How does video game music work?
Tom Service goes on an interactive odyssey to discover the secrets behind our favourite video game music.
Bleep... bleep.... bleeeeep
It's amazing how a few electronic bleeps can tell us so much about what's going on in a video game without us even being aware of it
But music in video games has come a long way from the arcades, from the bleeps and bloops of Space Invaders and Super Mario to epic orchestral scores of the Legend of Zelda and Bioshock, Tom Service goes on an interactive odyssey to discover the secrets behind our favourite video game music. Along the way he meets composer Jessica Curry and video game expert Tim Summers who tell us what's really happening in the music when we're playing, the composer tricks of the trade and how video games can get new audiences closer to classical music.
bleeeeeeep... GAME OVER.
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Tom Service traces the rise of an evolving genre, from 80s chiptunes to responsive scores
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Music Played
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Koji Kondo
Super Mario Bros Themes
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Andrew Skeet.- X5 Music Group.
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Masato Nakamura
Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog
Performer: Unnamed.- Wave Master.
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Hans Zimmer
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 聳 Theme
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Andrew Skeet.- X5 Music Group.
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Nobu Uematsu
Final Fantasy VII 聳 Theme
Performer: Unnamed.- DigiCube.
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Jesper Kyd
Secret Invasion from Hitman Blood Money
Performer: Budapest Festival Orcehstra. Performer: B茅la Drahos.- Sumthing Else Music Works.
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Alexey Pajitnov
Tetris Theme
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Andrew Skeet.- X5 Music Group.
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Bill Elm
Born Unto Trouble 聳 from Red Dead Redemption
Composer: Woody Jackson. Performer: Unnamed.- Rockstar Games.
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Garry Schyman
The Ocean on his Shoulders 聳 from Bioshock
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Andrew Skeet.- X5 Music Group.
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Mike Zarin
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Performer: Unnamed.- Ubisoft Musi.
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Guns N鈥� Roses
Sweet Child O Mine
Performer: Guns N鈥� Roses.- Geffen.
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Jessica Curry
Numbers of the Light 聳 from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Performer: Unnamed.- Private tape.
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Jessica Curry
Infinite Zero 聳 from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Performer: Unnamed.- Sony Classical.
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Jessica Curry
An Early Harvest 聳 from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Performer: Unnamed.- Private tape.
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Jessica Curry
Disappearing 聳 from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Performer: Unnamed.- Sony Classical.
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Giacomo Puccini
Come e lunga l聮attesa! from Tosca
Performer: Angela Gheorghiu. Performer: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Performer: Sir Antonio Pappano.- EMI.
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Michael Z. Land
The Dig 聳 Original Soundtrack
Performer: Unnamed.- Angel Records 聟..
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Richard Wagner
Tannhauser Overture
Performer: Staatskapelle Berlin. Performer: Daniel Barenboim.- Teldec.
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Koji Kondo
Legend of Zelda 聳 Suite
Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Andrew Skeet.- X5 Music Group.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Tom Service |
| Interviewed Guest | Jessica Curry |
| Interviewed Guest | Tim Summers |
| Producer | Hannah Thorne |
Broadcasts
- Sun 29 Apr 2018 17:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Sun 27 Oct 2019 17:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Fri 1 Nov 2019 16:30大象传媒 Radio 3
- Sun 31 Jul 2022 17:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Fri 5 Aug 2022 16:30大象传媒 Radio 3
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Podcast
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
