Orchestral Music Composition & Music Theory for Video Games from Udemy

Learn the composition, NOT the unnecessary technicalities.

This course does not contain FMOD, WWise, or any other middleware. Game composers do not need to know how to use these softwares. The sound designers or developers of the game will integrate your music for you. The only reason a composer would ever need to know how to use these softwares (and why you see so many articles telling you to "LEARN FMOD") is because you need to understand the logic and principles behind how game audio actually works. You just need to understand how music is implemented into a game, not actually implement it yourself. Developers just want to make sure you know how, and what they mean when they ask you to compose 'adaptive music for trigger zones', or 'music tags for each loop'. This course will give you all of that knowledge, without the need to learn any additional softwares.

"Familiarity with audio middleware is a useful skill. At the very least, it affords us valuable insight into the process by which our music is incorporated into game projects. In my experience, most development teams prefer to handle their own audio implementation." - Winifred Phillips (God of War, Assassin's Creed, Little Big Planet, et al.)

What will you gain from completing the course

Psychological music theory secrets to manipulate players into feeling specific emotions
The game composer's job, mindset, and approach to composing for games
How the orchestra works, and how to set up a virtual orchestra in your DAW
Compositional guidelines for writing melodies, basslines, harmonies, chords, and rhythms
How to score for emotion, setting, and mood/atmosphere
Game-specific compositions like stingers, main titles, pause menus, multiplayer menus, character music, etc.
How to ensure your music is immersive and doesn't become distracting at any point
How adaptive music works, and which audio-integration techniques game developers may ask you to compose for
How to compose for various genres of video game, including Linear, Non-Linear, and Interactive
Essential techniques to mix and master orchestral music, and get your music sounding balanced, wide, and professional
Exporting the files, and what audio format game developers are looking for

Additional Content:

Various downloadable PDFs and links to additional reading/study
Projects throughout so that I can see your progress, and offer feedback on your work
Additional lecture hidden into the course wrap-up
An ENTIRE section dedicated to in-depth mixing techniques, taken from my EDM course to give you all the tools you need to achieve a modern, wide, and full sound - it's almost as if you're getting two courses for the price of one.

I share everything I know with you

Everything I teach you in this course has taken me years to learn. You're gaining 10+ years of game music composition knowledge in one complete course.

The game industry is growing astronomically each year. It's going to need some talented composers to provide music for every new game.

What's in it for me?

Honestly, the gratification of seeing students succeed and learn. I am very passionate about teaching, and I truly believe that we should all be helping each other grow as composers and music producers. Musicians are extremely tight-lipped, and secretive about their techniques. I simply don't understand this. Which is why I am sharing this course with you to teach you the secrets behind why some game scores are so emotionally powerful, and why others just fall flat.

Requirements:

You will need to have a DAW (FL Studio, Ableton, GarageBand) and an ability to use the software to practice the techniques I teach you.
You will also need to have a very basic understanding of music theory. Throughout the course, I am talking about notes, chords, minor, and major. I have tried to simplify everything as best as I can, but you will need this basic theory to be able to understand the concepts.

So if you're ready to learn professional game music composition, music theory secrets, mixing, and mastering, buy the course and take your skills to the next level. There is a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you dislike the course (or me), you can receive a full refund. There really is nothing to lose.

What's inside

Syllabus

Understand what this course is all about, and how it is structured

Introduction

Understand what a game composer must do, what they should ask the developers for, and know how to begin composing the right way

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Focuses on the compositional aspects of game music, which allows learners to concentrate on creativity rather than technical software implementation

Explores psychological music theory, which can help composers evoke specific emotions in players and enhance the gaming experience

Covers adaptive music techniques, which are essential for creating dynamic and engaging soundtracks that respond to gameplay events

Requires a basic understanding of music theory, which may necessitate additional study for individuals without prior musical training

Includes mixing techniques taken from an EDM course, which may not be directly applicable to orchestral compositions for video games

Requires a DAW, which may pose a barrier to entry for students who do not already own or have access to such software

Reviews summary

Game music composition focused theory course

According to learners, this course offers a focused approach to orchestral music composition and theory specifically for video games, emphasizing the creative aspects rather than middleware technicalities. Students appreciate the deep dive into psychological music theory secrets and practical techniques for scoring for emotion, setting, and atmosphere. The course covers various game-specific compositions like stingers and menu music, along with lessons on adaptive music. Learners highlight the inclusion of an extensive mixing and mastering section. While it assumes a basic understanding of music theory and requires a DAW, the material aims to help compose immersive game scores and understand implementation logic.

