Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson entitled Arranging and Analyzing Video Game Music.

My name is Mr. Norris.

Today we're gonna be taking a broader view of the process that we go through when we're arranging video game music to suit different scenarios and different courses of action.

We're also gonna explore how we can analyze video game music using the knowledge that we have about the different techniques that video game composers use.

Our outcome is that I can arrange video game composition and analyze unfamiliar video game music, some key words, linear loop.

This is a repeating musical idea in a video game that can be looped indefinitely.

Horizontal re-sequencing.

This is where a new section of music begins in response to a player's action.

And finally, vertical layering.

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

So the first part of today's lesson is looking at arranging music for a video game.

The key principle of video game music is that it changes in response to what happens in the game.

We can use different linear loops with additional layers added through vertical layering, and that might be in response to small changes that we want to mirror in the music.

We can also add contrasting sections through horizontal re-sequencing.

We do that, where there's a sudden change in the music and we want to create a sudden change of mood.

When programming video games, the producers link musical changes to the cues on screen.

So for example, if a character moves to a certain place, the correct musical change will occur to match that action.

Now when using combinations of horizontal and vertical musical ideas, it's important to check that they all work effectively with each other.

Have a listen to these two examples of horizontal re-sequencing.

That's where we change to a totally new section of music in response to a big change in the action.

Which of these works most effectively and why? So listen for the change to the new section in both examples and have a think about which one you think musically works the best.

Here's the first one.

(pleasant upbeat music) (pleasant upbeat music continues) Now let's compare that to the second version.

Do you think this works more or less effectively than the first example? Let's have a listen.

(pleasant upbeat music) (pleasant upbeat music continues) And there's no necessarily right or wrong answer with this.

It's subjective.

That means it's down to opinion.

But I would argue that the second one works most effectively because the chords and the key of the new section sound much more similar to the first section, so they sound more closely related.

The transition between the two is more seamless.

The start of the melody in the second section also dovetails with the end of the first section melody.

And what that means is the last note in the melody at the end of the first section is very close to the first note in the melody of the second section.

They're only a step away, so they link nicely up with each other.

It's not doing a big leak to a new note to start the second section melody.

So dovetailing melodies like that where they link into each other quite naturally by step rather than having to leap to start the new melody is a really effective way of creating transitions.

And finally, the timbres of the second section matched those of the first section more closely.

So in the other example that we listened to, there was a really sudden change.

The key change, the harmony changed, the timbres changed, and the melody was in a totally different place.

So it sounded quite jarring and obvious.

Whereas this one, because we've got the similar timbres, we've got the dovetailing of the melody and the chords in the key, it sounded quite similar.

It's quite a musically natural transition between the two sections, even though it's a contrasting mood and it creates a really contrasting feeling.

Now, as a video game composer, something you'll have to do is arrange the different sections of music in all of their different possible combinations that they might be triggered in the game.

And this allows us to check that they transition effectively into each other.

So because these different sections of music are determined by the players' actions and they could come in any order or any sequence, we need to know that if we put them in those different orders or sequences, they still work effectively and sound musically seamless and natural.

So for Asphalt Eclipse, which is the video game that we're composing for, we've got four different sections of music.

We've got the main race Loop, that's the main theme.

We've got the turbo boost mode music with vertical layering at extra energy and excitement when players choose to activate turbo boost mode.

We've got the victory ending for when a player wins a race.

And we've got the loss ending for when a player loses a race.

So we've got these four different sections of music.

Now we could have any of these possible combinations of those sections.

We could have normal race music going into a victory scenario.

We could have normal race music, then turbo boost mode and then a victory scenario.

We could have normal race music, then turbo boost mode, then back to normal race music and then the victory scenario.

And then we could have the same options but with the loss music instead of victory.

So we could have the race music and then a loss, race music turbo boost, and then a loss or race music turbo boost, and then the race music again, and then the loss.

So there's six different combinations that we can have in this game of these different sections of music.

And it depends on the actions of the player in the game.

So it's adaptive music.

Let's arrange the music into two of those sequences to check that the transitions between each section work effectively.

We're gonna use these two different sequences to test this out.

