How long are YOUR library instrumentals?

[triermusic]

Everything I've read says - and everything I've heard is - usually 30 seconds to two minutes for an instrumental cue...When a library listing asks for an instrumental song in the style of something that would normally have words, how long do you make your tracks? (in retrospect this is a question not only about LENGTH but also about STRUCTURE)Since the track is an instrumental, do you just treat it as a "karaoke version," repeating the sections for the same length as they would be in the sung song?Or do you go with a much shorter version with more changes? (Like something this gentleman would do)I've been doing the former, and have gotten more than one review that says to "build." But doing would so violate the formula of an actual "song," so I'm not sure which way to go!

[stick]

Yeah, library stuff doesn't usually conform to the "song" forms you think of when writing a song with lyrics. Think more like a movie scoring cue... even if it's an R&B track, you don't need the usual song sections. Often, they build from start to finish. Or, if they start big, there's a quieter or slower section in the middle and a recap of the opening section. ALWAYS make an ending. No fade outs. I usually do cues from about :40 to 1:30. For no reason really, just the sections I usually end up with time out to there. It's not like doing a commercial where you need to be out at :30... someone using your piece is going to cut it to whatever they need.

[triermusic]

Thanks for the response! Yeah, I recently got a critique that had some good tips about kicking in with a strong hook and then letting changes in the instrumentation develop it from there. Pretty good advice, I've put it into use already!

[oxygenstar]

yea i've been submitting them in between 1:30 and 2:00 ... hip hop instrumentals..