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How To Choose Background Music For Presentation

Using background music in presentations helps to add emotional or entertainment component to your talk. The choice of music depends largely on the topic of your presentation.

In this post we will look at some common types of presentations and discuss what background music works best for each case.

Keep reading and make sure to listen to the examples .

Hi, I’m Mik, one of TunePocket music composers. Presentations should not be boring! Adding music to educational or business talks and presentations can help to keep your audience focused, motivated, and, most importantly entertained!

I went though our growing catalog of professional royalty free music and picked some great examples.

important note about performance royalties

It may be tempting to use your favorite song as background music in your presentation.

Before you do that, please note that:

1. Using any copyrighted material requires explicit permission from the rights owner. Especially if you plan to use it commercially.

2. Playing commercial music in public may require a special public performance license. Learn more about using music for business .

If you like any music below you can easily license it and use it in your presentation.

The music below was created by composers who are not affiliated with a PRO (Performance Rights Organization) and you don’t need a separate performance license if you use that music in your presentation.

Background music for common types of presentations

Let’s see what music works best for different presentation types:

Business presentation

There are many types of business presentations, including motivational talks, training presentations, real estate, corporate, and many more.

When choosing music for business presentation, first of all, decide whether you want to create the calm professional background or you want music to take the leading role and deliver some sort of emotional impact.

Calm corporate style music will work best for formal work presentations, commercial real estate, and business training.

On the other hand, inspirational music will be great for presentations related on achievement, good results, awards, and similar topics.

Here are some examples of background music for professional business presentations:

Educational presentations

Educational presentations can include school presentations, lessons and tutorials, history, math, and lost of other topics. You can even make cooking presentations!

With educational presentations, the choice of music of music depends primarily on the subject and the content of your presentation.

Use reflective music for emotional or serious topics or positive or upbeat music to set a lighter mood.

For educational presentation or lessons related to history, cinematic or retro music should work the best.

For anything else, a subtle background soundtrack without a strong lead melody can be a good option.

Upbeat Clapping Stomp Beat Fascinating Particles Deep Space Travel Word Of Inspiration

Technology presentations

For presentations that focus on groundbreaking IT or science concepts, futuristic “hi-tech” music should work the best.

More background music for presentations

Of course there are many more types of presentations.

You may decide that your presentation is better off without any music!

In that case I can recommend using a short music clip either at the opening or the ending of your presentation.

Some of the good places to insert such audio clips include the presentation title, branding logos, sponsors list, or any other significant call to action in your presentation slides.

How to play music across multiple Powerpoint slides

Ok, so by now I hope you have a good idea as to what kind of music you should use in your presentation.

It’s relatively easy to add audio clips to individual Powerpoint presentation slides but what if you want the music to play continuously across multiple slides as you deliver your presentation?

Fortunately, you can add a song to a presentation and play it across slides in the background of your slide show.

Here’s a quick tutorial from Microsoft that explains how to play music across multiple slides in your Powerpoint presentation or a slideshow.

Do I always need music in my presentation?

In certain cases you may decide against using background music.

It is generally not recommended for content-heavy presentations, sensitive or serious topics, situations with language barriers or translation needs, or when the presenter has a soft speaking style.

Additionally, you should take into account your audience preferences and sensitivities, as some may find background music distracting or annoying.

In that case you still can add an audio dimension to your presentation by using occasional sound effects .

Questions or comments?

Hope this post will help you to find the best music for your presentation!

Any music featured in this post or on TunePocket Web site can be licensed for presentations. You can also download free MP3 previews and safely try any of our music in your slideshow before you purchase the license.

See available licenses and pricing

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post it below in the comments. I’ll be happy to answer.

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You know the feeling when you're at a presentation, but you can't pay attention to what's being said because the music is so distracting? Choosing the right music is key to making a presentation better.

What is presentation music?

What music is good for presentation, powerpoint music, how to download music for powerpoint, how to add music to a powerpoint presentation, how to make playing music across slides in powerpoint, where can i download free presentation music, can i use copyrighted music in my presentation.

Making the right impression is a powerful marketing tool; presenters sometimes use music to connect with the audience immediately. Presentation music comes in many different genres, but any type will be more effective if it is related to the topic of the presentation.

The music you choose for your presentation can do many things for your audience - it can lighten the mood, drive excitement, or even set a pace. The key is to choose the appropriate music for your presentation and have it play at an acceptable volume.

• Confidence: Fresh Startup , Calm Tech
• Focusing: Successful Company , Good Energy
• Uplifting: Your Time Has Come , Positive And Uplifting
• Relaxed: Keep Going Forward , Soothing Medicine

PowerPoint is one of the most widely used presentation tools. The music playing in the background helps make a presentation more fun than it would be without the music, but there's often confusion over how to set up the audio track properly.

There are two basic file types you'll need to know - MP3s and WAVs. An MP3 is a compressed copy of an audio track that can be downloaded quickly. A WAV, or Waveform Audio File, is a digital format that supports higher quality, uncompressed audio, meaning it takes longer to download.

Both formats work in PowerPoint, but your choice depends on the type of presentation and how much music you want to include. To download music you need to add liked tracks to the Shopping cart, proceed to checkout and complete your payment. Download music instantly from the My Music > Tracks page.

• Select the slide you want to add music.
• On the Insert tab, click the Audio button.
• Select the option 'Audio on My PC..'
• Find and select your music files and click the Insert button.
• Now you can set up a volume level for music.
• Click on a sound icon to enable the Audio Tools panel.
• Set on the checkbox 'Play Across Slides' so the music will play continuously throughout your presentation.

You can download free presentation music from the Free music page. Use free music in your presentations, slideshows, and videos without copyright concerns.

You can't just take a popular hit and put it into your presentation. You need to right to use music in your production. Purchase and download royalty-free presentation music by Melody Loops to use in your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation.

How to choose the right background music for your business presentation

You’ve worked hard on your pitch deck. You’ve carefully chosen the right images, colors, and text that will hopefully get your investors interested. Whether you are sending your pitch deck or presenting in front of an audience, choosing the right background track will really make your presentation shine!

We have outlined three tips below to help you choose the track that will drive your pitch home and strike an emotional chord with investors.

1. Keep a Steady Pace

Choose a track that glides along without a lot of fanfare. A steady pace will draw your audience in and help them focus on the content of each slide. Choose music that is gentle, positive and bright, with some moments that pause, then continue the dynamic.

2. Tone is Important

Setting the right tone that relates to your idea will convey clarity and credibility to your audience. Whether the tone of your pitch is powerful and engaging or gentle and reassuring, the background music should match.

3. Make an Emotional Connection

When pitching your product to investors, let your passion shine through. Your pitch deck should have all of the elements of a great story. If your presentation has a kick-in-the-pants spirit, the right background music will accentuate that.

Choosing the Best Music for Corporate Event Presentations

Making a presentation in front of a corporate event audience can be daunting. How can you get your audience’s attention over the conversation and buzz? How do you really make an impact? One way is to add a background track to your slide presentation. If you are presenting a slide show at a business dinner, conference, or trade show, read on to find out how to choose the best background music.

1. Taking the Subtle Approach

Set the tone for the occasion by adding minimalist, even-toned music— more of a backdrop that your audience can focus their ears on. Subtle music exudes a calm atmosphere. The right track can be barely noticeable but will still affect the audience in subtle ways.

2. High Energy Approach

If your slide show has a high-energy, celebratory feel, choose tracks that engage your audience to feel that. Steady driving drums, danceable synth lines, and that dreamy backdrop give an air of brightness and positivity to your corporate presentation.