So the first one we're gonna create is the race music into turbo boost mode.

Then back to the race music and then the victory scenario.

And then we're also gonna create race music into Turbo Boost mode and then straight into a loss scenario.

So we're gonna test out the transitions between those sections using this.

First of all, let's have a look at creating that race-turbo-race-victory sequence.

I'm gonna arrange my part into the sequence of race, turbo, race, and then victory to check that the transitions between sections work in that order.

This first section is my race music up to bar 17.

This bit with the thicker texture is my turbo boost mode music, this bit at bar 33 is my loss music.

And then this bar, this little section down at the end is my victory music.

So I'm gonna arrange them now with a bit of copy and paste to get them in the correct order.

Firstly, I need to separate out my race and my turbo musics at the moment, they just looped.

So I'm gonna draw these two back and then I'm gonna copy them, so that now I have my race music separate from my turbo boost music as well.

So the order I want is race, turbo, race, and then victory.

I might just do eight bars of each.

So I'm gonna shorten these.

That's my race music.

Then I want turbo mode.

Then I want the race music again.

So copy and paste, making sure I'm putting them in the right tracks.

And then I want to finish with my victory music, which is this one.

So I'm gonna put these there and then we're gonna listen through.

I'm gonna move the lost music outta the way for now.

I'm gonna listen through it and check the transitions between these sections will work fine.

(upbeat game music) (upbeat game music continues) (upbeat game music continues) So I'm really happy with the transitions between those sections.

If I found now with this combination that there was certain links didn't quite work, what I'd have to go do is go into them, analyze what feature it was that didn't quite work.

It might be the chords don't quite fit over the transition, or maybe I've used timbres that clash too much and do a little bit of adaptation of my music to make sure the transitions work.

Now let's have a look at creating the race-turbo and loss sequence.

The second sequence of events I'm gonna make is race, turbo, then loss.

So I need to do some copy and pasting to get those in that sequence to check that they work together.

Depending on which door you are using, you might need to extend the MDU project.

I could do here on Garage Band to make sure I've got enough bars to work with for this.

And I'm gonna put these in this sequence in over here after my first sequence.

So I'm gonna keep that where it is.

This is my loss theme here.

I'm just gonna move them out the way for now.

And I'm starting with race.

So a bit of copy and paste, that's my race music.

I'll start a bit later.

It's maybe started by 37 so it doesn't start straight after the other one.

Then I want my Turbo music so I can copy and paste that.

And then I want my loss music.

So here I'm really testing to see what the transition from turbo straight into the loss music sounds like.

Let's have a listen.

Let's see how it sounds.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music transitions to solemn music) So again, I think those transitions work reasonably well.

I think one thing I did notice is that the melody in my loss section feels quite quiet and understated compared to what came before.

And maybe that'd be an effect I'd be going for 'cause it's this feeling of sadness and loss.

But I might just bring that up a touch just so the melody is a little bit more prominent.

And as I said before, you're gonna wanna make sure that transition works.

And if it doesn't, try and pick out is it the timbres that don't quite work? Is it something to do with the chords I've used that doesn't quite sound right, and try and adapt it to make the transition work as seamlessly and effectively as possible.

Now if there are specific transitions that sound ineffective, one or both of the sections will need adapting.

So say for example that we're doing the race turbo loss sequence, which is the second one we looked at there, and we find that when the music transitions from the turbo boost music into that loss ending, it doesn't quite work.

It doesn't quite musically sound very natural or seamless, then one of those sections will need to be adapted to make them transition more effectively.

That might be through dovetailing the melodies more effectively.

That might be through the choice of timbre, or it might be through the chords and the harmony or the rhythms that we're using.

Which two of these changes are like to sound most effective in a seamless transition between sections, changing the tempo, the key, the dynamics or the texture.

So pause my video, have a think and choose the two that are most likely to help create a seamless transition.

And the two best options here are changing the dynamics and the texture.

If we change the tempo and the key, that's quite hard to do in a really musically, natural, and seamless way because it's a really big and noticeable change.

Whereas changing the dynamics and the texture are more seamless changes that can be really effective when we're transitioning between different sections.

