Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's lesson entitled Vertical Layering.

My name is Mr. Norris and today we're gonna be exploring this really core concept that's at the heart of a lot of modern video game music the concept of vertical layering.

We're gonna look at how it's used in different types of video games and then we're gonna explore using in our own composition as well to really help make our video game music come to life.

Our outcome is that I can explain how linear loops work in video games and have created some for a racing game.

Here's some keywords.

The first is linear loop.

This is a repeating musical idea in a video game that can be looped indefinitely, that means without ending.

Adaptive music.

This is music that can change by reacting to a stimulus and video game music reacts to the player's action.

Vertical layering.

This is why layers of music are stacked on top of each other and change in response to the player's actions.

Arpeggio.

This is where notes of a chord are played separately, either ascending or descending.

And then finally, harmonization.

This is adding notes to a melody to create harmony with the main melodic notes and this is also called harmonizing.

The first part of our lesson is looking at building texture and vertical layering.

Now, there are two key principles for video game music.

The first is that it must be repeatable, potentially indefinitely.

It must be able to keep repeating as long as the player is playing that game, but it must also be adaptive to the player's actions.

That means, it must change in response to what the player does.

In order to do these composers use what are called linear loops and these are sections of music that repeat over and over.

In early video games, the loops were often vary short.

For example, the linear loops in Pac-Man were only eight beats long and they would just repeat over and over again.

In modern video games, the linear loops can be much longer because more memory is available.

However, the loops still repeat endlessly if the player doesn't create any action in the game.

Let's have a look at this example from a famous video game called Halo: Combat Evolved.

Now, the music here is used in a tense scenario where the player has to escape attacks by hoards of terrifying aliens.

The loop lasts for one minute and 30 seconds and in the scenario it keeps repeating until the player escapes and progresses to a different scene.

So there's one minute 30 second loop this linear loop keeps playing on and on until the player manages to escape and changes the scene.

Have a listen to this example and see if you can identify some of the ways that it helps create that tense feeling for this scene.

Now, when changes occur in the action, the music changes to reflect this and this is what we call adaptive music, where the music adapts and responds to the changes in the action caused by the player.

Composers use vertical layering, where different layers of music are added to or taken away from the existing music.

So rather than bringing something totally new, a totally different piece of music to reflect the change in action, they add or remove layers of sound and music on top of what is already playing.

This is an example from a game set in the wild west, and this is from a scenario where the player is threatened by bandits.

It starts with real rhythmic intensity, but it's relatively calm to begin with.

Have a quick listen.

Now, as the fight in this scene intensifies, the music is layered up and it increases in intensity, but the underlying music still keeps repeating underneath.

So we're adding layers of music on top of what is already there.

Have a listen.

See if you can pick out the music that was already playing and some of the new layers that have been added on top to increase the intensity.

And in this example, the pace of the fight is determined by the players' actions.

So the composer has no idea how long each section of the music should last before it changes.

If they were writing this music for a film, they would know exactly how long it would be in the film before the music needed to change.

But that's that key difference with video games is they have to be adaptive to the players' actions.

As a result, they have to compose it in such a way that the extra layers of sound that are added on top can be added at any moment depending on when the player does those actions.

But it still has to sound musically natural so it's not too obvious and jarring when you're listening to it.

In this particular game, every piece of music has the same tempo.

So every single clip of music is 130 beats per minute.

And it's got the same key as well so everything is in the key of A minor.

And what this means is that all of the loops fit with each other because they're at the same speed and in the same key.

This creates many different possibilities for the composer to combine different loops to suit different moods and scenarios.

They've got this toolbox full of different loops that are in the same key and the same tempo, and they can combine the loops in different ways to suit different moods and different points in the game.

This process of vertical layering, and it's called vertical layering because we're adding sounds on top of what already is there, allows the changes in the music to feel natural because the underlying harmony and the underlying tempo remain consistent.

If the key or the tempo suddenly changed, it would be quite jarring and quite obvious, and it might not feel musically natural, but because they are the same, we can add these different layers of music and it can feel natural to the listener.

Let's check your understanding.

What is vertical layering? Is it creating a completely new section of music, adding or removing layers of music, changing the tempo or playing the same music in a different key? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is vertical layering is adding or removing layers of music and that's on top of the music that is already there.

So in the video game Asphalt Eclipse, there's a turbo boost feature and a player can activate this to make their vehicle suddenly move at supersonic speed.

