Music for tutorial videos that stays out of the lesson

Tracks for tutorial videos

• A steady bed under a long screen recording

  Chillwave Summer Coast · 2:33 · Lofi · Calm · 118 BPM

• Under the intro where you say what we will make

  Hopeful Corporate Tech · 1:28 · Electronic · Inspiring · 92 BPM

• For a software or coding walkthrough

  Cheerful Advertising Jingle · 0:42 · Corporate · Upbeat · 118 BPM

• For a friendly hands on how to at a craft table or bench

  Fingerstyle Morning Walk · 2:07 · Acoustic · Upbeat · 112 BPM

• To lift the finished result at the end

  Uplifting Synthpop Summer · 5:01 · Electronic · Upbeat · 118 BPM

Library tracks are free for personal use. Commercial use needs Pro or above. More tracks like these in the music library

Music should help people learn, not distract them

A tutorial asks more of its viewer than almost any other video. They are following steps, often pausing, rewinding and trying things on their own screen or bench at the same time. Anything that splits their attention costs you, and music is the easiest thing to get wrong. A catchy melody, a big drum fill or a sudden change in mood all pull focus from the instruction at exactly the moment someone is trying to catch a menu name or a measurement.

The right music for a tutorial is closer to room tone than to a song. It gives the video a pulse, hides the hiss of a home microphone and keeps silent stretches from feeling dead, all without carrying a tune anyone would hum. Steady lofi beats, soft electric piano, light acoustic guitar and minimal electronic plucks are the usual choices. Whatever you pick, it should sound the same at minute one and minute twelve.

Screen recordings and long instruction

Software tutorials, coding walkthroughs and design lessons are mostly screen recording with narration. They are often long, 10 to 40 minutes, and the viewer is reading the screen as much as listening. For these, keep the music very low, 20 to 25 dB under your voice, or drop it out entirely during detailed steps and bring it back for transitions, quick sped up sections and the intro and outro.

Avoid music with a strong rhythm change every few bars. When the viewer pauses and resumes, they land somewhere new in the track, and an even texture makes that less jarring. A tempo around 70 to 90 BPM with soft drums and no lead melody is easy to listen to for a long time and does not rush the viewer.

• Narrated screen recording: music 20 to 25 dB under the voice, or out during detailed steps.
• Sped up sections where you do not talk: lift the music, cut on the beat.
• Intro and outro: the only places the music can lead.

Hands on tutorials and step by step pacing

Crafts, repairs, cooking techniques, makeup and music lessons are filmed rather than recorded on screen, and they usually move in clear steps. A common pattern is a short spoken explanation, then a few seconds of hands doing the step with no talking, then the next explanation. Music works best when it follows that rhythm: low under the explanation, a little more present while the hands work.

Sped up sections, where a ten minute task becomes ten seconds, are the moments to cut on the beat. Each jump in the process landing on a downbeat makes the sequence satisfying to watch. When you upload your tutorial to Sonilo, the music is built from the cuts and pacing in your edit, so the busier sped up stretches and the quieter talking sections get different energy without you rebuilding the music track by hand.

Narration and the sounds of the work

Your voice carries the lesson. Pick arrangements without instruments in the middle of the speech range: low piano, bass, muted guitar and soft pads are safe, while flutes, whistles and bright synth leads make words harder to catch. If you record narration over the original audio, leave the speech setting on in Sonilo so your voice stays in the mix while the music is replaced, and use the music volume control to set the balance before export.

Some tutorials need you to hear the work itself: the click of a correct setting, a guitar note being tuned, a saw finishing a cut, a sewing machine speed. Leave silence around those, and drop the music for any moment where the sound is part of what you are teaching. It feels deliberate rather than empty.

Intros, chapters and the finished result

Most tutorials open by showing what the viewer will have at the end: the finished app screen, the repaired part, the completed drawing. That opening is the one place music can lead. A brighter, slightly fuller phrase for five to ten seconds over the result tells the viewer this is worth their time, then the music drops back as you start explaining step one.

Long tutorials are easier to follow when they are split into chapters, and music can mark them. A short break, a two second title card with a small musical phrase, or simply a fresh bed at the start of each chapter signals that a new part has begun. It also helps viewers who skip around using chapter markers, because each section starts cleanly instead of in the middle of a musical phrase.

At the end, return to the finished result with a gentle lift, the same idea as the opening but resolved. That bookend makes the tutorial feel complete, and it is a natural place for your outro and end screen.

Short tutorials and quick tips

Quick tips for Shorts, Reels and TikTok run 15 to 60 seconds and behave differently. They usually open on the result or the problem, then show the fix fast. Music can be brighter and more rhythmic here, around 100 to 120 BPM, with on screen text carrying the steps instead of a long narration. Put each step change on a beat and save the musical lift for the result.

End short tips with a clear final beat on the finished result rather than a fade. A long tutorial can close with your recap and a short outro, with the music returning at a slightly higher level for the end screen.

Mood by subject

Software, coding and productivity suit minimal electronic or lofi. Crafts, DIY and home projects suit warm acoustic guitar and light percussion. Beauty and styling suit soft pop or chill electronic. Music, art and language lessons suit gentle piano or acoustic textures that do not clash with what is being taught; for a music lesson especially, keep the background in a neutral key or leave it out while you play. Fitness and cooking tutorials can carry more energy, since the visuals move faster. The presets above start from those pairings, and you can edit the direction before you upload.

How to make music for tutorial videos

1. 1

   Upload the tutorial

   Upload your screen recording or filmed tutorial. Sonilo reads its cuts, pacing and scene changes.

2. 2

   Pick a tutorial preset

   Choose Focus bed, Friendly how to, Clean software, Quick tip or Result reveal, or describe the music yourself. Leave the speech setting on to keep your narration.

3. 3

   Generate and export

   Generate on the create page, where the credit cost is shown before anything runs. Listen to both versions under your voice, set the music level and export.

Questions before you start

Music for other kinds of video