Music Composition, Anyone?

I've been starting to think of how I can get some really great game music (think Need for Speed SE). My game is still in its infancy, but I'm planning to achieve a quality that might justify a small commercial venture. So with that said… who out there has some experience composing music, or can recommend a good cheap (free is better) software bundle if I were to attempt this myself?



I'm not so much looking for a list of links, but more for a discussion.

There is no wizard tool that helps compositing music.



Though, I have been a pop/rock/heavy composer and I could try some test in other genres. Tell me if you are interested.

I caught my complete novice friend using fruity loops yesterday http://www.flstudio.com/documents/what.html… I dont know the demo / price restrictions though. Trance music is pretty easy to make yourself with a bit of experimentation… Even a single loop at a time will sound musical. Worked well with wipeout!

I think a good choice would be going composer hunting on indi musician webpages and communities. I am sure there are people out there who have talent but no outlet for that. Inspire them with your game idea and they might be ready to help you out. I have heard that it is quite hard to find artists but perhaps it is easier with musicians?

Mindgamer said:
I think a good choice would be going composer hunting on indi musician webpages and communities.

Thats along the same lines of what I was thinking.

jiminy said:

I caught my complete novice friend using fruity loops yesterday http://www.flstudio.com/documents/what.html.. I dont know the demo / price restrictions though. Trance music is pretty easy to make yourself with a bit of experimentation.. Even a single loop at a time will sound musical. Worked well with wipeout!

That looks like a good quality peice of software. I'd hate to go out and buy something though. Would rather find someone already good at it, especially knowing how much time it would take me to be able to create something people wouldn't run away from screaming.

Ender said:

I have been a pop/rock/heavy composer and I could try some test in other genres. Tell me if you are interested.

Definately interested. I'm not to the point talking serious just yet, thats still a few months out. Would you mind explaining your process a little bit? Like how you record it, or do you generate it all on the computer... and I would love to hear a sample whenever you get the chance. I'm not in a hurry though, we've got time. Just thinking about the future.

Has anyone in this community reached the point of finding/making game music and sound effects? I know there are endless numbers of hobby projects out there, but surely a few have reached this point.

I went looking for some tunes for my bowling game awhile back and found slim pickins. There isnt a ton of open source music out there, everyone wants to get paid. I found a couple sites that do have a few songs though, but I cant seem to find again to give the links. I ended up getting a cheap usb keyboard off craigslist and attemting to make some beats myself (yikes).

nymon said:

Ender said:

I have been a pop/rock/heavy composer and I could try some test in other genres. Tell me if you are interested.

Definately interested. I'm not to the point talking serious just yet, thats still a few months out. Would you mind explaining your process a little bit? Like how you record it, or do you generate it all on the computer... and I would love to hear a sample whenever you get the chance. I'm not in a hurry though, we've got time. Just thinking about the future.


I usally work in traditional way for composing phase. I mean paper, pen and inspiration. While I compose I test my ideas personally with any instrument I have in my hands. Sometimes I simply use voice. Finally I start testing them in a more complex arrangement, with other musicians or lonely at home with some software.
Years ago I used Cubase. Now I am making some experimentation with open source software like Ardour, Hydrogen for drums and Jack to connect all together.

Though reaching a realistic quality with software generated sounds is really hard. Some better results can be obtained with sampling.

I will link some examples ASAP.

So your the real deal, a musician. I played trombone for a couple years . XD

I am a multifaceted artist. My interests range from drawing (that is my better skill) to programming.

I am not a classic musician, even if I played clarinetto and piano for an year. My current instrument is bass guitar and i founded a heavy metal band in wich I played for about 15 years. Unfortunatelly here in Italy pop rock and hard rock carriers are almost impossible (the only genres of success are italian pop, dance/disco music and rap, except for some really isolated cases of soft hard rock bands like Litfiba or the singer Ligabue), then I converted it in an hobby and nothing more. Simphonic music and opera, jazz or blues are almost only constrainted to theaters exibitions, but not popular music (to be showed on TV entertinement or radio).

So, even if we have great artists. Like, for example, director Muti we never see them if we do not go to the theater. And theater is too expensive for young people.



Sorry for the OT.



Though, I have some pieces of music I can let you listen… I will send them ASAP.

