Video Game Music Composition Masterclass: Complete A-Z Guide

Make your own video game music now with a free online tool Beatbox, accessible on PC, Mac, or mobile, by arranging note blocks, experimenting with instruments, and exporting your track.

Learn to create video game music using beatbox by adjusting note durations, exploring melody, harmony, and chords, and applying tempo, scale, reverb, and layering to craft engaging tunes.

Add layers of melodies, chords, and drums to your video game music in beatbox, then manage ideas and loops while saving progress with a link.

Explore beatbox to bend pitches, test random preset instruments, and customize sounds; copy patterns, expand beats per bar, and export to an offline version or into another digital audio workstation.

Get started in video game music by using a computer, a free DAW (Cakewalk by Band Lab), and FMOD with Unity—no prior experience required.

Understand rhythm, tempo, beat placement, melody, and harmony, and plan instrument palettes, dynamics, and level-based changes for game music in clips from 10 seconds to 2-3 minutes.

Explore how video game music is non-linear and adapts. Use loops and layering with game audio engines wise or smart to have volume and effects respond to player proximity.

Keep a musical idea journal to track daily inspirations for video game music, using voice recordings, manuscript paper, or drawing apps.

Explore eight non-musical sources of inspiration for video game music, including artwork, poetry, books, lyrics, nature, and city scenes, and learn to translate visuals into musical ideas.

Explore general and game-specific approaches to composing video game music, with a step-by-step guide to start and improve over time. Discover the number one way to become a better composer.

Start by choosing one element to begin when you feel stuck. Develop from that idea by looping it and exploring instrument, rhythm, or harmony.

Immerse yourself in as much music as possible to improve your video game music composing skills, analyze melodies and harmony, study written scores, and practice daily listening.

Immerse yourself in music to improve as a video game composer by listening to music, writing music, and exposing yourself to new ideas, treating composing as a contact sport.

Explore how to give video game music structure and direction by applying musical form, such as aba form, and phrasing, using a Zelda example to illustrate ideas.

Learn to use repetition to create a seamless game soundtrack by varying melody through changes in pitch, key, rhythm, harmony, instrument, and chords.

Use the game itself as inspiration by playing with no sound to observe gameplay rhythms and speed, then note ideas to shape melody, harmony, and rhythm.

Create a creative profile for your game by documenting characters, environment, events, and storylines to guide your music. Use character traits, mood, and event triggers to shape the game's soundtrack.

Compose a singable video game melody by combining notes, rhythm, and harmony, using steps, skips, and repetition with AB phrase pairings and a one five one progression for loops.

Learn to download, install Cakewalk by Band Lab, create a Band Lab account, sign in, and install the studio and instrument suite to begin composing video game music.

learn how to import your beatbox midi file into Cakewalk by BandLab in an empty project and load a General MIDI instrument to hear the melody.

Edit midi notes in Cakewalk using the piano roll, adjust pitch, length, and velocity, draw or delete notes, and switch instruments to improve your track.

Export your Cakewalk project by selecting the entire song, choose export audio, pick wav or mp3, set destination and file name, then export and import into Unity for the game.

Download and install the Unity game engine and FMOD, set up Unity Hub, install the personal edition of the Unity editor, and place your music in a demo video game.

Apply the tools from this video game music masterclass to create memorable video game music. Ask questions via the Q&A and Udemy messages to stay updated and receive support.