作者：Moritz Katz

我曾有一篇文章获得了众多建设性的反馈，其中要特别提及的是Gamedev.net音乐和音效主管Nathan Madsen。我询问他能否在本系列文章中引用他的观点，他同意了这个做法。

包括Nathan在内的多数人希望我能够将事物解析得更细致些。我会尽力在以下的文章尽力实现这一点，同时保证其能够为那些有抱负的音乐师和开发者所理解。

那么这篇文章的主题是什么呢？我主要想讨论的是你要如何处理已证实有效的cliché和参考资料。

对制作人和作曲者来说，参考资料都是个无价的工具，因为它们提供了交流的方法。多数制作人或音频主管都有自己的一套稳定的参考资料流程。每个人都听过诸如史诗般、吓人、激动以及我最爱的饱满之类的术语。尽管这些词汇能够提供指导，但制作人心中所想的音乐篇章才是真正能够信服的东西。

当然，作曲者最好能够准确知道自己要做的东西是什么，而不是自己泡在工作室花数小时时间努力去做猜想。

有些制作人会让音乐师自由发挥，有些制作人有着自己中意的音效。根据我自身的经验，处在上述二者之间的产品数量最多。

那么我们该如何处理参考资料呢？通常这项工作相当复杂，尤其是当提供的参考资料种类各异时，较为合理的做法是将其分为以下四类：

节奏

乐章的拍子（如92 BPM或缓慢等）

节拍（如4/4或5/8等）

长度/间隔/音符值

关键节奏动机（3-2 clave或非传统强调等）

节奏细分（最小的决定性音符值，如16或8等）

以上所提及事物的其他类别（如进度变更或半场中止等）

谐音和改编

普通音调（如小调、lydian调或无调等）

谐音改变（如II-V-I或只有一个谐音等）

弦结构和声音（如三和音等）

和音和非和音

关键谐音动机（如中音弦或四度音弦等）

以上所提及事物的其他类别（如转调或声音改变等）

曲调

普通音调（游戏邦注：或许与谐音音调有所差别，如五音或全音符范围等）

曲调范围（如C2-E3）

单音/多音

关键曲调动机（如呼叫回应等）

呈现（游戏邦注：如微妙或完全呈现等）

以上所提及事物的其他类别（如范围的改变或音调的改变等）

谱曲和音效

已用的谱曲和音效（如人工合成乐或管弦乐等）

整个音轨或某个器乐的频繁变化和响应

动态回应（如压缩或高动态等）

感觉空间的安排（如L/R全景或环绕，反响等）

以上所提及事物的其他类别（如器乐的改变或音量增加等）

以上这些分类加上分析性的倾听，能够让你的音乐准确无误地与参考资料保持一致，也为你提供了用于交流的清晰术语。当然，并非每个资料中都包含上述要点。比如，只由高合成器组成的环境可能并没有节奏或曲调特征。

当然，以上所有这些观点都必须仔细检查，99.5%的用户对音乐的想法来源于第一印象。

那么，当你将节奏、谐音、曲调和音效放在一起时，会发生什么事呢？

你会得到一首传达那些简单因素所决定的某种情绪的音乐。

在上篇文章中，我对视频游戏音乐所传达的情绪描写如下：“VGM（电子游戏音乐）有着不同的情绪。你能在电影中找到与《俄罗斯方块》相似的音轨吗？绝对找不到。情绪（游戏邦注：可视为一种交流设计术语）也会在游戏过程中有众多i改变，尤其是在冒险和RPG题材游戏中。”

Nathan Madsen对此评述道：“《俄罗斯方块》原版游戏所使用的音乐并非特意为游戏编写，这种音乐很大众化（游戏邦注：也就是可自由用于多种游戏中），因而这一点与你所谓的VGM有不同情绪相冲突。此类音乐之一，1860年用于戏剧演出中的俄罗斯曲调《Kalinka》随后成为了传统的大众曲调。同样的，Nutcracker的《Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy》也成了芭蕾舞曲目，这首曲子的出现也早于《俄罗斯方块》。因而我不同意你的观点，VGM并没有不同的情绪。电子游戏中的许多核心情绪都可以用于其它媒体，包括书籍、电影、戏剧和电视剧。对我来说，情绪包括愤怒、紧张、高兴和神秘感等。许多书籍、图画小说和电影都来源于视频游戏。不同媒介间情绪的转变很容易，因而电子游戏音乐并非有着与众不同的情绪。”

当然，Nate的想法是对的，我应该找个比《俄罗斯方块》更好的例子。但如果我能找到某款音乐历史悠久的游戏，最终得出的结论会是：电子游戏音乐之所以只能成为电子游戏音乐，其原因在于技术上的限制。

