Cutting-Edge Audio Tricks for a Polished iMovie Experience

All You Need to Know About iMovie Audio Editing

Marion Dubois

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

iMovie offers a fantastic platform for video editing where you can merge multiple video clips to create something very phenomenal. Plus, it’s simply here to navigate between different scenes, edit video clips and save results directly to the digital format without making any videotape transformations.

It provides lots of things to beginners and professionals with its easy-to-use interface without any quality loss for your results even after adding lots of transitions, changes, and effects.

However, it is not accessible to master software, precisely when you’re not familiar with it, or you’re not its professional user. So today, we’d like to explore or pay attention to iMovie’s audio editing steps, tips, and tricks to help you become an iMovie master quickly.

What’s more, a practical yet professional iMovie alternative software is also advisable in this guide. So when the iMovie cannot fulfil your editing requirements, why don’t you hop on an iMovie alternative software?

Now, let’s get started!

Part 1: How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie?

To learn how to edit audio clips in iMovie, you can use actions in the menu along with the quick shortcuts to make adjustments to your audio clips in iMovie on Mac. It’s a tip for your convenience!

Trim Audio Clips

There are a couple of options to trim an audio clip in iMovie.

#1. Trim to Playhead

You can place the playhead in your timeline. Now, trim an audio clip to that exact spot. Next, start moving the playhead and do one from the following.

• Select Modify > Trim to Playhead option in the menu bar.
• Right-click the audio clip and select the option of Trim to Playhead in the shortcut menu.

#2. Use the Clip Trimmer

You can use the Clip Trimmer to trim an exact section of the clip.

Step 1. Right-click the audio clip and select Show Clip Trimmer in the shortcut menu.

Step 2. After the Clip Trimmer shows, select a section you wish to trim by dragging the arrows right and left while holding the white lines. The area within those lines is what will get entirely deleted.

Move the entire clip but keep the trim area in place if arrows turn to a film strip icon.

Step 3. Click Close Clip Trimmer after you finish this section.

Shorten or Lengthen Audio Clips

You can easily shorten or lengthen an audio clip in iMovie. Just choose the pin in the timeline and drag one of its edges. The duration of the clip change will change as you carry. And a new course will be displayed after you finish in the upper left menu.

You can also set the clip’s duration to an exact time. Select the clip in the timeline and hit the Clip Information (small letter “i”) tab located above the Viewer. Put the value of the time you want in seconds in the Duration box on the right.

Change the Speed of an Audio Clip

You may want to speed up or slow down an audio clip while editing music in iMovie. So, here’s what you need to do!

Method 1. Click the Speed button above the Viewer. Next, select Custom in the Speed drop-down box and enter a percentage next to it. You can also set a different speed in that box if you prefer.

Method 2. Right-click the clip and select Show Speed Editor from the shortcut menu. A slider will then display at the top of the clip that you can move to change the speed.

Adjust the Volume of an Audio Clip

You can set the audio clip’s volume at higher or lower, or even mute it. Just select the clip and then do one of the following.

• Select the Volume tab above the Viewer option and move the slider to the percentage of volume. Hit the Mute button to mute the audio clip.
• Tap inside the clip, and when the two-sided arrow appears, drag up or down to adjust the volume.

Fade an Audio Clip

While editing audio in iMovie, you can also fade in or out the clip. Choose a clip in the timeline and then drag the fade handle (small circle) at either the ending or the beginning of the clip to make a fade-out or a fade-in effect.

As you drag, you will see the arcs displaying the shadow for the clips fade in or fade out.

How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie on iOS?

The iMovie timeline is where you sort or organize all your audio clips, such as the special effects and background music. Audio clips are always present below the video clips in the timeline. To edit audio clips in iMovie on your iPhones or iPads, you can follow the guide belo

Move an Audio Clip

You can transfer the whole audio clip, except the background music, to another location.

• Touch and hold the purple or blue audio clip with your project open in the timeline until it comes over the timeline bar.
• Drag the clip to another place and release.

Adjust the Audio Clip’s Duration

Step 1. While the project is launched in the timeline, tap the audio clip (in blue or purple) or the background music clip you wish to adjust.

Step 2. Now, you can see the display of yellow trim handles. Drag them either at the end of the clip to the points where you wish the audio to start and end. If a trim handle won’t move left or right, it simply indicates there is no additional audio to work with on that clip’s end.

Step 3. Tap outside the audio clip and let the trim handles disappear.

Split an Audio Clip

There are around two options to split audio clips in iMovie. You can remove unwanted parts or adjust each section’s duration, volume, or speed while you split a clip.

Step 1. With your launched project in the timeline, scroll the timeline to the playhead’s position where you want to split the audio.

Step 2. Click the audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 3. Now, click the Actions button, and select the Split tab.

Or, you can tap the clip (it becomes outlined in yellow), then swipe above the playhead as if you were placing your finger to slide over it.

Detach the Audio Part from a Video

You can detach the video clip’s audio to remove or edit it as a separate video clip.

Step 1. When the project is open in the timeline, select a video clip and display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Tap the Actions button, then tap Detach.

Step 3. A new blue-colored audio clip will then appear below the video project. You can now move, edit, or delete the audio clip separately from its parent video clip.

Move Audio to the Foreground or Background

To ensure the sound in your video clips can listen above the background music, iMovie implies audio “ducking”. Ducking lowers the background music clips’ volume whenever there’s a video clip whose sound is playing simultaneously.

You can select which audio clips are in the foreground or the background.

Step 1. Select the timeline’s audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Hit the Actions tab and proceed with selecting the Foreground or Background.

The clip color changes to indicate whether it’s the background music (green) or foreground audio (blue or purple).

Part 2: An Easier Way to Edit Audio Clips

Windows users might be wandering for an alternative to iMovie as this software tool is only compatible with Mac and iOS devices. You will be thrilled to know that Wondershare Filmora can serve you with all synonymous and extra features more than the iMovie, and it works significantly in the Windows environment.

This latest software tool also assists users with easy video editing tricks and the intuitive interface that best serves quality editing to beginners and professionals.

Despite the basic video editing features, such as trimming, splitting, merging, cutting, and cropping, Filmora also offers various advanced editing elements that are far better than iMovie. And, with its video editing features, you can make a green screen effect, stabilize your video footage, reverse your video clip, and more.

Moreover, you can enjoy royalty-free music tracks for different themes, such as Young and Bright, Tender and Sentimental, Rock, Folk, Electronic Rock, and Hipster Folk, for selection.

All this will be available with a single program called Wondershare Filmora to take advantage of them for free. You do not have to search the background music files like a needle in a haystack. The program has nicely organized the music themes into six different folders. You can apply it for your video and make advanced editing, such as split/trim the clip, adjust the playback speed, pitch, volume, etc.

How to Edit Audio with Wondershare Filmora?

In Wondershare Filmora, you can insert background music and other files from the audio library or your computer. You can even record your voiceover using it.

Add Background Music

Filmora provides a royalty-free music library you can access or import your music within the program. You can select a song from the royalty-free audio library and use it for free.

The audio library has categorized into: YOUNG & BRIGHT, TENDER & SENTIMENTAL, ROCK, FOLK, and ELECTRONIC. The different kinds of sound effects are also available under the Sound Effects tab.

Once you find a sound effect or a song, either right-click on it and go with the Apply or drag and drop it into an audio track in the timeline.

Or, you can click the Import button above the Media Library panel to browse for audio files in your PC system. Then, select and import it into the Media Library when you find the song or other audio files you wish to add.

Once you place the song in the timeline, double-click to edit it in the Audio editing panel. You can apply fade-in or fade-out effects or adjust the pitch and volume. Filmora lets you add up to 100 audio tracks.

Split Audio Clips

Choose your audio clip and place the playhead where you want to split it, then right-click on the clip and choose the Split tab or click the Split icon right above on the toolbar.

Adjust Audio Settings

Double click on the audio clip to make adjustments to your audio. Open a panel with adjustment sliders in the timeline for pitch and volume.

Another element that you’ll find in this panel is Denoise, which is a feature that can remove background noise from your audio clips.

For a more professional audio editing experience, you can also access the Audio Equalizer from this panel. Select from presets or make manual adjustments by hitting the Customize tab.

Play it when you are done and, if you’re not happy with the results, tap the Reset button to start over.

Audio Equalizer (EQ)

All videos have plenty of sounds like speech, music, or sound effects. Changing the strength of sound waves will help you to mix these sounds within a coherent soundtrack.

Locate your audio clip in an audio track and double-click on it to open the Audio settings menu window. A drop-down menu next to the Equalizer feature will display presets such as Classic, Default, Rock’n’Roll, Techno, Sparkle, Bass, Hard Rock, Pop, Ska, Blues, Folk, Acoustic, Custom, or Country. Choose the preset that best fits your current needs and hit the OK tab to apply it.

Now, hit the Customize tab next to the drop-down bar to adjust the Audio Equalizer manually. Drag the sliders up or down and make the adjustments until you find their ideal value. Finally, hit OK and save your settings.

