How to Mix Sounds on TikTok

Making your TikToks stand out is much easier when you master the art of sound, and layering your original audio with a trending track unlocks a whole new level of creativity. Combining your voice with popular music isn't just a gimmick, it's a strategic way to add personality, context, and humor to your videos while tapping into the algorithm. This guide will walk you through exactly how to mix sounds on TikTok, covering everything from simple volume adjustments to more advanced techniques that the pros use.

Why Mixing Sounds on TikTok is a Game-Changer

Before getting into the step-by-step process, it's worth understanding why this is such a powerful technique for content creators and brands. At a glance, mixing audio allows you to blend your unique voice with the massive discoverability of trending sounds. TikTok’s algorithm heavily favors videos that use popular audio clips, which helps new audiences find your content. By adding a popular sound - even at a very low volume - you are essentially telling the algorithm to show your video to the people who are interested in that trend.

But it's more than just an algorithm hack. Sound mixing offers tremendous creative advantages:

• It adds context and emotion. Imagine a “day in the life” vlog. Your voiceover can explain what’s happening, while a soft, ambient track in the background sets a relaxing or productive mood. The combination is far more engaging than just one or the other.
• It’s great for comedy. Many viral TikToks are built on the humorous juxtaposition of sounds. For example, showing a mundane task (like doing the dishes) while a dramatic, cinematic sound plays in the background, or capturing your genuine, deadpan reaction to something while a clip of over-the-top screaming plays over it.
• It helps you create branded formats. You can develop a consistent style that becomes recognizable to your audience. This could be using a specific type of lofi beat under all of your tutorials or a quirky sound effect that punctuates your jokes. This sonic branding helps build a loyal following.

By learning how to layer audio effectively, you're not just making a video, you're designing a richer, more professional experience for the viewer.

The Easiest Method: Adding and Adjusting a Sound in TikTok

The most straightforward way to mix audio is directly within the TikTok app itself. The platform gives you simple but effective tools to balance your video’s original audio with a sound from its vast library. Here’s how you do it step-by-step.

Step 1: Record or Upload Your Video

First, create the visual part of your TikTok. You can either record your video directly in the app using the camera or upload a pre-made clip from your phone's camera roll. The key is that this initial video should contain what you want to be your "original sound." This could be you talking to the camera, the ambient noise of a location, or sounds from an event you recorded. After you're done recording or have selected your clip, tap the checkmark to move to the main editing screen.

Step 2: Add a Sound from the TikTok Library

At the top center of the editing screen, you’ll see an "Add sound" button with a music note icon. Tap this to open TikTok's audio library. Here, you can:

• Browse recommended and trending sounds.
• Search for a specific song, artist, or audio clip using the search bar.
• Access sounds you’ve previously saved by going to the "Favorites" tab.

Once you’ve found the sound you want to add, tap on it to preview it, then tap the red checkmark to add it to your video.

Step 3: Access the Volume Controls

Now that you have both your original audio and the added sound on your video, it's time to mix them. On the primary editing screen, look for the vertical toolbar on the right side. You’ll see icons for Text, Stickers, Effects, etc. Tap the small "down arrow" at the bottom of this panel to expand it and reveal more options. In this expanded menu, you'll find an icon labeled "Volume." Tap it.

Step 4: Mix Your Audio Levels

Tapping "Volume" will bring up two simple sliders that give you complete control over your sound mix:

• Original sound: This slider controls the volume of the audio from your initial video clip (your voice, background noise, etc.).
• Added sound: This slider controls the volume of the music or trending audio you selected from TikTok's library.

To create the perfect mix, all you need to do is drag these sliders to your desired levels. Here are a few common scenarios to guide you:

• For a Voiceover with Background Music: Drag the "Original sound" slider up to around 80-100% and the "Added sound" slider down to 5-15%. This ensures your voice is loud and clear while the music provides a nice, subtle ambiance.
• For a Trend-Focused Video: If the added sound is the main event and your original audio is just for a quick reaction or comment, you might want the "Added sound" slider at 100% and the "Original sound" slider at 30-50%, just enough to be heard underneath.
• For Leveraging Trends Silently: Sometimes you just want to "attach" a trending sound for discoverability but don't want it to actually be heard. In this case, keep your "Original sound" at 100% and drag the "Added sound" slider down to 1%. The sound will still be linked to your video, but it won’t interfere with your audio.

