Minecraft was released in 2009 as a simple sandbox-style game. Minecraft was not only wildly popular during my youth, but it remains wildly popular among many of today's youth as well, despite being older than many of them! I strongly believe that music programs may reach more students who are not interested in the conventional music program by including eMusic as part of their curriculum from primary through secondary school. I believe that music-making within video games could, and possibly should hold a place in an eMusic curriculum.
This is a short list of games that have music-making mechanics already built into them:
Minecraft: Over 200 Million copies sold
Fortnite: Over 350 Million accounts registered
Trove: Roughly 8 Million accounts registered
Stardew Valley: Roughly 3.5 Million copies sold
An astounding number of people play these games. Each game has the capability for music-making, each with different levels of difficulty which would allow for differentiated instruction. Including these games in an eMusic setting would allow students to experience making music through a media they know personally and in a way that may be highly relevant to their life and hobbies. At its core, making music within video games serves similar and often the same purposes that conventional music making does. These games also have abundant potential for visual creativity, allowing students to explore inter-disciplinary art at an extremely young age.
Below are three of my projects, highlighting the features and creative-potential of making music through this type of media.
Perhaps my best demonstration of the potential of the Minecraft medium for music-making, "Megalovania" is a truly interdisciplinary performance. While the note-blocks play rigid rhythms and can't sustain, I was able to able to create the illusion of sustained notes through carefully selected timbre combinations. I was also able to create the illusion of a glissando at timestamp 1:23. In addition to the music being played by the note-block and wiring system, I recreated the iconic windows and character as pixel-art to give atmosphere to the piece. To add yet another layer to this interdisciplinary experience, I recorded myself playing the segment of Undertale where this piece is heard, to provide additional context to the music; this is the overlay seen in the bottom-right corner. Best listened to with headphones!
One of my greatest challenges in working with this medium has been the inability to create sustained notes. As I am able to create the illusion of sustained notes by careful timbre selection in "Megalovania", I have overcome this challenge in "Africa" by Toto as well through careful timbre selection. "Africa" is a further exploration on the interdisciplinary-potential of making music in this medium. The lyrics of "Africa" are very vivid and descriptive with scenes of
One of my first projects was a Minecraft rendition of Paul Murtha's arrangement of "HandClap" for Band. I began working on this after the COVID-19 Pandemic had shut down schools, when it was clear to me that my students were not going to be able to perform their concert which included Paul Murtha's arrangement of "HandClap". This project has 8 synchronized voices, a major step-up from my previous projects. Each section of the band, including percussion, has their part represented in this rendition. I created and shared this project with my students during the shutdown to spark their desire to keep being musical during unstable and unsure times. This video had a profound effect on several students who expressed how much they enjoyed it!
Dante Marrocco
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