How I Use Music in My Videos (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

Music Is Not Background

Most people think of music in YouTube videos as background noise. Something to fill the silence while someone talks over it. That's not how I see it.

In my videos, music carries the emotion. It sets the pace. It tells you when to pay attention and when to breathe. A cinematic score under a slow workshop shot does more storytelling than any voiceover I could write.

I spend almost as much time choosing music as I do editing the footage. That's not an exaggeration.

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Finding the Right Track

Every project has a mood. A pallet wood coffee table has a different energy than a timber frame door. A personal story about my father's log needs something completely different from a Festool factory visit.

I start every edit by scrubbing through tracks until something clicks. Sometimes I find the perfect track in five minutes. Sometimes it takes an hour. When the right one hits, you know. The footage suddenly makes sense.

I look for tracks that have movement. A build, a shift, a moment where the energy changes. That lets me sync the edit to the music. Cut on the beat. Let the saw hit on the drop. Match the quiet moments to the quiet parts of the song.

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What I Listen For

Cinematic scores are my default. Orchestral, emotional, sometimes dark. They make workshop footage feel like a film. This is what draws people in who aren't even woodworkers. The music makes them stay.

Ambient textures work for the quieter moments. Sanding, hand planing, oiling. You don't want a full orchestra competing with the sound of a hand plane on oak.

Electronic/downtempo for the builds that have energy. Glue-ups, assembly, the parts where things come together fast.

I almost never use music with lyrics. Lyrics compete with voiceover and they date a video fast.

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Why Epidemic Sound

I've used Epidemic Sound since I started the channel. Every single video. There's a reason for that.

The library is massive and the quality is consistently high. Not "royalty free music" quality where everything sounds like a stock photo. Real compositions by real musicians that I'd actually listen to outside of editing.

The licensing is simple. One subscription. Use anything in the library. No copyright claims, no revenue sharing, no strikes. Upload to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, wherever. It just works.

I've tried other music libraries. I always come back.

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My Process

1. Rough cut first. I edit the footage into a rough story without music.
2. Find the track. Browse Epidemic Sound by mood, genre, or energy level. I have playlists saved for different project types.
3. Lock the track. Drop it in the timeline.
4. Re-edit to the music. This is where the magic happens. I adjust cut points, extend shots, trim sequences to match the rhythm of the track. The video transforms.
5. Sound design. Layer in workshop sounds. Saw cuts, wood drops, chisel strikes. These sit on top of the music and ground the viewer in the space.
6. Mix levels. Music louder in cinematic moments, quieter under voiceover, full volume in the hero shots.

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The Difference It Makes

Watch any of my videos with the sound off. Then watch it again with sound. It's a completely different experience.

The pallet block coffee table video has over 7 million views. The music in that video is doing heavy lifting. The burning sequence, the oil application, the final reveal. Without the score, those moments are just footage. With it, they're cinema.

My video about why woodworking YouTube feels different now was essentially an essay. The music underneath made it something people listened to like a podcast while watching the build. Several commenters said exactly that.

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For Other Creators

If you're making videos and still using free YouTube audio library tracks, do yourself a favor and try something better. The difference between a €13/month music subscription and free stock music is the difference between a video people share and a video people scroll past.

Music is not where you save money. It's where you invest it.

Try Epidemic Sound here and see what it does for your next edit.