A fireworks display set to music can be hugely exciting to watch, for adults as well as children. Music helps turn a display into a real party, making it the perfect way to celebrate big events like birthdays, anniversaries and weddings as well as corporate events like product launches.

Choosing the right music

Unfortunately, you can’t just pick any old song to play during your fireworks display – at least, not if you want great synchronisation. You need to carefully choose the right songs, and some work better than others. Obviously, we all have our favourite songs and artists and it all depends on the occasion, but here are some general tips to get you started:

• Choose something powerful. Softer, slower songs generally tend to get lost beneath the roar, bangs and explosions of a fireworks display, so it may be best to go for something strong. Think punchy, fast and powerful with a really strong melody.
• Match the mood. When it comes to matching music with fireworks, mood and atmosphere is far more important than the time signature or even the lyrics. You need to match the mood of both the fireworks and the music, or one will seem out of sync with the other.
• Go for the right genre. Rock is a great genre to go for, but drum & bass, dance and even power ballads may also work with your display.
• Choose music that means something to you. You can follow all of the other tips, but don’t forget to make your music choice personal to you, or to the event. So, if it’s your wedding, choose a song that means something to you both, or which has lyrics matching the romance of the moment.

Synchronising fireworks to music – not as easy as it seems!

Once you’ve chosen your songs, you might think that all you need to do now is to burn them onto a CD and then play it as you launch your fireworks. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. You might accidentally get one or two of your fireworks in sync with the music, but overall your display and your music are not likely to match up.

Synchronising a display to music takes a huge amount of skill, which is why most people choose to call in professional fireworks display organisers. Planning these kinds of displays usually requires use of sophisticated equipment and technology, to get the timing of the launch of each firework just right. The music itself may also need to be edited to make sure that it is suitable to be used in a display.

It is also possible to set a fireworks display to live music, played by a musician or band at the display site itself. This is a popular choice for weddings, but it’s even harder to get right than planning a display set to music on a CD. Professional organisers such as 1^st Galaxy Fireworks have lots of experience with all kinds of synchronised displays, so it is possible to do it (and do it well) if you have your heart set on having live music.