Casual, Social and Mobile

Game Music
Intro to Mobile Game Music
 What is Mobile Game Music?
• Music for ‘casual’ games
• Games played on mobile devices (phones/tablets) from Google Play,
Apple App Store, Facebook games etc.
• We will consider casual, social and mobile games as ‘mobile games’
for the purposes of this course
• We are not including general app music (non-game apps), just game
apps
 Challenge: What does Mobile Game Music
sound like?
• Open the resources article attached to this lecture
• Listen to each of the mobile game tracks
• For each track, write as many thoughts as you can about the song
(spend at most 2 minutes on each piece)
• When you have finished this, come up a sentence or two answering
this question: What does mobile game music sound like?
• Post your notes and answers in the Q&A
• Come back to the lecture and compare your answers with mine
 Angry Birds main theme
• Fun and playful mood
• Sounds like a minor key
• Melody played by percussion
• Answer and call effect
 Angry Birds Rio main theme
• Same theme as original angry birds theme
• More upbeat version
• Uses brass instruments in this version
• More contrast between sections (A, B section etc.)
• Melody is played by gentle wind or keyed instrument (hard to tell)
• More thematic development in this version
• More instruments in this one
 Angry Birds Go! Selection screen
• Fun, playful, happy mood
• Major key
• Main melody sounds like birds singing (high pitched flute)
• Listen to how it loops over
• Bassline made up mostly of 3 notes, plays same thing over
• Weird filler effects
• Melody is counter-balanced by crystal-like piano
• Structure is: Main section and short variation and back to main
section…
 Angry Birds Go! Main theme
• Uses weird sound effects (bicycle bell, honking sounds)
• Uses glockenspiel for light hearted effect
• Bird-like sound effects (instrument that sounds like a caw)
• Listen to the bassline and how it drives the music
• Guiro or something making weird sliding/stretching noises – probably
reflecting rubber band stretching when launching angry bird
• Many different sections/variations
• Whistling and bird chirps
 Subway Surfers main theme
• Jazz music
• Upbeat, energised mood
• Double bass, drums, brass instruments, sound effects
 Temple Run 1 music
• Constantly beating percussion
• Meant to reflect rapid footsteps and running?
• Jungle theme reflecting environment
• Variety of drums, some cymbals
 Temple Run 2 music (Sky summit)
• Starts off the same as Temple Run 1
• Drum beat is slightly different from Temple Run 1 – more notes
(played very rapidly) in between the main hits resulting in a ‘rolled
effect’ + multiple drums overlayed on top of the original
• Adds melodic elements with pads and atmospheric effects
• Pads make it sound more “sky-like”, floating in clouds mood
 Clash of Clans main theme
• Playful, light mood
• Uses purely orchestral instruments
• Sounds like western ‘animation music’
 Clash of Clans combat theme
• Orchestral composition
• Tension and intensive mood, but still retaining its light and playful
elements
• Akin to general film, animation music
• More traditional composition elements (no weird sfx)
 Candy Crush main theme
• Time/rhythm is in threes (123 123) giving a waltz feel
• The actual time signature could be 3/4 or 6/8 or something else
(more on time signatures later in this section)
• The rhythm, whistling and melody gives a dreamy, floating feel
 Candy Crush Soda music
• Time signature seems to start in 4/4 and change into the game’s
characteristic 3/4 or 6/8 beat at 1:24
• Strong ballroom dancing mood
• Mixture of emotions: delicate (light instruments) yet refined but
emotional (orchestral swells) and grand near the end
 Two Dots music
• Strong syncopation (off beat effect)
• The main beat is particularly strong with the drum hits and bass
instrument playing on the main beat
• Therefore the syncopated instruments (the high pitched, light,
percussive instruments) are emphasised more as they’re in direct
contrast to the main beat (both in time and pitch) – remember that
our ears are drawn more to high pitched sounds
So what does mobile game music sound like?
In general:
• The music reflects a more fun mood, many of these tracks were
playful in different ways
• This makes sense since mobile games are not ‘serious’ games
(mostly), the majority are for casual play
• The overlap between mobile games and console/PC games will blur
in the future as phone technology keeps getting better, therefore
mobile game music may become more ‘serious’ and emotionally
impactful as games increase in scope, complexity and storytelling on
mobile devices
Plan our Mobile game track and
Idea jump-starting
When the hardest part is
coming up with ideas
 A little trick for idea jump-starting
• Think about what mood you want for your mobile game
• Go to youtube and find a random piece/song with that keyword e.g.
fun music, relaxing music (make sure you don’t know the track)
• Turn the volume of the music very low so you can barely hear it
• Your ears will make things up for you as you listen to the barely
audible music
• Use those ideas to plan your mobile music track
 Challenge: Start planning your mobile game
track
• Write down what mood you are after
• Write down the ideas (beats, instruments, melody, anything) you
heard internally when your ears and brain were trying to hear the
music
• Remember this mood and feeling well – we will learn some more
theory and then come back to flesh out our ideas based on the
mood we have chosen
Music Theory Revision so far
Note Values, 4/4 Time,
Dotted Notes
 Note Value = The duration of a note
• Is how long a note is held in relation to the bar/measure
 Bars/Measures Vs. Beats
• A bar is a small amount of time
• Every composition has a beat or pulse which can be felt
• A bar in music usually has the same number of beats as the other
bars
• Music that feels like 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 will have bars divided into 4
beats
• Therefore in this case there are 4 beats per bar (the most common
in all music)
 Bars & Beats Cont’d
Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4 Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4 Beat 1

