How am I supposed to respond when people say: “your music sounds like video game music?” I usually smile and thank the person, acknowledging it as a complement. But honestly, I’m not convinced it’s a good thing. As cool and as some video game music is, I think that there is reason for this to worry me. Sure, a lot of people love some of the classic Nintendo songs, but that’s probably just because they grew up hearing them and they were simple and catchy tunes.
I have always tried to lean towards writing “happy” sounding music. For whatever reason I feel like naturally I come up with minor melodies and cords easier, so in a sense I enjoy the challenge of trying to put a major/positive twist on my tunes. In addition, hope is a theme that is very important to me, and I like to express it as much as possible through my music.
In one sense, I would agree that my music is similar to video game music because it usually has an overwhelmingly “happy” vibe. Which I think I am okay with. I want that vibe in my music, I put it there for a reason. But my skepticism continues.
Is video game music usually super simple as well? I think back to the levels that I have played over and over, and recall hearing and eventually memorizing the songs in my favorite games. Usually there is a repetitive nature to them. Having my own music labeled as repetitive isn’t exactly a complement…
When I first began writing music, I took inspiration from a lot of other things I listened to. I found that I really loved what a lot of artists did with their intro’s. Many times, a song would have a super catchy, fun building intro but then would get dull once the verse started. So, when I began to write, I wrote with the idea: “what if the whole song was just a long intro that kept building and getting more exciting as it went?” and that’s still how I tend to think when writing.
I think that to some extent this could cause my music to feel repetitive, as there may not be as much changing between verses and choruses, but I’d still like to think that my full-song-intros are enjoyable. Song structure is something that I am constantly experimenting with, however.
Beyond these things I’m not quite sure what else brings people to compare my music to video game music. And despite all of my back and forth thoughts on the matter, I still am inclined to believe that it is not a complement. Because if people can only envision my music in video games, and not in places like on the radio then isn’t that a bad sign?
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