CIn addition to my experience with music concrete my Electromusic prof, Garth, (yes, the same one who recorded the Cantilon c.d.'s!) taught us how to use the electronic synthesizer. I must say, it was intimidating looking at all the dials and switches on the synthesizer. I'm always afraid to play with electronic equipment since I never feel like I know what I'm doing and if I break it...it won't be cheap. At any rate, I had a fun time fiddling with all the switches and dials and ended up getting some pretty cool sounds out of the synth. It was a bit hard on my ears to listen to a continuous frequency of electronic sound so I found I couldn't work on the piece too long.
In class, when we presented our pieces, I couldn't help but share my thoughts on how my piece sounded like something from a video game. I couldn't help it! So many Sci-Fi films and gaming programs use electronic music so it was hard to cast that image from my mind. Instead of fighting it...I just went with it. The beginning of the piece is pleasant and cheery as if you can imagine Mario bouncing in his pixelated world and squishing spotted fungus. The second section is when he enters the scary dungeons where he eventually has to face the fire-breathing dragon by jumping on him without getting hit by the dragon's spiky hump. However, our hero emerges victorious and continues on his merry way with a triumphant melody to keep him company as he jumps from cloud to cloud in the sky.
I've posted the audio file of it below for you to have a listen:
3 comments:
Oh my god - you and I totally have the same version of "video games" in our head. Super Nintendo circa Duck Hunt. I love it. I especially like the dragon-fighting part. What was his name? Koomba? Roomba? No. That's a vacuum.
Anyhoo - awesome.
Oh man, so true! The days I played Nintendo was my brother's original version back in the 1980s. I loved Duck Hunt, that's the one where the controller was a plastic revolver and had a satisfying click sound? Child violence conditioning at its best. Classic.
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