So I have been away from analysis for a couple of months due to some other projects I have taken on. However, recent events have gotten me excited about this blog and all the analysis I want to share with you. The most exciting of which is an article I have published in a new academic journal in Germany: ACT, zeitschrift fur musik and performance.
Before I tell you about that, I would like to let you know what is coming around the corner (some of the changes you can already see). I will be adding a pages bar at the top here with various resources the study and appreciation of game music theory. This will allow me to get rid of all the extra fluff at the bottom of the page here and give a closer look at some of the terminology and analytical tools I use here or have come across. Right now, you can see that I’ve posted a page with a list of books and articles discussing game music theory, with links when available. This list is in its infancy and will grow extensively over the next month or two. If you have a reference you’d like to add, you can comment below and I will include it. I have many references already to add that I used in some of my articles and thesis but will be doing so when I have the time to format them correctly.
I will be finishing up my SMB2 series and will start on some other topics which I hope you will enjoy. I will also be doing some reviews and commentary on game music theory publications as I come across them. Until then, here is an the abstract to my article “Thematic Unity Across a Video Game Series” (you can read the whole article here):
Composer Koji Kondo’s music for both Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 1984) and The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo, 1986) is among the most recognized video game music ever written. Through the use of motivic and prolongational analysis, this article demonstrates how Kondo created a unity across the entire Zelda franchise, while making each game’s score unique by examining one musical element, the overworld theme, from each of the main entries in the Zelda series. Schenkerian analysis is used to identify structural and motivic relationships between the various themes. This article concludes with an examination of semiotic implications of this analysis and its impact on other as-pects of the Zelda series and game music analysis as a whole.