Music during a game *

1. Music during a game *

   #1

   Music during a game
   
   Although it can be a distraction, it can also add atmosphere to an adventure to have music playing in the background. Here are some pieces I'd recommend for different situations.
   
   The interpretations are probably not what the composers intended or what everyone would think, but it's what I hear when I listen to these pieces. Post up replies about what pieces you listen to when you're playing or thinking up plots.
   
   The five star ratings relate to how appropriate the music is for adventuring, not how I rate it musically (if 'twere so Mahler would never get a mere *!). The symbol  :twisted:  means "warning, your neighbours might not appreciate you playing this piece of music too loud late at night".
   
   My especial recommendations are the Rach' Symphonic Dances, Prokofiev Symphony 3 and Stravinsky's Firebird.
   
   Dvorak: Legends: (No. 3) Elvish dance.***
   
   Dvorak: Symphony 7: (1st mvmt) Dramatic introduction to adventure.****
   
   Dvorak: Symphony 9 From the New World: This is so good it can be used for anything.*****
   
   Khachaturian: Spartacus:(Suite No 2: Entrance of the Merchants) This is just Khachaturian being Khachaturian.*
   (Suite No 2: Dance of the Pirates) Exactly what it says it is.****
   (Suite No 3: Dance of a Greek Slave) Fast, furious combat music.**
   
   Liszt: Totentanz: Anything demonic and death-related.*** :twisted:
   
   Mahler: Symphony 1: (1st mvmt) For all Star-Trek roleplayers: TNG must have ripped off the first minute of this symphony.*
   
   Mahler: Symphony 5: (1st mvmt) Funeral march doesn't begin to sum it up. Mahler's music is so varied and contrasting that if you're looking for a particular atmospheric effect it'll be in one of his symphonies.***
   
   Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave): Vast sea-cave filled with crashing waves, the home of the giant Fingal.*****
   
   Mussorgsky: Night on a Bare Mountain: The best known musical portrayal of a Witches' Sabbath aside from Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique.
   
   Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition: (Bydlo) Slave camp or march of orcish warriors,****
   (Catacombae, Con mortuis in lingua mortua) Candlelit, silent dungeon,***
   (The Hut on Fowl's Legs) The appearance of any large monster.*****
   (The Great Gate at Kiev) Heroic ending to an adventure.*****
   
   Orff: Carmina Burana: Anything satanic (it's actually an ominous-sounding choral setting of some rude latin poems).****
   
   Prokofiev: Piano Concerto 2: (2nd mvmt) Anything manic.**** :twisted:
   (3rd mvmt) Oppressive regime or prison camp.**** :twisted:
   (4th mvmt) Anything manic.***!!!
   
   Prokofiev: Piano Concerto 5: (2nd mvmt) March of the ungainly gnolls.*** :twisted:
   (3rd mvmt) Anything manic.*** :twisted:
   (5th mvmt) Revenge of the leprechaun legions.****
   
   Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: (Dance of the Knights) The best known part of the piece. Suitable for combat scenes. ***** :twisted:
   (Tybalt meets Mercutio & they fight) Any combat scene.***
   Other extracts could be used for any purpose (it's a very wide-ranging piece).
   
   Prokofiev: Symphony 3: (1st mvmt) The Abyss - you'll see what I mean. Just when you thought this was the man who wrote Peter & the Wolf, you find out he wrote this.***
   (2nd mvmt) Mourning a dead PC.****
   (3rd mvmt) Chase/combat music.****
   (4th mvmt) The Abyss, generally evil combat music (even more so than the beginning of the 1st movement).***** :twisted:
   
   Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead: Atmospheric forest or sea at night.*****
   
   Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances: (1st) Conjures up images of rangers riding through dark forests away from the clouds of blackness.*****
   (2) Weird evil woodfolk dancing in the dells and waterfalls,****
   (3) Generally eldritch and Dungeon and Dragonsy.****
   
   Rachmaninoff: Caprice Bohemien: Ominous fantasy on folk themes. Good backing for a poverty-stricken peasant-village or for adding weight to a prophesy or explication of a scenario. Dramatic introduction to an adventure.****
   
   Rachmaninoff: Etudes Tableaux (No. 6): Fiendish, tense chase music.****
   
   Rimsky-Korsakov: Le coq d'or (Suite): (King Dodon on the Battlefield) The assembly of a goblin army.***
   
   Rimsky-Korsakov: Mlada (Suite): (Lithuanian Dance): Medieval cavalry assemble in dark, misty torchlight.***
   (Cortege): Medieval victory parade.***
   
   Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade: Ocean voyages and general adventure soundtrack.*****
   