但是，音效难道是视频游戏音乐差异化的唯一因素吗？VGM和电影音乐的差异难道只存在于过去吗？

为找出以上问题的答案，我做了个小实验。我向某些自己认识的人播放电影音乐和游戏音乐，这些人既不是音乐师也不是狂热的游戏玩家。有些音乐来自于当前的游戏和电影，有些音乐是我目前正在制作的电视纪录片和游戏项目的音乐。然后我向这些人询问同样的问题：这是电子游戏音乐还是电影音乐？

90%的人能够区分VGM和电影音乐，即便是那些质量做得很不错的游戏音乐（游戏邦注：如《战场女武神3》和《死亡空间2》等）。

诚然，这种小型的家庭测试根本不能算作学术研究，但它足以让我重新思考问题。我得出的结论很简单。原因不在于电子游戏有着非同寻常的情绪，而在于它们有着独特的cliché。

接下来让我来详尽说明这个问题。首先，什么是cliché呢？cliché指某些容易识别且经常使用的东西，在我们这一行指的是每个人都可以不知不觉的音乐表达方法。

cliché和情绪紧密相连，但并不是同一种事物，我认为cliché是种传达情绪的简单方法。也就是说，cliché的形式多种多样。它可以是某种节奏，可以是某种谐音结构，可以是熟悉的音乐曲调或某些游戏题材独有的音效。后文中，将以具体实例来解释这些问题。

当然，cliché也有些消极的作用。使用正确数量的改编和器乐是个艰难的举措。事实上，如果你想要真正创造出某些个性化的东西，就要当心不可让音乐过于陈腐老套或平淡乏味。如果你无法满足玩家在某些游戏场景中的期望，那么游戏就会变得相当抽象。

以下是某些处理cliché的方法：

避免cliché

在处理新音效和改编时需要提起注意力。某些优良的音效和诸如Soniccouture、Tonehammer或Sample Logic的团队都应该引起你的注意。但是，你也可以构筑自己的范例库。出于此目的，我经常随手携带一部Zoom手持录音机。我用它录下了地铁声音、鸟叫声、超市环境和厨房等声音，留作后用。这种实验性做法对改编想法也有所益处。你可以每天尝试些新鲜事物。用不同的谐音来改编单个曲调音符（游戏邦注：就像Tom Jobim在《Samba de Uma Nota Só》A部分所做的那样）。

做与cliché相反的事情。想象下在某FPS界面中，玩家在一堆坦克和士兵身后奔跑，躲开枪弹和埋着地雷的地区，放倒所有挡在他面前的敌人，带着自己信赖的反坦克导弹冲向自己的目标。在此场景的背景中，播放的却是Mr. Bean唱诗班主题的《Ecce homo qui est faba》。

与游戏艺术和可玩性紧密配合。从荧幕上发生的事情上获得灵感。如果游戏的艺术和可玩性很独特，那么你的音乐也应该是这样子的。寻找独特的功能和创新之处，尝试用你的音乐来强调。我们在谈到互动音乐时会更深入地讨论这部分的内容。

接触各种音乐和组合。各种VGM音乐间并没有明显的界限。找到适合你的转变题材。许多人会使用模板，也就是预先准备他们最喜欢的器乐。就我个人而言，我不喜欢这种做法，因为它们会限制我个人的创意性。当然，我也有自己的风格和做法，但实现目标的方式却多种多样，没有一种方法是万能的。

随心所欲，发挥灵感。这是我最为强调的地方。就我个人而言，我看到许多成功的作曲者都会打开模拟乐器或抓过一把吉他然后随心所欲地弹奏。从我们的角度来说，这种做法能够帮助我们打开某些概念性艺术想法，在弹奏中审视这些想法。这就是他们这么做的目标所在。努力找到那些适合的节奏和音效，或许你就能想出某些独特且连贯的音乐来。

利用cliché

从cliché中吸取经验的唯一方法是，倾听并利用它们。出生于伦敦的爵士乐作曲者Frank Sikora是高级谐音理论“Neue Jazz-Harmonielehre”的发明人，他这样描述学习的过程：“你只能在发现自我中学习并得到成长。”也就是说，你必须不断重复cliché才能将它变成自己的财富，将其与个人想法联系恰里。还有个真相在于：只有你能识别cliché，你才能避开cliché。这也是为何了解历史和尽量从过往作曲中学习更多内容的原因所在。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Thoughts on Video Game Music, Part II: Knowing Your History

Moritz Katz

I got a lot of constructive feedback on the last article, in particular by Nathan Madsen, who some of you may know as the Music and Sound moderator over at Gamedev.net. I asked him if I may quote some of his points throughout this series and he agreed.

