Music Composition
Author
Hello,
I am trying to make my own game music for my games, I use Fl Studio and have some nice realistic insturment soundfonts. Problem is, everytime I try to make something I cant think of something that would sound good. My main question here is whats the best way to make a theme song for a game?
I also have a second question,
what's a good way to make up your own sound effects, such as rain (that sounds real), or something aroudn that style of sound effects, general environment? I tried recording real rain a few times but it turned out really bad and to choppy.
Thanks,
Progames25
Listen, Listen, Listen and more Listening....
That is one of the best ways to learn. Really pay attention to what other people are doing in creating their thematic material and then pretty soon you will see a trend in each one. Not that they are all the same, but that some elements and tricks tend to be used a lot.
The hardest part is listening to stuff you may not like, but if you force yourself to find the good in it, you can then have another color on your palette to work with.
There is some music I dont like really, and some composers that I think may be not that great, BUT, they still have managed to pull something out of thin air and create a feeling and sound. So, in this way I must tip my hat to all.
No theme is bad, although one might work better than another.
The real big one though is to keep writing and practicing. I am sure that every composer out there, myself included, can recall a time when everything just "worked" right away. But, I am sure they have also had those times where they sit and stare and for some reason, things just dont tend to be a very pleasant process. Either way, they still write and create and eventually find what they wanted.
best of luck
steve
That is one of the best ways to learn. Really pay attention to what other people are doing in creating their thematic material and then pretty soon you will see a trend in each one. Not that they are all the same, but that some elements and tricks tend to be used a lot.
The hardest part is listening to stuff you may not like, but if you force yourself to find the good in it, you can then have another color on your palette to work with.
There is some music I dont like really, and some composers that I think may be not that great, BUT, they still have managed to pull something out of thin air and create a feeling and sound. So, in this way I must tip my hat to all.
No theme is bad, although one might work better than another.
The real big one though is to keep writing and practicing. I am sure that every composer out there, myself included, can recall a time when everything just "worked" right away. But, I am sure they have also had those times where they sit and stare and for some reason, things just dont tend to be a very pleasant process. Either way, they still write and create and eventually find what they wanted.
best of luck
steve
Hey, I have the EXACT same problem. I hear all those orchestral game soundtracks and can't even grasp how did the guys come up with that. What "steps" do they use (I know you can't determine exactly something like that, like "steps" to take, but still, everyone has one or other step they use).
So I've created a topic about it, there are some reeeeaally nice tips there, you should take a look:
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=472884
About the recording: you gotta worry about 2 things - equipment, and the source of the sound. As you probably know, most sound effects from movies and other media isn't really the real source of the sound, but what the sound designer creates to give us a more realistic feel to it.
For example, the breaking of bones in movies and games isn't really the sound of bones breaking! usually it's something like Celery being torn apart, twisted etc.
You can't really "come up" with these things, there are tons of associatons already made; and only a professional can teach you that.
About "real" sources, like environment effects like rain, you can't really simulate it (and it would be much easier to just go record the thing already instead of trying to imitate it). So it comes down to what equipment you have. I don't know what you are using to RECORD, but if it's a crappy thing (such as the internal soundcard of notebooks, for example), it generates noise. It is impossible to get a noiseless recording (a Physics fact, actually), but you can dim it out as much as possible using a good recorder (like a HardDisk or Flash Memory or DAT portable field recorders) and a good microphone. Just one thing you need to know beforehand...unfortunately, good quality and pricing come together when dealing with audio equipment, so, the best stuff are certainly the most expensive. You really should be completely aware of what to buy if you want to carry this forward, so you won't go buying stuff that's pricy, but still you won't use because it's not the best, not what the professionals really use.
Read sound recording articles and portable Digital Recorders reviews - there's tons of websites with them and they usually show example recordings.
So I've created a topic about it, there are some reeeeaally nice tips there, you should take a look:
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=472884
About the recording: you gotta worry about 2 things - equipment, and the source of the sound. As you probably know, most sound effects from movies and other media isn't really the real source of the sound, but what the sound designer creates to give us a more realistic feel to it.
For example, the breaking of bones in movies and games isn't really the sound of bones breaking! usually it's something like Celery being torn apart, twisted etc.
You can't really "come up" with these things, there are tons of associatons already made; and only a professional can teach you that.
About "real" sources, like environment effects like rain, you can't really simulate it (and it would be much easier to just go record the thing already instead of trying to imitate it). So it comes down to what equipment you have. I don't know what you are using to RECORD, but if it's a crappy thing (such as the internal soundcard of notebooks, for example), it generates noise. It is impossible to get a noiseless recording (a Physics fact, actually), but you can dim it out as much as possible using a good recorder (like a HardDisk or Flash Memory or DAT portable field recorders) and a good microphone. Just one thing you need to know beforehand...unfortunately, good quality and pricing come together when dealing with audio equipment, so, the best stuff are certainly the most expensive. You really should be completely aware of what to buy if you want to carry this forward, so you won't go buying stuff that's pricy, but still you won't use because it's not the best, not what the professionals really use.
Read sound recording articles and portable Digital Recorders reviews - there's tons of websites with them and they usually show example recordings.
Author
Thanks guys, ill try all that, and thanks Kryzon for that link to your topic, there was a lot of helpful things there.
Thanks,
Progames25
Thanks,
Progames25
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