And I’m not saying Sugiyama is any worse a composer for sticking to his guns. It’s just other practiced that I feel hinder his soundtracks. If only he’d allow the orchestral versions of his stuff to be played in the game, the problem would be gone and DQ music would be much better remembered here, I think. I have great respect for his work, just not his approach to its consumers. And yeah, Uematsu always seemed like a swell guy. And I’m glad Mitsuda’s feels better. I have always related to the struggle he was apparently going through when making stuff. Back when I was starting composing, theee was this other girl in my class in music school who also composed, and even though she was younger than me, she composed tons of stuff, all of it really good. I still did my best to catch up, but I couldn’t help but lag behind, which discouraged me. Of course, she’s now an actual composer that’s gotten multiple awards, so I was basically comparing myself to a prodigy. So now I’m composing just for myself and I’m happier that way. So it’s good to hear Mitsuda’s has found a happy medium too
Well to be fair to Sugiyama, he was close to fifty when he joined Enix initially and was already an established conductor and composer. He didn't really grow up with electronic media like some of these composers did. So it was likely easier for the younger guys to embrace it. As for Mitsuda, I feel he's calmed down. He was only bad about that kind of stuff in his early years because he was trying to prove to his peers he could do the job. He does seem pretty hard on himself though. I think it;s why I like Uematsu, cause he just always seems happy and seems like the kind of guy who loves his work.
Oh, then I guess I misread my source. It makes sense, though, considering how jazzy his stuff is, it does suggest at least partial musical literacy before he started working. I love his work a lot but it’s a shame it’s such a strain on him. I’d like to see more from him while knowing that he’s not losing health because of it. Still, in Sugiyama’s case, I think it’s really more his traditionalism and stubbornness that make his things sound the way they do. Both Shimomura and Hamauzu are classically trained, and yet they’re far more flexible when it comes to using new musical media to their full potential.
Actually, I believe Mitsuda is also more classically trained than Uematsu. He studied piano briefly in childhood, and started taking it serious again in High school. He went to a music focused college, though apparently not a very good one. So I guess he would be somewhere in the middle between Uematsu and Sugiyama. Just reading his interviews shows he takes music theory more seriously than Uematsu does, though he still gets inspiration in weird places, like when he passed out from overworking on the CT OST and dreamed the ending theme.
See, it’s not as jarring in the old games because MIDIs had not advanced to the point that more could be done with them, so it’s kind of a time before Sugiyama got left behind in that regard. The iOS ports used better midi arrangements, but again, this is something that’s just easier to forgive in the old games. Yeah, Mitsuda’s pretty much in the same boat as Uematsu in this regard. Both self taught, both less concerned about what it would sound like on real instruments rather than the actual mediums used in-game.
I don't know, the OST in the remake of DQIII is pretty good so far. Better than when I first heard it one the GBC at least. At least Mitsuda cares enough to make the MIDI work.
That’s because FF is composed differently. Uematsu has pretty much always used stuff in his soundtracks that goes beyond the typical symphonic arrangements, with lots of electronic sounds as early as in FFIV. He’s also self-taught, so his stuff is pretty munched composer by ear and takes advantage of the soundchip he has available. The reason his tracks lose some punchlines in an orchestral arrangement is simply that they were not written with a live orchestra in mind - they’re played on their intended medium from the start and take advantage of it while avoiding its trappings. A good orchestral arrangement of such a thing requires someone to really know both mediums well enough to translate that, otherwise the quality is lost. With Sugiyama it’s the other way around. He’s classically trained and knows exactly how to squeeze everything out of a real life symphonic orchestra. His tracks are meticulously structured and most of them follow established classical forms that have traditionally just really worked well for an orchestra. The instruments all play exactly in the ranges they should - the oboe I mentioned plays in that Goldilocks zone where it’s not too low to sound weak and not too high to sound piercing. Sadly, he pretty much just doesn’t care how that translates to midi. The synths he uses aren’t very convincing fir the most part, with the strings being particularly egregious, and everything sounds flat and lifeless, as if he just went and transcribed the thing he wrote into a midi program and did nothing else with it. And this is why his soundtracks sound amazing when performed by an orchestra and very lackluster with midi.
I always have mixed feelings about orchestrated video game soundtracks. DQ works for me, but sometimes with FF, I don't feel the arrangement captures the possibilities the MIDI gave.
Btw I knew going with the orchestral mod was the right choice the second I got in a chapel and the DQV shrine theme played. Real life oboe makes me melt - it’s something MIDI oboe can never truly replicate
I see no difference
