Here, we show you how to add music to a video on both Windows and Mac computers. These tools work offline, so you don’t need to be connected to the internet to use them.
How to Add Music to a Video on Windows
Windows has both built-in, as well as third-party, tools that let you add music to your videos. Depending on your personal preference, you can use either of these tools to get your task done.
Add Music to a Video Using a Built-In Tool
If you would prefer not installing an app to put music on a video, you can use Windows’ built-in tool to do the task. Windows 10 actually comes with a basic video editor, and it’s good enough for most basic editing tasks.
You can use it to add any music files to your videos by doing the following:
Open the Start Menu, search for Video editor, and click Video editor. Click the New video project button to create a new project for your task. Type a name for your project and click OK. It’s time to add your video to the tool. Click Add, select From this PC, and select the video that you want to add music to. Once the video appears in the editor, right-click on the video and select Place in the storyboard. You can now add music to your video. To do this, click the Custom audio option at the top. Select Add the audio file on the right sidebar to select your music file. Use the markers to define the position for your music and then click Done. Click Finish video at the top to save your edited video.
Add Music to a Video Using a Third-Party Program
A third-party video editor will offer more features and control over how you add music to your videos. If you want more precision and don’t find that with Windows’ built-in editor, here’s an app that you can use.
OpenShot is a free and open-source video editor that offers a ton of features to edit your videos. You can use it to add music files, even multiple files at once, to any of your videos.
Here’s how you can use it:
Download, install, and launch OpenShot on your computer. Click the File menu at the top and select Import Files. Then, choose both your audio and video files to be added to the program. Both of your files will appear on the main interface. Right-click on your video and select Add to Timeline to add it to the timeline for editing. Select Track 5 as the Track for your video and hit OK. Right-click on your music file and select Add to Timeline. This time, choose Track 4 from the Track dropdown menu and click OK at the bottom. Click the play icon beneath the mini player and your music video will play. If everything looks good, click File > Export Project > Export Video to save your music video. Enter a name for your video, choose a save path, select a file format, and hit Export Video at the bottom.
How to Add Music to a Video on macOS
To put music on a video in macOS, you can use Apple’s very own video editor, iMovie. This app will let you quickly and easily add music to your videos. You can even import music files right from iTunes.
Here’s how:
Download and install the iMovie app, if you haven’t already done that. Open the app, click Create New, and select Movie to start a new video editing project. Once you see the timeline, click the File menu at the top and select Import Media. Then, choose the video file that you want to add music to. Use the above step to add your music files as well. If your music file is in iTunes, click the Audio option and select iTunes on the left. You’ll see your iTunes music files. Drag your video file over to the timeline and place it on the uppermost track. Drag your music track and place it right beneath your video file on the timeline. You can adjust the position of your music file so that it plays the way you want in your video. Click the play icon in the mini player to preview how your music video looks. If you are happy with it, click File > Share > File to export your video. Specify the options as to how you want to save your video and hit Next.
Tips for Adding Music to a Video
Adding music to a video is pretty easy, but here are some tips to help you ensure your music blends well with your video.
Fade-In and Fade-Out Effects
Most music files start and end abruptly, and this is where fade-in and fade-out effects can help. You can add these effects to your music file and your file will play smoothly—not starting or ending all of a sudden.
Ensuring Your Entire Video Has Music
More often than not, you’ll find that your music file is either shorter or longer than the length of your video. You will need to fix this, or your video will either have no sound in certain parts, or there will be music but no video to watch.
If your music file is shorter than the video file, you can add the same file to the timeline and use it again.
If your music file is longer than the video file, you can trim the unwanted parts of the file so it matches the total duration of your video.
Volume Level for Music
For as long as your music file is still independently available on the timeline, you can change its volume levels to ensure the volume isn’t too high or too low in certain parts of your video.
Make Videos More Engaging by Adding Music
There’s no doubt that music can greatly enhance your videos and turn them into something that people love to watch. There are many ways to add music to your videos as shown above, and it’s the easiest video editing task that anyone can do.
Those of you looking to further edit their videos should use a fully-featured video editing program. This kind of program has many features that will help you take your videos to the next level.
