Build a multitrack voiceover for a podcast

Podcast narration rarely arrives as one perfect recording. You may have several takes, an intro, an outro, and music to place around the speech. Keeping these parts on separate tracks makes it easier to edit one element without rebuilding the whole episode.

Use the Audio Editor to arrange audio on tracks, trim clips, add fades, split recordings by silence, and export a finished WAV or MP3. You can work in your browser without installing an audio program.

Build the voiceover

1. Open the Audio Editor and load the narration takes, intro or outro, and any music or sound effects you plan to use. Keep the original recordings until you have checked the finished export.
2. Arrange the clips on separate tracks. Put the main narration on one track, and keep music, effects, and any second speaker on their own tracks. This makes it easier to move or trim one part without changing the others.
3. Build the spoken sequence first. Place the takes in order, trim unwanted silence at their edges, and split longer recordings where you need to remove a pause or mistake. Leave natural breaths and short pauses so the delivery does not sound rushed.
4. Place the intro music before the first spoken line and the outro after the last one. If music should continue under speech, arrange it on its own track and use fades to make its entrance and exit less abrupt.
5. Play the full arrangement from the beginning. Listen for clipped words, repeated lines, gaps, and music that makes speech hard to follow. Make small edits, then listen to the affected section again.
6. Export the finished mix as WAV for an uncompressed copy or MP3 for a smaller file to share. Keep an editable project too if you may need to change the episode later.

For an episode with several guests, use a separate track for each speaker when possible. That way, a pause or retake in one voice does not force you to cut into another speaker's recording.

Choose a track layout that fits the episode

One host and a short intro

Keep the host's takes together on a narration track, with the intro and outro on a music track. This is a simple setup for a solo episode. If the intro includes spoken words, place those on the narration track or on a separate track if you need to move them independently.

Two or more speakers

Give each speaker a track, even if the conversation was recorded as separate files. This helps you keep turns in order and spot overlaps. Listen closely where one person starts speaking as another finishes, since a trim can accidentally remove the beginning of a reply.

Music beneath narration

Keep background music separate from the voice. Choose a music recording that is already quiet enough to sit behind speech, then use fades to introduce or end it smoothly. A separate track makes placement easier, but it does not guarantee the music and voice are balanced. Check the mix on headphones and speakers at a comfortable listening level.

How to fix it

1. Restore a cut that sounds unnatural. A pause can make a sentence easier to understand. If a split removes a breath or makes two words run together, undo or adjust that edit and leave a little space around the words.
2. Soften an abrupt transition. A clip that starts or stops suddenly can sound like a pop or a hard jump. Trim at a quieter point in the recording and use a short fade at the edge when it helps. Listen to the transition in context, not just by itself.
3. Check every split made by silence detection. A silence split can help find long gaps, but it may also divide a pause you want to keep. Review each resulting clip and make sure the start and end of every spoken phrase are intact.
4. Make speech easier to hear over music. Choose a quieter music source if it competes with the host, or use music only in the intro and outro. Do not assume that separating tracks has lowered the music for you.
5. Re-record distorted words when needed. If a voice sounds harsh or breaks up even when played alone, the original recording may have clipped. A fade or trim cannot restore detail that was lost during recording. Record that line again at a lower input level if possible.
6. Export another copy after changes. Keep the earlier export until you have listened to the new WAV or MP3 from start to finish. Check the opening, the loudest section, and the final seconds before sharing it.

Keep the project editable

The exported WAV or MP3 is the finished mix, while the editable project preserves the separate clips and tracks for later changes. Save both if you may need to correct a name, replace a line, or make a shorter version. See how to save and reopen an editable TLsound project for a project-file workflow.

Your recordings and exported files stay on your device while you edit in the browser.