How do I add a fade to my sound?

Step 1: Activate the volume control

This step will allow you to see the volume and volume keyframes on your sound clips. If your volume is already activated, go to Option 1 or 2.

1. In the Timeline view, find the sound clip that you want to work with.
2. Right click on the clip and select Show Volume. It should appear with a tick the next time you see it.

3. You should now see a thin, blue, horizontal line across all your sound clips. This represents the volume level of all your sound clips. By default it is set to 0.00 dB.

Option 1: Create the fade in the Timeline view

1. Decide where you want your fade to start and end on the sound clip.
2. In the Timeline view, hold Alt while hovering over the volume line of the sound clip. You should see a cursor with a plus symbol.
3. While still holding Alt, click on the volume line to add the keyframes needed for your fade (you will need more than one).

4. If you add too many keyframes, simply use Alt + click to remove them.
5. To create the fade, click and drag one of the keyframes up or down (without Alt). You can also retime your keyframes by sliding them left and right.

6. The sound will automatically fade from one keyframe to the other.

Option 2: Create the fade in the Effect Stack view

1. In the Timeline view, select the sound clip you want to create the fade on.
2. Open or locate the Effect Stack view.
3. In the left-hand side of the Effect Stack, you will see the sound clip name and sections for the Gain and Volume Envelope.

4. In the right-hand side of the Effect Stack view, scrub the playhead to move across the length of the clip. As you scrub in the Effect Stack, you will also see the playhead move in the Timeline view.

5. Place the playhead in the first position of your fade. 
6. In the left-hand column, click the plus symbol next to Volume Envelope to add a keyframe.

7. A keyframe in the shape of a solid diamond will appear in the Effect Stack. You will also be able to see the keyframe added to the clip on the timeline.

8. Scrub the playhead to the second position for your fade and add it using the plus button.
9. The two keyframes will become half-filled diamonds. Both keyframes can also be seen on the clip on the timeline.

10. In the Effect Stack, select the keyframe that you want to reduce the volume on. The keyframe will become blue when selected. You can also retime your keyframes by sliding them left and right, and delete keyframes with backspace or delete.

11. In the left-hand column, next to the Volume Envelope, do one of the following:
    • Click on the dB value and manually put in a decibel value.
    • While hovering over the dB value, click and drag to the left to pull the volume down.

12. The sound will automatically fade from one keyframe to the other and the fade will also show on the clip in the timeline.

Q&A 

Question: 

Why can’t I add keyframes to my sound clip?

Answers: 

1. Make sure you have activated the Show Volume on the clip.
2. Make sure you are holding Alt and clicking while hovering over the volume line.

Question: 

Why don’t I see anything in the Effect Stack?

Answer: 

You must have the sound clip selected to see its settings in the Effect Stack.