How to change the pitch of audio and music in Audacity in 2 ways

Steven John

Jul 18, 2020, 03:27 IST

How to change the pitch of audio and music in Audacity in 2 ways

It should only take a moment to change the pitch of audio in Audacity.South_agency/Getty Images

You can change the pitch of audio in Audacity using the "Effect" menu, which contains dozens of different tools for editing audio.
You can also change the pitch of an audio clip in Audacity by speeding up or slowing down the track, which will raise and lower the pitch respectively.

In the simplest of terms, pitch can be thought of as how high or low a sound goes. Higher-pitched noises are squeaky and shrill, while lower-pitched noises are bassy and booming.

Changing pitches is an incredibly common tool in sound editing. In fact, there are some bands that have built their entire careers around pitch-changing — that is, if you count Alvin and the Chipmunks as a band.

If you're editing audio with Audacity, changing a track's pitch can be done in a few clicks. Here's how to do it on both Mac and PC.

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How to change pitch in Audacity

1. Open the Audacity recording where you wish to change the pitch. Click and drag your mouse along the audio track to select the portion of audio you want to edit.

2. Click the word "Effect" at the top of the screen, then select "Change Pitch…"

In this drop-down menu, you'll also find "Change Speed" and "Change Tempo." Both of these will alter how fast or slow the song is, and in the process, the pitch will be raised and lowered.

3. Now use the slider in the popup window to raise the audio to a higher pitch (slide right), or a lower pitch (slide left). You can also manually choose your pitch change using the "From" and "To" options, which is great if you know the starting and target pitch.

4. Hit "OK" when you're done, and Audacity will take a few moments to process the audio.

Once it's done, play the audio to make sure you're happy with the changes. If you are, save the project and be on your way. If you're not, undo the change (Ctrl + Z on a PC, or Command + Z on a Mac) and try again.