Introduction to
Praat: A A Linguist’s Tool for
Beginner’s Sound Analysis
Guide
Learning Objectives:
• Understand the basic
functionality of Praat.
• Learn how to load and visualize
sound files.
• Perform basic analyses like
waveform, spectrogram, and
pitch extraction.
What is Praat?
• Praat is a free software for
analyzing, synthesizing, and
manipulating speech sounds.
Used by linguists for research in
phonetics and phonology.
• Praat is software that is used for a
wide range of hearing and speech
scientific research. It is
maintained by Paul Boersma and
David Weenink at the University
of Amsterdam.
• Provides visual tools for sound
analysis, such as waveforms and
spectrograms.
• Objects Window: Manages
sound files and operations.
Interface • Picture Window: Generates
visual outputs for analysis.
Overview • Menus: Tools for sound
recording, editing, and
analysis.
How Praat visualize sounds
Basic Features
Record and load audio files.
Visualize sound as a waveform and spectrogram.
Edit sounds (cut, paste, adjust pitch).
Perform phonetic analysis (formants, pitch, intensity).
Steps to Load and Analyze a Sound File
1. Open Praat and load your audio file via 'Read' menu.
2. View the waveform and spectrogram by selecting the file
and clicking 'View and Edit.'
3. Analyze pitch, formants, and intensity using analysis tools.
4. Save your edited file or analysis results as needed.
Recording sounds and working with sound files
• When you first open Praat you will see two windows. One will
be called Praat Objects and the other will be called Praat
Pictures. We will ignore the Praat Pictures window for now. In
the Praat Objects window you should see a big white box that
says “Objects:”. There should be nothing in there as of right
now. The most important type of object is a Sound object. Let’s
start by learning how to record sounds directly into Praat.
• At the top of the Praat Objects window click New > Record
mono Sound....
• A new window called SoundRecorder should now pop up.
• If you have a microphone of some type plugged in, you
can make sure it is being used as the audio capture
device by making sure it is selected under “Input
source:”.
• You can also change the sampling frequency if
necessary. It defaults to 44.1 KHz.
• To actually record a sound you can click the Record
button. When finished, click Stop.
• You can listen back to what you just recorded by
clicking Play.
• If you are satisfied with the recording, you can label the
recording by typing in the box to the right of “Name:”.
After doing so, you can click Save to list which will save
your current recording to the Praat Objects window
and allow you to make another recording or click Save
to list & Close which will save your current recording to
the Praat Objects window and exit out of the
SoundRecorder window.
Practical Example
Load a recording of a vowel sound.
Use the spectrogram to analyze formants.
Measure pitch and intensity.
Export a visual representation of your analysis.
Tips and Best
Practices
• Use high-quality recordings for
accurate analysis.
• Familiarize yourself with keyboard
shortcuts for efficiency.
• Save your work frequently to avoid
data loss.
• Explore Praat's extensive
documentation for advanced
features.
• 1. Record and analyze a
simple sentence.
• 2. Identify pitch and
formant patterns in a
Suggested vowel.
Exercises • 3. Save a spectrogram
image for a chosen sound.
• 4. Experiment with editing
tools (e.g., pitch shifting).
