Everything about funeral music: funeral songs, melodies and compositions

Funeral music is an important part of a funeral – usually completes the atmosphere at a funeral ceremony. It can also serve different purposes: to remind the deceased and the deceased’s favourite melodies or express feelings of the bereaved in these sad times. If you are not sure what song or composition will be the right one and in which moment should it play, then read the following.

How to choose funeral music

When choosing, please consider your options – it depends on the place, where the ceremony will be carried out: Will it be in ceremonial hall? Or in a church? Or will it be at some unusual place? Indoors, there usually is an audio setup ready to use, at less usual places, you may need to bring a tape player or speakers connected to a phone or another music player. In churches, live music is usually preferred, played on an organ, or recorded music, according to the possibilities in the church and the agreement with the priest. If you prefer live music, it is possible to choose either a funeral band or a sole musician (for example a violinist or a flute player).

These are the options you may choose from. Let us now walk through the parts of the ceremony.

Music during the ceremony

Most often, ceremonies take place in ceremonial halls. They often have their own database of funeral music. This music is usually recorded, and the employees will play it on the speakers in given moments. The advantage is that employees know individual songs and have a proven system, ensuring that the songs will play in certain moments and everything will go smoothly. You will be given a list of available songs printed on a piece of paper; we do recommend having the music presented before the ceremony. Often, different versions of one song exist (especially with Czech and folklore songs, as well as classical music) and you may learn that you may not like the particular arrangement.

View a list of ceremonial halls in Prague

Another option is to bring your own music. In this case, arrange it in advance with the employees. They will tell you how to bring the music (on a CD, a flash drive or a different carrier) and in what format to bring it (most common is the MP3 format). The employees will then try out the music before the ceremony, will choose the right volume and prepare everything for the ceremony. You may search for funeral songs on the Internet and then download the song of your choice. Always use legal download options and remember that you need to consult the legalities with the employees – music has its copyrights and it is possible that for playing certain song, you will need to pay a fee to OSA.

In the case that you will choose live music for your ceremony, it is necessary to tell the musician exactly when to play, so they will be ready, and no awkward moments happen. Arrange not only which songs to play, but also their length, where the musician will stand, and what they will wear.

Music for the procession

If a funeral procession from the church or funeral hall to a cemetery is a part of the ceremony, it is usually followed by a funeral music band. Employees of our funeral home will be more than happy to advise you who to contact, which bands are the most experienced, which compositions they should play, and what you will need to organize everything (the place of the band in the programme, the length of performance, where the band will play etc.). At funeral processions, funeral marches are usually played. Those usually set the tempo of the procession.

Most often played funeral songs

What a funeral song should be like

Funeral songs are usually sad and plaintive, in their text they usually describe pain and sadness. They express the feelings of the bereaved. It is not necessary for the song you choose to have these parameters. You may for example choose a favourite song of the deceased, one he liked to listen to. Always respect the mood of the moment and think how the song will affect the guests. Slower pop or rock songs also are among favourites, but you also may try jazz melodies or classical music. You may gain some inspiration from our list of most played Czech and international funeral songs.