Nationality: Japanese-American
Period: 21st Century
Genre: Gaming music
Key musical element:
- Duration
About Laura Shigihara
- Laura Shigihara is the mastermind creative behind the popular game Plants vs. Zombies.
- As well as composer, Laura is a video game developer and singer-songwriter.
- Music was part of Laura鈥檚 since childhood when she began playing the piano, but she decided to study International Relations, Business and Computer Science, before coming back to music later.
- Laura has created audio on over 35 video game titles, working independently and for vidoe game companies.
- She runs her own studio where she developed the highly acclaimed game, Rakuen, and is director of the animated series Farmer in the Sky.
- As a composer, Laura鈥檚 music has attracted over 500 million combined views on YouTube, and can be heard on television shows and in films like Minecraft: The Story of Mojang.
About the music
- Grasswalk is one of the pieces of music that form the soundtrack to a game called Plants vs Zombies. The soundtrack plays while the gamer is protecting their home from a zombie attack by using the power of plants!
- Laura鈥檚 original music was produced using a digital music synthesizer.
- Laura also uses composition software to notate her work.
- This piece contains short, memorable melodies that are repeated by different instruments. They are distinct so that the gamer remembers them, but not so complicated that they distract the gamer from their game!
- The 大象传媒 have teamed up with Laura to create a performance of her music for live orchestra for the first time.
Listen out for:
- Try counting along: 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4. Can you tap your big toe in your shoe to this beat?
- How about tapping your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th finger over and over again.
- This piece of music has a steady, predictable beat. It doesn鈥檛 get faster or slower 鈥 it is constant all the time.
- Try drawing the sides of a square to the pulse or beat. Each new square starts on number one. As you listen you are drawn into this walking pace 鈥 not too fast and not too slow.
- Listen out for the woodwind and brass (such as clarinets, horns and flutes) playing on the offbeats - beats 2 and 4.
- Grasswalk uses a range of percussion instruments including tam-tams, cymbals, tambourines and drum kit. Raise your hand whenever you can hear percussion being used!
- Can you hear the soft, sparkly sounding instruments like the harp, xylophone and glockenspiel?
Watch the films
Classroom resources
Download the lesson plans for four weeks of learning and activities for Grasswalk (PDF)
Download the Powerpoint slides for four weeks of learning and activities for Grasswalk (PPT)
Listen to the 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra performance Grasswalk
Upload and showcase your creative responses
Upload your creative responses to the 大象传媒 Ten Pieces Showcase
Arrangements
These arrangements of Laura Shigihara's Grasswalk by Emily Pedersen have been designed so that all the different ability levels are interchangeable.
Beginner/Pre-Grade 1
Grade 1-4
Grade 5 and above
Arranger Ellen O鈥橞rien has also created fantastic open score arrangements of Laura Shigihara's Grasswalk for open ensembles of mixed abilities and user needs.
Download the score, parts and associated files (.zip)
Arrangements for open ensembles
Find arrangements of two of the Ten Pieces for open ensembles, including various adaptive instruments