# Old Instructional Film Music
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 18, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877 "2006-03-18T06:36:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@SarcasmoPro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SarcasmoPro)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/1 "2006-03-18T06:36:16Z")
I am making a short film and I have a scene that needs a musical bed. Something that struck me as perfect was to use the music from one of those old instructional films they would show to kids in the 1950’s. You know, shorts like “Dinner with the Family”, “Oral Hygiene and You”, and “Changes in Your Body”. Problem is, I can’t find any. I don’t even know what that kind of music is called. It’s usually upbeat and light. The “Leave it to Beaver” theme keeps coming to mind.
My question is:
Where can I find that type of music to put in my film? Is there a place to download it? I’ve been to sites like Prelinger Archives and Archive .org and they don’t have the music by itself.
Any help is much appreciated.
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### Author:  [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/2 "2006-03-18T06:57:57Z")
I did a spot where I needed some of that music and didn’t have time to write it myself. I went to [archive.org](http://archive.org) and found a film which contained the music I needed and pulled the music from it.
I only needed 30 seconds so it was easy. Perhaps this would work for you?
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/3 "2006-03-18T11:22:58Z")
It is called “production music”.
I have a few records of the stuff I picked up for a dollar a pop, mostly disco-y crap from the 70s but also a couple of discs of exactly the sort of stuff you’re looking for.
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### Author:  [@SarcasmoPro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SarcasmoPro)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/4 "2006-03-18T20:12:17Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#):
>
> It is called “production music”.
>
> I have a few records of the stuff I picked up for a dollar a pop, mostly disco-y crap from the 70s but also a couple of discs of exactly the sort of stuff you’re looking for.
Where can I find these records? I’ve searched google for “production music”, but everything I’ve found sounds too modern.
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### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/5 "2006-03-18T20:42:07Z")
The more proper term is “library music,” in that entire libraries of records were bought by radio stations, commercial production houses, etc. It was a very sixties/seventies thing in general, and because a lot of the music uses old moog synthesizers, it’s become a sort of cult/collector thing among music nerds. It’s especially popular for people looking for weird samples.
Check out the [wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_music), which is super-sloppy and unfocused but has a few nuggets in there that should start your search off. “Major composers of library music in the 1970’s were Keith Mansfield, Alan Hawkshaw, Alan Tew, John Cameron, Keith Pappworth, Syd Dale and Brian Bennett, the former drummer of “The Shadows”.”
If you insist on “keeping it real,” go down to your local college or public radio station. I can almost guarantee you that they’ll have boxes and boxes of old music library records, grouped by theme and era. Nobody really uses them anymore (unless for ironic effect), but most people still have them around.
Check out [this Amazon listmania list](http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/3H0J81YLUKJ1M/104-4885970-6004762?%5Fencoding=UTF8) for some CD comps of library/production music - I think that in particular, the [Music for TV Dinners](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000000IAW/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_1/104-4885970-6004762?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=5174) series is exactly what you’re looking for.
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### Author:  [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/6 "2006-03-18T20:46:02Z")
Try the [Prelinger archives.](http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger)
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/7 "2006-03-19T01:52:35Z")
Another good Google search term is “royalty-free music”
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### Author:  [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-instructional-film-music/348877/8 "2006-03-19T11:00:27Z")
There is one piece of music that is very often used in the UK in the context you describe- as the background for a scene of 1950’s domesticity. It’s called _In a Party Mood_ by the Bosworth orchestra and can be found [here](http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/theme_tunes_page.htm) (about halfway down the page). It was the theme music to the BBC radio programme _Housewives’ Choice_.