Music for game?

[GriffinRider]

Hey all -

My wife is about to start running her first ever campaign (Rime of the Frost Maiden) after a few years of being strictly a player. She's really trying to do it up right, and is thinking about making a playlist of various music to have running in the background. To help her out, I've got two questions:

First - what's the best way to do this software-and-hardware-wise? She's got an iPad and phone, we've got our aging laptop; what apps do this work the smoothest? Keep in mind she's thinking of being able to switch from one playlist to another as situations change in-game.

Second - what are everyone's favorites when it comes to tracks? I was thinking of organizing things into three broad categories: combat, mysterious/suspenseful, and sort of innocuous, low-key background fantasy music for when nothing major is going on.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[Sayeth]

I just use a laptop with the factory speakers, but some bluetooth speaker might be nice.

I use Spotify to make playlists and switch between them. You'll need to pony up for a paid membership; ad breaks in the middle of a dungeon are pretty immersion breaking.

For playlists, there's a good collection on reddit's r/DMToolkit.

[Unoriginal]

I personally use Youtube on open internet tabs, if/when I want music in the game.

I admit it can be a bit meh to juggle tabs, but it let me avoid needing a specific app.

[animorte]

This is exactly what my wife does. She really loves to create the setting. Only difference is she was my first DM and got me into the game. I kind of learned from her.

That being said, she uses YouTube with ads free and has preset upwards of 200 different playlists, about half of which are D&D/board gaming relevant and the other half personal. She can switch between any of them fairly easy. They’re mostly a massive collection of various pieces from soundtracks across countless video games.

Personally RPG Ambient Sounds (https://m.youtube.com/c/RPGAmbientSounds/featured) has been very useful for me. I also had an app that was a sound board for various effects some time ago. Initially it was really cool and received high praise, but it quickly became more effort than it was worth.

[Burley]

I use my EchoDot and have it play "Chamber Music." The occasional ad breaks are useful reminders that people need bio breaks. :smallwink:

[Sigreid]

Dio: Don't talk to strangers
Don't pay the ferryman
Dio: the last in line
Dio: Rainbow in the dark
Iron Maiden: the duelist

Those come to mind

[GriffinRider]

Dio: Don't talk to strangers
Don't pay the ferryman
Dio: the last in line
Dio: Rainbow in the dark
Iron Maiden: the duelist

Those come to mind

...feel like the estate of Ronny James Dio should get you on their payroll! :wink:

[Sigreid]

...feel like the estate of Ronny James Dio should get you on their payroll! :wink:

Been a fan since the 80s. But his music tends to be very fantasy inspired.

[No brains]

One suggestion for a variety or theme of music is to have a 'tomfoolery' soundtrack. You can play it when the characters get into something silly that doesn't seem like it would work. You can use it to reinforce levity, or to subtly suggest that perhaps the players are wasting time. :smalltongue:

Also, you can use the drowning music from Sonic as a countdown timer. Scary every time.

[Lord Vukodlak]

This playlist has various songs done with medieval sounding instruments
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9PLUrw0CbcSx6jZ5sO1W8wY_P0QsiVkb

[False God]

Shorthand: I go to youtube and pick something thematically appropriate that has a 3+hr runtime.

Some notes from the front:
Don't play music in the middle of the table, or from the same direction the DM is speaking. It will just interfere with people talking. If you've got speakers scattered around your house or you have a single device you can play from, place it off to the side. Most homes will echo the sound somewhat to give it a more "it's in the background". You want people to feel like they're IN the situation, not in front of a movie screen.

Make sure the volume is kept low, no matter how much you love this song or how appropriate it is. It's BGM. This is a mistake even big-screen features make.

Don't undervalue SILENCE. The moments when there is NO sound can be far more impactful than the moments where there is.

Respect when a player asks you to pause the music or turn it off because they can't hear or they've got a headache. Valuing the well-being of your players goes a lot further than the right music choices.

[GriffinRider]

Good suggestions, all. Thanks everyone.

[D&D_Fan]

If you plan on recording the game and posting it, you should make sure the music is royalty free, even if it isn't, it's also a good generic brand choice for music.

Kevin Macleod has great and instantly recognizable music, including music with a fantasy and adventure theme.

Here is a 4 hour video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G79gsuHPYg), someone suggested long videos and they are right, too short and you have to stop and put on a new one all the time.

[Emongnome777]

Two Steps from Hell (search YouTube) has some awesome background music. Here's (https://www.youtube.com/@AnttiMartikainenMusic/playlists) more epic music. After that, I'm partial to atmospheric black metal (Can Bardd, Durthang, etc).

[Iku Rex]

Deserves a mention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOkTQC4BVMk&list=PLpV28ONBH95Q_NvPnLo3QqCel2hRYLwC-
(Rime Of The Frostmaiden Soundtrack by Travis Savoie )

The channel also has shorter tracks and soundtracks for other adventures.

[Samayu]

For Frost Maiden, search Viking music on YouTube.