   Saint-Saens: Danse macabre: Anything demonic or eldritch.****
   
   Sibelius: Symphony 5: (3rd mvmt) Rousing nostalgic finale to a good campaign.*****
   
   Stravinsky: Firebird: (The firebird and his dance) Entrance of roc or strange flying creature - this lasts about 18 seconds.****
   (King Kastchei's Infernal Dance) Any combat or demonic event.***** :twisted:
   
   Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring: Extracts could be used for almost any purpose.**** :twisted:  :twisted:
   
   Tchaikovsky: Symphony 1 (Winter Reveries): A village in the middle of winter, surrounded by wolves and ice.*****
   
   Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony: I had to put this one in, just for manfred :) It's also a good piece of music. The second movement is an evil fairy dance a bit like the Rach' Symphonic Dances.***
   
   Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet: Extracts suitable for almost any purpose.***

2. Music during a game

   #2

   Still trying to collect them to test them out.
   
   Most of the music we listened to (when we did, which wasn't as often as we should of) was the Sound of Nature series. The best one that I remember was the one that was the recordings of the sounds that a whale makes. Call it silly, but that is an eerie sound. Have it just loud enough to hear and when the shrill cry of the whale sounds it is just enough to make you look around.
   
   The Conan soundtracks are a somewhat obvious one. Just a good old fantasy sounding romp with plenty of bass and drums to get the blood flowing.
   
   You can tell I am not too deep into the classical. Although I think the favorite that I own is Beethoven Symphony Number 9 Choral. I like that one mucho. Been looking for others but never know what to buy...now I have a shopping list. :lol:

3. Music during a game

   #3

   Whalesong is a great noise. I hadn't thought of using for an adventure, but it's so eldritch it's bound to send shivers up your spine in the silences between combats. It was actually incorporated into a piece of symphonic music by Alan Hovhaness (called "And God Created Great Whales").

4. Music during a game

   #4

   Most of the music from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack would fit any fantasy campaign because, well, that's what it is. I would also recommend some of the tracks from Labyrinth, and some of the Harry Potter soundtrack (maybe). :P

5. Music during a game

   #5

   I actually didn't really like the soundtrack for LOTR. The only song I liked was the first one for the hobbits. Had a nice little melody.
   
   I listen to this type of music all the time. I love the music in a lot of movies and use them for background for coding, studying etc. Depending on my mood of course. I don't know enough classical (now I do a little thanks to eph) to be able to choose it. Beethoven's 6th is the only one I know I like...anyway.
   
   Soundtracks I listen to (a few are in my CD changer as we speak):
   Braveheart (no explanation needed)
   
   Gladiator (haunting melodies. I love the main theme and there is that one part that maintains the theme throughout most of it that I love hearing)
   
   Conan - any movie (downloaded from the net. love the drums and evil sounding stuff)
   
   Diablo video game (sounds sort of silly, but I love some of the tracks)
   
   Robin Hood (except I hate the mood break when Bryan Adams actually sings at the end of the CD. What a downer)
   
   Matrix (oops, how did that get in there. Love this for good hardcore coding. Gets my fingers going and keeps me motivated. Hey, I can pretend. Maybe one day I will fall asleep and wake up to "Wake up Strolen" on my computer screen. You don't know it won't happen.)
   
   Anybody know of some good drum banging oriental type music. I love the stuff at the begining of Rising Sun. Have no idea how to go about finding that type of music.

6. Music during a game

   #6

   Shostakovitch, Symphony No. 4 :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
   
   We've just started playing* this piece in an orchestra and it's amazing. Shostakovitch withdrew it before it was ever performed because it would have been perceived by the Stalinists as being anti-regime and it wasn't performed for another 25 years. It could be used primarily for battles/combats/to indicate great suffering and anguish, or any other common roleplaying scene. Especially the fast fugal section in the 1st movement.
   
   *When I say "playing" I mean "trying unsuccessfully to play" on my part anyway.
   
   WARNING: Do not attempt to listen to this piece of music if you are of a nervous disposition. Do not attempt to listen to it if you don't like modern music. Do not attempt to listen to it if you have delicate ear-drums.

7. Music during a game

   #7

   I like most of the music from the Castlevania: Symphony of the night for PS1. If you have the game, ono of the fan sites has a utility to grab the music from it and some other PS1 games. Crystal Teardrops is absolutly a great track for dungeon crawling, since thats where it's used in Castlevaina.

8. Music during a game

   #8

   Castlevania. I automatically think of the old midi files that sound like the old atari or nintendo games. I sure it is better. I have the same thought with Final Fantasy, which I hear is pretty darn good music too. Will have to see if I can find it anywhere.

