Feature
Background music under a voiceover: simple, slow and out of your voice's way
Background music works under a voiceover when it leaves room for your voice. That means few instruments, a slow tempo and nothing loud in the range where speech sits.
In short
- Background music works under a voiceover when it is simple, slow and leaves the range of your voice free.
- A speaking voice sits between about 500 Hz and 4 kHz. Piano, guitar and long held synth chords sit there too, and cover your words.
- Turning busy music down rarely fixes the problem. A simpler track does.
- Always check the finished video on a phone speaker at half volume, not only on headphones.
- Where most of a speaking voice sits
- 500 Hz to 4 kHz
- How far Cutroom lowers the music while you talk
- 12 dB
- A Cutroom track of 15, 30 or 60 seconds, on Basic
- 50 credits
Why music makes a voiceover hard to understand
When music and speech use the same range of sound, the louder one hides the quieter one. Sound engineers call this masking.
- Consonants like t, s and k are the quietest parts of speech, so they are the first to get lost.
- When they go, people still hear a voice but miss words, often without knowing why.
- A quiet track full of soft synth chords and piano blurs speech more than a louder track that is mostly bass and light drums.
Which parts of a track get in the way of a voice
| Part of the track | Where it sits | Under a voice |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | Below 500 Hz | Usually fine |
| Piano and long held synth chords | 500 Hz to 2 kHz | Covers your words |
| Guitar and the main synth melody | 1 to 4 kHz | Covers the consonants, so words blur |
| Shakers and hi-hats | Above 6 kHz | Usually fine |
| A singer | The same range as your voice | Competes with every word |
Part of the track: Bass
- Where it sits
- Below 500 Hz
- Under a voice
- Usually fine
Part of the track: Piano and long held synth chords
- Where it sits
- 500 Hz to 2 kHz
- Under a voice
- Covers your words
Part of the track: Guitar and the main synth melody
- Where it sits
- 1 to 4 kHz
- Under a voice
- Covers the consonants, so words blur
Part of the track: Shakers and hi-hats
- Where it sits
- Above 6 kHz
- Under a voice
- Usually fine
Part of the track: A singer
- Where it sits
- The same range as your voice
- Under a voice
- Competes with every word
What music to ask for
Whether you search a library or generate a track, describe what should not be in it. Words like sparse and minimal get you music with room for a voice.
- The sounds that cover a voice are piano, guitar, a lead synth melody and any long held chord.
- The sounds that stay out of the way are bass, light drums, shakers and hi-hats.
- If you cannot name what is in a track, play it under your voice and listen for anything that holds a chord while you talk.
Words that get you a track that fits under a voice
| What | Ask for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Style | Sparse, minimal, slow, low bass, light percussion | It leaves room for your voice |
| Avoid | Big, full, warm, lush, epic | These add piano, guitar and held chords where your voice is |
| Vocals | No singing. Leave the lyrics empty or write 'no vocals' | A singer is a second voice |
| Tempo | About 70 beats a minute, roughly one beat a second | Slow music keeps a fast voice sounding calm |
What: Style
- Ask for
- Sparse, minimal, slow, low bass, light percussion
- Why
- It leaves room for your voice
What: Avoid
- Ask for
- Big, full, warm, lush, epic
- Why
- These add piano, guitar and held chords where your voice is
What: Vocals
- Ask for
- No singing. Leave the lyrics empty or write 'no vocals'
- Why
- A singer is a second voice
What: Tempo
- Ask for
- About 70 beats a minute, roughly one beat a second
- Why
- Slow music keeps a fast voice sounding calm
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Which tempo works under a voiceover?
Record the voiceover first, then choose music to suit its pace.
- A fast voice over fast music makes both sound rushed.
- A fast voice over slow, open music sounds calm and clear.
- Ask for about 70 beats a minute, which is roughly one beat a second: slow enough that a fast voice still sounds calm.
Why it sounds fine on headphones but unclear on a phone
Phone speakers play almost nothing below about 500 Hz. The bass that sat safely under your voice disappears, and what is left competes with it.
- Check every video on a phone speaker at half volume, held at arm's length.
- Shakers and hi-hats still come through a phone speaker without covering speech.
- If words are still unclear, use a simpler track instead of turning the music down to almost nothing.
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom's music tool makes a track from a description you type. In the editor, the music drops by itself whenever you talk.
- You turn music on, pick the track and choose how loud it sits: Low, Medium or High. New edits start with music off.
- How far the music drops and how fast it fades are set for you and cannot be changed.
- A track of 15, 30 or 60 seconds costs 50 credits, 90 seconds costs 90 and 120 seconds costs 130.
- Music comes with Basic, $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits. The free first video and Lite do not include it.
- The track is made for you, not licensed from a music library. Read Cutroom's terms before you use it in a paid ad.
What Cutroom's music does while you talk
| Moment | What the music does |
|---|---|
| You start talking | It fades down over 0.2 seconds, so it is out of the way before your first word |
| While you talk | It stays 12 dB lower than in the pauses |
| You stop talking | It comes back up over 0.4 seconds |
| A short pause between sentences | It stays down, instead of jumping up and back for every gap |
Moment: You start talking
- What the music does
- It fades down over 0.2 seconds, so it is out of the way before your first word
Moment: While you talk
- What the music does
- It stays 12 dB lower than in the pauses
Moment: You stop talking
- What the music does
- It comes back up over 0.4 seconds
Moment: A short pause between sentences
- What the music does
- It stays down, instead of jumping up and back for every gap
Questions people ask
- What kind of background music works under a voiceover?
- Simple, slow music with few instruments. Bass and light drums leave your voice clear. Piano, guitar, long held synth chords and singing sit where speech sits and make words harder to follow.
- How loud should background music be under a voiceover?
- Quiet enough that every word is clear on a phone speaker. Judge it by ear, on a phone at half volume, rather than by a number. If words still get lost, pick a simpler track.
- Why does turning the music down not fix it?
- Because the problem is overlap, not volume. A quiet track full of piano and held synth chords still covers the consonants in your voice. A simpler track fixes it, and the music stays audible.
- What tempo works under a voiceover?
- Slower than the voice. About 70 beats a minute, roughly one beat a second, is a good starting point under a fast voiceover. Music at the same pace as the voice makes both sound rushed.
- Why does my video sound fine on headphones but not on a phone?
- Headphones play the bass, where the safe part of your track sits. A phone speaker plays almost nothing below 500 Hz, so only the part that competes with your voice is left.
- When should I leave the music out?
- When the voice never pauses, or when the product makes a sound worth hearing. Play the video with the voice only. If it works, music is optional.
- Can I set the music level myself in Cutroom?
- Partly. You choose Low, Medium or High and pick the track. How far it drops under your voice and how fast it fades are fixed. For full control, use an audio editor.
Keep the music simple and out of your voice's range, and every word stays clear. Your first video is free; music comes with Basic at $39.99 a month.