Make a ringtone from a song online

How to make a ringtone, step by step

A ringtone is a short clip that repeats while the phone rings, so the work is choosing the right moment and smoothing its edges.

1. Click Open a song for your ringtone, or use File ▸ Open… (Ctrl+O), and choose the song.
2. Find the part you want, such as the chorus or the intro, and drag across the waveform to select it. Press Space to listen and drag the edges to adjust it.
3. For an exact length, type it in the Length box of the Sel row below the waveform, for example 0:30. The selection then ends 30 seconds after its start.
4. Choose Edit ▸ Trim (Ctrl+T) to keep only the selection and drop the rest of the song.
5. Select the first second and apply Effects ▸ Amplitude ▸ Fade In…, then select the last two or three seconds and apply Effects ▸ Amplitude ▸ Fade Out…
6. Press Esc to clear the selection, open Effects ▸ Amplitude ▸ Normalize…, move the Normalize to slider to -1 dB and click OK.
7. Choose File ▸ Save As…, set Format to MP3 (*.mp3), pick a bitrate such as 192 kbps, name the file and click Save.

Choosing the right 30 seconds

Around 30 seconds is plenty: you rarely let a phone ring for longer than that.

• Start on a beat or at the start of a phrase, so the ringtone sounds as if it begins on purpose.
• Pick a part that is recognizable from the first second. A slow intro may be over before you notice the phone.
• Zoom in with View ▸ Zoom In (=) to place the start right before the first note, and use Edit ▸ Adjust Selection to Zero Crossings (Shift+Z) to avoid a click at the cut.
• Turn on Options ▸ Loop Mode (Ctrl+L) and play the selection to hear how it sounds when it repeats.
• Prefer a clear melody or a strong rhythm. Quiet, bass-heavy passages are hard to hear on a small phone speaker.

Getting the ringtone onto your phone

Android phones accept MP3 ringtones. Copy the file to the phone, for example into its Ringtones folder, and choose it in the sound settings. The exact names of the settings depend on the brand.

iPhones use ringtones in the M4R format, which is AAC audio. Auditius cannot export AAC or M4R: it saves WAV, FLAC, MP3 and Ogg Vorbis. For an iPhone, prepare the clip here, save it as WAV and convert it with an app that creates M4R files.