Most of you, Nathan included, wished for a more detailed take on things. I will do my best to make the contents of the following articles more informative while keeping it intelligible to aspiring musicians and developers.

Writing yet another recap of how VGM developed would be redundant, as you can indeed find a lot of articles about that. Wikipedia rounds it up pretty well.

So what is this article about? Mainly, I want to talk about how you can deal with established clichés and references.

References are an invaluable tool for both producers and composers as they provide means of communication. Most producers or audio directors will keep a steady flow of reference material of their own accord, but should the composer or the client have doubts whether the general direction of the musical piece in question is right, swapping tracks that catch the mood of the desired track is generally a better way than just rhetoric dialogues. Everyone has heard terms like epic, spooky, action-packed or my personal favorite: fat. While these words can provide a first pointer, an actual musical piece comparable to what the producer has in mind is far more conclusive.

And it’s of course better for a composer to know what to do before he spends several hours in his studio doing guesswork.

Some producers may give the musician free rein, some may desire sound-alikes. In my experience, the in-between is the most productive.

So how do we deal with reference material? Often, especially when multiple reference tracks are provided, things become really complex and it’s reasonable to distinguish the following four categories:

Rhythm

- Tempo of the piece (e.g. 92 BPM; adagio)

- Meter (e.g. 4/4; 5/8)

- Length/duration/value of notes

- Critical rhythmic motives (e.g. 3-2 clave; off-beat emphasis)

- Rhythmic subdivision (the smallest determining note value, e.g. 16th; 8th)

- Changes to any of the above mentioned items (e.g. tempo change; half-time feel)

Harmony and Arrangement

- General tonality (e.g. minor; lydian; atonal)

- Harmonic changes (e.g. II-V-I; just one harmony throughout)

- Chord structure and voicings (e.g. triads; block chords; drop 2)

- Consonance and Dissonance

- Critical harmonic motives (e.g. mediant chords; quartal chords)

- Changes to any of the above mentioned items (e.g. modulation; change of voicing)

Melody

- General tonality (may differ from harmonic tonality, e.g. pentatonic; whole-note scale)

- Melodic range (e.g. C2-E3)

- Monophony/Polyphony

- Critical melodic motives (e.g. call-and-response; hookphrases)

- Presence (e.g. subtle; very present)

- Changes to any of the above mentioned items (e.g. drastic change of range; change of tonality)

Instrumentation and Sound

- Instruments and Sounds used (e.g. synthesized drums; orchestral strings)

- Frequency range and response of either overall track or individual instruments (e.g. muffled/low-filtered; boxy/resonance in low mids; thin/high-passed)

- Dynamic response (e.g. compressed; highly dynamic)

- Placement in the perceived room (L/R panorama/surround, reverb)

- Changes to any of the above mentioned items (e.g. drastic change of instrumentation; drastic increase in volume)

This, combined with quite some practice in analytical hearing, gives you some unmistakable points to compare your music with the reference material. It also provides you with unambiguous terms to communicate. Of course, not every single point is covered in every musical piece. For example, an atmo consisting only of a high synthesizer pad may not have any rhytmical or melodical features other than “on-existant”at all.

By the way, you’re welcome to write me if you think I’ve missed something vital!

Of course, all of these points also have to be reviewed coherently – 99.5% of consumers will not give the music a second or even a third thought when playing the game.

So what happens when you put rhythm, harmony, melody and sound together?

Easy – you get a musical piece that conveys a certain mood that is determined by those single factors.

In the last article, I wrote the following about moods in video game music:

“VGM has different moods. Do you know a movie with a soundtrack similar to Tetris? …didn’t think so! Also, ”moods” (a communication design term, more on that later!) might change quite a bit during the course of a game, especially in the Adventure / RPG genre.”

Here’s what Nathan Madsen wrote in response:

“The music used in original Tetris wasn’t written for the game – it was music that was public domain (therefore could be used freely) in the game so this point conflicts with your statement that VGM has different moods. This music, for example the Russian tune “Kalinka” was used in a theatrical performance in 1860 then later became a traditional folk tune. Likewise the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker was part of a ballet and written well before Tetris came out. So I disagree with your point – VGM doesn’t have different moods. Many of the core moods found in video games easily translate to other media including books, films, plays and TV shows. Moods, to me, include anger, tension, joy, mysterious, etc. Just look at home many books, graphic novels and films have been made from video games. The moods easily transfer over – so video game music doesn’t have different moods.”

