[Tutorial] How to create an instrumental version out of any song!

I answered to Oonamusik's post, but Stella tought this could be useful for everyone, so here's a simple tutorial on how to create an instrumental version of (almost) any song, using the software Audactiy (for those who don't have it, it's a free audio editor that you can easily download).

Here's how you do it :
- Import your file (WAV, or mp3 of at least 4Mo otherwise you'll have residual noise due to compression)
- Split the stereo track into two different tracks, as shown below. This create seperate Left track and Right track.

Splitting:

- Select one of the track => Effect => Invert
- Change each track into a mono track.

Mono tracks:

- (This next step is not necessary, it depends on your export settings which can sometime recreate a right track and a left track. If in doubt, do as follows)
Ctrl+A => Tracks => Mix and Render
And here's your intrumental version!


For those who are used to creating instrumentals with Audacity, I know that there usually are complaints about the bad result, usually because some residuals of the voice remain. It is important to understand how it works : when you do what's explained above, the software basically deletes every sound that's centered, which sometimes includes the drums...and an instrumental without drums might not sound so good...nothing we can do about that. Sometimes the echo of the lead voice remains, which can sound weird with someone else's voice as the lead singer!

But mostly, the result Audacity gives you depends a lot on the original file you use. If you export the song directly from the CD into a WAV file (uncompressed), you can obtain really good instrumental version, or at least get rid of all the residuals that were due to file compression.

So my tip would be : use an uncompressed file, give it a try,and if you're lucky you'll get a good instrumental!

If you're lucky, you might have somewhere broken earphones that give you a preview of the result, or maybe that's just me! ^^

um I did everything you said, but i'm a bit lost during the last step. where does the song render to onto my computer? how can I find what I just rendered? and does it render into mp3? sorry this program is still new to me, so I'm still trying to figure it out...btw I LOVE your profile picture. I'm a huge fan of AVPM and Starkid too as you may notice my profile pic. may ask what it's from? because I notice it's not from the original AVPM.

OMG, your AVATAR!! A STARKID AMONG US! I LOVE YOU! ^^

The last steps helps you create the track then you have to export it :
File => Export as => then choose the format you want, Audacity will ask you where you want to save your file.

Unfortunately, and I have to admit I still can't figure out why, the basic version of Audacity doesn't allow you to export your file as an mp3. You can export it as a WAV file, but it'll be of bigger size. In order to be able to export mp3, you'll have to install a specific dll file. Here's a tutorial on how to do that :



Hope this helped! And if you have any question feel free to ask!