5 tips for Selecting the Best Music for Your Videos

Tired of Speaking for Peanuts TIP #50 – Selecting Theme Music.

Music is a powerful tool for inspiring your audience. It also provides a way to subliminally connect with them. Choosing the best piece of music for your video promotional pieces and/or personal theme song can be a daunting task, especially if you do not feel as though you are musically inclined. Have no fear – I am here. Most of you would be surprised to learn that I have spent most of my life in music and have earned my MM (Master of Music) degree. Here are a few tips from ‘the master’:

1. Begin by asking yourself – Is the music being selected for a specific (temporal) event and will not be used again or is this the actual theme you want individuals to recognize you by?
a. If it is just a one time event, choose music that will pick up the character of the event. Classical or contemporary, up-beat or sedate, think about the mood you are trying to convey to your prospective audience and select accordingly.
b. If this is to be your theme music, you will want to spend a good deal of time reflecting on this. I suggest something with a jazz or classical flavor. This is not because I am a huge jazz/classical fan (although I am). It is because jazz and classical music tend to be more timeless and less effected by current musical trends and tastes. Therefore your musical selection can take you into the next millennium.

2. Don’t depend on your judgement alone. Let others, especially those from your target market (age and background) give input. Let them listen and give their first or ‘gut’ reactions to it. How does this music make them feel? What images does this music bring to mind? Is the music pleasing to the ear or make them what to turn it off?
3. Listen to the background music in commercials. Listen to the theme music from the videos of accomplished speakers and trainers. Analyze not only what you like and dislike but why you may or may not like it.
4. Once you have made your video, try watching it with several different kinds of music. It will give you an idea of the style and tempo to get your audience ‘in the mood’.
5. Take your time. Once you think you have found just the right piece, get away from it for at least a week and then, listen again and see if it still hits the mark.

Don’t be intimidated by the process of selecting music. For more insights and how to make great video and where to purchase music, watch the video below from my free series on Professional Video Tips for the Technically Disadvantaged. (You will hear our theme music.) You can get the entire video how-to series FREE by clicking on SUBSCRIBE at the top of this page.