What Music to Play at a Cremation Service

Music is very meaningful to people, no matter their tastes or preferences. Naturally, music is typically played at a funeral or cremation service either in the background as visitors arrive or as a special song that becomes part of the service. Selecting the music for a loved one’s cremation service may feel like an impossible task, but it can be a great way to personalize their service and provide comfort for family and friends.

Playing Favorite Music

Everyone has their favorite song or songs and playing them at a cremation service can help make the service feel more unique. If you’re preplanning a service, ask your loved one what songs they enjoy most or want played. Your service director can help you plan what music you’d like played at what times during the memorial – you need only provide them with the music on a CD or a flash drive. In some cases, you need only provide them with the name of the song and they will be able to provide it.

Playing Generic Music

In some cases, it may be appropriate to play music that is more generic in nature. For example, classical music and songs that have become known for their appropriateness at a memorial service would fall into this category. You can also have a mix of both generic and favorite songs at your loved one’s service – classical may be played as background music while visitors arrive, and favorites may be played during the memorial in between speakers.

Music to Avoid

There’s not much that is considered a “faux pas” when it comes to music at a memorial service, because it’s generally recognized that people have a lot of varying tastes when it comes to what they listen to. If your loved one enjoyed heavy metal or rap music, there’s nothing and no one saying that you can’t play it at their cremation service.

However, you do want to be somewhat cautious about lyrics in songs that you feel may not be appropriate for the service. You may want to avoid playing songs with explicit lyrics out of respect for others at the service. If there’s a particular song that your loved one truly enjoyed that has explicit lyrics, there may be a radio edited version that you can play instead.

Use your best judgment when it comes to avoiding songs that could potentially be problematic, but also remember that you have the right to choose what songs your loved one would have enjoyed most, regardless of what other people might think.

At Boston Cremation, we want to help you find the right way to honor your loved one with a cremation service. Contact Boston Cremation today by calling 781.322.0909.