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Whether you want to pursue a career in scoring music to video or simply would like to put music to your own videos, here are some tips on the craft.
Music is vital to setting the mood for a video or film, whether it’s a full-blown Hollywood production or your own home video. Because of modern computers, scoring a video can be an entirely desktop-driven production.
If you’re doing it for fun…
There are lots of user-friendly software programs (iMovie, for example) that make it fairly simple to add music and effects to an existing video.
If you’re not a musician, you can use cuts from your own library or download library music and other sources of license-managed music from a number of Internet sites.
If you’re serious about it…
The process of composing music for video is called “post-scoring”. If you want to learn the craft, you should know how to play a musical keyboard and have some knowledge of music production.
 | If you are serious about it, you'll need a
keyboard |
You will also need a sophisticated music software program. The good ones are somewhat pricey and a learning curve is involved. But after you become acquainted with the program, your creativity’s the limit!
Music post-scoring tips
- Carefully study each scene of the video and decide what kind of music would set the mood for that particular scene. A poignant setting may call for a simple piano melody with strings. An exciting scene may require a fully orchestrated piece with timpani and lots of horns. A single guitar can be very effective in certain situations. Rock music or a hip-hop rhythm may fit others.
- Musical transitions from one scene to the next can be tricky. Sometimes it’s best to end the music at the scene’s conclusion. Other times it may be effective to modulate or change tempo to alter the mood from one scene to the next.
- Employ the use of sound effects. Some scenes may call for a certain ambiance: restaurant, beach, crowd, rain, etc. Always be on the lookout for spots where obvious effects are needed: a sink dripping, a door closing, or wine glasses clinking.
- Look for any nuances where a subtle musical run or hit would add drama or humor: a blink of an eye, a sudden head movement, a person falling or dropping something, etc.
- It can be effective to use a common musical phrase on events that recur in the video. For instance, if similar written graphics occur several times, you may want to use the same brief string chord and harp glissando for each.
- Animated logos should almost always be post-scored to fit the animation. This can become a job in itself, and is often contracted as a separate project.
- Don’t overdo it. One of the primary talents involved in post-scoring is knowing when not to play. Few videos call for music throughout the whole production; many scenes are best with no music at all. Remember the old studio adage: “When in doubt, leave it out.”
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