Includes dedicated section on audio mixing techniques.

"The bonus mixing section was a nice unexpected addition."

"Learned useful techniques to make my orchestral mockups sound better."

"While from an EDM course, the mixing principles were applicable."

Teaches how to write music for specific game scenarios.

"Great guidance on writing stingers and menu music."

"The adaptive music techniques explained were very clear and helpful."

"Now I understand how to score for different game situations like cutscenes."

Covers using theory to evoke specific emotions in players.

"The section on psychological manipulation through music was fascinating and useful."

"Learned how certain keys and modes make players feel specific ways."

"Found the music theory 'secrets' really insightful for game scoring."

Teaches game music composition, not technical middleware.

"Really appreciated the focus on writing actual music for games, not just software."

"Finally a course that doesn't force you to learn FMOD or Wwise right away."

"This course is all about the music side, which is exactly what I needed."

Assumes some prior music theory knowledge.

"You definitely need to know your basic theory (chords, scales) beforehand."

"The course moves quickly on theory basics, so come prepared."

"Might be a bit fast-paced if you're completely new to theory concepts."

Explicitly does not teach FMOD, Wwise, or other middleware.

"Be aware this course doesn't teach game audio software like FMOD."

"Focus is purely on composition, which is fine if you understand the middleware gap."

"The instructor argues against needing middleware skills, which is different from what I've heard elsewhere."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Orchestral Music Composition & Music Theory for Video Games with these activities:

Review Basic Music Theory

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Strengthen your understanding of fundamental music theory concepts like scales, chords, and harmony to better grasp the course's compositional techniques.

Browse courses on Music Theory

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Review scales and key signatures.
Practice identifying intervals and chords.
Study basic harmonic progressions.

Practice Writing Melodies and Chord Progressions

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Improve your compositional skills by regularly practicing writing melodies and chord progressions in different styles and moods.

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Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Write a melody over a given chord progression.
Write a chord progression for a given melody.
Experiment with different voicings and inversions.

Read 'The Study of Orchestration' by Samuel Adler

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Deepen your understanding of orchestral instruments and their capabilities to improve your virtual orchestration skills.

View Th Study of Orchestration on Amazon

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Read chapters on instrument families.
Analyze orchestral scores, noting instrumentation.
Experiment with different instrument combinations in your DAW.

Four other activities

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Read 'A Composer's Guide to Game Music' by Winifred Phillips

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Gain insights into the practical aspects of game music composition and the industry from a leading composer.

View A Composer's Guide to Game Music (Mit Press) on Amazon

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Read chapters on adaptive music techniques.
Study case studies of successful game scores.
Research Winifred Phillips's work in games.

Compose a Short Orchestral Piece for a Fictional Game

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Apply the course's compositional techniques and psychological music theory secrets to create an original piece of game music.

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Choose a game genre and setting.
Develop a musical theme for the game.
Orchestrate and arrange the theme for a virtual orchestra.
Mix and master the track.

Analyze the Music of a Specific Video Game

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Reinforce your understanding of game music composition by analyzing how existing games use music to create emotion, atmosphere, and immersion.

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Select a video game with a notable score.
Identify key musical themes and motifs.
Analyze how the music supports the gameplay and narrative.
Write a short essay summarizing your findings.

Create a Demo Reel of Your Game Music Compositions

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Showcase your skills and attract potential clients or employers by creating a professional demo reel of your best game music compositions.

