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Cardboard includes a built-in library of royalty-free music and sound effects you can add to any project. You can also fine-tune volume, add fades, and use AI-powered beat detection to sync your edits to the rhythm.

Adding music and sound effects

Cardboard includes 34+ royalty-free tracks you can use in any project without worrying about licensing.Browse by genre:
  • Electronic, Acoustic, Cinematic, Pop, Ambient, Corporate, Rock, Folk, Funk
Or browse by mood:
  • Upbeat, Calm, Dramatic, Inspirational, Playful, Chill, Tense, Melancholic, Confident, Mysterious
Click any track to preview it, then drag it onto the timeline to add it to your project.
All music and sound effects in the built-in library are royalty-free. You can use them in commercial and personal projects without additional licensing.

Volume and fades

Per-clip volume

Each clip on the timeline has its own volume control, adjustable from 0% (silent) to 100% (full volume). Select a clip and use the volume slider in the clip inspector to set it.

Master volume

The master volume slider controls the overall output level of your entire project. Use it to make a final volume adjustment before exporting.

Fade in and fade out

Add smooth audio fades to any clip:
  • Fade in — Volume ramps up gradually at the start of the clip
  • Fade out — Volume ramps down gradually at the end of the clip
Configure the fade duration to control how long the ramp takes. Fades use smooth easing for a natural sound.
When you add background music, Cardboard automatically sets it to 25–40% volume so it doesn’t overpower dialogue.

Beat detection

Cardboard’s AI can analyze any audio track to detect BPM (beats per minute) and individual beat timestamps. This is useful for:
  • Syncing cuts to the beat of a song
  • Timing transitions to musical accents
  • Creating rhythmic montages
The AI places beat markers on the timeline that you can snap clips to for perfectly timed edits.

AI prompts for audio

You can manage audio from the AI Chat panel too:
  • “Add upbeat background music”
  • “Lower music during speaking parts”
  • “Add a click sound effect when the button appears”
  • “Fade out the music over the last 3 seconds”
  • “Remove background noise from the interview clips”

What’s next?