Musical.ly is a free application for iOS and Android that allows you to record videos on your phone and accompany them with a piece of music, in order to create a video clip of the song. The two versions of the app are very similar: in both cases you can choose a song and record a video to join it, or create your own movie first, then find the perfect song as a soundtrack. Learn to use Musical.ly's controls and features, so you can start recording your "musicals" and share them with your friends or the application community.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Choosing the Music for Your Video
Step 1. Open the app
You can download it for free on iOS, Android and Amazon devices. Press its icon, in the shape of a red circle, with the image of a sound wave.
- Musical.ly requires version 7.0 or later of the iOS operating system and can be downloaded from iTunes.
- Musical.ly requires Android OS version 4.1 or later and is available on all phones and tablets that support Google Play. On an Amazon phone or tablet, you can download the app from the Amazon Marketplace.
Step 2. Press the yellow "+" button
Log in and the app home screen will appear. Press the yellow button in the center of the window to start adding music.
- Press "Choose Music" at the bottom left to select a song from Musical.ly's music library or your personal collection.
- Press "Resume First" or "From Collection" at the bottom center or right to film or upload a video before choosing the music track.
Step 3. Choose a song from the online library
Press "Choose music"; The Musical.ly online library will open, where you can browse the categories or search for a song thanks to the bar at the top.
- Press one of the categories in the online library, for example "featured", "lip-sync classic", "rock", "sound effects", etc. Scroll through all the items and press the play symbol above one of the covers on the left to listen to the available clip of the song.
- Use the search bar above to find a specific song within the online library.
- Select the song you want and the video recording screen will automatically open. If asked, authorize the app to access the device's camera and microphone.
Step 4. Choose your song
Press "Choose Music", then select the "My Songs" tab at the top right; this way you will be able to access your music tracks instead of the Musical.ly online library.
- Browse the songs saved on your device in the default "Music" app. Press the triangle on the cover of the song to hear it in full.
- Search in the music saved on your mobile phone for the song you want using the search bar at the top of the screen.
- Note that not all songs are allowed to upload to Musical.ly, so not all songs work with the app.
- Select the song you want and start recording the video. If asked, authorize the app to access the device's camera and microphone.
Step 5. Trim the song so that it starts playing from a particular point
On the recording screen, press the button at the top right, with the scissors icon, in order to decide where to start the song at the beginning of the video.
- When you press the scissors button, you will be able to hear the song and see "Swipe to cut music". Swipe left along the bottom music bar to decide where to start the song. Press the yellow tick button when done.
- Note that you can only record 15 seconds of video, so you can't use the whole song.
- You can't change the speed of the music. The speed controls you see at the bottom of the screen set the video playback speed; during recording the song will be temporarily slowed down or speeded up, but in the final movie it will be at normal speed.
Part 2 of 4: Record the Video
Step 1. Adjust the video speed
Select the speed from the horizontal bar above the red Record button on the recording screen. The "Normal" option allows you to create a movie at normal speed.
- "Slow" slows down the video, while "Epico" slows it down even more. Note that if you have already chosen the song, you will hear it faster when recording the video, but it will be at normal speed in the final movie.
- "Fast" speeds up the video, while "Lapse" makes it play very fast. Note that if you have already chosen the song, you will hear it slower when recording the video, but it will be at normal speed in the final movie.
Step 2. Shoot your video
To start filming, press and hold the red button at the bottom of the screen, with the video camera icon.
- Press and hold the button for the duration of the recording. You can stop recording and edit the movie by lifting your finger at any time. Resume filming where you stopped by pressing the button again. The final video will consist of all segments, edited seamlessly.
- Record as many separate segments as you like in the 15 second interval. You can see the recorded material in the bar at the top of the screen and thus understand how much time you have left. Press the green check mark in the top right if you want to end the cutscene before it gets to 15 seconds.
- While recording a segment, a button with an "X" appears. Press it to delete the last recorded section. The app will ask you for confirmation before proceeding.
Step 3. Switch between rear and front cameras
Use the button on the right of the recording screen, a circle formed by arrows, in order to switch between the two cameras of the device.
- If you are recording with one camera and want to switch to the other, lift your finger from the record button, press that to switch cameras, then resume the next segment with the other camera. You can switch cameras as many times as you like while recording.
- Note that there is no flash on many devices on the front camera.
Step 4. Set a timer to record without using your fingers
Press the third button from the top, with the stopwatch icon and the number 5, in order to enable a timer that will count down from 5 seconds and allows you to record without holding the button down.
- Once this feature is enabled, you can stop recording by pressing the red circle at the bottom of the screen.
- Use the other control buttons, such as the one to change the camera or activate the flash, before setting the timer.
Step 5. Turn on the flash
Use the button at the bottom right, with the lightning bolt icon, to enable the flash of your device. Press it again to turn it off.
Note that on almost all phones, the flash is only available for the rear view camera
Step 6. Try the "Resume First" option
Record the movie immediately, before selecting the song, by pressing the yellow "+" button on the home screen and choosing "Resume first" instead of "Choose music".