9. Music during a game

   #9

   Follow the white yoda, Strolen.
   
   (anyway, back to the post)
   
   I found the LOTR soundtrack to be quite good, especially the bridge of khazad dun, but that's just me.

10. Music during a game

    #10

    Just found something. It's a cd called Sojourn, and it's REALLY GOOD instrumental music, created with RPGs specifically in mind. I found it at a local gaming store, but you can order it from www.sojourncd.com. It's great.

11. Music during a game

    #11

    You should try to listen to
    "The Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos : The Mystery Of Santo Domingo de Silos"
    It's some the real medieval-sounding monk song, might be a little to much in the long run, but I really like it, though.
    Yes, the LOTR soundtracks are very good also, but there's also "The Tolkien Ensemble" who are some danes (yes, of all people) who has made music for all the poems and songs in LOTR. It's really good.
    And then, of course, there's Era, that's also really good.

12. Music during a game

    #12

    Monkish chants! Definitely. Very atmospheric. The Tallis Scholars do lots of good monky stuff too (or should I say monky business?).
    
    Also Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite was a major omission from the list! Hall of the Mountain King is great!
    
    eph!

13. Music during a game

    #13

    Believe it or not, the Diablo 2 soundtrack is a good source of general background music. Last few games I've played have had most of the playlist running in the background to great effect. IIRC, you can download them from the Blizzard website, too.

14. Music during a game

    #14

    True. I already downloaded them when I went througha Diablo 2 phase, and have used them for listening. I never really thought about that.... Good idea.

15. Music during a game

    #15

    Though I wouldn't really buy the game just for the soundtrack, a cd of amazingly good music for roleplaying comes with the computer game Icewind Dale. The Morrowind soundtrack is good, too.

16. Music during a game

    #16

    For those who dip into occasionaly technological settings... What music do you favor? Personally, I've found a few nonlyrical songs by Kansas that work - and surprisingly, quite a few anime songs work rather well. I'm still trying to track down the music that plays in Bubblegum Crisis 2032 when Largo uses his little black box to bring down satstrikes everywhere... It's truly a grand moment of background music for the moment when a truly technological monstrosity is unleashed...

17. Music during a game

    #17

    I don't usually like background music myself. I either end up listening to music or I turning it off. But as far as the genre goes
    The Matrix the soundtrack is good
    Johnny Mnemonic the soundtrack is good too
    Anything from Ramstein
    And on a softer side
    Enya is good for anything

18. castlevania rocks

    #18

    we use midis form all the castlevanias
    and midis form other games too is more cool than music . :lol:

19. Music during a game

    #19

    While an entertaining idea, I have to say that I don't care for most MIDI files; sound that runs at 8 bits tends to have a rather highly artificial feel o it that can demolish most game moods...
    
    And I have to say that Mahler's symphonies do, indeed, have some rather interesting background music potential...

20. Music during a game

    #20

    Mahler definitely! And I've been listening to Dvorak's Vodnik (Water Goblin) which is also very good for fantasy music. Also try Stravinsky's Chant du Rossignol, based on one of Hans Christian Andersen's stories about a nightingale. It's very weird, but atmospheric.
    
    ephemeralstability!

21. Music during a game

    #21

    In truth, I'll admit that a fair chunk of my background music, when played, originates in video game RPGs. Specifically, I own every Final Fantasy soundtrack from 3 through 10, as well as both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. All of them together provide a wonderful selection of music...

22. Some tips to the application of music in a game session.

    #22

    On that note:
    
    Music can be used to set and reinforce a mood or a setting in a game. However, music must be set at a background level. Any louder than that and it becomes a distraction. If players are spending more time focusing on the music than playing the game, something is wrong.
    
    Music is another voice of the game. Just like the GM needs to present information in the right way to preserve the game's feel, music should be selected to reflect the "feel" or ethos of the game. The specific music being played must fit the campaign, the setting, or the action. Music that fits the setting should reflect the kind of game and the environment like any non-player character. Drumming and traditional Japanese folk music were the soundtrack for my Nippon game. The soundtracks for Mortal Kombat were played when we were having combat in a martial arts game. We played chamber music for a Victorian game. Environmental sounds were great when we were in forests or out in the wilds. For a fantasy campaign, classical, celtic folk, or even Beatles could be applicable. During a huge street brawl in a modern-day game Marilyn Manson, Stabbing Westward, or Rage Against the Machine were all in the background. Find the mood you want, choose music to complement it, and play it.
    
