# How to duck music under a voiceover

> Duck music under a voiceover so speech stays clear. Exact Essential Sound steps in Premiere Pro, a keyframe method for any editor, and Marxx's auto-ducking.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-11-09
- **Category**: Video editing
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-guides/how-to-duck-music-under-voiceover

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Audio ducking lowers your music while someone speaks, then lifts it back in the gaps. In Premiere Pro, tag your clips in the Essential Sound panel, turn on Ducking and select Generate Keyframes.

## Steps in Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro is now called Adobe Premiere.

1. Choose **Window > Essential Sound**.
2. Tag each clip's type. Only clips tagged Music and Ambience can be ducked.
3. Turn on **Ducking**.
4. Set Duck Against (Dialogue, Music, Sound Effects, Ambience or Un-tagged), Sensitivity, Duck Amount, Fade Duration and Fade Position.
5. Select **Generate Keyframes**.

Premiere adds an Amplify effect and writes the gain keyframes into it. If you select Generate Keyframes again, it overwrites any keyframes you edited by hand.

## By hand, in any editor

Use this when your editor has no ducking tool.

1. Put the music on its own track, under the voice.
2. Set the level where the music plays alone.
3. Add a keyframe just before the voice starts, then one a moment later at a lower level.
4. Add two more keyframes at the end of the speech to bring the music back up.

## A worked example

Say the music sits at -6 dB on its own, and your voiceover runs from 3.0 to 28.0 seconds. Add four volume keyframes:

| Time | Music level | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 s | -6 dB | Music at full level |
| 3.0 s | -20 dB | Music dips as the voice starts |
| 28.0 s | -20 dB | Voice ends, music still low |
| 28.5 s | -6 dB | Music rises back |

The music dips over half a second, stays low under the whole voiceover and rises over half a second. Play it and move the levels until you hear every word.

## Where Marxx fits

[Marxx's AI video editor](/features/ai-video-editor) has automatic ducking and volume keyframes, and its assistant can duck music under speech. Auto-ducking is on the Match plan, $29 a month at launch prices (checked 3 Nov 2026). We make Marxx.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Ducking too deep, so the music disappears
- A fade that is too fast, so the music jumps in and out
- Tagging a clip with the wrong type, so ducking runs against the wrong audio
- Moving clips after you generate keyframes, then forgetting to generate them again

Once the mix is right, set the final level. See [how to normalise audio for Instagram](/guides/how-to-normalize-audio-for-instagram). For effects on top of the mix, see [how to add sound effects to Reels ads](/guides/how-to-add-sound-effects-to-reels). If the voice itself is noisy, start with [how to remove background noise from a video](/guides/how-to-remove-background-noise-from-video). For editors that do this for you, see [best AI video editors for ads](/best/best-ai-video-editors-for-ads).

## FAQ

### What is audio ducking?

It lowers one track, usually music, whenever another track, usually speech, plays. The music comes back up in the pauses.

### Which clips can Premiere Pro duck?

Only clips tagged Music and Ambience. You choose what they duck against, such as Dialogue.

### Does Generate Keyframes erase my edits?

Yes, if you select it again. Adobe says it overwrites manual keyframe edits, so make your hand edits after the last run.

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