Sharp sounds are unpleasant to most people, and the main irritating factor is not the volume, but their suddenness. Who among you has not flinched from an unexpected call or music suddenly playing from a nearby window? If the volume had been increased gradually, this could have been avoided.
In fact, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. The fade-in audio effect is a popular and important tool used in audio editing to create smooth transitions between two audio tracks. Most often you can hear it on music radio stations. Moreover, some software audio players like foobar2000 allow you to set this effect in the settings. It's a pity that this happens very rarely.
In addition to the fade-in effect, there is also the opposite fade-out effect. When these effects are applied during a smooth transition from one composition to another, we get a third type - crossfade. In one form or another, all these effects are present in any sound editor. I suggest you consider two options for using fade-in and fade-out effects, at the same time discussing some of the nuances of their use in practice. Believe me, some of you will be surprised.
1 Free way - Fade in & Fade out Music with Audacity
Audacity is a cross-platform, free open source audio editor which is used for recording and editing audio files. By using this user-friendly application, you are capable of applying fade in fade out sound effect with simple operations.
Step 1: Visit https://www.audacityteam.org/ to download and install Audacity. After done, run this audio editor.
Step 2: Click "File > Open" menu item to import the audio files. Or you can directly drag and drop the audio files from your local hard drive to Audacity's window.
Step 3: Hold down the left mouse button to select the first several seconds of the music waveform, and then click "Effect" > "Fade In" on the menu bar to fade in audio.
Step 4: Likewise, to add audio fade out effect, you should highlight the section of the end of audio you want to fade out to silence, then click "Effect" > "Fade Out" on the menu bar.
Step 5: After applying Audacity fade in or Audacity fade out effect, you can pre-listening the music. if the adjusted music has no problem and meets your requirements, clicking "File" > "Export" button on the menu bar to export the final audio file.
It's at this point that many will be surprised to find that the volume doesn't increase smoothly as expected. Unfortunately, it's not possible to select a volume curve in free sound editors. The human ear perceives sound volume not linearly, but on a logarithmic scale, which is marked in decibels. This means that the volume change curve in this effect should be logarithmic.
Now let's try to do it right.
2 Right way - Apply Fade effects in WaveCut Auduo Editor
This editor isn't trying to be all things to all people. It's a bit more straightforward and has fewer features. But it gets the job done and uses the latest and greatest algorithms. Even with something as simple as creating smooth transitions, you'll see the difference.
Step 1: Download and install the editor from the link above. Once you've launched for the first time, you can tweak the settings and hotkeys to fit your preferences.
Step 2: Opening a file is just like in Audacity - you can do it through the menu or by dragging the file from Explorer.
Step 3: As always, you can select an area to apply the effect in one of two ways. Either use your mouse, or manually enter timings if you prefer.
Step 4: Once you've chosen the "Fade-out" item from the "Operations" menu, you'll see another window pop up. This is where you can select a curve for the effect. I'm sure you'll be able to find the option that works best for you.
Step 5: If you didn't get the volume change you wanted the first time, just press Ctrl-Z to undo it and try again. When you're done, click the "Save" button on the toolbar.
3 Final Thoughts
The fade-in effect is a great way to make transitions between audio clips nice and smooth. To get the best results, you need to think about how our ears work. Not all tools let you do this, so it's worth choosing carefully. Whichever option you go for, using a fade-in effect at the end of your editing will make your project look and sound much better.