Besides the included music tracks and sound effects in Filmora initially, you can also find more audio files from Filmora’s effects store – Filmstock, and even get some free music and sound.

Part 3: iMovie Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

iMovie is a great video editor for Mac computers. After understanding the best alternative of iMovie sound editin g, let’s check out some tips on editing audio in iMovie best.

The explanations and screenshots below are for iMovie 10 only. However, the steps are a bit similar to older versions.

So, here we go!

1. Use Waveforms to See What You Hear

To properly edit the audio track in iMovie, you need a good pair of headphones and speakers to hear the sound, but you also need to check the sound.

You can check the sound in iMovie by considering the waveforms on each clip. If the waveforms can’t be seen, go to the View drop-down menu and choose the Show Waveforms option. The clip size for your project can also adjust to get an even better appearance for each video clip.

The waveforms will display the volume level of a clip and give you a good idea of what sections will require to turn up or down. You can also check how the levels of different clips compare to one another.

2. Audio Adjustments

With the help of Adjust tab in the top right, you can access some basic audio editing tools for changing your selected clip’s volume or changing the volume of other relative clips in the project.

The adjustment window of audio also provides basic audio equalization and noise reduction tools, along with a range of effects - from echo to robot - that will change the way people in your video sound.

3. Edit Audio with the Timeline

iMovie assists you in adjusting the audio within the clips themselves. Each pin has a volume bar, moving up and down to decrease or increase the audio level. The clips also contain Fade In and Fade Out tabs at the beginning and end, dragging to adjust the fade’s length.

By adding a short fade effect, whether in or out, the sound becomes relatively smoother and less conflicting to the ear when a new clip begins.

4. Detach the Audio

By default, iMovie keeps the video and audio sections of clips together for convenience. Yet, you want to use the video and audio sections of a clip separately sometimes.

For this purpose, choose your clip in the timeline, visit the Modify drop-down menu, and hit the Detach Audio button. You’ll now have two clips - one with the images and another with the sound.

A lot you can do with the detached audio. For instance, you could extend the audio clip to begin before the video plays, or so that it plays for a few seconds even after the video fades out. You could also cut out pieces from the audio’s middle portion while leaving the video intact.

Conclusion

Coming towards the end of the discussion, after understanding iMovie audio editingand going through an elaborated alternative of iMovie application, we decided that Wondershare Filmora sounds the best out of it. It allows you to flawlessly edit video and audio files on your desktop, with various inbuilt royalty-free music tracks to select from that can further improve your project’s presence.

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

iMovie offers a fantastic platform for video editing where you can merge multiple video clips to create something very phenomenal. Plus, it’s simply here to navigate between different scenes, edit video clips and save results directly to the digital format without making any videotape transformations.

It provides lots of things to beginners and professionals with its easy-to-use interface without any quality loss for your results even after adding lots of transitions, changes, and effects.

However, it is not accessible to master software, precisely when you’re not familiar with it, or you’re not its professional user. So today, we’d like to explore or pay attention to iMovie’s audio editing steps, tips, and tricks to help you become an iMovie master quickly.

What’s more, a practical yet professional iMovie alternative software is also advisable in this guide. So when the iMovie cannot fulfil your editing requirements, why don’t you hop on an iMovie alternative software?

Now, let’s get started!

Part 1: How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie?

To learn how to edit audio clips in iMovie, you can use actions in the menu along with the quick shortcuts to make adjustments to your audio clips in iMovie on Mac. It’s a tip for your convenience!

Trim Audio Clips

There are a couple of options to trim an audio clip in iMovie.

#1. Trim to Playhead

You can place the playhead in your timeline. Now, trim an audio clip to that exact spot. Next, start moving the playhead and do one from the following.

• Select Modify > Trim to Playhead option in the menu bar.
• Right-click the audio clip and select the option of Trim to Playhead in the shortcut menu.

#2. Use the Clip Trimmer

You can use the Clip Trimmer to trim an exact section of the clip.

Step 1. Right-click the audio clip and select Show Clip Trimmer in the shortcut menu.

Step 2. After the Clip Trimmer shows, select a section you wish to trim by dragging the arrows right and left while holding the white lines. The area within those lines is what will get entirely deleted.

Move the entire clip but keep the trim area in place if arrows turn to a film strip icon.

Step 3. Click Close Clip Trimmer after you finish this section.

Shorten or Lengthen Audio Clips

You can easily shorten or lengthen an audio clip in iMovie. Just choose the pin in the timeline and drag one of its edges. The duration of the clip change will change as you carry. And a new course will be displayed after you finish in the upper left menu.

You can also set the clip’s duration to an exact time. Select the clip in the timeline and hit the Clip Information (small letter “i”) tab located above the Viewer. Put the value of the time you want in seconds in the Duration box on the right.

Change the Speed of an Audio Clip

You may want to speed up or slow down an audio clip while editing music in iMovie. So, here’s what you need to do!

Method 1. Click the Speed button above the Viewer. Next, select Custom in the Speed drop-down box and enter a percentage next to it. You can also set a different speed in that box if you prefer.

Method 2. Right-click the clip and select Show Speed Editor from the shortcut menu. A slider will then display at the top of the clip that you can move to change the speed.

Adjust the Volume of an Audio Clip

You can set the audio clip’s volume at higher or lower, or even mute it. Just select the clip and then do one of the following.

• Select the Volume tab above the Viewer option and move the slider to the percentage of volume. Hit the Mute button to mute the audio clip.
• Tap inside the clip, and when the two-sided arrow appears, drag up or down to adjust the volume.

Fade an Audio Clip

While editing audio in iMovie, you can also fade in or out the clip. Choose a clip in the timeline and then drag the fade handle (small circle) at either the ending or the beginning of the clip to make a fade-out or a fade-in effect.

As you drag, you will see the arcs displaying the shadow for the clips fade in or fade out.

How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie on iOS?

The iMovie timeline is where you sort or organize all your audio clips, such as the special effects and background music. Audio clips are always present below the video clips in the timeline. To edit audio clips in iMovie on your iPhones or iPads, you can follow the guide belo

Move an Audio Clip

You can transfer the whole audio clip, except the background music, to another location.

• Touch and hold the purple or blue audio clip with your project open in the timeline until it comes over the timeline bar.
• Drag the clip to another place and release.

Adjust the Audio Clip’s Duration

Step 1. While the project is launched in the timeline, tap the audio clip (in blue or purple) or the background music clip you wish to adjust.

Step 2. Now, you can see the display of yellow trim handles. Drag them either at the end of the clip to the points where you wish the audio to start and end. If a trim handle won’t move left or right, it simply indicates there is no additional audio to work with on that clip’s end.

Step 3. Tap outside the audio clip and let the trim handles disappear.

Split an Audio Clip

There are around two options to split audio clips in iMovie. You can remove unwanted parts or adjust each section’s duration, volume, or speed while you split a clip.

Step 1. With your launched project in the timeline, scroll the timeline to the playhead’s position where you want to split the audio.

Step 2. Click the audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 3. Now, click the Actions button, and select the Split tab.

Or, you can tap the clip (it becomes outlined in yellow), then swipe above the playhead as if you were placing your finger to slide over it.

Detach the Audio Part from a Video

You can detach the video clip’s audio to remove or edit it as a separate video clip.

Step 1. When the project is open in the timeline, select a video clip and display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Tap the Actions button, then tap Detach.

Step 3. A new blue-colored audio clip will then appear below the video project. You can now move, edit, or delete the audio clip separately from its parent video clip.

Move Audio to the Foreground or Background

To ensure the sound in your video clips can listen above the background music, iMovie implies audio “ducking”. Ducking lowers the background music clips’ volume whenever there’s a video clip whose sound is playing simultaneously.

You can select which audio clips are in the foreground or the background.

Step 1. Select the timeline’s audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Hit the Actions tab and proceed with selecting the Foreground or Background.

The clip color changes to indicate whether it’s the background music (green) or foreground audio (blue or purple).

Part 2: An Easier Way to Edit Audio Clips

Windows users might be wandering for an alternative to iMovie as this software tool is only compatible with Mac and iOS devices. You will be thrilled to know that Wondershare Filmora can serve you with all synonymous and extra features more than the iMovie, and it works significantly in the Windows environment.

This latest software tool also assists users with easy video editing tricks and the intuitive interface that best serves quality editing to beginners and professionals.

Despite the basic video editing features, such as trimming, splitting, merging, cutting, and cropping, Filmora also offers various advanced editing elements that are far better than iMovie. And, with its video editing features, you can make a green screen effect, stabilize your video footage, reverse your video clip, and more.

Moreover, you can enjoy royalty-free music tracks for different themes, such as Young and Bright, Tender and Sentimental, Rock, Folk, Electronic Rock, and Hipster Folk, for selection.

All this will be available with a single program called Wondershare Filmora to take advantage of them for free. You do not have to search the background music files like a needle in a haystack. The program has nicely organized the music themes into six different folders. You can apply it for your video and make advanced editing, such as split/trim the clip, adjust the playback speed, pitch, volume, etc.

How to Edit Audio with Wondershare Filmora?