 Note Values
Bar 1 whole note (semibreve) Bar 2
note value = 1

note value = 1/2 half note (minim)

note value = 1/4 quarter note (crotchet)

1/8 eighth note (quaver)

1/16 sixteenth note (semiquaver)

thirty-second note (demisemiquaver) 1/32

sixty-fourth note (hemidemisemiquaver) 1/64

 Rare note values
Bar 1 Bar 2
note value = 1
hundred twenty-eigth note (semihemidemisemiquaver) note value = 1/128

note value = 1/2

two hundred fifty-sixth note (demisemihemidemisemiquaver) note value = 1/256
 Note Values
Bar 1 whole note (semibreve) Bar 2
note value = 1

note value = 1/2 half note (minim)

note value = 1/4 quarter note (crotchet)

1/8 eighth note (quaver)

1/16 sixteenth note (semiquaver)

thirty-second note (demisemiquaver) 1/32

sixty-fourth note (hemidemisemiquaver) 1/64

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4

 How many notes in a whole note
Bar 1 Bar 2
Whole note (semibreve)

Half note (minim)

Quarter note (crotchet)

Eighth note (quaver)

1/16

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4

 Dotted notes (notes + half)
• Notes can be “extended” to include an extra half of its original value
• Therefore a half note (minim), which has a note value of ½
• Will have a dotted note value of:
• ½ (original value) + ¼ (half of original value) = ¾ (dotted value)
• So a “dotted half note” (dotted minim) lasts for three quarters of a
bar
 Dotted durations
Bar 1 Bar 2
whole note (semibreve)

Dotted half note (dotted minim) = 3/4

So in this bar of 4/4 time of 4 beats per bar, a dotted minim is worth 3 beats, so 3 quarters of a bar

Beat 1 Beat 2 Beat 3 Beat 4

 What about the other dotted notes?
• A quarter note (crotchet), which has a note value of ¼
• Will have a dotted value of:
• ¼ (original value) + 1/8 (half of original value) = 3/8 (dotted value)
• So a “dotted quarter note” (dotted crotchet) lasts for three eighths
of a bar
 Dotted quarter note (dotted crotchet)
Bar 1 Bar 2
whole note (semibreve)

Dotted quarter note (dotted crotchet) = 3/8

So in this bar of 4/4 time of 4 beats per bar,

a dotted quarter note is worth 3 eighths of a bar, which is 2 and a half beats)

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 1

 Why are they called “dotted” anyway??
• Because…
 By now, you should understand
• What is a bar or measure in music
• What is a beat (a division of a bar)
• What is 4/4 time (4 beats in a bar of music)
• That notes have durations (a length of time)
• That we use “note value names” to describe a note’s duration
• Remember what the note value names are (whole note, quarter note,
semiquaver etc.)
• Remember how many of each note type can fit into a bar of 4/4 time
• What is a dotted note
• How to calculate the length of a dotted note (e.g. length of a dotted
eighth note)
Time Signatures
 What are time signatures
• Also called “meter”, “measure signature”
• In music, is placed at the start of the musical score
• For our purposes, tells the “time” of our music and is specified in
the DAW