So it's something that the player controls and can decide to use whenever they want.

The eight-bar melody of the theme song can be used as a linear loop that means repeat it over and over again, but we can add extra layers to it for when the player is in turbo boost mode.

And the mood during turbo boost mode should be even more exciting and energetic.

The car that you're driving as a player is suddenly going even faster.

It's really exciting.

It's really dramatic.

So you want the music to match that.

There needs to be a seamless transition to and from the original music because we don't know exactly when the player is gonna choose to use it.

So we can't plan, for example, that the melody plays for 16 bars and then the music for turbo boost mode starts because the player might not choose to activate it then.

So it needs to work in a way that these layers are added through vertical layering in a seamless way, in a way that feels really musically natural.

Now, there are different ways that we can vertically layer its texture to suit this turbo boost mode.

For example, we could try adding some fast, rhythmic parts, have a listen to this example and listen to the change halfway through where some fast rhythmic parts are added to create some extra energy and excitement.

(upbeat electronic music) Hopefully, you heard that shift in energy halfway through created by adding those extra rhythmic parts.

That's an example of vertically layering with percussive rhythms. We could also consider doubling the melody in octaves.

That means playing the melody in a higher or a lower octave at the same time to make it more exciting.

See if you can hear that change in this example.

(upbeat electronic music) So hopefully you heard that vertical layering partway through, where the melody was doubled in higher octave at the same time.

One particularly effective technique that I like to use though is to add fast arpeggios in a chord track.

And arpeggio remember, is the notes of a chord played one after another, either ascending or descending.

Let's have a look at how we could use that technique in this example.

The first thing I'm gonna do is take my eight-bar melody chords, baseline and percussion and I'm gonna loop them so they'll ask for 32 bars.

That's repeating them four times as a linear loop in the way that we do it in video games.

Now, in this video I'm gonna look at how I can use arpeggios in a chord part to create some really exciting and energetic, vertical sequencing.

And this is gonna be for this turbo boost mode in this racing game.

So I'm gonna start by creating a new track and I'm gonna look for an instrument that's really bright and vibrant and exciting sounds really exciting for this piece.

So I found this one that I think works quite well.

(upbeat electronic music) And I'm playing quite high pitched because that makes it sound really bright and vibrant as well.

Now, for this we're gonna be using arpeggios, and then arpeggio, is a broken chord where the notes of the chord are played either ascending or descending one at a time.

So if I take my D minor chord, which is the D, F, and A.

And I play the notes one after another going up, that's an arpeggio or going down that's also in arpeggio, I could also add the next octave up (upbeat electronic music) or going down.

I could even add higher notes as well and making sure that I'm still using just the notes of the course.

(upbeat electronic music) And I could even experiment with a mixture of ascending and descending.

(upbeat electronic music) Something like that.

So there's an infinite variety of different patterns you could create when you are using arpeggios and it's up to you when you are using them to find one that works for your composition.

Now, what I really want to create in this is a really fast exciting arpeggio pattern, something that sounds like this.

(upbeat electronic music) Now obviously, that's quite difficult to play at that speed you need some technical skill to be able to do that, but one of the beauties of using GarageBand or other DAW software, is we can adjust the tempo to record in a much slower tempo and then speed it up to fast speed once we've recorded it.

So you can see here my tempo at the moment is 144 BPM.

I'm gonna bring it down really, really slow.

It's something like 60, or even slower I could go and I'm gonna record in my arpeggios at that speed and then speed the BPM back up and you'll be able to do that on whatever DAW you are working on.

Now, I've chosen an arpeggio pattern that I think works quite well in my composition and that's this.

I'm gonna play the notes of the chord ascending and then play the next octave note as well.

(gentle electronic music) I'm just gonna repeat that.

(upbeat electronic music) Now, that is gonna be okay to play in at this speed and I'm gonna record in one chord at a time.

So if I think about my chord sequence, my first chord is D minor and it will last for those first two bars.

So I'm gonna be recording this arpeggio patterning for two bars using the notes of D minor.

And then I'm gonna stop and then I'm gonna look at my other chords afterwards.

And to record this, I'm just gonna include my drum tracks and my other chord track so that there's not too much going on while I'm recording.

Here we go, then.

(upbeat electronic music) Let's just speed it up to see what that will sound like at full speed.

So I'll put it back up to 144 where I was.

