How to Edit Audio on iPhone with GarageBand, Voice Memos, iMovie, and More

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Edit MP3 and other audio files quickly and easily
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This wikiHow teaches you how to use apps on your iPhone to edit an audio file. Your iPhone comes with a full-featured music creation and editing app called GarageBand, which you can use to edit MP3, AIFF, WAV, and more. If you record audio with your iPhone’s Voice Memos app, you can use its built-in editing tools to adjust the length of the track. We’ll also explain how to edit audio in iMovie and recommend a few third-party options.

The Best Ways to Edit Audio on iPhone

  • To edit a clip in GarageBand, create a new project and tap the Clips Viewer tab. Import your track from Music or Files and start editing.
  • Voice Memo lets you do basic edits like trimming or enhancing a voice recording.
  • Touch an audio track in iMovie to select it. Use the yellow bars to trim the track or the Action Tool to perform splits and other edits.
Section 1 of 4:

Trimming an Audio File in GarageBand

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  1. You'll find it in your app list.
    • If you don't have GarageBand installed on your iPhone, you can download it for free from the App Store. [1]
    • You can use GarageBand on your iPhone to add effects to and trim songs from your music library, as well as other AIFF, WAV, CAF, Apple Loops, AAC, MP3, and MIDI files saved to your phone.
  2. You can swipe either left or right across the options until you see Audio Recorder, which has a large microphone icon. Once you're there, tap it to create a new project.
    • If you’re in the GarageBand file browser, tap the microphone icon at the top right side of the screen to start a new project.
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  3. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen and looks like three horizontal lines that are broken into pieces. This puts Garage Band into Tracks View. [2]
  4. It's in the upper-right corner and looks like a loop of string.
    • Tap Music if the song is in your Music library. You can then browse by album, artist, genre, playlist, or view the song list. You may not be able to edit tracks that are copyright-protected.
    • Tap Files if you downloaded the song from the web or copied it to another location on your iPhone. Then tap Browse items from the Files app at the bottom, select Browse , and locate the audio track.
  6. Tap and hold the file, then drag it to bring it into the Tracks View screen. Drag it directly to the first track and then lift your finger to place it there. [3]
    • Align the beginning of the song with the beginning of the track.
  7. If you want to cut off the beginning or end of the audio track, tap and drag one or both bars until the part(s) you don't want is removed. [4]
    • Tap the play button (the triangle) at the top to hear a preview.
    • Tap the curved arrow at any time to undo the last action.
  8. GarageBand has many tools you can use to further work with your audio file. Here are a few things you can do:
    • Tap the FX button at the top right side of the screen to open a panel of DJ tools. This will allow you to remix your track. [5]
    • Tap the Edit button (it looks like a series of sliders) to access controls like echo, reverb, compressor, treble, and bass.
  9. Tap the track twice to open a context menu. This will allow you to do things like: [6]
    • Delete, cut, copy, or rename the track.
    • Split the track (as opposed to trimming off the beginning or end).
    • Set the track to loop.
    • Access additional settings, such as gain, looping, and reverse.
  10. This arrow is located in the top left corner of the screen. When you've edited the track as desired, tap this and select My Songs . This will take you to your recent files.
  11. Your new edit will be saved with a generic name like "My Song 1." To change its name, tap and hold the file, select Rename , enter a new name, and tap done .
  12. Here's how: [7]
    • Tap and hold the file and select Share .
    • Tap Song .
    • Select an audio quality—High Quality is selected by default.
    • Scroll down and edit the info, such as artist, composer, and album, if you'd like. You can also add a cover image.
    • Tap Share at the top-right corner.
    • Tap Open In .
    • Select Save to Files to save the song to your phone, or choose an app you'd like to use to listen to the file. If you save it to your phone, choose a saving location (it can be on your iCloud drive if you want) and tap Save .
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Section 2 of 4:

