I'm often asked to write "anime-style" music when I work on games.

What makes anime music sound like anime music? Here are five of its most important features: 🧵👇 1. "Circle Progressions" ✨

Modern Japanese music takes heavily from American gospel and jazz.

Listen to this excerpt from Marvin Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It".

You'll hear this chord sequence EVERYWHERE in anime music.

⚠️ Game Devs ⚠️

When commissioning music, you want to ensure that you get what you're looking for.

As a composer, there are 5 things I want to know when you hire me. Defining these will save time and effort for both you + your composer.

Let me give you a template to use: 🧵👇 1. "Hi, we're looking for a ___ theme."

- [ menu ]
- [ stage ]
- [ battle ]
- [ character ]
- [ cutscene ]
- [ town ]
- [ etc. ]

Defining the category sets my expectations accordingly. A battle theme will probably require different music than a town theme would.

A thread on using compression to make things "punch" — for voiceover artists, sound designers, and music producers:

I didn't "get" compression until I realized this.

First, a word from Masahiro Sakurai on animation. I'll explain how this ties in in a second: 🧵👇 Take a look at this clip from Sakurai's YouTube channel:

(Source: )

I write a lot of vocal songs for video games and animation.

Since most of my work is remote, I can't usually direct vocalists in realtime. Miscommunication = wasted time.

I'll show you how to prepare a "vocal package" to send your singers so they have everything they need: 🧵👇 1. I render all my melodies with a sawtooth synth. 🎤

It stands out against the backing track so it can be heard clearly.

I'll demonstrate using my demos for "Cross the Line", the main theme of @GriptapeHavok.

Five lessons from the music of Koji Kondo:

🧵👇 1. Keep it simple. ✨

Kondo's music is memorable in part because it's easy *to* remember.

A standout example is "Ocarina of Time" — he limited himself to five tones to make gameplay accessible. You'll find that many of his melodies are made up of short, repeated fragments.

Game Devs:

Do you want to write music for your games?

I've studied game music for over a decade, and composed hundreds of my own. I'll tell you everything you need to know.

Here are 4 steps to get you started, with free resources: 🧵👇 1. Download a DAW or score editor 🎶

A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is used to produce + edit music.

Free DAWs:
- reaper.fm
- bandlab.com/products/cakew…

A score editor is used to write + play back sheet music.

Free score editor:
- musescore.org