(upbeat electronic music) So we can see that that sounds brilliant.

Sounds really exciting, but it wasn't too difficult to play in because I did it at the slower tempo.

My next chord here for the next two bars is a C chord, and I'm gonna use the same pattern for each chord.

So that's important.

You want consistency in the pattern, so use the same one each time.

I'm gonna record that input two bars again.

(upbeat electronic music) Here we go.

(upbeat electronic music continues) And then I'm gonna do the same for my last two chords as well, which are F and then G minors, so I'll do that now.

(upbeat electronic music) Okay, and if I wanted, I could quantize these as well.

I've been playing semiteries there, so I'm gonna be quantizing to 16th note.

And now we can speed it up to max speed.

I'm gonna leave the other tracks off for now and see how that all sounds.

See if that creates that really exciting mood for this turbo boost mode.

Here we go.

(upbeat electronic music) I think that's sounding great.

Let's hear it with my melody and my baseline.

(upbeat electronic music) So that's me, added those arpeggios in my chord part.

And a couple reminders, make sure when you're recording it, you slow the tempo right down.

Make sure when you're playing your arpeggios that you just use the notes of each chord and change chord at the same time that your other chord track changes chord.

So in my case, I'm changing chord every two bars, yours might be different.

And then also make sure, whatever pattern you use for the arpeggio, so I'm using that ascending pattern there for each beat.

Whatever pattern you use, you repeat the same pattern on each chord so it sounds consistent and doesn't sound too messy.

Good luck when you give this a shot.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of these would not help to add energy and excitement through vertical layering? Is it changing timbres, using faster rhythms, adding intensity to the melody, or using extended chords? I'll give you a few seconds to choose the one that would not help to add energy and excitement.

And the correct answer here is using extended chords that might change the harmony, make it more interesting, but it's not really gonna contribute to energy and excitement in the way that the other three examples would.

So for task A, you're gonna create an additional layer to add to your eight-bar linear loop when turbo boost mode is activated.

Here's some steps.

Start by arranging your eight-bar melody and the accompanying parts, that's baseline, the chords and your rhythmic parts into a repeating linear loop.

That means they play for eight-bars, then they repeat again and that keeps repeating.

Then create a new track with a bright exciting timbre.

Set the tempo to a slow BPM, to a slow beats per minute and then practice playing arpeggios, either ascending or descending using the notes of each chord.

Then you want to record in arpeggios for each chord using the same arpeggios shape for each chord.

So if you decide to use an ascending pattern, use that same pattern, but change the notes to fit with each chord.

And then once you've recorded it in, set the tempo back to its original fast BPM.

So we're slowing it down and speeding it up because it's easier to replay and record it at slower tempo.

But then we want it to sound really fast and exciting in the final product.

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

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

What musical changes occur halfway through this that effectively suit turbo boost mode? So listen for the changes halfway through.

What has this composer done that would help create that extra level of energy and excitement to suit turbo boost mode? Here we go.

(upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) And you can pause my video while you finish your answer for this one.

Okay, so you might have heard one of these two changes that occur at the halfway point.

First, is that the chord pattern develops by using arpeggios, those fast patterns that we've been looking at, that move up or down the notes of chord.

The second change that occurs is that the melody is doubled in octaves on high-pitched synthesizers.

So the melody is played an octave higher that creates that extra layer of excitement.

Well done if you managed to pick up on one or both of those.

And both of those are great techniques to use when you're trying to add excitement through developing the texture.

Now, we're gonna focus on harmonizing a melody.

Listen to the melodies in these two clips.

What's the difference between the clips? Here's the first one.

(gentle electronic music) And here's the second one.

What's the difference with the melody? (gentle electronic music) So well done if you managed to identify that in the second version, the melody is harmonized.

This means it has another version of the melody playing at the same time, but it uses different notes that create harmony with the main melody.

So earlier on we looked at examples that doubled the melody in octaves where the melody is played the same, but an octave higher or an octave lower.

In harmonization, when we're harmonizing a melody, it's not using an octave, it's using a different set of notes that create harmony with the main melody.

And this can be a really effective way of adding interest and excitement to a melody.

And it's generally a great way of developing melodic ideas in all styles of music.

Now, the original melody can be harmonized with added notes above the main melody.

Let's hear the original melody on its own first.

(gentle electronic music) And now let's hear it where it's been harmonized with notes above the melody.

