3 Final Cut Pro Music Editing Tricks I Use Every Single Edit

Knowing these music tricks is a must for video editing. Like we do on this channel, let's cut out the fluff and jump right in.

Trick 1: Audition your songs like clips

No idea which song fits your video? The usual routine, throw a song on, listen, delete, throw on another, is tedious. Instead: select ALL the candidate songs in your browser, control-click, and hit Create Audition (or press Command Y). You get one piece of media with a little spotlight icon; drag that onto your timeline. Now, while your video plays, hold Control Option and tap the right arrow to cycle through every song live against your footage. Fastest possible way to hear which track actually works. Memory aid: "I want to CONTROL the OPTION of which song I choose." That's dumb, I realize, but you'll remember it now.

Trick 2: The vocal/instrumental multicam switch

One of my favorites. Most licensing sites (including Epidemic Sound, who sponsored the video version; real music from real artists, no AI slop, and every track restriction-free so no copyright claims) give you both the vocal version and the instrumental of a song.

Command-click both versions, control-click, and hit New Multicam. Drag the multicam onto your timeline, then open the angle viewer with Shift Command 7. Let the vocal version play where you're not speaking, and the moment your dialogue starts, switch angles to the instrumental. Add a little crossfade at the switch (Control S or double-click the audio's bottom edge, then drag the fade handles; control-click the fade point to change the curve type). Full-energy vocals in the gaps, clean instrumental under your voice, zero clashing.

Trick 3: Carve a pocket for your voice

Music drowning out your dialogue? That's frequency competition: your voice and the music are fighting over the same range. I used to teach the Channel EQ method (find your voice's frequencies, cut them from the music). These days I do something quicker: select the music and open the advanced equalizer UI right from the audio inspector, which is Channel EQ with fewer clicks.

Pull the middle bands down anywhere from -3 to -10 dB depending on the song. Rough map: your voice mostly lives from 200 to 800 Hz, dips, then picks up again around 1,000 to 2,000 Hz. Crude explanation, but it works: cut the music there and your voice sits in the pocket you carved. The difference before and after is night and day; suddenly the guitar stops wrestling your narration.

Three tricks, better music, clearer dialogue. Have a great day!