background music
Mood-setting audio
Background music is music that plays behind something else—conversation, film scenes, retail shopping, work.
It sets mood without demanding attention: The restaurant's background music was too loud to talk over.
In film and television, background music is the score underlying dialogue and action, distinct from songs that characters hear.
Inoffensive background melodies
- waiting roomSpace for anticipating service
- retailSales to end users
- grocery storeFood and supplies retailer
- restaurantPlace serving meals
hotel lobby · reception · shopping mall · airport lounge · easy listening · soft rock · unobtrusive · incidental
Music composed for cinema
- underscoreLow horizontal text mark
- leitmotifRecurring thematic phrase
- cueTrigger for action
- themeCentral recurring concept
Hans Zimmer · John Williams · dramatic · orchestral · montage · tension · suspense · emotional
Reducing distress or discomfort
tranquil · peaceful · serene · meditative · chillout · downtempo · lullaby · healing
Rhythmic pulse or strike
- tempoRate of musical performance
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
- loopCurve closing on itself
- basslineLow-register musical foundation
percussion · syncopation · funk · bossa nova · chill beats · electronic · dance · hip-hop
muzak
Inoffensive background melodies
- waiting roomSpace for anticipating service
- retailSales to end users
- grocery storeFood and supplies retailer
restaurant · hotel lobby · reception · shopping mall · airport lounge · easy listening · soft rock · unobtrusive · incidental
film score
Music composed for cinema
- underscoreLow horizontal text mark
- leitmotifRecurring thematic phrase
- cueTrigger for action
Hans Zimmer · John Williams · theme · dramatic · orchestral · montage · tension · suspense · emotional · sweeping
soothing
Reducing distress or discomfort
soft · tranquil · peaceful · serene · meditative · chillout · downtempo · lullaby · healing · restful
beat
Rhythmic pulse or strike
bassline · percussion · syncopation · funk · bossa nova · chill beats · electronic · dance · hip-hop · study beats
soundscape
Acoustic environment's character
ambient · immersive · enveloping · spacey · dreamy · reverberant · layered · echoic · pad · wash
orchestra
Large instrumental ensemble
- symphonyExtended composition for orchestra
- string quartetFour-piece chamber group
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
baroque · Mozart · Bach · Debussy · prelude · sonata · nocturne · adagio · instrumental · arrangements
- game soundssound effects, ambient sound, battle theme, victory fanfare, title theme
- instrumental musicpiano solo, guitar track, orchestral, symphony, concerto
- Work Musicambient sound, white noise, playlists, productivity, concentration
- ambient musicBrian Eno, new age, deep listening, atmospheres, textures
- Audio Elementsvocals, dialogue, effects, bass, treble
- Film Soundsound design, sound editing, sound mixing, Foley, ADR
background musicheadline act
Featured main performer
live performance · concert · recital · main theme · solo performance
background musicsilence
Total lack of sound
loud music · dead air · quiet · stillness · hush
background musiclive concert
In-person musical performance
main act · solo recital · opera · gig · jam session
music, musical, background, backdrop, musically, soundtrack, accompaniment, backgrounds, backgrounded