Click (acoustics)

A click is a sonic artifact in sound and music production, characteristically impulse-like, that is to say, almost instantaneous, sharp, aharmonic sound.

Analog recording artifact

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On magnetic tape recordings, clicks can occur when switching from magnetic play to record in order to correct recording errors and when recording a track in sections.{{Cite book |author=Eastman Kodak Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SJMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22removing+clicks%22 |title=Magnetic Sound Recording for Motion Pictures |date=1961 |publisher=The Company |pages=62–63 |language=en}} On phonograph records, clicks are perceived in various ways by the listener, ranging from tiny 'tick' noises which may occur in any recording medium through 'scratch' and 'crackle' noise commonly associated with analog disc recording methods. Analog clicks can occur due to dirt and dust on the grooves of the vinyl record or granularity in the material used for its manufacturing, or through damage to the disc from scratches on its surface.{{Cite book |last1=Kahrs |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFwKBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22click+removal%22&pg=PA137 |title=Applications of Digital Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics |last2=Brandenburg |first2=Karlheinz |date=2006-04-18 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-306-47042-4 |pages=137 |language=en}}

Digital recording artifact

In digital recording, clicks (not to be confused with the click track) can occur due to multiple issues. When recording through an audio interface, insufficient computer performance or audio driver issues can cause clicks, pops and dropouts. They can result from improper clock sources{{Cite book |last=Corey |first=Jason |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eD7UDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22audio+clicks%22&pg=PT196 |title=Audio Production and Critical Listening: Technical Ear Training |date=2016-08-12 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-317-54104-2 |language=en}} and buffer size. Also, clicks can be caused by electric devices near the computer or by faulty audio or mains cables.{{Cite web |title=Eradicating PC Audio Clicks & Pops |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/eradicating-pc-audio-clicks-pops |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=www.soundonsound.com}} In sample recording, digital clicks occur when the signal levels of two adjacent audio sections do not match. The abrupt change in gain can be perceived as a click.{{Cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0vsd5z2Rg4C&dq=%22digital+clicks%22&pg=PA260 |title=Digital Audio Essentials |last2=Fries |first2=Marty |date=2005 |publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc." |isbn=978-0-596-00856-7 |pages=260 |language=en}} In electronic music, clicks are used as a musical element, particularly in glitch and noise music, for example in the Clicks & Cuts Series (2000–2010).Philip Sherburne: "Click", www.mille-plateaux.net, 1998, [https://web.archive.org/web/20040420113405fw_/http://www.mille-plateaux.net/theory/download/p.sherburne.pdf PDF]{{Cite book |last=Krapp |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URATuAAACAAJ&q=krapp+noise+channels |title=Noise Channels: Glitch and Error in Digital Culture |date=2011 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-7625-5 |language=en}}

Speech noise

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In speech recording, click noises (not to be confused with click consonants) result from tongue movements, swallowing, mouth and saliva noises.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-20 |title=How to Remove Mouth Noises & Clicks in Audio |url=https://www.thepodcasthost.com/editing-production/how-to-remove-mouth-noises-in-audio/ |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=The Podcast Host |language=en}} While in voice-over recordings, click noises are undesirable, they can be used as a sound effect of close-miking in ASMR and pop music, e.g. in Bad Guy (2019) by Billie Eilish.{{Cite book |last=Sofer |first=Danielle Shlomit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LopGEAAAQBAJ&dq=mouth+clicking+asmr&pg=PA262 |title=Sex Sounds: Vectors of Difference in Electronic Music |date=2022-07-05 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-36205-4 |pages=262 |language=en}}

Click removal

In audio restoration and audio editing, hardware{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TWoJAQAAMAAJ&q=declickers+remove |title=High Fidelity |date=1977 |publisher=ABC Leisure Magazines |pages=6 |language=en}} and software{{Cite book |last=Réveillac |first=Jean-Michel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zAKfDwAAQBAJ&dq=declickers&pg=PA266 |title=Musical Sound Effects: Analog and Digital Sound Processing |date=2018-03-07 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-78630-131-4 |pages=266–267 |language=en}} de-clickers provide click removal or de-clicking{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDPIO01DLSUC&dq=declicking&pg=PA776 |title=Handbook of Signal Processing in Acoustics |date=2008 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-387-77698-9 |pages=776 |language=en}} features.{{Cite book |last1=Fries |first1=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0vsd5z2Rg4C&dq=%22click+removal%22+clicks&pg=PA267 |title=Digital Audio Essentials |last2=Fries |first2=Marty |date=2005 |publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc." |isbn=978-0-596-00856-7 |pages=267 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Schroder |first=Carla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Js4YfdpN55gC&dq=%22click+removal%22&pg=PA236 |title=The Book of Audacity: Record, Edit, Mix, and Master with the Free Audio Editor |date=2011 |publisher=No Starch Press |isbn=978-1-59327-270-8 |pages=236 |language=en}} A spectrogram can be used to visually detect clicks and crackles (corrective spectral editing).{{Cite book |last=Langford |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9achAQAAQBAJ&dq=declicking+spectrogram&pg=PA284 |title=Digital Audio Editing: Correcting and Enhancing Audio in Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, and Studio One |date=2013-10-01 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-134-11130-5 |pages=282–285 |language=en}}