What the music is for
An invitation video is about half a minute long. People are reading a name, a date, a time and an address. The music sets a gentle mood while they read. That means quiet, slow pieces with few words usually work best. A song with a strong beat or a loud chorus can make it harder to take in the details.
Moods to choose from
Piano or strings for a classic, peaceful feeling. Acoustic guitar for something warm and simple. Soft ambient sounds for a modern, quiet tone. Light, hopeful melodies for a celebration of life. Try a few in the preview; the right one often becomes obvious when you hear it with the photo and the background.
The built-in library
The tracks in the library are chosen to fit invitation videos and are meant to be shared along with them. If you are unsure, picking one of these is the simplest choice.
Using your own song
You can upload your own music file, for example a song that will also be played at the service. Here is the important part: playing a song at a funeral service and putting that song in a video that gets sent to many people and posted online are two different uses. Copyrighted music shared in a video usually needs permission from whoever holds the rights. Some social platforms may also mute or remove videos with copyrighted songs. We cannot give legal advice, so check the licensing for any song you did not create before you share it. If you are not sure, the library or no music at all is the safe choice.
No music at all
A silent video is perfectly fine. Many people watch videos with the sound off anyway, and silence can feel respectful. The words and photo carry the message.
Music at the service itself
If the family wants this video or other music played at the service, ask the venue early which file format and equipment they use. This site does not make long slideshows for the service; see slideshow vs invitation video. For building the rest of the video, read how to make a funeral invitation video or the celebration of life invitation video guide.
Matching music to the kind of video
An announcement often suits the quietest choice, or silence. A funeral invitation can carry soft piano or strings. A celebration of life can be a little brighter, with acoustic guitar or a hopeful melody. A memorial held weeks later sits somewhere in between. Whatever you choose, watch the whole preview once with the sound on, and once with the sound off, since many people will watch it muted. Both should feel complete.
When the family has a favorite song
Families sometimes want the person's favorite song in the video. It is a lovely idea, and the right place for it may be the service itself, where the venue handles the music. In the invitation video, a library track in a similar mood can carry the feeling without the question of sharing rights.
Volume and the end of the video
Choose music that fades gently at the end rather than stopping abruptly. In the preview, check that the music does not start too loud, since many people will open the video in a quiet room or at work. If you are unsure which mood fits, ask the family to describe the person in three words. Gentle, strong, cheerful, quiet: those words point to a style of music more reliably than any list of songs. Try two or three tracks in that mood and let the family pick the one that feels right. The choice takes a minute and the preview shows it immediately.
Before you choose music
- The music is calm enough to read along
- You know whether you may share the song
- The family likes the choice
- You watched once with sound on
About these guides
Written by Funeral Invitations, in plain language, for funeral directors and families. If anything changes about the videos or the price, we update the guides.