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Composer Code
Composer Code episodes
- Ep 11: How to Build Worlds with the Orchestra (Garry Schyman)
Renowned for his unique and sometimes complex original scores for the multi-award-winning video games BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite; the dramatic orchestral score for EA Games’ adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Dante’s Inferno; and his BAFTA-nominated scores for Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War, Garry Schyman has emerged as one of the industry’s foremost composers, receiving top honors for Best Original Score from the British Academy Of Film & Television and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. We talked about mastering the orchestra, breaking into the video game music industry, and he imparted valuable lessons about the difference between film and game composition.
In our chat, we talked about:
- How he got started in games
- Channeling Bernard Hermann in Destroy All Humans
- Differences between film and games composition
- His composing process
- His tools; DAW of choice
- How his composition process includes him finding a “sonic environment” rather than necessarily starting with a distinct part
- Specific aleatoric techniques he used to achieve that unsettling feeling of dread in Bioshock games
- Why you should learn to handwrite music, a lesson from Picasso, and the value of knowing tradition first
- His influences and recent obsession with Gustav Mahler
- The power of deadlines to “inspire”
- An argument for self-care and getting a good night’s sleep
- Where to start if you want to learn the orchestra
- The advantages of composing old music with new tools
- What his son thinks of his dad’s video game career
- Advice to his younger self
- What Garry’s looking forward to
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Subscribe to our mailing list* indicates requiredEmail Address *57 min - Ep 11: How to Build Worlds with the Orchestra (Garry Schyman)Renowned for his unique and sometimes complex original scores for the multi-award-winning video games BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite; the dramatic orchestral score for EA Games’ adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Dante’s Inferno; and his BAFTA-nominated scores for Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War, Garry Schyman has emerged as one of the industry’s foremost composers, receiving top honors for Best Original Score from the British Academy Of Film & Television and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. If57 min
- Ep 10: Scoring A Galaxy Far, Far Away (Gordy Haab)
Gordy Haab is a multi-award-winning film, video game and television composer who has written music for many well-known titles, including most recently: Microsoft’s “Halo Wars 2, and EA’s “Star Wars: Battlefront II”, and “Star Wars Battlefront I”, which won Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, and Best Instrumental Score at the 2016 GDC G.A.N.G. Awards, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Excellence in Audio Achievement.
He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. If you’re interested in writing orchestral music, you will learn a lot.
In our chat, we talked about:
- How Gordy Haab, a film composer by trade, found his way into the world of games
- How writing scores by hand improves your mind’s ear and reduces trial-and-error composing
- Spotting the picture and giving yourself composing constraints
- Gordy’s workflow from the piano to the mockup, to the finished cue
- “Hearing” the orchestration in your mind’s ear
- Gordy’s advice for composers who want to write orchestral music
- How to reduce a score step-by-step
- How to internalize the music of a symphonic score
- How John Williams breaks orchestration “rules” with clever doublings
- A simple exercise composers can do today to familiarize themselves with all the instruments/colors of the orchestra
- His favorite resources and books on the subject of orchestration
- Tips for breaking into the video game music industry
I originally discovered Gordy Haab through his GDC talk all about scoring the music of the Battlefront games. It has practical advice for all creatives and I highly recommend it. You can watch it here. (Gordy’s portion is on the back half, but definitely watch the whole thing.)
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Subscribe to our mailing list* indicates requiredEmail Address *41 min - Ep 10: Scoring A Galaxy Far, Far Away (Gordy Haab)Gordy Haab is a multi-award-winning film, video game and television composer who has written music for many well-known titles, including most recently: Microsoft’s “Halo Wars 2, and EA’s “Star Wars: Battlefront II”, and “Star Wars Battlefront I”, which won Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, and Best Instrumental Score at the 2016 GDC G.A.N.G. Awards, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Excellence in Audio Achievement. He was kind enough to chat with me for Composer Code, and he brought some serious value. If you’re interested in writing orchestral music, you will learn a lot. In our chat, we talked41 min
- Ep 9: Where VGM and EDM Collide (James Landino)
James Landino is a rockstar. Well, an EDM-star (if that’s a thing). He got his start composing electronic music for a Flash game and through grit, determination, and being an all-around nice dude, he landed a gig at Harmonix.
