Hello there. I am new to the forum, and I am interested in writing music for video games. I am a classically trained professional musician,composer, and arranger. When I write music I write in either Finale or Sibelius. I am very good with music theory, and I have been successful in my endeavors in the classical music realm. My question is how do i transform music written out in Finale or Sibelius to a format that programmers can use? Furthermore I want to start this as a hobby. How would you suggest that I go about getting gigs? Thanks for your help guys.

RanBeforeWalked-

Hey, Finale and Sibelius are very good for notation but not that great for making digital music. I have Finale and it works great when I want to make a professional looking manuscript. This is mainly because of the limited VSTi plugin support.

Depending on what type of computer you have, there are several options:

1) Logic Pro: A very good program that comes with a load of features and just had a price drop to $500. This is a Mac program, but I use it daily at work. At first I didn't like it that much because I was used to other programs, but not I really like working with Logic.

2) Sonar Producer: Another very good program. I use this at home and it is a PC based software. I don't like the video support that Sonar has- it is much more limited that what is found in other programs (like Logic or Pro Tools). It is a little more expensive than Logic but is still a good option.

3) Pro Tools: This is the industry standard for audio work. People either love or hate Pro Tools. I think this is mainly because Pro Tools is recognized as being at the top of the heap and to get a really professional rig costs a TON of money. However, you can get a decent version of Pro Tools and a compatible sound card for roughly $400-700 bucks. You do have to be very careful about what hardware you try to use with Pro Tools because it is picky. The MIDI support is decent, but not as fluid as it is in Sonar or Logic. Pro Tools is both PC and Mac.

4) Reason 4: This is a great program where you can make a large variety of music. I have Reason 3 (haven't upgraded yet) and it doesn't support audio work or video work. This means you can only write music using the instruments provided by Reason and Refill packages. If this doesn't bother you, then this is a great piece of software. I believe Reason is both Mac and PC. You can get a full version for roughly $300-400.

5) Acid Pro 6: This program has come a LONG way! While this is just a PC platform, Acid now supports MIDI, live recording and loop-based clips. It does support video and could be a great option for you. A full version costs roughly $300.

Here is the really cool part: many of these programs can actually work together. For example, I can load up Sonar and then choose to have Reason be used as a "slave" plugin. This gives me the ability to use Reason's sounds and abilities with Sonar. Also many of the plugins can go either way as well. When I browse through my plugins in Sonar, I can choose plugins from Acid, Reason and Sound Forge. (I didn't list Sound Forge because it is mostly an audio-only program.)

Making music for video games is very different from making music for general listening. Can you make your music loop-able? Can you make your music adapt to what is happening in the game? For hand-held games, can you make your music sound good but take up as little space as possible? These are all things you might be asked to do from your client(s) and you need to be able to do these tasks.

As far as getting gigs:

Make a website that features some of your best work. Also include some info about you, so potential clients can see your personality. Then, just start networking and putting your name out there. It may seem like a simple response and it is. The only thing it takes to get work is perseverance, hard work, some luck and time.

I hope that helps!

Nathan

Thanks for the reply.

Could you elaborate on that some more for me?



Specifically what formats do programmers use?

What program would I need to get my music from score form to video game format?

Is there a program where I can write in score format and then maybe save it as whatever format programmers use?

Is there a program where I could import a Finale or Sibelius file and then eventually save it as a file for a video game?


Thank you sooooo much for your help. I am learning stuff already!

Quote: Specifically what formats do programmers use?

Depends on the project and what kind of hardware the game will be played on. Most common are WAV, MP3 and OGG. All of the programs I listed support these kinds of formats. There are also smaller programs that can convert audio into various formats.

Quote: What program would I need to get my music from score form to video game format?

In your notation program you'll need to export your entire score as MIDI format 1. Don't export as MIDI format 0 because it will condense the entire score into one track- which wouldn't help you out. Exporting out to MIDI format 1 keeps the tracks seperate and allows you to then use other instruments and VSTi plugins to re-record your music into digital format.

Quote: Is there a program where I can write in score format and then maybe save it as whatever format programmers use?

Sure, all of the programs I listed would do this for you. There are also MOD trackers which can help as well.

Quote: Is there a program where I could import a Finale or Sibelius file and then eventually save it as a file for a video game?

Yes, all of the programs I listed can import MIDI files. Export your score down as MIDI format 1 and then import it into the new program. Assigning VST plugins differs from program to program and you should first buy the program you want and then I can help you out.

Quote: Thank you sooooo much for your help. I am learning stuff already!

You're most welcome! :)