Video Games and the Future of Music Education

The past two issues of “The International Musician,” a monthly publication produced by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), have had a major feature on the writing, scoring, and recording of music to be featured in video games. That’s right, video games.

Why is this so important? Because the AFM, and subsequently the “International Musician,” have been, for decades, the most prevalent professional organization, and the most widely-used resource, for musicians, composers, conductors, and music editors; yet they choose to focus their attention on recording some video game?

What about the concert halls? Auditioning for the Marine Bands, or the Huston Symphony? Yes, those classifieds still occupy the penultimate pages of the “International Musician,” but well before this is an article featuring the musicians recently called to Skywalker Ranch, in Niscasio, California—a recording studio with state-of-the-art sound production technology designed specifically for recording video game scores, funded by George Lucas himself. They are spotlighted while recording the soundtrack to one of the year’s most highly anticipated releases, “Gears of War 2.” The article also features an interview with the composer/arranger of the score.

So what does this all have to do with the future of music education? The answer is simple: to the pros, video game music is serious business. The demand for players in these soundtracks is extremely high, and the performers love the job. This adds a whole new level to the validity of using this type of music in the classroom.

In my opinion, video game music is the future of “classical” music, and may provide the newest—and possibly only—link between pop culture and what many view to be a “dying” art form. Instrumental music is waning; classical radio stations are shutting down and becoming hip-hop, classic rock, or top-forty stations due to lack of funding. Attendance in concert halls has declined massively in major cities over the years.

Recently, however, tours of concerts such as “Play: a Video Game Symphony” are selling out worldwide. This particular program features major symphony orchestras performing music from popular video games, accompanied by large LCD monitors displaying a mix of screenshots and full-motion-videos from the games with close-ups of the actual performers.

Some argue that this use of imagery and technology “distracts” concert-goers from the music; I believe enhances the concert experience, and brings the audience closer to the performers. Being able to watch the flutist—while sitting in your balcony seat—take a deep breath and glance at the conductor for a cue before playing is much more personal than barely being able to see anything but the mass of black tux jackets, white bowties and shiny instruments.

I had the pleasure of attending such a concert several years ago. It was called “Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy,” and included many favorites from the Final Fantasy series. Video games offer a much more personal connection to the player than film (though film music, I feel, is also an extremely valuable thing to study and celebrate); the player spends hours upon hours finishing the stories, and often becomes incredibly attached to the characters and action sequences. A good video game is like an interactive novel with a very, very long, engaging story that can be read and re-read. A good video game score invokes these same emotions and expounds upon them—much like Mozart’s piano sonatas might have enlightened audiences some three hundred years ago. Integrating these personal connections into the classroom can be extremely beneficial to the instruction of music, and can be a jumping point when discussing other forms of music.

For instance, I hear many, many famous Western influences in the music of Final Fantasy. Composer Nobuo Uematso utilizes sounds inspired by Debussy, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and even Shostakovich. Linking students with the video game score can easily translate into heightening their appreciation of the symphonic works that inspired the score. With these connections in mind, one could integrate technology even further and have students create storyboards for their own video game and compose programmatic music based on those storyboards. Then, aside from carrying the already existing personal connections with the typically expansive, romantic sounds of the game score, the students would have an additional connection with their creation.

The possibilities are endless. As long as the professional world continues to recognize this form of music more and more seriously, the educational world is able to—and indeed, should!—follow suit.

Sound File: Nobuo Uematsu, "To Zanarkand" from Final Fantasy X (MIDI version)

Kevin Scollin

Wynton Marsalis and Music Education

Recently I had the distinct privilege of meeting and performing with Wynton Marsalis--master trumpeter, musician, composer, conductor, arranger, and teacher--along with the incredible Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. The MSU Symphony Orchestra premiered a new work of his, "Two in Three," co-commissioned by the MSU College of Music and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Sitting two rows behind the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, led by Wynton himself, was an incredible experience that I would be hard pressed to say could happen again in my lifetime.

Meeting Wynton in person was such an inspiration to me. He is the real deal--incredibly down to earth, and incredibly passionate about not only performing, but teaching as well. In his comments to all of the sections there were poignant words of encouragement and statements and allusions that got our brains really engaged in the music-making process. His voice is hypnotic and soothing, and no matter what he says you can't help but listen. He has all of the qualities of a master teacher, but he also happens to be the first--and only--musician in history to have won a Grammy in both classical and jazz; and he did it in consecutive years!

Marsalis co-founded Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1987 to bring jazz and educational programs to the very front of New York city's bustling culture. He continued to perform, compose, and direct this group for ten years. Then, in 1997, his compositions garnered him even more fame, when he became the worlds first and only jazz musician ever to have won the Pulitzer Prize in music for his oratorio about slavery in America, entitled "Blood on the Fields."

Amidst all of the engagements of Wynton's bustling performance schedule, he never lost sight of his goals in bringing music education--specifically, but not limited to jazz--to popular culture. He won a Peabody award for his four-part PBS documentary "Marsalis on Music" in the late '90s, and was the primary consultant and one of the main narrators of Ken Burns' groundbreaking documentary "Jazz." He also began a 26-episode special with NPR entitled "Making the Music," based on his Young People's Concerts at Lincoln Center.

Wynton has long been one of my heroes among the trumpet world. His sound, style, and overall character of playing is impeccable across all genres. His knowledge of the music is astounding. His voice as a narrator, band leader, and teacher is entrancing. And his vision, determination and achievements are inspiring. But after meeting him, calling him a hero is almost an understatement. In person, he is every bit as human as the rest of us. Even during the intermission of our joint concert, when he had twelve minutes before soloing with the Jazz Orchestra, he gladly took time to snap some pictures with a bunch of us outside of his dressing room. When I asked for his autograph the day before, he seemed genuinely surprised--and extremely happy--to offer it. He was extremely professional in every sense of the word when it came to teaching and performing his music, and he was extremely personable to all of us backstage and during rehearsals. I've seen him live before, but seeing him up close, and meeting him, is something I will never, ever forget.

- Kevin Scollin