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The Pros and Cons for Background Music for Presentations at Work

Emotion and Thought

While we often think of emotion and thought as separate, the truth is that they are both thoroughly intertwined . Emotion often precedes thought. Think about when you first meet someone. You tend to come up with a snap impression of whether you like them or not, which feeds how closely you pay attention to what they have to say.

Similarly, you may have felt swept away in the emotion of a movie whose moral, in hindsight, struck you as questionable. We feel things first. If you've had a powerful idea or hunch, it probably began as a strong feeling that something was right, which you were then able to test and expand through diligent effort and testing.

Emotion also plays a particularly strong role in attention , how we selectively apply it, and how deeply. It is a critical factor in how we think, what we think, and how long we spend thinking about it — and there are very few conduits to emotion as powerful as music.

Music and Emotion

In his book, "This Is Your Brain On Music," musician turned scientist Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D. discusses the many cognitive benefits of music, including reduced anxiety and boosted immunity.

According to Harvard Medical School , music essentially lights our brains up . It can have a profound impact on the brain's very structure. Most of us go to concerts or put on a favorite song to feel some emotional grandeur, improve our mood, and make us happier. It's hard to imagine almost any intensely emotional experience without music.

Music, Emotion, and your Presentation

Music is the language of emotion. It says what cannot be said with words. If you work on a major presentation and want it to make a real impact on your audience, think of it as an emotional narrative. You want to stir the feelings of your audience as much as you want to impress facts on them. These two goals are closely related. The question to ask is, what do you want your audience to feel?

Isolate the emotions you want your audience to experience, and work from there. If you sell a security product, do you want your audience to feel a little bit anxious or edgy ? If you want to sell your audience on the need to think differently, should you put them in a dreamy mood? Do you want to make them feel nostalgic, cozy, warm? Upbeat? Excited?

Carefully chosen music allows you to target the elements in your presentation that are most important. It also lets you color the emotional response of your viewers. This ability to highlight and enhance is the superpower offered by musical background edited into your video and PowerPoint presentations .

Convey Emotion with Music

Once you've worked out the dominant emotions of your presentation, Stock Music has an array of presentation background music for download that matches multitudes of precise moods and feelings. Whether your presentation background music uses video or Powerpoint, you can search through hundreds of tracks according to the criteria most relevant to you, including:

• Moods like "dreamy," "confident," "reflective," "relaxed", "edgy," and "hopeful";
• Genres like rock, pop, and R&B;
• Instrumentation like the electric guitar, piano, strings, and drums;

If you prefer to try different musical ideas when you choose background music for your PowerPoint presentation, it's worth your time to browse the selections. You'll enjoy listening and also find the right one that complements your presentation in tone and feel.

Studies show the big emotions behind music are universally recognized. If you find a certain piece of music sparking particular emotions in you, you can feel quite certain your audience will pick up on the same emotions.

Musical Variation

Once you've determined your dominant musical style, consider how you might vary it. A good presentation, like a good story, takes its audience on a journey. Good storytelling relies on a palette of emotion. Consider alternating musical styles to give your audience a multifaceted experience.

If you want to puncture a very serious presentation with (appropriate) humor, consider how background music for your presentation could be used to support that. Similarly, an inspirational track or a hypnotic, dreamy one can add extra weight or texture to a potentially dry or information-filled presentation.

Cinematic music can add emotional heft or intensity to your ideas. Stockmusic.net has licensed music to companies like Fox, Time Warner, New Line, HBO, and more, so you know that its selection has been vetted at the highest levels.    Stockmusic.net's  musical selections have also given a sense of grandeur to NASA productions. It's the best place to find music for a PowerPoint or other presentation.

Psychology Today reports that "randomness of song choices increases dopamine." If you want to boost the mood of your presentation, shuffle different tracks to find ways in which they are complementary. This can be a great way to excite your audience.

The yardstick you use to judge music is whether your selection underlines or works against the ideas and feeling you want to convey. You can choose a surprising choice or a straightforward one. It can take trial and error to find the perfect selections for your presentation. Stock Music has music that represents every possible genre, mood, feeling, and culture.

Using Music Effectively

Music can be overused in our society. Once associated with special occasions, music is inescapable even at the mall and in coffee shops. Consequently, it can be too easy to tune out. Be careful how you apply music — and what kind you use. A quiet and reflective moment might be effective after you have unveiled the climax or the big point of your presentation, to let the audience contemplate your ideas.

Repeating tracks can be an effective way to underline motifs or themes in your presentation. Find a short, punchy track and use it periodically, either looping it or pausing it for a while and then bringing it back later. This can be a powerful way of reminding your audience of important ideas.

Broadening Your Presentation's Scope

Music is a universal language, but it can also be used as background to broaden or specify the cultural scope of your presentation. Certain instrumentation, rhythm, and time signatures can suggest different cultures and periods. Regional music can evoke the Middle East , South America , and Europe . This is a great asset to reach audiences and give your presentation greater relevance.

Enhancing Your Footage

Think about your favorite movie and how your memories interweave with the score. Ennio Morricone, the great film composer, spoke of how film music is "mysterious... because of its bond with images and because of its way of bonding with the audience."

Music can underline the power of your video footage. It can also compensate for footage that didn't quite go to plan or drive home an emotion that might not be visible in the moment. Editing in a punchy, cool way, using a rhythmic track , could provide tempo and excitement you need your audience to feel for your presentation to be a success.

Music and Memory

Music and memory are closely associated. According to Robert Snyder , chair of the sound program at the Art Institute of Chicago, "a large part of memory takes place in the unconscious mind." Many of our musical memories are stored in our implicit memory. You can make use of this if you choose to play on those associations. Music that evokes a feeling of nostalgia and happiness can trigger your audience to remember simpler times and make them receptive to your message.

Music and Motivation

Athletes and performers know how powerful music can be to help boost motivation. Epic-feeling music can motivate your audience — to act, to change their minds on a topic, or to buy your product. Psychology Today reports that music can motivate us in subtler ways. One study indicated when a store played French music, customers bought French wines; when they played German music, German wines outsold French ones.

Music and Time Perception

If your presentation is necessarily long, music can make it feel shorter, according to Psychology Today . This is more the case with "calm music with a slow tempo," surprisingly. The right calm musical selection could make your presentation feel breezier and whip by faster.

Licensing, Free of Headaches

All the tracks on Stock Music have been thoroughly cleared for monetization and are 100% royalty-free.  You can download their background music for your presentation and distribute the finished work worldwide in perpetuity, without limitation on ad spend, budget, or audience. You can also transfer their license to clients or whoever owns or uses the final production. That means that the legalities and all are taken care of, so you can focus on your creative choices.

Is Music Right for Your Presentation?

If you want background music to add emotional texture, pace, depth, and layers of association to your presentation, consider adding music. Stock Music has music from all kinds of cultures, genres, and musical styles, with a world of instrumentation — all to enhance your ideas with a range of emotional textures and tones and make your presentation a memorable and winning one.

37 thoughts on “The Pros and Cons for Background Music for Presentations at Work”

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5 ways to add music to PowerPoint

Depending on the type of slideshow you’re creating in Microsoft PowerPoint , music might be the perfect addition to the show. You may want a fun upbeat song on a slide or a soft subtle melody throughout the presentation.

Upload a song from your computer

Download free music, record music while creating the slideshow, add an offscreen video, play the song or use as background music.

We’ll show you how to add music to PowerPoint a few different ways and then use a single song on a slide or play background music from start to finish.

