Top 10 Software to Add Music to Video
Contents:
• The background music complements the plot of the film and makes it inspiring, romantic, dramatic or energetic. There are special programs for overlaying music on video – free and shareware, complex and simpler.
• Although there are hundreds of Russian and foreign applications on the market, we will talk about 10 popular video editors and their main features.
VIDEO INSTALLATION
Put song on video in the VideoMONTAZH program even a person who first encountered such a task can do it. First you click on "New Project" and add the desired video file. Then choose a song – from the built-in library or downloaded from your computer.
• Overdub several tracks to different fragments of the movie or upload one song at once to the entire video. The volume of the video itself can be changed: click on the "Edit" button, move the slider to the left, or click on the speaker button to remove the original audio track altogether.
- built-in catalog of 200+ melodies;
- adjusting the sound level in individual areas using volume points;
- recording your own sound (from a microphone);
- separate volume control for comments and main music;
- fade-in and fade-out effects settings;
- suitable for beginners – there is an instruction for use;
- saving the finished file to your computer and uploading it to YouTube in a couple of clicks;
- support for any video format.
- 5-day trial period;
- the free version has a watermark.
Shotcut
• You can upload videos of all known formats and edit footage in 4K resolution. Tools are enough to create an amateur film – cropping, changing saturation and sharpness, using mirror reflection. But for advanced editing, they are not enough.
• Added or original audio tracks can be edited: change the frequency and volume, make delays, attenuation and noise reduction, use reverb (gradually reduce the sound intensity). The function of overlaying additional tracks is useful if the film was shot from different cameras.
- filters for working with the frequency and channel of sound;
- editing an audio track – cutting out sentences and phrases, applying effects;
- crossfade option (cross fading of sound fragments);
- work on popular operating systems – Windows, GNU, Linux, Mac;
- completely free.
- interface in English;
- there are no presets for uploading to social networks;
- there are no ready-made screensaver templates.
Avidemux
• Cross-platform software designed for editing and converting video files. A new audio track is added through the "Audio" tab. In the "Settings" change the bitrate and set the quality of the track, and in the "filters" – configure additional parameters.
• You can work with four audio tracks, and keep or delete the original audio from the video. To synchronize the overlay audio with the movie, use the slider and move it by a few seconds.
- overlaying up to four audio tracks on one fragment;
- adapted for different operating systems (Linux, Mac, Windows, etc.);
- ready-made presets for uploading a project to different devices (smartphone, game console, etc.);
- converting a file to another format;
- free.
- a small number of audio filters (normalization, DRC, audio shift, etc.);
- the menu is partially Russified.
Adobe Premiere Pro
• A well-known powerful program for editing video clips and movies, which has a large number of functions. To customize the sound, an equalizer, mixer, echo creation and tone change are available.
• Record audio from a microphone, delete or merge fragments into a single file. You can make a win-win option – the sound rises at the beginning of the clip and fades out at the end. You may need another option – temporarily disabling the connection between video and sound.
• To make a complex project, use the built-in visual effects, color correction and animated presets. Finished films are uploaded with a resolution of up to 8K.
- VST audio plugins;
- 5.1 audio tracks;
- unbinding the audio and video parts of the clip;
- sound mixer – changes the settings of a separate sound track or the musical accompaniment of the entire movie;
- hotkeys for control;
- adding plugins if the functionality is not enough.
- overloaded interface;
- high system requirements – slows down on weak computers;
- 7 days of free use and the high cost of the paid version.
VideoMASTER
• In this application, you can convert video files to other formats in a couple of seconds, as well as perform their basic processing. The program can work with almost any format, even with rare VOB or OGG.
• Overlay background melodies, turn off the original track, record sounds or speech from a microphone – all the main options for working with the voiceover of the video are available. The final project can be saved in any format, immediately burned to disk or uploaded to the network.
- extract sound from video and save it with one click;
- work with different audio formats (FLAC, MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG, WMA);
- simple and Russian-speaking;
- low system requirements.
- more like a converter than a video editor – there are no filters for working with sound and other chips;
- paid program with a 10-day demo;
- work only on Windows.
