How to Learn Adobe Audition

Audition is Adobe’s sound mixing and editing application, designed to let users manipulate, add, remove, and alter the sound of an audio file. Anyone who wants to work in sound engineering, video editing, or digital content creation stands to benefit from learning Audition. The number of options for learning Adobe Audition might be overwhelming at first glance. There are books, video tutorials, classes, and more to choose from; it all depends on your learning style and personal preferences. 

Here, we’ll discuss the various methods of learning Adobe Audition so you can decide how you’d like to get started.

What is Adobe Audition?

Adobe Audition is a sound-mixing and editing tool that is available as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. The program can be used to alter and edit the sound of a purely aural medium, such as a music track or a podcast, or alongside programs like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects to edit the sound of a video or animation file. The tools offered by Audition will let users repair audio files, enhance sound quality, and edit out background noise. This makes Audition an ideal tool to learn for anyone who wants to work in either sound editing or video editing.

Audition is a stand-alone program that sound engineers can use to edit recordings. Still, it is most commonly used alongside programs like Premiere Pro or After Effects to combine audio and video files. Audition lets users add voice-over, redub dialogue, insert background music, or draw out specific elements of diegetic sound. As sound is one of the essential elements of film, learning how to manipulate and edit sound is an important skill for creatives to learn.

Read more about what Adobe Audition is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Adobe Audition?

Adobe Audition provides users with many tools for editing and remixing sound files. This means that the program is incredibly versatile. Aspiring musicians can use the program to clean up demo tracks or prepare a song to be published on a platform like SoundCloud. Podcasters can record, edit, and clean up an episode's audio using a single program. Voice Actors can record their work for job material or do important sound-mixing for freelance VO work. Anyone working in the medium of sound will want to learn how to mix and edit their creative work.

Beyond its use as a sound-mixing tool, learning how to use Adobe Audition is incredibly helpful for aspiring video editors. Learning to use Audition to add voice-over, manipulate audio levels, edit sound effects, or alter diegetic and non-diegetic sound can greatly enhance any video project, large or small. This training will let creatives working in the medium of film add another layer to how they can express themselves and their ideas, as sound is such an essential part of filmmaking.

In-Person Adobe Audition Training

Many students prefer in-person training when attempting to learn a new skill. By learning in person, students can ensure they work directly with expert instructors in an environment designed for success. These courses allow students to collaborate with like-minded colleagues and receive valuable networking opportunities. The drawback to these courses is that most training providers are only located in one or two major cities. Students who don’t live near metropolitan areas may find their options for in-person training limited. Since these options can be limited, Noble Desktop helps by compiling local in-person video editing courses with its Classes Near Me tool.

Noble offers in-person instruction at their Manhattan campus, providing students with high-quality instruction and access to Noble’s computer labs. These courses are perfect for students who can manage their commute to New York City. Students who don’t live near New York City may consider other options closer to home.

Live Online Adobe Audition Training

For some students, in-person training simply isn’t an option. These students may wish to consider live online instruction as an alternative way to learn Audition. Live online courses retain many advantages of in-person learning, particularly by ensuring that students can interact directly with live instructors. Students can get hands-on experience and receive direct feedback on their work without leaving their homes. These courses will likely require students to provide their own hardware and software, which can be expensive and difficult for some students.

Noble Desktop offers all of its in-person courses via live online instruction, ensuring that students can receive high-quality Audition training no matter where they live. These courses maintain Noble’s small class sizes and free retake features, meaning that students can continue to receive hands-on Audition training without having to commute to New York City. Students can also learn about their other options for live online video editing training using Noble’s Classes Near Me tool to find and compare their options.

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

Some students might be interested in learning how to use Audition but aren’t ready to enroll in an entire course. For these students, free introductory courses may be a helpful alternative. These classes allow students to get a feel for the functions and tools available through Audition without committing them to an advanced training course. However, these courses are also good preparation for enrolling in a professional training seminar, meaning that students who enroll in an advanced Audition course won’t find their time wasted.

Students looking for free online training in Audition can take advantage of the free videos offered through Noble Desktop. These videos replicate the look and feel of an online training seminar, making them ideal for students considering enrolling in more immersive courses. Noble’s Intro to Video Editing course will introduce students to the critical features of Audition and help guide them through learning how to integrate sound and video editing skills. This course is perfect for students who want to learn the complex art of video editing and are preparing to work on advanced sound mixing projects.

Free tutorials are also available through service providers such as Udemy and Pluralsight. These courses will introduce students to basic Audition concepts such as adding voice-over to a file or manipulating sound effects. Adobe also offers free tutorials and guides for students looking to experiment with Audition. Since these resources are free, students can take advantage of them without worrying about committing to a single program.

Read about more free Adobe Audition videos and online tutorials.

On-Demand Adobe Audition Classes

Students may find that they simply cannot work a live training session into their schedule. They may have other obligations, such as work and family, or they may simply be unable to dedicate time regularly. These students may wish to consider on-demand Audition training as an alternative. These courses let students learn at their own pace, controlling when and where they receive instruction. The downside is that these courses lack live instructors, so students who run into roadblocks or find themselves stuck will have no one to turn to for assistance.

On-demand classes are reasonably varied in terms of structure and cost. Some courses will predominantly be composed of prerecorded video lectures, while others will be composed of directed instruction modules. On-demand courses may be purchased individually or as part of a premium subscription service, like SkillShare. Given the number of options available to students, they will want to carefully consider which option is best for them. To help with this, students can consult Noble Desktop’s search tools to find on-demand video editing courses.

Which Learning Method is Right for Me?

Given that so many options are available to students looking to receive Adobe Audition training, they may find the prospect somewhat intimidating. Students will need to gauge their professional desires, learning styles, and practical availability to find the right course for them. No matter what your plans look like, Audition training options are available to fit your needs.