Once you’re happy with the mix, tap "Done" and proceed with adding captions, hashtags, and posting your video.

Pro Tips for Next-Level Sound Mixing

Once you've got the basics down, you can start using some more advanced techniques to make your sound design even better.

Mastering the "Voiceover" Feature

Instead of talking while filming, you can add narration after you’ve recorded your clip using the "Voiceover" tool. You'll find it in the same expanded editing panel on the right (it looks like a microphone icon). This is perfect for tutorials, compilations, or any video where you need precise timing with your narration.

Here's the workflow:

1. Record or upload your video.
2. Add a sound from the library that you want to use as background music.
3. Open the "Volume" tool and turn the Added sound down to 0% for now (this makes it easier to record your voiceover without distraction).
4. Open the "Voiceover" tool. Drag the timeline to where you want to start talking and press the "Record" button. Speak clearly, and record your audio in one go or in multiple short segments.
5. Once your voiceover is done, go back to the "Volume" tool. Now you'll see your voiceover volume can't be changed, but you can adjust the "Original sound" and bring the "Added sound" back up to your desired background level (e.g., 10%).

Heads up: The Voiceover tool has a small checkbox that says, "Replace original sound with voiceover." If you check this box, it will completely mute the audio from your video clip, which is useful if there's distracting background noise.

Edit Your Audio Externally for Total Control

For the ultimate control over your audio, mixing sounds outside of TikTok is the way to go. Mobile editing apps like CapCut (made by the same parent company as TikTok), InShot, or VLLO allow you to add multiple audio layers, control volume fades, add sound effects, and trim your audio with frame-perfect precision.

The professional workflow often looks like this:

1. Edit your video and perfectly mix your audio clips, voiceover, and custom music in an app like CapCut.
2. Export the finished video to your phone.
3. Upload this video file to TikTok.
4. Here's the trick: Add a popular, trending sound from TikTok's library, but go into the "Volume" tool and turn the "Added sound" down to 1-5%.

This method gives you the best of both worlds: a perfectly polished sound mix that you created externally, plus the discoverability boost that comes from using a trending TikTok sound.

Creative Ideas to Get You Started

Ready to try it out? Here are a few classic sound mixing concepts to inspire your next TikTok.

The Story Time Mix

Use the voiceover feature to tell an interesting, funny, or insightful story while b-roll footage plays. Add a quiet, instrumental background track - like a lo-fi beat or a gentle folk song - to create a professional, podcast-like vibe. Your voice should be primary here, so keep the background music low.

The Informative Tutorial Mix

Are you teaching a skill, sharing a recipe, or giving tips? Record clear, step-by-step instructions with your voice and lay an upbeat yet unobtrusive track underneath. The music can help keep the pace energetic and hold your audience's attention through a longer explanation.

The Ironic Contrast Mix

Find a truly epic, dramatic, or high-stakes piece of music (think orchestral scores or action movie sound effects). Now, pair this with video of the most boring, everyday activity you can think of - making your coffee in slow motion, watching your cat sleep, or organizing your desk. The contrast between the grand sound and the mundane visual is a classic recipe for viral comedy.

Final Thoughts

Mixing your original audio with trending sounds on TikTok is an essential skill for anyone serious about creating engaging, high-performing content. By moving beyond just a single layer of audio and learning to balance your voice with popular music using the Volume and Voiceover tools, you can add a new dimension of polish and personality to every video you create.

As you begin to build out your content pillars with polished audio and consistent formats, keeping everything organized on a calendar becomes a huge help. We created Postbase because we needed a clean, visual way to plan and schedule our best content across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts without friction. Its video-first design lets you upload your perfectly mixed clips just once and get them ready for all your platforms, so you can spend less time managing software and more time making great videos.