Editing a Recording in Voice Memos

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  1. If you've recorded a voice memo using the Voice Memos app, you can easily edit your recording from within the app. [8]
  2. This expands some controls below the audio file.
  3. It’s below the track on the right side and looks like a series of vertical lines of different heights. This will open the editing menu.
    • You can also tap the ••• at the top right corner of the track and select Edit Recording .
  4. This will allow you to trim your track.
  5. You can hear a preview at any time by tapping the triangle (the play button) at the bottom center.
  6. This trims the ends off of the file, retaining only the portion surrounded by the yellow lines.
    • You can also tap Delete to discard the portion of the file between the yellow bars.
  7. It's at the top-right corner. This saves your changes to the file. [9]
  8. To access this option, tap the icon at the top left side of the screen that looks like a series of sliders, then toggle on Enhance Recording . You can also use this menu to adjust the playback speed or skip silent parts of the recording. When you’re done, tap the X to close the menu. [10]
    • If you don’t like the result of your edits, tap ••• and select Undo .
  9. It's at the bottom-right corner. [11]
    • Select Save Recording to save your changes, or select Save as New Recording to keep both the original version and the edited file.
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Section 3 of 4:

Editing Audio Clips in iMovie

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  1. iMovie is a movie editing app that comes with iOS. To edit audio clips within the app, open iMovie and tap one of the movies under the Projects header. Tap the Edit button under the movie. [12]
  2. Background music clips are green, while other audio clips are blue or purple.
  3. When you select a clip, it will be outlined in yellow. Touch and drag the yellow bar on either end of the clip to trim off some of the beginning or end.
  4. When you touch and hold an audio clip, it will pop loose from the timeline. Drag it to a new location and release it to drop it there.
    • To delete a clip, drag it up above the timeline until you see an icon that looks like a puff of smoke, then release it.
  5. Tap the clip to select it, then tap the Actions tool at the bottom of the screen, which looks like a pair of scissors. You’ll see some new options appear above the toolbar.
    • To split an audio clip, scroll through the clip until the playhead (the vertical white bar) is positioned over the part of the clip you want to split. Then, tap Split .
    • To toggle a clip between foreground and background audio, tap the text that says either Foreground or Background .
    • You can also separate audio from a video clip with the Actions menu. Tap the video and select Detach Audio .
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Section 4 of 4:

Using Third Party Apps

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  1. The App Store has a ton of audio editing apps. If the built-in apps don’t have the features you want, you may be able to find a free third-party app that suits your needs.
    • Some popular options include SoundLab, WavePad, and Audio Editor – Music Editor.
  2. Apps like Cubasis 3 and n-Track Studio Pro offer a lot more bells and whistles than the free alternatives. These apps are designed to be full-featured music studios on your iOS device. Look into one of these options if you want to do professional-quality audio editing.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband-iphone/import-a-song-from-the-music-app-chsb3f15dc4/ios
      3. ↑ https://smarthistory.org/editing-audio-with-garageband-cutting-and-exporting/
      4. ↑ https://smarthistory.org/editing-audio-with-garageband-cutting-and-exporting/
      5. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband-iphone/remix-a-song-chsabb64c325/ios
      6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband-ipad/use-the-track-headers-chsb34b9a7c/ipados
      7. ↑ https://smarthistory.org/editing-audio-with-garageband-cutting-and-exporting/
      8. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/edit-or-delete-a-recording-iphc9bdaee83/ios
      9. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/edit-or-delete-a-recording-iphc9bdaee83/ios
      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/edit-or-delete-a-recording-iphc9bdaee83/ios
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/edit-or-delete-a-recording-iphc9bdaee83/ios
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/imovie-iphone/edit-audio-clips-knaddae6c843/ios

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Open Voice Memos.
      2. Tap the recording.
      3. Tap the three dots.
      4. Tap Edit .
      5. Make your changes.
      6. Tap Save .
      7. Tap Done .

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