Free background music for eLearning – stock audio

The other day I was asked by a team-mate about free audio resources that could be used in a course he was designing.

I shared with him some resources that I gathered. And then I thought – f one person asked, it is likely that someone else might wonder about the same. And I decided to write this post.

Thre are actually many sites that you could go to for royalty-free audio. You probably know some of them, and you don't realise that you can use music from there!

When you consider adding audio to your online training, keep in mind these few points:

• Don't overdo it! Use background music carefully, in moderation.

• Consider how it will impact the knowledge retention – you don't want the background audio to 'compete' with the primary cognitive process.

• Make sure that your background audio levels are low.

• Use it with purpose – for example, to mask audio narration that sounds a bit hollow, or to set a mood or some context.

So, let's get to the point! Here are some websites where you can find music for your online training or presentations.

Please make sure to adhere to best practices and attribute the source.

And a few more..

• YouTube
• Vimeo
• OrangeFreeSounds
• South Hills Records
• DL Sounds
• Opsound.org
• freeSFX
• BradSucks.net
• JoshWoodward.com
• Sonic Squirre
• Audinautix
• Epitonic
• CCTrax
• Opensource Music
• Machinama Sound

I didn't see many courses using audio outside of the main narration or background music.   If you are here, reading this, let me know how do you use background audio in training you design, and what are there reasons you use it?

Credits:

Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash

If you are interested in enhancing the quality of audio for your online productions, check this post where I explain why does quality of audio in online education matters. 

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