• Time signatures TELL 2 THINGS:

1. How many beats in a bar
2. The note value per beat
What are time signatures

Number of beats in a bar

Type of note
 What are time signatures

This time signature is 4 quarter note beats per bar

or 4 crotchet beats per bar
 What are time signatures

Have a guess: (number) (type of note) beats per bar

 What are time signatures

This time signature is 3 quarter note beats per bar

or 3 crotchet beats per bar
 What are time signatures

Have a guess: (number) (type of note) beats per bar

 What are time signatures

This time signature is 6 eighth note beats per bar

or 6 quaver beats per bar
 The difference between:

and

Counting:
Medium beats

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Strong beats Strong beats
Challenge Task: What are these time signatures?
Answer in: (number) (type of note) beats per bar
Most common time signatures
Other time signatures
Flesh out our mobile game
track plan
Challenge: Flesh out your mobile track plan
• Refer to the lecture near the start of this section where you wrote
the mood you wanted for your mobile game track and your ideas
• Think about the genre/type of mobile game you are making music
for
• Think about the context of your music – is it menu music, level
music, win/lose music, what kind of level, boss level?
• Decide on the context
• Pick a time signature – try to use one you haven’t used, don’t use
4/4 this time unless you must
• Pick a key based on mood – major (happy, peaceful etc.), minor
(sad/tension etc.)
 Your mobile track plan:
• Mood:

• Context:

• Time signature:

• Key:
 My mobile track plan:
• Mood: Playful, fun

• Context: Level music (beginning levels)

• Time signature: 7/8 (odd time/urgency)

• Key: E major (not one of my usual keys)

Compose a basic idea
 Compose a basic idea

• This is the ‘hook’ or ‘idea’ method – basically it is something you

should always do regardless of what other method(s) you choose
• Can use it with layering method, structure-first, chords-first etc.
Types of basic musical ideas
 The ‘motif’ (motive)
• A Motif is:
• a short musical idea
• the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity

• This is your ‘hook’

• Is essentially the identity of your piece and its main theme
• Acts as a building block for your entire composition
• Is used repeatedly in one form or another throughout the piece
 Writing a motif
• Since motif is a ‘cell’ in music, it can be 3 notes, 4 notes, half a bar,
one bar, 2 bars, 4 bars..

• Anything longer and we approach a…

 The ‘phrase’
• A Phrase is:
• a ‘sentence’ in music
• typically, where a “comma” would be if the music was spoken (where a
“breath” is taken
• has rhythmic structure
• has harmonic closure at the end
• Comprised of your motif(s)
• About 4 bars, or 8 bars or 16 bars long
• Distinguished by the shape of a melody (e.g. melody rises then falls,
indicating a phrase)
 Writing a phrase
• If no motif is used, then this can also be your basic compositional
idea
• If you come up with a melody either 4, 8, 16 bars long, this could be
a phrase

• If a motif is used, the motif is often repeated in the phrase along

with other notes
• Once we reach more than one phrase, we get…
 The ‘theme’
• A Theme is:
• a melodic unit, used structurally
• Comprised of multiple phrases
• Can be compared to a Section A, Section B etc.
• Can be distinguished by its phrases or harmonic structure (chords
used etc.)
 Writing a theme
• You’ve probably already done this unconsciously in our previous
projects

