Add copyright-free music to your videos online

Irrespective of what kind of video you are making, what music or what background track you use can make a huge impact.

Imagine visuals of a person lounging on a beautiful beach: you want something calm and soothing playing in the background. Now imagine that same beach but someone in the middle of a heavy morning workout – running, push-ups, crunches, the works. Suddenly the calm, soothing track won’t make any sense!

To add background music to your story is super simple on ChopChop.

How to add and edit audio on ChopChop

Step 1: Select Track

Switch from the storyboard to the audio tab on the tool and preview and select the track you want to use.

Step 2: Trim Track

The song starts too slowly? You want to use only a ten-second part from the middle in your video? Pick exactly what you want to use using the trimmer.

Step 3: Place Track

Want to use the track you have selected and trimmed in a particular segment of your video? Select the positioning using the time-stamps.

You can add multiple tracks to your video and place them at different parts of your video story for maximum impact.

You’ll notice that these have been categorised based on mood or genre… make sure to pick a track that is closely linked to the mood or your video, or a genre that your target audience likes.

Quick tip: A lot of times we listen to the first 10-15 seconds of the track and decide whether it fits or not. I suggest listening to the whole track, because you’ll get an idea of whether it’s getting repetitive, or building up in tempo in a way you didn’t expect. It’s just a couple of more minutes of your time!

There is also a fair bit of nuance in terms of using music for different types of videos. Let’s dig deeper into that in the next section.

How to choose the right background music

1. Background music in travel videos

Camping

Travel videos are likely to be driven by visuals – panning shots, video montages, photographs. These visuals can be enhanced by using the correct audio track running in the background. The mood of the track should vary depending on the destination – if it’s a chill day at the beach, something calm; and something nice and upbeat if you’re showcasing the nightlife of a place!

2. Background music in explainer videos

Document collaboration

An explainer video helps content creators, especially marketers, highlight a product or service. These videos will have a voice-over to communicate headline features of the product or the service. Use pleasant but non-intrusive audio in the background, at a lower volume than the voice-over. This will not only help hold the video together, but can also help set the correct tone for the explainer.

3. Background music in recipe videos

Man using a knife

An explainer video helps content creators, especially marketers, highlight a product or service. These videos will have a voice-over to communicate headline features of the product or the service. Use pleasant but non-intrusive audio in the background, at a lower volume than the voice-over. This will not only help hold the video together, but can also help set the correct tone for the explainer.

4. Background music in educational videos

English course

Educational videos are one of the fastest growing segments in the content creation world, with more and more people across ages upskilling on the internet. One way to avoid these videos becoming boring is through the smart use of background music. Just make sure the volume of the audio track isn’t so high that it clashes with the actual educational content in the video!