THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC

Jonathan Hicks takes a look at how music can improve the atmosphere of a role-play session

During play there is always that feeling that the atmosphere is not perfect. The room isn’t very Star Wars, the nibbles on the table didn’t come from a store on Tatooine and the jeans and T-shirts everyone’s wearing are hardly costume. But you muddle on – it is, after all, a game of imagination.

It’s very simple to increase that atmosphere with a minimum of work. The answer is – background music.

The Star Wars movies have one major addition to all those effects, aliens and drama – the soundtrack. Composer John Williams has produced some of the best music in cinema today, making an impact in the movies with his diverse range and continuously stirring themes. His Star Wars music stands out, of course, as his most famous composition (if not his best) and is recognisable immediately by everyone.

That’s what music will do for your games. Everyone knows it; everyone sat around that table knows how that music affects the story. That’s what you want. Short of composing your own soundtrack, the music supplied by John Williams on various formats is perfect for your game.

Here are a few examples of how to use music in a game

1 - When you introduce the game then start the main theme, introducing what the adventure is called and a basic outline of where the players are as the music swells and blasts out. Let the theme carry on as the first bit of action takes place and then simply continue the game.

2 - Vary the intro from game to game (the main theme from all four films are different – the music directly after the intro is different each time and will divide the games effectively).

3 - Watch the volume. It is background music, after all, and you don’t want to be shouting across the table. Alternatively, what use is music if you can’t hear it? Find a medium and stick to it.

4 – Never let the players control the music. They are supposed to be playing the game and fiddling with controls and stereos will distract them.

5 – Choose your track for a scene and then forget about the stereo. If you’re continually going back to the music to start a fresh track or change a CD then you’re going to slow the game down. Not good.

6 – Make sure the stereo is within reaching distance of where you sit as a GM. For example, you get to a fight scene, the music is low and soft, so you have to get up, rush across the room, change tracks, and rush back. That can slow the game down.

7 – When you change scenes, especially to an action scene, don’t change the track until the action has started. Deftly changing the track before the players go into the danger area to something a little more upbeat will warn them something is about to go down and ruin the aura of expectation. Let the scene begin before turning to the stereo.

8 – Don’t try to time the action with the music. We all know that certain scenes in the Star Wars movies are dramatically increased by the rousing music, but you can’t guarantee such timing and trying to do so will have the players believe they are being led along. Let chance take it’s course – you’ll get the odd joining of action and music.

9 – If the music stops for whatever reason during high-energy moments (the tape stops, the record finishes, a mouse chews through the power cable etc.) then leave it! Don’t mess with the stereo. Don’t try to get things back on line. Continue the scene without the music because if it is a tension moment you don’t want to ruin it with a pause whilst the soundtrack is re-started.

10 – Most importantly of all – make sure the track you are playing suits the scene! It’s no use running the final lightsabre battle or blaster fight to the tune of the Ewok Parade music! Make sure you have the right track for the right moment. If you don’t, and it might take you a few moments to sort it out whilst the players wait on you, then leave it. Don’t sacrifice excitement for accurate music.

That’s the points for using music in a game covered. The other question is – what’s the best format to go about it?

USING VINYL – YOU KNOW, THOSE BIG RECORD THINGS, DO YOU REMEMBER THEM?

Remember vinyl? Remember those big circular black scratchy records that hissed and popped with semi-perfect sound? Ah, how can you forget the heady days of listening to your favourite album and then scrrrrthch! Someone knocks the stereo.

But albums weren’t that bad. You could pick up the needle, swing it across and choose any track you wanted, anywhere during the track you wished. Don’t like track three? Skip it! Reach in, grab that arm and lift it over it. You could play any track when it suited you, if you took a few seconds to reach over, lift the arm, swing it over, pop it down in the right place (maybe several times to get the right spot), then let it go.

Which, of course, made them less than perfect for role-playing games.

Constant track changes, having to get up to re-start tracks which takes time… it’s not perfect and not recommended. Besides, it’s a dead format so you’ll probably not have to deal with the problem.

CASSETTE PLAYERS – THE NEXT TARGET IN THE ‘KILL A FORMAT’ SIGHTS

You may think that tapes are useless because it takes even longer to wind to a track and even then they don’t last long enough for a certain scene before the next, varied piece of music but there is a way around this.

If you’ve got a twin cassette player then so much the better. What you need to do is make copies of tracks (of vinyl or CD) that suit certain scenes on two different cassettes. Make sure the tapes are nice and long – a 90-minute or 120-minute tape is perfect. Make one tape calm, unobtrusive music (such as Princess Leia’s Theme or Anakin’s Theme) and then one tape of high-octane action music (such as The Last Battle or Duel of the Fates) and place them in each of the players. Voila! A simple press of two buttons will change the music. Doing scenes where nothing much is happening action wise? Use the calm music. Gunfight kicks off? Press ‘stop’ on the calm music, press ‘play’ on the action music, and vice versa. It’s simple to flip the tape over if the music runs out, too, so this is recommended. It’ll require a bit of work on the GM’s part recording the different tracks but it’ll be well worth it in the end.

CD’S – THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT MEDIUM… AT THE MOMENT

Ah, the delights of technology. Repeat tracks; skip to your required track, which will play over and over until the scene is finished; remote control so you don’t even need to get out of your seat. Instant music at the push of a button. Good sound quality.

What more need be said? This the medium that most will have and most will use and so is probably the best out the lot.

So that’s that.

In addition, perhaps you don’t want to use the Star Wars music. Perhaps you have a hybrid adventure in mind and want to use another soundtrack. What’s stopping you? You can use any music you wish. You can slap in your favourite Metallica or U2 album if that’s what you want and the other players want, too. It’s how you handle the music during play that counts.