How To Make Music For Your Game 

Hi! Thank you all so much for the insane amount of views on this video! I made another video on game music where I make a village/town theme. You can watch that video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fJmFJCLxfag.html I'm also working on my own Steam game! You can watch my video's about the development here: ru-vid.com/group/PL8-IIfHHwQIW47Fvhzp0M0Ymk4k1NA3-e

Man getting someone to buy my kidney is harder than I thought... didn't think that'd be the part I'd struggle with.

Another thing that might help: Don't be afraid to reuse, recontextualize, and reharmonize melodic elements you've already used in prior tracks. Leitmotifs and OSTs go together like bread and butter. Edit: We get it, Toby Fox exists, but leitmotifs have been used in OSTs since the dawn of OSTs. Toby Fox may be good at it but he is one of many examples.

Another great tip: you can hum the melody while playing the game and then try to recreate it, it is good because it will fit perfectly and you can make some long music stuff with it.

0:50 - TBF, this is without any sound whatsoever, not just without music. There *are* certain scenarios where no music is actually more appropriate, in order to set the proper atmosphere using ambient sounds, etc., and to shift the focus onto something. Horror games are a great example of this. But yes, a game without any music is fairly lifeless.

With some volume shifting between the different parts, this could be a good starting town theme as well.

This was actually a very informative video. Music was always the most terrifying part of gamedev to me, but you explained it in a very easy to understand and consise manner. Great job!

this video single handedly saved my will to keep making games

Tip: for battle music or boss battle music, it doesn’t have to be intense, it can sound fun or like classical music (like Cynthia’s theme)

The end result sounds like a good ending for a cute platformer, I almost can see the "Thank you for playing!" at the end.

bold of you to assume that i have a game in the first place

For anyone interested who already sold a kidney to pay rent, i find lmms to be a great free alternative, especially as it concerns ease of use. My only real gripe with it is that you can't easily copy and paste large chunks of music, but other than that, it's very powerful for a free option.

Having at LEAST just a little bit of knowledge on music theory will GREATLY help with making your music. It be a bit cumbersome learning at first, but something as simple as knowing different scales, keys, compositional techniques, and so on are extremely helpful. Along with this, knowing how to mix your music will make your music sound a lot better. Everyone wants to know the fast way to do something, but the true answer is to just learn how to do what it is that you're trying to do. Learning to code your game? Learn to code. Need to make the music? Learn to make make music. Modeling? Same answer. It's all a veeerrryy long process, but once you have knowledge on all of these various things, they will all be extremely useful.

He muted sound effect 💀

Thanks for using Pokemon battle music as an example, exactly what I was trying to figure out how to reproduce

This is really cool! Music is sooo difficult, but you gave a very fun and insightful way of approaching it!

Everybody: listening to the music Me: watching his cursor vibing

Hahah, I love how this was explained! Amazing editing and humour, really made my day and I hope to see more like this :)

Thanks, was helpful, every time I composed something I got stuck with just a nice part A, the rest was a mess. Will try your suggestions for my new game.

Sounds awesome! It's crazy how much work goes into video game music. The fourth section sounds like Four Seasons Spring by Vivaldi!

This video was great! Both the information and humor were on point! Also I found the pacing to be great.

Everyone have their methods, but there is always basics, so for people who wants to make this kind of music its a very good explanation, so thank you a lot for it!

For people who need ideas, one way I made the base themes for my characters was taking 2 songs that I thought had a similar feel and tried to combine them. For example, I mixed Atreus's from God of War and The Dragonroost island theme from Windwaker to make the main theme for my game

Thanks! It's really usefull. Something I could add is that you need to be careful not to make the music too distractive. The music in games should not be better when heard alone but complement with the game itself. That's the trickiest part, because there is a lot of great music out there that, for not merging well enough with the gameplay, it just get lost or, even worst, starts to feel noisy.

love the mouse pointer moving with the music

this is very insightful and helpful well done i also dig the music you made in the video its very catchy and upbeat

If you play multiple notes at once in the bass frequency it gets muddy so it's highly recommended to not layer and harmonize the bass like you could with a melody, keep the bass one note at a time.

Not only was this video incredibly informative, but the theme you made is quite catchy and has been stuck in my head for the past few days. Bravo.

