By Stephen Lee There are many types of genres in music with particular meanings, scored music however is one that is often less associated with media texts on screen. Elements of scored music can be listed, but its aesthetics do not really “translate across media” as well as other genres such as hip hop (slide 4). However, scored music has become widely used in the most popular and contemporary video games today, one example being the musical soundtrack for Halo: Combat Evolved, published by Microsoft Studios in 2001. Halo: Combat Evolved is an alien themed science fiction game about a space war between alien, humans, and the flood. The plot however focuses on the aliens since the alien Prophets wish to activate the Halo rings while the humans are trying to destroy it to maintain harmony across galaxies. The music used in this game is scored music, which plays an important role in terms of aesthetic illustration and atmosphere. Therefore, I will analyse the elements that distinguish scored music as a genre, followed by how the choral section of the main theme in Halo: Combat Evolved constructs the genre and style of the game, and finally analyse how the musical development of the orchestrated sections in the main Halo: Combat Evolvedtheme provides players an in-depth connection with the game itself. Scored music is a genre that is less associated with screen texts due to its social meaning of being “classical”. Classical music is a term used to describe music of Mozart’s time, also known as the Classical Era, so it is too old fashioned for new media on screen. This is because scored music is often viewed on screen as live performances with a cluster of musicians with a conductor. There is very little movement of the camera since it has to capture the entire group of musicians. There is also no intertextuality or screen editing in this genre, and normally shot with one continuous shot, which can be boring for young audiences. Scored music is a genre with specific sub-genres. According to the Naxos Music Library, orchestrated and choral music are genres of classical scored music. Orchestrated music refers to the four main instrumental sections of orchestras. These sections include the string section, woodwind section, brass section and percussion section. Orchestrated music also contains musical themes. As the music continues, these musical themes are developed in order to create new and exciting musical passages for the audience. Likewise, on screen, orchestrated scored music is a thread of developed themes that make an event or setting more exciting.
While scored music looks boring by itself, when fused with other texts such as Halo, scored music becomes an epic part of gameplay and story. Firstly, choral music will be analysed to illustrate its importance on a contemporary text such as Halo. According to David P. DeVenney, choral music before 1830 “was inextricably linked to the church” (13). A provided piece of choral music, “Invitatorium: Deum Verum", dates back to 850 to 920 AD, composed by Etienne de Liege. “Invitatorium: Deum Verum" This piece of music is a Medieval Gregorian chant, with elements of monophonic singing. This is when the vocalists sing in the same rhythm and move through the music together. Upon closer analysis, there is no accompaniment of instruments. The multiple male vocals that sing in unity emphasise the unity of the Holy Trinity that is being portrayed through the song. If we compare this piece of Gregorian chant with Halo’s main theme, there is clear musical resemblance of air, space and freedom of movement in both songs. In Halo, the choral section of the main theme is used to illustrate the plot. The aliens in the game, known as the Covenant, are creatures who worship their gods known as Prophets. These Prophets promise the Covenant that there will be aGreat Journey after activating the Halo, directly resembling the Christian afterlife and the idea of Heaven. Because of this connection, the game is able to successfully provide an atmosphere where the storyline of Halo revolves around the Covenant Prophets’ activation of the Halo Rings. This text also allows players, who perhaps never experienced religion before, to experience what a religion could be like through the music of a video game. A clearer illustration of the Covenant religion Even though, comparing a song from 850-920 AD with a soundtrack from 2001 leaps across many centuries, the religious meanings in choral music has never changed. During the 1600s in the Baroque Era, many composers continued to practice composing arias and hymns not only for church settings, but also for the wider audience in concert halls. The most notable musicians of the Baroque Era are Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. As time progressed, composers increasingly utilised lyrics in choral music. In his book, Daniel R. Melamed highlights Bach’s fascination with Handel’s arias, notably the St. Mark Passion Jesus’. Melamed analyses this particular aria, revealing the lyrics as follows: “‘doch nicht wie ich will, sondern wie du willst’ (“not as I wish, but rather as you will”) [which] is answered by the words of the chorale ‘Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit’ (“That which my God wills, may it be for all time”)” (92). This shows an extremely close resemblance to the Gospel text, proving that religion has continually been associated with choral music. Therefore, the musical elements of the Halo soundtrack emphasises religious allegory that has been present centuries ago. In terms of orchestrated music in soundtrack, melodic and rhythmic musical themes are developed to create a more adrenaline-filled storyline for the players to enjoy. Jann Pasler states that the symphony orchestra “doesn’t necessarily represent ‘the old academic tradition’, but rather is fully capable of “constructing phenomena without precedent, such as in depth effects” (659). Even though the classical symphony orchestra still carries many connotations of being serious music and high art music, it is aesthetically capable of constructing music for video game soundtracks. After the choral chants in the Halo main theme, the orchestra is heard. Starting with an introduction, the rhythmic drive of the percussion bass drums, which is then followed by the main riff of the string cellos. This rhythmic drive continues throughout the piece of music while the riff is developed in the violin section. After the cellos play the riff, the violins enter with a new melody or theme that is also a riff. The difference between the percussion drums, the string cellos and the string violins is that these riffs are all different types of riffs: the rhythmic riff, harmonic riff and melodic riff respectively. The development of the melodic riff is what provides an “adrenaline” feel while the other riffs remain constant as a solid foundation to keep the drive of the music. The violins play in the style of polyrhythms, which is when a melody and multiple counter melodies play similar rhythms at different times. This musical technique allows room for theme development, with multiple musical overlaps, so that the piece does not become boring for the audience. In Halo: Combat Evolved, this orchestrated music is typically used in gameplay rather than cut scenes. The reason is because this rhythmic drive is suitable for action. During gameplay, this orchestrated rhythmic track is played in the background when fighting a boss battle or when driving a vehicle to explore the terrain of Covenant territory. Therefore, orchestrated music of scored music utilises the development of musical themes and rhythmic drive to help players indulge in the Halo universe. After clearly distinguishing scored music as a genre, we get a general idea of its multiple subgenres, which make a huge impact on media texts. As a less mediated style of music, video games have lifted scored music into contemporary media as their soundtracks. But in order for that to work, the soundtrack must be closely related to the style and theme of the video game.Halo: Combat Evolved is one of the prime examples of successful incorporation of media theme and musical representation that is seen in recent years. The religious allegory in choral music is associated with the worshipping of the Covenant Prophets. Through the development of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical themes and riffs, orchestrated music enhances a player’s experience of the Halo universe through interactions with the game. The music in the background encourages players to “power through” the game. After analysing the music genre associated withHalo: Combat Evolved, I believe that scored music is slowly becoming more appreciated by media developers who are willing to invest money into quality music in their products for consumers and audiences. Hence, in this generation, we will see a rise of scored music in many media texts. Bibliography: DeVenney, David P. Source Readings in American Choral Music. Missoula: College Music Society, 1995. Print. Melamed, Daniel R. Hearing Bach’s Passions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Music Categories. Naxos, n.d. Web. 4 June 2016. Retrieved fromhttp://www.naxos.com/education/music_categories.asp Pasler, Jann. Hugues Dufourt’s Cinematic Dynamism: Space, Timbre, and Time in L’Afrique D’après Tiepolo. Ed. Amy Herzog and John Richardson. The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media. Ed. Carol Vernallis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 642-62. Print. Zuberi, Nabeel. “Digital and Post-Digital Aesthetics.” FTVMS 323. The University of Auckland. 13 May. 2016. Lecture. a
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May 2024
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