Adjusting Audio Level Within a Sound Bite in the Waveform Editor

The audio level of your waveform should generally range from -12 to -6 decibels during playback. In the Levels panel, you'll see your audio levels going from green into yellow if this is the case.

Audio levels may appear red on occasion, but they should not trigger the peak indicators. Peak indicators are the squares at the end of the Levels panel that stay red if your audio signal is too hot (an audio signal exceeding 0 decibels that causes distortion.)

If there are areas in your waveform where audio levels are too high or low, you can adjust the amplitude of those areas.

1. In the waveform editor, hover your mouse pointer over the waveform until it becomes an I-beam pointer.

2. Click and drag to select the waveform area you’d like to adjust. The area will appear highlighted and the Adjust Amplitude tool will appear.

3. Use the Adjust Amplitude tool to change to audio level of the selected waveform area. Play back your audio as you make your adjustments to make sure your levels fall between -12 and -6 decibels.

Adjusting audio level within a sound bite.