Raise and lower volume of music track

[John]

In VSX4, when laying a background music track for a project, is it possible to raise and lower volume of sections of the track along a continuous track of music? If so can someone please tell me how to go about it? John.

[Ken Berry]

First you have to click on the Sound Mixer icon -- it's among the icons just above the ruler above the timeline. Hover your mouse over them, but it is second last to the right, and looks like a musical crochet with jaggy lines after it.

When that is clicked, then the appearance of the various timelines changes, showing the audio timelines. -- with a blue background and a thin line running through the centre, and and intensity bar running under that. The thin line is what you are after, and that in effect is the "rubber band" which allows you to adjust the volume up and down along a single audio track. It is covered in the Manual, but requires a little bit of practice. However, once you have done it a couple of times, it becomes easier.

When you put the mouse arrow into the blue background, it converts into a crossbar with arrows at all ends. (Sorry, but I could not show the pointers in the image below, but I needed the mouse to make the screen grab!!) But if you position it just below the narrow line, it converts into a single, upward pointing arrow. Do this at the point where you want to start adjusting the volkume, and left click. That should add a little square box into the thin line. It is usually a good idea to fade up or fade down volume changes, so a little further to the right of the first square box, click and insert another. Now, if you are wanting to raise the volume, then put the mouse over the second box, and the mouse symbol becomes a little hand with an upward pointing index finger. Left click than on the box and lift the box upwards. This will increase the volume from that point on (with a fade upwards from the first box to the second), but it will be sort of a matter of trial and error to position the second box to give the volume you are after. (To lower the volume, you drag the hand symbol on the box downwards.)

VS Rubber Band.jpg (26.14 KiB) Viewed 1049 times

You then move the mouse right along the timeline to the point where you want to vary the volume again and insert another square box, and another after than to allow a fade downwards (or upwards) to the thin line or wherever you want in the blue background.

If you make a mistake and want to vary the volume a bit more, then simply grab the relevant box with the mouse and drag it further up or down. Or if you want to remove a box altogether, then grab the box with a continuous left mouse click and drag the box out of the blue area. When you release the mouse, the line will snap back without that particular box.

And you repeat this as many times as you want or need along the audio timeline of that particular clip. As I say, it takes a little getting used to, but works quite well.