# Writing Action Music?



## Christian Marcussen (Oct 19, 2008)

Hi. I find writing action music to be pretty hard, and daunting. Sure I manage, but not at the speeds and sometimes results I would like. 

I'm curious what approach you guys use? Start with some riff, the percussion? What is your process - I would love to know.


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## david robinson (Oct 19, 2008)

hi,
for me, the easiest way is via motifs.
and in this case short 4-5 note cells.
these can be melodic, harmonic stacks (vertical) or percussive in nature.
cells can be very flexible and can act like a riff.
they also help to keep some integrity in the mayhem.
DR9.


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## synthetic (Oct 19, 2008)

I was taught to start with an ostinato. Watch the scene with no music and you should get a rhythm in your head. Just play that rhythm through the scene and you're 1/2 way there. The notes don't even matter, just the driving rhythm. I took a composition class with Christopher Young and he made us go to the piano and improvise an action scene in front of the class. It really taught you what works, just bash notes on the piano. 

DAH-da-DA-da-DAH-da-da-
DAH-da-DA-da-DAH-da-da-
DAH-da-DA-da-DAH-da-da-

etc.


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## Christian Marcussen (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks guys.... great tips. I like the rythem approach - sounds promising.


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## artsoundz (Oct 19, 2008)

this may be slightly off topic but it relates to your game you developed-

There is a new show on NBC called Caruso. (Robinson Caruso)I remember you had talked of creating music for your game so I couldn't help but think how this music would fit very well. 

So, of course, listening and borrowing from other pieces often jump starts the process for me.


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## poseur (Oct 20, 2008)

d


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## KingIdiot (Oct 20, 2008)

rhytm is usuall key, but dont get caught up in orchestrating each section until you have a sure idea of the dynamics of the whole cue/scene.

Laying out a full rhythm section gets you into the whole "loop based" composing, which is habit I have tried desperately to break lately.

Also dont force everything to start/end on "1". Or rather, dont force them to resolve "typically". Its dificult for me to explain this correctly actually. I don't mean to cut/change time signatures randomly (tho it can help  ) Moreso, find ways to dice things up, rather than expecting the basic four on the floor approach.You don't want to "lose" the 1 in the count, but you dont want to have it always be expected.

As stated try and create motifs or use some you've built for different sections of the game/film

When you cut some already established themes short, it can create a sense of tension. and allow you to transpose and build on it. Probably just a variation on the concept f how our ears want some chords to resolves to other chords in specific modes.

Then again, this all depends on the type of music you're making. "action" cue doesnt really mean the same for everyone. For some people it'll be lots of percussion and clusters and stacattos, for others its more playful and can work with themes a'la Back to the Future,... all depends on what you're going for in all around sound, I guess.

That would probably determine your starting point.


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## JohnG (Dec 12, 2008)

I didn't know if there existed anything BESIDES a cheesy love scene?


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## StrangeCat (Dec 12, 2008)

david robinson @ Sun Oct 19 said:


> hi,
> for me, the easiest way is via motifs.
> and in this case short 4-5 note cells.
> these can be melodic, harmonic stacks (vertical) or percussive in nature.
> ...



you know it's going to depend on your film and project that your working on and what the director needs. 
Anwyayz writing action scenes is all about energy and creating the energy of that scene so basically it's about creating grooves with whatever on top to either compliment it or accent it.
Creating grooves is really all the little stuff in between that makes up the groove.
Consider like the one drummer from NIN did basically everything is a cell and your putting together cells to create that groove, every cell in the same tempo so you can just stack cells together to create the groove.

Let's say you have to some bass rif you created with some LFO temp synced and pumping then you have some sort of higher gated 16 note rhythm thing you created and then you have some small ethnic percussion beats...now all that isn't going to work with out the main bass beats, either tombs or bass drums whatever...bassically if you put that together it would be pretty crazy rock'n Action Bed thing. 
Then through your brass or whatever on top. 
Just start with section of the groove them put them together to create the energy^_-


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## Daniel James (Dec 12, 2008)

Triplets can add a nice drive to a rhythm,

Also as said before getting the tempo correct is the key.

If things are getting pretty intense or crazy throw in some time sig changes to spice it up, also if you have a good melodic bed going with the rhythm, occasionally raising everything up a semi tone can add a nice tension like a sense of urgency (you can bring it back down a few bars later)

Also (depending on the scene) good sound effects can really help your action cue ie throwing in chugging guitar rhythm or distorted guitar effects can add a good power to the sound.

Hope that helps.

Dan


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## KingIdiot (Dec 12, 2008)

or you could jsut turn it all on its head and score a action scen with a triangle ensemble or kazoo ensemble


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## Conor (Dec 13, 2008)

Interested for me to read these ideas, as I'm also working on my action writing -- most of my writing (and what I consider my best stuff) is of a more emotional or dramatic nature.

Working with ostinato patterns, melodic/harmonic cells, etc. has been very helpful to jump-start my brain, and once I've established a "template" of the basic elements I want to use, things come together pretty quickly and easily. +1 for this approach as a starting point, especially under tight deadlines. 

But there's something to be said for a more unpredictable approach as well. In one of my lessons this semester we worked on "action" music that avoided being predictable at all costs (much easier said than done for me). So instead of repetition, thinking of rapid changes in texture, flashes of color, changing keys and mixed meters... in a word, surprise.

Some of my favorite action music is a mixture of both tactics, e.g. some oò­¥   Ž"¹­¥   Ž"º­¥   Ž"»­¥   Ž"¼­¥   Ž"½­¥   Ž"¾­¥   Ž"¿­¥   Ž"À­¥   Ž"Á­¥   Ž"Â­¥   Ž"Ã­¥   Ž"Ä­¥   Ž"Å­¥   Ž"Æ­¥   Ž"Ç­¥   Ž"È­¥   Ž"É­¥   Ž"Ê­¥   Ž"Ë­¥   Ž"Ì­¥   Ž"Í­¥   Ž"Î­¥   Ž"Ï­¥   Ž"Ð­¥   Ž"Ñ­¥


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## vicontrolu (Dec 14, 2008)

Cobra trumpet, could you point the exact timings and songs you refer to on Star Wars please? Thx.


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## Conor (Dec 14, 2008)

LOL, should've been prepared for that... :lol: 

One that comes to mind is the finale of the original Star Wars, which on my CD is a single nine-minute track called "The Battle Of Yavin (Launch From The Fourth Moon/X-Wings Draw Fire/Use The Force)."

After listening to it again just now, there's actually not a lot of overt ostinato (the section at 5:35 is nice) -- I'll look for some other tracks as well. But this one is a great example of continuity (establishing a pulse, tempo, key, melodic shape, etc. and running with it) vs. contrast. 

--Conor


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