Music for RGP game
Hello all,
I'm currently writing music for a RPG game a friend of mine is making, and figured this would be a great place to get opinions on some of the stuff I've been working on. I don't really read music very well so please understand that the music probably looks very sloppy to anyone who actually knows all the rules and such of how written music should look like.
I've never really had any music lessons, so I would be very interested to see what someone who is more knowledgeable thinks of my music.
The happavillage theme and the shade are complete. The Quazar Symphony is still in progress.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Happa Village Theme.mscz | 4.82 KB |
| The Shade!.mscz | 9.07 KB |
| Quazar Symphony.mscz | 9.22 KB |
Comments
That song is brilliant, but at some points I felt it seemed a little...odd compared to the other portions of it. Also, the long pauses such as from measures 2-5 sounded a little unnecessary.
I'm just nitpicking, but only because it's really hard to find anything wrong with that song.
Impressive !
Keep up the good work.
Cat
The beginning of both, happa village and the shade, are interesting. However, the difficult thing in a musical piece is not the initial exposition of an interesting idea (necessary, though), but to develop it in a discursive and no less interesting way in the minutes to follow. Is similar to an actress' career: not so difficult to reach fame for a while, but to keep there.
Either by your own or in a scheduled way, I'd encourage you to learn as much music as you can. Specially about harmony and musical forms. You're promising :-)
Side note.- for better hearing in the pc of what you're doing, I'd suggest to pan the voices as appropriate- not everything to center. It helps in differenciating the instruments and catching details.
As a music education major, I am frankly impressed with what you've been able to do, simply by using your "ears." I assume "The Shade!" is supposed to be some sort of a boss music theme? Clearly, you have listened to a lot of music, and by the sounds of things, you've played all of the Final Fantasy games (your musical compositions show that you understand your genre of video gaming well as far as what musical sounds fit it, which lends me to believe you've played a number of the FF games). Do you listen to a lot of symphonic music? If not, you should start to include it in your musical diet. Listening to well crafted music will help give you ideas for your own. Also, find orchestrated versions of the Final Fantasy and Zelda music soundtracks. I know that these have both been done by several orchestras. Music for fantasy movies tends to be pretty well done, also. LotR is of course at the top of the list, along with Narnia, among others.
As the guy above me said, you would do well to especially study forms of music. Bach and Beethoven are certainly the best at this, though Mozart (and Haydn, as Haydn taught both Mozart and Beethoven) was excellent in this area, too. The ability to take a thematic or melodic element and develop it is an art (and I admit, one I'm not good at, though I know it when I see it or hear it). You definitely show signs of promise in this field and should SERIOUSLY consider changing your major, if you are not already too far in college to do so, to either music education or music with a composition minor (if your university offers such a thing). There's a lot of other info I could give you about being a music major, being I am one, myself. If you would like more info, send me a message. I'll be more than happy to help fill you in.
In reply to Excellent stuff! by gbfluteman
Replied to this in the last post.
The music is excellent. One thing to consider though -- remember that the majority of video game music loops, so your music should be something that sounds nice repeated over and over. While far above what one would expect from someone with no musical education, the music should flow from the last few measures to the first few more smoothly.
Also, is it just me or is it hard to hear the bottom line in The Shade? Turn it up if possible.
In reply to I agree with gbfluteman. by Rivendare
It seems to me that the main reason we can't hear it that well is that the SoundFont is trying to simulate an electric bass with the lower end of the piano, which is typically harder to hear- where as an amplified electric bass (which is how we'd normally hear that part) would not only have its distinct texture of sound, but would also be distinctly heard from the other strings, woodwinds, etc.
Currently, this is my one downfall with the program- if I want to compose orchestral pieces, I can't hear all the nuances and textures of using multiple instruments without it actually being performed.
In reply to We need MIDI or something like it by gbfluteman
gbfluteman, If you want to hear orchestral sounds rather than just piano the see SoundFont . The handbook has instructions for setting this up.
One my computer the electric bass sounds electric and very clear.
