Because Audacity cuts out the complex audio buses that underlie big editing suites, adding effects is incredibly easy. Just select whatever audio you want to apply an effect to, and choose it from the “Effect” menu—and if more input is required, most effects have a settings window with a handy “Preview” button. As for the effects included by default, you will want to pay particular attention to Fade In and Fade Out, Amplify, and Equalization. Note that Amplify is useful for making things both louder and quieter, because you can simply enter a negative value if you want to turn something down.
While Audacity has a number of effects pre-installed, we recommend installing extra plugins. Audacity supports LADSPA, LV2, Nyquist, VAMP, and VST plugins, and if you use Linux, you…