Music is a powerful tool for video editing. It can set the mood, enhance the message, and create a memorable impression on your audience. But how do you choose the right music for your video, and how do you use it effectively? In this article, you'll learn some ways to use music in your video editing, from finding royalty-free tracks to syncing the audio with the visuals.
The first step is to find the music that suits your video's purpose, style, and tone. You can use your own original music, or you can browse online platforms that offer royalty-free music for creators. Some examples are YouTube Audio Library, SoundCloud, and Epidemic Sound. Make sure to check the license terms and give proper credit to the artists. You can also use music editing software, such as Audacity or GarageBand, to create your own custom tracks or remix existing ones.
When it comes to commercial content, all music used must be royalty-free. I cannot stress that enough! The easiest way I approach it is by editing in Capcut or Videoleap where there's a library of endless royalty-free sounds. I learned via the TikTok Creator Program that TikTok has its own library of sounds natively in-app as well.
I don't see incompetech.com in this list but that only goes to show how ancient I am in the content creation space. Nevertheless, picking the right music is of top priority for you as a creator. It dictates the difference between making the viewer feel angry and calm, sad and happy, funny and curious. Do not get too sucked into the process either, ensure you find the right balance of dedicating the appropriate time and not getting too engrossed in finding that exact tune. Understand its only going to run in the background and not as a stand alone track.
Na minha experiência como criadora de conteúdo, a trilha sonora desempenha um papel fundamental na cria??o de atmosfera, evocando emo??es e mantendo o interesse do espectador. Uma maneira eficaz de utilizar a música em sua edi??o é alinhá-la ao tom e à mensagem desejada. Seja para transmitir emo??o, criar suspense ou estimular a energia, a escolha cuidadosa da trilha sonora pode potencializar a narrativa visual. Encontrar a música certa e integrá-la de maneira consciente às escolhas editoriais pode transformar significativamente a qualidade e o impacto do seu projeto.
The next step is to match the music with the mood of your video. Think about what emotions you want to evoke in your viewers, and choose the music that reflects that. For example, if you want to create a cheerful and upbeat vibe, you can use music with a fast tempo, bright melodies, and positive lyrics. If you want to create a suspenseful and dramatic vibe, you can use music with a slow tempo, dark tones, and tense chords.
The third step is to sync the music with the visuals of your video. This means aligning the music with the key moments, transitions, and changes in your video. For example, you can use music cues, such as beats, pauses, and crescendos, to highlight important scenes, create contrast, or build anticipation. You can also use music to match the rhythm and pace of your video, such as using fast music for action sequences, or slow music for calm scenes.
This is very very important. Syncing the beats to your music is what makes your viewers/listeners go "aah". This process is completely automated these days though, there are plugins on Premiere Pro (including the default ones I'm guessing) and AI tools that perform this task for you. As with anything, balance is key so don't try to overdo it by syncing every single beat to a cut or effect.
TikTok is great at autosyncing audio with video. Use that feature to save time. Otherwise, I like Beat Sync in Canva for beginners and Riverside FM for more seasoned pros.
The fourth step is to adjust the music volume and quality to balance it with the other audio elements in your video, such as voiceovers, sound effects, and ambient noise. You can use music editing software or video editing software, such as iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro, to edit the music tracks. You can adjust the volume level, fade in and out, cut and trim, and apply filters and effects. You can also use equalizers, compressors, and limiters to improve the sound quality and clarity of your music.
Perfecting this skillset is the key between your viewers watching your content with rapt attention and them tuning off because they're straining their ears and trying very hard to simply listen. Fun Fact : Initial TV advertisers were instructed to have highly mixed music levels to jolt sleeping viewers out of their naps and tune them back to watching/consuming content. Hint: Ensure that the final content can be heard at 50% of your device volume to have an even spread across all devices and screens.
The fifth step is to mix and layer different music tracks to create a richer and more diverse sound for your video. You can use music editing software or video editing software to combine multiple music tracks, such as adding background music, foreground music, and transitional music. You can also use different genres, instruments, and styles of music to create contrast, variety, and harmony. For example, you can use classical music for a historical video, or electronic music for a futuristic video.
The final step is to experiment and have fun with music in your video editing. You can try different music tracks, styles, and effects, and see how they affect your video's mood, message, and impact. You can also get feedback from your viewers, peers, and mentors, and learn from their suggestions and critiques. You can also watch other creators' videos, and get inspired by their music choices and techniques. Remember, music is a creative expression, and there is no right or wrong way to use it in your video editing.
Always keep a draft on hand within the original editing software. Keep folders of clips in the cloud too. You never know when you'll need to go back and edit and you don't want to have to start all over again from scratch.