Adding the right background music can transform a good video into a great one. It sets the mood, drives the narrative, and keeps your audience engaged. While DaVinci Resolve is a powerhouse for color grading, its audio tools are just as impressive. If you’re new to the software, adding music might seem daunting, but it’s actually a straightforward process.
This guide will walk you through, step-by-step, how to add and adjust background music in your DaVinci Resolve project.
Step 1: Open Your Project and Navigate to the “Edit” Page
First, open your DaVinci Resolve project. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a series of tabs for different workspaces (Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, Deliver). For adding and syncing music, the Edit page is the most intuitive place to start. Click on it to bring up your main video timeline.
Step 2: Import Your Music File
Before you can add music, you need to bring it into your project.
- Find Your Music: First, you need the perfect track. Make sure you’re using royalty-free music to avoid any copyright issues, especially if you plan to upload to YouTube. You can browse thousands of high-quality tracks in our extensive royalty-free music library. Once you’ve found the right one, download it to your computer.
- Import into Resolve: In the top left corner of the Edit page, you’ll see the “Media Pool”. This is where all your project’s files are stored. You can either drag and drop your downloaded music file directly into the Media Pool, or right-click inside the Media Pool and select
Import Media...to navigate to your file.
Step 3: Drag the Music onto Your Timeline
Once your music track appears in the Media Pool, simply click and drag it down onto your timeline. Your timeline is divided into video tracks (usually labeled V1, V2, etc.) and audio tracks (A1, A2, etc.). Drag the music file onto an empty audio track, typically below your main video’s audio.
A new audio track, A2, will likely be created for your music. You’ll see the audio waveform appear as a visual representation of the sound.
Step 4: Adjust the Volume (Audio Levels)
Your background music should complement your video, not overpower it, especially if you have dialogue or important sound from your video clips.
- Select the Audio Clip: Click on the music clip in your timeline to select it.
- Adjust the Volume Line: You’ll see a thin horizontal white line running through the audio clip. This is the volume control. Click and drag this line down to lower the volume of the entire clip. A good starting point for background music is often between -15dB and -25dB, but you’ll need to listen and adjust based on your specific project.
- Use the Inspector: For more precise control, select the clip and open the “Inspector” in the top-right corner. Go to the “Audio” tab, where you can type in an exact value for the clip’s volume.
Step 5: Fading In and Fading Out
A sudden start or stop to your music can be jarring. A smooth fade is much more professional.
- Fade In: Hover your mouse over the top-left corner of the music clip in the timeline. You’ll see a small white handle appear. Click and drag this handle to the right. This creates a fade-in, and the length of the drag determines the duration of the fade.
- Fade Out: Do the same thing at the end of the clip. Hover over the top-right corner, and drag the white handle to the left to create a smooth fade-out.
Conclusion
And that’s it! You’ve successfully added and adjusted background music in DaVinci Resolve. By mastering these simple steps, you can significantly improve the production value of your videos. The key is to choose music that enhances your story. Whether you need an epic Cinematic track or some upbeat Pop music, finding the right sound is the most important step.
