How To: Continuous Sound Loop

From Kevin Fishburne, of Sanctimonia fame, comes our first tutorial! This demonstrates a simple method of creating a continuous looping sound effect using Audacity.

This technique can be put to use immediately with Kevin’s own Flowing Water sound effects. By creating a loop, the water sound can be started at a distance, and slowly fade in as the player approaches, and fade out as they get further away. This allows the illusion of permanence, while allowing the game to clear the sound effect from memory while not in use. If used properly, it can alert players to the presence of a river or stream before it is visible, adding a degree of richness to the game experience.

How to cleanly loop a continuous sound effect sample using #Audacity, the quick and easy way: http://t.co/367FHtyarx

— Eight Virtues (@eightvirtues) May 8, 2013

One caveat: As Kevin noted on the YouTube page, you need to check “Snap To” in the bottom-left corner to ensure that the beginning and end cuts are of exactly equal length. You’ll also want to trim the length of the source clip to match that snap resolution before cutting the beginning and end bits off.

Many thanks to Kevin for all of his work on Sanctimonia, his release of many high-quality sound effects to the public domain (and allowing us at the Digital Lycaeum to host them), and for the simply tutorial!