What is Adobe Audition?

Adobe Audition is an Adobe Creative Cloud digital design application that gives users tools to edit, mix, and correct audio files. It is part of a video editing project or can be used on its own to edit music or audio files. Audition is a popular sound-mixing tool because of its connection with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud tools. In this overview, you’ll learn more about Adobe Audition, what it can do, who uses it, and how to learn it. This way, you can determine the best way to add this skill to your professional toolbox.

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.

How Do You Download Adobe Audition? How Much Does it Cost?

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 entire collection of programs (which includes Premiere Pro and After Effects, making it desirable for aspiring video editors) will cost about $55 a month.

There is a free trial of Adobe Audition available, but there is no free version, so once the trial period has expired, users will need to purchase a subscription to access their work.

What Are the Benefits of Learning 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. 

Adobe Audition Careers

Adobe Audition is a valuable professional tool, whether users seek to work primarily in audio media or complement other career skills with Audition training. Given the importance of sound to creative projects and the rise of the digital radio industry, learning sound-mixing is quickly becoming an in-demand career skill. Some of the jobs that will use Audition include:

Video Editors: Video editors will use Audition to edit and manipulate the sound files associated with a video project. They will be tasked with adding sound effects, fixing background noise, adding non-diegetic music, and altering sound levels at the discretion of a director or project manager. They will primarily use tools like Premiere Pro to handle the video editing side of the process, but they will also need to know how to use Audition to edit sound files.

Motion Graphics Designer: Motion Graphics Designers perform roles reasonably similar to that of Video Editors, save that Motion Graphics Designers tend to work with computer-animated projects more so than live-action videos. They will still be tasked with using Audition for voice-over and sound effects for a motion graphics project. To do this, they must use both Premiere Pro and After Effects alongside Audition.

Sound Engineers: Sound Engineers are tasked with controlling and editing sound recordings, such as live music, studio performances, and podcasts. These engineers will be tasked with editing and cleaning up sound files for publication or post-production. Some Sound Engineers may work alongside Video Editors or Motion Graphics Designers to complete more complex and elaborate projects. Others will do freelance work, editing sound files for clients who need music tracks, podcasts, or other audio recordings edited before release.

How to Learn Adobe Audition

Students have many different options when it comes to learning how to use Adobe Audition. Students can opt to learn in live training seminars or asynchronous courses. They can learn Audition online or in person. Each learning option has advantages and disadvantages, meaning students should contemplate their options to find the best Audition course. Bear in mind that Audition is usually included in the larger curriculum of video editing courses. Students looking to compare the options available for video editing classes should consult Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool.

Many students suggest that they learn new skills most easily through live instruction. The benefit of having an expert in the field guiding them through the process of learning Audition is an invaluable tool. Live instruction courses are available both in-person and online, but each mode of instruction provides students with access to an experienced instructor who can answer questions and provide students with feedback. These courses are designed to maximize students' ability to learn Audition through the structure and the mode of instruction.

The downside to live instruction is that it burdens students to learn Audition on someone else’s schedule. This may not always be possible, so students may instead wish to consider on-demand video editing training. These courses let students learn at their own pace, which can be ideal for students with obligations that prevent them from attending a live instruction course. These courses also tend to be more varied and cheaper than live instruction classes. However, some students may have difficulty learning without a live instructor's aid.

Free tutorials and training options are available for students looking to become more familiar with the basic features of Adobe Audition. Students looking to learn how to use Audition professionally will need more training, but these courses are ideal places to start learning the application. Noble provides students with a free Intro to Video Editing course that guides students through the basic uses of Adobe Audition as a video editing tool. Noble also provides free resources, tutorials, and videos on its Learn Audition hub.

Read the full guide on how to learn Adobe Audition.