Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson entitled "Developing a video game theme." My name is Mr. Norris, and today, we're gonna be exploring how video game composers can use different techniques to develop a video game theme to make it even better suit the mood and the atmosphere of the game they are composing for.

Our outcome is that I can develop a video game theme using pulse and rhythm.

Some keywords.

Firstly, we've got theme song.

This is a piece of music that introduces a film or a game and it captures its overall atmosphere.

Chord tone.

This is a note that is included in the chord.

And finally, passing note, and this is a note that links two chord tones by step.

And in the first part of today's lesson, we're gonna be looking at using pulse and rhythm to create excitement.

We're gonna listen to two different versions of the same video game theme song.

Which of these feels more exciting? And why? What is it musically that makes it feel more exciting? Let's listen to the first example.

(video game music) Now let's hear a different version of that same theme song.

Which feels more exciting? And why? (energetic video game music) So there are huge similarities between those two versions.

But the biggest difference is in the use of rhythm and pulse.

And hopefully, you agree that the second version feels more exciting, more energetic.

And that's down to two things that it does differently.

The first is it uses layers of fast, repeating rhythms, particularly in the synthesizer.

And the second is that it emphasizes the pulse more strongly.

It really hammers home that beat and that pulse.

And these are two really common techniques that video game composers use when they're trying to create a sense of energy and excitement in their music.

So as I've said, video game music often uses a strong pulse and rhythmic layering to create an exciting, energetic mood.

And this is particularly useful in action games and racing games, where the creators want players to experience thrilling emotions.

"Asphalt Eclipse," the racing game that we are composing for, is an ideal game for these features, because we want to create an adrenaline-filled, exciting, energetic experience for the players.

And we can do that by using rhythm and pulse carefully in our music.

So the first thing we can do is add rhythmic drive and energy to our theme by adding rhythmic percussion parts.

Let's have a look at that process.

I want to add some rhythmic drive to capture the very energetic and exciting mood of this racing game.

So the first thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna be adding some layers of rhythmic percussion.

Let's start off by creating a new track.

And I'm gonna find some percussion instruments that suit the timbres that I've already got.

And for this, I've decided I'm gonna go and try and find some electronic synthesized percussion and drum sounds.

You might decide to do it slightly differently.

The key is that you're finding untuned rhythmic percussion instruments that are gonna be able to layer up nicely to add that energy.

Now one thing you might want to try and do is try and find some sounds that evoke the sort of industrial setting of this city in this game.

So I'm gonna be looking for sounds that maybe create some metallic sounds, or sounds that evoke the sounds of industry and machinery.

And that will help to just set the scene and really capture the atmosphere really well.

So I found this drum kit called Metallic Edges, which I think is gonna have some nice metallic sounds which will help to give it that industrial sort of mood.

I'm gonna explore some of these sounds.

(metallic industrial music) So there's various different ones there that are obviously highly synthesized, but that's fine, but are what I'm going for here.

And the first track I'm gonna do is gonna just be emphasizing the pulse.

Now it's an easy trap to fall into to think that creating rhythmic drive and excitement just means having lots of fast rhythms. But really what helps create rhythmic drive is a really strong, driving pulse.

And that's a key feature of some styles.

For example, electronic dance music, which really emphasizes the beat that helps to create the rhythmic drive in that style of music.

So we're gonna go for the same thing here and I'm just gonna record in the pulse.

Here we go.

(video game music) So you can see there, I've just played four beats and I found a sort of kick drum and a clap sort of sound there.

You don't have to do it the same way, but I quite like the effect they create.

I'm gonna quantize them.

Let's have a quick listen.

(video game music) So it's already starting to get a little bit more energetic.

We start to feel that rhythmic drive.

Let's do another track.

I'm gonna do another layer.

And I'll go for that same drum kit again, Metallic Edges.

And this time, instead of emphasizing the pulse, I'm gonna try and start layering up some fast rhythms on top.