In Wondershare Filmora, you can insert background music and other files from the audio library or your computer. You can even record your voiceover using it.

Add Background Music

Filmora provides a royalty-free music library you can access or import your music within the program. You can select a song from the royalty-free audio library and use it for free.

The audio library has categorized into: YOUNG & BRIGHT, TENDER & SENTIMENTAL, ROCK, FOLK, and ELECTRONIC. The different kinds of sound effects are also available under the Sound Effects tab.

Once you find a sound effect or a song, either right-click on it and go with the Apply or drag and drop it into an audio track in the timeline.

Or, you can click the Import button above the Media Library panel to browse for audio files in your PC system. Then, select and import it into the Media Library when you find the song or other audio files you wish to add.

Once you place the song in the timeline, double-click to edit it in the Audio editing panel. You can apply fade-in or fade-out effects or adjust the pitch and volume. Filmora lets you add up to 100 audio tracks.

Split Audio Clips

Choose your audio clip and place the playhead where you want to split it, then right-click on the clip and choose the Split tab or click the Split icon right above on the toolbar.

Adjust Audio Settings

Double click on the audio clip to make adjustments to your audio. Open a panel with adjustment sliders in the timeline for pitch and volume.

Another element that you’ll find in this panel is Denoise, which is a feature that can remove background noise from your audio clips.

For a more professional audio editing experience, you can also access the Audio Equalizer from this panel. Select from presets or make manual adjustments by hitting the Customize tab.

Play it when you are done and, if you’re not happy with the results, tap the Reset button to start over.

Audio Equalizer (EQ)

All videos have plenty of sounds like speech, music, or sound effects. Changing the strength of sound waves will help you to mix these sounds within a coherent soundtrack.

Locate your audio clip in an audio track and double-click on it to open the Audio settings menu window. A drop-down menu next to the Equalizer feature will display presets such as Classic, Default, Rock’n’Roll, Techno, Sparkle, Bass, Hard Rock, Pop, Ska, Blues, Folk, Acoustic, Custom, or Country. Choose the preset that best fits your current needs and hit the OK tab to apply it.

Now, hit the Customize tab next to the drop-down bar to adjust the Audio Equalizer manually. Drag the sliders up or down and make the adjustments until you find their ideal value. Finally, hit OK and save your settings.

Besides the included music tracks and sound effects in Filmora initially, you can also find more audio files from Filmora’s effects store – Filmstock, and even get some free music and sound.

Part 3: iMovie Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

iMovie is a great video editor for Mac computers. After understanding the best alternative of iMovie sound editin g, let’s check out some tips on editing audio in iMovie best.

The explanations and screenshots below are for iMovie 10 only. However, the steps are a bit similar to older versions.

So, here we go!

1. Use Waveforms to See What You Hear

To properly edit the audio track in iMovie, you need a good pair of headphones and speakers to hear the sound, but you also need to check the sound.

You can check the sound in iMovie by considering the waveforms on each clip. If the waveforms can’t be seen, go to the View drop-down menu and choose the Show Waveforms option. The clip size for your project can also adjust to get an even better appearance for each video clip.

The waveforms will display the volume level of a clip and give you a good idea of what sections will require to turn up or down. You can also check how the levels of different clips compare to one another.

2. Audio Adjustments

With the help of Adjust tab in the top right, you can access some basic audio editing tools for changing your selected clip’s volume or changing the volume of other relative clips in the project.

The adjustment window of audio also provides basic audio equalization and noise reduction tools, along with a range of effects - from echo to robot - that will change the way people in your video sound.

3. Edit Audio with the Timeline

iMovie assists you in adjusting the audio within the clips themselves. Each pin has a volume bar, moving up and down to decrease or increase the audio level. The clips also contain Fade In and Fade Out tabs at the beginning and end, dragging to adjust the fade’s length.

By adding a short fade effect, whether in or out, the sound becomes relatively smoother and less conflicting to the ear when a new clip begins.

4. Detach the Audio

By default, iMovie keeps the video and audio sections of clips together for convenience. Yet, you want to use the video and audio sections of a clip separately sometimes.

For this purpose, choose your clip in the timeline, visit the Modify drop-down menu, and hit the Detach Audio button. You’ll now have two clips - one with the images and another with the sound.

A lot you can do with the detached audio. For instance, you could extend the audio clip to begin before the video plays, or so that it plays for a few seconds even after the video fades out. You could also cut out pieces from the audio’s middle portion while leaving the video intact.

Conclusion

Coming towards the end of the discussion, after understanding iMovie audio editingand going through an elaborated alternative of iMovie application, we decided that Wondershare Filmora sounds the best out of it. It allows you to flawlessly edit video and audio files on your desktop, with various inbuilt royalty-free music tracks to select from that can further improve your project’s presence.

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

iMovie offers a fantastic platform for video editing where you can merge multiple video clips to create something very phenomenal. Plus, it’s simply here to navigate between different scenes, edit video clips and save results directly to the digital format without making any videotape transformations.

It provides lots of things to beginners and professionals with its easy-to-use interface without any quality loss for your results even after adding lots of transitions, changes, and effects.

However, it is not accessible to master software, precisely when you’re not familiar with it, or you’re not its professional user. So today, we’d like to explore or pay attention to iMovie’s audio editing steps, tips, and tricks to help you become an iMovie master quickly.

What’s more, a practical yet professional iMovie alternative software is also advisable in this guide. So when the iMovie cannot fulfil your editing requirements, why don’t you hop on an iMovie alternative software?

Now, let’s get started!

Part 1: How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie?

To learn how to edit audio clips in iMovie, you can use actions in the menu along with the quick shortcuts to make adjustments to your audio clips in iMovie on Mac. It’s a tip for your convenience!

Trim Audio Clips

There are a couple of options to trim an audio clip in iMovie.

#1. Trim to Playhead

You can place the playhead in your timeline. Now, trim an audio clip to that exact spot. Next, start moving the playhead and do one from the following.

• Select Modify > Trim to Playhead option in the menu bar.
• Right-click the audio clip and select the option of Trim to Playhead in the shortcut menu.

#2. Use the Clip Trimmer

You can use the Clip Trimmer to trim an exact section of the clip.

Step 1. Right-click the audio clip and select Show Clip Trimmer in the shortcut menu.

Step 2. After the Clip Trimmer shows, select a section you wish to trim by dragging the arrows right and left while holding the white lines. The area within those lines is what will get entirely deleted.

Move the entire clip but keep the trim area in place if arrows turn to a film strip icon.

Step 3. Click Close Clip Trimmer after you finish this section.

Shorten or Lengthen Audio Clips

You can easily shorten or lengthen an audio clip in iMovie. Just choose the pin in the timeline and drag one of its edges. The duration of the clip change will change as you carry. And a new course will be displayed after you finish in the upper left menu.

You can also set the clip’s duration to an exact time. Select the clip in the timeline and hit the Clip Information (small letter “i”) tab located above the Viewer. Put the value of the time you want in seconds in the Duration box on the right.

Change the Speed of an Audio Clip

You may want to speed up or slow down an audio clip while editing music in iMovie. So, here’s what you need to do!

Method 1. Click the Speed button above the Viewer. Next, select Custom in the Speed drop-down box and enter a percentage next to it. You can also set a different speed in that box if you prefer.

Method 2. Right-click the clip and select Show Speed Editor from the shortcut menu. A slider will then display at the top of the clip that you can move to change the speed.

Adjust the Volume of an Audio Clip

You can set the audio clip’s volume at higher or lower, or even mute it. Just select the clip and then do one of the following.

• Select the Volume tab above the Viewer option and move the slider to the percentage of volume. Hit the Mute button to mute the audio clip.
• Tap inside the clip, and when the two-sided arrow appears, drag up or down to adjust the volume.

Fade an Audio Clip

While editing audio in iMovie, you can also fade in or out the clip. Choose a clip in the timeline and then drag the fade handle (small circle) at either the ending or the beginning of the clip to make a fade-out or a fade-in effect.

As you drag, you will see the arcs displaying the shadow for the clips fade in or fade out.

How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie on iOS?

The iMovie timeline is where you sort or organize all your audio clips, such as the special effects and background music. Audio clips are always present below the video clips in the timeline. To edit audio clips in iMovie on your iPhones or iPads, you can follow the guide belo

Move an Audio Clip

You can transfer the whole audio clip, except the background music, to another location.

• Touch and hold the purple or blue audio clip with your project open in the timeline until it comes over the timeline bar.
• Drag the clip to another place and release.

Adjust the Audio Clip’s Duration

Step 1. While the project is launched in the timeline, tap the audio clip (in blue or purple) or the background music clip you wish to adjust.

Step 2. Now, you can see the display of yellow trim handles. Drag them either at the end of the clip to the points where you wish the audio to start and end. If a trim handle won’t move left or right, it simply indicates there is no additional audio to work with on that clip’s end.

Step 3. Tap outside the audio clip and let the trim handles disappear.

Split an Audio Clip

There are around two options to split audio clips in iMovie. You can remove unwanted parts or adjust each section’s duration, volume, or speed while you split a clip.

