How to Remove Background Noise in Audacity | A Guide to Audacity's Noise Reduction Tool

Background noise can have a negative impact on an audio file. You might not want to hear a track with buzzing or other noises in the background. Therefore, a clear audio track is more likely to be well-received by your audience. So, how do you get a noise-free audio track? Actually, you can use efficient audio editing software like Audacity to do the job.

In this article, we will discuss in detail how to use Audacity to remove noise. Read on!

Bonus Tip: How to Record Audio on Windows with Audacity

What is Audacity and its features? Audacity is a free, open-source audio editing and recording software compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. Renowned for its powerful audio processing capabilities, it serves as an ideal tool for individuals and professionals to create, edit, and record audio content. Here are some of the main features of Audacity: 1. **Recording**: Audacity enables high-quality audio recording, suitable for music production, podcasts, voice memos, and more. 2. **Audio Editing**: It offers functions like cutting, copying, pasting, deleting, and moving audio segments, along with time stretching and pitch shifting. 3. **Multi-track editing**: You can work with multiple audio tracks simultaneously within the same project. 4. **Effect Processing**: It includes various built-in effects such as noise reduction, equalizer, compression, reverb, fades, and more to enhance audio quality. 5. **Sample Rate and Bit Depth Conversion**: Adjust the sample rate and bit depth of audio files to suit different playback devices and format requirements. 6. **Timeline Markers**: Set markers on the audio timeline for easy navigation and pinpointing specific sections. 7. **Export and Import Formats**: Support for exporting to various audio formats like MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, and importing multiple audio file formats. 8. **Batch Processing**: Process multiple audio files at once, applying the same edits or effects. 9. **Visualization Tools**: Offers waveform display for visualizing audio frequency and temporal characteristics. 10. **Plugin Support**: In addition to built-in effects, Audacity supports third-party plugins, extending its audio processing capabilities. In summary, Audacity is a feature-rich audio editing software that caters to both beginners and experienced audio professionals with a wide range of tools to meet their needs.

Audacity is an open-source audio and video editor that many people use to edit media files, such as voiceover recordings. You can use it to improve your audio files with various features, like a noise reducer, an audio compressor, a limiter filter, an equalizer, and a normalizer. Today, you'll learn the detailed steps to remove audio noise using Audacity.

Audacity Noise Reduction - A How-to Guide

Its "Noise Reduction" feature can get rid of constant background sounds like hums and hisses that are difficult to eliminate before recording. You can apply the changes to the entire audio file, or just edit a portion of it.

How to Remove Background Noise in Audacity

Please refer to the following guide on how to obtain an audio file without background noise.

Step 1. Select the desired audio segment in Audacity

After downloading Audacity from its official website, open it and import your audio file (File > Import > Audio). Then, on the timeline, click and select the audio track you want to remove the background noise from. You can use the Selection Tool to choose the area.

Select the audio track with the noise you want to remove

Step 2: The Best Settings and Application of Noise Reduction in Audacity

On the top toolbar, go to “Effects” > “Noise Reduction.” Under the Noise Reduction window, you'll see two steps. Click “Get Noise Profile” and select a few seconds of pure noise.

(Mac screenshot. It also works on Windows.)

Next, look at Step 2 in the window. The best noise-reduction settings are:

• Noise reduction (dB): Move the slider to  12
• Sensitivity: Keep it at 6
• Frequency: Keep it at 0-3
• Enable Reduce noise

Step 3: Reduce the background noise across the entire file

Go back to the "Effect" button at the top, find and select "Noise Reduction/Restoration." Apply the noise reduction settings to the entire track. You should now have a clear audio track in your software.

Additional Tips: How to Record Audio on Windows with Audacity

In the previous section, you learned how to remove background noise in Audacity. Here, you also discovered how to record sound in Audacity, such as from a microphone. Before attempting any recording options, ensure that your microphone is working correctly. Then, follow this guide to capture external sound:

Step 1: Open it, and then click the Recording Devices option on the top right corner. Find and click the Microphone icon. Select the microphone icon from multiple options. Then, you can capture sound from the microphone.

Step 2: Click “Tracksat” > “Add new.” Choose the audio type you prefer. You can select either “Mono” or “Stereo.”

Step 3: Finally, click the “Record” button to start the recording task.

After recording your voice, you can edit the audio file using the noise reduction feature.

If you find recording with Audacity difficult, you can choose RecExperts Screen Recorder as an alternative. The simple interface allows you to easily record computer sound and microphone sound separately or simultaneously.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Noise Reduction in Audacity

Collect relevant questions from the public. Follow them to find useful information.

**1. What are the best noise-cancellation settings?**

You can adjust the Audacity noise reduction settings, such as the amount of noise reduction, sensitivity, and frequency. A typical suitable dB value for noise reduction is 12. Why not 0? If you keep this setting at 0, you'll hear strange sounds. Then, change the sensitivity level to 6. The frequency can also be adjusted to 6.

2. Where is the noise floor in Audacity?

Noise floor refers to consistent noise present in an audio recording. It can be caused by several things, like room hum or noise from your microphone equipment. You can check for your noise floor in Audacity. Import your audio file into the program, and then use its built-in noise reduction feature to handle it.

How do I remove wind noise in Audacity?

You should use the “Noise Reduction” feature in Audacity. For details, see Part 1.