    To keep the disruption of maintaining music to a minimum. designate one player as "keeper of the music". It is that player's job to play DJ, with some input from the GM. This allows the GM to keep attention on the game, and to add music to the gaming experience. A keeper maintains a constant flow of music that fits the setting and mood at a low volume level. To assist this, most keepers create a "playlist" of what songs/ tracks on what albums were good for what kind of situations/ moments. The keeper is rewarded with extra experience or karma points because their efforts enhance the game.
    
    So you are all hyped about music in your game. However, you complain that you don't have all this music. Where do you get "gaming music"? You would be surprised on how much "gaming" music you already have, from movie sound tracks and your troop's music collections. You can pick up more in any music or video store, and most local libraries. The internet is still a great source for free music, if you are careful. Just do not spend too much money on your music. It is just another game prop. If you need help finding appropriate music, music store clerks, media librarians, and some internet user groups, are great sources of information.
    
    I would like to mention my favorite sources of music. Movie soundtracks are great sources of game music. The pieces all follow the same feel and have pieces for a variety of mood. (The compilation albums for a given time period or TV show themes also work well.) If the game is set in a historical period, use traditional music for that area. If the game is fantasy or sci fi, pick a musical feel and stick with it. Over the years, we have used Celtic, bluegrass, techno/dance, Native American/ tribal music, and Beatles tunes, to great effect. Environmental music/ sounds CDs, Fresh Aire, and classical/ opera music, round out the field.
    
    Music is one of those you need to "gather" over time, rather than just grab in one bunch. The tool to facilitate that is the little black book. As a GM, you function much like an author. Like an author, keep a notebook with you. Record interesting things, observations, or ideas as you encounter them. Don't trust your memory. Trust your pen. Record descriptions (scenery, interesting people, the name of stores, music lyrics, turns of phrase) that can be used as little nuggets of descriptive goodness in your campaign. Record plot and story ideas and use them as springboards for future game plots. The little book will help you improve your game craft and your campaign.

23. Music during a game

    #23

    I wholeheartedly agree! Despite the fact that I actually started this thread I often don't use music during games, because it can be too much of a distraction. I like the idea of designating a player to run the music, because it takes the stress away from us DMs!
    
    ephemeralstability!

24. Music during a game

    #24

    With a CD-R and a CD player, much of the trouble just goes away... Custom-burned CDs are useful when paired with repeat-1 or Random...

25. Music during a game

    #25

    well i think mp3 is better but thats just my point of view

26. Music during a game

    #26

    I put in my wife's belly dancing music for the near East campaigns. For the old europa type campaigns I ran, I would put in monk chants and such.
    
    :lol:

27. Music during a game

    #27

    ...MP3s are simply songfiles like the ones found on CDs, in a more compressed format to save on space. After all, the WAV format takes up a fair bit of room...

28. Along these lines....

    #28

    I just found a great list of marvellous music for gaming. It is from Monte Cook, whos website has grown and expanded to a marvelous place to visit since the last time I was there, oh so long ago. The link is...
    
    http://www.montecook.com/arch_dmonly19.html

29. Music during a game

    #29

    I really never thought o fusing music to assist in crrating stories. Though it may distract me it may also triger some crazy shit from adream that could prove benficial....

30. Music of the Future

    #30

    You can work music without interfering with your GM duties easily, if you are a techno GM, with a computer/ laptop by your side. By creating a bunch of launches for various tunes you will need (no fumbling for them) and setting up a set of real speakers for real sound, your computer familiar can provide musical accompaniment to perfectly match the mood you want.

31. my two cents...

    #31

    Personally, I love music in a game (especially as a GM). I feel it relaxes me and it helps to ease the pressuse that sometimes arises. Most important of all... when your busy trying to work something out the players will listen to it instead of talking to each other and then arguing (at least my players to) and distracting you. We dont use music much but when we do its a much better experience.
    
    Some of my favorites are:
    Blue Oyster Cult -Dancing in the Ruins
    Blue Oyster Cult -Astrology
    Blue Oyster Cult -Ballroom Blitz (for a barfight)
    a few other b.o.c. songs
    some Anthrax
    Aerosmith -Kings and Queens
    and Enya works well
    
    Heh... I was just reminded of the time all we had to listen to was Adam Sandler. To say the least, we had to turn it off.

32. In search of a song to fit the mood.

    #32

    Greetings. I have just spent three days searching for just the right song to put on a website for an Everquest Guild. The feeling is simple. They are a clan of noble Knights who represent all that is good, Holy, and Just. I am searching for a song to evoke Nobility and Honor, pride of ones clan. I searched under many different fields and found nothing but hard rock remixes or Classical tunes that were just way to dead. Maybe something befitting an epic battle of good against evil. I found a song on a different website and loved it, but i am not down for robbing from other websites. It was found in the intro of the guild called The White Cross. I am looking for something similar to that if possible. I have exhausted my efforts and do not know under what search parameters i can look under to find such songs. Please help. Thank you.

