HOW TO CHOOSE MUSIC FOR TUTORIAL AND HOW-TO VIDEOS

A strong tutorial has one job: take the viewer from “How do I do this?” to “Done.”

Whether you’re retouching a photo, sharing a recipe, walking through new software or tackling a DIY project, every part of the video should make that journey feel clear and easy to follow.

That includes the soundtrack.

The right background music for tutorial videos gives your edit momentum, makes transitions feel smoother and helps different sections of your video feel connected. The wrong track does the opposite - distracting from your voice, rushing the pace or making important instructions harder to follow.

The key is knowing when music should lead, when it should sit quietly underneath your content and when it should disappear altogether.

Use music to connect the different parts of your tutorial

Tutorial videos rarely use one type of footage from beginning to end.

You might move between talking to camera, voice-over, screen recordings, close-up demonstrations, time-lapses, B-roll and a final reveal. Even when the information is clear, those changes can make a video feel disjointed.

Music is the thread that holds everything together.

For narration-heavy content, start with something subtle. You want enough rhythm and atmosphere to keep the video moving without competing with what you’re saying.

Instrumentals are a good place to start when your voice needs to stay front and centre. Look for tracks with space in the arrangement, simple melodies and a rhythm that complements the pace of your edit.

And remember: using one track does not mean using it in exactly the same way for the entire video.

Match the music to the shape of your video

Most tutorials naturally move through different stages.

You introduce the task. You explain what the viewer needs. You walk through the process. Then you show the result.

Your soundtrack can follow that same journey.

A little more energy at the beginning can help establish momentum while you tell viewers what they’re going to learn. When you move into a detailed explanation, pull the track back and give your voice more space.

Then, when the video switches to a montage, time-lapse, transformation or hands-on demonstration, you can let the music come forward again.

These changes do not need to be dramatic.

You might simply:

• lower the volume during detailed instructions
• use a quieter section of the track under dialogue
• bring the beat forward during a montage
• fade the music between chapters
• remove it completely for an important step

Silence is useful too. If there is one instruction your viewer absolutely needs to hear, dropping the music for a few seconds can instantly give that moment more weight.

Tailor the music to your tutorial

There is no universal soundtrack for a how-to video.

A recipe tutorial, software walkthrough and home workout are asking different things from the viewer. Your music should reflect that.

Technology and software tutorials

For screen recordings, app walkthroughs and tech content, clean electronic textures, understated beats and modern production can create energy without overwhelming the information on screen.

Explore Science & Technology when you want something focused, polished and contemporary.

Cooking and recipe videos

Food content gives you more room to inject personality.

Upbeat grooves can add energy to quick preparation sequences, while something warmer and more relaxed might suit slow cooking, baking or lifestyle-led recipe content.

Browse the Cooking playlist and match the track to your editing style as much as the food itself.

Educational and study content

If your tutorial is slower, more detailed or designed to help viewers concentrate, avoid anything that constantly demands attention.

Lo-Fi can work particularly well for desk-based tutorials, study content and longer explanations because it can add rhythm without making the video feel rushed.

The same principle applies to beauty, photography, craft, fitness and DIY content: start with what you want the viewer to feel, then choose the music.

Do they need to focus? Feel motivated? Relax? Get excited about the final result?

That answer will usually point you towards the right soundtrack faster than choosing a track simply because you like listening to it.

Be careful with vocals

If your tutorial contains a lot of speech, vocals are one of the quickest ways to make the soundtrack feel crowded.

Your viewer should not have to process your instructions and a singer’s lyrics at the same time.

That does not mean vocals can never work in music for how-to videos. They can be effective during intros, montages, reveals and sections without narration.

But under detailed dialogue, instrumentals are usually the safer choice.

Listen especially carefully to tracks with vocal chops, samples or prominent melodic hooks. Even without lyrics, they can occupy the same frequencies as the human voice and start competing with your narration.

If you notice yourself paying attention to the track instead of the instructions, your viewer probably will too.

Get the tempo right

Tempo changes how fast a video feels.

Put an energetic track underneath a slow, methodical explanation and the viewer may feel as though the tutorial is rushing them. Choose something too laid-back for a fast transformation and the edit can lose momentum.

Instead of choosing by BPM alone, think about the rhythm of the content.

How quickly are you cutting? How often is something changing on screen? Is the viewer watching, listening or trying to follow along at the same time?

Then play the edit back without deliberately listening to the soundtrack.

If the whole thing feels natural, you’re close.

If it suddenly feels frantic or sluggish, try a different track before rebuilding the edit around music that was never quite right.

Mix for the information first

Great tutorial background music should support the information, not fight for attention.

The right song at the wrong volume is still the wrong soundtrack.

Avoid setting one music level and leaving it there for the entire video. Instead, treat your mix as part of the edit.

Pull music down when the viewer needs to concentrate on an explanation. Let it breathe during transitions, B-roll and demonstrations. Fade it back naturally when your narration returns.

This technique is often called ducking: lowering the music underneath dialogue so the voice stays clear.

You do not need to make the soundtrack disappear. You just need to make sure the viewer never has to choose between hearing the music and hearing you.

It is also worth checking your final mix on different devices. Headphones might make your balance sound perfect, while the same video through a phone speaker can reveal that the track is still too dominant.

Your voice should always win.

Use music to make repetitive sections more watchable

Some tutorials have steps that are necessary to show but not particularly interesting in real time.

Think chopping ingredients. Exporting files. Sanding wood. Applying the same edit across several photos. Assembling twenty identical parts.

That is where music can do more of the work.

Instead of cutting the sequence completely, speed it up, turn it into a montage or show a few key moments while letting the soundtrack drive the section forward.

You keep the viewer oriented without forcing them to watch every second of the process.

Then bring the music back down when there is something new they need to learn.

That contrast can help a longer tutorial feel much more dynamic.

Start thinking about music before the final edit

Leaving music until the very end can make it feel like an extra layer sitting on top of your video.

Bring it in earlier and it becomes part of the edit itself.

Try a few tracks while you are still shaping your first cut. You may notice that one section needs more energy, another needs breathing room or a transition works better when it lands naturally with the music.

You can also test different creative directions before committing to one.

Does the same cooking sequence feel better with laid-back lo-fi or something funkier? Does your tech tutorial need futuristic electronics or something more minimal? Does your craft video feel stronger with acoustic warmth or playful percussion?

Try both.

The best soundtrack is not necessarily the track that sounds most impressive on its own. It is the one that makes your video work better.

Make music part of the learning experience

Music in a tutorial should rarely shout for attention.

Its job is to help the viewer stay with you.

Use it to establish the mood, connect different sections, give visual sequences momentum and create contrast around the moments that matter most. Then give your voice and instructions enough room to do their job.

If you’re working on your next tutorial, explore Universal Music for Creators by genre, mood and creator-focused playlists and test different sounds against your actual edit.

Because when the soundtrack works, your viewer should not be thinking about the music.

They should be thinking: “That was easier than I expected.”