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Select your best compositions.
Master your tracks for optimal sound quality.
Create a visually appealing video presentation.
Share your demo reel online.

Career center

Learners who complete Orchestral Music Composition & Music Theory for Video Games will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Video Game Composer

A video game composer creates the music that accompanies the action, story, and atmosphere of video games. This role demands a deep understanding of how music interacts with gameplay and narrative. This course directly addresses the needs of a video game composer. It delves into game-specific compositions like stingers, main titles, and character music, and offers vital insights into adaptive music techniques, which are requested by game developers. By teaching psychological music theory secrets, orchestral arrangement, and various mixing techniques, this course helps a composer create immersive and emotionally resonant game scores. The focus on different game genres also refines the composer's ability to tailor music to various styles. As a course participant, you will gain the knowledge to develop memorable and engaging music for video games.

See salaries and explore the career path for Video Game Composer

Interactive Music Designer

An interactive music designer creates music systems that respond dynamically to player actions and in-game events, creating a personalized and immersive audio experience. This role requires a blend of musical creativity and technical expertise. This course covers adaptive music, different techniques, and how to approach each technique. This course is an excellent fit for interactive music designers. It focuses on blocks and cues, stem mixes, zones, branching, and dovetailing. Learning how to compose music that adapts to player behavior is crucial for successfully designing interactive systems. The course delivers insights into the creative and technical elements involved.

See salaries and explore the career path for Interactive Music Designer

Virtual Orchestrator

A virtual orchestrator specializes in creating realistic orchestral sounds using digital audio workstations (DAWs) and virtual instruments. The role requires a deep understanding of orchestral arrangements and the ability to program virtual instruments to emulate the sound of a live orchestra. This course is directly beneficial, with a comprehensive module on setting up a virtual orchestra. The course will give instruction on how the different sections work, including strings, brass, percussion, and woodwinds, ensuring a balanced orchestral sound. Furthermore, it will cover different orchestral setups enabling the learner to compose and orchestrate in a virtual environment. The mixing techniques taught help achieve a professional sound.

See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Orchestrator

Orchestrator

An orchestrator arranges musical compositions for an orchestra, assigning specific instruments to different parts of the music. This role requires an understanding of orchestral instruments and their capabilities, as well as the ability to create a full and balanced sound. This course helps build a strong foundation in orchestral music composition, covering sections, articulations, and setups. The course also dives into setting up a virtual orchestra in a digital audio workstation (DAW), offering practical experience in creating realistic orchestral sounds. By delving into harmony and orchestration, the course equips learners to succeed as an orchestrator. The course explains how the orchestra works, detailing string, brass, percussion, woodwind, and choir sections.

See salaries and explore the career path for Orchestrator

Music Editor

A music editor works with composers and directors to refine and perfect the musical score for a film, television show, or video game. The role involves editing, arranging, and synchronizing music to picture, ensuring it enhances the emotional impact of the scene. This course provides a comprehensive look at creating music designed for video games. This includes techniques relevant to film and television; psychological music theory for emotional impact, genre-specific composition, and methods for mixing and mastering for a balanced and professional sound. A music editor can use these skills to enhance the way music works in synchronization with scenes. The course allows the learner to manipulate players into feeling specific emotions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Music Editor

Sound Designer

Sound designers craft the auditory landscape of video games, creating sound effects, ambient sounds, and other audio elements that enhance the player's experience. This role requires a creative ear and a strong understanding of how sound interacts with gameplay. While this course focuses on music composition, it offers valuable insights for sound designers. The course content covers how music is implemented into a game, including adaptive music and audio integration techniques. A sound designer benefits from understanding how music and sound design work together to create an immersive experience. Learning orchestral arrangements and applying mixing techniques can enhance the overall quality of game audio. This course will provide additional insights for sound designers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sound Designer

Arranger

An arranger adapts existing musical compositions for different instruments or ensembles, creating new versions that retain the original piece's essence. This role demands a strong understanding of music theory and instrumentation. The course guides you through composition of melodies, basslines, harmonies, chords, and rhythms. The course also provides detailed modules on the different instruments in the orchestra, and will ensure that the music sounds realistic and professional. The course will provide a look at different orchestral setups. All of this can help someone successfully arrange music.

