How To Add Your Own Sound To TikTok

You might think that, in video editing, the word “sound” is a shortcut for effects like a police siren or a baby crying.

However, any audio on a TikTok video is known on the social media platform as a “sound.” The term is most often used for music, but it could be a voiceover, it could be live narration or discussion recorded along with the video — or even a sound effect.

And sounds are crucial elements of TikTok content. Surveys have shown that almost 90% of TikTok users think sound is essential and keeps them engaged with videos, and both the TikTok algorithms and search engine give more visibility to posts that contain trending audio.

The app’s editing function gives you an enormous list of sounds, both trending ones (often indicated by a “fire” icon” and more traditional choices, that you can add to your video. Many sounds are only 15 seconds long because of copyright rules, but some will play for 60 seconds if you choose the “60s” option before recording.

(When making videos for commercial or promotional purposes, there’s a much smaller list of royalty-free sounds available for TikTok commercial use.)

There are so many TikTok sounds available on the app that you can make hundreds of videos without repeating one, but they might not fit with the topic, mood, or approach of your content. What if you want to add your own sound?

Methods of Adding Your Own Sound to TikTok

“Adding your own sound” could mean several things. We won’t go into detail on simply talking while you record a video in the app, because that happens automatically when you tap the “record” button.

Adding voiceovers

This common approach is easy.

1. Record a video normally, and hit the checkmark icon to see the editing screen.
2. Tap the microphone icon labeled “Voice” on the menu bar, and a popup screen will appear at the bottom.
3. If you want to use a special effect for your voice, choose it from the options on the bottom half of the screen. Check or uncheck the “Keep Original Sound” box to choose whether you want the audio track you originally recorded to remain under your voiceover.
4. Use the scroll bar underneath your video to choose where you want to insert your voiceover, hit “Record,” and hold down the red record button for the length of your voiceover, releasing it when you want the recording to end.
5. Finish your editing.

Adding a Sound That Isn’t in the TikTok Library

You’re no longer officially allowed to upload your own music to TikTok because of copyright restrictions; outside copyrighted sounds that the system detects are muted or the video is deleted. Some methods have been used to get around the issue, though. Remixes and tracks that have been slowed down or sped up usually get through just fine, for example.

There’s also a “clip” function in the app’s editing suite that lets you use just parts of existing sounds; by clever editing, you can create your own version of in-app sounds.

To use an original sound, you can record your video externally(there are plenty of third-party editing apps that let you add whatever music or other sound you’d like), save it to your camera roll, and then upload it into the TikTok editor. If you prefer, you can record your TikTok video on the app, download it, insert your sound in a third-party editor, and then re-upload it,

You can also insert original sounds into an in-app vid by playing the audio as you record a voiceover. The audio won’t sound quite as good, but it works.

Lots of people have figured out ways to add their own sounds to TikTok — and some of the sounds have even gone viral. You might face a bit of a learning curve if that’s your goal, but the possibility of having your sound become a TikTok sensation might be worth it!