Despite what its name implies, the silent era of cinema was anything but silent. Sure, in the earliest days of filmmaking, directors weren’t able to work with both film and audio at the same time. However, despite the lack of technological advantages, the earliest film screenings almost always included musical accompaniment.
From live band performances to phonographic playback, music has always been a perfect partner to any film or video recording. But even with today’s highly advanced technologies, adding music to your videos can be a bit tricky depending on your expertise and the tools and apps available to you.
So, for anyone looking to spruce up their film projects or videos, here are all of the best editing apps for adding music to your videos — including the best industry softwares for your computers and the easiest-to-use free apps for your smartphone.
Non-linear editing (NLE) apps and video editor platforms
Alright, for those who have worked in film and video for years, you should be well familiar with some of the best non-linear editing platforms and how to use them. That being said, the debate on which is truly the best NLE has raged for years and promises to never let up.
However, out of the three options we’ve listed below, there’s no real “right” answer as to which is the perfect video editing app for you and your needs. Each is great in its own right and each might ultimately be the best match for your personal preference.
What can’t be questioned though is that these mainstay video editing apps are all great and perfectly capable of adding music to your videos with ease only relative to your expertise with each platform.
Here are our top picks for the best editing apps for adding music to video on your computers or laptops:
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve
If you’d like to read more about each of these options, check out our full article on the best video editing softwares which goes over each app in much more depth.
Smartphone video editing apps
Now, for those content creators on the go not looking to upload their footage onto desktop PCs or laptop computers, there are options out there to edit videos on your smartphones. These options range from upper-end apps with more robust edit controls, to more simple drag-and-drop apps which are meant for the most basic functions — like adding music to your videos.
We’ve broken our selections into several which you can use on your iPhones, your Android devices, or both. Check out our top options below.
iPhone:
Android:
Both iPhone and Android:
You can also work with some basic edit functionality with several of the camera manufacturer’s apps which sync up with your cloud storage and transfer. A few of the better ones to check out include GoPro Quik and the Sony Creators’ Cloud.
Tips to help you add music to video
Once you’ve decided on your video editing app of choice for adding music to your videos, there are certainly plenty of factors and tips to keep in mind. Not only do you need to find the right track for you and your project, you also need to spend at least a little bit of time finding the right in and out points, and adjusting levels to make sure your music does it’s purpose.
First you want to take a good look at your video content and decide on the style of your video and what type of music you’d like to accompany it with. With Soundstripe, our tracks are broken down into many different categories, all of which are important to consider, including:
- Mood
- Characteristic
- Genre
- Energy
- Instrument
- Key
- Artist
- Playlist
- Vocals / Instruments
- Duration
- BPM
- And more advanced options
Once you’ve selected a track, depending if your music is meant to be strictly background audio or the heartbeat to your video, you might need to adjust the levels to not drown out any dialogue or voice over, but still be at the forefront of the video at certain parts.
Finally, one of the best tools for working with music in video is to make use of Soundstripe’s full array of song stems which break your selected tracks down into different arrangements (usually different instruments and vocals or not vocals), as well as add in pre-edited intro and outro sections.
Wrapping up the best editing apps for adding music to your videos
If you're a video editor looking to add music or background music or sound effects to your video clips, working with quality audio tracks sourced from a curated music library is going to be your best be to creative videos. Finding free background music online can be tricky and if you don't find the right sources your video clip could be flagged for an improper audio file on different social media platforms.
So, to add background music with safe to use video and audio files when you create videos, be sure to import music from a source like Soundstripe directly into your favorite video editing tools to help you create stunning videos or music videos which your friends or clients will love.
