Yes or no to Background Music for Vlogs?

Tom Weller

Tom Weller

Active Member
I am making videos of me talking basically about different things, and I was wondering if putting fairly quiet background music actually makes the video that much more interesting or not?

A lot of famous YouTubers seem to do it, but I'm not sure if it might make me seem less genuine or something... :s

Especially since a lot of my topics are quite serious, should I just leave out the background music?
 
That is up to you.. just if I were you I would make sure the music fit the vlog.. I wouldn't use the same tune every time.. like if you are being serious make sure its not a happy poppy song.
 
Yeah just pick a quite serious song for it! I think music can make a huge difference to a video :)
Sometimes i'm surprised how much the vibe changes^^
Also try to put some silent moments in it if you want to make some sentences stand out a little bit more!
 
Hey Tom! How's it going? Waiting for your next video!

I just started adding background music to my videos, and I like it. I feel like it adds a bit of depth, but I don't know why. So far, I have been using the same tune, as I think of it as part of my branding, like an end card or page art. However, in a couple weeks I may make a serious video, and I am not sure yet whether I will use the same music. I'll probably not use music at all, but I will decide once the video is edited.
 
Music can be used to help tell a story and it can be used for ambience. It can actually make or break a video if you use the wrong music. If your videos are serious then choose serious kind of music, nothing quirky or bouncy as it would give the wrong vibe. That doesn't mean you have to pick dramatic music either which is usually used for more serious situations.

This is an example of the kind of music you might want to aim for: www.youtube.com/watch?v=skmJH0pWMI8 since it's a news video which is more of a serious thing.
Here's another example of another serious type of video again with similar music that suits the video's serious vibe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ToQGnddFRA
They're not in the vlog genre but you can still use them as references. If you don't feel the music is right, don't put it in.
 
thanks for all your replies :) I think I will try putting in some background music in the future, if I can find it!
I know what you mean by using the same music for a kind of 'branding' which I may do..
But I have already exported my latest video (which will be up in a few hours) so that will have no music!
 
i personally dont lie background music as its distracting but if you can find the right ambient sound, it should work well for all audiences, i personally dont use any though.
 
I think it's generally a good idea, but realllly make sure it isn't too repetitive, too loud, or just a distractingly bad song. If the viewer is constantly becoming aware of the music throughout the clip, then it's not being implemented well.
Perhaps the best thing about ambient music is that it makes audio transitions sound much better. Anyway, try things out... if it's bad, someone will be sure to tell you.
 
Look at Kevin Macleod's site, he has thousands of creative commons songs you can use. Some are good as background music, some are more dominant. You can search by mood as well so you can choose something that fits the video.

If you have a DAW, or even just Garageband, you can try your hand at producing your own music. Garageband / Logic will be especially good for this since they come with loops that can start you off when making the song. Making your own music can also be handy, and impresses video productions teachers ;). Either way, I recommend you use some sort of music to keep things interesting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top