(gentle electronic music) Hopefully, you could hear that higher version of the melody there that's playing the same rhythm and the same shape, but with different notes creating harmony.

And this is how we'd notate that.

So you can see the original melody on the top stave there starts on E, and then the harmonized melody starts a little bit higher on G, and all the way throughout it falls the same rhythm, the same melodic shape, but using higher notes, creating harmony with the melody, harmonizing the melody.

We can also harmonize it with notes below the main melody.

So we've got the exact same original melody here, but see if you can hear how the second part is now underneath the main melody.

Let's hear it.

(gentle electronic music) And harmonizing above a melody or below a melody can be effective.

There's no one that is always more effective than the other.

It depends on the specific melody.

So it's really important when you're doing harmonization, when you're harmonizing a melody that you experiment with both harmonizing above the main melody and underneath it.

Now the key to harmonizing is using the correct intervals.

Let's have a listen to this original melody.

(gentle electronic music) Now I'd like you to listen to the same melody again that are harmonized with different intervals.

Which intervals do you think sound the most effective? Let's have a listen to each.

So this is what it sounds like harmonized with the second part, using the interval of a second.

(gentle electronic music) Here it is with the interval of a third.

(gentle electronic music) This one has the interval of a fourth.

(gentle electronic music) This one uses a fifth.

(gentle electronic music) This one has a sixth.

(gentle electronic music) And this one uses a seventh.

So which ones do you think are the most effective? (gentle electronic music) Just pause my video, have a quick think or discussion.

Which of those intervals sounded most effective for harmonizing the melody? Now, the two intervals that are most effective are thirds and sixth and that's because they mirror the intervals that make up chords.

If we harmonize with thirds, we record the same melody as the original, but with every note, either a third higher or a third lower than the main melody.

This is what this one would sound like with a third higher.

(gentle electronic music) And this is what it would sound like with a second melody, a third even lower than the original.

(gentle electronic music) And in both of these cases, it sounds effective, the harmonization works and really adds a nice bit of color and interest to the melody but this isn't always the case.

Sometimes it will work one way and it won't really work the other way depends on the chords and the nature of your melody.

We can also harmonize in sixth, so this is the same melody, but with the second part, a sixth higher, a sixth above the original.

(gentle electronic music) And then this is the same melody, but now the harmonizing part is a sixth below the original.

(gentle electronic music) So you can see that each of those examples, a third above or a third below a sixth above and a sixth below creates a slightly different character and has a slightly different effect on the main melody.

So when you are using harmonization, experimenting with the different options of thirds and sixths is really important to find the one that best works in that particular context.

Now, we can use harmonization for vertical layering.

If we add the harmony line as an additional layer of vertical layering during turbo boost mode, this would add some extra excitement and interest.

Let's have a look at using that process.

Adding a harmonized version of the melody is a really effective and common way of making a melody sound more exciting and developing a bit.

To do that, I'm gonna start by a new track underneath my melody track, and I'm gonna choose a timbre that I think compliments the timbres I've already got.

So I've already had a listen and I've chosen this one that I think will work quite effectively with my melody timbre and by the timbres.

Now, if I just wanted to double my melody to play the same notes in another track, it'd be really simple to do.

I could copy and paste the melody into this new track and then I'd have it doubled playing the same notes in two tracks that sound like this.

(gentle electronic music) You know, it sounds quite good and it's an effective and easy way of developing your melody, making it sound a bit more exciting.

However, here working at harmonization, which is a more advanced, more sophisticated and slightly more complicated way of doing it.

So let's take a look at my original melody.

My first two notes are F and A.

Those two notes there.

Now, as we've established thirds and sixths are the most effective intervals for harmonizing a melody, we can use them either below or above the original melody.

If my original melody notes are F, A, then I could start by trying out third.

s So let's work out what's a third below F, A.

If I look at my piano, a third below F is gonna be B, and a third below A is gonna be F.

So my notes now are gonna be D, F instead of F, A.

Let's see what that sounds like.

(gentle electronic music) Sounds quite good.

I could do the same, tying a third higher so instead of F, I'm gonna start on A.

So that's a third higher instead of A, I'm gonna start on C.

So I'm gonna be doing A, C.

Let's see what that sounds like, also sounds okay.

And I could also try the same with sixths.

So I'll just try one example for this.

If F is my starting note, a sixth below that is gonna be one, two, three, four, five, six that's gonna be A.

