Guide

How to turn down music automatically during calls on a Mac

You join a call and Spotify keeps playing at full volume. Here's how to keep music and videos out of the way while you talk.

By hand

• Pause: press the play/pause key before you join. Fine when you remember to.
• Lower the music app: drag Spotify's or Music's own volume down, then back up afterwards.
• Use a per-app volume app: turn the music app down on its own without touching the call's volume (see how to change the volume of one app on a Mac).

Lowering the Mac's own volume doesn't help: it turns the call down along with the music.

Automatically, with Sordina

Sordina Pro's Calls watches for any app using the microphone, which is what every call does. While it is, everything else plays quieter, and it fades back up a moment after the call ends.

1. Open Sordina's Settings and choose Calls.
2. Turn on Turn other apps down during calls.
3. Set how quiet the other apps get with Other apps at, for example 15%.

It works with FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, Discord, Slack huddles, and calls in a browser, because it only looks at the microphone, not at which app you're using. The app you're on the call in stays as it is.

When something isn't a call

Dictation and some apps keep the microphone open even when you're not talking to anyone. Add those under Ignored in Calls (or right-click the app in Sordina's panel and choose Ignore During Calls), and they'll never turn the others down.

Common questions

Does it pause the music?

No, it turns it down to the level you chose, so you can still hear it quietly if you like. Set the level to 0% to silence it during calls.

Does the person on the call hear my music?

Usually not, since call apps filter out sound from your speakers, but turning music down makes that more reliable, especially without headphones.