How to compose a soundtrack that captures the “vibes” of a video game’s soundtrack without reusing melodies?
Instead of the melodies, break down the chord progressions used.
Listen to the types of sounds used. If synths, play around with creating ones that invoke similar feelings to the ones used in the game you’re inspired by. I really like Helm personally and find you can do tons with it. You can look for other free vst’s too if you are looking for real instruments. If you have infinite time and a desire to learn, vcv rack can do almost anything.
As for DAWs, if you’re looking for one, I like reaper for it’s affordability but you need to just weigh your needs and what different products offer.
The trick would be to reverse engineer the formula.
What are the elements of the songs that make your recognize it as belonging to that game?
Do they use a similar beat, “instruments”, or chord progression? Try to use as many of these traits on an original melody.
I just thought of a way to practice!
Don’t use your own melody yet. Rip off a melody from another game, and try to make it sound like it belongs in the game you’re trying to mimic.
For example, take one of the Super Mario themes, and try to make it sound like it came from Donkey Kong Country.
That way you’re focusing on WHAT gives the vibes without worrying about actually composing anything yet.
This is what I tend to do, except I start with stock audio loops. Then as I get a feel for the sound I’m going for, I build up my own loops from scratch and replace the stock ones.
The useful thing about doing it this way is that if you end up with a bit of the original left in, nobody’s going to sue you for infringement; it will just sound slightly derivative.
compose it in midi or some low-bit format, for one. maybe get yourself a copy of mario paint and play around with it for a little while… of course it depends on the game you’re trying to imitate. ai could probably churn some slop out for you, too.
