How to Add Music to PowerPoint
Open the slide you want to start the music on., Click the Insert tab., Click the "Audio" option in the "Media" group., Browse for the music file you want to play., Decide if you want the music to start automatically or play when you click., Make...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Open the slide you want to start the music on.
If you want the music to play from the beginning of the presentation, select the first slide.
If you're using Office 2007 or 2003, click here.
If you want to play multiple songs throughout a presentation, you could try to line them up by spacing them out between your slides, but you'll likely find it easier and less jarring to create a new file that combines all of the songs into one, back-to-back.
See the next section for details. -
Step 2: Click the Insert tab.
You can insert MP3 and WAV files.
If you want to use a song from iTunes, you'll need to convert it to MP3 first by right-clicking on the song in iTunes and selecting "Create MP3 Version".
Click here for more details.
WAV files can be quite large, and can make the PowerPoint presentation difficult to share.
Consider converting the WAV file to MP3.
You can do this by importing the WAV into iTunes, or by using a free online converter.
Click here for more details. , Select "Audio from My PC" from the list of options.
Note:
The "Online Audio" option no longer works, so if the song you want is online, you'll need to download it to your computer first., You can select any WAV or MP3 file that's stored on your computer or on any network drives. , There are two basic options for setting when your music starts.
You can either have the song play when you click the button or you can have the song play automatically in the background.
There are two presets which allow you to quickly select one of these options:
If you want the song to start automatically and play in the background across all of your slides, select the "Play in Background" option in the Playback tab.
This will set the song to start automatically, continue playing when slides are changed, loop when finished, and hide the sound button.
The song will start playing immediately when that slide is opened.
If you prefer to click the button to start the sound instead, select "No Style" from the Playback tab.
The song will play when you click the audio button.
You can change the look of the button using the Format tab.
This will let you design a button or import a picture to use instead. , PowerPoint includes some basic audio editing tools that allow you to change where the song starts playing from, adjust the volume, fade in and out, and more.
Select the audio object to open the Playback tab if it isn't already.
Add bookmarks to the track.
When you hover over the audio object, you'll see a track time slider.
Select a spot on the track and click the "Add Bookmark" button to create a clickable bookmark at that point in the track.
This will allow you to quickly jump to specific spots.
Click the "Trim Audio" button to cut out unnecessary parts of the song.
Useful for songs that are too long, or that you only need a piece of.
Use the sliders in the Trim Audio window to select the new starting and ending point for the song.
Use the Fade Duration options to set the fade in and fade out times.
The longer the duration, the more gradual the fade will be.
Use the Volume button to adjust the master volume for the song.
Make sure to test the song before the presentation and adjust the volume accordingly so that you don't startle the audience. , PowerPoint 2007 and newer will embed the MP3 file into your presentation file.
This will allow you to share the file with others without having to worry about sending the music file along with it.
Keep in mind that the size of the presentation will increase based on the size of the MP3 file.
If your presentation file is under 20 MB, you can probably attach it to an email to send to others.
If it's any larger, you may want to consider using a service like Dropbox or Google Drive to share it. -
Step 3: Click the "Audio" option in the "Media" group.
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Step 4: Browse for the music file you want to play.
-
Step 5: Decide if you want the music to start automatically or play when you click.
-
Step 6: Make basic edits to the audio file.
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Step 7: Share the presentation.
Detailed Guide
If you want the music to play from the beginning of the presentation, select the first slide.
If you're using Office 2007 or 2003, click here.
If you want to play multiple songs throughout a presentation, you could try to line them up by spacing them out between your slides, but you'll likely find it easier and less jarring to create a new file that combines all of the songs into one, back-to-back.
See the next section for details.
You can insert MP3 and WAV files.
If you want to use a song from iTunes, you'll need to convert it to MP3 first by right-clicking on the song in iTunes and selecting "Create MP3 Version".
Click here for more details.
WAV files can be quite large, and can make the PowerPoint presentation difficult to share.
Consider converting the WAV file to MP3.
You can do this by importing the WAV into iTunes, or by using a free online converter.
Click here for more details. , Select "Audio from My PC" from the list of options.
Note:
The "Online Audio" option no longer works, so if the song you want is online, you'll need to download it to your computer first., You can select any WAV or MP3 file that's stored on your computer or on any network drives. , There are two basic options for setting when your music starts.
You can either have the song play when you click the button or you can have the song play automatically in the background.
There are two presets which allow you to quickly select one of these options:
If you want the song to start automatically and play in the background across all of your slides, select the "Play in Background" option in the Playback tab.
This will set the song to start automatically, continue playing when slides are changed, loop when finished, and hide the sound button.
The song will start playing immediately when that slide is opened.
If you prefer to click the button to start the sound instead, select "No Style" from the Playback tab.
The song will play when you click the audio button.
You can change the look of the button using the Format tab.
This will let you design a button or import a picture to use instead. , PowerPoint includes some basic audio editing tools that allow you to change where the song starts playing from, adjust the volume, fade in and out, and more.
Select the audio object to open the Playback tab if it isn't already.
Add bookmarks to the track.
When you hover over the audio object, you'll see a track time slider.
Select a spot on the track and click the "Add Bookmark" button to create a clickable bookmark at that point in the track.
This will allow you to quickly jump to specific spots.
Click the "Trim Audio" button to cut out unnecessary parts of the song.
Useful for songs that are too long, or that you only need a piece of.
Use the sliders in the Trim Audio window to select the new starting and ending point for the song.
Use the Fade Duration options to set the fade in and fade out times.
The longer the duration, the more gradual the fade will be.
Use the Volume button to adjust the master volume for the song.
Make sure to test the song before the presentation and adjust the volume accordingly so that you don't startle the audience. , PowerPoint 2007 and newer will embed the MP3 file into your presentation file.
This will allow you to share the file with others without having to worry about sending the music file along with it.
Keep in mind that the size of the presentation will increase based on the size of the MP3 file.
If your presentation file is under 20 MB, you can probably attach it to an email to send to others.
If it's any larger, you may want to consider using a service like Dropbox or Google Drive to share it.
About the Author
Raymond Palmer
Enthusiastic about teaching crafts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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