Free guide · For editors
How to add sound effects to your videos
Where whooshes, hits and risers go, how to time them, and how to add your own sounds in CapCut, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
- 5 min read
- 8 chapters
- Sources checked September 2026
01 · Short answer
Which sound goes where
Most edits use the same few kinds of sound. Match each one to a moment on screen, and you know where it goes.
Common sound effects and where they go
| Sound | Where it goes | For example |
|---|---|---|
| Whoosh | Cuts, camera moves, text sliding in | A quick pan into the next shot |
| Hit or impact | Text popping in, a beat drop, a reveal | The title lands on the first beat |
| Riser | The build-up before a reveal | The seconds before the outfit change |
| Glitch | Jump cuts, a moment that goes “wrong” | A deliberate jump in a talking-head clip |
| Foley and UI | Clicks, a camera shutter, a pop | A click as a caption appears |
02 · Timing
Put the peak on the cut
Timing matters more than the sound you pick. These are common editing habits, not rules — your ears decide.
Line the loudest part of a sound up with the moment it belongs to: the cut, the camera move, the text landing. For a whoosh, that usually means starting a little before the cut, so it peaks as the new shot appears.
A hit belongs exactly on its moment — the frame where the title appears or the beat drops. A riser builds until the reveal and stops there, so the reveal gets the impact.
Then nudge. Move the sound a frame at a time and play the moment back until it feels attached to the picture. The waveform helps: its peak should sit on the cut.
03 · Volume
Under the voice, never over it
A sound effect should add to a moment, not cover the words.
Keep effects below the voice and the music. CapCut's own advice is to set a sound's volume and fades “in context with the dialogue and music so it does not overpower the mix.”
Not every cut needs a sound. Save them for the moments you want viewers to notice, and let the rest run clean.
Pick one family and repeat it: the same whoosh for every scene change, the same hit for every title. A few sounds used the same way read as a style; ten different ones read as noise.
A clear voice comes first
No effect saves a voice that's hard to understand. The microphone guide starts with free fixes, before you buy anything.
Free fixes for better sound04 · CapCut
Add sound effects in CapCut
CapCut has a built-in library of sound effects, and you can add sounds of your own. The steps follow CapCut's own help pages.
The built-in library, on a computer
Step 1: Start with your video on the timeline
Open your project, or start one, with the video on the timeline.
Step 2: Open Audio › Sound effects
In the left sidebar, click “Audio”, then “Sound effects”. Browse by category or use the search bar.
Step 3: Add the sound
Click “+” next to it, or drag it straight onto the timeline, under the moment it belongs to.
Step 4: Set the level
Select the sound and adjust its volume and fades so it doesn't cover the voice or the music.
Source: CapCut: Free Sound Effects (opens in a new tab), read September 2026. Menus can look different in your version.
Your own sound files, on a computer
Step 1: Import the file
Click “Menu” › “File” › “Import” and choose your sound, or drag the file straight into CapCut.
Step 2: Place it under its moment
Drag the sound onto the timeline, under the cut or movement it belongs to.
Step 3: Line it up and set the level
Nudge it until its peak sits on the cut, then lower the volume until it sits under the voice.
Source: CapCut: How to add background music to your video (opens in a new tab), read September 2026. Menus can look different in your version.
On the phone, CapCut's pages describe the same idea: start a project with your video, open the built-in sound effects, drag them onto the timeline and adjust them. For sounds of your own, they point to the “Audio” tab and uploading audio from your device. The exact buttons aren't described there, and they can move with app updates.
Want sounds of your own to start with?
Our editing packs include a sound effects pack. Add its files the way the steps above describe.
See the sound effects pack05 · Premiere Pro
Add sound effects in Premiere Pro
Premiere treats a sound effect like any other audio clip: import it, put it on an audio track under your video, set the level.
Import, place, set the level
Step 1: Import the sound
Choose Window › Media Browser, find the file, right-click it (Control-click on a Mac) and choose Import. It appears in the Project panel.
Step 2: Drag it into the sequence
Drag the clip from the Project panel onto an audio track in the Timeline panel, under the moment it belongs to. You can also drag files straight into the Timeline panel.
Step 3: Set the level
Right-click the clip and choose Audio Gain to raise or lower it by a number of decibels.
Sources: Adobe: Add audio and music to a video project (opens in a new tab) and Adobe: Adjust audio gain in Premiere (opens in a new tab), read September 2026. Menus can look different in your version.
06 · DaVinci Resolve
Add sound effects in DaVinci Resolve
In DaVinci Resolve, sounds go into the media pool and onto an audio track on the Edit page. The Fairlight page has more audio controls.
Media pool, timeline, level
Step 1: Bring the sound in
Drag your sound files into the media pool.
Step 2: Put it on an audio track
On the Edit page, drag the sound onto an audio track, under the moment it belongs to.
Step 3: Set the level
Drag the level line in the middle of the clip up or down, or use the level slider in the inspector.
Step 4: More control in Fairlight
On the Fairlight page you can change a clip's volume over time with keyframes, and browse your own sound libraries without leaving the app.
Sources: Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve Edit (opens in a new tab) and Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve Fairlight (opens in a new tab), read September 2026. Menus can look different in your version.
07 · Your library
Keep a small library
Finding the right sound fast matters more than having thousands.
Sort your sounds into folders by type — whooshes, hits, risers, glitches, foley — and give files names that say what they are, like “whoosh-fast-01”.
Keep the handful you use most in a favourites folder. Using the same few sounds across your videos also makes your edits recognisable.
08 · Licences
Check the licence before you publish
Whether you may use a sound, and where, depends on its licence — not on where you found it.
CapCut's sound effects page calls the library's sounds copyright-free, and in the same place tells you to review the current licence terms for the specific sound and your use before commercial or large-scale use. Do that before a video earns money.
For sounds you buy or download, the licence on the seller's page decides — for a pack too. Read it before you publish.
Transparency
How we checked
- Every list of steps follows the maker's own help pages — CapCut, Adobe and Blackmagic Design — named under the list with the month we read them.
- Menus change with app updates, so the steps name the buttons the makers name and nothing more.
- Timing, volume and library tips are common editing practice, not measured results.
- Licences are the makers' and sellers' terms: check them for your own use.
FAQ
Quick answers
What editors ask about sound effects.
Ready for your first sounds? The sound effects pack is one of our editing packs.
See the editing packsHow loud should sound effects be?
Quieter than the voice and the music. Play the moment back: if you notice the sound before the words, lower it.
How many sound effects are too many?
When they cover the edit instead of marking it. Not every cut needs one; a few sounds from one family, used the same way, usually work better than a new sound on every cut.
WAV or MP3?
Both are common. CapCut's guide to audio formats describes WAV as uncompressed, with excellent quality but large files, and MP3 as compressed to keep files small at acceptable quality. For short effects, file size rarely matters, so WAV is a good default when you have the choice.
Next step
Give your next edit its sound
The Sound Effects pack is one of our editing packs — take it on its own, or all four in the bundle.
SFX
Sound effects
Music edits