Really cool track! Music is definitely my Achilles heel in game dev so it's great to see you acing it.

Oh wow! This was REALLY helpful!!! Thanks a lot for this!!! Loved the vid and everything :)

I loved this video and you have A GREAT Ear!! This was an insightful tutorial! I had about the same understanding you had! I heard your 2 music choices and you are so right that they are similar sounding and you made a VERY Good and ORIGINAL Battle theme!! Not surprised it would end up in ACTUAL game! Sounds REAL!

Wow! It seems so much more simpler than I was making it out to be. Thanks for the video! Super helpful!!

Another thing that helps is to use/ recycle copyright free songs. Like from 2-3 song create one by mixing them together! Thats how i mostly create themes for my games

I make games but I've never made music, it's kinda intimidating to do when you have absolutely no experience, but this video breaks it down and makes it seem so doable, great video, and I love the final song

tbh i liked all your work! but really being honest the last part is the most satisfying :) also good job! keep it up bro!

There are various ways of facing game music. That can depend on many factors as you can use it how you want as long as you program the game accordingly (like if you want to activate different parts according to the mood or loop the song on a precise moment). The most important thing is to get the feel that the loop can be heard for a long time without being anoying, or making you want to hear it without stop.

Love your presentation man! Haven't used FL Studio since it was called Fruity Loops, so good fun to see you working in that :D

3:20 *the stereo madness is real*

This is a great video for people intimidated by game music! I've been doing it for like 5 years now and I've been using this exact method of learning or borrowing (stealing) ideas from music I listen to. I will say though, to take full advantage of this method, the more music theory you know, the better, because you can use that knowledge to understand how the songs you're inspired by are built. Knowing that allows you to figure out how to achieve the feeling you're going for in your songs!

I love the fact that you were moving your mouse around while the music was playing

Wow it turned out soo good!! I learned nothing, but nice video!

I don't have any kidneys left after buying oculus quest 2

Really great short tutorial. In real game music making next part is polishing mixing and mastering. but I think this is enough for this type of music, doesn't need to be that good sounding just a vibe.

Just came here to learn how to get a music for game I develop, but ended up enjoying your music lol

Step 1 : find a composer 😂

oh my, you're so underrated, thank youtube for letting me know the channel and the content

That little mouse danse was gold

Ok now time to repeat the music in my head for the whole day... Great vid!!!

I made a music for a game once (had only a weekend) and I do recommend starting from the bass when you have no idea on what kind of melody you're thinking of. Otherwise, just give some basic bass melodies and look for substitutes if you wanna make it sound crunchy/funky or anything. I still have to sell my kidneys to buy FL studio tho, but great video!

2:19 I WAS LITERALLY JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT SONG WHAT

This is THE PERFECT menu theme

Loved the video, the way you edit is very funny and i enjoyed watching it all the way

Wow! It actually sounds like a Platformer/Match-3 sort of game's Theme Song. Very catchy!

19 years old. Wow. I wish I had that kind of drive/vision at that age.

Wow, that was a lot more theoretically useful than I expected. Sure I can't afford FL Studio let alone want to learn it, but the fundamentals you demonstrated of composure where quite helpful to hear.

These are simple, sometimes even a little obvious things, but very useful. Thank you.

Great editing in these videos, and you make cool stuff. Subbed. Keep up the good work.

here's a tip: game music almost always loops, so the "end" of you song shouldn't feel too final or conclusive.

love your editing!!

Thanks really glad i found this

Now do a "How To Make Game For Your Music"

super mario bros wonder type beat bruh

a good thing for some games is dynamic music, creating a music and splitting in parts with a perfect loop and play only one loop when the player is in the first level section for example, like in Cuphead bosses music.

I really love the dancing mouse cursor along with the played track haha

I tried to make music for my games … but i just said yes to every song lol . I wanted to capture the mood of each location. Like : jovial, majestic, mysterious, brutal metal in battle.

5:16 that kinda reminds me of a main theme song from papas pizzeria game (or anny other papas game) :D :D

That sound more like a happy Ace Attorney theme, but nice work!

This video is AMAZING thank you so much!

