Video game music began as beeps from a tiny chip. Today orchestras play it in concert halls, and it wins Grammy Awards. For many children, a game theme is the first tune for orchestra that they know by heart. This page tells the story and shows how to use it.
From three notes to a full orchestra
Early game machines could play only a few notes at a time. The Nintendo system of the 1980s had five sound channels. A composer had to make a whole world out of a tune, a bass line, and a few clicks for drums.
That limit is one reason the old tunes are easy to remember. There was little room for anything but a strong melody.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Koji Kondo writes the music for Super Mario Bros. |
| 1986 | Kondo writes the music for The Legend of Zelda. |
| 1987 | An orchestra in Tokyo plays the music of Dragon Quest in concert. Its composer, Koichi Sugiyama, conducts. |
| 2005 | Video Games Live, a touring concert of game music with orchestra, begins. |
| 2011 | “Baba Yetu” by Christopher Tin, written for the game Civilization IV, wins a Grammy Award. It is the first piece of game music to do so. |
| 2022 | The BBC Proms, a famous concert series in London, holds its first concert of game music. |
| 2023 | The Grammy Awards give a prize for the best video game score for the first time. |
Composers to know
Koji Kondo. He wrote the Super Mario Bros. theme and the main theme of The Legend of Zelda. He has worked for Nintendo since the 1980s.
Nobuo Uematsu. He wrote the music for the Final Fantasy games, which orchestras play around the world.
Christopher Tin. His “Baba Yetu” is sung in Swahili by a choir. Choirs around the world now sing it.
C418. That is the name used by Daniel Rosenfeld, who wrote the quiet piano music of Minecraft.
Classical music inside games
Game makers have borrowed old music, too.
- Tetris. The best-known tune is a Russian folk song called “Korobeiniki.” Some versions of the game also play a minuet by Bach and “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” by Tchaikovsky.
- “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Grieg’s piece turns up in games from the 1980s to today. Read the story for kids.
How game music is different
- It loops. A level can last two minutes or twenty, so the music has to go around without a seam.
- It changes with the player. The music can speed up when time runs low or add drums when an enemy appears. Composers call this adaptive music.
- It gives places a tune. A film gives a character a theme. A game gives one to a town, a cave, or a castle.
Use game music as a way in
- Find the orchestra version. Search for an orchestra playing your child’s favorite game theme. Watch which instruments have the tune.
- Name the instruments. Pause the video and use the instrument families listening chart.
- Go to a concert. Many orchestras put a game concert or a film concert in the season. It can be a good first concert.
- Play it. A child who takes lessons can ask the teacher for a game theme as a reward piece. Simple versions exist for piano and for most band and string instruments.
- Write a loop. Make up a four-bar tune that can repeat forever. Write it on staff paper.
From games to the concert hall
| If your child likes | Try this next |
|---|---|
| A bold main theme | “Mars” from The Planets, by Holst |
| Quiet piano music | Gymnopédie No. 1, by Satie |
| Music for a chase | The finale of the William Tell Overture, by Rossini |
| Music for a castle | “The Great Gate of Kiev” from Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky |
| Music for a boss fight | “Night on Bald Mountain,” by Mussorgsky |
| A choir | “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff |
What parents ask
Is game music real music? Yes. Composers write it, many scores are recorded with real instruments, and orchestras perform it.
Will it lead to anything else? It can. A child who loves one orchestra tune has a reason to hear another.
For more of this kind of music, read film music for kids and John Williams for kids. If your child says the classics are dull, read what to do when kids say classical music is boring.
More from this guide
This article is part of How to introduce kids to classical music.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.