Xnipes, great questions!

Something that my be important to keep in mind, is that you play guitar. Because of the sheer volume of musicians that play guitar, it would definitely be important for you to be able to distinguish yourself in a unique way - that is, something that makes you marketable.

It may also be a good idea to remember to keep your horizons broad - that is, instead of only focusing on performance for video game recordings, why not think about becoming a studio musician, where you look for work involving movies, video games, tv shows, cartoons, recordings on albums.

Hope this helps a little bit!

jj

Quote: Original post by Xnipes
How would I get started in doing video game music? Like I said I can compose a song or two on guitar but I doubt that companies will want a guitar as their whole soundtrack. I obviously don't have access to a whole orchestra. I have access to things like drums/bass/other guitars but not brass/woodwind instruments.

Guess what.

Most orchestral video game music? Fake. Virtual orchestras. I have a virtual orchestra myself.

Technology 101 for Video Game music.

You either need a DAW like Cubase, Pro Tools, or Logic (where you record layering tracks [which would be the different parts of the orchestra] from a MIDI keyboard or maybe for you, a MIDI guitar) or a Notation Program (where you write music out in sheet music) like Sibelius or Finale (but those are more specialized in printing than audio export). For your needs, I recommend a DAW OR a powerful notation program specialized in audio. It all depends on personal preference. DAWs are usually more powerful, but I find notation programs a bit less intimidating technology-wise (I don't know why), and I prefer to write things out in a score. Try the demos.

For a DAW, I recommend Reaper, which is the cheapest I've seen at $60. Compared to that standard $500 for a DAW, that's dirt cheap. http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ I don't think it comes with orchestra sounds, so you'll have to buy some. The highest quality low-end one I've found: http://garritan.com

For a notation program specialized in audio, I recommend Notion. It's about as powerful as a DAW, and dirt cheap at $100 (I paid $500 for Sibelius, but I need it's powerful print features), which is rare. http://notionmusic.com These comes with orchestra sounds.

Now if you choose a DAW. To record the virtual orchestra sounds INTO the DAW, you'll need a MIDI keyboard controller, which can be a couple hundred. I don't know about a guitar controller.. I'd do a google search.

Yes. The technology is intimidating and expensive, but that's what's there.

Did I miss anything? :D

I am more at home on guitar than keys also.

I started learning keys just for composing, and it's of benefit especially when writing for piano & organ.

I checked this out, it's meant to be alright

http://www.gearwire.com/peterson-sonuusg2m.html

Not too much lag.

If you can get a guitar with midi pickups and a midi converter, that's better, but much more expensive so it might not be worth it.