Step 1. With your launched project in the timeline, scroll the timeline to the playhead’s position where you want to split the audio.

Step 2. Click the audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 3. Now, click the Actions button, and select the Split tab.

Or, you can tap the clip (it becomes outlined in yellow), then swipe above the playhead as if you were placing your finger to slide over it.

Detach the Audio Part from a Video

You can detach the video clip’s audio to remove or edit it as a separate video clip.

Step 1. When the project is open in the timeline, select a video clip and display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Tap the Actions button, then tap Detach.

Step 3. A new blue-colored audio clip will then appear below the video project. You can now move, edit, or delete the audio clip separately from its parent video clip.

Move Audio to the Foreground or Background

To ensure the sound in your video clips can listen above the background music, iMovie implies audio “ducking”. Ducking lowers the background music clips’ volume whenever there’s a video clip whose sound is playing simultaneously.

You can select which audio clips are in the foreground or the background.

Step 1. Select the timeline’s audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Hit the Actions tab and proceed with selecting the Foreground or Background.

The clip color changes to indicate whether it’s the background music (green) or foreground audio (blue or purple).

Part 2: An Easier Way to Edit Audio Clips

Windows users might be wandering for an alternative to iMovie as this software tool is only compatible with Mac and iOS devices. You will be thrilled to know that Wondershare Filmora can serve you with all synonymous and extra features more than the iMovie, and it works significantly in the Windows environment.

This latest software tool also assists users with easy video editing tricks and the intuitive interface that best serves quality editing to beginners and professionals.

Despite the basic video editing features, such as trimming, splitting, merging, cutting, and cropping, Filmora also offers various advanced editing elements that are far better than iMovie. And, with its video editing features, you can make a green screen effect, stabilize your video footage, reverse your video clip, and more.

Moreover, you can enjoy royalty-free music tracks for different themes, such as Young and Bright, Tender and Sentimental, Rock, Folk, Electronic Rock, and Hipster Folk, for selection.

All this will be available with a single program called Wondershare Filmora to take advantage of them for free. You do not have to search the background music files like a needle in a haystack. The program has nicely organized the music themes into six different folders. You can apply it for your video and make advanced editing, such as split/trim the clip, adjust the playback speed, pitch, volume, etc.

How to Edit Audio with Wondershare Filmora?

In Wondershare Filmora, you can insert background music and other files from the audio library or your computer. You can even record your voiceover using it.

Add Background Music

Filmora provides a royalty-free music library you can access or import your music within the program. You can select a song from the royalty-free audio library and use it for free.

The audio library has categorized into: YOUNG & BRIGHT, TENDER & SENTIMENTAL, ROCK, FOLK, and ELECTRONIC. The different kinds of sound effects are also available under the Sound Effects tab.

Once you find a sound effect or a song, either right-click on it and go with the Apply or drag and drop it into an audio track in the timeline.

Or, you can click the Import button above the Media Library panel to browse for audio files in your PC system. Then, select and import it into the Media Library when you find the song or other audio files you wish to add.

Once you place the song in the timeline, double-click to edit it in the Audio editing panel. You can apply fade-in or fade-out effects or adjust the pitch and volume. Filmora lets you add up to 100 audio tracks.

Split Audio Clips

Choose your audio clip and place the playhead where you want to split it, then right-click on the clip and choose the Split tab or click the Split icon right above on the toolbar.

Adjust Audio Settings

Double click on the audio clip to make adjustments to your audio. Open a panel with adjustment sliders in the timeline for pitch and volume.

Another element that you’ll find in this panel is Denoise, which is a feature that can remove background noise from your audio clips.

For a more professional audio editing experience, you can also access the Audio Equalizer from this panel. Select from presets or make manual adjustments by hitting the Customize tab.

Play it when you are done and, if you’re not happy with the results, tap the Reset button to start over.

Audio Equalizer (EQ)

All videos have plenty of sounds like speech, music, or sound effects. Changing the strength of sound waves will help you to mix these sounds within a coherent soundtrack.

Locate your audio clip in an audio track and double-click on it to open the Audio settings menu window. A drop-down menu next to the Equalizer feature will display presets such as Classic, Default, Rock’n’Roll, Techno, Sparkle, Bass, Hard Rock, Pop, Ska, Blues, Folk, Acoustic, Custom, or Country. Choose the preset that best fits your current needs and hit the OK tab to apply it.

Now, hit the Customize tab next to the drop-down bar to adjust the Audio Equalizer manually. Drag the sliders up or down and make the adjustments until you find their ideal value. Finally, hit OK and save your settings.

Besides the included music tracks and sound effects in Filmora initially, you can also find more audio files from Filmora’s effects store – Filmstock, and even get some free music and sound.

Part 3: iMovie Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

iMovie is a great video editor for Mac computers. After understanding the best alternative of iMovie sound editin g, let’s check out some tips on editing audio in iMovie best.

The explanations and screenshots below are for iMovie 10 only. However, the steps are a bit similar to older versions.

So, here we go!

1. Use Waveforms to See What You Hear

To properly edit the audio track in iMovie, you need a good pair of headphones and speakers to hear the sound, but you also need to check the sound.

You can check the sound in iMovie by considering the waveforms on each clip. If the waveforms can’t be seen, go to the View drop-down menu and choose the Show Waveforms option. The clip size for your project can also adjust to get an even better appearance for each video clip.

The waveforms will display the volume level of a clip and give you a good idea of what sections will require to turn up or down. You can also check how the levels of different clips compare to one another.

2. Audio Adjustments

With the help of Adjust tab in the top right, you can access some basic audio editing tools for changing your selected clip’s volume or changing the volume of other relative clips in the project.

The adjustment window of audio also provides basic audio equalization and noise reduction tools, along with a range of effects - from echo to robot - that will change the way people in your video sound.

3. Edit Audio with the Timeline

iMovie assists you in adjusting the audio within the clips themselves. Each pin has a volume bar, moving up and down to decrease or increase the audio level. The clips also contain Fade In and Fade Out tabs at the beginning and end, dragging to adjust the fade’s length.

By adding a short fade effect, whether in or out, the sound becomes relatively smoother and less conflicting to the ear when a new clip begins.

4. Detach the Audio

By default, iMovie keeps the video and audio sections of clips together for convenience. Yet, you want to use the video and audio sections of a clip separately sometimes.

For this purpose, choose your clip in the timeline, visit the Modify drop-down menu, and hit the Detach Audio button. You’ll now have two clips - one with the images and another with the sound.

A lot you can do with the detached audio. For instance, you could extend the audio clip to begin before the video plays, or so that it plays for a few seconds even after the video fades out. You could also cut out pieces from the audio’s middle portion while leaving the video intact.

Conclusion

Coming towards the end of the discussion, after understanding iMovie audio editingand going through an elaborated alternative of iMovie application, we decided that Wondershare Filmora sounds the best out of it. It allows you to flawlessly edit video and audio files on your desktop, with various inbuilt royalty-free music tracks to select from that can further improve your project’s presence.

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

iMovie offers a fantastic platform for video editing where you can merge multiple video clips to create something very phenomenal. Plus, it’s simply here to navigate between different scenes, edit video clips and save results directly to the digital format without making any videotape transformations.

It provides lots of things to beginners and professionals with its easy-to-use interface without any quality loss for your results even after adding lots of transitions, changes, and effects.

However, it is not accessible to master software, precisely when you’re not familiar with it, or you’re not its professional user. So today, we’d like to explore or pay attention to iMovie’s audio editing steps, tips, and tricks to help you become an iMovie master quickly.

What’s more, a practical yet professional iMovie alternative software is also advisable in this guide. So when the iMovie cannot fulfil your editing requirements, why don’t you hop on an iMovie alternative software?

Now, let’s get started!

Part 1: How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie?

To learn how to edit audio clips in iMovie, you can use actions in the menu along with the quick shortcuts to make adjustments to your audio clips in iMovie on Mac. It’s a tip for your convenience!

Trim Audio Clips

There are a couple of options to trim an audio clip in iMovie.

#1. Trim to Playhead

You can place the playhead in your timeline. Now, trim an audio clip to that exact spot. Next, start moving the playhead and do one from the following.

• Select Modify > Trim to Playhead option in the menu bar.
• Right-click the audio clip and select the option of Trim to Playhead in the shortcut menu.

#2. Use the Clip Trimmer

You can use the Clip Trimmer to trim an exact section of the clip.

Step 1. Right-click the audio clip and select Show Clip Trimmer in the shortcut menu.

Step 2. After the Clip Trimmer shows, select a section you wish to trim by dragging the arrows right and left while holding the white lines. The area within those lines is what will get entirely deleted.

Move the entire clip but keep the trim area in place if arrows turn to a film strip icon.

Step 3. Click Close Clip Trimmer after you finish this section.

Shorten or Lengthen Audio Clips

You can easily shorten or lengthen an audio clip in iMovie. Just choose the pin in the timeline and drag one of its edges. The duration of the clip change will change as you carry. And a new course will be displayed after you finish in the upper left menu.

