---
title: "Add audio, music, and sound effects"
canonical_url: https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/audio/
source: docs/editor/audio.md
content_revision: 6338386a1dd87e4a
---

# Add audio, music, and sound effects

Use audio tracks to add music, narration, and short sound effects to a video project.

## When to use it

Add background music across a whole movie, narration for one scene, or an effect at a specific moment. Audio has its own tracks in the timeline and does not appear as a visual element on the stage.

## Before you begin

Open a **Video project**. Sign in if you want to upload audio. Select a scene for scene-local sound, or **Scenes → Global overlays** for audio across the movie.

## How to add audio

**Navigation:** **Editor → Audio**.

1. Put the playhead at the start of the desired audio.
2. Use **Add audio by URL**, **Your uploads**, or **Music** to choose a source. See [Add and manage media](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/media/).
3. Use **Play preview** to listen to a music track, then click the result to add it.
4. For a short cue, choose **Sound effects**, enter a search term, preview the effect, and click its add control.
5. Select the resulting audio clip in an **A** track on the timeline.

![Zvid Audio tool with Add audio by URL expanded and Music and Sound effects choices below.](https://docs.zvid.io/img/dashboard-guide/editor-audio-url.png)

## How to place and trim audio

1. Select the audio clip to open its properties.
2. Under **Timeline placement**, set **Starts at (enter)**.
3. Set **Ends at** for a fixed playback window, or enable **Match project length**. When editing a scene, this option reads **Match scene length**.
4. Under **Source trim**, set **Audio begin** and **Audio end** to select the part of the source file to use.
5. Under **Mix**, set **Volume**, **Speed (atempo)**, and **Track**.
6. Use timeline playback to listen with the other audio and footage.

**Match project length** and **Match scene length** let background music follow that timeline without extending it. A shorter audio segment loops to fill its playback window. The timeline's waveform and loop markers help you see this behavior.

## How to mute or remove sound

1. To mute one audio track, set its **Volume** to `0%`.
2. To mute audio embedded in footage, select that video and set **Timing → Source trim → Volume** to `0%`.
3. To remove an audio element, select it and choose **Delete** from its element actions, or press `Delete`.

The timeline **Mute (M)** control only mutes the editor preview; it does not set the output volume. Deleting a timeline element removes that use of the source, not the uploaded file.

## What happens next

The audio settings are stored with the project. Check [full-movie playback](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/preview/) after changing scene lengths or transitions, then [render](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/export/) to verify the final mix.

## Related documentation

- [Timeline and automatic duration](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/timeline/)
- [Scene-local and global content](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/editor/scenes/)
- [Audio schema reference](https://docs.zvid.io/docs/structure/audio-elements/)