Lessons With Zuo17

Zach is embarking on the road to writing for games and films, and I've agreed to help him out with questions and piece-specific commentaries to help him get a handle on things.

He writes:

I had a few questions regarding possibly starting up my "home studio".

I've recently got a new desktop computer with a decent amount of memory and with a fast processor. I'm thinking of later this month purchasing some software for music composition. Since I'm on a tight budget, I'm thinking of buying "the Sonar Home Studio 7 XL". It's the cheapest(rather than dishing out $400 for the Sonar studio regular) software that I can really afford right now. I'm taking into consideration that I am going to college by summer, so I don't need to really spend all my resources on building something at my house(that I will move out soon)). I just want to get something to "play" with and experiment on. Do you think getting Sonar Home Studio 7 XL is worth the $160?

I'm having a difficult time trying to compose music and effects for specfic moods. What exercises shoukd I do to help me develop the ability to compose music with the "mood" and atmospheric feeling in mind?

Finally, did you have any suggestions for any free music software on the internet I could download and test drive?

Thanks again,

Zach

Hey Zach,

Studio setup is an important thing to consider, so before you purchase any software, I would download the trials of the alternatives you'll be looking at.

There's Sonar, there's Cubase, there's Digital Performer, there's ProTools, and there's Reaper. In terms of functionality and price, the best bet out of those is probably Reaper — it's also open-source, so it evolves and gets features and fixes added at a much higher rate than the rest. What it comes down to is interface and workflow....all these DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) do the same thing and have all the same features, and if there are differences in functionality it's at a level beyond what would concern this level of work. So the reason I'm suggesting you try them all out before buying any one of them is so that you get a feel for how each one looks and how you work within it, so that when the time comes to buy you're getting the one that feels most intuitive to you. One other advantage to Reaper is that you'll spend VERY little money (comparatively) on it, so you can use the rest to fund the purchase of a good sample library, like EWQLSO Silver or GPO4, or one of the other entry-level packages.

To answer your first question directly, I wouldn't go for Sonar myself because I don't like it compared to some of the others...I used to use Sonar exclusively, back when it was still Cakewalk, and up until it became Sonar, but since then I've found that it doesn't feel right for me. It's a good package, but not what I would choose — so again, try some different things out and see what you like best.

"Mood" and "atmosphere" are totally useless terms to aim for directly, so let's start with that. Don't aim for a "mood" because they're ambiguous and open to interpretation. What you need to focus on, if you're going to write to picture or for games, is learning to react to the material in a musical way. Watch it, integrate it into your subconscious, and then write the music that reflects your reaction to it — it makes it personal, and even if not everyone reacts the same way, your music will have a certain underlying legitimacy to it that doesn't occur when you're simply saying "Krug think picture sad. Krug write sad music. Sad music in minor keys. Krug write raised 7ths" and so on.

In terms of exercises then, the best thing you could do is find yourself some segments of films or games that you identify with and begin learning how to watch them; before you really start writing for them, you need to learn how to experience them in such a way as to let you get past the superficial elements of "I like this, I don't like this, the acting sucks, etc". Those are fine if you're just watching for enjoyment, but if you're contributing, then you need to figure out the underlying mechanics, the message, the elements that are significant to your musical expression: the elements that will feed and inform that expression. You will inevitably end up working on projects with some or all parts of the production values so abhorrent that they make your eyes water....unfortunately, you still need to understand and react to them in a supportive manner.

Those are more difficult though. So for now, find things you actually don't mind, or like, and watch them carefully. Learn to watch the same segment many times and focus on something different each time: how are the actors emoting? How does the set influence the feel of the scene? Is it intimate or spacious? What is the lighting suggesting? What's the subtext beneath the dialogue? What function does this segment serve the entire plot? Once you learn to keep an eye out for those things, you'll find it easier and easier to identify with the message of a scene or segment of gameplay and therefore be able to react to it musically in a way that's legitimate and supportive of the material. Sometimes, if the scene really speaks to you, you'll begin to hear some fragmentary musical accompaniment right off the bat — nurture that, because it's often the most honest musical reaction. Other times, the material leaves you completely inert and you have to struggle to get it, but the process is the same. One important thing to mention is that, no matter how many times you see a film or gameplay segment, you'll only ever see it the first time once.

That first time you see it is the most important: it's hugely important, in fact, because it is the only time you're seeing it the way the audience will initially see it. Therefore, whatever you come up with must be conscious of the very first impressions you got from the scene. If you end up writing music that fits the scene perfectly but requires them to view it two or three times before they understand the connection, the music will be less accessible to them on that first viewing and therefore end up being interpreted as less successful. There is a delicate balance between accessibility and intellectual value in film music, and the scale tends to tilt dangerously toward the superficial. If you want to challenge yourself, aim to always cover some aspects of both sides. Make the music accessible at first listen, but also connect it to the scene in more subtle ways so that subsequent viewings/listenings will reveal deeper connections. This makes the score immediately satisfying, as well as imbuing it with a timelessness that makes your audience appreciate it (consciously or not) in the long run, instead of simply forgetting it. That quality of timelessness contributes very much to how memorable your score is; people tend to assume it's always a catchy melody that makes a score timeless, but it isn't just that. You can have a score that remains with an audience without having it blatantly melodic, simply because of the strength of its integration with the visuals and/or interactive environment.

So by all means try and emulate specific "moods", but before you do that, learn to understand how flexible terms like that are and learn to react to the material on a deeper level than a simple audience will so that you can capture and reflect the moods of the project in a natural manner, without forcing or stereotyping it.

As for free music software, it's everywhere. Google is your friend. As I said, there are demos available for most of the major DAWs and you'd do well to try them out before settling on one for purchase...you will spend a LOT of time with your DAW, so make sure you get along with it before you take any financial plunges.

I will keep this thread available for your further questions and piece critiques. :happy:

Lots of good stuff here Marius! :)

This definitely helped me understand more of what DAW to buy and how I can compose better in terms of incidental music!

Here are a few more questions:

1. Is it necessary to buy a VST(are they called that? GPO4 and EWQLSO) when I get Reaper or Sonar?

2. Do you have any recommendations of some good film and video game music scores/ soundtracks I can listen to when I stroll into the wonderful woods of Youtube?

Thanks,

Zach

1. Some DAWs will have plugins built in, but they're not generally good enough when it comes to orchestral music at least to use in final productions, so yes you'd need to buy separate virtual instruments. Buying the full version of Kontakt is probably your best bet...for a fair price, you get a huge selection of very useable and good sounding instruments, plus access to the industry-standard sampler.

2. Nope! if you want to trawl YouTube, then search for soundtracks and listen to EVERYTHING you find. Then you can judge what you think works, what doesn't, and why.