New Solo Piano Track – It Was You, All Along
I got my start in the industry working at FUNimation Entertainment, producing original music, creating sound design, editing dialog and then mixing/mastering it all for lots and LOTS of Anime. Admittedly, I don’t watch a ton of Anime on my own time but I am familiar with plenty of it. One of the things that often strikes me is differences Anime music has versus more Western music. I used this knowledge to improvise a new piano piece inspired but some of what I’ve heard in Anime.
Going A Different Route
I was doing a little bit of research into what chord progressions are common in Anime and how they differ from other media. Ya I know, truly nerdy stuff! 🙂 It turns out there are several progressions that help make a song feel more Anime than other shows and media. I’ll explain below:
Westernized pop tracks tend to go with something like: C – G – Am – F
Anime pop inspired tracks go with something more like: C – D – Bm – Em
(in the key of C just for easy reference/comparison)
They give very different tonalities and textures. Especially, in my opinion, the major 2 chord (D major) in the key of C. So I took this approach and improvised a short solo piano piece. I liked how it sounded but had no idea what to call it. Sometimes I really SUCK at titles. I was asking a friend of mine, who loves Anime, for ideas for the title. As a joke I said “this music plays when the main character realizes that the love of her life has been right there in front of her, the whole time.” Then it struck me – that’s the timbre of this song. That’s the feeling it evokes. So why not just call it that? It was You, All Along. (I may have said the same thing to a Kit Kat bar once…)
Take A Listen!
Give the track a listen and imagine the scene in your mind. Maybe the character has blue hair… maybe she’s controlling a 2 story mech? Who knows! 😛 I’m being tongue-in-cheek but the more I dig into Anime, the more I value and respect the stories they tell. So the next time you’re writing music for a narrative (be it film or game) maybe consider going with some “new” chord progressions that are less idiomatic to the culture(s) you live/work in.
I hope you enjoy the track and more music will be coming your way VERY soon!
BIO
Nate Madsen is an established composer, sound designer with nearly 16 years experience and over 870 credits. He’s worked in-house at FUNimation Entertainment, NetDevil, Bee Cave Games and is currently a Principal Composer, Sound Designer for SciPlay. Two of his recent side projects have been Great Wolf Lodge’s Magiquest and Glass Bottom Game’s SkateBIRD. He lives in Austin, Texas. Be sure to reach out to Nathan with any audio needs you may have!