arrow_1_left_big Back
DaVinci Resolve

Learn How to Get Rid of Background Music in DaVinci Resolve​

• 4 mins read

 How to get rid of background music in DaVinci Resolve? In many real-world scenarios, you don’t have the luxury of neatly separated audio tracks. You might end up with a single file in which music, dialogue, and ambient sound all coexist, stubbornly refusing to part ways on their own.

This can happen for a variety of reasons: perhaps the original editor handed you a finished mix instead of individual stems, or maybe you’ve downloaded a piece of content that arrived as one flattened audio layer. Whatever the cause, the result is the same — trying to tame background music without losing important speech or other sounds becomes… tricky.

The Easiest Solution: Removing All Audio From the Video Clip

Let’s start answering the question of “ How to get rid of background music in DaVinci Resolve” with the simplest of possible scenarios: you have a single video clip, and it happens to be carrying along a dash of background music you’d rather not endure. There is no other audio you’d like to save, no priceless voiceover, no gentle hum of a distant brook, nothing worth preserving. In other words, you want a world in which your video exists in dignified, total silence — no flutes, no guitars, not even a silent kazoo.

With this most elementary of cases, all you have to do is unlink audio from video, and get rid of it. In the more complicated cases, the process will be slightly longer, and you’ll likely need DaVinci Resolve Studio, that is, at least if you don’t want to play with that 3rd party plugins.

Unlinking audio in DaVinci Resolve

How to Get Rid of Background Music in DaVinci Resolve​: Voice Isolation (Studio Only)

Now, let’s suppose the situation has gotten a tad more complicated. Instead of just a tune you never asked for, there’s also a person talking — the narrator of your documentary, the star of your interview, or the best man giving a heartfelt speech at a wedding. You’d like to remove the background music, but keep the voice sounding crisp and clear. This is not a job for broad brute force. this demands something more elegant; something like Voice Isolation. 

With just a few clicks, it can hush the background music while preserving the human voice that matters. Here’s how:

  1. Select the Audio Clip: Click on the clip in your timeline that contains both dialogue and unwanted background music.
  2. Open the Inspector: In the top-right corner of the interface, open the Inspector panel.
  3. Go to the Audio Tab: Within the Inspector, select the Audio tab to access audio-related settings.
  4. Enable Voice Isolation: Find the “Voice Isolation” option and turn it on.
  5. Adjust the Amount: Use the slider to set the desired level of isolation. Increase or decrease this value to achieve the right balance, ensuring that the dialogue remains clear while the background music is minimized
Voice isolation toggle in DaVinci Resolve

Note: The Voice Isolation feature is only available in DaVinci Resolve Studio. If you’re using the free version, you will not see this option in the Inspector’s ‘Audio’ tab.

How to Get Rid of Background Music in DaVinci Resolve​: Music Remixer (Studio Only)

Now, let’s say you’ve grown rather particular about which sounds offend your ears. Perhaps you’re not against a bit of piano tinkling in the background; you’re just allergic to that electric guitar riff that seems to insist on announcing itself every two seconds. Or maybe the drums are beating away at your sanity while the vocals and bass guitar are perfectly pleasant. In other words, this isn’t just about removing all background music or leaving it intact — you want to sculpt it, gently and precisely.

For such cases, you may want to consider using the Music Remixer. How does it work?

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Select the Track: Click on the audio track containing the music you want to adjust.
  2. Open the Inspector: Go to the top-right corner of the interface and select the Inspector panel.
  3. Enable Music Remixer: In the Inspector’s Audio tab, locate the Music Remixer option and turn it on. You will see it only if you have DaVinci Resolve Studio.
  4. Adjust Individual Elements: Use the sliders for each instrument category (vocals, drums, bass, guitar, other) to increase or decrease their volume levels.
  5. Preview and Refine: Play the audio to verify the changes. Adjust the sliders as needed until the balance between instruments and dialogue is satisfactory.