How to Add Music to iMovie: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Shanoon Cox

Aug 18, 2022• Proven solutions

“How to import music to iMovie without any compatibility issue? I have some media files, but I can’t seem to add music to iMovie on my Mac!”

As I stumbled upon this query posted on Quora, I realized that so many people find it hard to add music to iMovie. Ideally, using the inbuilt features of iMovie can be a bit tedious. Besides that, the native library of iMovie is limited and users need to export music from other sources. Therefore, to help you learn how to add music to iMovie, I have come up with this detailed guide that anyone can implement.

Part 1: How to Add Music to Videos with iMovie's Best Alternative: Wondershare Filmora for Mac

Since learning how to add music to iMovie on Mac can be a bit complicated, I would like to discuss its best alternative first. Ideally, with the help of Wondershare Filmora, you can easily add all kinds of music to your videos. You can import music from any other source, add voiceovers, and even use the extensive range of royalty-free music in Filmora.

• Wondershare Filmora is a user-friendly and powerful video editing tool that offers tons of inbuilt audio editing features too.
• You can import an audio file from your Mac or Windows local storage and include it in your videos.
• Apart from that, Filmora also hosts an extensive music library of 100+ royalty-free audio tracks and sound effects that you can readily use.
• If you want, you can also use the voiceover feature of Filmora to record dialogues for your video.
• Filmora also has a dedicated audio mixer to customize the sound effects, enhance them, or even perform audio ducking.

To learn how to add music and sound effects to your videos using Wondershare Filmora, you can just go through these simple steps:

Step 1: Add Media Files (Music, Photos, or Videos) to Filmora

At first, you can just launch Filmora on your Mac and load the media files to edit. For instance, you can just drag and drop the video files or any other media content. If you want, you can click on the Import > Import Media Files button to browse and load any video or music file of your choice.

Once the music file is loaded on Filmora, you can drag and drop it to the working timeline at the bottom. Here, you can position your audio track and even edit it the way you like.

Step 2: Explore the Royalty-free Music in Filmora

Apart from third-party sources, you can also browse the available range of royalty-free music in Filmora. All you need to do is visit the “Audio” section from the top. Here, you can browse sound effects and tracks from different genres. You can listen to any track of your choice and include it in your projects.

Step 3: Add Voiceovers and Other Effects (Optional)

On the native interface of Filmora, you can also record voiceovers. To do this, just click on the voice icon below the preview window. This will let you set up an appropriate input method to start recording voiceovers.

Furthermore, you can also make edits to the audio file. Just select the audio track, right-click, and choose the “Adjust Audio” button. This will open a dedicated window with options like Fade in, Fade out, Equalizer, Audio Ducking, and more.

Part 2: How to Add Music to iMovie on iPhone/iPad?

If you have been using iMovie, then you might know that it is available for iPhone and iPad apart from Mac. The best part is that you can also learn how to add music to iMovie on an iPad or iPhone for free. Ideally, the iMovie app can be synced with the stored media (or Apple Music) on your iOS device. This will let you learn how to add songs to iMovie with a few taps in the following way.

Step 1: Browse the Available Music on iPhone/iPad

To begin with, you can just launch the iMovie app on your iOS device and start working on any project. To add music to iMovie, just tap on the “+” icon from the side and choose to add “Audio” from the available options.

This will automatically provide a list of the available audio tracks on your iOS device under various sections.

Step 2: Add Any Music File on iMovie

Now, you can enter keywords on the search bar or go through any folder to look for the audio file of your choice. Once you find the file, tap on the “Use” button and import it to iMovie. You can now drag and drop it to the working timeline to customize it.

Part 3: How to Add Music to iMovie on Mac?

Just like iOS devices, you can also learn how to add music to iMovie on Mac. The iMovie app is an inbuilt tool in Mac that can help you with minor video edits. If you want, you can easily add music to iMovie from its inbuilt library or third-party sources like iTunes. To know how to add your own music to iMovie, you can follow this basic drill.

Step 1: Select a Source to Add Music

Launch the iMovie application on your Mac and start working on your project by loading any video. Now, to add music to iMovie, just go to the Audio tab from the top and click on the option to show the available libraries.

On the sidebar, you can find different dropdown categories to find appropriate music. For instance, to learn how to add songs to iMovie, you can click the iTunes option and select the synced music from there. Alternatively, you can find theme music, sound effects, and other purchased audio files here.

Step 2: Add Music to Your iMovie Project

Once you find the music of your choice, just import it to your project. You can even listen to the added music on the interface of iMovie. To add it to the video, you can drag the file and drop it on the working timeline at the bottom.

This brings us to the end of this extensive guide on how to add music to iMovie via iPhone, iPad, or Mac. As you can see, by following this simple approach, anyone can add music to iMovie. Though, if you are looking for a better solution, then consider using Wondershare Filmora. The application has an extensive library of audio files and would even let you add music from other sources or record voiceovers. Go ahead and try Wondershare Filmora or share this guide with others to teach them how to add songs to iMovie like a pro.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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