How to Include Music in Your Game

Tabletop roleplaying games are dramatic. Your job as GM is to build dramatic tension and make your players excited. Music can help to dramatize moments, but how do you use music to create and characterize moments in your story? It's actually pretty easy if you're conscious of your use of music. All it takes is creating a few playlists, and you're ready to play. Read on for more on how to use music in your game. 

When I was running Listen Check years ago, I faced an issue that very few (if any) GMs face; we were broadcasting our campaign live on the radio, which meant that he needed to consider the role of dead air (time when nothing is being broadcast). TRPGs have a lot of downtime, situations where the players are checking their character sheets or adding dice rolls, so we needed to make sure that there was no dead air. My solution was one perfect for radio; I would always have music playing during the game, so even a moment of dead air still featured some music. 

To curate the music that we used, I simply created a selection of playlists. For starters, I needed music for common scenarios with no dramatic stakes. I called this my "ambient," playlist, and it was composed of instrumental music without much variation. The songs here were mostly downtempo electronic music and classical music, both of which fit the bit well. There's a lot of Röyksopp in this playlist. I picked a few hours of music, and I arranged the songs in a fairly random order. Then, when my players were up to average tasks or just tending to simple moments, I would play from this playlist, and the music would create a sense of calmness and ease. It was ideal for the average moment in the campaign. 

But I also needed other emotions to be struck by the music. I also developed a playlist I called "upbeat," which I used for moments when the campaign took on a more positive tone. When the players succeeded at something, when the tone of the adventure became warm and supportive, and when the players were engaged with a caring NPC, I played music from this list. The songs themselves were again instrumental, again mostly electronic and classical music. My favorite songs in this playlist come from Penguin Café Orchestra. This playlist was a bit shorter than the ambient playlist, mostly because it is easier to find non-upbeat music and because the game calls for more ambient than upbeat songs in most cases. These songs created moments in which the players truly inhabited happiness for a time. 

Conversely, I also needed music that could inspire tension. My "tense" playlist was again mostly instrumental music, now more electronic music than before, but still with a good percentage of classical. I drew heavily from the group Bohren and Der Club of Gore, who create very creepy soundscapes perfect for gaming. When something was afoot, I played from this playlist. The music was not out-and-out conflict music; rather, it was simply an indication that something was wrong. This was a great aid for roleplaying, because my players could hear the tenser music and roleplay being on edge. The tense playlist was about as long as the ambient playlist--perhaps a bit shorter--because edgy music is easier to find than calming happy music and because the players will be in tense moments more often than upbeat ones. These songs helped the players connect with their more negative, fearful emotions during the game. 

I make a distinction between music that puts the players on edge and music that directly evokes conflict because I had separate playlists for them. My "battle" playlist was much louder and more direct than my "tense" playlist. Songs for battle are different in sound than tense songs; they tap into something more primal. My battle playlist was mostly cobbled together of video game soundtracks. I highly recommend both the scores for Shadow of the Colossus and the Ratchet and Clank series, both of which heavily featured in my battle playlist. From the moment that battles began until the moment they ended, I would play from this playlist. The more dramatic, the better when it comes to battle music, and these songs really help to drive home the stakes of a battle. 

These four playlists are probably enough for most campaigns to include music in a fun and interesting way. But you can take it further. I also had a playlist for tavern music--I would take songs that I felt an in-game band would perform and play them while the players would hang out in a given tavern. You can be varied with selections for tavern music. I used a lot of stripped-down rock music and folk music, but anything you can justify is worth playing. Remember that musicians can use magic to improve their playing, so few sounds are off the table. The only real rule I followed was no lyrics that reference anachronistic things, but even that is up for debate. Use tavern music to spice up moments in which players are in public, and you may be surprised by what comes out of the experience--I have had certain musicians become major parts of the story after meeting the players. 

My final playlist was more of a utility than an actual playlist. I had decided early in Listen Check that I wanted to use musical themes--leitmotifs--for some of my NPCs. Thus, every time a specific NPC appeared, I would play their theme on repeat. In the show, the players were locked in a tense deal with the orcish god Gruumsh, and every time he appeared, I would play Ghosts 6 by Nine Inch Nails. I felt that this song, with its eerie atmosphere and uneasy sound, was a good representation of Gruumsh's situation in the story. So along with about 20 other character themes, I kept this song in a playlist that I could jump back to and use when the appropriate character came up. So again, this is less a playlist than a way for your to store character themes, but trust me, you will appreciate the way your players come to respond to the musical cue for a loathed enemy. 

This leads me to my favorite thing about using music cues in a game: player responses. When we would start an episode of Listen Check, I would begin the show with my upbeat playlist going. It was our time to get listeners jazzed for the show, so upbeat made the most sense. But then, as the game would begin, I would need to revert to the right music for the story at that moment. So, with a smile, I would say, "Music change!" and switch playlists. My players would then listen for what tone of song I switched to and brace for whatever that meant for their characters. Folks who have listened to the show know that it becomes a common experience for the players to lament the change of music. And that's added fun--my players were essentially being given a piece of meta-information that they couldn't really act on, and it made our radio show follow the rules for on-air conduct. I couldn't have had more fun doing it, and music added a lot to the experience. 

Do you want to add music to your campaign, but the idea of building several hours-long playlists doesn't strike you as fun? You still have options. There are dozens of tracks online that will suit your needs. Just head to YouTube and search for "battle music" or "D&D music," and you'll find plenty of music to suit your game. It matters less that the music fit your personal style than that it add something visceral to the gaming experience. That's really what we're going for: a way to trick your players into being even more invested in the game. 

Players can utilize music performances as well! In the mystery campaign, I have a player who is playing a professional musician. This character, a private investigator named Montana, plays musical shows at taverns throughout the setting with some regularity. Montana's player will lovingly describe the intention, tone, and execution of his music performances. This is a great option, and I recommend asking your bard characters to describe in detail the nature of their performances--it opens the door for roleplaying and storytelling while challenging the player to connect to their character. But you can also have your musically-inclined characters perform via the player selecting a real song as their performance. If your players pick a song and perform it, ask them to describe why they picked that specific song, and give them the opportunity to connect it to their character. The important thing with player character musical performances is that they are detailed enough that the whole party understands what is being performed and can appreciate the music for what it is. 

That's all for now. Good luck building your playlists and incorporating music into your game. Coming soon: how to use mirrors of the party to spice up your game, how to create continuity between your campaigns, and which details are worth roleplaying. Until next time, happy gaming!

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