Composing Music for Video Games: A Project & Guide for Music Teachers

Composing Music for Video Games A Project and Guide for Music Teachers

Introduction

Composing music for video games is a great way for students to learn about music composition and technology. Video game music has come a long way over the years, and the soundtrack can be just as important as the visuals in terms of setting the tone and mood for a game. In many cases, the player controls what happens to the music during the game, which can add an extra layer of complexity to composing video game music. And while there are some clichés in video game music, it can also be a lot of fun to explore this composing style.

As a music teacher, you can help your students compose video game music by providing them with guidance and resources. In this blog post, we’ll discuss several creative projects to teach students to compose music for video games including a retro game theme and a layered ‘fantasy-style’ game theme, as well as lesson objectives, and skills they will learn along the way.

Composing Music for Video Games: Student Outcomes & Lesson Objectives

In this project, music tech teachers will discover a simple step-by-step approach to composing music for video games, including:

  • Looking at various video game music styles using well-known game examples
  • Discussing the ways a video game composer can approach the creative task at hand even though the individual game player is the one that ends up controlling the music score
  • Observing the different styles of music that are used to depict changing scenes or levels in video games and some simple ways to create battle music, action music, happy music, or romantic music
  • Experiencing how to use free online software to create a simple “Mario-style” theme
  • Practice running through a larger “epic battle music” scoring project which can be done on various devices and platforms (iPads, Macs, PCs, or Chromebooks).
composing music for video games

Music Tech Skills Students Will Learn When Composing Music for Video Games

Skills covered include:

  • Recording audio
  • Composing a Q & A Melody, Bass Line, and Drum Track
  • Recording MIDI via the on-screen keyboard or an external keyboard
  • Adding volume and panning envelopes
  • Sound Palettes vs. Harmonic Palettes
  • How to Musically Increase Tension
  • Mixing and matching the game soundtrack to a video
  • How to find sources of suitable game video, sound effects, and other resources

What You Will Receive Inside this Module of the GarageBand, Soundtrap, and Bandlab Course

I’ve tried to make it as simple as possible to jump into these projects with your music students right away! While this blog serves as a preview, this entire activity is from a series of complete student projects that I share inside my Garageband, Soundtrap, and Bandlab Online Course for Music Teachers inside of the Midnight Music Community which will give you complete access to:

  • Software, Gear, and Set-Up Guides
  • Teacher Videos (to help you plan your lesson)
  • Student Videos (I’ll teach your class for you!)
  • Student Worksheets
  • A Designated Community Forum
  • Share Your Projects, Get Feedback from Other Music Teachers, and Seek Expert Tech Advice if You Run Into Any Issues Along the Way!
  • Plus hundreds of other digital lessons, handouts, and digital activities as well as access to all of my other courses.

You’ll also receive content specific to composing music for video games including:

  • My Video Game Music Wakelet Collection: enjoy this giant collection of resources for teaching your video game project unit, including articles, music samples, tutorials, and video examples of vertical layering, video game music cliches, and video game clips.
  • Music Templates for Students to Experiment With for Their Retro Theme Composition
  • Retro Melody Examples
  • Gameplay Footage
  • Student Walk-Through Videos
  • And More!
composing music for video games mario

Several Examples of Completed Video Game Music Composition Projects from Music Tech Teachers Inside the Midnight Music Community

I’m so thrilled to show you several completed video game projects by members of the Midnight Music Community. These videos are an excellent opportunity to learn about the type of completed projects you can expect from your students after working through these modules!

Retro Video Game Projects

Retro Video Game Theme by Karla Silbaugh:

Retro Video Game Theme by Claudia Sousa:

Fantasy Video Game Project

Fantasy Video Game Theme by Karla Silbaugh:

Karla’s Notes:

“I based my composition on the book Z for Zachariah. It struck me as a good concept for a game.

  1. Main character is happily living alone in a beautiful isolated location following a nuclear event.
  2. Main character is visited by another human who has been wandering since the event. Conflict arrises and main character needs to decide to stay or leave and search for another place to live.
  3. Main character makes the decision to leave beautiful home and wanders the wasteland searching for someplace new to call home (surely there are creatures like enormous cockroaches and flesh eating bacteria that add to the difficulty, and weather is always a factor).

This project stretched my composition skills, but I enjoyed it greatly.”

Want This Complete Project & More?

To get this complete project, including ready-to-play student videos (I’ll teach your class for you!), student worksheets, expert help, and detailed teacher instructions with videos, check out the Garageband, Soundtrap, and Bandlab Course inside the Midnight Music Community.

Watch the video below for a quick overview of the course!

Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed previewing this lesson, and I’d love to share this project and so many others with you inside of the Midnight Music Community!

Do you have any questions about the Garageband, Soundtrap, and Bandlab Course for music tech teachers or the Midnight Music Community in general? What music platform do you use with your students?

Leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you!

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Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?

Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my businessMidnight Music.

I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – theMidnight Music Community– where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.

MMC Mockup

I like to focus oneasyways to incorporate technology intowhat you are already doing in your music curriculumthrough a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.

If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside theMidnight Music Community.

Learn more and take a sneak peek inside

One Comment

  1. Anonymous July 21, 2023 at 1:00 pm - Reply

    I am excited to add some of these ideas to my curriculum next year. My students are so interested in video game music and I think delving into the history of video game music will promote productive conversations. I enjoyed that you had students write notes about the story that they based their compositions on. That goes a long way towards developing purposeful compositional skills.

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