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Funeral Slideshow Songs

Music is what turns a set of photographs into a tribute. The right song can hold a whole room together, and it can carry a memory long after the service is over. If you are choosing music for a funeral or memorial slideshow, this guide gathers more than ninety songs, organized by mood and by who you are remembering, including a set for a celebration of life, along with a few gentle tips for choosing. Press any title to hear it on YouTube in a new tab, so you can choose by ear.

A real memorial slideshow set to a gentle instrumental track, shared with the family's permission. Turn the sound on to hear how the music carries the photos.

There is no single correct song for a slideshow, and there is no wrong one either. The most meaningful choice is almost always a song your loved one truly loved, or one tied to a specific memory. The lists below are here to help when you are not sure where to begin.

How to choose music for a memorial slideshow

A few quiet guidelines make the choice easier:

  • Start with their songs. A song they always sang, a hymn from their church, the first dance at their wedding. What was theirs will almost always land more deeply than a popular choice.
  • Match the mood you want. One reflective song and one uplifting song is a lovely balance. You do not have to make the whole slideshow sorrowful.
  • Lean instrumental when unsure. Piano and acoustic pieces carry emotion without competing with the photos or pulling focus to the lyrics.
  • Watch the lyrics. Read the words all the way through before you commit. A beautiful melody can hide a line that feels wrong for the moment.
  • Plan for two or three songs. Most slideshows run 5 to 10 minutes, and two or three songs cover that comfortably. Let the songs set the length rather than squeezing photos to fit. If you have been offered a fixed number of songs, or the one that matters is a particular recording rather than a title, using your own music in a funeral slideshow covers where that number comes from and how to hand over a file.

If you would like a full walkthrough of building the video itself, our guide on how to make a funeral slideshow covers photos, timing, and playback at the service.

Gentle and instrumental songs

When you want the photos to speak and the music to sit softly underneath, instrumental pieces are hard to beat.

Timeless classics

These songs are familiar to almost every generation in the room, and they carry a warmth that feels like an embrace.

Country songs

Country music has a long tradition of honoring a life plainly and tenderly, which makes these a natural fit for a tribute.

Contemporary and pop songs

For a life remembered in more recent decades, these are songs many families reach for today.

Celebration of life slideshow songs

A celebration of life asks for a different register: the room is there to be glad of a person, and the music can carry that. These are the uplifting choices families use when the slideshow is meant to make people smile before it makes them cry.

Sweet Caroline is for the room that will sing along. One reflective song and one from this list is the pairing that fits most celebrations of life: the quiet one under the early photographs, the glad one under the years everyone in the room remembers. For the rest of the day, see these celebration of life ideas.

Faith and hymns

For a service rooted in faith, these hymns and worship songs are among the most beloved and widely recognized.

Songs for a mother

When you are remembering a mother or grandmother, these songs speak to that particular kind of love.

Songs for a father

For a father or grandfather, these songs honor the steadiness and the memories he leaves behind.

Songs for a grandparent

For a grandmother or grandfather, the songs that land are often the ones from their own young years, the records they played in the kitchen, or a song about what they handed down.

Songs for a husband or wife

When the slideshow is for a husband or wife, many families start with the song from the wedding. If there was one, it belongs here before anything on this list.

A note on copyright and sharing online

There is one practical thing worth knowing before you finish. If you plan to share the slideshow on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube so family who could not attend can see it, popular copyrighted songs can get the video muted or blocked. It is a quiet heartbreak to build something beautiful and then find the music silenced when you post it.

On Embrance you add the songs that were theirs, or use one of our gentle instrumental tracks if you would rather not choose. If sharing it afterward is part of the plan, our guide to sharing a memorial slideshow afterwards covers the ways of getting it to people that never run into this at all.

The easiest way to set your slideshow to music

If you would rather not wrestle with editing software during an already hard week, this is what Embrance is for. You add your photos, choose the mood of the music, and the slideshow comes together for you, right in your browser. You watch it live as you go, with no render times and no waiting for exports. It plays on any TV, phone, or projector.

Set your tribute to music the easy way

Add your photos, pick the mood, and watch a memorial slideshow come together live. Free to preview.

Create a slideshow

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Choosing the music is often the part families want to keep and the assembly is the part they would happily hand over. If that is you, who can make a funeral slideshow for you covers who will build it around the songs you have picked.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many songs should a funeral slideshow have?

Most funeral slideshows use two or three songs. That is usually enough to cover a slideshow of 5 to 10 minutes without the music feeling rushed or repetitive. If your slideshow runs longer, a fourth song can help, but more than that tends to pull attention away from the photos.

What is the best song for a memorial slideshow?

There is no single best song. The most meaningful choice is almost always a song your loved one truly loved, or one tied to a specific memory. If you are unsure, gentle and familiar choices like 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong or an instrumental piece such as 'Clair de Lune' by Claude Debussy are safe and comforting.

What is the most popular funeral song?

No one counts every service, but the same few songs come up again and again: 'Amazing Grace' for a religious service, 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra, 'Wind Beneath My Wings' by Bette Midler, 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong, and 'Go Rest High on That Mountain' by Vince Gill.

What is the most beautiful funeral song?

The piece most often called the most beautiful is Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings', which American radio played when Franklin D. Roosevelt died. With words, two that come up again and again are 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley or 'Time to Say Goodbye' by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. The most beautiful one for your slideshow is usually a song they loved.

Can I use any song in a funeral slideshow?

For a slideshow played at the service, you can use any song you like. The one place to be careful is sharing the finished video online, because platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube may mute or block popular copyrighted songs.

What are good songs for a celebration of life slideshow?

Uplifting ones. 'What a Wonderful World', 'Here Comes the Sun', 'Three Little Birds', 'I Lived' and 'Spirit in the Sky' are the songs families reach for when the slideshow is meant to make the room smile. Pair one of them with a quieter song under the early photographs, so the slideshow has somewhere to lift from.

What are good non-religious funeral songs?

Many families prefer songs that are gentle and meaningful without being religious. Good options include 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, 'Fields of Gold' by Sting, and instrumental pieces like 'River Flows in You' by Yiruma. A favorite song of your loved one, whatever the genre, is always a fitting choice.