Breath Extractor

How to extract breaths from a vocal

1. Upload the vocal. MP3, WAV, M4A or FLAC, up to 10 minutes. You sign in with Google the first time.
2. Press Extract the breaths. The button shows the price first: 1 credit for every minute. New accounts start with 5 credits. Most files take 1 to 3 minutes.
3. Listen, then download. You get Breaths and Without breaths. Click a reel to hear one alone. Each downloads as an MP3 at 320 kbps. Failed jobs are refunded.

Why separate breaths

Breaths are the soft inhales and airy sounds between and inside vocal lines. Some people want them gone. Others want to keep them and nothing else.

Cleaning a vocal. A close microphone and heavy compression make breaths loud. Taking them out of the vocal can give a tidier acapella. Some producers prefer to reduce breaths rather than delete them, because a vocal with no breaths can sound unnatural. With the two files separate, you can mix the Breaths file back in at a lower level and decide how much to keep.

Sound design. Breaths make good material. A breath on its own can be layered under a pad, used as a rhythmic texture or turned into a riser. Intimate, whispery pop and ASMR-style productions lean on that sound.

Audio editors. Voice-over and audiobook editors spend a lot of time cutting breaths. This gives a starting point for that work.

What works well, and what leaves traces

The tool works best on a vocal on its own, so if you have a full song, get the voice first with the Acapella Extractor. Clear, close-miked breaths come out best. Quiet, airy singing and whispers are the hard case, because they sound a lot like breath already, and the model may split them between the two files. Some consonants, such as "s" and "f" sounds, can end up in the Breaths file. Listen to both before you use either.

For other vocal clean-up there is the Vocal Noise Remover and the Remove Vocal Effects page.