Finding certain parts of a sound file is done through keyboard navigation, which involves playing the file and moving the playback marker until the area if interest is located. GoldWave includes many keys for playing different parts of the sound. They are listed in the following table. The amount that the marker is moved depends on the zoom level, explained in the section below.

The menu item must be checked for keyboard navigation to work.

Keyboard Navigation
Keystroke Action
Space Starts playback or stop it (toggles playback). The region that is played depends on the button settings.
J, K, L Rewinds, plays, and fast forwards respectively. Playback always starts at the playback marker position.
Shift+J, Shift+K, Shift+L Makes the playback speed slower, normal, and faster respectively.
F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8 Plays 1, plays 2, plays 3, rewinds, fast forwards, pauses, and stops respectively. See for the play button settings.
Ctrl+G Sets the playback marker to a specific time (go to).
H Starts playback relative to the mouse's horizontal position in the waveform.
Shift+[ Plays some audio up to the start marker. controls the amount of audio played or three seconds is played if that value is set to zero.
Shift+] Plays three seconds of audio up to the finish marker. controls the amount of audio played or three seconds is played if that value is set to zero.
Ctrl+[ Plays from the start marker to the finish marker.
Ctrl+] Plays from the finish marker to the end.
Left Move the playback marker backward.
Right Move the playback marker forward.
Page Up Moves the playback marker one screen backward.
Page Down Moves the playback marker one screen forward.
Home Moves the playback marker to the start marker's position.
End Moves the playback marker to the finish marker's position.
Ctrl+Home Moves the playback marker to the beginning of the sound.
Ctrl+End Moves the playback marker to the end of the sound (playback stops).