Emotional music classes, with precise story telling

[erineclipse]

Are there any non-college programs where they teach you video-game music at a low cost? My college just has a basic piano class that's it. Basically do they teach more than how to make musically correct music, but emotions as well? Not just emotions, but distinct emotions, like the color green, or walking through a cove, emotions like nostalgia and emotions that typically aren't run of the mill emotions.

Also, if you don't like this thread, please don't ban me, just delete the thread (preferably not though.)

[Tensei]

holy fuck just stop making threads and use google already

[erineclipse]

holy fuck just stop making threads and use google already

you don't have to be so rude. if you took the time to read my post i wasn't talking about just some run of the mill vg music class.

[Liontamer]

holy fuck just stop making threads and use google already

Yes, the interweb is so srs business, please don't bother reading and post everything you think right when you think it. See you in a week. Shut the fuck up next time.

/back to thread

[eilios]

but emotions as well?

This is pretty much the hardest thing about music, because you can't really teach how to convey emotions musically. And if there is a class that does teach how to do this, it's sure as hell not going to be free and easily found on the internet.

[SnappleMan]

It's all relative. There are many progressions that generally convey certain types of emotions but for the most part it comes down to the listener to take what they will out of it. If you are a REALLY masterful songwriter, then you'll be able to force an emotional response, like here:

[Jamphibious]

I think it would be close to impossible to teach how to successfully convey emotions through music, given that human emotional response to music is incredibly subjective and personal. Sure, there are certain types of chords that have general feels to them, such as sadness for minor chords, happiness for major chords, a feeling of danger or unease for augmented / diminished chords, etc. etc... But really, there are so many emotions out there, often complex, and any of them can be found in music. Even songs in minor keys can make a listener feel happy or uplifted.

So yeah, my two cents.

*EDIT - Aw snap(ple), beaten to the punch. Oh well.

[Rozovian]

Pick a melody, short and simple, maybe just 5-6 notes, and play with it. How does it sound in a different scale? How does it sound when you screw with the rhythm? Transpose some of it, let it wait another eight note to be played, start it before or after the beat. Swing the rhythm into shuffle, see what that does. Try some other time signatures.

And when you're done with that, add chords. A melody using the notes CEFGA can use any of the following basic chords, and many variations thereof: C, F, G major, E, G, A minor, as well as various sus chords, D minor and Bb major.

And when you're done with that, change the melody from a minor scale to a major scale of the same key (musical modes)... or to any mode.

...and when you're done with that, experiment with instrumentation and note length. A piano will not make it sound the same as staccato brass or a square lead will. Short or long notes, or some of both?

...aaaaand when you're done with that, experiment with other melodies.

This is something you'll learn best by experimentation, analysis, and while it doesn't hurt to find courses or books on the subject, you'll have to put it into practice eventually if you wanna make use of it, so get started, and learn what you can as you go along.

While the exact emotion is nearly impossible to convey, it can be captured - even if you're the only one that gets it, others will get the idea, the general mood. I wrote a track consisting of 40 minutes of just variations of the same theme, as separate tracks with ugly pauses, some tracks being minutes long, some just a few seconds of an idea. Try writing a score for your own rpg game* - using the same basic melody for everything. Apply what I've suggested above and you'll have a wide range of variations to play with.

*) Why rpg? well, I'm thinking they have a wide range of environments, characters, and moods overall. If you can imagine a racing game wit the same range of emotional contexts, sure, make a racing game score instead.

[PROTO·DOME]

It's pretty relative. Really the whole thing is down to context.

[Moseph]

I'd recommend finding a composition teacher to give you private lessons. College students studying composition would be good candidates for this since their rates would be low and a lot of them would be eager to get the teaching experience. If there are colleges in the area that have composition programs, email one of the composition faculty and ask if they have students who might be interested in giving private lessons.

EDIT:

Basically do they teach more than how to make musically correct music, but emotions as well? Not just emotions, but distinct emotions, like the color green, or walking through a cove, emotions like nostalgia and emotions that typically aren't run of the mill emotions.

Also, this is exactly the sort of thing that's better dealt with in one-on-one instruction than in classroom instruction.

[Kidd Cabbage]

I'll miss you, tensei. :c

<3

[SnappleMan]

I'll miss you, tensei. :c

<3

this song captures the :c emotion pretty accurately.

[EC2151]

this song captures the :c emotion pretty accurately.

More like

.

What you're asking for, eirin, is kind of hard, since there's no really set definition of VG music. I mean, Uematsu is obviously (mostly) inspired by Romanticism, while someone like the Follin brothers, or Wise, come from much more electronica backgrounds. VG composers come from demoscene, from the DJ scene, from Julliard, from my basement (a prestigious school if ever there was one!).