What You Need

Microsoft PowerPoint

Probably the easiest way to add music to your slideshow is to upload a song from your computer. This can be a tune you’ve saved and listen to often or one from a playlist.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to add the music.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and choose the drop-down arrow for Audio on the right side of the ribbon.

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Step 3: Pick Audio on my PC , browse for the music file, and select Insert .

Step 4: You’ll then see an audio icon on your slide for the song.

Step 5: Use the Play button to listen and the Playback tab to adjust the playback options.

Maybe you have the type of song in mind you want, but don’t have a copy saved to your computer. There are a few online resources for obtaining royalty-free songs for presentations at no cost.

Fesliyan Studios Inc. : Choose a genre at the top such as commercial, happy, sad, or relaxing. Press the Play button to listen, then check out alternate versions where available. Choose Download to get the song.

Chosic : You’ll see a slew of songs for presentations from upbeat to soft. When you hear the song you want, select Download > Free Download .

SoundCloud : If you’re already a SoundCloud listener, this is a good option for presentation music. Type “free downloads” or similar into the search box and review the results. When you find the song you want, select More or the three dots to download the tune.

If you can find royalty-free music on YouTube as well, there are a number of ways to download MP3s from YouTube .

Once you download one of these songs, save it to your device and simply upload it to the slideshow as described above.

If you’re lucky enough to be gifted with musical talent, you can use your skills to record a song directly in PowerPoint. Warm up your vocal cords or grab your guitar and make your own presentation music.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to record the music.

Step 3: Pick Record audio . Note: You must have either a built-in or external microphone for your computer.

Step 4: When the Record Sound box appears, select the red, round Record button to start recording.

Step 5: Press the square Stop button when you finish. To listen to the recording, press the green Play button.

Step 6: When you finish, select OK to insert it onto the slide.

Step 7: You’ll then see the audio icon just like with an inserted audio file. Press the Play button to hear the recording.

Sometimes the ideal song for a situation is attached to a video. While you can’t currently just play the audio and you probably don’t want the video as part of your presentation, there’s a workaround to get that tune in your show.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to add the video.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and choose the drop-down arrow for Video on the right side of the ribbon.

Step 3: Pick This Device , Stock Videos , or Online Videos and follow the prompts to insert the video.

Step 4: When the video appears on the slide, drag a corner or edge to make it smaller and then drag it off of the slide to one of the sides.

This allows you to play the video to hear the audio but not see the video in your slideshow.

Step 5: Select the video and use the Playback tab to adjust the options for playing it when clicking the slide or automatically.

Once you add the music to PowerPoint, you can set it to play on a single slide or last the duration of the presentation.

Step 1: Go to the slide containing the music and select it.

Note: If you want the music to play in the background throughout the slideshow, you’ll likely want the file on the first or second slide per your preference.

Step 2: Head to the Playback tab and choose to play the song with the slide or as background music.

Step 3: To play the song only on that slide, choose the Start drop-down box in the Audio options section of the ribbon and pick how you want the music to begin. You can select In click sequence , Automatically , or When clicked on . When you advance to the next slide, the song stops playing.

Step 4: To play the song throughout the presentation, select Play in background in the Audio styles section. This automatically checks the boxes for Play across slides and Loop until stopped . You can also choose an option in the Start drop-down box for how to begin playing the song.

Keep in mind this only works with audio files, not the video file method described above.

Step 5: Adjust any other options on the Playback tab per your preference. You can increase or decrease the volume, rewind the song after it plays, or add a fade in or out effect.

Remember to practice your presentation after you add the music to make sure it sounds the way you want. You might also consider adding closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

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Whether you’re presenting a slideshow to your executives, clients, or peers, you want to convey your message clearly and successfully. Unfortunately, many mistakes can be made when creating PowerPoint presentations.

From hard-to-read fonts to colors that hurt the eyes of your audience, here are some best practices to keep in mind for your next PowerPoint slideshow. Choose the fonts wisely Using a fancy, dramatic, or even whimsical font can be tempting. But you must consider the readability of the font. You want your audience to easily see your headings and bullet points. Consider the two basic font styles: serif and sans serif.

Microsoft PowerPoint offers many features for creating slideshows. Some of those features go a bit unnoticed but can be useful when building your presentation.

Before you create your next PowerPoint, take a look at these tricks. They can save you time, let you customize the show, and stay organized from start to finish. Save time by reusing slides You may not realize it, but you can reuse slides from other presentations to save time. You might reuse a slide with your company mission, contact information, or details of all your locations.

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How to use music to make better presentations

It’s a tricky thing. There are some huge advantages to using music, but some pretty significant pitfalls, too. So here’s your guide to using music well, and avoiding the things can can go wrong.

Why use music? An overview

Music is intended and designed to be an emotional phenomena. That means you can use it to shift and enhance moods in your audience before your presentation… and during it or after it if you like!

Not sure it works? Never been to the movies then! This simple example messes around with a horror scene.

Want to shift the atmosphere towards more positive? Add upbeat music! Want your audience to be a bit more contemplative, use slower, gentle background music. It really is as simple as that.

In other words, you can use music to work on your audience’s emotions in the same way as good slides can do, visually. The disadvantage of music is that you can’t really use it on its own, unlike good slides, but the advantage of that is that you can use it in the background, alongside other things.

Pro-tip. Don’t use it for things like “trying to get people to learn more”. As far as I can tell from the research papers I’ve read, that not really a thing so much as something people made up to sell to pregnant women who were desperate to give their baby a head start in life.

Given the pro-tip above, the best things to do with music are emotional manipulation of your audience – I can’t claim the following ideas are written in tablets of stone, but I’ve found them very useful over 12 years as a professional presenter.

Atmosphere before your presentation

As your audience arrive in dribs and drabs, it’s easy for them to feel exposed and out of place. Many audiences can feel as nervous about being in the audience as presenters feel about being at the front of the room! With that in mind, appropriate music can do wonders for making people feel welcome and give the room a buzz or an atmosphere before you start your presentation.

It’s probably too much of a dirty trick for lots of people, but I even know one presenter who mixes in backgrounds of groups of people chatting to give an atmosphere! Machiavellian, I know, but I have to admit it’s very effective.

Wind up to the start of your presentation

This is something of a clever variation of the first idea and it works like this. Start your background music with just enough to have the right effect but nothing too overt, but as the start of your presentation gets closer, shift the style (or even the volume) of the music so that it “builds up”.

It’s a technique beloved of theatre directors, and with good reason – because it works. You can carefully build anticipation of what you’re going to say with clever use of the music.

A confidence booster for you

I don’t use work on music, ‘cos I’m not that pretentious but I do have pieces of music I like to hear played. Obviously your mileage will vary but hearing “ I am the Doctor ” always puts my head in a good place, ready to present. It’s a great piece of music for me for a lot of personal reasons and I’m lucky that it works technically, too, as it’s the right tempo for when I want to use it, and sufficiently obscure for it not to distract people (see below).

I tend to include it in some pre-presentation play-lists, close to when the presentation is due to start.

Filler during your presentation

I’m not a huge fan of this kind of thing, because it smacks of lazy presenting, but there are times when it’s entirely appropriate to ask your audience to think or converse amongst themselves. A slide with background music is a god-send for moments like this.

It covers any embarrassment your audience members might feel at first, it makes it look like you’re doing this deliberately and not as padding or in panic (trust me, I’ve seen presentations that do both of these!).

What’s more, it works as a timer!

