Hey guys,

I've published a new article about the importance of really listening (like a new, first time listener would) when composing a piece of music. I hope you enjoy it and welcome any feedback/discussion.

http://madsenstudios.com/info/dont-just-compose-listen/

Thanks!

Nate

Nice article. I think I'm sometimes guilty of the changing themes too quickly thing. It can sometimes be hard to tell objectively rather or not you're pushing a particular melody or section too far when you have to hear it so many times during production. I think even the more experienced can make errors like this. This is why I make it a point never to share or publish a track until I've given my ears a break from it for a bit.

Anyway, nice article! Thanks for sharing.

It can sometimes be hard to tell objectively rather or not you're pushing a particular melody or section too far when you have to hear it so many times during production. I think even the more experienced can make errors like this.

Exactly! We, as the composer (and often the producer and mixer) get way over exposed to our material. Much moreso than a regular listener would. Glad you liked it!

Yes, it's a good article.

But I think we must listen to our music not only as a listeners, but as a gamers. We create music for games and it is very important to be a gamer first. How would gamers listen to the theme? Will it interfere with the gameplay and irritate people? Will they remember the leitmotif or just dive into the atmosphere, created by our track?

It is very difficult issue. But I think that it is as hard as simple

Excellent point! I should have touched on this actually because it's very valid. I've run across composers who were excellent in the film/stage realm but had zero understanding of the technical/interactive aspect when it comes to games.

Will it interfere with the gameplay and irritate people?

Of course some of this is out of our controls as composers. I've had clients that literally had 15 seconds worth of streamable music as their audio data budget. It doesn't matter how great 15 seconds of music is... after a while it's gonna get irritating! So in these situations I try to advocate most instance based music cues instead of streaming/looping music that's ever present.

Implementation is such a huge part of game audio... much more critical than the content in many ways. What I'm getting at is a decent track implemented well can do fine for and support the gaming experience. A great track implemented poorly can easily get in the way.

Great article Nathan! I think the key point is to limit your material while composing and instead squeeze everything out of it with the use of re-harmonization/orchestration/variations etc, just like you said. I read an interview with a really good composer (can't remember who though) and he said that the main problem he saw with his students was that they wrote too much music for each composition.

Best regards

Jon