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A Composer's Guide to Game Music (Mit Press) Paperback – August 11, 2017

by Winifred Phillips (Author)
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Winner of the Global Music Award Gold Medal for an exceptional book in the field of music · Winner of the National Indie Excellence Book Award · Winner of the Nonfiction Book Award (Gold Winner) · Winner of the Annual Game Music Award (Best Publication)
A comprehensive, practical guide to composing video game music, from acquiring the necessary skills to finding work in the field.Music in video games is often a sophisticated, complex composition that serves to engage the player, set the pace of play, and aid interactivity. Composers of video game music must master an array of specialized skills not taught in the conservatory, including the creation of linear loops, music chunks for horizontal resequencing, and compositional fragments for use within a generative framework. In A Composer's Guide to Game Music, Winifred Phillips―herself an award-winning composer of video game music―provides a comprehensive, practical guide that leads an aspiring video game composer from acquiring the necessary creative skills to understanding the function of music in games to finding work in the field.Musicians and composers may be drawn to game music composition because the game industry is a multibillion-dollar, employment-generating economic powerhouse, but, Phillips writes, the most important qualification for a musician who wants to become a game music composer is a love of video games. Phillips offers detailed coverage of essential topics, including musicianship and composition experience; immersion; musical themes; music and game genres; workflow; working with a development team; linear music; interactive music, both rendered and generative; audio technology, from mixers and preamps to software; and running a business.A Composer's Guide to Game Music offers indispensable guidance for musicians and composers who want to deploy their creativity in a dynamic and growing industry, protect their musical identities while working in a highly technical field, and create great music within the constraints of a new medium.
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  1. Print length
    284 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  4. Publication date
    August 11, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.06 x 0.8 x 9.06 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0262534495
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0262534499
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
193 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book's content great, inspiring, and practical for video game composers. They also describe the writing style as well-written and a must for video games. Readers also praise the composer as talented, versatile, and able to communicate well.

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ContentWriting styleComposer
11 customers mention "Content"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content great, describing the ins and outs of the video game industry. They also say it contains priceless advice on the business aspect of a game composer. Readers say the book covers all related topics, from concepts and techniques to compose. They say it's a comprehensive view into the video gaming industry, and that it'll be fine for beginners.

"...It not only contains priceless advice on the business-aspect of a game composer's career but is also full of neatly-explained techniques on how to..." Read more

"...It concentrates on passion and dogged determination while also explaining aspects as specific as necessary software and elevator pitches...." Read more

"This is a comprehensive guidebook for aspiring video game music composers looking for an introduction to the industry...." Read more

"This is a great little book. It is well organized and educational, and really got me back into writing music for games...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style very well written and wonderful. They also say the book is a must for video game composers.

"A wonderful book by a composer who definitely knows what she is talking about and a must-read for anyone wishing to get involved in composing music..." Read more

"...The guide itself is structured in a very readable way, beginning with Philips being inspired by a Tomb Raider game to write music for video games,..." Read more

"...knowledge which stems out of a vast experience has been articulately and humbly communicated...." Read more

"Very well written; a must for video game composers..." Read more

3 customers mention "Composer"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the composer talented, versatile, and a great communicator. They also appreciate the transparency into her experiences and how she works. Readers also say the book provides insightful information about game music.

"...She is not only a talented and versatile composer but also a great communicator...." Read more

"What I liked best about this title is its transparency into the composer's experiences and how she works, As well as provided insight into the Game..." Read more

"Very thoughtful and insightful to the world of game music...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

A reader
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone wishing to compose music for games
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
A wonderful book by a composer who definitely knows what she is talking about and a must-read for anyone wishing to get involved in composing music for games. Winifred Phillips is one of the most in-demand composers in her field and for a very good reason. She is not only a talented and versatile composer but also a great communicator. Her writing style is great and easy to understand, yet packs information for newbies and seasoned professionals alike.

"A Composer's Guide to Game Music" is exactly what the title says : a very comprehensive guide into everything and anything that a composer needs to know in order to start building a successful career in game music. It not only contains priceless advice on the business-aspect of a game composer's career but is also full of neatly-explained techniques on how to tackle the actual task of composing the music.

As a reader and composer I have also greatly appreciated the fact that author takes matter a step further : She has created a series of videos and blog-posts to supplement her book which are freely available from her wordpress website and youtube channel : http://youtu.be/X7wXRY3ocL4

A great read!
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Matthew Buckley
5.0 out of 5 stars At once practical and inspiring
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2017
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As someone who grew up with a nearly equal love for both video games and music, I have long desired to marry the two passions with a career in video game music composition. I’m entrenched in the goings-on in the games industry, and I’ve been a practicing composer for the majority of my life, but I’ve never known quite where to start when it comes to actually putting music in a game.

A Composer’s Guide to Game Music feels aimed directly at my archetype. It’s a crash course for composers who feel a deep desire to bring their craft to the gaming medium. It concentrates on passion and dogged determination while also explaining aspects as specific as necessary software and elevator pitches. Upon finishing the book, I came away with ideas, confidence, and direction. I feel a fire has been lit and I may actually know where to go from here.

This is a near mandatory read for anyone even considering entering the game music composition field. Start here, folks.
4 people found this helpful
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rico
5.0 out of 5 stars I have no composition experience.
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
I grabbed this book because I recently started my own little video game project. Something I am doing on my own in my spare time when I can get it. I grabbed a couple books on art, music, and writing and design to help me along.

The only experience I had before reading this book was playing a bit of harmonica as a child, and dabbling with some fruity loops for some hip-hop music back in the day. I have no composition experience or formal education.

With that said, this book was a really great read! It introduced me to some musical concepts such as the leitmotif and idee fixe. The common themes that run through music and projects. The switching up of instruments to maintain the style of music while altering it. Speeding up and slowing down.

