Shorten the Song

Let’s shorten the song by removing the alternate phrasing and build. Retaining the beginning and end will keep the musical structure, but we can create a very short “stinger”.

1. Start by adding the file into a new multitrack session. The easiest way to do that here is to right click on the file and “Insert into Multitrack”.
   
2. You’ll notice that the markers placed into the audio file in Waveform view show up and move around with the block in Multitrack view.
   
3. Let’s match up the second Phrase 1A with the second 3A, so select the razor tool and make a cut a little bit after the marker. This will allow us to create a crossfade and visually identify where our different blocks will match up.
   
4. Let’s cut the end of the song by doing the same thing, except this time we’ll cut a little before the second Phrase 3A marker.
   
5. Next we’ll remove the portion that we don’t need by selecting the middle chunk and deleting it
   
6. Now let’s line up the beginning and ending blocks by dragging the ending block to the track underneath the beginning block. It will help us to match up the marker – but at the end of the day we really want to match up the waveform itself. So zoom it closely and identify visual patterns.
   
7. Take a listen and see how closely things match up. Once we’re happy, trim up the blocks so that the only overlapping portions exist where there aren’t distinctive hits and sounds. For example, the beat in the purple block right after the Phrase 3A marker has a pretty strong entrance, so I’ll try to retain that by making sure the green block ends beforehand. Now the overlap will exist in a musical “hold” of a note, rather than the “hit” of a note.
   
8. Now, let’s overlap by dragging the second track’s block onto of the first track’s block.
   Note: It’s important to hold down the [Shift] button so that the block doesn’t move to the left or right while dragging!
   
9. Take a listen. If you want to make adjustments, you can still select a block and adjust the trim if need be. For example, I would like a longer fade from one phrase to the other, so I’ll drag the beginning of the second block further into the first. This will extend the entrance of the new instrument.
   

Elements to Remember

• It is imperative that you keep the dynamic integrity of the music. Otherwise phrases will feel out of place.
• Identify phrase endings in which notes ring out. These spots will allow you to create endings.
• A reverb effect can allow you to create the end of song.