Noise remover
Clean the hiss, hum and room noise out of a voice memo, a riyaz recording, a lesson or a demo. The tool learns what the noise sounds like from the quiet parts of your file and turns that down everywhere. Compare with the original, then save. Everything runs in your browser.
This page needs JavaScript for the tool itself. Open it in a browser to use it.
How it works
Drop the file on the page. The tool takes a noise sample, by default from the quietest stretch of the file, and measures how loud the noise is at every frequency. Anything in the recording that stays below that level is turned down by the strength you choose; the voice or instrument, which rises above it, passes through. This is spectral gating, the method the classic desktop editors use.
Strength and sensitivity
Strength is how far the noise is turned down: 6 dB takes the edge off, 12 dB is the normal setting, 24 dB is as far as it goes. Sensitivity decides how far above the noise a sound has to be to count as wanted. Start with Normal on both. If the result sounds hollow, watery or like it is under water, go gentler or lower the sensitivity. If hiss remains, go stronger.
Choosing the noise sample
Automatic finds the quietest tenth of the file, which is right for most recordings. If your file starts with a second of silence before anyone speaks or plays, the first-second option gives a cleaner sample. Do not use that option on a file that starts with music, or the music is treated as noise.
What it can and cannot fix
It works well on steady noise: tape hiss, fan and air-conditioner rumble, mains hum, the hiss of a cheap microphone, a quiet room tone. It cannot remove another voice, traffic that changes, a cough or a dog, and it cannot rescue music that is buried in noise; what remains after the gate will sound processed. For a sung demo, record it again in a quieter room if you can, and clean the rest here.
From the label's own toolbox
BeatRootRaga is an independent label. Riyaz recordings and lesson recordings arrive with fans, traffic and phone hiss on them, and cleaning them before anyone listens closely is routine. For a recording that needs its loudness evened out as well, the mastering tool is next door.
Featured releases
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Latest guides
All guidesTeentaal: the 16-beat cycle of Hindustani music
Teentaal is a 16-beat Hindustani rhythmic cycle counted in four groups of four, with claps on 1, 5 and 13, and a wave on 9. Its theka, or basic tabla stroke pattern, is dha dhin dhin dha | dha dhin dhin dha | dha tin tin ta | ta dhin dhin dha.
Taal for beginners: teentaal, keherwa and dadra with clap patterns
A taal is a repeating rhythmic cycle: count 16 beats for teentaal, eight for keherwa, and six for dadra. For teentaal, clap on 1, 5 and 13, wave on 9; for keherwa, clap on 1, wave on 5; for dadra, clap on 1, wave on 4.
Rupak: the 7-beat taal that starts on khali
Rupak is a taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, with seven beats grouped 3 + 2 + 2. Its opening closed strokes make sam, the first beat, sound light; this beat is khali, marked by a wave, rather than tali, marked by a clap.
Keherwa: the 8-beat taal of film songs, bhajans and folk
Keherwa is an eight-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, arranged as 4 + 4. To recognise it, listen for two groups of four, a lighter second half, and the recurring drum pattern: dha ge na ti | na ka dhin na.
Jhaptaal: the 10-beat taal
Jhaptaal is a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, with ten beats. Its four vibhags, or divisions, follow 2 + 3 + 2 + 3, alternating two-beat and three-beat groups.
Ektaal: the 12-beat taal of khayal
Ektaal is a twelve-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, divided into six two-beat sections called vibhags. Its stretched beats let the tabla player elaborate the stroke pattern in vilambit (slow-tempo) bada khayal, the slow opening composition of a khayal performance.
Questions people ask
Is the BeatRootRaga noise remover free, and is my recording uploaded?
Free, no account, and nothing is uploaded. The file is decoded, cleaned and encoded inside your browser.
What kind of noise can the noise remover take out?
Steady noise: hiss, hum, fan and air-conditioner rumble, room tone and microphone noise. It does not remove other voices, changing traffic noise or single sounds like a cough.
Will the noise remover change how my voice or instrument sounds?
At gentle and normal strength, very little. At strong settings on a noisy file, quiet details such as breaths and the tails of notes can thin out and the sound can turn hollow. Compare with the original before saving.
Does the noise remover work on music, not just voice?
Yes, on a music recording with steady background noise, such as a practice recording made on a phone. It is not meant for separating music from heavy noise, and it is not a vocal remover.
Why is there a hiss in the first place, and can I avoid it?
Phone and laptop microphones add hiss, and rooms add fans and hum. Recording closer to the microphone, in a quieter room, with the gain set so the loudest part does not clip, cuts the noise before any tool has to.