She gets into the study one can do while working on a game project to have the fullest immersion possible. Presents studies that have been done on people's taste in music and video games and the association involved. The different elements of sound and music produced in the games and the types of things a producer may request, as well as the interaction between the development team and the composer.

As I said, I have no real composition experience to speak of, just a layman. This book was very great though. I am sure that after I touch up on some music theory and get a bit of experience and dwell deeper into my projects that this is a book I will reference often.
15 people found this helpful
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Ada
3.0 out of 5 stars Fine for beginners, not useful for nuts and bolts
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2020
Verified Purchase
For someone who has recently dived into game music, and already consumed a large portion of YouTube videos on the subject, this book was a rehashing of introductory material. If you have some cursory experience with DAW and understand the concept of looping, you'll want more technical reading.

The author throws in philosophical ideas to keep things interesting, but I was disappointed that the musical examples provided were for someone who can barely read music (melodic notation for examples like Row Row Your Boat). I would have benefited from seeing actual chord structures and measure lengths, to see the mechanics rather than having them alluded to with verbage.

Examples are cited from popular video games, but again, if the author had taken the time to include the notation, someone with musical chops would have understood the concepts immediately without having leave the book to go onto YouTube to access game play videos, and try to analyze chords by ear.
9 people found this helpful
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Chris Mathews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014
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A Composer's Guide by Winifred Philips, known for her work with the games, God of War, Little Big Planet II, and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, is a wonderful book that manages to detail a lot of what a video game composer does without being to be general or being too technical. The guide itself is structured in a very readable way, beginning with Philips being inspired by a Tomb Raider game to write music for video games, which transitions into topics such as the place music has in video games and then further along into more specialized topics. I enjoyed how most topics were presented with examples from video games including from Philips's own works. I especially found the chapters dealing with how composers should interact with the development team and how they should conduct their business to be enlightening. Overall, it features a great balance in focus between the technical skills (explanation of looping, layering, MIDI, DAW), the Musical skills (themes, leitmotifs and ideé fixe, arrangement) and business/workplace skills (working with the devlopment team, finding work)
5 people found this helpful
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Gilberto
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing comprehensive view into the video game industry
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
Although very specific into the role of a video game composer, it also was very helpful in explaining the overall structure of the video game industry. I will keep reading it from time to time and highly recommend it to anyone who is seeking to compose for video games.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars The first step
Reviewed in Brazil on January 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book might fool you by giving you the sense of being outdated, but Winifred is a seasoned composer and by highlitning her struggles with her initial jobs and how she pops the bubble of the industry is quite inspirational.
Her examples ands thought also give us insights to prepare ourselves for the upcoming challenges in this new and very specific area of the video games industry.
It's a great starting point!
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Jacob I.
5.0 out of 5 stars increíble
Reviewed in Spain on September 7, 2019
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increíble
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Luis M Perez
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente Libro
Reviewed in Mexico on June 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
Un gran libro para personas que quieren empezar su vida profesional dentro del maravilloso mundo del audio y composición interactiva.
One person found this helpful
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Carlo Colombo
5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful
Reviewed in Italy on June 15, 2015
Verified Purchase
Nice book, suggested to Who wants to enter in game music world, for me has bene very useful and clear
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Joshua Note
5.0 out of 5 stars Your Journey into Game Music Begins Here
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2014
Verified Purchase
Firstly, I am a long time fan of Winifred Phillips. I've been listening to her work for years and it was really exciting to hear she had decided to write a book about the art and industry of VGM.

I had the pleasure of interviewing her for my Podcast The Note Show and also on Primary Trigger

Winfred is one of the most in depth and comprehensive composers in games today and there's always an incredible amount of thought and detail in her works so it's interesting to hear about her processes and mindset when approaching a project and how she thinks about the task of scoring a game. If you're just dipping your toes in the water you couldn't be in better hands.

As someone who dreamed of scoring video games and movies as a teenager and young adult it's also really nice to hear how she first 'discovered' game music as a potential avenue of work and then made her transition into the field... and if you know anything about her, you know just how well that went.

She has a talk that I found really helpful about her score for Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation available on Youtube.

I genuinely think that this book is open to anyone, even if you're not 'musically inclined' (I really don't like that expression) and just happen to enjoy VGM, Film Scores, Electronic Music, or are a gamer interested in one of the most important aspects of the experience. I spoke to someone who just got this book and devoured it after getting an Inon Zur piece stuck in his head and is now fascinated by the whole area; he knew nothing about music past being a casual listener before and I think that's the important takeaway. It's not esoteric or some clandestine tome filled with confusing terminology, it's accessible.

I studied music and I now get to interview people who I've listened to over a lifetime of game playing and this is definitely the best book I've found to pull me back into that world and orientate me to the different processes now employed by composers. It's a new world, and games are really a new frontier of music. Nowhere else presents that paradox of restraints and opportunity for invention in quite the same way.

If you're a student of music or a would be composer, this is definitely the first book you want to get into VGM, it has a permanent place on my shelf now as I know I'll be referring back to it regularly. After 4 years since I last wrote music seriously I found myself updating my copy of Finale and Garritan Personal Orchestra and even though I am likely never to compose a soundtrack to a video game, it's great to have books like this to keep me inspired and excited about creating music when I can.

I cannot recommend it enough!

Some helpful links:

 Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design

For listening Search:

Winifred Phillips' Assassin's Creed Liberation Main Theme
Little Big Planet 2 Soundtrack

Video Game Music CD's -
 The Greatest Video Game Music (Amazon Bonus Track Edition)
Greatest Video Game Music Vol.2 (London Philharmonic/ Andrew Skeet) (X5 Music: X5CD118)
Video Games Live
3 people found this helpful
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