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The Game is the New Music Studio
"I gave up video games years ago when I got serious about my music production. Now my music is making me juiced to get back into the game."
By Brandon McFarland
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At the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco this week, plenty of panels spotlight the musical scores and soundtracks so vital to any game’s success. But the worlds of music and gaming are merging in other ways, and not just through blockbuster games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which allow amateurs to feel like musicians. Youth Radio’s Brandon McFarland meets Amp Live, tackles Rock Band, and explores the rapidly eroding line between games and music.
Brandon: I’ve been playing drums since I was six. Give me a spoon, a fork, and a file cabinet, and I’ve got myself a drum set.
Brandon: If I can do that with a couple kitchen utensils, the video game Rock Band should be a cinch. On Rock Band, you choose a classic rock tune, pick your instrument, and then rack up points for staying on beat.
Brandon: It’s time for me to rock out.
Ambi (on tape): Song plays: “Hey, Ho, Let’s Go!…” Brandon: “Ahhh! Oh! I suck!” (game sound of booing and Brandon’s character getting booted from the stage). 18:12 Brandon: “What happened?! People are booing me? No! Why are they booing me?”
Brandon: Despite that weak performance, this game is addictive… It’s no surprise more almost 1.5 million units have sold since its November release. But on most games, all you’re doing is playing along with other people’s music. Imagine using a videogame to create your own. You can. Game Spot Senior Editor Brian Eckberg says that’s a next evolution in music gaming—holding your studio in the palm of your hands…
Brian (on tape): If you’re diving deep with these games and learning all the intricacies, it’s truly an act of creation. If you get it in the hands of someone who’s really skilled, man, they can create some amazing stuff…
Ambi (on tape): Amp Live’s beats start
Brandon: That’s hip hop producer Amp Live, using a game called TraxxPad, which turns your Play Station into a music studio.
Ambi (on tape): more beats, with more layers
Brandon: Last month, I saw Amp’s show with his crew, Zion I. His partner Zumbi yells into the mic “Amp’s gonna freestyle!” Amp comes from the back of the stage to the front, with his Play Station Portable, in his hand. Amp uses that device to mix beats, in real time, right there on the stage. Games can give producers like Amp the kind of freestyling glory usually reserved for the MC.
Amp Live (on tape): Got a cool little kick, a little cymbal
Brandon: Amp is a musical advisor to Definitive Studios, the makers of Traxxpad, and his sounds come with the game. But players can also record their own sounds and use those samples in the game too. Like when Amp secretly records me talking about my first time playing Rock Band.
Brandon: Let me break down what’s happening. Amp just sampled my voice. Now he mixes me into a beat—all by tapping tiny buttons on his hand-held.
Brandon: That was tight! And Traxxpad’s just one game where players produce original music. You can find guitarists on MySpace playing whole sets on a Nintendo game called Jam Sessions. And a company called RockStar will soon release a portable music mixing game called Beaterator in associaton with the legendary producer, Timbaland.
I gave up video games years ago when I got serious about my music production. Now my music is making me juiced to get back into the game.
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