Programs like Audacity make editing fairly straightforward - you can actually see where the gaps are, and can 'top and tail' each song/tune as needed.

Trying to edit 'on the fly' is inherently risky, as it is inevitable that the one bit you wanted recording happened just as you had hit pause! You can always delete the bits you don't want afterwards, but a missed opportunity is a different matter!

I do appreciate your original intention, but things have a habit of going off in another direction once you find out what can be done!