You can tell your audience that you’re only going to give them three minutes but getting them to stop at the end is something of a shocker for them. But if you’ve got a three minute piece of music that clearly signals the end of the three minutes as it approaches, it’s very helpful. (A countdown timer on your screen works, but it’s a bit officious/crude but also less effective – anyone looking at the countdown timer isn’t looking at their partner in the audience!)

What can go wrong with music in your presentations – let’s talk logistics

Let’s start with the obvious. If you can’t make the music play well you’re worse than wasting your time. Bad-sounding music will undo all the good things about music in your presentation. In fact it’s worse, because it actively annoys people and makes them think you’re not technically competent. (And unfortunately the Oppenheimer effect can kill your presentation if that happens.)

Most projectors and laptops will take music and play it. You need to have the right cables and figure out to how to use the damned things (they’re all different!) to be able to control the volume and so on, but… … but the sound quality they have isn’t necessarily helpful to your presentation. Something tiny and without any bass will stress people.

My advice is two-fold:

• get there well in advance of your audience (not just before your presentation time, but ahead of your audience!) with enough time to test thing
• take your own speakers

Let’s talk about that second idea for a moment – small, portable, bluetooth speakers can give a really good sound these days and it’s something you can test and set up in the comfort of your own office before you go to the venue. You’re not reliant on the venue’s kit.

Pro- tip – don’t automatically have the speaker right at the front, next to your computer. That might be the right place to put it, but for lots of venues a better place is on a chair or a desk a few rows into the audience. That way the sound carries better to the people at the back. (It also looks slicker – so you at least look like you know what you’re doing! 🙂 )

The less obvious presentation problem – psychology

The whole point of music is that it hits you in your emotions. You know that – you’ve got a favourite song, just like everyone else (though it’s probably different to everyone else’s). Music is supposed to be like that.

That’s it’s strength in presentations but also a significant ‘gotcha’. Imagine you’re using some background music for a audience exercise, or to give atmosphere before you start (or even as walk-on music if you’re in the big leagues)… and the music you use is someone’s favourite song… or the song they played at their father’s funeral, or … you get the idea.

Music with that kind of emotional impact is a pain, as it pretty much stops that person concentrating on what you’re saying while they process their emotions.

Here’s my solution – use obscure music . If no one has heard of the music before, no one can have it as their favourite song.

In an ideal world, of course, you’d have it composed (or compose it yourself) especially for you, so that no one could know about it, but that’s either going to cost you time or cost you money!

Pro-tip – make it instrumental. That way two good things happen. The first is that it’s less intrusive for your audience; and secondly, you’ll never risk the embarrassment of inappropriate lyrics. It might not be something rude, but it could just be something someone objects to in some very personal way… and before you ask, yes, that’s the voice of experience.

Finally, there’s the problem that your audience might just not like it. Use your common sense here but don’t use the idea as an excuse. My experience is that the reason no one uses music in their presentation in most organisations is because no one else is… and when they try it (and get it right!) it’s a real enhancement to their presentation’s impact!

Wrapping up

So what do you think? How do you use music in your presentations? If you don’t, could you? Should you?

The answer is ‘probably’ – the real question is ‘how’…

Where do we get our music from?

Here’s a fantastic – but very short! – bonus signup. I’ve put together the list of where we go to get our music. Some of it way pay for but lots of it is totally free. Most of it is in the middle – you pay a little to buy it but you don’t have to pay to re-use it every time you play it. Just sign up below!

We’ll be adding to it shortly, too, talking about how we actually pick the music we use and you’ll get that update automagically 🙂

Free music cheatsheet

Grab the free music cheatsheet – it’s where I get the music I use for my presentations (when I use any that is).

I’ll also add you to the tipsheet list – it comes out every couple of weeks to a month. Yes, it might also try and sell you something but I promise you a good ratio of useful and free stuff! 😉

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

One quick additional PS about music in online presentations

Because of the Corona Virus, lots of meetings are now moving online and in particular moving to Zoom. There’s a cute way to play music in your online meetings now there too… though don’t forget that you still need to sort out the legal stuff, like licences.

https://support.movegb.com/how-to-play-music-over-your-live-stream-on-zoom

Such a lot of fab advice! I love the emphasis you’ve put on the music. In the past I’d have played any old thing, but you’ve convinced me to pick something instrumental that would set the scene for the day/ presentation.

Hi Janine – the downside of “any old thing” is that it tends to be what you you like, not what the audience needs. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of tosh in my time! 🙂

Great advice, I can spend ages trying to find the ‘right’ music and these tips really help to appreciate the importance it plays.

Funny you should say that, Allison! I’ve just added a bonus (sign up for) at the bottom of this blog and one of the tips I’ve included in it is “when you go to the free music sites in this document, set a time limit! Otherwise you’ll be there for three days looking for the perfect track and end up coming back to the one you started of with anyway” 🙂

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Incorporating Music into Your Professional Presentation

June 8, 2015 / Blog

Imagine spending an entire day without hearing any music. How would that feel?

While music greatly influences our way of living, is it also capable of helping presenters connect with their clients?

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Music is everywhere. For some people, hearing instrumental or lyrical songs that  appeal to their emotions  lightens their mood.

When a musician performs onstage, they express both the melody (vocal tone) and lyrics (words) to come up with a beautiful and memorable song. Through playing instruments and singing, they openly express their inner longings to convey what they want the crowd to feel. It’s an effective way of establishing a good impression and building good rapport.

This works the same way in a professional presentation. To make your pitch sound catchier, deliver with a conversational tone when engaging your audience. Your content should also be beneficial and powerful to make it worth remembering.

Through its natural appeal, public speaking can learn a thing or two from music’s ability to build connections and establish relationships with its listeners.

Let’s review the other benefits of music before incorporating it to your pitch.

How Music Works

Music not only affects the way presenters deliver their speeches, they also work in our normal routines and daily interaction with others. It influences our emotions, depending on what type of music (upbeat, slow, classical) we usually listen to.

Nothing beats the power of music. The following are some of the benefits of listening to music:

• Music releases tension.
• Music jogs the memory.
• Music links people together.

According to The Accidental Communicator, music and public speaking are deeply connected. Learning how  music impacts your speech  gets your audience’s attention and keeps them interested, giving you power that convinces them to listen.

Before reaching your goal, however, it’s important to know how getting physically and mentally prepared contributes to your success. Just as athletes, singers, and actors practice before starting their tasks, speakers should also rehearse to enhance the delivery of their speech.

Skipping this phase may result in ineffective delivery and performance. This is why you need to accomplish this stage to successfully present to the crowd.

Deep breathing, muscle stretches, and vocal warm-ups are only a few of exercises that you can do during the preparation stage. These can help boost your energy and make you fit to accomplish your tasks and activities.

Only then can you begin applying these three musical techniques to your pitch to successfully connect with your audience.

Here’s our spin on the musical power of public speaking, inspired by The Accidental Communicator ’s Dr. Jim Anderson:

This musical term is an Italian phrase meaning “stolen time” and refers to a certain speed or tempo required by a song. It determines how slowly or quickly instruments should play the music.

Rubato can be classified as speech rate , which refers to a person’s speed in speaking and delivering his words per minute.

Vary your speech rate from time to time, depending on what points you’re trying to emphasize. You can start doing this by preparing and conducting regular rehearsals before the big day. This will enable you to keep track of and manage your time wisely.

Speaking slowly also generates attention and interest while discussing your main points. But it doesn’t mean that speaking quickly isn’t that effective. However you choose to speak, it’s more important to practice how to speak clearly to prevent your audience from misunderstanding your concepts and ideas.

In terms of music, vibrato is a pulsating effect which regularly changes the singer or an instrument’s pitch. It’s often used to express and highlight emotions through sound variation and amplification.

