How to make a podcast intro jingle in your browser

By Tongkit Leong · October 11, 2026 · 7 min read

A podcast intro jingle is a 5 to 15 second musical hook with a clear rhythm and a clean ending. You can build one for free in the Tracks browser studio: set a tempo, write a short synth hook, add a simple beat, finish with a stinger, and export a WAV or MP3.

What a good jingle does

A jingle tells listeners what show they are hearing and sets the mood before anyone speaks. It does not need to be complex. It needs to be short, easy to recognize, and to end in a way that leaves room for your voice.

Aim for 8 to 15 seconds for an intro and 5 to 10 seconds for an outro. Anything longer starts to feel like a delay before the content, and many listeners will skip it.

Step 1: Set the tempo and length

Open the studio and set the project tempo. For a friendly, upbeat show, 110 to 125 BPM works well. For something calmer or more serious, try 90 to 105 BPM. If you are unsure, the BPM by genre cheat sheet lists common ranges.

Plan the length in bars. At 120 BPM in 4/4, one bar lasts two seconds, so four bars is eight seconds and a bar of tail on top brings you to ten. Decide the bar count first and the arrangement becomes easy to fit.

Step 2: Write a hook in the piano roll

The hook is the part people remember. Add a MIDI track with a built-in synth and open the piano roll. Write a riff of four to six notes across two bars, then repeat it for the next two bars with one change, such as a different final note.

• Stay in one key and use only notes from its scale so every note fits.
• Use a few repeated notes rather than a wandering line. Repetition is what makes a hook stick.
• Keep it in a mid register. Very low notes get lost on phone speakers and very high ones get harsh.

If you have no theory background, how to make a melody without theory walks through a simple method. For a bright, plucky sound, start from a synth preset and shorten the amplitude release so notes stop quickly.

Step 3: Add a beat and a bass note

Add a drum machine track and program a kick on beats 1 and 3 and a snare or clap on beats 2 and 4. Keep it sparse. A jingle that sits under or around a voice works better with less going on. Our free online drum machine guide covers the step grid.

Add a bass track that plays the root note of each chord, one note per bar or per half bar. This gives the jingle weight without adding clutter.

Step 4: End with a stinger

A stinger is a short, strong final hit that tells the listener the intro is over. Place a chord or single note on the last beat, play drums, bass, and synth together on it, and let nothing play after it. A little reverb on the hook track gives the hit a tail that fades naturally.

Avoid fading out unless your show calls for it. A deliberate stop sounds more finished than a slow fade, and it makes it easier to start talking right on the downbeat.

Step 5: Mix it so it sits well with speech

Jingles often play under or right before a voice, so keep the mix simple:

• Set the drums, bass, and hook to similar levels, then lower the whole mix until the loudest peaks stay clear of the red.
• Use the per-track EQ to cut low frequencies from the synth so it does not fight the bass.
• If you plan to talk over the tail, lower the hook track in the last bar using automation.

For more on this, see gain staging to avoid clipping.

Step 6: Export for your podcast host

Bounce the project to WAV if you will edit it further in a podcast editor, or MP3 for a smaller file. Both are available from the export menu. If you are unsure which to pick, how to export to MP3 or WAV explains the trade-offs. Your project stays in your browser on your device, and you can also save a .tracks.json project file if you want a backup.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a podcast intro be?

Eight to fifteen seconds is a common range. Shorter is safer, because listeners tend to skip long intros.

Do I need to know music theory?

No. Pick a key, use only the notes from its scale, and repeat a short pattern. That is enough for a recognizable hook.

Can I use my own voice in the jingle?

Yes. Tracks records from your microphone, so you can add a spoken tag line such as your show name on its own track and place it over the beat.

Can I use the jingle commercially?

You are making the music yourself, so you are in control of it, but check that any samples you import are ones you have the right to use. See music ownership and copyright explained.

Does it cost anything?

No. The studio is free and runs in your browser, with no account and nothing uploaded.