How to Edit a Song on TikTok

The right song can make or break a video, and TikTok's editing tools give you all the power you need to get it just right. Mastering a few simple audio editing skills can elevate your content from a simple clip to something that feels intentional and professional. This guide will walk you through everything from basic trimming and volume control to advanced techniques like syncing your cuts perfectly to the beat of the music.

The Basics: How to Find, Add, and Trim a Song

Before you get into complex edits, you need to understand the fundamental workflow of adding and trimming a sound in TikTok. It's a straightforward process, but knowing it like the back of your hand is the first step.

1. Adding a Sound to Your Video

You can add a sound either before you record or after you've uploaded or filmed your video clips. For most editing purposes, it's best to add it after your clips are on the timeline.

• Record or upload your video clips using the + button on the TikTok home screen.
• Once your clips are ready, tap the "Add sound" button at the top of the editing screen.
• Here, you can browse recommended sounds, look through playlists, or use the search bar to find a specific song, artist, or audio clip. Tap on a sound to preview it.
• When you find one you like, tap the red checkmark to add it to your video.

2. Trimming the Sound to Your Desired Start Point

TikTok automatically starts most songs from the beginning, but the most impactful part of a track might be the chorus or a specific pre-chorus buildup. This is where trimming comes in.

• After adding your sound, you'll be back on the main editing screen. At the top of the screen, you'll see the name of the song you added. Next to it, there's a small icon of scissors inside a music note called "Trim". Tap it.
• This will open the sound editor, featuring a detailed audio waveform of the entire track.
• You can drag this waveform left and right with your finger. As you drag, you'll hear the portion of the song that will play when your video starts.
• Slide the waveform until you find the exact starting point you want. For dance videos, this might be right on the beat drop. For a storytelling video, it might be at the start of a specific lyric.
• Once you're happy with the starting point, tap "Done". Your video will now play with the music starting from your selected point.

Controlling the Volume: Music vs. Original Sound

Sometimes you want the music to be the star, but other times you need your original audio - like your voiceover or the sounds from your environment - to be heard. TikTok makes balancing these two audio sources simple.

On the main video editing screen (after you've added your sound and clips), you'll see a panel of tools on the right side. Look for an icon that looks like a speaker or a slider labeled "Volume".

Tapping this will bring up two sliders:

• Original sound: This controls the volume of the audio from your original video clips.
• Added sound: This controls the volume of the song or music you added from TikTok's library.

Here are a few common scenarios for using these sliders:

• For a lip-sync, dance, or montage video: Set "Added sound" to 100% and "Original sound" to 0% so all you hear is the music.
• For a tutorial with a voiceover: Keep your "Original sound" at 100% and bring the "Added sound" down to a lower level, like 5-15%, to provide some nice background music that doesn't overpower your voice.
• For an aesthetic vlog or ASMR video: You might want to mix them. Try keeping the "Original sound" high to capture the natural sounds and a gentle, instrumental "Added sound" at around 20-30% to set the mood.

Advanced Editing: How to Sync Video Clips to the Music Beat

Professionally edited videos often have one thing in common: the clips change in time with the music. A cut that lands perfectly on a downbeat is incredibly satisfying for the viewer. While this takes a bit more effort, TikTok's 'Adjust clips' editor makes it totally achievable.

Step 1: Open the 'Adjust clips' Editor

On the right-hand editing panel, tap on the icon that looks like two rectangles overlapping, labeled "Adjust clips". This is your main timeline editor, where you have full control over your video clips and their relationship to the audio.

Step 2: Understand the Timeline

Inside this editor, you’ll see your video clips lined up sequentially at the bottom. Above them, you'll see the audio waveform for the song you added. This waveform is your visual guide to the music. The tall spikes in the waveform usually represent strong beats, like a bass drum or a snare hit.

Step 3: Trim Your Clips to Match the Beats

This is where you bring it all together. The goal is to make the end of one clip and the beginning of the next align perfectly with those spikes in the waveform.

• Isolate a clip: Tap on one of your video clips in the timeline. It will be highlighted with white handles at the beginning and end.
• Pinch to zoom: For more precision, use two fingers on the timeline to pinch and zoom in. This will stretch everything out, making it much easier to see the details of the audio waveform.
• Drag to trim: Drag the white handles of your video clip left or right. As you drag the endpoint of the clip, try to line it up exactly with a prominent spike in the audio waveform. Then, do the same for the start of the next clip.
• Preview your work: Play the video back. You should now see a visual cut happening at the aural "punch" of the music. Repeat this process for all the cuts in your video.

This technique takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, your editing skills will jump to a whole new level.

Creative Workaround: Use Different Parts of the Same Song

Have you ever wanted to use the slow intro of a song for your first clip and then jump right to the high-energy chorus for the next? While TikTok doesn't have a feature to "split" the audio, you can achieve this effect with a clever recording trick.

1. Add your chosen song and trim it to the first section you want to use.
2. Record your first video segment as usual while that part of the song plays.
3. When you finish the first segment, do not move to the next screen. Stay right there in the recording interface.
4. Tap the "Trim" scissors icon at the top of the screen again.
5. Drag the song's waveform to the second section of the song you want to use (e.g., the chorus).
6. Tap "Done."
7. Now, record your second video segment. The music will pick up from the new spot you just selected.

You can repeat this process as many times as you need to build a dynamic video that flows perfectly with the musical journey of the song.

Level Up: When to Use a Third-Party Editor like CapCut

While TikTok’s built-in tools are powerful, sometimes you need more control. For complex audio layering, adding sound effects, or creating precise audio fades, a dedicated video editing app is the way to go. CapCut, which is owned by the same parent company as TikTok, is a fantastic - and free - option that integrates smoothly.

The professional workflow often looks like this:

1. Edit your video and finalize all your audio in CapCut. This is where you can layer music, voiceovers, and sound effects with pinpoint accuracy.
2. Export the finished high-resolution video to your phone's camera roll.
3. Open TikTok and upload the video you just saved.
4. This next part is important for discoverability. In TikTok, add the official version of the song you used. This links your video to the sound page, helping it get discovered.
5. Finally, go to the "Volume" controls. Turn the "Added sound" all the way down to 0, and make sure your "Original sound" (the audio from your edited CapCut video) is at 100.

This way, your video has your perfectly custom-mixed audio while still being algorithmically connected to the trending sound on TikTok.

Final Thoughts

Taking control of the music in your TikToks opens up a ton of creative possibilities. By using trimming for impact, balancing volumes for clarity, and syncing clips to the beat, you can make content that doesn't just get watched, but gets felt.

Nailing your video's content is a huge win, but we know that managing a consistent posting schedule across multiple platforms can feel like a full-time job in itself. At Postbase, we designed our platform specifically for video-heavy creators. Since our tool was built from the start to handle TikToks, Reels, and Shorts flawlessly, you can schedule all your short-form video content without the frustrating hiccups of older platforms. This gives you a clear visual calendar of your whole strategy, freeing you up to focus on what you do best: creating content people love.