You can also set the clip’s duration to an exact time. Select the clip in the timeline and hit the Clip Information (small letter “i”) tab located above the Viewer. Put the value of the time you want in seconds in the Duration box on the right.

Change the Speed of an Audio Clip

You may want to speed up or slow down an audio clip while editing music in iMovie. So, here’s what you need to do!

Method 1. Click the Speed button above the Viewer. Next, select Custom in the Speed drop-down box and enter a percentage next to it. You can also set a different speed in that box if you prefer.

Method 2. Right-click the clip and select Show Speed Editor from the shortcut menu. A slider will then display at the top of the clip that you can move to change the speed.

Adjust the Volume of an Audio Clip

You can set the audio clip’s volume at higher or lower, or even mute it. Just select the clip and then do one of the following.

• Select the Volume tab above the Viewer option and move the slider to the percentage of volume. Hit the Mute button to mute the audio clip.
• Tap inside the clip, and when the two-sided arrow appears, drag up or down to adjust the volume.

Fade an Audio Clip

While editing audio in iMovie, you can also fade in or out the clip. Choose a clip in the timeline and then drag the fade handle (small circle) at either the ending or the beginning of the clip to make a fade-out or a fade-in effect.

As you drag, you will see the arcs displaying the shadow for the clips fade in or fade out.

How to Edit Audio Clips in iMovie on iOS?

The iMovie timeline is where you sort or organize all your audio clips, such as the special effects and background music. Audio clips are always present below the video clips in the timeline. To edit audio clips in iMovie on your iPhones or iPads, you can follow the guide belo

Move an Audio Clip

You can transfer the whole audio clip, except the background music, to another location.

• Touch and hold the purple or blue audio clip with your project open in the timeline until it comes over the timeline bar.
• Drag the clip to another place and release.

Adjust the Audio Clip’s Duration

Step 1. While the project is launched in the timeline, tap the audio clip (in blue or purple) or the background music clip you wish to adjust.

Step 2. Now, you can see the display of yellow trim handles. Drag them either at the end of the clip to the points where you wish the audio to start and end. If a trim handle won’t move left or right, it simply indicates there is no additional audio to work with on that clip’s end.

Step 3. Tap outside the audio clip and let the trim handles disappear.

Split an Audio Clip

There are around two options to split audio clips in iMovie. You can remove unwanted parts or adjust each section’s duration, volume, or speed while you split a clip.

Step 1. With your launched project in the timeline, scroll the timeline to the playhead’s position where you want to split the audio.

Step 2. Click the audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 3. Now, click the Actions button, and select the Split tab.

Or, you can tap the clip (it becomes outlined in yellow), then swipe above the playhead as if you were placing your finger to slide over it.

Detach the Audio Part from a Video

You can detach the video clip’s audio to remove or edit it as a separate video clip.

Step 1. When the project is open in the timeline, select a video clip and display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Tap the Actions button, then tap Detach.

Step 3. A new blue-colored audio clip will then appear below the video project. You can now move, edit, or delete the audio clip separately from its parent video clip.

Move Audio to the Foreground or Background

To ensure the sound in your video clips can listen above the background music, iMovie implies audio “ducking”. Ducking lowers the background music clips’ volume whenever there’s a video clip whose sound is playing simultaneously.

You can select which audio clips are in the foreground or the background.

Step 1. Select the timeline’s audio clip to display the inspector at the screen’s bottom.

Step 2. Hit the Actions tab and proceed with selecting the Foreground or Background.

The clip color changes to indicate whether it’s the background music (green) or foreground audio (blue or purple).

Part 2: An Easier Way to Edit Audio Clips

Windows users might be wandering for an alternative to iMovie as this software tool is only compatible with Mac and iOS devices. You will be thrilled to know that Wondershare Filmora can serve you with all synonymous and extra features more than the iMovie, and it works significantly in the Windows environment.

This latest software tool also assists users with easy video editing tricks and the intuitive interface that best serves quality editing to beginners and professionals.

Despite the basic video editing features, such as trimming, splitting, merging, cutting, and cropping, Filmora also offers various advanced editing elements that are far better than iMovie. And, with its video editing features, you can make a green screen effect, stabilize your video footage, reverse your video clip, and more.

Moreover, you can enjoy royalty-free music tracks for different themes, such as Young and Bright, Tender and Sentimental, Rock, Folk, Electronic Rock, and Hipster Folk, for selection.

All this will be available with a single program called Wondershare Filmora to take advantage of them for free. You do not have to search the background music files like a needle in a haystack. The program has nicely organized the music themes into six different folders. You can apply it for your video and make advanced editing, such as split/trim the clip, adjust the playback speed, pitch, volume, etc.

How to Edit Audio with Wondershare Filmora?

In Wondershare Filmora, you can insert background music and other files from the audio library or your computer. You can even record your voiceover using it.

Add Background Music

Filmora provides a royalty-free music library you can access or import your music within the program. You can select a song from the royalty-free audio library and use it for free.

The audio library has categorized into: YOUNG & BRIGHT, TENDER & SENTIMENTAL, ROCK, FOLK, and ELECTRONIC. The different kinds of sound effects are also available under the Sound Effects tab.

Once you find a sound effect or a song, either right-click on it and go with the Apply or drag and drop it into an audio track in the timeline.

Or, you can click the Import button above the Media Library panel to browse for audio files in your PC system. Then, select and import it into the Media Library when you find the song or other audio files you wish to add.

Once you place the song in the timeline, double-click to edit it in the Audio editing panel. You can apply fade-in or fade-out effects or adjust the pitch and volume. Filmora lets you add up to 100 audio tracks.

Split Audio Clips

Choose your audio clip and place the playhead where you want to split it, then right-click on the clip and choose the Split tab or click the Split icon right above on the toolbar.

Adjust Audio Settings

Double click on the audio clip to make adjustments to your audio. Open a panel with adjustment sliders in the timeline for pitch and volume.

Another element that you’ll find in this panel is Denoise, which is a feature that can remove background noise from your audio clips.

For a more professional audio editing experience, you can also access the Audio Equalizer from this panel. Select from presets or make manual adjustments by hitting the Customize tab.

Play it when you are done and, if you’re not happy with the results, tap the Reset button to start over.

Audio Equalizer (EQ)

All videos have plenty of sounds like speech, music, or sound effects. Changing the strength of sound waves will help you to mix these sounds within a coherent soundtrack.

Locate your audio clip in an audio track and double-click on it to open the Audio settings menu window. A drop-down menu next to the Equalizer feature will display presets such as Classic, Default, Rock’n’Roll, Techno, Sparkle, Bass, Hard Rock, Pop, Ska, Blues, Folk, Acoustic, Custom, or Country. Choose the preset that best fits your current needs and hit the OK tab to apply it.

Now, hit the Customize tab next to the drop-down bar to adjust the Audio Equalizer manually. Drag the sliders up or down and make the adjustments until you find their ideal value. Finally, hit OK and save your settings.

Besides the included music tracks and sound effects in Filmora initially, you can also find more audio files from Filmora’s effects store – Filmstock, and even get some free music and sound.

Part 3: iMovie Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

iMovie is a great video editor for Mac computers. After understanding the best alternative of iMovie sound editin g, let’s check out some tips on editing audio in iMovie best.

The explanations and screenshots below are for iMovie 10 only. However, the steps are a bit similar to older versions.

So, here we go!

1. Use Waveforms to See What You Hear

To properly edit the audio track in iMovie, you need a good pair of headphones and speakers to hear the sound, but you also need to check the sound.

You can check the sound in iMovie by considering the waveforms on each clip. If the waveforms can’t be seen, go to the View drop-down menu and choose the Show Waveforms option. The clip size for your project can also adjust to get an even better appearance for each video clip.

The waveforms will display the volume level of a clip and give you a good idea of what sections will require to turn up or down. You can also check how the levels of different clips compare to one another.

2. Audio Adjustments

With the help of Adjust tab in the top right, you can access some basic audio editing tools for changing your selected clip’s volume or changing the volume of other relative clips in the project.

The adjustment window of audio also provides basic audio equalization and noise reduction tools, along with a range of effects - from echo to robot - that will change the way people in your video sound.

3. Edit Audio with the Timeline

iMovie assists you in adjusting the audio within the clips themselves. Each pin has a volume bar, moving up and down to decrease or increase the audio level. The clips also contain Fade In and Fade Out tabs at the beginning and end, dragging to adjust the fade’s length.

By adding a short fade effect, whether in or out, the sound becomes relatively smoother and less conflicting to the ear when a new clip begins.

4. Detach the Audio

By default, iMovie keeps the video and audio sections of clips together for convenience. Yet, you want to use the video and audio sections of a clip separately sometimes.

For this purpose, choose your clip in the timeline, visit the Modify drop-down menu, and hit the Detach Audio button. You’ll now have two clips - one with the images and another with the sound.

A lot you can do with the detached audio. For instance, you could extend the audio clip to begin before the video plays, or so that it plays for a few seconds even after the video fades out. You could also cut out pieces from the audio’s middle portion while leaving the video intact.