Vibrato can be referred to as tone of voice . Observe someone who doesn’t vary his tone and maintains his monotone voice throughout the presentation. How does it sound? Monotonous speeches can bore your audience, losing their interest to pay attention. To avoid this, study your pitch by heart to help you pinpoint some parts that require a change of tone.

If you want to influence your audience to act, you can use a powerful tone to make it more convincing. If you’re discussing tragedies or serious events, you can vary your tone by speaking gently. As a presenter, utilizing this technique helps you convey your message when telling emotionally-charged stories.

This allows you to control how you sound, letting your audience internalize your message and feel the right emotions.

Appoggiatura

This Italian phrase means “to lean upon,” making a certain note to sound more exaggerated, resulting in more powerful music.

Appoggiatura is similar to the attractive words used in poetry and speeches . Since presentations look more appealing with images that strengthen the subject being discussed, this technique allows the presenters to choose their words that let their audience use their imagination.

Research shows that whenever creative stimuli like these appeal to an individual’s right brain , they’re more easily convinced. Add descriptive words by incorporating vibrant colors and images in your message to win the audience over.

Musical techniques have the power to let you connect with your audience more effectively. Just like live concert performances, the audience has their own preferences and expectations. Your job is to determine how you can meet them in a way that touches their deeper level of emotions.

Start applying and practicing the three techniques of  rubato ,  vibrato,  and  appoggiatura  the next time you present, and you’ll definitely have audiences remembering your pitch even long after you’re done giving your presentation.

To help you with your presentation needs, let our SlideGenius experts  assist you !

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Anderson, Jim. “What Music Can Teach Public Speakers About Connecting With Audiences.” The Accidental Communicator. August 12, 2014. Accessed May 8, 2015. www.theaccidentalcommunicator.com/organize/what-music-can-teach-public-speakers-about-connecting-with-audiences

Paul, Annie Murphy. “Your Brain on Fiction.” The New York Times . March 17, 2012. Accessed May 8, 2015. www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1354716276-vBCJNxgtIuIFGnU+PmkBpA&_r=1

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How to make a slide show

Learn how to make a slide show with photos, videos, music, and custom settings using a slide show maker.

Learn how to make a slide show with PowerPoint

Discover how to make a slide show with photos, videos, music, and custom settings using a slide show app like PowerPoint.

What is a slide show maker?

To create a slide show, you’ll want to use a slide show maker—or slide show app—which is a software program or online service that enables you create digital slide shows with text, photos, videos, music, and other special effects. The full range of slide show features and functionality varies from program to program.

Once you’ve created a slide show, it can be published on the internet or shared with others as a video file. Additionally, you can use slide shows to create dynamic, interactive content on websites.

Slide show software can be used for a variety of purposes, such as creating presentations for work, school, and even your personal life. For instance, slide shows are often used to:

Display photos during an event

Slide shows are a great way to share photos and videos with guests at a wedding, birthday, or other special event.

Create a digital photo album

Some slide shows are created for personal reasons, such as sharing important memories with family or friends.

Highlight products or services

Businesses can use slide shows to showcase their products, promote special offers and sales, or pitch their services to potential clients.

Enhance teaching, training, and public speaking

Slide shows can also provide helpful visuals in educational settings, classroom presentations, and public speaking forums.

What you need to make a slide show

When it comes to creating a slide show, there are a few things you'll need to get started. First and foremost, you'll need a device equipped with presentation software or access to an online slide show app. Secondly, you’ll need a way to display your slide show, which usually means connecting your device to a projector or big screen TV. Beyond that, you’ll need some visual aids and other media to bring your slide show to life.

Explore each of these slide show requirements in more detail:

Devices and equipment —To create a slide show, you’ll use a computer or other device—such as a tablet or mobile phone—with PowerPoint or a similar program installed. You will also need a way to project the slides onto a screen or wall. This can be done with a projector, but if you don't have one available, you can use your TV or computer monitor. Simply connect your device to the TV or monitor using an HDMI cable and select the correct input. Your slides will now be projected onto the screen.

Media —Of course, creating a slide show requires media that adds visual and even audio elements to your presentation. This can be anything from photos and videos to music and text. You can use search engines to find copyright-free media to use in your slide show.

Another option is to purchase royalty-free stock footage, images, and audio files from online media libraries. This could be a bit more expensive, but it guarantees that you have the legal right to use the media in your presentation.

Finally, you can also use your own videos, images, and even music. While this can be a time-consuming process, it does allow you to create custom content specifically for your slide show.

Slide show creator —To bring your slide show together, you’ll need a slide show creator. The slide show software you choose will depend on your presentation requirements and preferences. There are many slide show makers on the market, with Microsoft PowerPoint being one of the most popular and widely used programs globally.

How to choose a slide show maker

When choosing slide show software, it's important to consider the features and specifications that are most important to you. Some of the questions you might ask when choosing a slide show maker include:

• How easy is the software to use?
• Is the software Mac or PC compatible?
• Can I access and edit my slide show on the cloud?
• What kind of slide shows can be created with the software?
• How many photos and/or videos can be included in a slide show?
• Can text and other elements be added to slide shows?
• Are transitions and effects available for slide shows?
• Is music accompaniment an option?
• What are the options for saving and sharing your slide show?

Building a slide show doesn't have to be difficult. With the right software, you can create an engaging presentation in no time.

Six steps for creating a slide show

1. Plan your slide show

Before getting too deep into your slide show project, it’s a good idea to select and save the photos and videos you want to use. This helps you create a slide show more efficiently and purposefully, ensuring a better outcome.

4. Import media

Start adding photos, videos, and other desired media to your slides. You can upload these from your device or online media libraries. If you planned your slide show in advance, you should have all your media saved in one place.

2. Launch your slide show app

Once you’ve decided on a slide show maker, you’ll want to launch the app from whatever device you’ll be using to create your presentation.

5. Add text, music, and transitions

After you’ve arranged the visuals in your slide show, you can provide additional information and communicate sentiment using custom text, music, and timed slide transitions.

3. Choose your theme

Most slide show software offers a variety of pre-set themes, colors, and designs. You can choose one that best suits your slide show or create a custom theme using the program’s various tools and features.

6. Record, save, and share your slide show

Now you’re ready to record your slide show, which can include a voiceover or Cameo . Once your slide show is complete, you can save it as a video to your device or to the cloud, such as OneDrive . You can access your saved slide show at any time to display at events, use in meetings, share online, or send directly to other people.

How to make a slide show with photos

Adding photos to your slide show is a great way to enliven your presentation and make it more visually interesting. Here are a few different ways you can add photos to your slide show in PowerPoint.

Add photos from your device

Whether you’re using a computer, tablet, phone, or other device, you can use photos that are saved to your device to create your slide show. In PowerPoint, simply select “Insert” then “Pictures” from the program menu, then choose “This Device.” This will open your photo library and allow you to find the photos you want to use. Once you’ve selected the photos that you want to import, just click on the "Insert" button and they will be added to your slide show. If you’re using a pre-made theme, you can also right-click the image in the slide show and select “Change Picture.” Again, you will choose “This Device” to access your photo library. After inserting your photo, you can reposition it on your slide or resize it however you like.

Use stock photos

Another way to add photos in PowerPoint is to follow the same process you would when adding photos from your device, but when prompted to choose your photo source, select “From Stock Images” instead of “This Device.” This will display a library of photos that you can use in your slide show without worrying about copyright infringement. There are thousands of stock images available in most slide show maker programs. Once the library is open, you can explore existing photo categories or use keywords to search for photos that fit your needs.

