# Background noise in an audio file **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225 "2018-05-31T21:59:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/1 "2018-05-31T21:59:02Z")
I used my phone to record someone reciting a poem. Unfortunately there is a lot of background noise from other people talking. Is there a way to get rid of that? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/2 "2018-05-31T22:03:54Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > I used my phone to record someone reciting a poem. Unfortunately there is a lot of background noise from other people talking. Is there a way to get rid of that? Try a [noise gate.](https://sourceforge.net/projects/noisegator/) ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/3 "2018-05-31T22:26:19Z")
You can try Audacity’s noise removal feature, but not sure how well it would work with complicated background noise (as opposed to a steady airplane hum, for example): [Download | Audacity ®](https://www.audacityteam.org/download/) Tutorial: [Noise Reduction with Audacity: Quick Sound Tutorial - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlJSTavIY3k) For a more precise noise reduction, you can put Audacity into a spectrum visualizer mode and then tinker with different portions using the equalizer or other tools to “erase” the background speakers. That’s quite a lot of work, though. Edit: If you can upload the sound file somewhere, I can take a look. (Soundcloud? Google Drive?) ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/4 "2018-06-01T04:00:41Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > I used my phone to record someone reciting a poem. Unfortunately there is a lot of background noise from other people talking. Is there a way to get rid of that? It might be possible to mix with a soft background music , so as to mask the other background noise. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/5 "2018-06-01T10:50:38Z")
Here’s the file [https://soundcloud.com/user-103683979/voice-002](https://soundcloud.com/user-103683979/voice-002) The lady speaking Chinese is the part I want. A noise gate would probably have been the perfect thing to use when I was recording, but not sure it will help now. I’ll give it a whirl. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/6 "2018-06-01T19:39:24Z")
Here’s an attempt: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=false&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F452404395&show_artwork=true&maxheight=166 I did a two-pass noise removal, making one noise profile first with the background noise in the beginning and then another profile of that shrieking baby. It’s not perfect, and you lose some fidelity in the poet’s voice, but you can keep tinkering with the same tools until you find something that works. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/7 "2018-06-01T19:47:42Z")
Also, for next time, maybe a unidirectional mic would help a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/8 "2018-06-02T00:18:31Z")
Wow, thank you! That is so much better. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-noise-in-an-audio-file/815225/9 "2018-06-02T01:19:29Z")
Great.