Did you forgotten something that help so much me. If you don't have idea to create a new game music, do a beat box and/or sing it an melody with the mouth and (if you have a microphone) record it and save it in your computer or smartphone. This will help you in create a new music, Trust me!

That sounds way more like a beach theme than a Pokémon battle theme.

This taught me more than most of the tutorials I've watched.

Damn a tutorial that i can understand, AND has a funky jam at the end? hell yeah!

2:28 ong now i can affork da fl studios tank yo bro!1!1!1!

I'm actually into using RPGMaker to make games. For me it's story that I'm good at the other skills I learned along the way. P.S. this sounds like something out of a Mario and Luigi game😂

Thanks a lot for this it was pretty useful

Yo valentine Huge thanks Me and a few friends of mine are making a game and I decided I'd make the soundtrack and concept art (since I'm the mobile nerd dude) You have my eternal gratitude

So what would you give me to not sue you.. ;) no but this is really helpful, I'd been too scared to look into music design. I thought it was way way harder

It took me so long to realize the piano music sheet said sus

Very cool because it feelings or it because You can tell that it’s with music.

I love the way you dance FL’s paint brush around its so cute 🥰

dude I think we have so much in common, I'm using FL studio tho for making my own indie game's soundtrack, currently I'm still struggling developing my yt channel about gamedev lol Are you also using Unity and Blender? We may doing some collab if you wanted too

Trying to make a game right now this helps

FINALLY THANK U I HAVE BEEN PROCESSING EVERYTHING IN MY BRAIN FOR A LITERAL INTRO THANK U SIR.

as a producer and someone who generally does a lot with music, here's some advice I'd personally give anyone making and creating music: steal anything you want from any song, popular or not. EXCEPT THE MELODY. Imagine that every company is like Nintendo and their lawyers. Welcome to the music industry, lol. Any recognisable part of a popular song could land you in hot water.

help, I'm stuck with this tutorial... how do you sell your kidneys? I genuinely feel like there's a freer option, but I'm too afraid to use it

As someone who has written and published their own music, it is so much fun making the music for my own games 😊

I am so glad RU-vid recommended this to me. I have zero talent for music, truly

I like Audacity And flstudio tho :D Use for Voice Effects And Making Game music :)

This guy needs more subscribers 👌

a few big things you forgot to mention: chords GENERALLY follow the same root notes as the bass line in FL Studio you can enable scales (basically cheat code to making your songs not sound awful) top left of piano roll -> view -> scale hightlightings -> your scale and key for the most part you can harmonize basses, melodies and pretty much anything with itself 7 semitones (piano steps) up and it will still be in key while using soundfonts might be easier, using plugins built into fl studio is much more powerful, better sounding and more customizable if you spend some time learning them, my recommendations would be: sytrus: very powerful yet simple, great stock presets harmless/harmor: more complex but even more powerful, amazing stock presets aswell sakura: if you are going for an asian sounding soundtrack, this plugin is awesome

I'm getting festival vibes from the final song. I think thats more because of the low bpm though (also bw2 uses amen breaks for all of its battle themes afaik, so maybe thats why it feels more relaxed). Its a really fun tune though

Can anybody tell me pls what music is this from ? 0:14

Ahh my ears

thanks i needed this

Ficou muito lindo! Parece muito de jogo de plataformas em pixel, eu amei!👏❤️

thats cool and all but how do i get my kidneys back????

so what have I learned? I need to make money before listening to any bit of advice.

I swear, good sound design and music can boost the feeling of playing a game A LOT. One of my favourite examples of sound design having an amazing impact on the player's experience is probably "Part Eight / The Bridge" from INSIDE. Another great example is when turning on the first generator of "The Mines" part of Slender: The Arrival. Anxiety. When it comes to music I usually like to bring up all the music packs Apex Legends have provided over the years. First time playing it, and jumping out of the dropship... Man, the music really stepped it up. Call of Duty: World at War, playing as the Russians with that badass theme.. And then hearing it again but even with a hard rock cover while watching the credits after completing the game? Where the ending literally uses the Soviet Anthem? God it was fucking great.

Thanks a lot, i make music on piano normally and just getting the software was a hard part for me

I'm rather late to the party but thanks for this! I was worried about the music part for game dev. I got the 3D modelling down and learned how to use Unreal Engine but music was a daunting big scary thing.