At first glance, this suggestion seems bizarre, almost blasphemous, but Steve Horowitz's smile is more Cheshire Cat than Mad Hatter. He repeats that claim as co-author and fellow musician Scott Rooney nods in agreement. “Game music is the new American songbook,” Horowitz says.
If your idea of a game is to pull out your old backgammon set or settle in for a night of Monopoly, get ready to dive down the rabbit hole. Horowitz and Rooney explore the vast gaming frontier that attracts a wide variety of composers, from ambitious students looking to break into the gaming industry to established artists versed in jazz, contemporary classical music, songcraft, and electronica. I would like to talk about. It's the intersection of cutting-edge technology and composition driven by economics that dwarfs Hollywood.
Music created to accompany and enhance the quests, missions, adventures, and world-building that unfold within a game extends beyond the digital realm. “It sounds strange to say, but the new American songbook that kids want to play comes from this game music,” Horowitz said, noting that there are bands and jam sessions that specialize in game music. He also pointed out that there are websites that specialize in game music. lead sheet For this music.
Vocalist, pianist and radio host Jennifer Miller Hummel is gaining fans on her Classic California streaming channel Arcade.We've recorded hours of today's and yesterday's music for interactive media, as well as classical music used in games and inspiring today's composers. ”
This point was made clear last month at a reception at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where Horowitz and Rooney unveiled their groundbreaking new textbook. Theory and practice of writing game musicIt is based on their hands-on experience as game composers and Horowitz's popular course on game composition at San Francisco State University.
In February, SFCM announced Horowitz's appointment. That's why Karen Looper, executive director of the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program and SFCM junior, performed an impressionistic solo piano medley. game prologue celesteby lena rain and Moody “Drifter” counter strikeby Mark Levine — 2 of 6 composers (or video link) Cha Chi Minh Recital Hall Answer core questions from students. Some of the composers were in town to attend his five-day game developer conference, held at the Moscone Center from March 18th to the 22nd.
This is an interesting moment for the video game industry. After a huge wave of growth during the pandemic, the company has been hit with a wave of layoffs, and demand for digital entertainment appears to be bottomless. Still, according to industry reports, total US consumer spending on video game content in 2023 will reach $57.2 billion, an increase of 1% from the previous year (the global gaming economy is more than three times its size). His 10-year TAC program at SFCM has been a pioneer, and just as Horowitz and Rooney's textbook is the first of its kind, many other music schools are also now incorporating this vast world into their curriculums. We are starting to consider incorporating it into the .
“In terms of gaming music education, we're kind of in the same place that jazz education was in the 1960s,” Horowitz says. “Adding a jazz class at SF State in 1968 was a big deal. Every school now has a jazz program. When it comes to grading film scores, the conservatory says, 'Oh my God, you're muddying the waters.' There was a time when people looked at things like, We started working on this very early. We're right on the cusp, but we expect it to start changing rapidly. ”
In the process of rethinking and redesigning TAC, Horowitz appears to have hit the ideal spot. SF State's limited access to expensive new technology and reluctance to partner with private companies “couldn't work with Dolby and put the Dolby logo on the project,” Horowitz said. . SFCM President David Stull, who stopped by the book party to introduce the new executive director, “is a genius at these public-private partnerships,” Horowitz said. “These facilities are substandard. There are no other programs like this in the world.”
There are too many angles of game music to cover in one article or book, but one takeaway from a textbook that features a series of case studies focusing on various composers is that many of the industry's musicians intersect with the world of jazz and contemporary classical music. “I can't tell you how many friends of CalArts and Mills I have who work in the games industry,” says experimentally-minded pianist and composer who studied with Morton Subotnick, David Rosenboom, Frederick Rzewski, Roscoe Mitchell and Wada. says Rooney, who is home. Leo Smith. “It's a legitimate art form. A trio of musicians are performing Nintendo song at Grace Cathedral tomorrow night. “
Rooney and Horowitz, bassists who studied composition with Subbotnik and Mel Powell at CalArts, are making unique contributions to the up-and-coming scene. fantasy kingdomis a quirky album of experimental remixes of Japanese video game music featuring saxophonist Dan Plonsey and drummer Jim Bove. Most of the themes are taken from widely popular games such as: street fighter ii, Final Fantasy III & IVand the same name Kingdom hearts. However, Rooney emphasizes that “there are millions of different types of games and approaches.”
One of the composers who participated in the release commemorative event, rich Vreeland created the score mini metroa game that allows users to create their own transportation systems. “Each element forms a tone, and you can build a composition by building a transit system,” Rooney says. “This is serial music, what is it applied to?” [Olivier] with Messiaen [Arnold] Schoenberg was like that. ”
The marriage of high modernism and video games may seem jarring, but film composers long ago incorporated these concepts and techniques into other art forms, and once “serious” critics There were times when I was ignored because of all the attention I received. The students Horowitz teaches today are largely untroubled by outdated hierarchies. He recently finished auditioning about 100 students for SFCM. ”“We have people from incredibly diverse backgrounds,” he says.
“Some trained concert pianists want to leverage technology to enhance their compositions. Some are singer-songwriters. Some are interested in writing for movies or games. There's no such thing as uptown and downtown for them. They want to write string quartets for games and movies. There are no boundaries.”
