Audio sharing is recommended for playing music on Zoom! Setting method and points to note when sharing

You can play music in a room or venue and have it picked up, but you can use the Zoom function to share higher quality audio.

Here, we explain how to share audio using the screen sharing function of Zoom.

We have also compiled notes on audio sharing, so if you are thinking of playing music during a seminar or event on Zoom, please refer to it.

How and how to share audio on Zoom

When sharing audio with Zoom, use the “screen sharing” function that comes standard with Zoom.

First, let’s take a closer look at the steps for sharing audio by scene.

If you also want to play music while screen sharing

If you want to play music on your PC or YouTube videos as background music while sharing a screen such as a slide show, the method is as follows.

1. Play music and YouTube on your PC in advance
2. Start a Zoom meeting with music playing
3. Click “Screen Share” from the menu at the bottom of the screen
4. Click the screen you want to share
5. Check “Share computer audio” at the bottom left of the screen
6. Click “Share Screen”

With this, audio sharing will start at the same time as screen sharing, and the music playing on the PC will be heard by the participants.

To stop sharing, click “Stop Sharing” at the bottom of the sharing menu.

If you click the V mark displayed on the right side of “Share computer audio”, you can select “Monaural” or “Stereo (Hi-Fi)”. You may want to try

If you want to share only music in the state of the camera image

If you do not want to share the screen and want to share only the audio while the camera image is playing, the procedure is as follows.

1. Play music and YouTube on your PC in advance
2. Start a Zoom meeting with music playing
3. Click “Screen Share” from the menu at the bottom of the screen
4. Click the “Details” tab
5. Click “Computer Sound Only”
6. Click “Share Screen”

By specifying only computer sound for sharing, you can share only the music playing on your PC with the camera image on the screen.

Again, to stop sharing, click “Stop sharing” next to the sharing menu.

You can also select “Stereo (Hi-Fi)” when sharing.

Is it possible to share even if the audio is received on a mobile phone?

There are cases in which a computer and a mobile phone or smartphone are used to participate in a Zoom meeting because the computer does not have a built-in microphone.

If participants receive video/screen sharing on their PCs and audio sharing on their mobile phones/smartphones, the method described above can be used.

Points to note when sharing audio with Zoom

When sharing audio during a Zoom meeting, there are points to be aware of in terms of the device used by the host and volume adjustment.

Next, let’s take a closer look at the points to note in Zoom audio sharing.

Audio sharing can only be used on the PC version of Zoom

You can share audio using Zoom’s screen sharing function only with the PC version (Windows / Mac) desktop application.

It cannot be used from smartphones (iPhone/Android) or tablets (iPad/Android).

Participants can receive audio sharing even if they participate from a smartphone or tablet, but the host who performs audio sharing must be using a computer.

Audio sharing continues even when muted

The music played in voice sharing is played to the other party through screen sharing, not through a microphone.

So keep in mind that muting your mic won’t stop audio sharing.

If you want to stop the music, you need to stop audio sharing or stop playing the music itself.

Also, if there is no sound or you can’t hear it, the likely cause is not Zoom’s mute, but the speaker settings of the device itself.

Check to see if your device’s speakers are turned off and the volume is set to minimum.

It is recommended to adjust the volume starting with a soft sound.

If participants turn up their speakers to hear the conversation, the music may sound loud.

When sharing audio, it is recommended to play it at a low volume first and then adjust the volume while listening to the opinions of the participants.

BGM playing in the room can’t be heard by the other party?

In scenes such as piano and guitar classes and DJ events, there may be cases where you want Zoom to pick up the music that is playing in the room instead of the music on your PC.

Finally, we will explain how to make the music and BGM that is playing in the room audible via Zoom.

Zoom has a noise canceling function

Zoom has an automatic noise canceling function set by default, so that noise other than conversations does not enter.

So if you want Zoom to pick up the music playing in your room, you’ll need to turn down the noise-cancelling level.

To lower the noise canceling level

The operation procedure for lowering the noise canceling level of Zoom is as follows.

1. Start Zoom and click the gear icon (Settings)
2. Click “Audio” from the left menu
3. Uncheck “Automatically adjust volume”
4. Set the level of “Suppress Background Noise” to “Low”

By making this setting, you can pick up sounds other than conversations, and you can comfortably proceed with music lessons and events.

However, it is recommended to change the setting according to the scene, as it is easier to hear with noise canceling during a normal meeting.

Introducing the new feature “Music and Professional Audio”

As of this writing (June 2021), Zoom has added a new feature to its app: Music and Professional Audio.

This feature allows you to enable the original sound, completely bypassing the noise canceling.

In addition, “Music and Professional Audio” has a function called “High Fidelity Music Mode”, which makes it possible to deliver music to the other party with even higher sound quality.

By combining this function with a device with a high-quality microphone and speaker such as Neat, there are cases such as remote lessons at music colleges in the United States.

However, enabling “High Fidelity Music Mode” increases the CPU usage rate of the PC and the bandwidth consumption of the network, so prepare a PC with sufficient specifications and a wired LAN connection.

summary

• Zoom screen sharing allows you to share music on your PC and video audio from YouTube
• The sound from voice sharing cannot be muted, so you need to stop sharing when you want to stop it.
• By adjusting the noise canceling, it is also possible to have Zoom pick up the background music in the room.

Unless you’re playing music that you’re playing yourself, basically it’s clearer to play music from voice sharing.

If you want to proceed with a seminar or event while playing background music, please use the audio sharing function.