How to make background music for videos in your browser

By Tongkit Leong · October 8, 2026 · 7 min read

The easiest way to get background music for a video that nobody else can claim is to make it yourself: build a quiet 4 to 8 bar loop, keep it out of the 1 to 4 kHz range where speech lives, and export it as a WAV or MP3. You can do all of that for free in the Tracks browser studio, with no account and nothing uploaded.

What makes good background music for video?

Good background music supports what is on screen and then gets out of the way. It is slower and simpler than a normal song, has no strong lead melody, and does not change much from one bar to the next. If a viewer notices the music more than the video, it is too busy.

That is why a short loop works so well. A chord progression, a soft beat, and a pad can run for three minutes under a talking-head video without wearing out.

Step 1: Pick a tempo and a mood

Tempo sets the energy of the whole video. Start with these ranges:

• 70 to 90 BPM: calm tutorials, product walkthroughs, study and vlog footage.
• 90 to 110 BPM: upbeat explainers, travel clips, light corporate video.
• 110 to 130 BPM: sports, unboxing, fast cuts, intros.

Set the tempo first in the studio. If you want a reference for typical speeds, the BPM by genre cheat sheet lists them.

Step 2: Build a loop of four chords

Open the piano roll on a synth or SoundFont track and write one chord per bar over four bars. Use sustained notes rather than short stabs, because long sounds sit behind speech more comfortably. A soft electric piano or pad from the SoundFont instruments works well. If you are not sure which chords to use, chord progressions in the piano roll walks through safe ones.

Add a bass track that plays the root note of each chord. Then add a simple drum pattern: kick on the downbeats, a quiet snare or rim on beats 2 and 4, and a light hi-hat. Lower the velocity of every drum note so the groove is felt rather than heard.

Step 3: Leave room for the voice

Speech sits mostly between 1 and 4 kHz, so that is the range your music should give up. Open the parametric EQ on the chord or pad track and cut a few dB there with a wide band. Also roll off lows below roughly 80 Hz on everything except the bass, so the mix does not rumble through small speakers.

Avoid a lead melody in the same octave as a speaking voice. If you want some melodic interest, put a gentle arpeggio an octave or two higher and keep it quiet.

Duck the music under a voiceover

If you record your voiceover in Tracks, the studio has sidechain ducking in the mixer, so the music can drop in volume whenever the voice track plays and come back up in the gaps. The sidechain compression guide shows the setup, using the voice track as the trigger and a slower attack and release so the change is smooth. If you add the voiceover later in a video editor, skip this and just keep the music quiet enough on its own.

Step 4: Set the level

Background music should be much quieter than the voice. As a starting point, keep the music peaking around -18 to -12 dB so there is plenty of headroom for speech on top. You can raise it for sections with no talking, such as an intro or an outro. Our guide to gain staging explains how to check your levels before you export.

Step 5: Arrange a beginning, middle, and end

Copy your loop across the timeline for the length of your video. Then shape it:

• Start with only the pad or chords for the first few bars.
• Bring in the drums and bass when the main content starts.
• Mute the drums during any moment you want the viewer to focus on a point.
• Use volume automation to fade out over the last few seconds so the music does not stop abruptly.

For more on building sections, see song structure and arrangement and automation in your mix.

Step 6: Export for your video editor

Bounce the song to WAV if you plan to edit further in a video editor, or to MP3 for a smaller file. Both are built into Tracks. The export guide covers the differences. If you want to adjust the music separately from other sounds, you can also export per-track stems.

Your project stays on your own device the whole time. Tracks does not upload your music anywhere. Keep the .tracks.json project file somewhere safe if you want to edit the track again later.

Common mistakes

• Too many parts at once: if every instrument plays all the time, the track fights the voice. Start with fewer layers.
• Music too loud: the most common complaint about video audio. When in doubt, turn it down.
• A loop that is too short and obvious: make the loop 8 bars or add a small variation every few repeats.
• Harsh highs: bright hi-hats and synth leads can be fatiguing under speech. Soften them with a gentle high-cut.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use music I make in Tracks in my YouTube videos?

Music you compose yourself from your own notes and drum patterns is yours to use. Be careful with any samples or SoundFont files you import from elsewhere, because those carry their own licenses. Our guide to music ownership and copyright goes into more detail.

How long should a background music track be?

Make it at least as long as your video, or loop it in your editor. A 2 to 3 minute track with a clear fade-out is a handy length to reuse across many videos.

Should I export WAV or MP3?

Use WAV if you will keep processing it, since it is uncompressed. Use MP3 if you just need a small file to drop into an editor or upload.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Tracks runs in a modern desktop browser, and there is no account or download. Open the studio and start with a loop.