How do you split an audio clip in the iMovie timeline? (iMovie 10.2.5)

Question

Level 1

28 points

How do you split an audio clip in the iMovie timeline? (iMovie 10.2.5)

I've got a long audio clip in my iMovie timeline and I want to split it and cut about 30 seconds of audio from the middle of it. I *should* be able to split an audio clip in the same way I can split a video clip in the timeline. But I can't. The Split option is grayed out.

The option to "Trim to Playhead" is there. But that's not what I want to do. Using this option will cut all the audio after the playhead. But I want to keep most of the audio in the rest of the track and just cut 30 seconds from the middle of it.

In Apple user forums all the way back to 2015, iMovie users have been asking about this issue. It's still not available. Apple must have made an intentional decision to not enable users to split an audio clip in the timeline. Why, though?

Are there any workarounds to this? I guess I could edit my audio track outside of iMovie and save it as tinier clips in an audio-editing application, then reassemble the shorter audio clips in the iMovie timeline. Anything else? Besides using another video application (where this "split audio clip" feature is available).

Posted on Feb 1, 2022 9:13 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Rich839

Level 8

48,174 points

Feb 2, 2022 9:58 AM in response to sfsmusique

It's partially accurate. If the audio clip is coupled to a video clip above it, but the audio clip extends out past the video clip so that there are no video clips above the extended portion, then it can't be split in the extended portion. (Actually, I never realized that until your post.) However, if you put your cursor on the audio clip and, while pressing down, pull it straight down until it uncouples from the video clip, then you can split the audio clip anywhere along the clip.

-- Rich

Reply

Answer 2

sfsmusique Author

Level 1

28 points

Feb 2, 2022 9:33 AM in response to David McKinlay

Thank you! I might have discovered a workaround before I saw your reply. Correct me if my assumption is wrong. I was working on a section of the movie where I had a long audio track and I was adding supporting images and videos in the timeline above that track.

So when I reached the section of audio where I wanted to cut 30 seconds from the narrative, there weren't any supporting images there. However, if I stretched some images or video so they extended further along the audio track, the "Split" function became available for the audio as well as the video track.

So... not sure if I can replicate this, but:

Audio track alone - can't be split

Audio track with accompanying video/image track - can be split

Does this seem accurate?

Reply

Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

48,174 points

Feb 2, 2022 8:14 AM in response to sfsmusique

In addition to the good way described in David McKinlay's post, you can also place your cursor on the audio clip at the beginning of the part that you want to delete, and, while holding down the r key, drag the cursor along the clip. A yellow box will appear to outline the range that you want to delete. Press delete on your keyboard to delete the range.

However, if the split procedure described by David McKinlay isn't working for you, then iMovie is not behaving properly. Try deleting preferences to see if that cures it. To delete preferences, open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if the Modify/Split Clip procedure works. Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project.

-- Rich

Reply

Answer 4

Rich839

Level 8

48,174 points

Feb 2, 2022 8:35 AM in response to Rich839

Adding to my previous post, I meant to say "press-drag" while holding down the r key.

-- Rich

Reply

Answer 5

Feb 1, 2022 10:06 PM in response to sfsmusique

I think this is what you are missing?

You can split audio tracks the same way as video tracks. You need to select the point of each split in a project - left click in the timeline, then right click to get the options which include split clip. If you do this twice and you would have isolated one space in the audio or video.

You can also separately edit an audio track in a video by detaching audio: Menu Bar > Modify > Detach Audio

I'm using iMovie 10.3.1 in Monterey

Reply

How do you split an audio clip in the iMovie timeline? (iMovie 10.2.5)

Similar questions