Explore online photo sources

Online photos are images you can insert into a PowerPoint slide show directly from the internet, as opposed to using those you have saved on your device. This is a convenient option if you don't have photos already prepared for your slide show, or if you can’t find the right kind of photo in the stock image library. However, there are some potential risks associated with using online photos, namely that you must be careful to use royalty-free images so not to infringe on any copyrights. In PowerPoint, there is a filtering option to ensure your search results only show royalty-free photos. Inserting photos from online sources follows the same process as the previous two methods, but this time, you’ll select “From Online Sources.”

How to add videos, music, and text

How to add videos to PowerPoint slide shows

Adding videos to your slide show involves accessing videos from your device, a stock video library, or online video sources—just as you would when adding photos. In this case, however, you’ll navigate to the menu in PowerPoint and select “Insert,” followed by “Media,” then “Video.” Once your video appears on your slide, you can resize or reposition it to fit your presentation needs. You can also set your video to play automatically in the slide show by selecting “Playback” on the menu and choosing “Start Automatically.”

How to add music to PowerPoint slide shows

Much like adding videos, you can add music to individual slides in PowerPoint by navigating to “Insert” on the menu, then “Media,” and finally “Audio.” You can then import music from your device, or you can record your own audio directly in PowerPoint. However, if you want your audio to play across multiple slides in your presentation—for example, as background music for a slide show—you’ll have to take a couple of extra steps. Once you’ve imported your audio file, select “Playback” from the menu and choose the “Play in Background” option. Your music will now play across all slides. You can set one song to loop for the duration of the slide show, or you can add more songs to play continuously throughout the slide show.

How to add text to PowerPoint slide shows

Premade themes in PowerPoint make adding text slide shows easy. On slides that already have templated content, you can simply click on the text and begin editing. In addition to changing what the text says, you can resize, recolor, reposition, and add special effects to the text. Of course, you can also change the font—or style—of the text. Most of this can be done from the “Home” tab on the menu while certain effects, such as shadows, can be found on the “Shape Format” tab. If you’re designing your presentation slides from scratch, or want to create additional text, find “Insert” on the menu, then choose “Text Box” or “Word Art,” depending on your desired text effect.

Discover custom slide show settings

Add even more effects to your PowerPoint slide show with custom settings like timing, transitions, and looping.

Set slide show timing

Adding timing to your slide show is a great way to control the pacing and flow of your presentation. To add timing in PowerPoint, go to the "Transitions" tab on the menu and find the "Advance Slide" area. Make sure the box next to “After:” is checked, then input the amount of time you’d like each slide to appear on-screen. The slides will automatically advance, creating a movie-like effect that’s great for events and special occasions.

Create slide show transitions

Now that you’ve added automatic timing to your slide show, you can make it more visually appealing by creating slide transitions. Transitions are special effects that allow you to animate the way your slides change from one to the next, and there are a variety of different transitions in PowerPoint that you can choose from. You can add these transitions to your slide show from the "Transitions” tab. From there, you’ll select the transition you want to add. To preview the transition, simply click on it. You can click “Apply To All” to automatically add the same transition to every slide in your slide show, or you can manually add different transitions to different slides.

Loop your slide show

If you want your slide show to play continuously until you choose to turn it off, you can set your PowerPoint presentation to loop. This will ensure your slide show automatically starts over from the beginning once it reaches the end. To get started, navigate to the “Slide Show” tab on the menu and select “Set Up Slide Show.” When the settings window opens, check the box next to “Loop continuously until ‘ESC’” and then click “OK.” When you’re ready to turn your slide show off, simply press the Esc key on your keyboard.

Slide show template and theme tips

Search themes and templates online.

With numerous slide show themes and templates available, it’s easy to find one that fits your needs.

Customize your design

If you can’t find the perfect theme or template, you can change things like colors and fonts.

Build a custom template

If you want a blueprint to use with future slide shows, you can create your own template.

Add new slides

If you need more slides, you can choose a specific layout and your theme will be carried over.

Edit your slide layouts

Even when using a theme or template, you can rearrange slide content to highlight key information.

Add photos, videos, and text

Themes and templates make adding media easy since most slides have designated content areas.

Change or resize your fonts

If your theme’s font is too small, you can resize it or choose a new font to make it easy to read.

Reorder your slide show

Some themes and templates have a predefined sequence, but you can reorder slides to meet your needs.

Create your own slide show

Slide shows are a great way to engage your audience and present important information. Whether you're creating a slide show for personal or professional reasons, slide shows are an essential tool for anyone who wants to share information in a visually appealing manner.

Discover more ways to improve your slide show

What options are available to create a slide show?

Slide show makers come in many forms. Some slide show software can only be used on specific devices, while other slide show creators can be accessed via the cloud from any device at any time.

It’s a good idea to evaluate a variety of slide show makers to ensure that you find one with all the features you need. For instance, some slide show software skews toward business use cases and others toward personal.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular slide show app that allows you to save presentations to your device or the cloud, and is widely used for personal, professional, and educational purposes.

Frequently asked questions

What are slide show apps and software.

Slide show apps and software are used to create and share slide shows. Slide show programs are typically used to communicate information, diagrams, plans, or processes. They can also be used to display photos and videos at events or retail stores. Usually, slide show makers have a range of built-in features and layouts, making them easy to use, regardless of technical skill levels.

What should a slide show include?

An effective slide show should be engaging, visually appealing, and informative. To achieve this, you'll want to make sure to include the following elements:

• A catchy headline or title. This will help grab your audience's attention and set the tone for the rest of your presentation.
• A variety of images. Don't just rely on text—incorporate photos, illustrations, or even video to maximize viewership.
• Bullet points or short blocks of text. Keep your slide content concise and easy to digest; too much information will only overwhelm your viewers.

How do I make a picture slide show?

There are a few different ways to make picture slide shows. You can use online programs, or you can create a slide show directly on your computer, phone, tablet, or other device using slide show software. Some programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, can be accessed on your personal device and on the cloud.

How long should a slide show be?

The length of your slide show will depend on several factors, such as the topic of your presentation, the audience you're presenting to, and the amount of time you have. That said, slide shows are generally between five and ten minutes long.

How can I make a slide show better?

Here are a few tips to make your slide show more engaging:

• Add images, videos, and music to bring your slide show to life.
• Use a font that is easy to read from a distance.
• Try not to use too many words on each slide.
• Use custom transitions and timing to make your slide show flow.
• Ensure a cohesive slide show by using a theme or template.
• For live presentations, practice with the Speaker Coach feature .

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• Corporate presentations
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• Boardroom presentations
• Investor presentations
• Quarterly Report presentations
• Seminar presentations
• Product launch presentations
• Kick-off presentations
• Classroom teaching presentations
• Private presentations
• Family presentations, such as wedding, birthday, anniversary, or baptism
• Choose "Movies and Sounds" from the Insert main menu option.
• Depending on your preference, select "Sound From Clip Organizer", or "Sound From File", or "Play CD Audio Track", or "Record Sound".
• Locate the Sound file that you wish to play across any number of your slides.
• Insert the sound.
• If you don't want the sound icon to appear in the presentation, drag it off the slide.
• If you are asked Do you want the sound to play automatically? Select "YES".
• Right click the sound's icon and select "Custom Animation" from the popup menu. The Custom Animation dialog box will open and your sound file should be listed.
• Click the arrow directly to the right of the sound icon to pull down various options.
• Select "Effect Options", and on the Effects tab, Select the radio button beside "Stop Playing after XXX slides". Select the number of slides that you would like the music to continue to play through. If you want the sound to continue through the end of the presentation, enter a very large number, for example 999.
• Select the Timing tab. To play automatically, the timing should be set to Start After Previous with a 0 second delay.
• Click OK to close the dialog box.
• Go the slide where you want your next music or sound track to begin playing.
• Repeat steps 1 - 11 for your next music or sound track.
• Repeat steps 1 -12 for every new music or sound track you wish to add to your presentation.

