> Yes. Attach your song as MP3, WAV or M4A with your clips, or ask Shorty for a track, and it cuts the clips to the music and can land key moments on the beat. Source: https://shortyedit.com/guides/edit-clips-to-the-beat-of-a-song --- # Can AI edit my video clips to the beat of a song I choose? Yes. Add the song as an MP3, WAV or M4A file with your clips in Shorty’s composer, confirm you have the rights to use it, and describe the video. It becomes the edit’s soundtrack and Shorty cuts the shots to it; for music montages the director can build a velocity edit that lands each key moment on a beat. Shorty cannot fetch a song by its name: attach the audio file, or ask for music and Shorty finds a library track or creates an original instrumental in that mood. [The Shorty team](https://shortyedit.com/about#editorial-team) · Updated 22 October 2026 · Published 22 October 2026 ## Key takeaways - Attach your song as MP3, WAV or M4A, confirm the rights, and Shorty cuts your clips to it. - Ask for music instead and Shorty finds a library track or creates an original one. - For montages, the director can land key moments on the beat with speed ramps. - Shorty cannot fetch a song by name; attach the audio file. ## Three ways to give an edit its music Pick the one that matches what you have. | Music source | How to add it | Good to know | | --- | --- | --- | | A song you choose | Add an MP3, WAV or M4A file with your clips, or attach one with the paperclip in a revision | Shorty asks you to confirm you have the rights before it uploads | | A track Shorty finds or creates | Write “add upbeat music” or “a calm, cinematic soundtrack” in the brief or a revision | A library track costs nothing extra; a newly created one uses credits by length | | The clip’s own sound | Ask for the edit to be cut to the clip’s own soundtrack | Useful when the original audio already has a rhythm | Sources: [Music for your edit, your own tracks and more](https://shortyedit.com/blog/music-for-your-edit). Shorty News release notes for these features. ## A recorded example: an Alps reel cut to its own beat In a comparison published on 18 October 2026, Shorty’s Auto director cut ten seconds of Alps footage to the clip’s own soundtrack, with two-word titles tucked behind the hiker or the mountain, and passed every check. Sources: [16 real edits side by side](https://shortyedit.com/blog/deepseek-v4-1-flash-vs-auto). One first-party comparison; results depend on your footage and brief. Brief: “Ten seconds of the Alps cut to the clip’s own soundtrack, with two-word titles and text tucked behind the hiker or the mountain.” Edited by Shorty on Auto. [Watch the film](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/blog/deepseek-v4-1-flash-vs-auto/17-alps-beat-cut-text-behind-auto.mp4?v=8efb319e) ## More real edits cut to the music Shorty edits from the Discovery gallery, each made from one request. The caption says what the saved brief asked for; open the original footage to compare. Turn the sound on. **Vietnam, day to night** Cut on the beat of the clip’s own audio, keeping the original soundtrack, as the brief asked. [Watch the edit](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/renders/shorty-e5ed014c.mp4?v=472110b2) · [Original footage](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/inputs/shorty-e5ed014c/source-01.mp4?v=2cf78177) **Tokyo after dark** The brief asked for cuts locked to beats and downbeats and a flash on each drop, keeping the footage’s own beat as the soundtrack. [Watch the edit](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/renders/shorty-0994ae61.mp4?v=123f276f) · [Original footage](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/inputs/shorty-0994ae61/source-01.mp4?v=870b4971) **Store in motion** A store showcase matched to a reference. The brief asked for quick beat-synced cuts between clothing racks, shoes and shelves. [Watch the edit](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/renders/shorty-b5b9990a.mp4?v=c1b22d49) · [Original footage](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/inputs/shorty-b5b9990a/source-01.mp4?v=0b361994) **Studio looks and stock footage** A first edit from one brief: four studio looks plus Pixabay clips the director found, cropped to 9:16 and cut on the beat. [Watch the edit](https://cdn.shortyedit.com/blog/stock-footage-pixabay-videos-and-photos/summit-edit.mp4?v=eefb7f57) ## How the cut follows the music When you ask Shorty for music on a new edit, the track is ready before the director starts, so the cut is built around it. For music montages the director can build a velocity edit: slow on each hit, fast in