Conclusion

Coming towards the end of the discussion, after understanding iMovie audio editingand going through an elaborated alternative of iMovie application, we decided that Wondershare Filmora sounds the best out of it. It allows you to flawlessly edit video and audio files on your desktop, with various inbuilt royalty-free music tracks to select from that can further improve your project’s presence.

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

5 Best Free MP3 Volume Normalizer

When you are listening to music, or to podcast, or some other type of audio files, would it make it enjoyable if the volume was so low at some point that you couldn’t understand anything? Now add another possibility to this very unpleasant imagination – what if the volume was so high at another point that your ears can’t handle it? – Of course, you would stop listening, and you would also not think high of the creator of this content. In other words, this will become the reason why this creator might lose their audiences. Well, sad story for the creator, isn’t it? And, what if YOU were the creator? A little laziness or a failure in paying attention to detail and your content goes to waste!

So, what is the solution? Of course, a little editing! Even if your voice doesn’t sound like it’s worth listening, you can make it happen by normalizing the volume. This actually is the process when a constant amount of gain is applied to the audio recording, bringing the amplitude to a desirable level, which is “the norm” for the project. When this tool is applied to the volume, the whole recording has the same amount of gain across it, every piece is affected the same way, and the relative dynamics are not changed.

With this tool, you have an extra guarantor that people will want to convert to being loyal subscribers, viewers and listeners, because simply, their user experience is now favored, they enjoy a good, edited content.

Actually, we might use audio normalizing when we need to get the maximum volume, but another reason is is when we need to match different volumes.

As in most cases, there is not only one type of audio normalization, so let’s explain what each of them represents: one is a so-called peak normalization, helping adjust the recording based on the highest signal level present in the recording; another is called loudness normalization and it adjusts the recording based on perceived loudness. RMS (Root-Mean-Square), changes the value of all the samples, where their average electrical volume overall is a specified level.

With this knowledge in mind, let’s now move to the topic we are going to cover in this article: let’s discuss 5 best free MP3 volume normalizers. Knowing about them will save you time and equip you with the right ways so that when you are going to need audio normalization, you will choose one of them, bypass exhausting process of the research, and find the free, easy-to-use programs that will help you master your sounds!

So, we chose the following programs as 5 best free MP3 normalizers: Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi.

Wondershare Filmora X

Now, even though we already know how to normalize audio in VLC in the simplest, as well as in the more advanced way, it might be even better if we know some more about normalizing audios in different programs. Something worth discussing is a software called Wondershare Filmora X , which carries out the same task wonderfully. Although, unlike VLC Media Player, it is a real video editor, but don’t panic if you have never laid your hand on editing – it is one of the easiest to use ini the word, operating also both on Mac and Windows, and its interface is utterly understandable for beginners right away. And, actually, it is a qhile that Wondershare Filmora X introduced the feature to normalize the audio for the first time. What to say more - you might want to stop now and download the latest version of Filmora X because now we are about to learn how to normalize audio from the video there – so, tune in!

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

When it is done installing, open the software. Now, click and drag the video of which the audio you want to normalize. Now you can select the clip you have chosen – if there are multiple, select all of them, then right-click and choose Detach Audio.

Now if you have this kind of graphic before your eyes, you can be pretty sure without even listening, that the noises are really, really different from each other, which highlights once again how useful audio normalization can be:

Select these files, right-click and choose Adjust Audio. New panel will be opened on left top and there, you will see Audio Normalization – check the box there.

After you have clicked on it, wait until the normalization completes.

Soon, all audio will be normalized, and you will already be able to see on the graphics that the volumes are almost on the same level and when you listen to it, you will make sure that there is no longer apparent difference between how they sound. And from there on, you can save the file you just normalized!

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry-leading video editing software, and it is a timeline-based. Premiere Pro always tries to make its use easier and easier, as new features are rolling out regularly to simplify steps and save time. The very same can be said about normalizing audio files, which is actually pretty easy once mastered in a very short time. That is actually why it used by beginners and professionals alike.

To normalize audio Adobe Premiere Pro, first, import your MP3 there. In the timeline, you will see your files in the sequence, in the sound section. Now, the best way to work on them is increase the track height – for that, you need to double-click on the empty space there, next to the little microphone icon.

Now, the track is high, and you can see more of your track. So, say that one of your MP3’s seems very loud, and another is much quieter. Speaking of the loud one, if you can see on the right that there is some red light, it is not a good sign – meaning that audio went above zero (so-called clipping), so you need to avoid it.

(If you can not see your audio meters, just go to Window menu and choose Audio Meters).

So, here, our goal is to bring our audio clips around -3 – and for it, it’s possible to bring up and down the white line on the track, but it can be pretty time-consuming actually.

So a better way to do it would be next: click on the track and then right-click, find Audio Gain, and choose Normalize Max Peak to…:

Max Peak is basically the loudest, highest peak in the audio clip. So, you can write in -3 and click OK, which will ensure the entire audio waveform will have the gain of it adjusted so that the max peak is at -3. You can proceed to the next track and carry out the exact same process on it too. Then, on Audio Meters on the right again, you will be able to see that both tracks (or more, if you have them) peak at -3. In case you have a lot of clips on the timeline, you can select them all, then go to Audio Gain and normalize all of their max peaks simultaneously, which will save you so much time and help you enormously!

VLC Media Player

VLC is a well-known media player, it is a free-to-use, robust, and feature-packed software that plays a wide range of audio, image, and video files. It is worth noting that it can also play multimedia files directly from extractable devices or the PC and can stream from the most successful websites such as Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and so on.

But there is another magic a simple media player can actually do - we can also normalize volume in VLC Media Player. It is a very handy feature and it works on Windows as well as on Mac. It is very simple, so follow these steps:

You need to have VLC Media Player installed on your device. Once you have it installed, open VLC. Go to the Tools and Preferences and there, check the single box which is next to Normalize volume in Effects. Now, set the level to the one that works best for you. Then, when you are happy with the result, click on Save.

What VLC does is just let adjust the general volume, leaving the specifics out of our control.

If you are not so satisfied with the simple editing and want a little more to get from the editing process on VLC, you can do more with the Audio Effects menu:

Find Tools and in the menu, go to Preferences. The window will open, and you need to select All in Show settings – on the bottom left corner of the window. Then, navigate to Audio, and a little below, click on Filters and highlight it. You also need to check the checkbox next to the Dynamic range compressor.

In the left panel, find Compressor and select it. From now, you can make the changes to the levels as you wish.

Here, concentrate the most on Makeup gain, Threshold, and Ratio. The first one is by which you adjust in quiet sequences to raise the volume, the second will help you reduce louder sequences to even things out, and ratio is the maximum level of all audio within a movie, let’s say.

Attack time and release time can also be very helpful. You can play around with them set them to your liking, and see if it’s better sounding, because actually this will ensure that you have a fluid transition in and out of the scene and there are less sudden, unexpected volume changes.

MP3Gain

MP3Gain is actually the only one in this list which is developed exactly for the task we are discussing in this article. It is an audio normalization software tool. The tool is available on multiple platforms and is free software. It analyzes the MP3 and reversibly changes its volume. The volume can be adjusted for single files or as album where all files would have the same perceived loudness. When applying the tool, there is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

So, to use this software, go and download MP3Gain. Install and open it when it is ready. You will see that your program is absolutely empty and it has a lot of space inside, waiting for you to upload some file(s)…

Now, you can either choose adding files manually, with you choosing each of them, but let’s say you have an album (which would be more comfortable, needless to say) in which you want to change the volume of all MP3’s. So, in this case, you can choose Add Folder, and when the window opens, choose the folder full of your MP3’s – all your files will be added in the program.

Now, find the Target “Normal” Volume above the files, and fill in the gap, if you will, or just use default dB. Then, click Album Analysis, and the process will start.

The software will show you the volume of each of the file, and then you will need to just click on Track Gain.

Now, wait for the process to be completed, and then you will see that the volumes changed for each of your files – so, it’s done!

Movavi

Powerful multimedia software for creating and editing videos – this is Movavi. It packs lots of video and audio editing power into a simple interface. On their official web-site, the program is described as: “An all-in-one video maker: an editor, converter, screen recorder, and more. Perfect for remote work and distance learning.” So, you can go and download the program, and learn audio normalization there very easily!

Install and open the program and then proceed directly to Adding Files. After having chosen your file, you drag and drop it in the timeline sequence.

If the audio is uneven, now double-click on the audio track, which will open the Clip Properties window. You will see the Normalize box, which you need to check. Doing this will even out the sound level for the whole track.

To save the result, click Export, choose the format, folder and name for your file, and then click Start, so your file can be exported.

So, it’s done – now you know a whole lot more about audio normalization, its types, why and when should we use it, and which are the 5 best free MP3 normalizers, along with the detailed guidelines on how to work with those tools to have your desired results. Let’s hope that you will be able to choose from Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi, and make your user experience so wonderful, and shareable!

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

When it is done installing, open the software. Now, click and drag the video of which the audio you want to normalize. Now you can select the clip you have chosen – if there are multiple, select all of them, then right-click and choose Detach Audio.

