Finding appropriate background music

PBurdett wrote on 11/27/2002, 2:18 PM
I am one of those musically challenged people. I don't know the name of any band introduced after 1982.

But I want to be able to choose background music for my home videos. Often I know what general kind of music I want: jazz, europop, violin. I also know the tempo and mood I want to portray: suspense, joy, etc.

I know there is a lot of music around on the web, but does anyone know of a place that you can find music by TYPE as opposed to by title or artist? Also, it would be great if I could hear samples.

What is your collective experience?

Comments

IanG wrote on 11/27/2002, 5:36 PM
>I am one of those musically challenged people. I don't know the name of any band introduced after 1982.

Don't worry, you haven't missed much! :-)

I understand the problem, but I tend to use music I (or my children) already have in our collections. I'm lucky in that I work with people who at least tolerate my video interests, and they're always prepared to offer suggestions.

Cheers


Ian G.
jayman8190 wrote on 11/27/2002, 8:50 PM
Go to acidplanet.com and consider joining up. They have great music by talented people for free download. It is grouped by Genre, and searching the libraries is fun in and of itself. The music can be downloaded in more than one format to fit your needs. Also consider purchasing the Acid software program and your can EASILY make original music of your own for your videos.
JoeS wrote on 11/27/2002, 8:56 PM
hi.
what i did was to record different types of music off direct tv. they have many types of music there, rock, classical, jazz etc. i then edited the various types using nero wave editer. i then used the various backgrounds for several slidshows i put on dvd. of course if you dont have direct tv, this info is useless, but it works for me.

good luck,
joe s
JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/28/2002, 11:14 PM
You might want to try SmartSound http://www.sonicdesktop.com/ . This is software that will generate royalty free music in many styles that fit your video timeline exactly. Need a Jazz piece that's 4:27 complete with into and ending that stops when your video does? This software will compose it on the fly with CD quality. This is the easiest to use because you don't have to loop or edit or anything to make the music fit. Just select the style, select the length and generate. They have a bunch of CD's with various styles you can purchase.

For Free, take a look at FreeplayMusic http://www.freeplaymusic.com/ . You can search for music by style or feel. You can download music or purchase CD's. They offer selections at different lengths but you may still have to edit it to fit your video exactly.

Also, there's some free programs like Melody Maestro, SuperJam, and Music Producer that will auto generate MIDI music by style and length. Search for them with google.

~jr