The Ethan Hein Blog

Music and related topics

Participatory music vs presentational music

In this post, I’ll be doing some public-facing note-taking on Music As Social Life: The Politics Of Participation by Thom as Turino . I’m especially interested in chapter two: Participatory and Presentational Performance. We in America tend to place a high value on presentational music created by professionals, and a low value on participatory music made by amateurs. It’s useful to know that there are people in the world who take a different view.

Turino divides music into four big categories:

• Participatory music. Everyone present is actively doing something: playing an instrument, singing or chanting, and/or dancing. For example: a bluegrass jam, campfire singing, a hip-hop cypher .
• Presentational music. There’s a clear divide between the performers and the audience. Audience members might dance or sing along, but they are not the focus. For example: a classical, rock or jazz concert.
• High-fidelity recording. A document of a live performance (or a convincing illusion of such.) For example: a classical or jazz album.
• Studio sound art. A recording that was constructed in the studio using techniques other than (or in addition to) people performing in real time. For example: a late Beatles album, or any pop song since 1980.

Turino devotes a lot of his attention to three examples of participatory music cultures:

• Aymara musicians in Peru
• Shona music in Zimbabwe
• Contra dancers in America

This last group might strike you as the odd one out. Turino sees more commonalities between the musical experience of American contra dancers and participants in Shona rituals than he does between the contra dancers and audiences at, say, a jazz concert.

Qualities of presentational music:

• It’s made by professionals (or would-be professionals) — “real” musicians, as Americans call them.
• The musical form tends to be “closed” — it’s known to the performers in advance. There are a few exceptions, like free jazz, but those are outliers.
• Closed forms make it possible for the music to have great formal complexity and less predictability. Though presentational music does not have to be complex or unpredictable, audiences tend to demand a certain amount of variety.
• Textures and timbres are transparent, meaning that you can hear the individual sounds clearly. Tuning and timing are usually precise, though there are exceptions, like punk and indie rock.
• Presentational music is usually scripted, rehearsed and tight. Even jazz improvisation mostly takes place within mutually understood constraints.

Qualities of participatory music:

• It’s made by musicians of widely varying skill. Most participants are “amateurs,” not “real” musicians by American standards. There’s a low floor for core participation, like shaking a shaker steadily, and a high ceiling for elaboration, like virtuoso lead percussion.
• The audience/artist distinction is blurry or nonexistent.
• The form of the music is open, cyclical and very repetitive .
• There might be a lot of improvisation and looseness, but it all takes place within predictable structures.
• Textures and timbres are dense, with loose (“wide”) tuning and timing.
• Beginnings and endings are “feathered” — unscripted, loose, and sometimes disorderly.
• The music is game-like, though usually without “winners” and “losers.”

In participatory music cultures like Zimbabwe and Peru, the ability to make  music is as basic a social skill as making small talk is in North America. Music is part of “real life,” not separate from it or above it somehow. One of my favorite documents of participatory music is this delightful recording of workers canceling stamps in the University of Ghana post office. Anyone in the room could jump in with a rhythm or a whistled tune.

Speaking of documentation: for Aymara people, recorded music has the same relationship to actual music as a photo of a person does to the person: the document is no substitute for the real thing.

The values of participatory music are profoundly different from those of presentational music. Turino quotes his Zimbabwean mbira teacher:

[T]he best mbira players could offer their best performance at a ceremony but if no one joined in singing, clapping and dancing, the performance would be considered a failure… Although the drummers or mbira players perform the most specialized core musical roles in ceremonies, they are not considered the stars of the event with other contributions being secondary. Rather, they, along with hosho (shaker) players, are more like workmen with the special responsibility to provide a firm musical foundation that allows and in fact inspires others to participate.

This is as far from the current western academic art music value system as it’s possible to get.

People in participatory cultures do prefer skillful musicians over inept ones. But the social aspect of the music is the most important one, and usually people keep critical judgment of the performance to themselves. It’s sort of like the way Americans judge their kids’ musical performances, with loving tolerance for its flaws.

America suffers from its lack of participatory music

I have a hypothesis that the lack of participatory music in daily American life is a major obstacle to our well-being. Most humans in world history regard social music as a basic emotional vitamin, and our lack of it shows in our collective unhappiness, as clearly as malnutrition shows in stunted bone growth. Children have participatory music opportunities, at home, on the playground, at school, in church and at camp. But as an adult, you really have to make an effort to seek out music-making opportunities. One of the biggest pleasures of having a young kid is all the participatory music-making you do with them.

Few people have the time or energy to make presentational music of professional quality, and it takes a dedicated hobbyist indeed to overcome the stigma we place on amateurism. It’s interesting to me, then, to look at all the ways that Americans and other westerners try to cope, mostly by trying to make presentational and recorded music more participatory. Entire subcultures have sprung up devoted to trying to bridge the gap, intentionally or not.

Blurring the lines between presentational and participatory

The secret of the Grateful Dead’s rabid following mostly lies in the way they made presentational music feel participatory. The sloppiness that Dead detractors find so irritating becomes a positive virtue if you imagine the band leading a very big singalong. It’s easy to sneer at the Deadheads, but there was something undeniably real going on at the concerts, a lot of very enthusiastic dancing and singing along.

In high school, I saw the Dead close a show with “ Not Fade Away ” by Buddy Holly, as they often did. The audience sang along to the chorus and clapped along in a son clave beat. The band gradually got quieter and quieter until all you could hear was the crowd’s clapping and singing. Then the band waved goodnight and walked offstage as the crowd continued. We kept the chant and clap going all the way down the ramps and across the parking lot. It was such a pleasurable participatory music experience that I’m still writing about it decades later. The best big rock bands do something similar — think of Paul McCartney’s audience singing along with the “ na na na na ” part of “Hey Jude.”

Electronic dance music is an interesting new wrinkle. Remember that dance counts as participation in music. Even though EDM is the very definition of studio sound art, its reason for being is much the same as Zimbabwean mbira music: to get people moving. Some people do listen to EDM at their desks or in their cars or wherever, but even there, the point is usually to create a virtual dance club of the mind, to turn the boredom of working or commuting into a party activity.

This morning I was reading a blog post on OutKast’s recent reunion show at Coachella . Even though OutKast is one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, they failed to make much of an impression on the Coachella crowd. The blogger says that since the Coachella audience is mostly there for EDM, they’re expecting a participatory experience, with the focus on themselves. Daft Punk and Deadmau5 are very smart to  mask their faces, so you don’t focus too much on them as performers.

Like Deadheads, EDM enthusiasts are the object of much derision — the OutKast post above fairly drips with contempt — but really it’s just a matter of conflicting musical value systems. OutKast has some great hooks and singalong choruses, but their music is mostly verbally dense and intricate. It’s as good as presentational music gets, but it’s performer-focused, and it’s the wrong fit for the participation-focused Coachella crowd. It’s ironic that hip-hop has become such a presentational form; it started as a totally participatory one (as it still is in places, like the cyphers referenced above.)

Karaoke represents an uneasy truce between presentation and participation. Murino points out that most karaoke singers have to overcome considerable shame, and must brave the judgment of their friends. It’s no accident that people usually combine karaoke with heavy drinking.

