Good sound design can make a good video great. It can add emotion that scripting and visuals alone can’t. When done right, it can keep viewers watching longer, and when done poorly, it can drive them away.

This article covers two key areas of sound design: scoring (layering in music), and sound effects. 

Convey emotion with music

Many creators default to a single, looping track to add energy to a piece.

"If you’re just looping the same music bed over and over, it starts to feel flat, and listeners will tune it out pretty quickly,” says Nicholas Torres, an audio engineer and author of the Substack Sound Bytes.

But making intentional music choices is one the best ways to upgrade your sound design. 

“When you work with the music’s natural dynamics, you can really shape how a moment lands. You can highlight specific lines, add emotional weight when it matters, then pull back to let the next moment breathe,” Nicholas says.

Maybe a character regrets their actions. A creator could simply state that, but a slow, mournful song might convey “regret” more artfully than exposition.

“It’s important to be able to articulate why you are using a piece of music to illustrate a particular moment; if you can’t do that, it’s probably not going to sound right,” writes NPR‘s Michael May.

“Music is best used to amplify more subtle underlying emotions or moods,” he says. “Think ‘pensive’ or ‘hopeful’—avoid ‘sad’ or ‘happy.’”

It can also add meaning. A video chronicling a historical figure’s rise to power might use music that feels inspirational, or dramatic. But adding a track that feels dark and sinister tells the viewer they should be suspicious. And when creators don’t use music intentionally, it can confuse the viewers for the same reason. Imagine if the Lion King scored Mufasa’s death with the same music from Simba’s birth.

This Veritasium video about a flawed Manhattan skyscraper illustrates this well. Note the changes in emotion as the story goes from historical narrative to science explainer, and how those complement the topic.

Find the right tracks

“Take the time to find the right song for the right moment, and don’t settle for something that just works,”  says Nicholas. “Find the banger. Even after years of doing this, I still spend a huge amount of time searching for the right track. I probably sample 75 to 100 songs just to find one I can actually envision using.”

Even on first impressions, a track that seems perfect might not ultimately work. 

“Most of the time, I’ll jump to the end of the first verse and play through the beginning of the first chorus—that section usually tells me everything I need to know. If I like what I’m hearing, the next step is clicking around the rest of the track to get a sense of where else it goes.”

“Steer clear of music that’s too dense,” he says. “Dense isn’t the same as busy. I actually love busy tracks with lots of musical elements to play with. What I mean by dense are songs with thick, nonstop layers like distorted guitars that leave no space between notes, which can be troublesome.”

Skilled sound designers can dissect individual tracks and instruments to make sure the dramatic crescendo aligns with just the right narrative beat (see the section on “stems” below). But sometimes, the perfect track will do it for you. 

Use music to break up sections

Music can help viewers mentally transition from one section to another. It can help them process an important point. And most importantly, it can stop them from getting bored. 

The easiest way to accomplish this: change songs. 

“I love using changes in music to break up a video and give the audience a sense of progress,” says Kent Lamm, a filmmaker who shares advice on his newsletter and YouTube, like in the video below. 

Fading out of one track and fading into another can signal to the viewer that a transition is happening. The change can also signal an emotional or narrative change, like when the aforementioned Veritasium video changes from a dramatic narrative to a matter-of-fact explanation.

Another easy way to signal a change is by creating a pause in the voiceover and turning up the audio in response (an effect known as ducking). 

“Even subtle changes, like dropping out an instrument and bringing it back in, or switching the lead instrument, can register on a subconscious level and have a big impact,” says Nicholas.

“It keeps the music from becoming wallpaper. If I find myself looping a song for more than 30 seconds to a minute, I’m already thinking about changing something in the track.”

Use stems

Stems are the the component parts of a music track. They’re separate files for things like the melody, vocals, or even specific instruments. This gives editors way more control over the music tracks they’re working with.

“My advice to get started is to just start using [stems] right now and never look back,” says Nicholas.

“Is that lead synth distracting? Cut it. Is that triangle hit on the percussion track too shrill? Replace it with a snare hit from the same track. Drum track too loud in the mix? Turn it down. Have an emotional moment on a poignant line? Experiment with muting out instruments to build to that moment, then drop the beat. You have full control.”

Many sources for stock audio include stems—check your preferred source to make sure.

Use sound effects

Sounds can not just make a video more engaging; it can also draw the viewer’s attention wherever you want. A red arrow being drawn on screen might go unnoticed without a marker sound effect, for instance. 

But Kent warns against using a certain style of sound effects popular across YouTube.

“The cartoony sounds draw too much attention to themselves,” he says. “Ideally, the sounds seem believable and subtle. Try watching well-produced YouTube videos, documentaries, and ads while paying specific attention to the sound effects you're hearing—they're often densely packed in, but you probably didn't consciously notice most of them the first time around because they felt ‘right.’”

Where to find music and sound effects

The Descript stock library gives users full access to music and sound effects, courtesy of Storyblocks.

However, it doesn’t include stems like the full Storyblocks library does. If you want more, here are a few other resources:

• YouTube has its own library of free-to-use audio tracks. Creators can sort by genre and even mood, when you’re looking for just the right vibe.
• Freesound is also beloved by the audio community.

Our comprehensive guide on stock sources includes many more options.