Similarly, you can select Sound Effects in this same Content Library area and drag a sound into your movie. And that’s how to import media into iMovie 10. Next week: Piecing together a project. IMovie for Mac allows you to drag music, voiceovers or sound effects from Finder into your project’s timeline. You can also use audio files from your music library, iCloud or other locations using the iMovie browser, or record and add voiceover narrations into your project. To do this, open your project and select Audio above the browser.

1. Effects For Imovie
2. How To Add Effects Imovie
3. Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Converter
4. Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Files

Are you working on your next blockbuster in iMovie? Your movie isn’t complete until you’ve got a personalized soundtrack to go with it. Fortunately, iMovie makes adding music, voiceovers, and sound effects as simple as tapping on the screen.

How to add music to iMovie

When it’s time to add music to iMovie, you have options. You can add theme music and soundtracks, your music from iTunes or iCloud drive, or songs that you’ve created in another app and imported into iMovie. You can also create additional sound effects or voice overs using your phone’s external microphone. By using some (or all) of these music options for your project, you’ll discover endless opportunities for creating a unique soundtrack to accompany your film or slideshow in iMovie.

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How to get music on iMovie using Themes

When you start an iMovie project, the software applies the simple theme by default. You can change the theme you use based on your personal preferences and the content you are creating. Using a theme is the easiest and quickest way to create a video in iMovie. An iMovie theme includes coordinated tiles, transitions, and music to help your project look cohesive and professional.

iMovie comes with seven ready-to-use themes. You can try out different themes before choosing the right one for your movie. Here’s how to add theme music to your movie:

1. Open iMovie and tap on a video clip to edit. If you don’t have any videos in iMovie, tap the + icon to choose one from your camera roll.
2. Tap edit and then the settings icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Scroll through the themes and choose one to experiment with.
4. Toggle the Theme Music button to the on position.
5. Tap Done.
6. Tap the play icon to test the music.
7. If you are happy with the music, tap Done. If you want to choose a new theme, go back to the settings and try again.

How to add your own music to iMovie from your iPhone

If you sync your iTunes music to your phone, you can easily choose a track to add to your iMovie project. iMovie allows you to choose from your playlists, albums, artists, and individual songs, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Here’s how to add a song to iMovie from your iPhone.

1. Open or start a new video project in iMovie.
2. Tap +.
3. Tap Audio.
4. Tap My Music.
5. Choose from playlists, albums, artists, or songs.
6. Choose a song from your list and tap +.
7. Your music will be available in your iMovie project. It will show up on a green line when you play through your movie on the edit screen.
8. Tap Done.

How to add a song to iMovie from iCloud Drive

If you sync your music library to iCloud, you can access it to use in your iMovie videos. To add a song to iMovie from your iCloud drive, follow these step-by-step instructions.

1. Open an existing project or start a new project in iMovie.
2. Scroll through your movie so that the vertical white starts where you want your song to start.
3. Tap the + icon.
4. Tap Audio.
5. Choose iCloud drive from the list.
6. Choose the folder where your song is and tap the name of the song you want to use for your iMovie project.
7. Tap +.
8. Tap Done.

Can you add Spotify or YouTube music to iMovie?

Unfortunately, Spotify only licenses music for use within the Spotify app. If you have a premium Spotify account, you can listen to your favorite music offline, but you won’t find the file in a format supported by iMovie. YouTube also posts music in a format that iMovie doesn’t recognize.

We have heard of third-party apps that allow you to convert Spotify music or YouTube music to music files supported by iMovie, but we can’t recommend these as they violate the terms of the music license.

How to add other audio to iMovie

Now that you’ve got your background music and/or soundtrack figured out for your iMovie, it’s time to add in some unique sound effects and voiceovers to your video. These are especially useful for explainer videos and tutorials, where you've recorded your iPhone's screen and are now explaining what's going on there. You can add both sound effects and voiceovers over the background music.

How to do a voiceover in iMovie

The voiceover option in iMovie allows you to record external audio, and add it to your movie whether or not you already have a music track added to your video. Here’s how to do a voiceover in iMovie.

1. Navigate to your iMovie project or start a new one.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Scroll through your video and position the white vertical line to where you want your voiceover.
4. Tap +.
5. Tap Voiceover.
6. A small record window will pop up below your video.
7. Tap Record when you are ready and speak into the microphone.
8. Tap Stop when you are finished.
9. Tap Review to listen to your audio, and if you aren’t happy with the results, tap Retake.
10. When you are happy with your voiceover, tap Accept. Your recording will show up as a purple line beneath your video.

How to add iMovie sound effects

You add sound effects to your iMovie just like you add voiceovers. Here are step-by-step instructions.

1. Begin a new project or open a project you are working on in iMovie.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Scroll through your video and position the vertical white line at the spot where you want to add a sound effect.
4. Tap +.
5. Tap Audio.
6. Tap Sound Effects.
7. If you tap on a sound effect, you can play it to see if it will be a good fit. When you find one you like, tap + to add it to your movie. Your sound effect will show up as a light blue line underneath your video.
8. Tap Done.

Adding music, sound effects, and voiceovers to iMovie is a simple way to make your video project more unique and professional. As you experiment with different themes, songs, and sound effects, you will find that there are endless opportunities to create the perfect sound profile for your movie.

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

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

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

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

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

Effects For Imovie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Add sound to an iMovie for Mac project

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

Drag audio files into the iMovie project timeline on Mac

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

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

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

How To Add Effects Imovie

Add music and sound effects using the iMovie browser on Mac

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

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

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

Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Converter

Record voiceover in iMovie on Mac

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

Adjust the volume of a clip in iMovie on Mac

Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Files

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

Learn more

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