How to Find Music With No Lyrics (Instrumental Music)

Where to Buy Instrumental Music (Music Without Lyrics)

Instrumental music can be purchased from an online music provider. Many of these services charge monthly or annual fees for access to their entire stock library. Some will have one-time fees for use of a specific track.

Here are some examples of places to buy instrumental music:

Artlist: This source has a stock library of royalty-free music for as low as $9.99 per month.
Premium Beat: They have a stock library of over 20,000 exclusive tracks, starting at $12.99 per month.
Bensound: This source contains a large library of royalty-free music, much of which can be used for free if credit is given. You can also buy a one-time license or purchase an annual subscription
Dig ccMixter: It’s free to use their tracks when crediting the musician. There is a sliding scale for royalty-free music without restrictions.
Pond5: This source hosts a wide variety of royalty-free music tracks, starting at $5 per track.

Why Does Where I Get the Music Matter?

When using music for commercial purposes or even when uploading personal social media content, you will need to ensure that you are doing so legally.

Most music is copyrighted, which means that you must have a license to use it in your project. Even instrumental music will be copyrighted most of the time.

To use copyrighted music, you will need to contact the holder of the license directly, which can be the artist, composer, music producer, or record label. Royalty-free music, on the other hand, is music that can be purchased for a fee from a provider who takes care of the licensing for you.

There are often free options for music too, many of which just require that you credit the artist.

If you don’t have the proper license to use the music, your project can be taken down or blocked. You can also face legal ramifications.

Why Use Music Without Lyrics?

Instrumental music can help the audience to feel specific emotions, taking a more creative approach than using songs with lyrics. Music without words can let the viewer give their own personal meaning to the story without being told directly.

If your project contains narration, using music without lyrics can be more practical as well. Songs with lyrics can be more distracting than instrumental tracks. They can potentially take away from the message you are trying to convey.

Types of Music Without Lyrics

Any music that does not have words is considered instrumental. This can include the use of many different instruments or primarily one, such as:

Piano
Guitar
Drums
Violin

Music without lyrics can also use synthesizers, commonly referred to as a “beat.” This is also known as electronic music.

These are popular genres of instrumental music:

Classical
Jazz
Post-rock
Bluegrass
Electronic dance music

How to Choose the Right Instrumental Track for Your Project

Here are some tips for choosing the right instrumental track:

Consider the role the music is to play in your project.
Determine what genre or type of music will best fit the image you are trying to portray.
Choose music that helps drive the project and sets the pace.
Use music that helps to set the mood and can invoke an emotional response when needed.
Ensure that the music is not distracting and does not take away from the project or message.
Know your budget and obtain your music legally.

What Type of Projects Suit Instrumental Music?

If your project contains narration, music without lyrics is often optimal, so the viewer is not distracted or confused.

Viewers are often drawn to music with words, so using instrumental music can help to keep the focus on your narrator and the words being spoken or viewed.

Instrumental music can help to keep the focus solely on your message without distracting viewers with additional words in the background.

Instrumental music can add value to nearly any project. It works great in the following:

Video games
Commercials
Films
Audiobooks
Corporate videos
Social media posts
Vlogs
Training videos

What Else Should You Consider When Working With Music Without Lyrics?

Unless your purpose is to use the lyrics of a song to drive the emotions and minds of your audience, and the lyrics fit this purpose directly, music without lyrics is almost always a good fit for any project. Music without lyrics can be used in the background to help draw in viewers, make your brand or message more memorable, help to keep viewers’ attention, and increase the number of shares your project receives. Just be sure to have the correct license for the music you are using before you plug it into your project.