How to Overlap Sounds on TikTok

Adding your own unique twist to a trending TikTok sound is one of the fastest ways to stand out. While most creators use a sound as-is, learning how to overlap audio - placing a voiceover on top of a song, blending two sounds, or adding commentary to a clip - unlocks a completely new level of creativity. This guide breaks down exactly how to overlap sounds on TikTok using simple, built-in tools and more advanced methods for when you need complete control. We’ll cover everything from the basic voiceover function to using third-party apps to create complex audio layers for your videos.

Why Overlapping Sounds Gives You a Creative Edge

Before getting into the how-to, it’s worth understanding why this is such a powerful technique for creators and brands. At its core, social media marketing is about carving out a unique voice. Simply lip-syncing or dancing to a trending sound works, but it's hard to differentiate yourself when tens of thousands of others are doing the same thing. Overlapping sounds lets you participate in a trend while adding your own valuable layer on top.

Here are a few common scenarios where layering audio is a game-changer:

• Adding Commentary: You can take a trending meme sound and add your own hilarious or insightful commentary over it, essentially creating a dialogue with the trend itself.
• Creating Tutorials: Film your tutorial (like a recipe or a DIY project) and add a clear voiceover instructing your viewers, all while a trending, upbeat song plays quietly in the background to maintain energy and improve discoverability.
• Storytelling: You can use a sound for atmospheric effect (like rain sounds or city ambience) and layer your own narration over it to tell a personal story.
• Enhancing "Stitch" or "Duet" Content: When you stitch a video, you can add cohesive sound that spans both the original creator’s clip and your own, making the final video feel more integrated.

Mastering this technique is about transforming from a content consumer into a true content creator who shapes trends rather than just following them.

Method 1: The Voiceover Tool (Easiest Way to Talk Over Music)

This is the most direct and common method for adding your own voice on top of an existing sound from TikTok's library. It’s perfect for adding narration, commentary, or a personal message to a video that uses a popular song.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Select Your Main Sound First: Open TikTok and tap the "+" icon to start a new video. Before you record, tap "Add sound" at the top of the screen. Find and select the song or sound clip you want to use as your base layer.
2. Record or Upload Your Video: With the sound selected, record your video content as you normally would. The sound will play as you record, which can help with timing. Alternatively, you can upload pre-existing clips from your camera roll.
3. Access the Editing Panel: Once you’ve finished recording or uploading, tap the red checkmark to proceed to the editing screen. Here, you'll see a variety of icons on the right-hand side of your screen.
4. Open the Voiceover Tool: Tap the "Audio editing" icon (it looks like a music note inside a film strip) or look for the microphone icon labeled "Voiceover." This will open the voiceover recording interface.
5. Record Your Audio: You will see your video timeline at the bottom. You can drag the white line to the exact point where you want your voiceover to begin. Press and hold the red record button to record your narration. You can start and stop multiple times to record different segments.
6. This Is the Important Part: Adjust the Volume: After recording your voiceover, exit the voiceover tool and find the "Volume" option on the main editing panel (it's often under the same "Audio Editing" menu). Tapping this reveals two sliders:
   • Original sound: This slider controls the volume of the sound you picked in Step 1.
   • Added sound: This slider controls the volume of your voiceover.
   To have your voice be the main focus, slide "Added sound" all the way up and lower "Original sound" to about 10-20%. This keeps the essence of the trending sound for discoverability but makes your voice the hero. If you want the music to be more prominent, you can adjust the balance accordingly.

Method 2: Blending Your Video's Audio with a TikTok Sound

What if the sound you want to blend isn't a voiceover, but the actual audio from your recorded video? This method is ideal for situations where you're talking directly to the camera and want to add some background music for ambience.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Record Your Video First: Start by recording your video with its natural, original audio. This could be you speaking, the sound of your environment, or anything else you capture through your device's microphone. Don't add a TikTok sound at this stage.
2. Proceed to the Editing Screen: After recording, tap the red checkmark to go to the editing preview screen.
3. Add a Sound Post-Recording: Now, tap the "Add sound" option at the top. Choose the music or sound effect you'd like to layer in the background.
4. Open the Volume Controls: On the right-hand panel, find and tap the "Volume" icon. Just like in the previous method, you’ll see two sliders:
   • Original sound: This time, "Original sound" refers to the audio you recorded with your video (your voice).
   • Added sound: This refers to the music you just selected from the TikTok library.
5. Find the Perfect Balance: Adjust the sliders to get the mix right. For a typical tutorial, you’d probably keep your "Original sound" (your voice) at 100% and lower the "Added sound" (the music) to around 5-15% so it doesn’t distract from your message. Play the preview to check the balance before posting.

Relatable Example: Imagine you're posting a "Get Ready With Me" video. The "Original sound" is your voice explaining your skincare routine. The "Added sound" is a soft, trending lofi track playing quietly beneath your explanation, making the video feel more polished and engaging.

Method 3: Maximum Control with an External Editor (like CapCut)

Sometimes, TikTok's built-in tools aren't enough. If you want to layer multiple sound effects, have precise control over audio fades, or use a specific sound not in TikTok's commercial library, an external video editing app is the way to go. CapCut (made by the same parent company as TikTok) is a popular and free choice.

When to Use an External Editor:

• When you need to layer more than two audio tracks (e.g., your voice, background music, *and* a whoosh sound effect).
• When you want to "duck" audio - automatically lowering the music volume whenever you speak.
• When you need to trim and place sounds with millisecond precision.
• When using custom sound effects or non-copyrighted music from other sources.

Generic Step-by-Step Workflow:

1. Prepare Your Clips and Audio: Get all your assets ready. This includes your video clips and all the audio files (voiceover recordings, music tracks, sound effects) you want to use. Save them to your phone.
2. Start a New Project: Open CapCut (or your preferred editor) and import your main video clips into a new project timeline.
3. Add Your Main Audio Track: Use the "Audio" or "Sound" feature in the app to import your primary audio file. This is usually your background music. Place it on the audio timeline.
4. Layer Additional Audio: Now, add your second audio track, like a voiceover. The app will place it on a separate layer in the timeline directly below the first one. You can drag it left or right to position it exactly where you want it to start.
5. Refine the Volume and Timing: This is a big advantage of external apps. You can tap on each individual audio clip to adjust its volume independently. You can also split clips, trim them, and create fade-in or fade-out effects for a smoother, more professional sound mix.
6. Export and Upload: Once you’re happy with the final edit, export the video in high resolution (usually 1080p). Your layered audio will be permanently "baked into" the video file.
7. Upload to TikTok: Open TikTok, tap the "+" icon, and upload the finished video from your camera roll. Since you’ve already mixed your audio, TikTok will recognize it as one complete "Original Sound."

Final Thoughts

Overlapping sounds on TikTok transforms a simple video into a thoughtfully crafted piece of content. Whether you're adding commentary with the easy voiceover tool, balancing a talking head video with background music, or getting granular with an external app like CapCut, layering your audio allows you to inject more personality and value into your videos. It’s an essential skill for any creator looking to grow their brand organically.

Putting so much effort into creating compelling, custom-edited videos means you want them to reach the right audience at the right time. When I'm planning my content across platforms, I use tools that were created for the way social media works *today*. That's why we built Postbase from the ground up to be centered around short-form video. It lets us visually plan and schedule our best TikToks, Reels, and Shorts with confidence, knowing they will publish reliably. It helps manage the unavoidable chaos of staying consistent on multiple platforms at once.