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How to Format the Song Length

Most music player applications and virtually all digital audio workstations (DAWs) contain editing tools that allow users to shorten the duration of audio files by altering their start and end points. ITunes contains start and stop time adjustments in the song information menu. Most digital audio workstations contain slice and trim tools that let users remove chunks from the visible waveform to edit with more accuracy.

Instructions

  1. iTunes

    • 1

      Locate the song you want to edit in the iTunes browser. Type the name of the song in the search bar to quickly locate the file.

    • 2

      Right-click on the song title in the browser. Select "Get Info" from the list of options.

    • 3

      Click the "Options" tab.

    • 4

      Enter the desired start time in the "Start Time" text box. Check the box to activate the new start time.

    • 5

      Enter the desired stop time in the "Stop Time" text box. Check the box to activate the new end time.

    • 6

      Click "OK" to finish formatting the audio.

    Ableton Live

    • 7

      Open Ableton Live.

    • 8

      Press the "Tab" key to open "Arrangement View."

    • 9

      Locate the song you want to edit on the hard drive.

    • 10

      Click and drag the song onto the track labeled "1 Audio" in the Ableton sequencer. Click on the waveform once it has loaded to activate the region.

    • 11

      Move the cursor to the leftmost edge of the waveform until the pointer turns into the "left bracket" icon. Click and drag the edge of the clip to change its start time.

    • 12

      Move the cursor to the rightmost edge of the waveform until the pointer turns into the "right bracket" icon. Click and drag the edge of the clip to change its end time.

    • 13

      Click "Save" to finish formatting the audio.

    Digital Performer

    • 14

      Open Digital Performer and select "New" to open a blank project.

    • 15

      Locate the song you want to edit on the hard drive.

    • 16

      Click and drag the song onto "Audio-1" in Digital Performer.

    • 17

      Click the "Sequence" tab to open the Sequence Editor.

    • 18

      Press "Shift" + "O" to open the Tool Palette.

    • 19

      Hold the forward-slash key to change the cursor into the right-edge tool. Click the clip where you want the audio to end to trim the end of the waveform.

    • 20

      Hold the forward-slash and "Alt/Option" keys to change the cursor into the left-edge tool. Click the clip where you want the audio to start to trim the beginning of the waveform.

    • 21

      Click "Save" to finish formatting the audio.

    • 22

      Click "Audio" and select "Bounce to Disk" to export the edited audio clip.

Digital Music

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