Ulead VideoStudio
• With the help of this professional application, you can not only understand how to add music to a video, but also perform other manipulations: add effects, crop movie fragments, change the playback speed.
• Standard audio settings are also available: recording sound from a microphone, adding multiple tracks, applying effects (echo, normalization, noise and hiss reduction, volume leveling).
• Directly insert audio files of any format (AVI, WMA, etc.) or import from audio CDs.
- surround sound (DolbyDigital 5.1 format);
- adding voice comments from a microphone;
- creating videos, slide shows and DVDs – with menus, titles, music and effects;
- presets for creating clips (for smartphones, iPods and other devices).
- the interface is not Russian-speaking;
- free only for the first 30 days of use;
- takes time to master.
VirtualDub
• A functional editor with which you can cut or glue movie fragments, use filters, add a musical composition, convert a file to another format. Works mainly with AVI format, but also loads others: MPEG, MPG, etc.
• As for the sound, there are enough functions for amateur editing: synchronization of video and audio, replacement of the audio track, noise reduction, keeping audio separate from video. But working with several audio tracks will not work – you can only replace the original one.
• Advantages:
- Time Stretch filter – synchronization of tracks;
- preservation of audio and video streams without re-compression (lossless compression);
- recording an audio track in a specific format;
- free app;
- open source.
- no microphone recording;
- specific and unusual interface;
- support for a limited number of video formats.
Vegas Pro
• Powerful video/audio editing and clip editing application. Professionals use it to create TV shows, movies, music videos, and novice editors learn how to use tools: apply filters, add text, create animation.
• The module for working with sound is very extensive: overlaying an unlimited number of sound files, mixing tracks and replacing the original one. You can voice your clip by connecting a headset.
- creation of projects with stereo sound or surround in 5.1 format;
- combining several audio tracks into one group;
- setting the volume and stereo panorama for each track;
- export of finished material to different video formats (AVI, MPEG, etc.);
- synchronization of projects with the cloud – collaboration of several people is available.
- difficult for beginners;
- no Russifier;
- expensive (free 30-day trial);
- only compatible with Windows.
Pinnacle Studio
• Semi-professional video editor – less well-known than Vegas Pro and Adobe Premiere, but not inferior in functionality. A clear and Russian-language interface makes it easy for novice users to mount movies.
• Sound is displayed on three tracks – audio, voice/sound effects, and music. This helps with mixing: if you need to superimpose a background composition on a person’s speech and at the same time add another sound, for example, applause.
• You can trim audio tracks, change the playback speed, merge different fragments, and add recorded sound from a microphone. Transitions, filters, intros and subtitles help make the video spectacular.
- 5.1 surround sound support;
- multifunctional timeline editor for audio tracks (slicing / cutting, recording from a disk, changing the volume, audio effects, etc.);
- iZotope Music & Speech Cleaner – noise removal option;
- microphone recording;
- low system requirements.
- crashes when using the render option (combining all fragments into one file);
- limited trial period.
VideoPad
• The application is suitable for professional editing: work with chromakey, 2D and 3D projects, 360-degree (volumetric) video. But you can also do simple operations such as gluing, editing and framing. Add titles, transitions or annotations in a couple of clicks.
• Among the audio settings, it is interesting to add a separate track to the clip and apply effects to it. You can record your own comments on the video or turn on the speech synthesis option.
- change the volume of the entire track or individual fragments;
- audio settings – manifestation, disappearance, separation of audio from video, etc .;
- saving sound to a separate file;
- support for all popular audio and video formats;
- direct export of the clip to YouTube;
- cross-platform – works with different operating systems (Windows, Mac);
- easy to learn.
- in the free version there are watermarks and restrictions on the duration of the use of the software;
- setting the effect in a separate window – you have to switch between screens.
In conclusion
• To add audio to video, you don't have to buy an expensive app and learn how to edit professionally.
• For simple actions: add audio, remove sound or change the volume of the audio track – you can download free video editors. Avidemux or Shotcut will do. A good option is VideoMONTAZH, but you have to pay for a subscription.
• Advanced users need deeper sound settings: spectacular transitions, surround sound. In this case, use professional and paid products, such as Pinnacle Studio, Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro.