So task eight, you're gonna arrange music for Asphalt Eclipse into two different sequences to check the effectiveness of those transitions.

Here are the two sequences.

The first is race music, then turbo boost, then race music, then victory scenario.

And the second is race music, then turbo boost and then straight into a loss ending.

Some success criteria are firstly that you copy and paste the regions to match each sequence.

So you shouldn't have to create any new parts for this.

This is just copying and pasting and testing out the transition between those different sections.

Make sure you create both sequences separately within your DAW project.

So create one sequence at one part in your DAW project, then leave the gap and then create the second sequence so you can hear that in its entirety on its own.

Check the transition between sections and make sure that they sound musically effective.

So you want to sound quite seamless and musically natural using some of those techniques like dovetailing, like matching the timbres and by thinking carefully about the chords and the harmony that you've used, and if they don't adapt one of the sections to make the transition more effective.

Again, thinking about timbre, texture and key.

So you can pause my video now.

Have a go at arranging your sections into these two different sequences and see how effectively they work.

The second part of this task, we're gonna listen to a transition between these two sections.

How could the second section be adapted to make the transition more effective? So focusing on that second section, what tweaks could we make to that to make the transition work more effectively? Let's have a listen.

(upbeat game music) (upbeat game music continues) <v ->And you can pause my video now while you have a think</v> of some points for this.

And you might have thought some of these points then.

So the second section could use chords in the same key as the first section.

At the moment, it uses very contrasting chords and that creates a quite jarring effect on the transition.

It's not a very seamless transition.

It could use timbres that are closer to those of the first section as well.

So again, there's a real contrast in the timbres in the second section, but if you use slightly closer timbres to the first section, it would be a more effective transition.

And it could also start the melody on a note that dovetails with the end of the melody in the first section.

So seeing where the melody in the first section ends and then adapting the melody of the second section, so that it starts on a very close pitch, so it naturally flows between the two melodies.

Well done if you managed to think of some of those points.

Now we're gonna move on to look at analyzing video game music.

Understanding key elements of video game music as a composer, allows us to analyze unfamiliar video game music more effectively as well.

When we're analyzing unfamiliar video game music, what are some of the key things that you think we should be listening out for? Think about all the different concepts that you know about video game music and the way that video game music works.

You can pause my video, see what you can think of here.

And you might have thought of some of these points then.

These are things we can be listening out for when we're analyzing video game music.

We could be thinking about the use of linear loops, including how long they are and how complex they're.

We could be looking for examples of vertical layering where different parts get stacked on top of the music that's already playing to change the mood.

We could be thinking about what the music's complexity tells us about what era this video game is from, because we know that the music from the early period of video games is very different from modern video game music.

We could be looking for examples of horizontal re-sequencing where there are sudden changes in mood in response to the player's actions.

We could be trying to pick out specific musical features that set the game in a time or a place thinking about how they've used timbres or rhythms instruments or idiomatic melodies to help set the game in a particular place or time.

We could also be thinking about the mood and the type of game that that suits, whether it's for an action game, whether it's for a strategy game, whether it's for a sports game.

And we could also be thinking about how the composer makes the transitions between sections seamless.

Thinking about some of those techniques that we've been looking at earlier in this lesson.

So there are a huge variety of different aspects that we can be trying to analyze when we're listening to unfamiliar video game music.

I'd like to analyze this example.

What could the mood, the style of the music and the use of loops, tell us about the genre and era of this video game.

So when's it from and what type of game do you think it is? Pause my video and have a listen.

And here you might have said, "The mood is energetic and intense, and this suggests it's some sort of action game." "And the music uses short loops, a fairly simple texture and only synthesized sounds.

And this is really typical of a lot of early video game music.

So we would expect this to be from the 1980s or the 1990s rather than a modern video game." So as we can see there, just by listening to that unfamiliar music, using the knowledge that we have of video game music, we can really narrow this down to a specific type of game.

And this was from an action game released in the mid 1990s.

So those musical features really guide us towards that information.

I'd like to listen to that example again.

Can you pick out any examples of either vertical layering or horizontal re-sequencing in this short clip? Remember, vertical layering is when the underlying music stays the same, but extra layers are added or taken away on top.

