Whispering Tracks Devlog #2 - Of sailors and fairies

So, the music for the second area is done! Took quite a while, I had a busy month. And it's also one of the parts that I was the most excited about, so I didn't want to rush it! The previous area was the city, this one is the Celtic zone!

How to sound “Celtish”?

I grew up in Brittany (France), and attended a lot of festivals with traditional Celtic music. Did I enjoy it? Well, not really. As a kid, sailors songs and loud bagpipes are not the kind of things you're into. I remember being kinda bored by it honestly. Still, it's part of my culture I guess, and while it's still not my favorite genre, I have a small affection for it. It's also a style with a strong identity, that immediately evokes the culture and esthetic surrounding it! Whispering Tracks is a game about traveling, and imagining the places you visit from the music you hear. Thus, Celtic music fits perfectly in it! Let's make the player visit our beautiful land of Brittany, with its coasts and rains! It's a genre I've never tackled, I was curious what I could do with it.

What defines Celtic music? A lot of things probably, it's a very codified genre. I however mostly worked on intuition. My goal isn't to pay a perfect tribute, just to get a specific vibe. My main inspirations were (on top of the hundreds of Bagads I've heard) Brunos Coulais soundtracks for The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, this song from Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles (a game I know nothing else about), and of course Deku Nut's Palace from Majora's Mask.

One of the most important point for me was the melodic structure. Those songs are made of simple sentences, repeated often in question/answer way. As it turns out, simple motifs are something I love in music, and they're perfectly suited for the musical system of this game! I also decided to cheat a bit and write melodies in 4/3 beat signature. It's not mandatory for the genre, but it gives the song a nice dancing rhythm. Another important aspect is the key. Remember when I told you I chose D Dorian? Well, it was actually for this part in particular! It turns out that the Dorian scale has a strong Celtic vibe. You can write a lot of melodies in it that, for whatever reasons, definitively sound Celtic! It's a minor key, but it is still warm, mysterious, and even a bit festive!

Another crucial aspect is the sororities! You need the right instruments to sound Celtic: Bagpipe, bombard, tin whistle, fiddle, bouzouki… But this is where it gets difficult: I mostly work with soundfonts. Specifically, free soundfonts. Yeah, working as an amateur musician, for a project I do as a hobby, I don't have the best resources. I should invest some days in better tools. But for specific instruments like that, let me tell you, there's not a lot! I could find only one decent bagpipe and bombard soundfont, and it doesn't cover much octaves. Had to do with it anyway. As for the other instruments, well… I couldn't find anything. But here's the weird trick I discovered: if you take regular instruments, and add a chorus effect to them… suddenly you're transported in Ireland! Acoustic guitar with chorus sounds a bit like a bouzouki, and a regular violin, well, gets a kinda Celtic sound? It's magic! Okay, maybe forbidden dark magic. But it works!

The two sides of Celtic music

From my own experience and culture, I see two kind of Celtic music. The first one is the one from Brittany, the loud one, played by dozens of bagpipes, military drums, harsh songs about sailors who depart to the cold sea not knowing if they will return home. Also it's raining when you hear them, and your fries and mussel in a plastic tray are getting cold (yes, I have fond memories of those times). The other one is the one from Ireland, the soft one, with flutes, fiddles and harp, jovial songs about, huh… I don't know actually, maybe how nice it is to drink? It has been so much used in fantasy, I mostly associate it with small village of elves in the woods, magical fairies and the gorgeous hills of New Zealand (uh, wait).

Both of those styles are great! Actually they have a lot in common, and I bet the separation I make between them and the association with either Brittany or Ireland is mostly rubbish. Nevertheless, I want the game to feature both of them! Therefore, the Celtic Zone (now my favorite Sonic level) has two extremities: the "loud" one, and the "soft" one! When the player travel from one to another, they hear a neat transition between the two. Perfect for giving them a sense of space!

The result (finally)

This area contains way less parts than the previous one! It's a more regular one: whereas the city required numerous short phrases of two of three notes that would overlap, here each part is already a complete melody. It thus only needs to be played by about three instruments, with some variations and accompaniment. But while it represented less work, it was a little bit more… boring? Composing with vertical layers means that I have to listen to the same two measures in loop, and to come with only short melodies that would repeat. It's kinda basic, and again, feel a lot like what I did for Blood Not Allowed. Still, I found the motivation to be creative, and to seek interesting variations. Actually now that I have finished, there's still new patterns I wish I could have added! Maybe once I'll complete all the areas, I'll come back to this one to add a few extras. The part I'm the most proud of is the ocarina solo. It's the only part that isn't made with soundfonts! Yeah, I have a real ocarina! I got it last December, I'm still learning, but it's a fun instrument to play, that comes with a beautiful sound.

Anyway, here's the result! Funny how, with the instruments fading in and out, it almost sound like a processing. That's actually how I experienced a lot of Celtic music! So, once again, pretty fitting.

Next part is once again going to be a bit ambitious! I have less precise ideas for this one. I know the rhythmic pattern I want to use, and the vibes I want to have. This will need some experimentation! Hopefully it will be beautiful. See you next time!