avatarSabi Horvat

Summary

The web content provides a guide on using the Python library Pydub to trim and edit MP3 files for personalized playlists, focusing on the ease of the process and the benefits of customizing audio.

Abstract

The article titled "Use Python with Pydub to Trim Your MP3" explains how to install and use the Pydub library to edit MP3 files. It begins by addressing common reasons for trimming MP3s, such as removing silence or creating uninterrupted focus playlists. The author emphasizes the simplicity of Pydub's functionality despite the initial complexity of installing the necessary dependencies, like ffmpeg or libav. The article walks through opening an MP3 file with Pydub, selecting the desired portion to keep, and exporting the trimmed version. Additionally, it highlights extra features of Pydub, such as adjusting decibel levels, fading out audio, and concatenating multiple tracks to create a custom playlist. The author concludes by encouraging readers to explore the full capabilities of Pydub and provides a referral link for further reading on Medium.

Opinions

  • The author admits personal motivation for using Pydub to minimize distractions while focusing by creating seamless transitions between songs.
  • Installing Pydub is considered more challenging than using it, with the author recommending the use of brew for installing ffmpeg over pip, based on their own troubleshooting experience.
  • The author suggests that small adjustments in decibel levels work well, while larger increases may cause distortion.
  • There is an appreciation for the ease of editing audio files with Pydub, as demonstrated by the inclusion of code snippets and the encouragement to manipulate audio files with the library.
  • The author endorses Pydub as a tool that gives users control over their audio content, enhancing their listening experience.

Use python with Pydub to trim your mp3

Because you can? How to install pydub and then a few lines of python to trim the mp3

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Why would I want to trim my mp3?

Maybe there’s silence at the beginning or end of the mp3.

Maybe there’s a ten minute gap before a secret song.

Or maybe you would like to customize your I’m-busy-and-focusing-please-don’t-bother-me playlist.

I have to admit that my motivation was the latter. I often listen to music when I attempt to focus. To keep away distractions, I prefer if one song starts as soon as the next song ends.

Whatever your reason is, thanks to the developers of pydub there is a simple way to trim your mp3 with python.

How to install pydub

Installing pydub is more difficult than actually using pydub.

I would recommend reading through the GitHub page for pydub before starting the installation. Otherwise, you might find yourself troubleshooting error messages.

First, pydub has the dependency of ffmpeg or libav. The GitHub for pydub suggests using brew to install ffmpeg. You might read elsewhere that pip can install ffmpeg also, but unfortunately I read the pip suggestion first and ran into trouble. In the end, I tried the brew install and that worked for me.

How to trim the mp3

To get started, open a song with pydub python. Then you can play the song and decide which seconds (or milliseconds) that you would like to trim.

Any time that you return the variable with the song (or a trimmed song), you can queue the music from python.

Play the imported song with pydub (Image by Author)

To trim the beginning or end of the song, simply choose the milliseconds from the song variable that you’d like to keep.

Once the song is trimmed to your liking, export the new mp3.

Bonus: You can do more with pydub

As a bonus, here’s three more mp3 modifications that are easy to do with pydub:

  1. You may increase or decrease the decibels on the mp3. This can be a handy feature if you have a song that is either too quiet or loud compared to the rest of your playlist. When I increased the decibels by more than 10, I sensed distortion. But smaller changes work quite well.
  2. To fade out sound near the end of a song- or a snippet of a song cut with pydub- there’s a function for that.
  3. You can also add multiple song variables together to create a playlist!
Adding two song variables together, in this case two of the same song (Image by Author)

The ability to customize an mp3 put me in control of my zen. Here’s the link to the GitHub for pydub one more time. Go ahead and conquer your audio files!

If you would like to read (and write) more articles like this, please consider signing up for medium using my referral link: https://sabolch-horvat.medium.com/membership

Pydub
MP3
Python
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