A story can carry a soundtrack. You pick an audio file, trim it to the part you want, and set it against whatever the camera recorded.
The awkward fact underneath is that most stories are watched with the sound off, so the music is a layer for a minority of your viewers.
What you will be able to do
- check_circle Put a track behind a story.
- check_circle Trim it to the segment that carries.
- check_circle Decide what happens to the original sound.
- check_circle Know when music makes the story worse.
The track is added from the story composer and trimmed on a waveform before posting.
volume_off Build it to work silent
Stories are opened one-handed, in public, between other things. A large share of any audience never hears a note of what you attached, and they are not a lesser audience — they are the normal one.
So the test is simple: watch your story with the sound off. If it still says what you meant, the music is a bonus. If the whole point was carried by the track, most of the people who saw it saw nothing.
That also decides what music is for here. It sets a pace and a mood over footage that already stands up. It is not a substitute for a caption, and it cannot carry information.
Four decisions about sound
The second one is where most stories go wrong.
music_note Footage with nothing to say
record_voice_over Anything with a voice in it
content_cut Which few seconds
tune Keeping or muting the camera
Make the story work with the sound off, then add music for the people who have it on.
settings Adding a track
- Compose the story first The picture decides whether music helps at all.
- Add audio from the composer Choosing a file you already have.
- Trim on the waveform To the part anybody would recognise.
- Set the original sound Keep it, or mute it, but do not split the difference.
- Watch it once in silence That is how most people will see it.
- Leave music off anything with speech Or with sound that is the point.
This page adds one layer to a story. The curriculum step is the rest of the composer: drawing, text overlays, scrubbing to a frame, and the editing decisions that happen before sound is even considered.
At a glance
- 1Add music
Put a track behind a story.
- 2Trim it
Pick the recognisable part, not the intro.
- 3Most watch muted
The story must still work without sound.
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