(video game music) So we see there, I had some off-beat semiquavers.

Again, I can quantize them if I want to.

Loop them to repeat them.

Let's see what that sounds like.

(video game music) So it's getting there.

It's starting to get more exciting, more energetic.

Start to capture that exciting mood.

Let's go for another one.

I might try a different drum kit this time.

Let's go for this one.

(metallic industrial music) I quite like these sounds actually.

(metallic industrial music) They sound a little bit like hydraulics and machinery.

So that really evokes that industrial side of things.

So I'm gonna record in a different rhythm now.

(video game music) Just let you hear that on its own.

(metallic industrial music) So again, a different rhythm, and it contrasts with the other ones, but by layering it up, it starts to sort of build that excitement and that energy.

Let's have a listen to all three together now.

(video game music) And I probably want to go for three or maybe four layers of percussion to really build that excitement.

If we contrast that now with just the melody and the chords on their own.

(video game music) That's definitely creating more of an energetic sort of rhythmic drive now that's gonna help to really capture and build that exciting mood for the game.

So remember, when you're doing this, try to emphasize the pulse.

That's one of the key aspects here that helps create that sense of energy and excitement.

And then try to include some fast, repeated rhythms as well.

You could use syncopated rhythms, but they don't necessarily need to be syncopated for this to work effectively.

And something else that I think is worth doing in this is exploring some interesting and exciting percussion timbres to try to evoke the industrial city.

So explore all the different percussion sounds you have access to, and if you can find some that give that sense of industry or machinery, that would be really effective for this game because it's set in this night-time industrial city.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of these will be most effective for creating rhythmic drive? Is it fast, repeated rhythms, complex rhythms, or long, sustained notes? Give you a few seconds to choose the best answer of these three.

And the correct answer here is fast, repeated rhythms. That's what we want to have here to help create that rhythmic drive and excitement.

For Task A, you're gonna add rhythmic drive to your theme with percussion layers.

Here's some success criteria.

Make sure that you emphasize the pulse.

Make sure you include some fast, repeated rhythms. And then also try and explore some interesting and exciting percussion timbres to try to evoke the industrial city.

So you can pause my video now and give this task your best shot.

For the second part of this task, we're gonna listen to this theme.

I'd like you to identify two ways that it creates an energetic mood.

Let's hear it.

(video game music) (video game music continues) You can pause my video just while you're finishing your answer.

And you might have picked up on some of these points then.

It emphasizes the pulse.

There's a really strong pulse in the kick drum in that example.

It uses fast, repeated rhythms. We can hear those repeating in both the synthesizer and in the percussion instruments.

And it layers multiple parts.

So there's a busy texture, a thick texture with different rhythms going on at the same time, and that helps create this sense of energy.

And those are three really useful techniques when you're trying to create a sense of energy and excitement in your music.

Now we're gonna move on to look at using a driving bass line.

Percussion rhythms are effective at creating a feeling of energy and movement.

But the bass line also has an important role in creating this feeling.

I'd like you to compare these three examples of the theme song.

All are identical apart from the bass line.

So you want to focus specifically on the bass line when you're listening to this.

What differences do you notice between the bass lines, and how do these affect the feeling of energy created by the music? Let's hear now the first example.

(video game music) Let's compare that to the second example.

So focusing on that bass line, what difference do you notice, and how does this affect the feeling of energy? (video game music) And now let's hear the third version.

So what the difference is with this bass line, and how does this affect the feeling of energy? (video game music) So you might have noticed some of these differences.

The second clip uses much longer notes than the two other examples.

So it sustains long notes for each note in the bass line and therefore it has less rhythmic drive.

It feels overall less energetic.

And that might be a mood that you'll be going for in certain types of music and certain scenes in a video game perhaps.

The third example, however, uses much faster rhythms than both of the other examples, and this creates a much more intensely energetic mood than the others.