Of course Nate is right, and I could have picked a better example than Tetris. But even if I had picked a game whose most recognizable soundtrack wasn’t written by Tchaikovsky or the likes, I should have ended up with the same realization: the only reason video game music used to sound like video game music is because of the technical limitations. Kōji Kondō, for example, wanted the lead melody of the classic NES Super Mario tune to sound like steel drums – and ended up with the familiar bleepy sounds everyone can identify with VGM. Apart from that, you could describe the mood of that piece like you could describe the mood of a cartoon or movie soundtrack: lively, jolly, maybe even carribean.

But is the sound really the only factor making a difference? Is the whole differenciation of VG music and film music just a vain retro/nostalgic thing of the past?

To answer these questions, I’ve performed a little experiment where I played some movie tracks and some game tracks to people I know, people who are neither musicians nor avid gamers, I might add. Some of the music was soundtracks of current games and movies, some of it was what I’m currently working on for a TV documentation or for my current game project. I’d always ask the same question: “Video game music or film music?”

Roughly in 9 out of 10 cases, people were able to tell the VG music from the film music, even in the cases where the VG soundtrack has quasi-blockbuster quality. (e.g. Valkyria Chronicles III, Dead Space 2)

Granted, you can hardly call this little home experiment academic, but it made me rethink the matter. The explanation I came up with is simple. The reason for this is not that video games have different moods.

VG music has some distinct clichés.

Let me elaborate. First, what exactly are clichés? A cliché is something recognizable and frequently used, in our case a musical phrase or expression everyone can identify, even unknowingly.

Clichés and moods are closely linked, but not one and the same thing – I like to think of clichés as a simple way to convey a mood. That said, a cliché can be any feature. It can be a certain rhythm, a certain kind of harmonic structure, a familiar sounding melody or a genre-typical sound. We’ll deal with some particular examples in the next part of this series.

Of course clichés have some negative connotations. Using the right amount of stereotype arrangement and instrumentation can be a tightrope walk – indeed, you have to be careful not to make your musical piece “trite” or “hackneyed” or just plain uninteresting if you have the aspiration to create something truly individual. On the other side, your music might become all too abstract if you don’t answer any expectations the player might have from a certain game scenario.

Here are some ideas on dealing with clichés:

Avoiding clichés

Always be on the look-out for new sounds and ways of arrangement. There are some great sounds out there, and teams like Soniccouture, Tonehammer or Sample Logic, just to name a few, deserve your attention. But you can build your own sample (instrument) library just as well. I always carry a Zoom handy recorder with me for that purpose. I’ve recorded all sorts of subway train noise, bird songs, marketplace atmospheres, kitchen noise, etc. with it and put it to good use. This experimental approach also goes for arrangement ideas. Try something new every day. Joke around with weird scales or use just one single melody note and come up with ways to arrange that note with different harmonies. (like Tom Jobim did in the A-part of “Samba de Uma Nota Só”)

Do the exact opposite of the cliché. Almost a cliché in itself, this is often used for anticlimactic purposes. Imagine an FPS scene where the player is running along an obstacle course of tanks and soldiers, avoiding bullets and mine fields, blowing everything and everyone standing in his way to kingdom come with his trusty bazooka – and in the background, the choir theme of Mr. Bean is playing: “Ecce homo qui est faba”

Work in close relation to the game art and gameplay. Get inspired by what’s happening on-screen. If art and gameplay are unique, so should your music be. Look for distinct features and novelties and try to emphasize them with your music. We’ll cover this one in more detail when we talk about interactive music.

Be open to all kinds of music and combine. There’s no border between score music and electronica in VGM. Find your own crossover genres. A lot of people seem to be using templates with their favorite instruments pre-loaded, personally I’m not a fan of those as they tend to restrict my personal creativity. Sure, I have my go-to samples and synths, but there are a million and one ways to achieve your goal, and more than one is the right way.

Jam. Improvise. I can’t stress this enough. Personally, I don’t know a single successful composer who doesn’t like to just open a sample instrument or grab a guitar and just play what his mind tells him to, once in a while. In our case, it can help to open up some concept art images and look at them while playing. That’s what they’re for. Try to find rhythms/harmonies/melodies/sounds that fit the colors and the lines and you’re bound to come up with something individual and coherent.

Using clichés

References, references, references. And here the circle closes. The only way to learn clichés is to hear them and use them. Frank Sikora, a London-born jazz composer, arranger and author of the German standard work on advanced harmony theory, “Neue Jazz-Harmonielehre”, described the process of learning this way: “You can only learn what you have discovered yourself.” Meaning you have to replicate a cliché in order to make it your own and combine it with individual ideas. And there’s another truth to that: you can only avoid clichés if you can spot them. That’s why it’s important to know your history and learn from past compositions as much as you can. (Source: Gamasutra)