How do I add music to a video from my gallery?

Adding music to videos can greatly enhance the viewing experience and overall production value. Music helps set the mood, provides continuity, fills in quiet moments, and keeps viewers engaged. Selecting the right music for your video is crucial to achieve these benefits. According to Techsmith, ambient music adds atmosphere without being distracting while upbeat tracks bring energy to a video.

The process for adding music to a video from your gallery involves first choosing the right video clip and music track, downloading the music if necessary, importing both files into video editing software, syncing and trimming the music length, adjusting audio levels, adding fades if desired, and then exporting the completed video to share. With some simple editing, you can take your personal videos to the next level with a customized soundtrack.

Choose Your Video

The first step in adding music to a video from your gallery is to select the video you want to use. When choosing a video, there are a few things to consider:

Length – Most marketing videos should be two minutes or less, while social media videos can vary from a few seconds to a couple minutes depending on the platform (https://www.vidyard.com/blog/video-length/, https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-long-should-a-social-media-video-be/). Select a video that aligns with your goals.
Content – Consider what story you want to tell or message you want to convey, and choose a video with visuals that will enhance that. The content of the video should match the mood of the music you’ll add.
Mood – Pick a video that sets the right tone and elicits the desired emotional response from viewers.

Look through the videos in your camera roll or gallery and select one that best fits your needs in terms of length, content, and mood.

Pick the Right Song

Choosing the right song is crucial for setting the mood and tone of your video. Consider the tone and lyrics of potential songs and how they may enhance or alter the feeling of your visuals. As one study explained, “pairing music with visuals can have a significant influence on the perception of the music’s meaning and affective quality” (Source). For example, a lighthearted video edited to a sad song will come across much differently than if paired with an upbeat song.

Also pay attention to the length of the song. You’ll want one that matches the duration of your video or that can easily be edited to fit. Look for instrumentals without lyrics if you want the visuals to take center stage without distraction. With the right musical backdrop, you can set the perfect mood for your creation.

Download Music Files

There are a few legal options for downloading music to use in your videos. Some websites allow you to purchase and download individual songs or albums. iTunes and Amazon Music are popular choices for legally obtaining music downloads.

You can also use free music downloading sites like YouTube’s Audio Library, Jamendo, SoundCloud, and Free Music Archive. These sites offer songs you can download and use for free in your videos, as long as you follow their terms of use. The key is to avoid illegal downloading from unauthorized sites and to properly credit the artists as required.

When using any downloaded music, it’s important to make sure you have the rights to share the song in your video production. Purchased downloads typically allow personal use, but may require additional licensing for public or commercial videos. Always read the terms of use for any downloaded music to ensure your intended video use is permitted.

Add Music to Project

Once you have chosen your video and selected the music you want to add, the next step is to import the music into your video editing project. Here are the key steps for adding music to your video project:

First, open up your video project in your preferred editing app, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, iMovie, or Windows Movie Maker. Create a new project file and import the video clip you want to add music to.

Next, import your selected music track into the project timeline. Look for an “Import” or “Add Media” option in your editing app, and select the music file from your computer to add it to the timeline. Make sure to place the music track below the video clip in the timeline.

Most editing programs will allow you to drag and drop the music file directly into the timeline where you want it to start playing. Position the music track in the timeline so it starts and ends at the desired points relative to your video clip.

You may need to experiment with adding multiple music tracks for intro, outro, and background tracks. Most editors let you layer and overlap multiple music files in the timeline.

Now your music file is imported into the video project timeline and ready to be mixed and edited along with the video.

Trim the Music

Once you’ve added your music track to the video project, you’ll likely need to trim its length to fit the video. There are a couple ways to trim the audio:

You can adjust the length of the music file to fit the video clip length by dragging the edges of the music clip in the timeline. Simply hover over the beginning or end of the clip until you see the trim icon, then drag inwards to shorten the clip.

You can also use the editing tools to more precisely trim the beginning or end of the music clip. Double click the clip to open the editing window. Use the playhead and markers to set new start and end points, then click Trim to adjust the clip length. This allows you to tweak the timing down to the millisecond.

Trimming the music is crucial for creating a cohesive video that doesn’t have audio abruptly starting or stopping. Take the time to fine-tune the music length so it complements the video perfectly. See this guide for more tips on trimming music clips.

Adjust Audio Levels

When adding music to a video, it’s important to balance the audio level of the music with the existing sounds in the video, such as dialogue. You want the music to complement and support the video, not overpower it.

A good rule of thumb is to set the music at a lower volume than the dialogue or prominent sounds. Many experts recommend the music be around 10-15dB lower than the dialogue (Source 1). This gives you a solid buffer to avoid the music overtaking the other important sounds.

Listen through your video and adjust the music volume as needed. Lower the volume during sections with critical dialogue or sound effects. You can create a pleasant ambience with quiet background music, while still ensuring the key video sounds are distinct and clear.

Gradually fade the music out during loud sequences, and back in once they are over. Use volume automation to precisely control levels over time. With some careful balancing, you can make the music an integral part of the video experience.

Fade Audio In/Out

Fading your music in and out at the beginning and end of your video is a simple way to make the transitions smooth and professional. Using a fade helps the music blend seamlessly into the start of the video and gently taper off at the end. According to Clipchamp, you can add fades by adjusting sliders when editing your audio.

To add a fade in:

Drag the “fade in” slider to the right to determine the length of the fade in.
The more you drag it, the longer the fade in will be.

To add a fade out:

Drag the “fade out” slider to the right to determine the length of the fade out.
The more you drag it, the longer the fade out will be.

Get the fade length right so the music fades in and out smoothly, but not abruptly. Experiment to find the right fade length for your video. Fading audio is an easy way to add polish and professionalism to your video.

Export Completed Video

After you’ve finished editing your video and adding music, the next step is to export the video out of your editing application. This will allow you to save the final video file with the music and share it with others. When exporting, it’s important to choose output settings that will retain the original quality of your video without degrading it.

Most video editing apps like Adobe Premiere Pro allow you to export using presets optimized for sharing online or different resolutions. Generally, you’ll want to export using a high quality codec like H.264 and match the resolution of your original video clips. Avoid highly compressed codecs like AVCHD as this can reduce video quality. Choosing the right settings ensures your video exports quickly while maintaining the highest image quality.

The export settings window in your editing app will have options to include the audio track with the music you’ve added. Make sure this box is checked so the music gets rendered into the final export. Once your export finishes, preview the video to confirm the music plays as expected with the original video clips. Now you’re ready to upload and share your completed video!

Share Your Creation

Once your video with added music is complete, you’ll likely want to share it with others on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram. However, it’s important to be mindful of legal implications when it comes to sharing videos with copyrighted music.

In general, you need permission from the copyright holder to use a song in your video, even if you plan to share it for free. According to this article, you can contact the copyright owner directly to request permission to use their song. But this process can be time consuming.

Alternatively, sites like Facebook and Instagram offer certain licenses that allow you to use copyrighted music. For example, this source notes that Instagram offers a license to use certain songs on their platform. Be sure to check the social media site’s policies before uploading.

To avoid legal issues, consider using royalty-free music or music you created yourself. This gives you full rights to share your videos containing this music. Just be cautious about falsely claiming “I don’t own the rights to this music” without properly licensing it first.