The Ultimate Guide to Adding Music in DaVinci Resolve

Are you new to video editing in DaVinci Resolve and wondering how to take your projects to the next level by adding music and sound effects? You‘ve come to the right place!

Hi there, I‘m Julia – a professional video editor who has been using DaVinci Resolve for both personal and client projects over the past 5 years. I absolutely love how powerful yet intuitive this software is, even with advanced tasks like working with audio.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to start adding music to your own videos in DaVinci Resolve. Whether you‘re a complete beginner or have some editing experience, you‘ll discover useful tips and techniques that I‘ve learned through the years. Let‘s dive in!

Why Adding Music to Your Videos is So Important

Before we get into the technical steps, I want to emphasize why taking the time to thoughtfully add music and sound effects is critical for creating engaging, professional-quality videos.

Think about your favorite movies, YouTube videos, or commercials. Chances are, the audio played a huge role in evoking certain emotions, setting the tone and pace, and keeping you engaged, even if you weren‘t consciously aware of it.

That‘s because our brains are hardwired to respond to music and sound. The right track can instantly make a scene feel more dramatic, upbeat, funny, or heartwarming. Sound effects add texture and make the visuals feel more immersive.

In contrast, a video with no music at all can feel strange and lifeless – like something is missing. Even if the content is great, poor or missing audio can make it seem amateurish and dull.

As you start editing your own videos, I encourage you to put care and intention into the music, just as you would the visuals. Trust me, it makes a world of difference to the end result!

Okay, now that you‘re convinced, let‘s talk about how to actually add those tunes into your timeline.

Two Easy Methods to Add Audio in DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve makes it super simple to import audio files into your project. You‘ll generally be working with common formats like MP3, WAV, or AAC/M4A. It supports a wide range, but we‘ll talk more about file types later on.

There are two main ways to bring an audio clip into your project:

Method 1: Importing to the Media Pool

1. In your project, go to the Edit page (bottom menu bar).
2. Find the Media Pool panel in the top left corner.
3. Right-click anywhere in the empty space of the Media Pool.
4. From the popup menu, select "Import Media" (shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd+I).
5. In the file browser, locate the audio file on your computer and select it.
6. The audio clip will now appear in your Media Pool. Drag it down into your timeline to add it to the edit.

Method 2: Dragging Directly to the Timeline

1. Open up your computer‘s file browser and find the audio file.
2. Click and drag the file straight into the timeline area of the Edit page.
3. Release the click to drop it in. The clip will automatically be added.

That‘s it! Repeat these steps to bring in multiple songs, voice-overs, and sound effects. I like to keep my audio files organized in subfolders of the Media Pool for easy access.

Essential Audio Editing Skills to Know

Now that your music is in the timeline, let‘s go over some fundamental techniques for working with audio in DaVinci Resolve.

Adjusting Audio Levels

One of the most common edits is changing the volume of an audio clip, whether it‘s to prevent overpowering dialogue or to create a dramatic effect. Here‘s how:

1. Select the clip in your timeline.
2. Open the Inspector panel on the top right of the interface.
3. Use the Volume slider to increase or decrease the clip‘s audio level.
4. Alternatively, you can drag the horizontal line in the audio waveform up or down to adjust.

Creating Fades

Fading music in or out is an elegant way to transition between scenes or make an edit less jarring. To create a fade:

1. Move your timeline playhead to where you want the fade to start.
2. Select the audio clip and use the razor edit tool (or press B) to cut the clip.
3. Drag the beginning or end of the clip inward to create a fade in or fade out. The waveform will slope up or down accordingly.

Unlinking Audio from Video

By default, any video clips you bring into Resolve will have their audio attached, meaning any edits made will apply to both. But it‘s often useful to be able to edit them separately.

To unlink a clip‘s audio:

1. Right-click the clip and choose "Link/Unlink Audio" (or press Alt/Option+L).
2. The audio will now have its own layer you can move and edit independently.

Choosing the Right Music for Your Video

Adding music is not just a technical process, but also a creative one. The tracks you select can completely change the feel of your video and influence the viewer‘s emotional response.

When browsing for potential songs, consider:

• The genre and overall vibe (upbeat, dramatic, nostalgic, etc.)
• The pacing and energy level
• Instrumentals vs vocals
• Any lyrics and whether they fit your visuals/message

I recommend creating a folder of "maybes" to dump all your options in, then narrowing down to the best fits. Don‘t be afraid to experiment – you can always swap songs in and out to see what works best.

Also, be mindful of copyright when using music! You‘ll either need to use royalty-free tracks, purchase a license, or get permission from the artist. We‘ll go over some great free music resources at the end of this guide.

Advanced Techniques to Take Your Audio to the Next Level

Want to go beyond the basics? Here are a few pro tips for working with music in Resolve.

Adding Music to Specific Clips

Sometimes you may want a certain section of your video to have different music, like a montage in the middle of a scene. To do this:

1. Cut your video at the desired start and end points for the new music.
2. Delete any music that‘s currently under those clips.
3. Drag in your new track and trim it to fit the section.

Using Markers to Sync Audio

If you have a specific part of a song you want to line up with a certain frame of your video (like a dramatic beat drop), markers are your friend.

1. Place a marker on your video clip where you want the audio cue to land (press M to add marker).
2. Drag your song‘s waveform to align with the marker.
3. Use the Inspector panel to fine-tune the track‘s position as needed.

Automating Audio Changes

For precise control over volume levels, you‘ll want to use keyframes. These allow you to set different volume points throughout the clip and automatically ramp the audio up or down between them.

1. Open the Inspector and click the small diamond next to the Volume slider to add a keyframe.
2. Move the playhead to a different spot in the clip, then adjust the volume in the Inspector. A new keyframe will be added.
3. Notice the audio waveform now slopes between the keyframes. Repeat for any other volume changes you want automated.

Working with Audio File Formats

As I briefly mentioned earlier, DaVinci Resolve is compatible with most common audio formats, including:

• WAV
• MP3
• AAC/M4A
• AIFF

If you have an audio file that isn‘t supported, you can easily convert it using a free online tool like CloudConvert or a desktop app like Audacity. I recommend using WAV or MP3 for the best balance of quality and file size.

Comparing the Free vs Paid Versions of Resolve

So far, everything I‘ve demonstrated is possible with the free version of DaVinci Resolve. The paid Studio version does offer a few additional audio features, like:

• More advanced audio effects plugins (EQ, compression, etc.)
• Fairlight audio page for more advanced mixing, recording, and mastering
• Ability to export projects with audio only

However, for most beginner to intermediate users, the free version has more than enough audio editing horsepower to produce great videos. I used the free version for years before upgrading for some of the premium visual effects and color grading tools.

Free Music Resources for Your Video Projects

Before we wrap up, I want to share some of my favorite sites for finding free, high-quality music and sound effects to use in your videos:

• YouTube Audio Library: Huge selection of royalty-free tracks in various genres, all free to use with attribution.

• Bensound: Wide range of professional-grade instrumental music, free for personal projects or affordable licenses for commercial use.

• FreeSFX: Massive library of sound effects for everything from ambiance to impacts, all public domain or Creative Commons licensed.

I hope this guide has given you the knowledge and resources you need to start adding awesome music and SFX to your videos in DaVinci Resolve! Remember, experimentation is key, so have fun playing around with different tracks and techniques to create the perfect vibes for your projects.

If you found this helpful, I‘d love to hear about your experience adding audio in Resolve. Feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you‘re working on!

Until next time, happy editing!