Now if you have this kind of graphic before your eyes, you can be pretty sure without even listening, that the noises are really, really different from each other, which highlights once again how useful audio normalization can be:

Select these files, right-click and choose Adjust Audio. New panel will be opened on left top and there, you will see Audio Normalization – check the box there.

After you have clicked on it, wait until the normalization completes.

Soon, all audio will be normalized, and you will already be able to see on the graphics that the volumes are almost on the same level and when you listen to it, you will make sure that there is no longer apparent difference between how they sound. And from there on, you can save the file you just normalized!

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry-leading video editing software, and it is a timeline-based. Premiere Pro always tries to make its use easier and easier, as new features are rolling out regularly to simplify steps and save time. The very same can be said about normalizing audio files, which is actually pretty easy once mastered in a very short time. That is actually why it used by beginners and professionals alike.

To normalize audio Adobe Premiere Pro, first, import your MP3 there. In the timeline, you will see your files in the sequence, in the sound section. Now, the best way to work on them is increase the track height – for that, you need to double-click on the empty space there, next to the little microphone icon.

Now, the track is high, and you can see more of your track. So, say that one of your MP3’s seems very loud, and another is much quieter. Speaking of the loud one, if you can see on the right that there is some red light, it is not a good sign – meaning that audio went above zero (so-called clipping), so you need to avoid it.

(If you can not see your audio meters, just go to Window menu and choose Audio Meters).

So, here, our goal is to bring our audio clips around -3 – and for it, it’s possible to bring up and down the white line on the track, but it can be pretty time-consuming actually.

So a better way to do it would be next: click on the track and then right-click, find Audio Gain, and choose Normalize Max Peak to…:

Max Peak is basically the loudest, highest peak in the audio clip. So, you can write in -3 and click OK, which will ensure the entire audio waveform will have the gain of it adjusted so that the max peak is at -3. You can proceed to the next track and carry out the exact same process on it too. Then, on Audio Meters on the right again, you will be able to see that both tracks (or more, if you have them) peak at -3. In case you have a lot of clips on the timeline, you can select them all, then go to Audio Gain and normalize all of their max peaks simultaneously, which will save you so much time and help you enormously!

VLC Media Player

VLC is a well-known media player, it is a free-to-use, robust, and feature-packed software that plays a wide range of audio, image, and video files. It is worth noting that it can also play multimedia files directly from extractable devices or the PC and can stream from the most successful websites such as Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and so on.

But there is another magic a simple media player can actually do - we can also normalize volume in VLC Media Player. It is a very handy feature and it works on Windows as well as on Mac. It is very simple, so follow these steps:

You need to have VLC Media Player installed on your device. Once you have it installed, open VLC. Go to the Tools and Preferences and there, check the single box which is next to Normalize volume in Effects. Now, set the level to the one that works best for you. Then, when you are happy with the result, click on Save.

What VLC does is just let adjust the general volume, leaving the specifics out of our control.

If you are not so satisfied with the simple editing and want a little more to get from the editing process on VLC, you can do more with the Audio Effects menu:

Find Tools and in the menu, go to Preferences. The window will open, and you need to select All in Show settings – on the bottom left corner of the window. Then, navigate to Audio, and a little below, click on Filters and highlight it. You also need to check the checkbox next to the Dynamic range compressor.

In the left panel, find Compressor and select it. From now, you can make the changes to the levels as you wish.

Here, concentrate the most on Makeup gain, Threshold, and Ratio. The first one is by which you adjust in quiet sequences to raise the volume, the second will help you reduce louder sequences to even things out, and ratio is the maximum level of all audio within a movie, let’s say.

Attack time and release time can also be very helpful. You can play around with them set them to your liking, and see if it’s better sounding, because actually this will ensure that you have a fluid transition in and out of the scene and there are less sudden, unexpected volume changes.

MP3Gain

MP3Gain is actually the only one in this list which is developed exactly for the task we are discussing in this article. It is an audio normalization software tool. The tool is available on multiple platforms and is free software. It analyzes the MP3 and reversibly changes its volume. The volume can be adjusted for single files or as album where all files would have the same perceived loudness. When applying the tool, there is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

So, to use this software, go and download MP3Gain. Install and open it when it is ready. You will see that your program is absolutely empty and it has a lot of space inside, waiting for you to upload some file(s)…

Now, you can either choose adding files manually, with you choosing each of them, but let’s say you have an album (which would be more comfortable, needless to say) in which you want to change the volume of all MP3’s. So, in this case, you can choose Add Folder, and when the window opens, choose the folder full of your MP3’s – all your files will be added in the program.

Now, find the Target “Normal” Volume above the files, and fill in the gap, if you will, or just use default dB. Then, click Album Analysis, and the process will start.

The software will show you the volume of each of the file, and then you will need to just click on Track Gain.

Now, wait for the process to be completed, and then you will see that the volumes changed for each of your files – so, it’s done!

Movavi

Powerful multimedia software for creating and editing videos – this is Movavi. It packs lots of video and audio editing power into a simple interface. On their official web-site, the program is described as: “An all-in-one video maker: an editor, converter, screen recorder, and more. Perfect for remote work and distance learning.” So, you can go and download the program, and learn audio normalization there very easily!

Install and open the program and then proceed directly to Adding Files. After having chosen your file, you drag and drop it in the timeline sequence.

If the audio is uneven, now double-click on the audio track, which will open the Clip Properties window. You will see the Normalize box, which you need to check. Doing this will even out the sound level for the whole track.

To save the result, click Export, choose the format, folder and name for your file, and then click Start, so your file can be exported.

So, it’s done – now you know a whole lot more about audio normalization, its types, why and when should we use it, and which are the 5 best free MP3 normalizers, along with the detailed guidelines on how to work with those tools to have your desired results. Let’s hope that you will be able to choose from Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi, and make your user experience so wonderful, and shareable!

Chart-Toppers Reimagined: The Top 15 Must-Hear Rock Singles

It wasn’t easy getting through 2021. But the world of rock background music made it a bit easier. This is how 2021 killed the myth that rock ever vanished. Let’s check out some of these gems that can create a rock vibe for you to enjoy.

Top 15 Rock Songs

We have come up with varied songs by singers all around the globe who create a classic rock vibe for listeners with hip hop background music.

1. Ann Wilson, “Black Wing”

Wilson was inspired to write “Black Wing” on birds that are pure flying spirits that connect the threads of nature. You’ll experience monstrous drums and power chords. This song uses delicate acoustic strums and a repeating keyboard riff to show contrasts in the world.

2. Tears for Fears, “No Small Thing”

The legends, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are best known for the pop hits like “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

For once in nearly 18 years, the duo taps into a folk-rock sound. It’s something new and darker for the band, but it doesn’t feel forced. They still represent the previous work that made them what they are today. “No Small Things” proves that even after 40 years of their coming, they still have so much to offer to the world.

3. Rise Against, “Nowhere Generation”

Rise Against speaks for the marginalized people out there through his songs. This title track of their latest album is one of the most poignant songs in their entire catalogue. The lyrics hone in on the idealism of the “American dream” related to a current generation of youths growing up in a world of social, economic and political instability.

4. As Everything Unfolds - On The Inside (Official Video)

As Everything Unfolds made a sweet blend of mid-2000s emo and modern metal in 2021. “On the Inside” is a song you get hooked to in all the ways. This anthem gave us all the energy and made the year a little more joyful. Check it out now!

5. Mastodon - Pain With An Anchor [Official Audio]

Mastodon made a comeback in 2021 with the much-awaited new album, Hushed and Grim. It kicks off with a rolling, progressive number called “Pain with an Anchor.” This epic track immediately catches attention with its heavy beats and rich tunes, making Mastodon one of modern metal’s most important acts.

6. The Pretty Reckless - Only Love Can Save Me Now (Official Music Video)

The song comes on Pretty Reckless’ latest album, Death by Rock and Roll. It brings hope that life has to go on, and most importantly, is worth living.

7. Avril Lavigne - Bite Me (Official Video)

Avril Lavigne has mostly made hits in the pop world. “Bite Me” brings her back to some of her pop-punk categories. The song brims with energy and empowering attitude. You are going to listen to it on repeat.

8. Dorothy - What’s Coming To Me

Dorothy shifted from a high energy rock’ n’ roll to sweet, free-spirited music during her first two records. Now she has come up with an even more bouncy high energy track, “What’s Coming to Me.” The chorus is impressive; her vocals are sharper than ever, and it sounds more mature all around.

9. ANDREW W.K. - Everybody Sins (Official Video) | Napalm Records

Andrew W.K. released the album cheeky God Is Partying in 2021, which features the single “Everybody Sins.” The track has a catchy guitar sound, yet it is brutally heavy. This makes it an appropriately wild Andrew W.K. song in the best possible fashion. He makes a resignation, and it sounds so great.

10. Billy Idol - Bitter Taste (Official Music Video)

Billy Idol is known for Punk rock, ‎hard rock‎, ‎glam rock. This track is reflective and redemptive. He vows in the song that “I’m gonna live so hard these broken wings will lift me up to the sun.” Idol wrote “Bitter Taste” along with Steve Stevens and others, while Butch Walker produced it for The Roadside EP.

