Add Background Music in Movie Maker

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Windows Movie Maker enables users to import audio files to provide background music for projects created with the software program. An additional audio editing timeline is provided, along with an editing timeline designated for the audio tracks that accompany any video files that have been imported. The most commonly used file types are supported, including mp3, .mpa, .wav and .wma files. This article details how to import audio files to use as background music in a Windows Movie Maker video or slideshow project.

Steps

Import an Audio File into Movie Maker

  1. Import an audio clip for the background music into the "Collections" folder. Click on the "Audio or Music" option from the Tasks menu on the left side of the application window. The Import Audio dialogue box will open. Locate the audio file on your computer hard drive and double click the file to import it into the Collections folder in Windows Movie Maker.
    • Confirm that the file is visible in the Collections folder, located above the editing timelines in between the Preview display and the Tasks menu. The audio clip for the background music has been imported.

Import a Video Clip into Movie Maker

  1. Import a video clip for the project. If you have not already done so, import a video clip into the Collections folder. Choose the "Videos" option from the Import menu, located in the column on the left.
    • Locate the video file stored on the hard drive or on a digital video camera, and double click the file to import it into Windows Movie Maker. The video has been imported into Movie Maker and will now be visible in the Collections folder.

Switch to Timeline View

  1. Select the Timeline view option. In order to use the Movie Maker editing features, the view must be switched to Timeline view. Click the "View" tab on the menu bar and select the Timeline option.
    • Notice that there are 3 stacked, horizontal bars running along the bottom of the application window. These are the editing timelines. Each timeline is labeled (Video, Audio/Music and Title Overlay), and a timescale ruler runs along the top of the Video editing timeline. You will use this timescale to set the timings for the audio and video. The view settings have been changed to Timeline view.

Insert the Video File into the Editing Timeline

  1. Load the video into the editing timeline. Click and drag the video file from the Collections folder and into the editing timeline labeled Video. The video file will now be visible in the video editing timeline and can be previewed by clicking the play button, located to the left just above the timescale ruler. The video file has been loaded into the editing timeline.

Insert the Audio Clip for the Background Music into the Editing Timeline

  1. Load the background music into the Audio editing timeline. Click the audio file imported for the background music and drag it from the Collections folder into the Audio editing timeline, the third timeline down from the top. The file for the background music has been loaded and will be visible in the Audio editing timeline. The audio clip has been inserted into the Audio Editing Timeline.

Mute the Sound on the Video Clip

  1. Open the Audio editing timeline for the video track. If you wish to mute the audio track on a video file so that only the background music can be heard, click the small plus sign, located near the far left end of the Video editing timeline next to the word "Video." The editing timeline for the video file's audio track will open directly beneath the Video editing timeline.
    • Notice that there are now 2 audio editing timelines (4 total timelines) visible in the application window. Right-click the audio file on top, the one directly beneath the imported video clip, and select "Mute" from the menu options available. The audio editing timeline for the Video clip has been expanded and is visible in the application window.
  2. Adjust the video file's audio track volume level. To adjust the volume, right-click the file and choose "Volume" from the menu options. A dialogue box will open. Move the slider to the right or left to adjust the volume and click OK. The volume for the audio track accompanying the video file has been adjusted.

Turn the Volume Up or Down on the Background Music

  1. Adjust the volume of the background music. Right click on the third editing timeline from the top, which will be labeled Audio/Music, and select Volume from the menu options. A dialogue box will open. Move the slider to the right or left to adjust the volume and click OK. The volume for the background music has been adjusted.

Add Fade Effects to the Background Music

  1. Add a fade-in or fade out effect to the background music. To have the background music fade in and out slowly, right click the audio file imported for the background music and select "Fade In" from the menu options. Conversely, select "Fade Out" from the menu options to have the background music slowly decrease in volume at the end of the track. The fade effects have been added to the background music.

Change the Timing for the Background Music

  1. Adjust the background music's position in the timeline. To change when the background music begins and ends, click and drag in the clip to the right or to the left within the Audio editing timeline. To have the audio clip begin right away, drag the audio clip all the way to the left, at the beginning of the editing timeline.
    • Put a 5-second delay on the background music, for example, by clicking and dragging the clip to the right so that the outer-most edge on the left lines up with the 5-second mark on the timeline ruler. If you cannot clearly see where the 5-second mark is on the timeline, you may need to zoom in closer by clicking the Zoom button, which resembles a plus sign and is located on top of the timeline. The background music clip has been moved into position.

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