And horizontal resequencing is where a new section of music begins matching a change in mood.

Pause my video and see if you can pick out either of those.

And you might have noticed that there is horizontal resequencing, where two different short sections of music are heard.

So there are some contrasting sections that are played, but there are no clear examples of vertical layering where the loops repeat with additional parts added on top.

So in that example, we can see that technique of horizontal re-sequencing, but not vertical layering.

Now let's listen to this contrasting example.

Now this music is used in a tense scene in which a player explores a mysterious ruin.

The first thing I'd like to listen to is the harmony.

What harmonic features help to create a sense of tension in this scene? Pause my video and see if you can pick out some.

And the two key things you might have heard here are the chromatic notes and the unusual chords.

And both of these help create a feeling of tension in this scene.

Now we're gonna focus on dynamics and texture.

How does the composer use dynamics and texture to build up that tension as the scene goes on? Have another listen and see if you can pick out some points.

So here you might have mentioned that the dynamics get gradually louder and the texture is thick to begin with, but it gets even thicker and builds up.

And this steadily builds tension through this short clip.

So the composer here has made really clear choices about harmony, the dynamics, and the texture, as well as other elements that we've not talked about.

And use those to make sure that the tension and the mood of this scene is perfectly mirrored in the music.

Let's check your understanding.

Identify three features that we should consider when analyzing unfamiliar video game music.

You can pause my video while I think of three.

And here then you could have said examples of vertical layering.

You could listen out for examples of horizontal re-sequencing.

You could listen for the mood and the type of game that it suits, any specific musical features that set the game in a time or a place.

The use of linear loops, including their length and their complexity, how the composer makes transitions between sections seamless and what the music's complexity tells us about what era this video game is from.

So well done if you managed to think of a few of those.

And when you hear video game music in the future, you can be thinking about some of these different techniques and elements as you're listening to it, analyzing what the composer is doing.

So with task B, we're gonna listen to each clip of video game music and answer the questions.

For example one, I'd like to identify one key feature that makes this music suitable for a video game.

And then what genre of video game would this be suitable for? Justify your answer with at least two musical features.

And finally, does this feature vertical layering, horizontal resequencing or both? And for example two, does this feature vertical layering horizontal resequencing or both? Does this clip use linear loops? If so, how long are the loops in number of bars? And then this music is for a racing game.

Identify three musical features that make it suitable for that.

So there are two examples and six questions here.

You can pause my video and try and demonstrate your knowledge of video game music in these.

Good luck.

Let's go through this task then.

So for example one, one feature that makes it suitable for video game is that it's based on linear loops, so it can repeat indefinitely.

What genre of video game would it be suitable for? I'll probably say a mystery or sci-fi game, because the unusual timbres, the inconsistent pulse, the unusual harmony and the melody create a feeling of something mysterious, weird or unusual.

And then does it feature vertical layering, horizontal re-sequencing, or both? Well, it features vertical layering.

We can hear those layers of music getting stacked on top of each other to change the mood.

Well done if you managed to spot that.

In the second example, this features vertical layering.

It does use linear loops and the loops last for eight bars.

Well done if you picked up on that.

And three features that make it suitable for a racing game are that it has a fast tempo, it uses fast driving rhythms, it has a strong pulse, and it has bright, exciting timbres.

And all of these together create that feeling of energy and excitement that you'd want in a racing game.

So well done if you picked up on a few of those.

Well, let's review today's lesson.

Video game composers must check that transitions between sections work musically in all possible sequences.

Dovetailing of melodies is an effective way of linking sections.

Key changes in particular can sound unnatural or jarring.

And when we're analyzing unfamiliar music, we can analyze the use of vertical layering and horizontal re-sequencing.

Identifying the type of loops that are used and the mood that's created can suggest what type and era of video game this is.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Hopefully now you feel like you've got a good understanding of the fundamentals of video game music, the different techniques that are involved, like horizontal resequencing, vertical layering, and the complexity of decisions that video game composers have to go through when they're writing music that adapts to the movements and the actions of a player.

Hopefully now you're also feeling inspired to go and explore some more great video game music and maybe even to write some more of your own.

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