11. Serj Tankian - Elasticity (Official Video)

Serj Tankian is an Armenian-American singer, musician, songwriter, and political activist. He is one of the best vocalists in heavy metal. ‘Elasticity’ is rock background music with unusual delivery and wide vocal range.

12. Myles Kennedy: “The Ides of March” (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Myles Kennedy delivers arguably the most epic title track of his album “The Ides of March”. He has fantastic songwriting, instrumental skills and vocal prowess. The song starts with a whisper and soars with power through the chorus. Listeners are taken on a journey with stylistic shifts.

13. Sleater-Kinney - Worry With You (Official Video)

“Worry With You” is the band’s first release from their tenth studio album, Path of Wellness. It has a breezy feel that adds a sense of contentment. During the lockdown, a young couple strives to find happiness in their tiny house.

14. Foo Fighters - Waiting On A War (Official Video)

In a melodious voice, Dave Grohl ponders his childhood fears in this thought-provoking song. He shares that his children face the same fears now. He shares his desire for a peaceful existence in a world on the brink of a global conflict.

15. Jackson Browne “My Cleveland Heart” (Official Video)

In this song, Jackson Browne, a singer-songwriter, imagines a scenario where his actual heartbeat is replaced with an artificial one. “They never break, they don’t even beat, and they don’t ache / They just plug in and shine”. He sings in a sunny tone to mark his words.

3 Best Sites to Download Rock Background Music

There are many sites that let you download hip hop background music. We have listed three such sites so that you know where to go and discover new genres, bands and artists.

1. Storyblocks

Storyblocks is a unique site with best stock music and sound effects. You can choose hip hop background music based on the intensity of the music you like. The site is always updated with new songs based on what you’re searching for. You’ll find free audio content that can be used multiple times for commercial and personal projects. Storyblock offers budget friendly subscription packages for you to do huge savings.

A look at the features:

• Storyblocks has individual drag-and-drop song audio sections.
• Download rock background music as well as videos and images.
• Free songs played with different instruments, moods and genres.

2. Bensound

The Bensound site offers diverse collection of both free and premium soundtracks. It is a user-friendly website with attractive homepage. Each track has a unique name, description, and eye-catching thumbnail. Bensound has a good collection of rock background music. There are also other genres like acoustic, cinematic, pop, electronica, urban, jazz, rock, and more.

There are more than 300 tracks on the site. Out of these, 80 tracks are free to download. Then, you can use these on YouTube, Facebook, or for other purposes as long as you credit Bensound.com. If you’re unable to credit Bensound, you have to buy the license.

A look at the features:

• Get copyright-free music for YouTube videos.
• Bensound also allows you to remix its tracks and use them to create new songs.
• Share the freely licensed music on Facebook, and other platforms.

3. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive -FMA was founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU. The music licensing company Tribe of Noise owns it. It gives you free access to open licensed, original music. There are various songs from thousands of independent artists. Tens of millions of visitors download music every month for personal use. You can also share and remix music from FMA in videos, podcasts, films, games, apps, and even school projects.

Explore the site, and you’ll find different genres and sub-genres like blues, electronic, hip-hop background music, jazz, pop, rock, country, folk, and classical. The other niche categories are spoken content, experimental audio, and old-time/historic. Electronic music has subcategories like jungle, chill, trip-hop, among others.

It allows you to perform searches to find and stream music on the site. You can add the tracks and create your “mix.” If you like the songs on the website, you can pay for downloads and support the artists by giving them a “tip”.

A look at the features:

• Variety of styles of music for musicians and filmmakers.
• Easy download of hip-hop background music.
• Numerous genres like blues, classical, folk, and more

Closing Words

We have tried to cover the best rock songs and the sites for you to download them from. If you download songs and want to add them to any of your video projects, you can use Filmora Video Editor .

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

2. Bensound

The Bensound site offers diverse collection of both free and premium soundtracks. It is a user-friendly website with attractive homepage. Each track has a unique name, description, and eye-catching thumbnail. Bensound has a good collection of rock background music. There are also other genres like acoustic, cinematic, pop, electronica, urban, jazz, rock, and more.

There are more than 300 tracks on the site. Out of these, 80 tracks are free to download. Then, you can use these on YouTube, Facebook, or for other purposes as long as you credit Bensound.com. If you’re unable to credit Bensound, you have to buy the license.

A look at the features:

• Get copyright-free music for YouTube videos.
• Bensound also allows you to remix its tracks and use them to create new songs.
• Share the freely licensed music on Facebook, and other platforms.

3. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive -FMA was founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU. The music licensing company Tribe of Noise owns it. It gives you free access to open licensed, original music. There are various songs from thousands of independent artists. Tens of millions of visitors download music every month for personal use. You can also share and remix music from FMA in videos, podcasts, films, games, apps, and even school projects.

Explore the site, and you’ll find different genres and sub-genres like blues, electronic, hip-hop background music, jazz, pop, rock, country, folk, and classical. The other niche categories are spoken content, experimental audio, and old-time/historic. Electronic music has subcategories like jungle, chill, trip-hop, among others.

It allows you to perform searches to find and stream music on the site. You can add the tracks and create your “mix.” If you like the songs on the website, you can pay for downloads and support the artists by giving them a “tip”.

A look at the features:

• Variety of styles of music for musicians and filmmakers.
• Easy download of hip-hop background music.
• Numerous genres like blues, classical, folk, and more

Closing Words

We have tried to cover the best rock songs and the sites for you to download them from. If you download songs and want to add them to any of your video projects, you can use Filmora Video Editor .

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

2. Bensound

The Bensound site offers diverse collection of both free and premium soundtracks. It is a user-friendly website with attractive homepage. Each track has a unique name, description, and eye-catching thumbnail. Bensound has a good collection of rock background music. There are also other genres like acoustic, cinematic, pop, electronica, urban, jazz, rock, and more.

There are more than 300 tracks on the site. Out of these, 80 tracks are free to download. Then, you can use these on YouTube, Facebook, or for other purposes as long as you credit Bensound.com. If you’re unable to credit Bensound, you have to buy the license.

A look at the features:

• Get copyright-free music for YouTube videos.
• Bensound also allows you to remix its tracks and use them to create new songs.
• Share the freely licensed music on Facebook, and other platforms.

3. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive -FMA was founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU. The music licensing company Tribe of Noise owns it. It gives you free access to open licensed, original music. There are various songs from thousands of independent artists. Tens of millions of visitors download music every month for personal use. You can also share and remix music from FMA in videos, podcasts, films, games, apps, and even school projects.

Explore the site, and you’ll find different genres and sub-genres like blues, electronic, hip-hop background music, jazz, pop, rock, country, folk, and classical. The other niche categories are spoken content, experimental audio, and old-time/historic. Electronic music has subcategories like jungle, chill, trip-hop, among others.

It allows you to perform searches to find and stream music on the site. You can add the tracks and create your “mix.” If you like the songs on the website, you can pay for downloads and support the artists by giving them a “tip”.

A look at the features:

• Variety of styles of music for musicians and filmmakers.
• Easy download of hip-hop background music.
• Numerous genres like blues, classical, folk, and more

Closing Words

We have tried to cover the best rock songs and the sites for you to download them from. If you download songs and want to add them to any of your video projects, you can use Filmora Video Editor .

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

2. Bensound

The Bensound site offers diverse collection of both free and premium soundtracks. It is a user-friendly website with attractive homepage. Each track has a unique name, description, and eye-catching thumbnail. Bensound has a good collection of rock background music. There are also other genres like acoustic, cinematic, pop, electronica, urban, jazz, rock, and more.

There are more than 300 tracks on the site. Out of these, 80 tracks are free to download. Then, you can use these on YouTube, Facebook, or for other purposes as long as you credit Bensound.com. If you’re unable to credit Bensound, you have to buy the license.

A look at the features:

• Get copyright-free music for YouTube videos.
• Bensound also allows you to remix its tracks and use them to create new songs.
• Share the freely licensed music on Facebook, and other platforms.

3. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive -FMA was founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU. The music licensing company Tribe of Noise owns it. It gives you free access to open licensed, original music. There are various songs from thousands of independent artists. Tens of millions of visitors download music every month for personal use. You can also share and remix music from FMA in videos, podcasts, films, games, apps, and even school projects.

Explore the site, and you’ll find different genres and sub-genres like blues, electronic, hip-hop background music, jazz, pop, rock, country, folk, and classical. The other niche categories are spoken content, experimental audio, and old-time/historic. Electronic music has subcategories like jungle, chill, trip-hop, among others.

It allows you to perform searches to find and stream music on the site. You can add the tracks and create your “mix.” If you like the songs on the website, you can pay for downloads and support the artists by giving them a “tip”.

A look at the features:

• Variety of styles of music for musicians and filmmakers.
• Easy download of hip-hop background music.
• Numerous genres like blues, classical, folk, and more

Closing Words

We have tried to cover the best rock songs and the sites for you to download them from. If you download songs and want to add them to any of your video projects, you can use Filmora Video Editor .

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

Also read: