When recording sounds on a laptop — say for a simple first screencast — many users typically use the built-in microphone. However, these small microphones also capture a lot of background noise. In this quick tip, learn how to use [Audacity][1] in Fedora to quickly remove the background noise from audio files.
### Installing Audacity
Audacity is an application in Fedora for mixing, cutting, and editing audio files. It supports a wide range of formats out of the box on Fedora — including MP3 and OGG. Install Audacity from the Software application.
![][2]
If the terminal is more your speed, use the command:
```
sudo dnf install audacity
```
### Import your Audio, sample background noise
After installing Audacity, open the application, and import your sound using the **File > Import** menu item. This example uses a [sound bite from freesound.org][3] to which noise was added:
Next, take a sample of the background noise to be filtered out. With the tracks imported, select an area of the track that contains only the background noise. Then choose **Effect > Noise Reduction** from the menu, and press the **Get Noise Profile** button.
![][4]
### Filter the Noise
Next, select the area of the track you want to filter the noise from. Do this either by selecting with the mouse, or **Ctrl + a** to select the entire track. Finally, open the **Effect > Noise Reduction** dialog again, and click OK to apply the filter.
![][5]
Additionally, play around with the settings until your tracks sound better. Here is the original file again, followed by the noise reduced track for comparison (using the default settings):