And for the second note, a sixth below A is gonna be C.

So it's gonna be A, C down here.

See what that sounds like.

(gentle electronic music) They all sound okay at the moment.

I've decided that the one I think they'll accept the third below.

So, when you're doing this with your melody, you will find that there's no right or wrong way of using thirds or sixths necessarily.

Some will work better with some melodies and some will work better with other melodies.

So experimenting with both thirds and sixths above and below your melody is really important to find the one that sounds most effective.

So I worked out those first two notes now, (indistinct).

Third below my original melody.

Let's record those two notes in.

(gentle electronic music) And the way I'm gonna do this is recording in bits of my melody bit by bit, rather than trying to work out the whole thing as one.

So now I can look at the next section of my melody, which is F, G, A, G, that's the next bit.

So I'm gonna go a third below that, a third below F is gonna be D.

A third below G is gonna be E, a third below A it's gonna be F.

So instead of this, it's gonna be, let's record it in.

(gentle electronic music) And I am gonna follow that same process all the way through my melody.

Now, I've already worked my notes, so I'm gonna record it all in now.

But when you're doing yours, work out a few notes at time, record them in bit by bit until you've done your whole melody.

(gentle electronic music) Let's see what they sound like together then.

(upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) Great, so you can hear there when all the parts are together, it sounds really exciting.

Now, all I'm gonna do is arrange them so I can hear that contrast between the non-turbo boost mode section and the turbo boost mode section.

So I'm gonna put that re-harmonized melody, let's say part 17, I'll put my arpeggios there as well.

And then we'll get the contrast between the non-turbo boost section and then this brief turbo boost section with my vertical sequencing.

(upbeat electronic music) Let's check your understanding, which two intervals are most effective for harmonizing a melody? Third, fourth, fifth, or sixth? I'll give you a few seconds to choose two.

And the two answers here are a third and a sixth.

Sometimes you can harmonize with a fourth or a fifth, but it doesn't work as effectively.

Thirds and sixths are by far the most useful intervals when you're harmonizing a melody.

Have a look at this example and we're gonna listen to it as well.

This harmonized melody is a what, What the main melody? So you're choosing from third of sixth and you're choosing from above or below.

So there's your notation and we can hear it now as well.

The main part is played by a violin and the harmonized part is played on the marimba.

Let's have a listen.

(dramatic electronic music) So you can pause my video just while you're working this one out.

And the correct answer here is the harmonized melody is a third above the main melody.

If you look at the notation, we can see the starting note of the main melody is C.

The starting note of the harmonized melody is the E just above it, which is a third above, and that's a really effective interval to use when harmonizing.

So for task B, you can add an extra melody line to harmonize your melody during turbo boost mode.

Here's some success criteria.

You've recorded an additional version of your melody.

It uses the same rhythm and melodic shape as the original with the melody, a third or a sixth higher or lower than the main melody.

Make sure you've experimented with both thirds and sixths and both above and below your melody to find the version that sounds most effective.

There's no rule about which one will work best it really depends on your melody so trying them all out to find the best one.

And then make sure you've arranged your turbo boost mode layers into one section of your project so you can hear the contrast when those vertical layers join in for turbo boost mode.

You can pause my video now, give this task your best shot.

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

How has it been harmonized? So think about the intervals that are used and whether they're higher or lower than the original melody.

(gentle electronic music) (gentle electronic music continues) So, if you need to pause my video, and just quickly think about your answer.

And the correct answer here is it's been harmonized with a melody a sixth above the original melody.

If you just managed to identify that the harmony line is above the main melody, that's really good, well done.

And if you manage to get that interval of a sixth, really well done as well.

And as we've explored, thirds and sixths are generally the most common and the most useful intervals to use when you're harmonizing a melody.

Let's review today's lesson.

Video game composers make music adaptive by using linear loops and vertical layering.

This allows music to quickly and seamlessly respond to changes caused by a player's actions.

And we looked at a few examples of that.

Adding or removing layers to develop the texture is one way to do vertical layering.

Adding a harmonized melody is another common tool used by composers for this purpose.

So that's the end of today's lesson.

Hopefully now you feel like you've got a few different tools in your toolbox for developing your musical ideas, but also a deeper understanding of how video game music composers work, the decisions they have to make about the loops that they use, about how they layer things up, and how they make those transitions between those different stages of a scene or a game absolutely musically seamless.

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