He’s built a career as the go-to guy for all things electronic, and as a result is now a freelancer, working on several projects at once with no shortage of work.
We chatted about his current freelance journey, the intersection of game music and electronic music, and the power of being really good at one single thing. He shared his perspective on how to break into the industry and habits that hold beginners back from success.
He also gave some really great insights into his workflow (spoiler: use markers!!) and how he finishes tracks.
He’s got some amazing music that I highly recommend you check out. If you want to learn more about James, follow any of the links below. Thanks for listening!
James’ website: https://james-landino.squarespace.com/
James’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/jameslandino (listen to that Super Mario Odyssey remix! STRAIGHT FIRE)
James’ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jameslandino
Follow him on Twitter @JamesLandino
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Subscribe to our mailing list* indicates requiredEmail Address *35 min - Ep 9: Where VGM and EDM Collide (James Landino)James Landino is a rockstar. Well, an EDM-star (if that’s a thing). He got his start composing electronic music for a Flash game and through grit, determination, and being an all-around nice dude, he landed a gig at Harmonix. He’s built a career as the go-to guy for all things electronic, and as a result is now a freelancer, working on several projects at once with no shortage of work. We chatted about his current freelance journey, the intersection of game music and electronic music, and the power of being really good at one single thing. He shared his perspective on35 min
- Ep 8: Music Theory is Math That Makes Art (12tone)Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with 12tone (Cory), an educator, music theorist, and… metalhead?
He’s one of the leading content creators in the music theory space, consistently delivering value with his signature top-down hand-written style of teaching. You can plum the depths of his channel for weeks and get almost a comprehensive knowledge of anything you need to know related to music theory. Check it out here.
I loved chatting with Cory about his meticulous process for editing video and coming up with ideas, his new series on analyzing how songs work, and his personal successes and failures making a living on YouTube and Patreon.
This interview is also available on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. Just give Composer Code a search and you’ll find us!
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Subscribe to our mailing list* indicates requiredEmail Address *1 hr 6 min - Ep 8: Music Theory is Math That Makes Art (12tone)Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with 12tone (Cory), an educator, music theorist, and… metalhead? He’s one of the leading content creators in the music theory space, consistently delivering value with his signature top-down hand-written style of teaching. You can plum the depths of his channel for weeks and get almost a comprehensive knowledge of anything you need to know related to music theory. Check it out here. I loved chatting with Cory about his meticulous process for editing video and coming up with ideas, his new series on analyzing how songs work, and his personal successes and failures1 hr 6 min
- Ep 7: Practical Advice on Getting Gigs and Creative Constraints (Taylor Ambrosio Wood)
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Ambrosio Wood, a Berklee grad, marimbist, and talented video game composer.
It was a great convo with some incredible insights.
My favorite bits were how to go about prospecting for gigs, why rescoring game footage is probably not the best idea, and how to set up your DAW like a painter sets up their palette – these limitations breed great creativity.
Taylor was a delight to speak with. You can listen to her tunes on her SoundCloud page.
This interview is also available on YouTube
1 hr 28 min - Ep 7: Practical Advice on Getting Gigs and Creative Constraints (Taylor Ambrosio Wood)Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Ambrosio Wood, a Berklee grad, marimbist, and talented video game composer. It was a great convo with some incredible insights. My favorite bits were how to go about prospecting for gigs, why rescoring game footage is probably not the best idea, and how to set up your DAW like a painter sets up their palette – these limitations breed great creativity. Taylor was a delight to speak with. You can listen to her tunes on her SoundCloud page. This interview is also available on YouTube Composer Code is also available on1 hr 28 min
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It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this: namely, the knowledge, expertise, and best practices of established VGM composers, arrangers, and content creators. Join Matt Kenyon, VGM geek extraordinaire, as…
he interviews some of the most creative creators and dives deep into their thought processes — and how we can all make better music!