Hey Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well! Recently in our game scoring class we have been creating a lot of original instruments within Kontakt. We’ve had to create original leads, pads, and drum kits. If you haven’t dived into the wonders of Kontakt yet, I suggest preparing yourself, but not only that, explore and have fun! Kontakt is an incredible way to have an in depth experience with the sounds that you are creating music with. It gives you a lot of control when utilizing it. I often find myself enjoying my own composition process the most when I get to record my own sound samples and  place them into Kontakt to mess around with until the point of being unable to recognize the original sound source. Kontakt is also a good thing to get into because a lot of composers today utilize it in order to create their own original sounds/instruments, and once you gain an internship with a composer, you may be asked to create something within it.

We also took a look at the game Shadow of the Colossus recently in our game scoring class. Once in a while we’re lucky enough to be able to play a game within class and really explore how the music is being utilized. We played Journey last semester as well which was a fantastic experience visually and musically. We also played online games a few weeks ago since that is also a huge part of the gaming industry. There are so many gaming platforms out there, and if you’re interested in the gaming industry, it’s wise to play as many games as you possibly can. I personally tend to watch a lot of friends play games and watch online game play, but I also make sure to play games as well. The only way to get the true experience of a game is to really sink in and have a personal experience with it.

Outside of classes, I’ve been utilizing my time in order to paint and create my own lyrics and pop punk songs. I’ve found that finding art or creating music outside of a film/game/class is extremely important. If you don’t find a time within your schedule for something that you enjoy doing, you will find that you may get burnt out. Experiencing and creating other forms of art is crucial in this because it can bring forth an idea you may have not thought of before, or a new concept. Surround yourself by art, or even nature. There is so much out there that can help us as composers outside of what we do every single day: build a schedule, go for a walk to the park, paint something, go to the Art Institute, read a book, or anything else you may be interested in. Have some fun! Once, when I wasn’t making time for myself, one of my teachers stressed [having fun] as being an important part of his life. I didn’t realize until later how important it actually is.