Music for a Video Game (Solo 5-oct Marimba)

Music for a Video Game strongly resembles soundtracks from video games like Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda. The seven movements may be performed in varying combinations, and each represent a scene from an epic fantasy story.

Genre: Solo Marimba | # of Players: 1
Level: Medium | Duration: 25:00

Instrumentation


Program Notes
The purpose of Music for a Video Game is to strongly resemble soundtracks from fantasy video games like Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda. The movements are ordered such that they tell a hypothetical story, beginning with a “Prologue” and ending with an “Epilogue.” Each inner movement represents a certain scene one may reasonably expect from a video game with a fantasy setting.

“The King’s Procession and Decree” opens with a proud, deliberate march as royal figures are escorted in front of the public. A horn call then interjects signifying the arrival of the king, whose profound speech is represented by resonant, spacious, planed harmonies, followed by another march, and the king is escorted away.

“A Mysterious Forest” paints a portrait of a dark forest where one cannot see much outside light or any of the dangers that may lurk nearby. The movement includes an intense, march-like section flanked by sparse, gestural ideas.

“Riding on Wind, Soaring over Mountains” exudes the excitement of being able to fly and discovering interesting new places. The movement is tuneful, rhythmic, and relentless throughout.

“Childhood Memories” is made up of chorales and moving, lyrical sections. It represents a fictional character’s reflection on his or her life and journey’s in the wake of impending danger.

“The Face of Evil” is the “final boss theme” of the story. Loud and intense throughout, it depicts the final epic struggle between good and evil.

Music for a Video Game was commissioned by Chandler Franco and premiered at Tennessee Tech University in March of 2018.

The complete work is around 25 minutes long, so it is perfectly acceptable to perform just one or a small combination of movements. If the performer does this, it may help to take into consideration the tempo and mood of each movement in order to create a logical and aesthetically pleasing order.

1. Prologue (Moderate)
2. The King’s Procession and Decree (Moderate/Fast)
3. A Mysterious Forest (Slow)
4. Riding on Wind, Soaring over Mountains (Fast)
5. Childhood Memories (Slow)
6. The Face of Evil (Fast)
7. Epilogue (Slow/Moderate)