   Real Music, Real Musicians - Composer Available
  Looking to get involved in game music, most of my work to date has been television. Forget the samples and loops, I'm focused on affordable real music by real musicians.Please let me know I can help with your music needs. Contact me for a free estimate. http://www.johnpresleymusic.com/Best WishesJohn   
  You have some nice samples on your demo reel! I admire that you're striving to only use live musicians, but what happens if a client wants a large orchestral score for their project? Even worse, what if it's large orchestral and chorus. What alternatives and options would your present to the client? Or, could you afford to hire and record all of those musicians. What if they want really ethnic music and it's hard to find those musicians in your area? My point is samples have their place and can be a great alternative if used and produced well. Avoiding them completely might (key word might) limit what you're able to deliver to your clients. (I'd also imagine it could add more time to your production as you have to find, hire and record these musicians.);  First of all, nice demos! Congratulations!I agree completely with Nathan. I'm thinking about LOST's composer, Michael Giacchino (LOST is a unusual case in where music is recorded live with an orchestra). Hearing to it is always a nice experience for me because I know that its played by real musicians, but, it's LOST, and therefore, they can afford the cost of a live orchestra. There are several cases in which that kind of money just ins't available.I write orchestral music mainly, and I can't pay for a real one, so I must use samples to make my songs sound. So, even when I prefer live musicians intead of sound samples, I don't have any other options ATM. So, my advice is, as Nathan said, don't avoid things that can help you in some ways sooner or later. I like that you intend to work only with real musicians, but I would leave some other alternatives open for certain situations.P.S.: Excuse my english =(   ;  Hey guys thanks for listening!I guess my post might look anti-sample...I do use samples here and there. There are so many great orchestral composers out there that use samples, trying to break through that crowd is tough. For games I would probably lean toward the fun and quirky, rather than 3 hours of orchestral score. Hopefully there's plenty of work out there for both types of composers. My strength is building relationships with musicians, I rely on midi mockups to get started, not finish.John   ;Quote:For games I would probably lean toward the fun and quirky, rather than 3 hours of orchestral score. Hopefully there's plenty of work out there for both types of composers. My strength is building relationships with musicians, I rely on midi mockups to get started, not finish.While you may not want 3 hours of orchestral score for video game X, the developer might. :) That's my point. When writing music for a client, it's not so much about what you (the composer) wants. It's more about what is best for the project and what fits the client's vision of the game. Sure you can have some input and sway, but the final call comes down to whomever is commissioning (i.e. paying) you for the music. Good discussion! Best of luck to you!Nathan   ;  I can deliver anything a developer needs, composing as a business is always about what the client wants. But I think its OK to specialize and take on projects that fit what you do best. There are just so many amazing composers/midi programmers out there, would be hard for me to compete on that alone. I think alot of game music could benefit from some real elements. Getting multiple musicians working together on a project is key to what I do, definitely not for everyone.ThanksJohn   