College a capella groups represent another awkward compromise. The performances are presentational, but not usually up to professional standards. The audience needs to be “in on it” for the music to work, but there’s usually little singing along, and no dancing. Here’s a fascinating exception: I saw a college a capella group in Central Park singing “Like A Prayer” by Madonna. When they got to the groovy part at the end, a teenaged girl in the crowd jumped up next to them and started improvising gospel melismas. The group was startled but delighted. Presumably, this girl was from the highly participatory culture of black church, and her reaction was a perfectly logical one in that context. I’ve never seen such a thing happen on a college campus.

The Disquiet Junto is an unusual blend of studio sound art and participatory practice. Junto members get a weekly assignment by email, and create a piece of music or sound art in response. The Junto has the same inviting low floor and high ceiling that you see in participatory music, but the participants are creating polished recordings in isolation. The Junto SoundCloud group is a presentational environment on its face, but the lively discussion among community members makes it somewhat more participatory. There have been some Junto performances, which have been highly presentational. On the other hand, some Junto projects call for remixing of other participants’ work, and the line between artist and listener there is thoroughly confused. It’s a good confusion, though, one that feels rich with possibility for the future.

Constructivist music teachers strive to make participants out of their students — NYU’s IMPACT program is an example. In our presentational culture, constructivists have our work cut out for us, since would-be participants are always judging themselves against the impossible standards of top-flight professionals. Electronic music has some potential to bridge the gap. Well-designed music production software can give amateurs access to the kind of polished sounds previously only attainable by professionals. My NYU thesis project is designed to make it easy for beginners to make sound-art-quality rhythms. However, to make that possible, the software severely restricts the users. Is there an unavoidable tradeoff between expressive freedom and accessibility? That’s the big question.

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5 replies on “participatory music vs presentational music”.

• Pingback: Blog Post 2- Call/Response Music – Jacob Weinstein– History of Popular Music

In light of your post, I have to say that it’s no surprise then, that OutKast’s biggest hit “Hey Ya” calls for audience participation

• Pingback: SuiteLinks: April 19 « Piano Addict

Most interesting, but i like that we can have both types. Presentational is good too. It would be a sad world without professional musicians. I love the stamping tune!

I’m all in favor of presentational music; it’s just a matter of balance. The problem now is that presentational music is crowding out participatory music, at least in America.

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BTS' J-Hope Wins Top Prize at Military Presentation Competition: 'Military Service is a Great Pride'

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- J-Hope, a member of the group BTS currently serving in the military, has received the top prize at the Army presentation competition for his heartfelt reflections on his military service.

According to the music industry on the 5th, J-Hope participated in the "2024 Strong Warrior, Army! Presentation Competition" held the previous day at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. His presentation was titled "From Leading K-pop Globally as BTS's J-Hope to Feeling Proud as a Korean Soldier, Sergeant Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope's real name)."

J-Hope shared, "After enlisting, I saw BTS videos and photos being used as educational materials in the mental strength training textbooks for recruits. When recruits complete their training, they often say, 'It was an honor to be together.' At that moment, I realized that I was taking a valuable first step alongside those who would become a pillar of South Korea's security."

J-Hope enlisted as an active-duty soldier in April last year and is currently serving as an instructor at the 36th Division's recruit training center.

He reflected, "These days, I feel like I'm spending very meaningful and rewarding days. Just as my blood, sweat, and tears on stage contributed significantly to the development of Korean culture, I now feel that I am contributing greatly in a different way as a soldier in South Korea."

He emphasized, "Now, as Sergeant Jung Ho-seok, not BTS's J-Hope, I am proud to serve and protect South Korea. Serving as a soldier in the Republic of Korea gives me immense pride."

J-Hope is scheduled to be discharged in October.

Is It a Sound of Music…or of Speech? Scientists Uncover How Our Brains Try to Tell the Difference

Music and speech are among the most frequent types of sounds we hear. But how do we identify what we think are differences between the two?

An international team of researchers mapped out this process through a series of experiments—yielding insights that offer a potential means to optimize therapeutic programs that use music to regain the ability to speak in addressing aphasia. This language disorder afflicts more than 1 in 300 Americans each year, including Wendy Williams and Bruce Willis.

“Although music and speech are different in many ways, ranging from pitch to timbre to sound texture, our results show that the auditory system uses strikingly simple acoustic parameters to distinguish music and speech,” explains Andrew Chang, a postdoctoral fellow in New York University’s Department of Psychology and the lead author of the paper , which appears in the journal PLOS Biology . “Overall, slower and steady sound clips of mere noise sound more like music while the faster and irregular clips sound more like speech.”

Scientists gauge the rate of signals by precise units of measurement: Hertz (Hz). A larger number of Hz means a greater number of occurrences (or cycles) per second than a lower number. For instance, people typically walk at a pace of 1.5 to 2 steps per second, which is 1.5-2 Hz. The beat of Stevie Wonder’s 1972 hit “ Superstition ” is approximately 1.6 Hz, while Anna Karina’s 1967 smash “ Roller Girl ” clocks in at 2 Hz. Speech, in contrast, is typically two to three times faster than that at 4-5 Hz.

Anna Karina, circa 1967. Photo credit: Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

It has been well  documented  that a song’s volume, or loudness, over time—what’s known as “amplitude modulation”—is relatively steady at 1-2 Hz. By contrast, the amplitude modulation of speech is typically 4-5 Hz, meaning its volume changes frequently.

Despite the ubiquity and familiarity of music and speech, scientists previously lacked clear understanding of how we effortlessly and automatically identify a sound as music or speech.

To better understand this process in their  PLOS Biology  study, Chang and colleagues conducted a series of four experiments in which more than 300 participants listened to a series of audio segments of synthesized music- and speech-like noise of various amplitude modulation speeds and regularity.

The audio noise clips allowed only the detection of volume and speed. The participants were asked to judge whether these ambiguous noise clips, which they were told were noise-masked music or speech, sounded like music or speech. Observing the pattern of  participants sorting hundreds of noise clips as either music or speech revealed how much each speed and/or regularity feature affected their judgment between music and speech. It is the auditory version of “seeing faces in the cloud,” the scientists conclude: If there’s a certain feature in the soundwave that matches listeners’ idea of how music or speech should be, even a white noise clip can sound like music or speech. Examples of both music and speech may be downloaded from the  research page .

Knowing how the human brain differentiates between music and speech can potentially benefit people with auditory or language disorders such as aphasia—melodic intonation therapy is a promising approach to train people with aphasia to sing what they want to say, using their intact “musical mechanisms” to bypass damaged speech mechanisms.

The results showed that our auditory system uses surprisingly simple and basic acoustic parameters to distinguish music and speech: to participants, clips with slower rates (<2Hz) and more regular amplitude modulation sounded more like music, while clips with higher rates (~4Hz) and more irregular amplitude modulation sounded more like speech.

Knowing how the human brain differentiates between music and speech can potentially benefit people with auditory or language disorders such as aphasia, the authors note. Melodic intonation therapy, for instance, is a promising approach to train people with aphasia to sing what they want to say, using their intact “musical mechanisms” to bypass damaged speech mechanisms. Therefore, knowing what makes music and speech similar or distinct in the brain can help design more effective rehabilitation programs.

The paper’s other authors were Xiangbin Teng of Chinese University of Hong Kong, M. Florencia Assaneo of National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and David Poeppel, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and managing director of the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Frankfurt, Germany.

The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health (F32DC018205), and Leon Levy Scholarships in Neuroscience.

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