously undone edit operation.
 Repeats
the last operation. This command can be used with most
processing functions. The previous operation's parameters
are repeated. To specify new parameters, hold shift and
click this button.
 Selects
the editing tool.
 Selects
the magnifying tool.
 Selects
the pencil tool.
Transport bar
 Records
data to a new or existing window.
 Toggles
loop playback mode on and off.
 Plays
the entire file from beginning to end, regardless of
cursor position, selection, or Play list.
 Plays
the file in current playback mode (play normal, play
, play as cut list, or play as sample).
 Pauses
playback and maintains the cursor at its current position.
 Stops
playback and returns the cursor to its prior position.
 Moves
the cursor to the start of the file.
 Moves
the cursor backward in the current file.
 Moves
the cursor forward in the current file.
 Moves
the cursor to the end of the file.
Data window
- Title bar - Displays the file name.
If title information is included in the summary of
a file, it appears here instead of the file name. Double-click
to maximize and restore the window.
- Time ruler - Displays the current
location in the data window as well as ruler tags.
Right-click to display the time ruler shortcut menu.
Drag to scroll the data window.
- Overview bar - Allows for quick
navigation and playback of any part of an audio file.
The overview bar also indicates the portion of the
waveform currently depicted in the waveform display,
as well as the selected region. Click to move the cursor.
Double-click to center the cursor in the waveform display.
Right-click to start or pause playback. Drag to activate
the audio event locator.
- Ruler tags - Indicates the position
of region end points, loop end points, and markers.
Right-click a tag to display the ruler tag shortcut
menu. Drag to edit a tag's position. Double-click anywhere
within a region to select it.
- Time zoom resolution - Specifies
the number of samples of data represented by each horizontal
point on the screen. This determines the length of
time displayed in the data window. Smaller resolution
values display less time.
- Time zoom in / out - Changes the
zoom resolution for the time (horizontal) axis.
- Maximize width - Resizes the data
window to maximize its size within the workspace.
- Selection status boxes - Displays
the beginning, end, and length of a selection. If no
selection exists, only the cursor position displays.
Double-click the leftmost box to display the Go To
dialog. Double-click either of the other two boxes
to display the Set Selection dialog. Right-click to
display the status format shortcut menu.
- Position scroll bar - Scrolls forward
/ backward through an audio file to display sections
of the file not visible in the current area of the
waveform display.
- Playbar - Contains the following
audio transport buttons: Go to start, go to end, stop,
play normal, play plug-in, and play sample as loop.
- Level zoom in / out - Changes the
zoom resolution for the level (vertical) axis.
- Waveform display - Displays a graphical
representation of an audio file. The horizontal axis
represents time, and the vertical axis represents amplitude.
Right click within this display to open the waveform
display shortcut menu.
- Level ruler - Displays the amplitude
of the waveform. Right click to display the level ruler
shortcut menu. Drag to shift the view up/down when
zoomed in vertically.
- Edit tool selector - Toggles through
the edit, magnify, and pencil tools. Right click to
display a shortcut menu that allows you to display
or hide data window elements.
Basic tasks
Opening a file
- Choose File | Open.
- Select the desired audio file.
- Click Open.
- Sound Forge opens the audio file and displays a window
containing the waveform.
When you first open a file, Sound Forge scans the entire
file and creates a peak file. The peak file is stored
with the same name and in the same location as the audio
file, but it is given an .sfk extension.
Playing a file
- After you open a file, you can play it by clicking
the Play All button ()
on the Transport bar.
Playing a file from a specified
point
- Click to position the cursor in the data window.
A flashing cursor (spanning the height of the display)
displays.
-
Click the Play button
( )
on the Transport bar. The file plays
from the cursor position.
Playing a file in loop playback
mode
You can play an entire file or a selection in Loop Playback
mode. In Loop Playback mode, Sound Forge plays the audio
in a continuous loop.
- Click the Loop Playback button ()
on the Transport bar to turn Loop
Playback mode on and off.
Playing a selection
You can play specific portions of audio data by creating
selections in the waveform display
- Drag the mouse within the data window. Notice that
the waveform is selected as the mouse is dragged.
- Click the Play button ().
Only the selection plays.
Creating a new data window
- Choose File | New.
- Complete the New Window dialog:
- From the Sample rate drop-down list, choose a sample rate.
- From the Bit-depth drop-down list, choose bit-depth.
- Select the desired Channels radio button.
- Click OK.
- A new data window with the specified attributes appears.
- Close your new file without saving it.
Saving a file
You can save a file in a variety of formats, including
popular audio formats such as WAV and AIFF, and streaming
media formats such as Windows Media Audio (WMA) and RealMedia
(RM).
- Choose File | Open. Open one of
the files in the Sound Forge directory.
- Choose File | Save.
- From the Save as type drop-down
list, choose a file format.
- In the File name box, enter a name
for the file.
- Click Save.
Basic editing
New Sound Forge users should remember that even the
most complex editing is derived from a few simple operations:
cut, paste, cut, delete (clear), trim/crop, and mix.
- Copy - Copies data from the window
to the clipboard.
