#Nobuo Uematsu

[scalefeathers]

Thinking once again about how Nobuo Uematsu and Masayoshi Soken are both completely amazing composers but in completely opposite directions let me explain

Disclaimer I am not a music theorist; most of music theory is black fucking magic to me. I barely know what a chord is and the circle of fifths makes me quake as though before an Elder God. I just really like both of their works and sometimes I have thoughts about things. Also this is all just my opinion, it's fine if you don't agree, etc.

So: Uematsu is first and foremost, in my opinion, an absolute master of melody. I believe it's what makes his work so iconic and makes so many of his pieces so instantly recognizable. The Final Fantasy theme, the chocobo theme, Dancing Mad, Vamo'alla Flamenco, fucking One-Winged Angel--Just from seeing those names, you've probably got one playing in your head already. You could start humming it right now. Maybe you are already.

And it makes perfect sense when you consider the era he was working in, because back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era, the melody was all you had. When you have such a tiny amount of storage space to work with, you can really play only one, maybe two notes at a time. You can't do anything that's layered, because you only have one layer to work with. I think that's why so much video game music from that era is so memorable and iconic. It's not just because you played so much Street Fighter II when you were a kid that the music is indelibly seared into your brain (though that probably doesn't hurt); it's also because Yoko Shimomura wrote really solid melodies that had nothing else competing for your aural attention (apart from the in-game sound effects, which are probably also seared into your memory). (Yoko Shimomura, btw, also composed the music for Final Fantasy XV, the entire Kingdom Hearts series, and like 50 other games over the past 40 years, another fucking icon).

But back to Uematsu: like I said, melodic genius. Even when his work is upscaled into full orchestral arrangements, that core melody is always front and center. And his affinity for melody makes even more sense when you consider that before he got into video game composing, he was writing commercial jingles. (Younger folks may not be aware, but there was a time when practically every product had to have its own theme song, and the best ones were short, snappy, and instantly memorable--and for that, again, you need a strong, simple melody. Ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it.)

Compare: Soken. Soken only started at Square 12 years after Uematsu, which isn't that long in human terms (to me at least, cos I'm old), but it is a long fuckin' time in video game years. By the time he started composing for games, there was so much more you could do with game music in terms of layering, complexity, and sound, and you can tell from his work that he takes full advantage of that. His work is complex and dense, a rich layer cake of themes and motifs, all beautifully merging and weaving together, often to extraordinary effect.

And again, if you look at his pre-music career, it makes a lot of sense that he'd have that approach to music, because he first got into the games industry as a sound designer; I believe that he is the sound director for all the FFXIV expansions, as well as being the composer. So of course he'd be very aware of not just how a sound (or piece of music) works on its own, but of how it fits into the greater whole, and of how to layer and balance lots of different sounds to create something greater than the sum of its parts. And of course it makes sense that he'd bring that approach to his compositions as well.

As a consequence of this approach, though, his music often lacks the memorable melodies that characterize Uematsu's work. Like, I ground (grinded?) Dun Scaith a lot the last time it was on the Mogstone rotation, I know all the boss themes extremely well and can recognize each of them instantly. But if you asked me right now to hum one? I don't think I could. (This isn't a deficiency, to be clear; music doesn't need a prominent core melody in order to be good.)

And that's also not to say that all his music lacks iconic melodies. His vocal tracks, pretty much by definition, have to put a single melody front and center; and then on top of that (or rather, behind it), you have all that trademark Soken richness and depth. Which is probably also why his vocal tracks go so fucking hard.

I think that's also why, out of all the expansions, I like Heavensward's music the best. Most of Heavensward's score is written by Soken, but the main theme is Uematsu's, and you may notice it's basically a tasting menu of like 5 or 6 excellent, very recognizable melodies, one right after the other. And basically every piece on the Heavensward soundtrack incorporates one or more of these melodies. So it really does give you the best of both worlds, and gives the overall score a cohesion that I don't see as much with the other expansions.

TL;DR, Uematsu and Soken are both amazing composers with very different and complimentary styles that reflect their differing backgrounds and the different eras of games in which they have worked and I just think that's neat.

[vg-music-i-like]

Theme of Courage // Fantasy Life

Fantasy Life came out in North America 10 years ago today!

[salmalin]

I love this beyond words.

[ipsens-castle]

Been listening to the FFIX ost - which I sometimes try to avoid bc my mind is so saturated with its sounds - and I have come to find more respect for a track that I was never very enamored with, perhaps even regarded as one of my least favs: the Iifa Tree's theme.

The way it could fit into a Metroid ost is striking. The game suggests an alien origin for Iifa's organic feel long before we ever question it. The choir croons to us like beckoning souls trapped in the Mist.

[hyperfocusfeatures]

(Mon) Ami artwork by John McGuinness

https://twitter.com/mcguinnessjohn

[figureskatingcostumes]

Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto's free dance costumes at the 2024 World Championships and 2023 NHK Trophy. They skated to music from Passion and Final Fantasy VIII.

(Sources: 1, 2 and 3)

[sibyl-of-space]

Hey, would you look at that. It's been over a year since I got a bullshit copyright strike on MuseScore for my transcription of To Zanarkand (exactly as it is heard in Final Fantasy X), which is a score you cannot find anywhere on the internet. It is a meticulous by-ear transcription that several people have referred to as "the most accurate transcription [they've] heard" based on the version in-game, which is compositionally distinct from any "official" sheet music sources published since the game came out.

So if you want the most accurate transcription of "To Zanarkand" you're probably ever going to find on the internet, here you go: mediafire link because fuck you musescore

this transcription got me into grad school for composition so. trust

[breakfastteatime]

Just found one of my favourite pieces of music from Advent Children in Rebirth, being performed by a choir in Cosmo Canyon (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

(It's The Promised Land if anyone's keen to hear the whole thing)

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[vg-music-i-like]

Great Plains // Fantasy Life

[ilminnestrone]

BLO*WJOBS

BIG TIT*TIES

AN*AL OR*GIES

LOTS OF CREAM

BLO*WJOBS

BIG TIT*IES

AN*AL OR*GIES

LOTS OF CREAM

SEPHIROTH

...

SEPHIROTH

[finalfantasymusicdaily]

Battle on the Big Bridge -REBIRTH- Arranged by Shoya Sunakawa Composed originally by Nobuo Uematsu

[disease]

ALPHA [BOX SET: 1986, JP] NOBUO UEMATSU 伸夫 植松 incl. ~ 7" FLEXI-DISC + FLOPPY DISK

[a-fieldjournal]

made a lil' tribute video for final fantasy vii: advent children because it deserves it. :)

song: the promised land, nobuo uematsu

•

tiktok letterboxd instagram

[fancypantsrecords]

Distant Worlds Philharmonic Orchestra And Chorus - Distant Worlds VI: More Music From Final Fantasy | AWR Records | 2023 | Clear

[magistera]

Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC: Final Fantasy VIII