Speeding Up Audio Duration

Anonymous

I have an audio who is 75 seconds long, how do I speed it up making it 60 seconds long without changing the voice pitch?

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Audacity Audio Assistant

To speed up your audio in Audacity from 75 seconds to 60 seconds without altering the pitch, you can use the "Change Tempo" effect. This effect allows you to increase the speed of the audio while maintaining the original pitch. Here's how to do it:

  1. Open your audio file in Audacity: Launch Audacity and open your audio file by going to File > Open, and then selecting your file.

  2. Select the entire track: Click anywhere on the track to select it. If you have multiple tracks, make sure to select the one you want to adjust. You can press Ctrl + A (or Cmd + A on Mac) to select the entire track.

  3. Open the Change Tempo effect: Go to Effect > Change Tempo from the menu. This opens the Change Tempo dialog box.

  4. Calculate the percentage change: In the Change Tempo dialog, you need to specify the percentage change in tempo. Since you want to reduce the duration from 75 seconds to 60 seconds, calculate the percentage change as follows:

    [ \text{Percentage Change} = \left(1 - \frac{\text{New Duration}}{\text{Original Duration}}\right) \times 100 ]

    In your case, it would be [ \left(1 - \frac{60}{75}\right) \times 100 \approx 20% ]

  5. Enter the percentage change: In the Change Tempo dialog box, enter the calculated percentage change (around 20%) in the appropriate field. You can either use the slider or enter the value manually.

  6. Preview and apply: You can use the "Preview" button to listen to a short segment of the adjusted audio. If it sounds right, click "OK" to apply the effect to the entire track.

  7. Save your edited file: After applying the effect, you can save the edited file by going to File > Export, and choosing your desired file format.

For detailed steps and additional options, you can refer to the Audacity manual section on the Change Tempo effect here: Audacity Manual - Change Tempo.

Remember, while this method preserves the pitch, the quality of the audio might be slightly affected due to the change in tempo. It's always a good idea to preview before finalizing the edit.