Singer, pianist, record artist and avid gamer Jennifer Miller Hammel Hopefully video game music is given the respect it deserves, the idea is still gaining debate from some parts of the classical music world. She makes a strong reason for her proper place in the ecosystem through video games and classical music streaming channels arcadea non-commercial part Classical California KDFC/KUFC radio station.
Miller Hammel formed an always reliable argument about why video game music should be considered legitimate artistic endeavors, with the same complexity and considerations as other classical works. It doesn’t necessarily see it as something new that must struggle to this huge stage. Instead, it sees video game music as a natural expansion of the field. That’s why Miller Hammel’s decision to include neoclassical works that inspired video game music was so clever and so necessary. It further consolidates its interconnectedness.
If you have any questions about the power of music in a video game, consider doing an early mission Medal of Honor: Frontline for PlayStation 2 It is called “Eye of the Storm”. This is the secret style level in the submarine docking pen in Lorient, France. You can use a small piece of weapon, but if you play the card you can complete the task from the shadow with a sniper rifle.
You are destroying the U-boat to weaken the Nazi underwater operation. The task could have been scored to emphasize its stealth. But not. composer Michael Giacchino ((Batman,,,,, Incredible) At this level, one of the best works in the game. It’s called “Border Town,” a methodical and rhythmic work that combines subtle moments driven by the soft wind and string sector, followed by sound-intensive interventions built into an exciting ending where the player feels like he’s the only reason that an ally won World War II.
This is one of the most impressive and shocking moments in a video game, and it’s the score that seals it. There are more examples of this effect, including strong emotional works in classic RPGs, such as Final Fantasy VII (go through nobuo uemontsu), a dark ominous track made for the game Zelda: Breathing in the wild ((Hajima Wakai,,,,, It’s definitely Cataroyaand Yasuaki Iwata). All of these pieces get a lot of call time on the arcade, and once you start back to the station, it’s hard to get away from it.
Miller Hammel’s success on the arcade leads to live recordings with composers Steven Horowitz The title of March 14 is Arcade live broadcast!. It features music World of Warcraft and unknown and iconic works such as Wagner“Valkyrie’s Riding” and Vivaldi“Four Seasons”. It’s a loud statement about the mission of the show and the future that can be made. Beat Sit down with Miller Hammel and discuss video game music, source stories and favorite scores as much as possible.
Ricardo Serrano: When it comes to video game music, we all have our origin stories. The one who really attracted me was NBA jam. As a kid, it played this game on the arcade and it reminded me of NBC and NBA on the TNT Intro theme, while also capturing that sleek, soul-infused sound of basketball. Which record or separate work did it for you?
Jenniffer Miller Hammel: I always appreciate the music of the game. Of course, I like the classic return Which apartmentMusic by Mario and Zelda. But I think the person who really lets me understand the epic game music Jack WallMusic of music myst 3: Exile. I’m a mystery Fans are the first game releases since 1993. when myst 3 Come out and I picked up the large collector version that came with the soundtrack. Actually, when the competition is released, I should have been studying abroad in Italy for a month. I bought it and left the next day. But I brought music with me to listen to it, so I could feel the game and where the game was going.
It definitely made my imagination turn. I knew then that video game music might be like anything you see in a big movie, or a big TV show. It really reminds me of how big these scores can go? So I started falling down that rabbit hole.
I’m a big adventure game guy. I’ll continue playing games The longest journey and Siberia And found that the scores of these games were incredible too. I really started to focus more on music. I’ve never seen genre musically because I grew up in a very musically diverse family, which also helped. To me, good music is just good music. This is not classical music, not game music, not movie music, but good music. This is another way I can add more music to the rotation.
Serrano: There is an idea, more traditional genre compliance, that makes video games an escapist form of classical music. This is to reduce work by creating different categories like Brahmin or Debussy. You obviously don’t see the need for that route. How do you object to this?
Miller Hammel: First, I would love to sit down and do a blind taste test on them. Say to them, Dvorak“Rondo of the cello”. This is a beautiful and beautiful work. Then play the main theme after that Austin WintoryThe score of travel and flow See if they can tell the difference.