So we're gonna look at some different techniques we can use to replicate that feeling of energy.

There are three different techniques we're gonna use to do this.

The first is to use repeated, driving rhythms. For example, quavers or even semiquavers in some cases.

Have a listen to this example and see if you can hear those repeated quavers in the bass line here.

(video game music) So in that example, the bass was just playing the root note of each chord.

That's the bottom note of each chord.

But we can make a bass line even more energetic and interesting by using the chord tones.

Chord tones are the three different notes that make up a triad chord.

So if we had a C chord, our three chord tones would be C, E, and G.

And by moving between those, we can make a more interesting bass line.

Have a listen to this bass line and see if you can hear that movement between the different notes in the chord.

(video game music) And a final technique is to use some passing notes to link those chord tones.

Those are notes that aren't chord tones but that link them by step.

And this is a really good way of making a really exciting, energetic bass line.

Have a listen to this one and see if you can hear all the movement now in the bass line using chord tones and passing notes in between them.

(video game music) Let's have a look at the process of creating a bass line using those different techniques.

Firstly, we're gonna focus on driving rhythms. The first way of creating a driving bass line is just to use some driving rhythms on the root notes of my chords.

I'm gonna create a bass track.

And for this, I could use a synthesized bass or I could use a bass guitar or any kind of bass instrument.

I'm gonna go for a synth bass because I think it'll work well with the sounds I've got here.

But you can use whichever you want.

And I'll choose one of these that I like sound of.

(synthesized music) I quite like that one, so I'm gonna go for that.

And the first thing I need to do is just work out the root notes of my four chords.

So if I think back to when I recorded my chord track, I know my first chord was a D minor chord.

So my root note of that is gonna be D.

My second note was a C chord, so my root note of that is gonna be a C.

My third note was an F chord.

And then my fourth note was a G minor chord.

So I've got four notes there, D, C, and I can either do F down here or I could do it higher up.

I think it sounds better.

And then G.

Those four notes.

So those are the root notes of my chords.

And I'm gonna start by just recording in some driving rhythms. So remember that's fast, repeating rhythms using each of those notes.

And I need to make sure that I'm changing my bass note at the same time that my chords change.

So my chords change every two bars, so I'm gonna be changing my bass note to match that.

Yours may well be different.

So make sure you're changing your bass note at the same time that your chord changes.

Here's my driving rhythm bass line then.

(video game music) So dead simple, I'm just recording in quavers there.

If I wanted as well, could quickly quantize them.

And let's have a listen and see what it sounds like.

(video game music) So that's the simplest thing I can be doing, just using some driving, repeating quavers on each of those root notes of the chords.

Then we can look at moving between the chord tones to add some further energy.

A slightly more interesting option is to use some of the chord notes from each chord.

So I know my first chord is a D minor chord.

So that's D, F, and A.

So my bass line, instead of just using the root note D, I'm now gonna try and make up a pattern that also uses one or two of the other chord notes.

So I could use F.

I could use A.

I could also use an octave D as well.

So the four notes I could choose from.

The key when you're doing this is to make sure that you're still starting on the root note, that's really important, and that you're really emphasizing that one.

If you use too many of the chord notes and not enough of the root note, it will start sounding like it's not using that chord.

So make sure you are really emphasizing the root note and continuously coming back to it and probably starting each bar with it as well.

So I'm just gonna improvise a few different patterns that I could do and I'm gonna change each chord to match as the chords change.

So my first was D minor.

Then there was a C chord.

Then there was an F chord.

Then there was a G minor chord.

So I'm gonna be creating patterns based on each of those sets of notes.

Here we go.

(video game music) (video game music continues) So some of those work better than others, and really the ones that I think work best are the ones that aren't trying to be too complicated but that still got that driving rhythm going on as well.

So I'm looking for something that's driving, repeating quavers that helps give it that rhythmic drive.

So I've got this pattern I quite like.