- Try the "live moment" feature at the bottom right of the recording screen; you will take five quick photos in succession that will be played in a loop, in-g.webp" />
- Choose a song after recording the video by pressing the icon at the top right of the editing screen.
Step 7. Try selecting a video you have already recorded
You can choose a movie saved on your device instead of recording a new one by pressing the yellow "+" button on the home screen and selecting "From collection".
- When asked, import a video or series of photos to play in sequence by pressing "Video" or "Photo Slide Show".
- If asked, authorize the app to access images on the device.
- You can edit the video by shortening it with the bar at the bottom of the screen, or by rotating it 90 ° using the button on the right.
- Choose a song after recording the video by pressing the icon at the top right of the editing screen.
Part 3 of 4: Edit and Share the Video
Step 1. Watch the video and decide whether to edit it
Once the 15 seconds available for the video have been reached, the video will automatically play in the editing screen. In this window you will find several buttons to change the clip as you like and you can play it in a loop.
If you prefer, you can discard the video entirely and record a new one by pressing the arrow in the upper left corner of the screen. Note that the movie will be permanently deleted if you have not saved a copy of it
Step 2. Choose a different song for the video
Once you have chosen the song and resumed the video, if you want to change the music press the circle with the album cover image of the song.
- If you have decided to start by recording the video, you can now choose a song with which to replace the scene noises.
- Choose a song from the online collection or your personal library. The new song will accompany the video in the edit screen.
- Press the scissors button in the top right corner under the album cover to edit the song by cropping it. Slide the selector back and forth to decide where to start the song.
Step 3. Check the sound with the audio mixer
Press the second button from the top on the right of the screen, with the icon that has three switches, in order to change the sound level of the video and music.
- Move the selector left towards the note symbol to raise the volume of the song; move it towards the microphone to raise the volume of the original video sounds.
- Press the yellow check mark when done and you will return to the editing screen.
Step 4. Select a color filter to improve image quality
Press the second button from the bottom right of the screen, with the icon in the shape of three colored circles, to access the filters. Choose the one you prefer and apply it to your video.
- Choose one of the 12 available filters. You will see the preview on the video being played; if no alternative suits you, press "None".
- Note that to unlock one of the filters, "Cello", you need to follow Musical.ly's official Instagram account, or at least visit the profile when prompted.
- Once you have chosen your filter, press the yellow check mark to apply it and return to the editing screen.
Step 5. Use the "time machine" feature to edit the video
Press the button at the bottom right, with the stopwatch icon, to access the "time machine" menu, where you can make changes to the movie.
- Press "reverse" to play the video in reverse. Use "time trap" to play part of the accelerated movie by adjusting the selector at the top of the screen to choose the point you want. Use "relativity" to change the speed of a part of the video by adjusting the selector at the top.
- Note that "relativity" mode must be unlocked by sharing a Musical.ly video on Instagram, or at least by opening the dialog that allows you to do so.
Step 6. Add a caption and share the movie
Enter a sentence at the bottom of the screen, where it reads "title with #tag @friend". Then press "Save Private" to save the video to your phone, or "Publish" to share it on social media or with the Musical.ly community.
- Use hashtags (words preceded by "#") to allow other users to find your video when they search for your chosen term and tag your friends on Musical.ly by typing "@" before their username.
- Press "Save private" to save the video to your profile so that only you can see it (note that the saved videos will be deleted if you delete the application and do not save them in the Pictures). Press "Publish" to add the video to your profile and share it publicly with the entire Musical.ly community.
- After making your choice, the "Share with friends" page will appear where you will find buttons to post the video on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Whatsapp or Vine. If you prefer, you can send the video by e-mail, message, etc.
Part 4 of 4: Creating a Duet
Step 1. Find a video
- Open the profile of the person you want to duet with and choose a video.
- Press the "…" button in the lower right corner, then select "Start duet now!".
Step 2. Record the duet
Record the video as you normally would, then click the check mark in the upper right corner
Step 3. Share the duet
- When you look back at your musical, you should notice that it changes between your video and that of the other person.
- The title should already contain the expression "#duet with @user". You can add as many hashtags as you like.
- You can save the video as private or post it.
- The lightning bolt button is used to view all notifications, such as users who have started following you or who have liked your video.
- If you particularly like a user's videos, you can turn on notifications and get an alert every time they upload a movie.
Advice
You can create a "duet" video with all Musical.ly users. Just open the profile of a user you follow and follow you in turn, press the "…" icon, then "Start duet now!"; registration will start immediately
Warnings
- Android tablets and some of the Android phones do not support the current version of the app. The Musical.ly team said they are working on making the program fully functional, but in the meantime they have asked users to report any problems to [email protected].
- Don't use the top left arrow to go back and don't exit the app until you've finished editing a video and saved it. If you do, you may lose the video and edits.
- Remember that there is a real person behind every username. Make sure you don't write nasty or abusive comments. Otherwise you may be reported!
- Follow Musical.ly's guidelines, otherwise your account may be deleted.
