How to Edit Audio in Shotcut

Introduction

Shotcut is a powerful, open source, free video editing program available for Windows, Mac and Linux computers. The only downside is the learning curve. In this article I’ll show you how to perform some of the more popular functions associated with editing audio in Shotcut. There’s a reference video beneath each video that will visually show you what you need to do for each. Examples of all instructions in the steps can be seen in both the YouTube video and the individual videos linked in the sections below.

Steps to Add Audio in Shotcut

1. Make sure the Playlist tab is visible in the Shotcut interface. If it’s not, you’ll need to click “View” in the menu along the top of the screen and then “Playlist.” The Playlist tab should be displayed on the left side of the screen.
2. Now, go down to the Shotcut timeline, click the “Menu” icon, and then click “Add Audio Track” in the list of options. You’ll see an audio track added to your timeline.
3. Click the audio file in your playlist that you want to add to your video, and then drag it onto your audio track. Alternatively, you can double-click the audio track you want to add in the playlist to preview it in the Source section, and then click the down-pointing arrow icon in the Timeline menu to add that file to the track you currently have selected. Your audio file will now appear in your audio track.

Click here to see my YouTube video that will show you how to add audio on Shotcut.

Steps to Fade Audio In and Out on Shotcut

1. In this example, I’ll place two audio tracks next to each other in my Shotcut timeline, and to create a smooth transition between the tracks I want to perform a fade out at the end of the first track and fade into the second audio track. To do this, you first want to make sure that the Filters tab is displayed in your Shotcut interface. If you don’t see the Filters tab, click “View” in the menu along the top of the screen, and then “Filters” in the list of options. The Filters tab should be displayed in the same section where you see the Playlist tab.
2. Let’s click to select the track we want to fade out of, and then click the “Filters” tab to display that menu. Click the “+” sign to see a list of all available filters in Shotcut, and then choose “Audio” at the top of that menu to only see audio filters. Click “Fade Out Audio” in that list to apply it to that audio file. Now, with that filter selected, you can use the plus and minus buttons next to Duration to define how long that filter is applied for.
3. Now let’s add the fade in filter to the second audio file. The process will be very similar, in that we click to select the audio file we want to apply the audio fade in to, and navigate back to our list of available audio filters, only this time we’ll select “Fade In Audio.” From here, you can also use the plus and minus buttons next to duration to adjust the length of the fade in.

Click here to see my YouTube video that will show you how to fade audio in and out on Shotcut.

Steps to Increase or Decrease Audio Volume Directly in Shotcut

1. Start by making sure the Filters tab is visible in your Shotcut interface. If you don’t see the Filters tab, click “View” in the menu along the top of the screen, and then “Filters” in the list of options. The Filters tab should be displayed in the same section where you see the Playlist tab.
2. Click to highlight the selection you want to either increase or lower the audio volume for, and then click the “Filters” tab to view that menu. Click the “+” sign to see a list of all available filters in Shotcut, and then choose “Audio” at the top of that menu to only see audio filters. Click “Gain/Volume” in the list of options to add that filter to the selection. Now, you adjust the volume of a selection by increasing and lowering the decibel level. Increasing the decibel level increases the volume, and lowering the decibel level lowers the volume of that selection.

Click here to see my YouTube video that will show you how to increase or decrease audio volume directly in Shotcut.

Steps to Split an Audio File in Shotcut

You can split any audio file by moving the scrubber to the location where you want to split your audio file, and then clicking to select that file. From there, right click that selection to open a menu, and then click “Split at Playhead” in the menu. Your audio file will now be split into two sections that are right next to each other that can be moved around independently.

Click here to see my YouTube video that will show you how to split an audio file on Shotcut.

Steps to Detach Audio from Video in Shotcut

First, if you want the audio file to be in its own separate track, double-click the original video file in the Playlist tab to open the video in the Source tab. Select an audio track in your Shotcut playlist you want to add the detached audio to, and then click the down-pointing arrow in the timeline menu to add the file to the audio track. Now you’ll have the audio separated from the video in its own track.

Alternatively, if you want the video without the audio in its own track, you first have to make sure the Properties tab is visible. If you don’t see the Properties tab, click “View” in the menu along the top of the screen, and then “Properties” in the list of options. The Properties tab should be displayed in the same section where you see the Playlist tab. Place your video file into a track in the timeline, and then select that video section. Click the “Properties” tab and then choose the “Audio” tab in that menu. Click the “Track” drop-down, and then choose “None.” The audio track will no longer play with that video selection.

Click here to see my YouTube video that will show you how to detach audio from a video in Shotcut.