SoundTools SoundTools allows you to find information about digital audio files. |
The SoundTools Toolbar
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Opening a Sound File To open an audio file in PixelTools:
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Recording Sound
To begin recording, click on the "Record" button in the toolbar. To stop recording, click "Stop." Viewing Sounds While you Record Them To view sounds as you record them, click the Record View button, then the Record button. There are three kinds of views from which you can choose: signal, spectrum, and sonogram. In the signal view, youre looking at the sound raweach increase in air pressure results in an rise in the graph, and each decrease in sound pressure results in a drop in the graph. You can always get back to the signal view from another view by clicking the Signal button. The spectrum view is a completely different perspective on the sound. The spectrum view shows the different frequencies that are often found in natural sounds. This view is also called the frequency domain. The sonogram view is very much like the spectrum view in that its describing the frequency domain, but it presents these frequencies over time. The sonogram view is great for studying how sounds change over time, e.g., how the sound of a piano key being struck changes as the note fades, or how different instruments di.er in their sounds, or in how different vocal sounds differ. |
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Saving a Sound File
To save a file in SoundTools:
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Finding the Index of a Specific Point in a Sound File
If you want to edit or copy just a portion of a digital sound, it can be useful to find the index of a specific point in that sound. To do this in SoundTools, simply open the WaveViewer and find the point in the sound for which you would like to know the index by dragging the red vertical bar back and forth. You can test out where you are by using the "Play Before" and "Play After" buttons. When you find the right place, simply note the index as displayed at the upper left side of the display. (see Wave Viewer image below)
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Finding the Amplitude of a Specific Point in a Sound File
Sometimes it can be useful to find the amplitude of a specific point in a sound. To do this in SoundTools, simply open the WaveViewer and find the point in the sound for which you would like to know the amplitude by dragging the red vertical bar back and forth. You can test out where you are by using the "Play Before" and "Play After" buttons. When you find the right place, simply note the amplitude/value as displayed at the upper left side of the display. (see Wave Viewer image below) |
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