• It was probably the ‘main section’ of your composition

 Challenge: Compose a motif
• Using your chosen mood, key and time signature:
• Compose a motif (a few notes/ very few bars) of a fragment of
music (a cell/building block)
• Try to come up with something that when repeated, would feel
memorable (it has the ability to define your piece)
• Do not go longer than 4 bars
• Try for ½ - 2 bars in length
Develop a motif into a phrase
 Ways to Develop a Motif
1. Repetition
2. Repetition at different pitch
3. Inversion (flip it upside down)
4. Retrograde (flip it back to front)
5. Retrograde-inversion (flip it upside down + back to front)
6. Extension (extend the motif with new notes)
 Challenge: Develop your motif into a phrase
• Using the techniques we just covered, use your motif to create a
phrase
• Make your phrase 4 or 8 bars long, if you have a longer motif 16
bars is also ok
Develop a phrase into a theme
 Ways to Develop a Phrase
• Use the first phrase as your simplest, base sentence
• For the subsequent phrase(s), add variation by:
• Adding extra notes from the first phrase
• Decorating the first phrase
• Having a different ending than the first phrase
• Having more ‘movement’, harmonically (more chords) or having faster
chord changes
Challenge: Develop your phrase into a theme
• Firstly, write a second phrase using the first phrase as your basis
• Add 2 more phrases for a total of 4 phrases – to make things
simpler, kept all your phrases the same number of bars
• As you progress to the third phrase, you can attempt to vary the
original phrase even more (changing the pattern, notes, rhythm
etc.)
• Once you have 4 phrases, this is your ‘theme’
• Try to keep your motif the ‘central idea’ to your theme
• Try to make your theme memorable
Chord Progressions
 What is a Chord Progression?
• Also called ‘harmonic progression’
• A succession of chords
• Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in western music
• Chord progressions are symbolized by:
• Roman numerals - classical music
• Chord symbols - modern music (e.g. guitar chord symbols)
 Chords in a Major Key

C D E F G A B
 Chords in a Major Key (C major)
1 stnote: C D E F G A B
3rd note: E F G A B C D
th
5 note: G A B C D E F
 Chords in a Major Key (C major)
1 stnote: C D E F G A B
3rd note: E F G A B C D
th
5 note: G A B C D E F

Chord no. I ii iii IV V vi vii°

 Chords in a Major Key (C major)
1 stnote: C D E F G A B
3rd note: E F G A B C D
th
5 note: G A B C D E F

Chord no. I ii iii IV V vi vii°

Chord symbol C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
 Example Chord Progressions in C Major
I – IV – V
CEG-FAC-GBD

I – vi – IV – V
CEG-ACE-FAC-GBD

ii – V – I
DFA-GBD-CEG
 Chords in a Major Key (G major)
1 stnote: G A B C D E F#
3rd note: B C D E F# G A
th
5 note: D E F# G A B C

Chord no. I ii iii IV V vi vii°

Chord symbol G Am Bm C D Em F#dim
 Example Chord Progressions in G Major
I – IV – V
GBD-CEG-DF#A

I – vi – IV – V
GBD-EGB-CEG-DF#A

ii – V – I
ACE-DF#A-GBD
 Chords in a Minor Key

A B C D E F G
 Chords in a Minor Key (A minor)
1 stnote: A B C D E F G
3rd note: C D E F G A B
th
5 note: E F G A B C D
 Chords in a Minor Key (A minor)
1 stnote: A B C D E F G
3rd note: C D E F G A B
th
5 note: E F G A B C D

Chord no. i ii° III iv v VI VII

Chord symbol Am Bdim C Dm Em F G
Work out all the possible
chords for your key
Challenge 1: Write down the notes in your scale
• What is your key?
• What are the notes of the scale in your key?
• Write these down
Reminder: How to work out notes in your
scale/key
Patterns of whole and half steps (tones and semitones)
Major key/scale: W W H W W W H
Minor (harmonic): W H W W H W1/2 H
Challenge 2: Fill out the chord chart:
• We want to find all the chords in your key
• The pattern of major, minor and diminished chords will be different
depending on if the key is major or minor
• Fill out the chord chart for your chosen key (attached in RESOURCES)
 Chords in a Major Key (G major)
1 stnote: G A B C D E F#
3rd note: B C D E F# G A
th
5 note: D E F# G A B C

Chord no. I ii iii IV V vi vii°

Chord symbol G Am Bm C D Em F#dim
 Chords in a Minor Key (A minor)
1 stnote: A B C D E F G
3rd note: C D E F G A B
th
5 note: E F G A B C D

Chord no. i ii° III iv v VI VII

Chord symbol Am Bdim C Dm Em F G
 Fill out this chart if your key is MAJOR
1 stnote:
3rd note:
th
5 note:

Chord no. I ii iii IV V vi vii°

Chord symbol
 Fill out this chart if your key is MINOR
1 stnote:
3rd note:
th
5 note:

