The Ithaca College Gamer Symphony Orchestra
I attended a concert performed by the
Ithaca College Gamer Symphony Orchestra. It took place at Presser Rehearsal
Hall on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 8:30 p.m. The symphony orchestra performed
music from the scores of video games. It was a unique experience for these
songs were engaging and as varied as the different stories that surround the
video games. By showcasing this different genre of music, the orchestra opened
my eyes to the importance of music in video games and showed that video games
are multi-dimensional. It seems the consideration of music is as equally as
important in the video game as the actual graphics. The artists performing were
very talented Ithaca College students. The video game songs played were “Don’t
Be Afraid”, “Pikmin Medley”, “Selections from Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the Witch
King”, “Gusty Garden Galaxy,” “Beats by Bytes”, “Space Pirate’s Theme”, and
“Golden Sun”.
“Pikmin Medley” is a musical piece composed of different
songs from the 2001 Pikmin video game. In the video game, Pikmin is set on an
unknown planet and has to explore the wilderness and fight enemies. It is very
easy to see how the composition relates to the play of the game. The music has
a mysterious jungle-like tone with melodies and harmonies that resemble
battles. The jungle-like tone was suggested through the sounds of the wind
instruments and the drums. The songs were created by Japanese
composers who layered different instruments together to create an image of warring
and a feeling of intensity. The Japanese flair is seen through the flutes at
certain parts in the song adding a fluttering, warrior texture that almost
sounds like a Samurai getting prepared for combat. This battle sound is also
engaged through the loud bongo beats played by the drums. One can image the
setting and the battles occurring in this video game.
There were many memorable features of
this piece, but most striking was that the music was able to take the listener on
an emotional journey through the different stages of the world of Pikmin. The
different melodies and harmonies created varying textures that evoked different
images and the listener could literally feel the different emotions that the instruments
aroused. Emotions were constantly changing and the variation ranged from a
disorienting intense moment, to a chaotic battle scene, to a triumphant moment,
to this rather romantic and peaceful sense within the music. There was a very
striking and interesting harmony when the drums and the strings played together
and created a very romantic moment. Even though the drums were loud a sense of
harmony prevailed; it was a complex and thrilling moment to experience. There
was also a rather interesting harmony when just the violins and pianos played
in unison. These two instruments complimented each other to create a soothing,
romantic, fluttering sound in the music. It was as if you could visualize many butterflies
all being released into the wild. There was an unusual use of the string
instruments in the orchestra. The violins at certain moments in the song were
plucking their strings to create a guitar type of vibe. Instead of using their
bows, they were literally using their fingers to create this chaotic, strange
vibe that reminded of the jungle.
I enjoyed the concert for it was
obvious that the students in the orchestra were really enjoying themselves and
were glad to introduce this type of music to other Ithaca College students.
Each piece of music was extremely different and evoked the story of the video
games. Video games are often perceived as violent games that teenagers spend
too much time playing, however, the emotions and the intricate details of the
music prove there is so much more. The pieces varied from an almost sad,
romantic story to these happy, joyous occasions. I would go to this same type
of concert again because the music was emotionally moving and intense. It has
also inspired me to go to other concerts where the music genre is new to me. My
mood changed through out the concert as I went on this long emotionally
journey. It was surprised that video games have music that is so emotional. The
ups and downs of the music must certainly follow the ups and downs of playing
the video game.
One piece we studied in class was
Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 3”, also known as “Eroica”, and it is similar to “Selections
from Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the Witch King”. The pieces are similar because in
both pieces the listener feels a tremendous range of emotion. In “Eroica”
Beethoven expresses a great range of emotional depth from sadness and misery to
triumph and exhilaration. “Ni No Kuni” also expresses a great deal of emotional
range in a grand orchestra style. Both of these songs conjure a triumphant feeling
that is about fighting for what is right and the emotions of victories and
defeats. “Eroica” was created at the beginning of the Romantic period and “Ni
No Kuni” has a similar elegance and idealistic feeling to it. A difference in
these two songs that I could detect was noted in their rhythms. While “Eroica”
has a driving rhythm, “Ni No Kuni” has rhythms that seem more complex.
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