I'm having trouble adding multiple audio tracks in iMovie 11. I already have an audio track embedded with the video and a separate music track under. I wish to extend the music track further but need to cut it off at a certain point. I tried just adding the 2nd music track under the first but when I 'drop' the track it doesn't show up anywhere. How to Add Music in iMovie on iPhone or iPad If you edit a video with iMovie on your iPhone or iPad, you should: Open a video that you want to edit. Tap on any part of the timeline where you want to insert a new audio file.

1. Adding Itunes Songs To Imovie
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4. How To Import A Garageband Song Into Imovie

iMovie is the perfect tool for getting started with video editing. It’s pretty robust for a consumer-level app, and the best part is it’s free if you own a Mac. Once you’ve learned the basics of iMovie, you’ll be ready to take your video to the next level and learn how to add music in iMovie. While iMovie does have some built-in jingles and a link to your iTunes library, for unique, royalty-free tunes you’ll likely need to look elsewhere—like our music library.

How to Import Music into iMovie

Across the top of the browser, you’ll see different media types available to add to your iMovie projects such as My Media, Audio, and Titles. Any files—video and audio—imported from your computer will show up under the My Media tab. The audio tab is only for built-in sounds, Garageband files, and your iTunes Library. Import your file by clicking the downward arrow in the upper left corner of the window (highlighted in red below) and locating the file on your computer.

Under My Media, imported audio files will display as an audio waveform thumbnail. Hover the cursor over an audio clip and press the spacebar to listen to the file.

Adding Music to Your iMovie Project

To add the music track to your video, just drag it to your timeline.

Now your music track might be longer than your video. Keep in mind you can filter by track length in our music library, so it’s possible to find a track that is a close or exact match to your video. Here though, we’ll assume it’s not an exact fit. If the track is pretty long, you may want to use the slider to zoom out on your timeline until you can see the end of the track. Now you can click and drag the end of the track until it aligns to the end of your video. You should see it “snap” to the end when you’re there. You may need to trim and adjust a few times to get it to lock in. If you cut it too short, you can extend it back out again. Similarly, if you don’t want the music to begin right when the video begins, you can trim a little from the beginning. Learn more about how to cut music in iMovie.

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Fade in and Out to Prevent Abrupt Cuts

At this point, when you play back your project, the sound will stop at exactly the right time, but abruptly. We need a fade-out to prevent a sound cliff. Hover your cursor over the end of the audio track until you see a small dot appear. iMovie calls this a Fade Handle.

When you hover over the Fade Handle, your cursor will change to two triangles. Always note cursor changes in iMovie as a similar movement can have different results depending on slight changes in your cursor position. Drag the Fade Handle toward the center of the clip to adjust the duration of your fade. Fade Handles work at either end of any audio or video clip so you can fade the music both in and out.

Trimming Clips

So far we’ve assumed that you want to start your song right at the beginning of the track. But what if your video is only 15 seconds and the song doesn’t pick up until the 30-second mark? While we can click and drag to trim the clip from the beginning the same way we did for the end, for a more precise cut here let’s use the Clip Trimmer. Right-click your audio clip and choose Show Clip Trimmer.

The Clip Trimmer displays the clip in its entirety with the used section highlighted. Click and drag in the center of the highlighted portion to shift which section of the clip is used, while maintaining the overall duration of your music. Use the audio waveforms displayed as a visual for identifying the beginning of musical phrases. Press the spacebar to play back your project and click Close Clip Trimmer when you’re all set. If the new beginning sounds a little harsh, use the Fade Handle to create a fade in to open your video.

Adding music is a great way to make your video project complete, and you don’t need professional software to fit the music exactly how you want it. To go further with audio editing, check out this post. Practice makes perfect, and our audio library is filled with both music and sound effects to use in practice as well as large-scale productions.

You can add sounds to your iMovie project—in addition to or in place of the sound recorded with your video clips—to create a fun and professional finished video.

Add sound to an iMovie project on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can add a variety of audio files to your iMovie project:

• Built-in soundtrack music and sound effects included with iMovie.
• Songs you've downloaded to your device in the Music app.
• Your own custom songs created in an app like GarageBand or custom sound effects stored in iCloud Drive, on your device, or in another location.

And if you want to add voiceover narration, record it right into the timeline of your iMovie project.

Add songs to iMovie on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. With your project open in the timeline, tap the Add Media button .
2. Tap Audio, then tap an option:
   • To browse the built-in soundtracks, tap Soundtracks.
   • To browse songs you've downloaded to your device in the Music app, tap My Music.*
   • To browse songs stored in iCloud Drive or another location, tap My Music, then tap Files.
3. Tap a song to preview it. You might be prompted to download the song to your device before you can preview it.
4. To add the song to your project, tap the plus button next to a song. The song is added at the bottom of the project timeline, starting at the beginning of your project.
   

