I Know It When I Hear It
I find it helps to be able to talk to a music director in his own language, even if you can’t write music, play an instrument, or carry a tune. You just have to know what you like and have an opinion about it! Provide examples of what you want for your composer: try to cut out as much of the guesswork as possible. For Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, I gave the composer a mix tape of music from movie soundtracks and songs I thought would be appropriate for the game’s levels. While they say that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” I have found it useful to develop a musical vocabulary so you are speaking the composer’s language. Doing this will make it that much easier to request changes when you know what to listen for and what it’s called.
Here are a few musical terms that I have found useful to know:
- Accent—Emphasis placed on a beat to make it louder or longer. As in “please place more accent on the drums...