Searching for music for Student Radio Documentary

SineadVaughan

Hi there!

I am currently producing a radio documentary for my final year college project and am searching for music to accompany the interview recordings.

The piece is about a blind man and his experience of retiring his first guide dog after seven years together and is a sensitive portrait of their relationship, life together and eventual separation.

I am looking for music to accompany the documentary. I have a slight preference for an instrumental piece, although this is not essential, but lyrics of any song should not be too over-powering. I am open to all styles of music, but something that is sensitive and emotive, while not being too dramatic, would be best.

I was hoping that some of you lovely people might be able to suggest a piece of music or a song that you think could be suitable. I would be very thankful to receive any feedback or suggestions.

Thanks,
Sinead

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The song that springs to mind would be Hoppípolla by Sigur Rós
you're bound to know it as it's used on practically everything these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnAwPeqrdAk

Explosions In The Sky do some great instrumental pieces but they might not suit the mood of your piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKyrULAfvq8

Or you could try the Vitamin String Quartet who do great instrumental versions of a pile of modern songs..

http://www.youtube.com/user/vitaminstringquartet?blend=1&ob=4

Some other non instrumental suggestions off the top of my head....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCEKUBTvlJk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8L_CdH1sZ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg6G1T11efw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYYT7mpADpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQHKdNAWQo

hon pa

Was just about to post Sigur Ros also, seems to match the description you're looking for perfectly. Not too overpowering and is used in lots of tv/radio pieces, complimetning the piece every time. Best of luck with the documentary!

arnesst

Hi Sinead,
there is "I Giorni" by Ludovico Einaudi which was inspired by song from Mali about a hippopotamus who was cherished by the residents of a nearby village but killed by a hunter. "The song," writes Einaudi in his succinct liner note, "is sung as a lament for the death of a king or a great person or for the loss of a loved one."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhuGfmoIv_M

You could find a string quartet version at http://string-quartet.ie

Einaudi's music would suit your needs:
"...something that is sensitive and emotive, while not being too dramatic..."

Good luck.

SineadVaughan

Thanks so much for the great suggestions!

itac

Sinead, one thing I'd suggest is look for a piece of music that you won't have to seek permission for, should you want to have the piece aired on radio stations.

There's plenty of websites (danosongs.com is one) that provide royalty free music, usually all they ask for is either a small donation or a credit on your piece. e.g. Documentary presented/produced by SineadVaughan, Music provided by Whoever.

If it's solely for college use, then most colleges (I think?!) are allowed to use copyrighted pieces for an educational purpose, e.g. you're learning from making your docu. However, if you try to host it online, you may run into difficulty*

Maybe speak to your lecturer for advice about royalties/legal uses of songs, but it's just something to think about for future! Best of luck with it, sounds like a beautiful piece.


*This is akin to the problems on youtube-some people may have stuff up and never have a problem, others may find their stuff taken down. The likes of Soundcloud etc kinda put the emphasis on you to ensure that you have full permission of the artist(s) if you're using someone else's music in a piece you upload.

SineadVaughan

It's actually not as much of a problem as you might think. For the college project itself, there are no restrictions. If I want to try to get the documentary aired on a radio station, it is unlikely that there would be a problem. Large radio stations, like RTÉ, pay an annual copyright fee, and music that I include in my programme would be covered by that. :-)

sallyscott

Hi, I've found this one. Maybe that's something for you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSUzWbrFmxc

Sally
(Newbie :-)