between, with speed ramps, optical-flow slow motion and motion blur chosen per shot. Speech never ramps, so anyone talking stays at real speed. Sources: [Speed curves and velocity edits](https://shortyedit.com/blog/speed-curves-motion-blur-and-stabilization). Shorty News release notes for these features. ## Ask for it in the brief Say which song to use, how long the video should be and which moments should hit the beat. Cut my clips to the attached song as a 15-second vertical reel. Change shots on the beat, put the best jump on the drop with a slow-motion ramp, and end on the final chorus hit. ## Popular songs and rights You can use a popular song only if you have the rights to use it in this video and wherever you post it. Attach its audio file and confirm. If a brief names a song without a file, Shorty creates an original track in that mood and says so on the cut, with how to use the real song: attach its audio file in a change. A finished cut with music shows its track, marked Your track or AI-generated in Shorty. ## What to check in the export Play the MP4 with sound on a phone. - Cuts land on beats rather than just after them, especially on the drop. - The strongest moments line up with the biggest hits in the song. - Speech, if any, is still at normal speed and audible over the music. - The ending lands on a musical phrase rather than mid-bar. - If a moment misses the beat, name it in a revision: “move the jump onto the drop”. ## Keep the ideas coming ### AI wedding video editor for highlight films and Reels Upload ceremony and reception clips, from a videographer’s cards or guests’ phones, say the length, format, song and moments to include (vows, first kiss, first dance, speeches) and Shorty cuts a highlight film or Reel and renders an MP4. Music dips under spoken lines, and you revise by message. It suits highlights and teasers from selected clips; a full-day documentary edit from hours of multicam footage needs a dedicated wedding tool or a timeline editor. ### Music for your edit Explore this editing workflow in Shorty. ### Speed ramps and velocity edits Yes. In Shorty you describe the edit, such as “a hype reel of my snowboard trip”, and the director decides which shots ramp and how: fast into a moment, deep into slow motion and back out. It picks from the curves editors use, including Montage, Hero, Bullet, Jump cut, Flash in and Flash out, fills slow stretches with new optical-flow frames and adds motion blur to every speed-up. For music montages it can build a velocity edit that lands each key moment on a beat. You do not set keyframes, and speech never ramps. ### Make music video clips from your footage Connect performance and detail shots around the musical phrasing and keep the strongest moment intact. ### Balance music with spoken content Use music to support the mood while keeping words intelligible and important natural sounds recognizable. ### Original audio, dialogue and soundtrack direction Direct how Shorty handles recorded sound, dialogue and music while editing the picture. Request source audio, a quieter music bed or a silent edit, then check the rendered result. ### Revise an edit by chat Shorty is an AI video editor you can revise by chat. Open an existing edit and describe the change in plain language, such as a new opening, different shot timing or corrected title text, or select an editable title or graphic in the preview and say what should change. Shorty renders a new version to compare with the previous cut. ## Questions, answered. ### Can AI edit my clips to the beat of a song I choose? Yes. Attach the song as an MP3, WAV or M4A file with your clips in Shorty and describe the edit. It becomes the soundtrack and Shorty cuts the shots to it. ### Can Shorty use a song by its name, like a Spotify track? No. Shorty cannot fetch a song by its name. Attach the audio file, or let Shorty create an original track in a similar mood. ### Can I use a popular song? Only if you have the rights to use it in this video and wherever you post it. Shorty asks you to confirm before uploading the file. ### Does adding music cost extra? Reusing a track from Shorty’s music library costs nothing extra. A newly created track uses credits based on its length. ### Can the edit put slow motion on the drop? Yes. Ask for it in the brief. For music montages the director can build a velocity edit that lands key moments on the beat, slow on the hit and fast in between. ## Your next video starts here. Bring the footage. Tell us the idea. Shape the edit. --- Published by Tools Products FZ-LLC. Canonical HTML: https://shortyedit.com/guides/edit-clips-to-the-beat-of-a-song