Choosing the Perfect Background Music for Your Video: A Guide to Enhancing Emotion and Engagement

Some say music is the key to happiness, but taste in music differs from person to person.

Someone who enjoys the soulful country music of George Strait might not consider Taylor Swift’s pop music to be as blissful.

When it comes to incorporating music into a video, the outcome can be either effective or a complete disaster.

Key Considerations for Choosing Music

To determine the right background music for a video, three crucial factors need to be identified:

1. What kind of emotion does the video evoke?
2. What type of music will convey the emotion of the video?
3. Does the music enhance the video, or is it distracting?

Finding the right track of music is a process that should be chosen wisely. The music shouldn’t be thrown in at the last second, and it should only benefit the video.

Identifying the Emotion

When determining the right music for a video in the post-production process, the client and the video producer should already know the video’s message, story, and sense of emotion.

Here are some examples of music “Moods” that can be found on the site “Premium Beat” (which is one of the most widely used licensing music distributors):

• Comedy/ Funny
• Gentle/ Light
• Sad/ Nostalgic
• Happy/ Cheerful
• Feel Good
• Uplifting

The music on “Premium Beat” can also be searched through “Genre,” “Artist,” and “Popularity.” But seeing that the music is based directly on the emotions of the video, it’s best to search by “Mood.”

Ensuring Relatability

As discussed earlier, during the video production process, the client should already know the type of emotion they’re trying to evoke, as well as the style of the video.

If the video is in the form of a commercial and is using humor to obtain the audience’s attention, an upbeat sound should be playing in the background.

Depending on the content and characters in the video, the music could have a slightly silly tune with some bells and whistles, but again, be careful and avoid music that may take away from the content and be distracting. Nonetheless, play with different types of upbeat music styles to determine the right fit.

If the video is based around emotional content and is in documentary or testimonial form, then the music should be softer and could be listed in two categories: sad/nostalgic or gentle/light.

However, some documentary and testimonial videos can also incorporate upbeat music, along with training and brand videos. Such video styles can incorporate music that is uplifting, makes you feel good, and makes you happy.

Always remember when choosing music that there should be no singing or words. Instruments are only to be heard.

Testing the Music

Music should be tested in the video’s sequence to determine if it is the right fit for the content.

Ask yourself: Does it flow with the dialogue? And is it like the background elevator music during a conversation?

This means, is the music noticeable enough but not so much that it is taking away from the conversation or causing an annoyance?

There is nothing wrong with picking out different types of music and seeing how it sounds with the video’s dialogue.

When editing in post-production, anything can be fixed, especially music. If you pick out a nostalgic song for your video and then watch it over and decide the music should be more uplifting, then that change can be made easily.

Enhancing the Video Experience

Music can make an incredible impact on a video. Yet, sometimes just allowing the dialogue to speak for itself is enough, but music creates the setting and stimulates emotions more. If you listen to shows, commercials, or movies, there are rarely any instances where music isn’t playing in the background.

Final Thoughts

Pick a music track that allows you to see and feel the emotions of the video without actually watching it. In other words, just close your eyes and let the music and dialogue do the talking. This method ensures that the music truly complements the video, creating a seamless and engaging viewing experience.