How to make a clean version of a song

A clean version of a song is the same track with the explicit words taken out. Sometimes the artist’s label releases one. Often it doesn’t, or the one that exists doesn’t match what you need. This guide covers how to make your own from a file you own, and what to check before you play it for anyone.

First, check whether a clean version already exists

Before you edit anything, search your store or streaming app for the song with “clean” or “radio edit” in the title. If an official version exists and it removes the words you care about, use it. It was made from the original multitrack recording, which is the best possible starting point.

Official clean versions have two common problems, though. They’re made to a label’s standard, not yours, so they may leave in a word your room isn’t OK with, or take out one you’d keep. And some songs simply don’t have one.

The three ways to take a word out

Cut the audio. Delete or silence the whole track for the length of the word. It’s simple and any audio editor can do it, but the beat drops out too, which leaves a hole in the music. In a dance or fitness class, that hole lands right where people are counting.

Cover it with a sound. A bleep, a record scratch, or a sound effect over the word. The word is gone, but the edit is obvious, and in some settings a bleep draws more attention than the word would have.

Silence the voice only. Separate the vocal from the instrumental, remove the word from the vocal, and put the two back together. The beat plays straight through. This is how CleanBeatz works, and it’s usually the least noticeable option.

Making a clean version with CleanBeatz

1. Upload the file. MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, or FLAC, up to 10 minutes. It has to be a file you own or have the rights to use. There is no link or streaming import.
2. Pick a level. Radio removes strong profanity and slurs. Clean removes all profanity, sexual lines, and drug references. Family adds violence, innuendo, and God’s name in vain.
3. Read the lyric sheet. Every flagged word is shown in red. Tap a red word to keep it. Tap any other word to flag it. If the start of a word still sneaks through, nudge its timing and preview again.
4. Export. MP3, WAV, or M4A. The file has the same length and tempo as the original.

Making one by hand in an audio editor

If you already use an editor like Audacity, GarageBand, or a DAW, you can do it manually: find each word on the waveform, select it, and silence or reverse it. Expect to spend a while per song, since you have to find every word by ear. Without a vocal separation step, anything you silence takes the beat with it.

Before you play it for anyone

Listen to the whole thing, start to finish. Whatever tool you use, automatic or manual, words get missed. Slang, mumbled lines, and ad-libs in the background are the usual culprits. One listen before a class or event is what makes a clean version actually clean.

Also remember that editing a file doesn’t license it for public performance. If you play music in a studio, gym, or event, check that your venue or event has the licenses it needs.