However, all the suggestions here are good places to start. With music, it's kind of hard since most of the actual making of music has to come from within you, and how YOU feel about something.... like the color Green.

I like Hisayoshi Ogura's method of composing: when asked to do a game project, he thinks up of a keyword that kind of fits the whole theme of the project (for G-Darius, it was "chimera"), and really thinks about the whole different meanings, emotions, and permutations associated with the word, and came up with one of the

of all time. I've never tried it myself (because i've only composed for one game, and on what was essentially a lark), but i think that's a really good and focused way to go about it, instead of approaching every project with "let me just let some jingles come into my head every now and then and go from there."

I mean, we all pretty much compose like that, but I feel like his method is good long-term.

Learning a little comp probably would help, but don't get so caught up in the rules of theory that it stifles the creative, expressive side of making music. Nearly done happened to me!

[mickomoo]

I've notice while playing around that certain scales and chords lend themselves to certain feelings, but you probably already sensed or knew that. I've personally gotten myself in a rut, I write stories so I'm also intrested in writing music that can maybe help or compliment my stories. I've noticed that the scales that I'm most comfortable with though lend them selves to dark music, which is pretty much why everything I've written sounds... overly dark and stuff. In fact the only music I've written in C is normal or upbeat.

But honestly specific emotions are very hard to "write" in music. The general feeling of music pieces can possibly be guessed, but there are times where the listener can derive something completely opposite of what the composer intended. I think it's just best to stick composing something that comes from your heart... regardless of how cliche that sounds.

[dannthr]

What you can define as video game music is music that has been implemented with a video game or interactivity in mind and there is a program that can teach you that, in fact I teach at a college and I teach that very thing:

www.pinnaclecollege.edu

[erineclipse]

yep i guess sometimes i feel very dark and my music kind of mirrors that, another reason it's difficult for me to make uplifting music in fl studio is because there's no way to make the background color of the grid brighter, and sitting in front of a comp for hours is pretty dark in and of itself. Some of my more upbeat songs I actually get up and dance to, sometimes I feel like an angel being uplifted into another world. but after ive heard the songs 1000 times i dont even know what emotions are which anymore.

another thing is videogames have story and video components to almost ensure that everyone will be on the same "page" in terms of emotion, at least for the first few playthroughs. i think that is the toughest part, knowing what people will feel from your music even after you have listened to it 1000's of times.

also you look pretty cute in those short shorts lol j/k (pinnacle college looks great but it is 5000 miles away lol)

[Moseph]

You're likely to have more luck looking for film scoring techniques rather than specifically video game scoring techniques. Film scoring is a much more common academic subject, and it deals with matching emotion to picture at least as much as video game music. Even if you don't have any real interest in scoring films, I think there are a lot of things involved in the process that are relevant to your goals.

[erineclipse]

You're likely to have more luck looking for film scoring techniques rather than specifically video game scoring techniques. Film scoring is a much more common academic subject, and it deals with matching emotion to picture at least as much as video game music. Even if you don't have any real interest in scoring films, I think there are a lot of things involved in the process that are relevant to your goals.

i like film music but its so much more tedious than videogame music, you have to synch everything to a 2 hour film etc hope they dont change the script use live orchestra most of the time with videogame music you generally just make loops

[Rozovian]

i like film music but its so much more tedious than videogame music, you have to synch everything to a 2 hour film etc hope they dont change the script use live orchestra most of the time with videogame music you generally just make loops

Weren't you just complaining about how so much music is blocky and sufers from sequenced-ness?

Also, I second the suggestion of film music techniques, makes sense. Films have a wide range of emotion. _You_ don't have to sync anything to anything, just listen and study it and make use of what you learn.

I have a feeling you're just looking for shortcuts. Stop it. Look for techniques, examples, reference material, and make music. Don't post your half hour experiment, spend time on developing your tracks to develop your skills. Take whatever classes you can get that relates to it, and read everything you can get your hands on, but there's no magic chord that'll make your music feel like X.

[Frederic Petitpas]

[........]

[mickomoo]

I thought both film and video game music usually together fell under a Noir-ish category (well film definitely does).

My university offered a music discussion course that analyzed "emotional music" and in one class, the professor cited one winged angel and some piece from a movie and seemed to consider them of similar, if not the same status.

[Moseph]

I thought both film and video game music usually together fell under a Noir-ish category (well film definitely does).

Can you further explain this? I don't really understand what you mean by "noir-ish category."

[mickomoo]

Can you further explain this? I don't really understand what you mean by "noir-ish category."

I didn't actually take the class, but my friend was explaining to me that Noir typically means dark and/or emotion provoking music, which is why I guess the professor played video game music a few times in the class, along side traditional film music. If I'm not mistaken though in film Noir is more of a specific genre, which is why I put the "-ish."