I normally start my jingles with a sound effect and, likewise, end them with one. The jingle should last around 15-20 seconds in most cases, providing enough time to provide all the necessary information. This could be solved later using hard EQing but it is so much simpler to arrange the music to avoid as much work as possible. A male, for example, could clash with low-frequency guitar chords. Look for instruments that don’t clash frequency ranges with the person who you aim to record. What you are looking for is a sound that won’t drown out the voice when it talks. Now you know what you are going to make, start with the music and FX in the background. If you have a deep house show that remains around 120BPM throughout, you would expect the jingle to be of a similar tempo so the flow isn’t disrupted. This also applies, to an extent, with the songs played on the show. You will need to ensure everything is the same key and tempo. A jingle will sound atrocious if all the elements are out of key with each other. Once you have them, or if you want to compose your own jingle from scratch, you need to consider music theory. Use this knowledge when scouring the internet for appropriate samples. For a metal station, the jingle may be laden with awesome riffs and a gritty voice, for a club sponsor, expect to need good dancy basslines that sum up the night a club-goer would experience. This is essential for the listener to identify what they are listening to and who the show’s sponsors are.īecause it has to relate to the listener, consider the style of sound the jingle uses.

Firstly it identifies the brand and has to be memorable and prominent. Let’s start by examining what a jingle does. Look for drum loops, bass lines and instrument loops. Many sample and bed packs come royalty free and allow for commercial use. Use an Audio Interface to link it to your DAWįinally, you need to decide whether you will compose the jingle or if you will use samples and sound beds. If you choose bad speakers or headphones, you may be EQing incorrectly and may not hear the bass frequencies at all.Ī good quality microphone is essential if you want a good sounding speaker. This will ensure you are mixing accurately and providing the best sounding Jingle. Secondly, you need either good studio headphones or, studio monitors. This is a typical jingle production I made in Reaper, what I’d recommend.

Radio station jingles samples