- Paste - Inserts the contents of
the clipboard into the window at the current cursor
position. If a selection exists in the data window,
the pasted data replaces the current selection.
- Cut - Deletes data from the window
and copies it to the clipboard.
- Delete (Clear) - Deletes the data
from the window, but does not copy it to the clipboard.
- Trim / Crop - Deletes all data in
the window with the exception of the selection.
- Mix - Mixes data from the clipboard
with the data in the current window, starting at the
current cursor position or the start of the current
selection.
Copying
You can copy audio data from a data window to the clipboard
without changing the original file. Once audio data is
on the clipboard, you can paste it into existing files
or use it to create new files.
- Open the Voiceover.pca file,
located in the c:\Program Files\Sony\Sound
Forge 7.0/ folder.
- Create a selection containing "Wow."
- Choose Edit | Copy.
- The selected data is copied to the clipboard.
Pasting data in an existing data
window
Once audio data is on the clipboard, you can paste or
mix it into an existing data window or use it to create
a new data window.
- Move the cursor to the beginning of the Voiceover.pca file
by clicking the Go To Start button
()
in the playbar.
- Choose Edit | Paste. Sound Forge
inserts the clipboard data into the file and the data
for "Wow" appears
on the left side of the waveform.
- To confirm that the data has been pasted into the
file, click the Play All button (). "Wow.
Wow. Sound editing just gets easier and easier." plays
back.
Pasting in a new data window
To use data from the clipboard to create a new data
window, go to the Edit menu, choose Paste Special, and
choose Paste to New from the submenu. Sound Forge creates
a new window containing the clipboard data in a single
step.
Cutting
Cutting allows you to remove a section of audio data
from a data window and store it on the clipboard until
you paste or mix it into another file. When deciding
between cut and copy, consider the following:
- Copying data has no effect on the original file.
- Cutting data modifies the original file.
Cutting data from a window
- Create a selection containing the second "Wow" (there
should be two if you are following the examples) in Voiceover.pca.
- Choose Edit | Cut.
- Sound Forge removes the selected data from the file
and places it on the clipboard.
- Click the Play All button (). "Wow.
Sound editing just gets easier and easier." plays
back.
Deleting
Deleting a selection permanently removes it without
replacing the data currently residing on the clipboard.
To delete data, choose Delete (Clear) from the Edit menu.
Trimming / Cropping
Trimming allows you to retain a selection while deleting
all the surrounding data.
- Create a selection containing "Wow,
sound editing just gets easier" in Voiceover.pca, but
do not select the second "and
easier."
- Choose Edit | Trim/Crop.
- Only "Wow, sound editing just gets
easier" remains in the data
window.
Mixing
Mixing is a powerful editing function that allows two
sounds to be combined into a single waveform.
- Open and play the Drumhit.pca file,
located in the c:\Program Files\Sony\SoundForge
7\ folder. The file contains a snare
drum and crash cymbal sound.
- Verify that Drumhit.pca window
is active and choose Edit | Select All.
The entire waveform is selected. Choose Edit
| Copy.
- Activate the Voiceover.pca data
window and click the Go To Start button
()
on the playbar. The cursor moves to the start of the
file.
- Choose Edit | Paste Special, and
choose Mix from the submenu. The Mix dialog appears.
- Verify that the Source and Destination volume
faders are set to 0 dB and click OK. The drum hit is
mixed equally with the spoken passage.
- Preview the file and notice that, unlike pasting,
mixing does not change the length of the file.
Using Undo
Sound Forge encourages experimentation by allowing you
to easily undo / redo edit operations.
- You can undo any edit operation by choosing Undo
from the Edit menu.
- You can redo any undone edit operation by choosing
Redo from the Edit menu.
Zooming and magnifying
Depending on the editing operation, you may want to
view the entire file at once or a small portion of the
data in greater detail. For this reason, Sound Forge
allows you to utilize two varieties of zooming: time
ruler zooming and level ruler zooming.
Zooming the time ruler (horizontal)
The current time ruler magnification ratio appears in
the lower-right corner of the data window, above the
status boxes.
Understanding the zoom ratio
The zoom ratio determines the number of samples represented
by each horizontal point on the screen. The zoom ratio
is a value of X:Y, where X is the number of horizontal
points and Y is the number of samples. If the ratio is
1:1, each point on the screen represents one sample.
Conversely, if the zoom ratio is 1:1024, each point on
the screen represents 1,024 samples.
Changing the zoom ratio
To edit the zoom ratio, use the Zoom In / Out spin control
located adjacent to the zoom ratio display.
- Clicking the magnifying glass buttons
increase / decrease the zoom ratio by single-step increments.
- Dragging the spin control increases
the zoom ratio quickly in the corresponding direction.
- Right-clicking the waveform display
allows you to quickly access time ruler zoom commands
from the shortcut menu.
Zooming the level ruler (vertical)
Zooming along the level ruler displays a larger vertical
waveform and allows for more precise editing at low audio
amplitudes. To edit the level ruler zoom, use the Zoom
In / Out spinner control located above the playbar.
- Clicking the magnifying glass buttons increases /
decreases the level ruler zoom by single-step increments.
- Dragging the spin control increments the level ruler
zoom quickly in the corresponding direction.
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