(synthesized music) And I'm just gonna repeat that on each chord.

It's important when you're doing this as well that you use similar patterns on each chord.

If you use a totally different shape for each pattern, it's gonna sound a little bit messy.

So I've got that pattern from my D minor chord.

(synthesized music) I'm just gonna repeat that same shape on each of the other chords.

(synthesized music) Then up to an F chord.

(synthesized music) G minor.

(synthesized music) Let's record it in.

(video game music) And that's that chord note bass line done.

And then finally, consider adding passing notes to create further movement and a sense of excitement in the bass line.

I can also make a slightly more complex bass line by adding in some passing notes.

Remember, these are non-chord notes that link to chord notes.

So say I wanted to play a D and an F.

During my D minor chord, I could link them with the note in between them, which is E, which would be a passing note.

And that sometimes makes the bass line sound a little bit more melodic and a little bit more effective as well.

So I'm gonna do exactly the same process as last time, which is just to experiment with some different patterns.

But this time, I'm gonna try and link some of my chord notes with passing notes.

(synthesized music) So there's various different ideas that are on there and most of them are using either the E passing note because it links D and F, or the G passing note because it links F and A.

So I'm gonna do that for each of my chords.

And the same as before, when you're doing this, use the same pattern on each chord.

So change the notes but keep the shape and the rhythm the same.

So it gives it a bit of familiarity and consistency.

Let's record this in then.

(video game music) So that's that recorded in.

I can quantize it.

I've still got those driving quavers, giving it real sense of energy, and now we can have a listen to all those together.

(video game music) So it's been really energetic now, and that's just from adding that bass line on top of the percussion layers that we already have.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a passing note? Is it a note that links two chord tones by leap? A note that links any two notes by leap? A note that links two chord tones by step? Or a note that links any two notes by step? I'll give you a few seconds to choose your answer.

And the correct answer is, a passing note is a note that links two chord tones by step.

Well done if you got that one.

So for Task B, you're gonna create an energetic bass line using driving rhythms. Here's some success criteria.

Your bass line uses fast, repeated rhythms and it's based around the root note of each chord.

So that's still the most important note for each chord.

But I'd like you to also experiment with moving between chord tones, so that's the different notes that make up a chord, and also considering adding some passing notes.

So linking those notes by step.

And if you manage to do all of these, you'll create a really exciting, energetic bass line.

So you can pause my video now and give this task your best shot.

For the final part of this task, I'd like you to listen to this example.

Focus in on the bass line and try and identify, what features does this bass line use to create a feeling of energy? Here we go.

Let's have a listen.

(energetic video game music) (energetic video game music continues) Just pause my video while you think of your answers.

So you might have picked up on one of these points.

It uses driving rhythms, and in this case, well done if you identified that it's repeated quavers that are playing, giving it that sense of energy.

And it jumps between chord tones.

So instead of just playing the root note of each chord, it's jumping between the different notes of the chord and that gives it a real sense of energy and excitement and movement.

So well done if you picked up on both of those.

That example did not use any passing notes.

So if you did say that, just make sure when you're listening to bass lines, you're trying to pick out if it's jumping between the notes of the chord, or if it's moving by step and therefore using passing notes.

Let's review today's lesson then.

It's important that a video game theme song captures the atmosphere of the game.

For a high-energy racing game, the theme song should create a feeling of excitement and energy.

We can use fast, rhythmic percussion layers to add excitement.

And we can also create an energetic, driving bass line to add to this energy, including using chord tones and passing notes.

So hopefully there, you feel that you've got a good grasp of how you can make music feel energetic and exciting without changing the melody, just by developing the rhythmic parts and the bass line.

And you'll be able to use these techniques not only in video game music composition, but in any composition where you want to create that feeling of energy, excitement, and movement.

And that could be in any style you're composing in.

Thanks for taking part in today's lesson, and I'll see you in another one.