In reply to Orchestral sounds possible by David Bolton
I'm using the first soundfont in the link David provided. It's pretty good I think, other than those silly baselines.
Also, I'm making my own attempts at writing video game music (the game being closer to Zelda than FF, but still a fantasy setting), which I'll probably post once I have them more polished. Happa Village reminded me that dotted half notes are awesome. So thanks :D
In reply to Regarding soundfonts by Rivendare
I don't remember if it was Happa or the The Shade! (I think it was Happa), but I also love how you play with the metrical feel of the piece and keep making it feel like it's changed time signatures (the technical name for this currently escapes my brain as it's late or early depending on your point of view). Riven, I'll have to listen to your piece. I thought your post was a new version of his- my bad. lol
In reply to Orchestral sounds possible by David Bolton
I need to take the time this week to look into that. Right now, gotta' focus on one thing at a time.
Speaking of, I'm almost completely done with my arrangement. I'll be posting that in the post I created (Psalm 62) soon.
I really liked your music that you wrote there. The Happa Village theme reminds of some renaissance music that I have heard. The Shade one was just different. The Quazar Symphony though needs a little work, but as you said, it is not yet complete. I am currently learning music theory and it is very interesting. Right now, I know enough to compose music with proper chords and whatnot. Many websites tell about basic theory if you are interested. Overall, I thought these were good pieces. Let us know if you write any more songs. I would like to hear them.
Sorry for taking so long to respond to these posts. I was very busy finishing up the semester at the college, and then found my self caught up in getting ready for Christmas + nearly 2 feet of snow.
GB Flutman,
I've never actually played a FF game in my life, but I've had others say my music resembles it as well. I think it might just be that I'm very good at getting into the "mood" of what ever I'm writing music for, and that the atmosphere of what I'm working on and FF games must be similar. That being said, I do listen to a LOT of movie soundtracks, which is where I pull quite a few ideas from from time to time when I'm finding it difficult to think of something. I actually do listen to a lot of symphonic music (I really love symphonic music found in movie scores), and I'm sure that having listened to it since a very young age has helped my understanding of music. I actually happen to own the LoTR soundtrack, as well has have a few selections from Zelda, and a few other classic nintendo hits. I actually am right now highly considering being a music major, with a focus on composition, as I would really love to compose music for video games and movies some day. I've found that I'm very good at looking at a scene in a movie, or a place in a video game, getting a feel for the atmosphere, and then matching it perfectly with a piece of music that reflects that atmosphere. I always took it for granted that this was something that everyone could do, so I never really perused it. Now, however, after learning not so long ago that this is somewhat of a rare talent, I definitely want to learn more about music comp, mainly for theme music. I would very much like more info on what being a music major takes if you have the time.
Here are a few more songs I've been working on. Thanks again for all the kind comments everyone. Please continue to let me know what you think of my music.
For this one, please click this link that takes you to the youtube vid I posted for it. It's in a different soundfont I found, so it's easier to just watch it in this rather than mess around with soundfonts to get it to sound right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxIT2HiB_Ms
Also, a few more...
Hole Dungeon Boss - Complete
Quazar - WIP
Forrets Town - Complete, but I may go back and add some stuff just because I happen to like it a lot.
Bob's Theme - Complete, but the end never got saved, so I have to fix that.
Found Something - Complete - Plays when you pick up an item/etc...
Comments anyone?
Updated!
Please let me know what you think of my music. Constructive criticism is welcome.
In reply to Updated! Please let me know by Michael M
This music is pretty awesome. *Gamer Stamp of Approval* Got a kick out of how epic "Hole Dungeon" is--who knew a hole could be so dramatic? Haha. Keep it up!
In reply to Updated! Please let me know by Michael M
You use time changes for the pickups. You can change the "Actual" duration without changing the visible key signature. See the "Duration" section of measure operations for details.
Bars 28-31 on Quazar remindes me of narnia for some reason. Pretty good.
Great work dude! I'm working on something similar, but none of my stuff is nearly as good as yours. I especially loved Quazar Symphony and the Happa Village Theme! Keep up the good work!