I mean, one sounds more modern, but does a screaming game concert scream than the other? I think the reaction comes from the fact that they know it is video game music, so they think it’s something that should be sitting in the background rather than paying attention to.
To be fair, after talking to many composers working in this industry, there is a balanced act where you really have to create some music for the game and not necessarily the music you want or want it to be. For example, I think music is Final Fantasy: Crisis Core DLC is great, but when you try to play and focus on the game, it’s too far in front and center. With some games, the music is indeed a bit hanging in the background. But I will still challenge these people to blindly try to speak out the differences. I think there is a foreseeable idea that you are listening to a game that will somehow start your brain.
I’ll tell them to listen to game music, as if they’re listening Beethoven Piano Sonata or Schubert symphony. I keep telling people that if Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi and Beethoven are working today, that’s what they’re going to write. Because they write music. They wrote about the position of their jobs. In their time, it was writing court music and grand operas, which is something of these lines. You will write about weddings and coronations. Today, the money for music is in entertainment, especially in games.
Serrano: You have recently brought a very successful radio show, arcadeto the audience. What was surprised by the experience? Is there anything particularly unexpected?
Miller Hammel: I had a great opportunity to work with our friends at the San Francisco Conservatory where they have an incredible program: the Technology and Applied Composition Program or the TAC Program. It trains tomorrow’s commercial music composers. Students in this program can work in movie ratings, TV ratings, and game ratings. They went through the entire development cycle, working with student game developers for audio design and music design.
That was one of the things that impressed me with the whole process behind Arcade Live, and we were able to use the students at the school to make these brand new arrangements for this incredible classical music. They arranged for “Riding Liberals” for both pianos, one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard.
We then have to pair older pieces with game music to establish their correspondence to see the impact and connection. There is this called Sick tarantellathis is a work that discovered its roots centuries ago, this dance is a spider-inspired dance, with Undertale (Depend on Shirobon). To hear the sounds of these two works adjacent to each other and to hear their writing 200 years apart, even though their connection is how closely they are, it reinforces the belief that this music is more closely related than one might think. Then I saw the audience’s reaction because we had a studio audience of about 40 people and about half of them had never been to a concert playing music music, which was very surprising and reiterated for me.
Serrano: If you could provide a playlist of short songs, works or full scores to draw people into video game music (always to get tickets to concerts), what would you include?
Miller Hammel: Well, first of all, I want to say go to the arcade. That’s a great place to start. I’ll promote myself here because you really do spend hours of music enjoying and losing yourself. They put them together, about 80% of game music, 20% of classical music, which have been used in video games or influenced them.
But I want to say, if you really just want to start and don’t necessarily have to go through all the arcades, check out the music Jessica Curry. She is a great British composer who does a lot of work in the world of independent gaming. She did a lot of work with the orchestra and the choir. This is the best music you will hear. Actually, this inspired me to create arcades. She created music Amnesia: Pig’s Machine, Dear Estherand Everyone went ecstasy.
Austin Wintory is another great composer. Music he creates for music travel are some of the best examples that games in this field can accomplish. inonhis score fall out and Starfieldis another sure bet. He did a great job of scoring Siberia: The World Beforebasically turning it into a piano concerto. There are just some very, very good composers out there. And then, of course, you have Wilbert Rogert II. He is a big name. Recently, he’s engaged in Hell 2 and Star Wars: Illegal. Of course, Jack Wall.
Serrano: A reward question. From a classical music perspective, how are 8-bit and 16-bit music suitable for the music field of video games?
Miller Hammer: This is a good question. Let me think about it Giant man a lot of. So, there have been a lot of orchestras that have made orchestral covers of 8-bit and 16-bit music lately in the old NES era, and it’s really fun to see how the music is translated as a whole. Just consider the Castlevania series, all the possibilities there.
You probably won’t hear more synthetic content on the arcade because of the way you program it. Arcades are designed to attract more orchestral listeners. But when you hear the score Devil’s City,,,,, mega man 2,,,,, Marioand Zelda Be translated into a band and then open it for us. It’s incredible to listen to those ancient iconic sounds explained by the full band. I always pay attention to this.
