h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is a universal concept that music which bows on the familiar strings of nostalgia are the best sounds that an individual can experience. The best thing about this is that it's entirely on an individual basis. It can be anything. Usually it will relate back to music heard in childhood, or times otherwise known as 'good times'.

As for myself, my first vivid memories of music were from watching my brother and his friend play Final Fantasy 3 on their Super Nintendo. It doesn't seem like much, but several years later I heard those familiar MIDI tunes transformed into fully acoustic orchestral pieces. From the first time I heard an orchestrated version of 'Man With a Machine Gun' to a few years later when I found The Black Mages 'Those Who Fight Further', each time I listen to these comparatively simple songs, my heart leaps into my throat. I was once even moved to tears by one of these. Music from a video game...

Is it love?

Recently, I've taken a particularly odd interest in taking those melodies and arranging them for different instruments and genres. 'Kefka's Theme' for piano; 'Battle with Gilgamesh' for a rock ensemble; 'Clouds Theme' for a metal band- I've been provided with countless possibilited for the melodies. But why? Why would I even bother taking a bunch of lo-fi MIDI tunes from a video game and turn them into real music?

Is it love?

Nobuo Uematsu (the composer for the FF series) is currently my most favored artist of all time. His tunes aren't particularly complex, and video game music has never been very respected for producing complecated music, but still I sometimes find more pleasure out of playing Uematsu's songs over my own.

It must be love. It's the only way I can explain my own obsession with a form of music I recognize and deeply connect with, even amidst obscurity. It's humanity.

What do you guys think? It's late, and I really am only looking for something to do to BS right now, so I apologize for anything that may seem cryptic. I wrote this in segments. Still...

Can anybody relate to of which I speak?


GN

Hi, GN

Yeah, nostalgia is part of it.. BTW, do you remember the good old days, before nostalgia?

There's also something about the sonic quality of certain chords, musical phrases and passages, and possibly even harmonics, that seem more evocative than others. I think rhythm has a powerful influence, also.

Oh yeah, definately. I've noticed that even if a song with simple chords has a melody that weaves in and out from harmonies and dissonances it can make it just as sweet to listen to. Like a chocolate-covered strawberry verses some kind of complex formula for italian spaghetti sauce.

That part you mentioned about rhythm reminds me of the bodhran. All it is is a simple hide drum, but the suble movements with the players hand behind it as the stick-thing hits it creates some of the most beautiful beats I've ever heard. When composing with a good player like that, I often find melodies naturally exploding out of me.

Any good bodhran player out there?

,


GN