Chord no. i ii° III iv v VI VII

Chord symbol
Write a Chord Progression for
Phrase 1
 Write a chord progression for phrase 1
• Let’s look at our 4 phrases
• Each phrase should have a separate chord progression
• This lecture, let’s write a chord progression for phrase 1
 Write a chord progression for phrase 1
• Look at how busy your melody is
• A busier melody may require more frequent chord changes
• Otherwise, a chord change per bar may be suitable
• You can usually TELL when your melody has moved to another chord
 How to tell when a melody has shifted to
another chord
• There is a long note (at the end of a bar usually)
• There is a break in the melody
• The phrase or motif feels ‘complete’
• The motif has played once then shifts to play at a different pitch
 Challenge 1: Find out where the chords
change in your Phrase 1
• It might be every bar
• In some parts, it may be every half bar
• Sometimes, a melody may be long enough that the chord doesn’t
change and remains static for the entire phrase
• There is no one correct solution – chords can change to similar
sounding chords for more harmonic movement but still retaining its
original feel
 Working out WHICH chords to use
• Now you know the approximate frequently of the chord changes
• Let’s figure out which chords are best to use
• Use your completed chord chart from the previous lecture
• Use the ‘common chord progressions’ charts in the resources if you’re
stuck
 Examine the notes playing in that fragment
• Zoom in on the notes playing where the first chord should be
• See what are the most PROMINENT notes playing
• Usually, this may be the first note, the longest note, the highest note
• Look especially on notes that fall on the STRONGER beats of the bar
(not a weak beat)
• These give a clear indicator of the notes IN THE CHORD that you
should choose
 Challenge 2: Find your chord progression for
Phrase 1
• Follow what I did in the video, go through each ‘fragment’, pinpoint
important notes, trial different chords and progressions
• Write a list of possible chord progressions
• Go with the one that sounds best
• At the end of the phrase, try not to make it sound too final (i.e. don’t
choose chord I for final chord) since it’s only the first phrase – we
want it sounding incomplete
Finish the Skeleton of your
Theme
 Challenge: Complete fitting Chords to the
remaining Phrases
• Finish off your melody + chords track skeleton
• Go through each phrase, as we did in the previous lecture to finish adding a
chord progression to the entire melody of your theme

• Things to look out for:

• The final phrase should end in IV-I or V-I
• The end of phrase 2 should end in V-VI or ?-V
• Try to make each phrase sound similar yet slightly different (phrase 1 might
have a very similar to phrase 3, phrase 2 and phrase 4 might be similar
except the end)
Write Full Plan for Mobile
Music Track
 Origins of Inspiration

MOOD PLACE

CHARACTER SCENE
 Challenge: Complete the Mobile Music Plan
• Open the resource attached to this lecture
• Fill out the Mobile music track plan
• Look at your composition sketch and try to determine which
instruments will play what parts
Compose your Mobile Game
track - Arranging
 Challenge: Compose your track!
1. Open your track plan, keep referring to the picture and the vision of
what you hear in your head
2. Open your ‘composition sketch’ in your DAW
3. Refer to your instrument allocation of parts
4. See which parts of your sketch will match which instrument and the
feel you want to get across
5. Be as creative as you can – just because there is one melody
doesn’t mean it needs to be played by just one instrument. Chords
can also be split in a million different ways
 Challenge: Compose your track!
• Play around and experiment with your instruments, be free to switch
to another instrument or plugin if it’s not working as you intended
• For the more adventurous, see how many ‘arrangements’ of the same
compositional sketch you can come up with

• This process of allocating parts of your sketch to instruments,

deciding what plays when by whom, is called ARRANGING, another
branch of composition
Mixing: Spectrum Analyzer,
Mixing Checklist
Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio
(Mike Senior)
 Challenge: Mix your Mobile Track
• Start off with doing the usual things – volume adjustment, panning,
equalising, reverb etc.
• Go and download a free spectrum analyser from the web
• Go through the mixing checklist and do as many dot points as you can
• One of the most important things is the control the BASS
Mixing: Spectrum Analyzer,
Mixing Checklist
Simple Hack to Boost Final
Track Volume
Challenge: Finish and Publish your Mobile track
• Extend your track if desired and export your project to lossless format
(wave, aiff, flac, ogg etc.)
• Open in Audacity and use Amplify tool
• Highlight the end of your track and use Fade Out tool
• Publish your track to the course’s Facebook group (Game Music
Course Community) if you want as much feedback as possible or else
in the Q&A