33. Music during a game

    #33

    You could always try Nimrod by Elgar or Holst's Jupiter. Many people find these pieces patriotic and noble, I just think they're good pieces of music.
    
    ephe!

34. some more good songs

    #34

    Some of the music i think is awsome is
    The sorow song from grandia II
    For the dragons from breath of fire III
    Renas theme song from star ocean II
    The battle music from all star oceans
    the big boss music from grandia II
    lockes theme from final fantasy III
    The boss music from legend of mana
    fighting spirit from tales of phantasia
    darts theme from legend of the dragoon
    the chapter II world map music from legend of the dragoon
    Most of the music from gundam wing endless duel
    
    By the way, captain penguin, i want my soundtrack from icewind dale back.

35. More music

    #35

    Hmm, guess that I'm not gonna' be to original, but I use a lot of soundtracks: 13th Warrior (Jerry Goldsmith), Children of Dune (Brian Tyler), Lord of the Rings of course (but It's a little bit to known and generally it already suggests the Lord of the Rings storyline to the players...)... Yeah, and one thing amongst them all: if You have a good extraction program (I think that the best one available would be Nova Software Extractor 2.4) always try to ripp music from Your favorite games! I have a wild variety of such kind of music, just the examples: Divine Divinity (the file named "bitva" is just great, all other are good too), War of the Ring (this one is one of my all-time favourites), Warcraft III (You don't need the ripper - there's a special option in the map editor to extract music), Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption (the music is unpacked somewhere in the game's folder), Ultima IX, Blair Witch Project series, Medal of Honor (not all of its wonderful tracks suit the fantasy setting, but some of them can), Majesty (another great one), Heroes of Might & Magic III (not to particulary good, but if You insist You can use it as a background...), Heroes of Might & Magic II CD (extract the cd audio - nice vocals I must say), Diablo and many, many others... You can also look for some music in the internet (www.billbrownmusic.com , www.kmmproductions.com - a lot of mp3 for starters). If You want some names to search the Kazaa, try: Jerry Goldsmith, Sergei Prokofiev, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Elliot Goldenthal and Basil Poledouris. Have fun! :)))) Greets from Poland to ya' all! :))

36. Music during a game

    #36

    hey guys, go to bluelaguna.net for pretty much every final fantasy mp3 from 6-11, kingdom hearts, and fft advance. (some of the mp3s will only work if you have a relatively good mp3 player)

37. Music during a game

    #37

    Personaly I go with ephemeralstability and select clasical music very often.
    
    Prokofiev, Scjostakovich, Dvorak, Rachmaninov, Tsjakovski, but also Grieg and Field.
    
    Besides that various irish and scotisch folk music. My current favorite is a album by magna carta. This album is relased but a few months ago in the netherlands and I keep forgetting the name. Otherwise, the "lord of the ages" album remains a favorite in our group.
    
    Yours,
    
    Ylorea

38. Music during a game

    #38

    I recommend The Pipar at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd. Excellent instrumental work, very moody. Shipped as the Dungeon Keeper soundtrack.
    
    I also find Rammstein very good at a low level, especially the songs that focus more on vocals. They can be very, very haunting if played just right.
    
    The Longest Journey soundtrack is excellent.

39. Music during a game

    #39

    Our gaming group uses music very much and I think it plays a really important part in the atmosphere. Without music, any game especially if the rhythm is wrong feels a bit "empty". For scifi games we often use ambient soundscapes, electronic music, synthesizer music like Vangelis (Blade Runner soundtrack is exceptionally good - Cliff Martinez does a great work on the modern Solaris etc)
    
    But I have also fiddled around in my home studio for a few years now, mainly making orchestral soundtrack -pieces and ambient atmospheres. I have myself used the material as a background music in my pen&paper -roleplaying sessions so I thought it would be nice to offer the music for everyone to use. All of the stuff is free so you can copy, modify and use it as you like.
    
    I'll update the projects as often I can, so feel free to check back every now and then.
    
    Mikseri.net is finnish page, so some of the texts are probably not understandable, but I have written everything I can in english, so I hope the pages are browseable.
    
    Here's one sample song from Essence -project, called Hope for rebirth
    
    Essence is the main project which contains mostly orchestral soundtrack-pieces
    
    Divinity is the ambient project, which contains mainly soundscapes and background atmospheres.
    
    Frozen Silence contains improvised solo piano pieces.
    
    So feel free to browse the material and if you find it useful, hopefully it will bring something new to your games also!

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