by 
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Find the clip and watch the audio meters
Put your clip on the timeline. Premiere Pro splits it into a video track (V1) and an audio track (A1). The audio clip shows a waveform, and the meters on the right of the timeline bounce while it plays. Press the spacebar and keep an eye on those meters. If they stay near the top, or flash red, the clip is too loud.
Step 2: Select the audio clip
Click the audio part of the clip on A1 to select it. Hover over it and Premiere shows a tooltip with the clip name, start, end and duration, which helps you confirm you picked the right one. Selecting the audio part matters: if you select the video half only, you may not get audio options.
Step 3: Open Audio Gain
Right-click the selected audio clip. In the menu, find Audio Gain, just above Audio Channels, and click it. You can also select the clip and press the shortcut G to open the same window.
Step 4: Adjust the gain by a negative amount
The Audio Gain window offers four options:
- Set Gain to sets the clip to an exact level.
- Adjust Gain by raises or lowers the clip from where it is now.
- Normalize Max Peak to brings the loudest peak to a level you choose.
- Normalize All Peaks to does the same for every peak in the clip.
To make a clip quieter, choose Adjust Gain by and type a negative number in the dB box, such as a small minus value for a gentle drop or a larger one for a big cut. Click OK to apply it. A positive number would make the clip louder instead.
Step 5: Play it back and fine-tune
Play the clip again and check the meters. If it is still too loud, or now too quiet, open Audio Gain again and adjust the number. Each time you apply a new value in Adjust Gain by, Premiere adds it to the current level, so use Set Gain to if you want to return to a precise figure.
Another way: the Volume control in Effect Controls
You can also change loudness in the Effect Controls panel. Select the audio clip, open Effect Controls and expand Volume under Audio. The Level value there controls the clip's volume, and you can add keyframes if you want the volume to change over time, for example to duck music under speech.
Tips
- Use gain for the whole clip. Audio Gain changes the entire clip, while keyframes in Volume let you change it over time.
- Leave some headroom. Try to keep your loudest moments out of the red on the meters.
- Balance voice and music. Music usually sounds right when it is noticeably quieter than the voice.
FAQ
How do I lower the volume of a clip in Premiere Pro?
Right-click the audio clip, choose Audio Gain, pick Adjust Gain by and enter a negative dB value.
What is the shortcut for Audio Gain?
Select the audio clip and press G to open the Audio Gain window.
Can I lower the volume only for part of a clip?
Yes. Add keyframes to the Level value under Volume in Effect Controls, or cut the clip first and adjust each piece on its own.
Need punchy audio to go with your video? Try the Sound Effects Pack Mini.
