It has been rearranged in various ways with different instrumentation across the series, but arguably the piano original remains the purest and most affecting expression of the piece. “Dearly Beloved”, one of the melodic cornerstones of all Kingdom Hearts scores, is devastatingly simple and direct. Album links: YouTubeĬomposer: Yoko Shimomura Word association: Yearning, hopeful, tranquil, intimate Bit o’ background: What we know about the game’s production suggests that this is yet another example of game director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s authorial, restrained taste at work, throwing players for a loop. Instead, the player is greeted by a relatively diminutive, solitary figure soundtracked by a beautifully tragic piano piece. When you very first enter the final boss arena of Dark Souls - likely after 80 hours of brutal toil - most would be expecting grandeur and spectacle, shrieking choirs and sensory overload. I wasn’t going to get away with omitting this first piece just to make a point (like the time we left “Aquatic Ambience” out of the water-themed VGM article) it is, after all, one of the most effective and memorable uses of piano music in all of recent gaming history. Ĭomposer: Motoi Sakuraba Word association: Melancholic, regal, crestfallen, disconsolate Bit o’ background:
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There will no doubt be some obvious examples missing - feel free to tell us so on Twitter or on the Facebook post.Įverything is collected together in this handy YouTube playlist. We’ve highlighted some favourite tracks and explored a few different trains of thought below, trying to be as diverse as my limited knowledge enables, but inevitably leaning towards Japanese games because of the longstanding tradition of ‘piano collections’ releases. This has become a large enough niche to support the release of multiple new sheet music books. Fans learning game music at home - and uploading renditions to YouTube - will very often be playing the piano. Aside from orchestral suites and Celtic folk, some of the first officially released rearrangements of video game music were for the piano. Game music has an extended relationship with the piano beyond game scores.
Even people who specialise in another instrument usually have to learn some piano in order to advance their music theory knowledge.
Despite its inherent bulkiness - most pianos feature 88 keys and are at least 1.5m or 5 foot wide - its versatility means it maintains a position as the ‘king’ or ‘mother’ instrument. The piano is, of course, an incredibly popular instrument that has stuck around for over 300 years. This will be the first time we’ve looked at a particular musical instrument, and some of the excellent examples of its use in and around video games. ‘ Resi save room ’) and subdividing by mood (e.g. Here at Laced With Wax we’ve explored video games music from all sorts of angles: how it intersects with certain musical genres (e.g. We take a look at some of the finest piano music created for, or inspired by, video games scores - from passionate in-game performances to JRPG piano collections. “The piano keys are black and white, but they sound like a million colours in your mind.” – Maria Cristina Mena (author)
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