I think (and could be wrong) that many developers here wish they could have original, custom soundtracks to their games without having to worry about someone else doing it for them. If you are one of those people, this guide is meant for you. Here, I will give you a full strategy to learning about music and creating your own for your games.
Step 1: Learn to read music
Clearly, when wanting to write music for your game, the first thing you need to do is understand it. Don't get me wrong, I may make it sound simple, but even as a musician for nearly ten years, I would say I have a decent understanding of music. But that's really all you need to write great music, along with the determination. But hey, we're game developers, right? We do this because we want to, and we enjoy it!
Check out these links (in order). They should definitely give you enough of an understanding of music that you can start with your music career!
1)
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1010.asp
2)
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1061.asp
3)
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1178.asp
4)
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1268.asp
Step 2: Download the programs
After you feel you know enough about music to start composing it, you'll need the programs to write it.
MuseScore (
http://musescore.org/) is a great, free program to start your compositions. You can write as much as you want, with as many staves (instruments) as you want.
Then, after exporting those songs to an .mid file (a simple sound file), import them into
Audacity (
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/), where you can modify them and add effects to make them suit your game.
If you want some great guitar or bass guitar parts, I recommend that you also download
PowerTab (
http://www.power-tab.net/index.php).
Step 3: Listen to music and research
Listen to a lot of music. It will surely help with spurring ideas for new songs. Think about what it is that makes the songs you listen to so good, just as you would when creating a game, and try to incorporate those features into your songs.
Try 911tabs (
http://www.911tabs.com) if you downloaded
PowerTab. It contains a HUGE collection of guitar and bass tabs, as well as keyboard and drums, if that will give you any ideas.
Step 4: Write as often as possible
As with anything, practice makes perfect. The more time you devote to music, the more rewarding the final product will be. Plus, it will feel great knowing that another part of your game was due entirely to your hard work and determination. :)
I hope this is useful. Please, feel free to post questions, comments, or even suggestions to add to the guide.
Dave1005
