Cutting out a part of a song

Question

Level 1

4 points

Cutting out a part of a song

I want to cut out the first 30 seconds of a song i have. I dont want to start it at a certain part of the song, i actually want to cut it out. Is there anyway i can do that?

iMac G4, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Jun 22, 2007 4:32 PM

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Answer 1

andlabs

Level 2

174 points

Jun 22, 2007 5:58 PM in response to IPODTIM

You cannot literally cut it out unless you want to mess with audio editing software. You can only start 30 seconds into the song via iTunes. If you really want to cut it out, here are the instructions:

WARNING: THESE INSTRUCTIONS ONLY WORK ON .MP3 FILES! FILES FROM THE iTUNES STORE WILL NOT WORK!
1) Get Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
2) Open your .mp3 file in Audacity
3) Select the part of the song you want to KEEP
4) Go to EDIT>COPY
5) Open a new file
6) Go to EDIT>PASTE
7) Save as a new .mp3 file
8) Delete the old one and import the new one

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Answer 2

Jun 23, 2007 5:37 AM in response to IPODTIM

tim,

What you need is a program to edit the song data.

In addition to the program listed above, quicktime pro also allows editing (cut/copy/paste) of media/movies/sound. Of course - GarageBand or other apps that will allow you to fade in the volume and mix multiple tracks - so if you plan to do a lot of this or want more than a simple snip - I'd recommend getting one of the many sound editing programs available...

Mike

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Answer 3

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Jun 23, 2007 5:24 PM in response to IPODTIM

iPodTim,
Everyone is making this out to be a lot harder than it needs to be, assuming the song you want to cut out a portion of is NOT a iTunes Music store purchased song.
If you imported this song off your own CD, it is best to reimport it as an AIFF and do this on that file, then convert it back to the format you use like MP3. But you can do it on an existing MP3 if you want to.
Select the song, do a Get Info. In option, set the start and stop times to what you want them to be. OK out of the Get Info screen. Right click on the song and pick the "Convert to xxx" function where "xxx" will be whatever import format you have set in iTunes preferences. Mine, for example, will say "Convert to MP3". Pick that option and a new copy of the song will be made (the original is untouched) but the new copy will only be the part you specified in the start and stop times. So if you started the song at 0:30 and ended at the end time, the new file will only be those times and you have cut out that thirty seconds from the file completely.
Patrick

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Answer 4

andlabs

Level 2

174 points

Jun 23, 2007 7:30 PM in response to PT

PT: he specifically said he did not want to start/stop, but to eliminate that part completely.

I want to cut out the first 30 seconds of a song i
have. I dont want to start it at a certain part of
the song, i actually want to cut it out. Is there
anyway i can do that?

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Answer 5

jere7my

Level 4

1,815 points

Jun 23, 2007 9:21 PM in response to andlabs

PT: he specifically said he did not want to
start/stop, but to eliminate that part completely.

By setting it to start at a certain time using the Options tab, then converting it to another format, he'll end up with a new file that begins at the selected point.

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Answer 6

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Jun 24, 2007 10:39 AM in response to andlabs

Ya, what Diane & Jere7my said. The resulting new file will have that part elimiated from the track completely.
Although my own preference, since I import everything as MP3 anyway, is to use a shareware program called MP3 Trimmer which allows trimming of parts of MP3 files and resaving the file without having to recompress/reencode the file. It works directly off the MP3 frames of the file, so there is no loss of quality doing it that way.
Patrick

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Answer 7

Jun 23, 2007 8:05 PM in response to andlabs

If he follows Patrick's instructions, the resulting copy of the original will have that piece cut out. It will no longer be in that track.

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Answer 8

IPODTIM Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 3, 2007 3:23 PM in response to IPODTIM

thanks

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