Hi,



we're Hans HiScore, a company specializing in audio and music for games (www.hans-hiscore.de). I hope this reply is not too late for you. You can see what we can offer below. Please check out our website for references and samples. If you still need music/audio/programming, we would love to hear from you and maybe do our first jMonkey project with you  :).



Services:



  • audio programming: adapting game/audio engines, integrating audio into game

  • consulting: supporting you in picking the best audio/game engine for audio in your game, help incorporating music/sound during game design

  • game music (adaptive or linear): composition > scoring > recording > production > mastering > game engine integration

  • SFX: custom made effects as well as stock sound effects

  • voice overs: several languages



Assets:


  • pro team consisting of a composer (B.A.), an audio engineer and a software engineer

  • well equipped studio in the heart of Frankfurt

  • track record of game music

  • vast network of professional musicians, speakers and partner studios

  • experience in software development processes including developing games (e.g. RUP, agile methods (XP,Scrum,TDD), SCM)

  • knowledge of software development and versioning tools

  • in close contact with developers of audio engines (e.g. Audiokinetic (Microsoft Games), Raise Audio); experience with many audio and game engines (open source and commercial)



Contact:

  • email: info@hans-hiscore.de

  • skype: morgler

  • icq: 100181773

  • phone: +49 151 11616133

  • postal: Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 11-13, 60327 Frankfurt

  • ...or simply reply here in the forum ;)



It's always a pleasure to support great indie game projects  :mrgreen:

Cheers,

Matthias
Hans HiScore Team

@hanshiscore: You guys don't seem to be working for free. Am I right?

You're right, usually we don't work for free. But we also like to support great indie games. So if you got a great game or a creative idea to utilize music in your game, we'll be glad to be part of it - even if that means discounted rates or no compensation at all. Just ask and we'll see what we can do together  :).

Hey,



We've got two plans for Fyrestone's music, which you might like too. First, we just know a ton of great (electronic) musicians. If you don't know any, you might not be able to get music as readily as we, but we've got other sources as well.



First off, www.newgrounds.com is a great place for freelancers to show off their music. All of their music is copyright protected under a nice license provided for them by Newgrounds, but that license allows the composer to create a separate license, if you were going to purchase it, or (if they're just so stoked to have their music in a video game) they could just write you permission to use it.



If you're looking for a do-it-yourself solution, my personal opinion is that Fruityloops is crap (sorry!). Fruityloops may be good if you're going for the really easy-to-make solution, but if you're wanting to make your game a commercial endeavor, I would think you'd be looking for a higher-quality, professional, soundtrack. Use what the pros use, is what I would recommend (if you have the money (or better yet, the BitTorrent)). Check out Reason. They have a huge library of real instruments and (as usual) a huge community of online music-junkies who post their creations. Reason is MIDI editor ONLY, however, so if you're wanting to put some custom vox in your music, you'll have to export your file as a wave (if you're into lossless audio) or as an mp3 (for space consideration) and record some vocals over it.



So none of my solutions are exactly free, but I think that if you spend even a little bit of money you'll end up getting higher-quality music, which is something you should do.



I've been thinking Fyrestone may have to have some cool gadget that allows you to put in your custom playlists to play, instead of game music. One of the reasons I just simply cannot play WoW for more than an hour at a time is because their music makes me want to jump out of my window.

Hi,

I'm a musician / composer / producer.

Been playing the piano for 22 + years.

Been writing stuff for years, started with Octamed to give you an idea.



I'm also a professional Coder (Java, stumbled on this whilst researching jme for my own projects)



Examples of my musical work are here: http://www.myspace.com/enginehousestudios



Sorry about the mp3 quality, myspace is a giant PITA when it comes to compression.



Most of my work these days is more orchestral, but I'd be happy to work on other styles.

I also, own various field recording equipment so I can do sound effects.



I'm happy to work for free on this or any other serious project.  Provided:

A. I'm credited for the music and effects I make and

B. We have some kind of agreement that if you make wads of cash I don't lose out.  Basically I write music for the love of it, but I wouldn't love it if someone made the big time financially and I didn't see a penny.



Hit me with questions or a description of what music you'd like and I can send you a sample or 3.



Dave Elton

Dave, I think you have come to the right place! I hope the day comes soon when I will get to that elusive point of progress with a project that I will be looking for a sound guy. I am bookmarking this thread.

Thanks Nymon,

Glad you like what you heard.

I look forward to hearing from you.