Many students will gravitate towards in-person instruction, as these courses offer the most direct way to receive hands-on Audition instruction. These courses will allow students to work directly with expert instructors and receive training in classroom environments designed to help students learn. In most cases, they also will be able to take advantage of a training facility’s computer labs. The downside to these courses is that they tend to be restricted to only a few locations, which can be difficult for some students to attend.

An alternative to in-person instruction is live online training. These courses maintain many of the most important advantages of in-person training, particularly as they allow students to work directly with skilled instructors in one-on-one situations. They also provide students with a chance to ask questions and receive feedback in real-time. Students will lose out on networking opportunities and won’t have access to onsite computer labs, but they may find that they save money on a commute. These courses also give students much wider options for what course they want to enroll in, as students won’t be restricted to a single geographic area.

Students who need more flexibility in the pace or structure of their Audition education will want to consider on-demand classes. These courses let students work at their own pace, ensuring that their Audition training is there for them when convenient. This makes on-demand training options ideal for students who can’t regularly devote time to their training but still want to learn how to use Audition. The drawback to these courses is that they are the most varied in style and quality, meaning students may need to do a lot more research to find a good course. In addition, since there is no live instructor, students will be left to their own devices if they find themselves having trouble.

Why Learn Adobe Audition?

Learning Adobe Audition will provide creatives, particularly those looking to work in video and film editing, with another deep collection of tools they can use to produce high-quality work. While people can use Audition in mediums that deal purely with sound, like audiobooks or podcasts, its most common uses are alongside other Adobe Creative Cloud software to edit and manipulate the sound of other creative works. Whether you plan to add background music to a skateboarding video you post to YouTube, add ADR to a video essay, or prepare for a career in video editing, learning Adobe Audition will pay dividends.

Beyond adding sound to files, learning Audition will let users mix the existing sound in a file. Audition’s features include both destructive and non-destructive editing tools. This means that learning Audition lets users manipulate and remove sound files. Whether you are fixing a distorted audio file, correcting a bit of background noise, or changing audio levels to bring different sounds to the same volume, Audition will provide the tools to perfect the soundscape of your creative works. It doesn’t matter if your passion is podcasting, amateur filmmaking, video editing, or music; Audition has the tools you need to make your creative work as professional as possible.

Read more about why you should learn Adobe Audition. 

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Adobe Audition is an accessible, intuitive sound-mixing application that is relatively beginner-friendly. New users can begin experimenting with Audition relatively easily, and because it is coupled with sound recording software, it is easy to produce files to edit. That said, even accessible sound-mixing programs are still somewhat complex tools that will require significant training to master. New users can easily alter and splice together sound files, but learning exactly how to perfect a sound mix will take more time and effort.

There are no formal prerequisites to learning how to use Audition. New users should be familiar with how to use a computer, and prior knowledge of computer-aided editing tools is a plus but not a requirement. Students should also consider researching the kind of sound-mixing that they hope to learn how to do to gauge what other programs (if any) they will want to acquire.

Adobe Audition is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of software and, therefore, requires a Creative Cloud subscription to access. Users can either license Audition as a stand-alone product or license the entire suite of Creative Cloud applications together. Licensing Audition alone will cost users about $20 to $30 a month (depending on the subscription model and payment plan), and the complete collection of programs (which includes Premiere Pro and After Effects, making it desirable for aspiring video editors) will cost about $55 a month.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Adobe Audition.

Learn Adobe Audition with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to learn Adobe Audition need look no further than the in-person and live online Audition courses available through Noble Desktop. Noble’s expert instructors teach these courses, so even online, students will be able to interact directly with experts in their field to receive Audition training. Regardless of how students enroll in Noble’s classes, they will benefit from small class sizes, so they won’t have to fight with other students for their instructors’ attention. Plus, all Noble classes have a free retake option to allow students to get additional training in Audition skills.

For students who are looking to build a career in the world of sound editing, Noble’s Video Editing Certificate program and its Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate program will provide students with an in-depth understanding of how to mix sound into video and animation files. This career-focused training course will give students the tools they need to become professional Sound Engineers and Video Editors, whether working on their own creative projects or as part of a team. In addition to training in Audition, students will learn how to use Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D to create evocative film and animation projects. Plus, students will receive one-on-one career mentorship and an industry-recognized certificate of completion. As part of their final project, they will build a demo reel of sample videos to take with them onto the job market.

Students who just want to learn the ins and outs of Adobe Audition should consider Noble’s Audition Bootcamp. This short course will teach students how to utilize Audition's basic sound editing tools, such as noise removal and tools to add voiceover and sound effects. This is an ideal course for creatives who hope to work in strictly audio mediums, aspiring Sound Engineers looking to slowly build their resumes, and students with film editing backgrounds who want to learn more advanced sound-editing techniques. This course also confers an industry-recognized certificate of completion, meaning it is an ideal way for students to become Audition certified.

Key Insights

• Adobe Audition is a sound-mixing and editing application available as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. The application is used in almost every industry that produces video productions.
• Students looking to learn Audition have several options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
• Most students prefer in-person instruction, but it is often the most expensive option. In addition, students’ options may be limited based on where they live.
• Live online instruction mirrors in-person instruction, ensuring students can learn Audition from an experienced instructor regardless of where they live. However, students must provide their own software and control their home workspace.
• On-demand classes let students who don’t have the availability to take a live instruction class learn Audition. However, without a live instructor, students will be on their own if they get stuck.
• Free tutorials are available to help students get comfortable with Audition, but anyone aspiring to work with the program professionally will need additional training.
• No matter how a student wants to learn Audition, Noble is ready to provide them with comprehensive training, available in person or live online.