When you add a song, it automatically adjusts to fit the length of the project. You can change the length the song like you would any other clip. You can also use multiple songs in a project. For example, if you want to change the mood of the music over the course of your project, you can shorten the first song in the timeline, then place a different song after the first song.

If you add a song or other audio file that’s less than 1 minute long, it behaves the same as a sound effect in the project.

Add a sound effect in iMovie on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

With a sound effect, when you move a video clip the sound effect below it moves with the video clip, unlike songs, which are independent of video clips.

1. With your project open, scroll the timeline so that the playhead (the white vertical line) appears where you want to add the sound effect.
2. Tap the Add Media button , then tap Audio, then tap an option:
   • Tap Sound Effect to browse the built-in sound effects.
   • Tap My Music to access sound effects in your music library
   • Tap Files to access songs stored in iCloud Drive or other locations.
3. Tap a sound effect to preview it.
4. To add a sound effect to your project, tap an effect’s plus button .
   

Record voiceover in iMovie on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. With your project open, scroll the timeline so that the playhead (the white vertical line) appears over the location where you want to add your voiceover.
2. Tap the Voiceover button , then tap Record. Recording begins after a three-second countdown.
3. When you’re finished, tap Stop, then tap one of these options:
   • To listen to the recording, tap Review.
   • To keep the recording and add it to your project, tap Accept.
   • To redo the recording, tap Retake.
   • To delete the recording and close the recording controls, tap Cancel.

If you want to reuse a voiceover recording or browse other recordings you’ve made within iMovie, tap the Add Media button , tap Audio, tap My Music, then tap Recordings.

Adjust the volume of a clip in iMovie on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

After you add sound to your iMovie project, you can adjust the volume of audio clips to get the sound mix just right. You can also adjust the volume of video clips that were recorded with sound.

To adjust the volume of an audio or video clip, tap the clip in the timeline, tap the Volume button at the bottom of the window, then adjust the slider to increase or decrease the volume. When you turn the volume of a clip all the way down, a Mute icon appears on the clip in the timeline.

You can also make other adjustments, such as fading the volume of the clip or changing its speed. Learn how on iPhone and iPod touch, or learn how on iPad.

Add sound to an iMovie for Mac project

In iMovie for Mac, you can drag audio files right into your timeline from the Finder. You can also use songs or other audio files from your music library and other locations using the media browser within iMovie. And if you want to add voiceover narration, record it right into the timeline of your iMovie project.

Drag audio files into the iMovie project timeline on Mac

You can drag audio files like .mp4, .mp3, .wav, and .aif files from the Finder and the Desktop right into the timeline of your iMovie project. Audio files dragged into the timeline behave differently depending on where you drag them:

• If you want an audio file to stay with a particular video clip even if you move the video clip, drag the audio file just below the video clip so a bar connecting the clips appears. Use this to add sound effects or voiceover audio that you want to connect to a specific video clip in your project, no matter where the clip is in the timeline.
  

• If you drag an audio file to the music well, indicated by the musical note icon in the timeline, the audio clip won’t move if you move any video clips in the timeline. Use this to add background or theme music that plays throughout the entire project.
  

Add music and sound effects using the iMovie browser on Mac

You can browse and add content from your music library and built-in sound effects from within iMovie.

1. With your project open, click Audio at the top of the window, then choose an option:
   • To access your music library, click Music (or iTunes if you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier) in the Libraries list, then browse selections.*
   • To access built-in sound effects like footsteps or rain, click Sound Effects in the Libraries list.
2. To preview a song or sound effect before you add it to the timeline, click the play button next to each song or sound effect. You can also select a song or sound effect, click in the waveform at the top of the media browser, then press the Spacebar to preview.
3. When you’ve found the song or sound effect you like, drag it from the media browser to the timeline:
   • For background or theme music for your movie, drag songs to the music well.
   • To attach music or sound effects to a specific video clip, drag it under the video clip so a bar connecting the clips appears.

If you want to use a song you’ve created in GarageBand and access it from the iMovie browser, share your GarageBand project to the media browser in GarageBand.

Adding Itunes Songs To Imovie

Record voiceover in iMovie on Mac

You can record your own narration for your iMovie project without leaving the iMovie app.

How To Add A Song Into Imovie Converter

Adjust the volume of a clip in iMovie on Mac

Imovie How To Add Text

After you add video and audio to your movie, you can adjust the volume of clips and fade the audio of clips in and out.

Learn more

How To Import A Garageband Song Into Imovie

* If you've imported a song purchased from the iTunes Store into a project and there is no sound, or you can't import a particular song, the song is likely an iTunes Digital Rights Management- (DRM) protected music file and cannot be used in your project.