See salaries and explore the career path for Arranger

Game Audio Director

A game audio director oversees all audio aspects of a video game project, from music composition to sound design and implementation. This role demands both creative and managerial skills. The course provides a broad understanding of music composition for games, including adaptive music techniques, scoring for different game styles, and ensuring music is immersive. Game audio directors need to see the big picture. Knowledge from this course about mixing and mastering, psychological secrets, and game styles help the director to shape the soundscape as a whole. The course delivers fundamental insights into the creative and technical elements involved.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Audio Director

Film Composer

A film composer creates original music scores for movies, working closely with directors to enhance the story and emotional impact of the film. Although this course focuses on video games, it can be useful to film composers. The course addresses psychological music theory secrets as well as emotion-based composition. These are used to elicit specific feelings from the audience through music, and can be applied to composition in film. Learning about different styles and orchestration broadens the capabilities of a film composer. Although game-specific, the course can still be useful to those in film.

See salaries and explore the career path for Film Composer

Television Composer

A television composer creates original music scores for TV shows, working closely with producers and directors to craft music that enhances the storytelling and atmosphere of each episode. While this course focuses on video games, the material will be useful to television composers. Much of what is taught can be directly translated to working in television. The course teaches psychological music theory secrets to manipulate emotions and how to score for emotion, setting, and atmosphere. These can be applied to television as well as games. Learning about orchestration and different styles broadens the knowledge of a television composer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Television Composer

Content Creator

A content creator produces engaging and informative content for online platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon, often specializing in a particular niche or area of expertise. The course has several aspects that can be shared with an audience. The course includes psychological music theory secrets, orchestral knowledge, and techniques for immersive sound. This course will provide the content creator with ample resources, including downloadable items. All of these aspects can be incorporated into the content. The course supports content creation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Content Creator

Music Teacher

A music teacher instructs students in various aspects of music, including theory, composition, and performance, fostering a love for music and developing their musical skills. This course includes many aspects of music that can be taught to students including music theory (chords, minor, major), orchestration, and composition. The course will also address different techniques. Knowing what adaptive music is and how various genres of games have different requirements ensures that the students receive the best advice possible. The course provides the knowledge to enhance one's ability as a music teacher.

See salaries and explore the career path for Music Teacher

Music Supervisor

A music supervisor oversees the selection and licensing of music for film, television, and video games. This role requires a deep knowledge of music across genres and the ability to negotiate licensing agreements. While this course is focused on composition and music theory, the course may be useful. It gives a broader perspective on the creation of music, and the relationship between music, gameplay, and narrative. Understanding the composer's perspective and the techniques used to create immersive scores could help a music supervisor make informed decisions about music selection and placement. The course may be useful for a music supervisor.

See salaries and explore the career path for Music Supervisor

Audio Programmer

An audio programmer develops and implements audio systems within video games, often working with audio middleware and game engines to bring sound designers' and composers' visions to life. While this course is not focused on audio programming, it does offer information relating to game music. The course will provide a look at adaptive music techniques and how the developers may ask composers to implement them. The course can help the programmer better understand the composer's needs. This knowledge transfer could result in programmers better realizing the vision for the game.

See salaries and explore the career path for Audio Programmer

Sound Effects Editor

A sound effects editor creates and refines sound effects for various media, including films, television shows, and video games, enhancing the auditory experience and adding depth to visual elements. While this course does not directly teach you how to become a sound effects editor, it can still be helpful. The course will teach you about the orchestra: strings, brass, percussion, and woodwinds. Knowing the sound of different instruments can enhance the sonic landscape of the film. Taking this course may be useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sound Effects Editor

Orchestral Music Composition & Music Theory for Video Games

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Game music composition focused theory course

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