WOW Sound Music Tutorial
After downloading music tracks from our library, are you wondering what the prefix or suffix means? Or when or how to use the music tracks in your video game or projects?
Without further ado, let's dive straight into the details!
Table of Contents
- Prefix
- Suffix - Most Common
- Suffix - Length, Mixes & Instruments
- Suffix - Sections & Adaptive/Dynamic Music
- How to check music loop for free
- How to search on our site
- Final Notes
→ 01. Prefix
Using Retro Nostalgia RPG Music Pack as an example:
- RNR_Town_Atarah_FULL_Loop
- RNR_Penguin_Harbour_FULL_Loop
The letters before the track is the prefix; in this case, it is RNR.
★ All music and sound effect tracks from the same music pack will have the same Prefix.
We gave a unique prefix for each music pack so you can quickly search for music or sound effects on our site or your computer within the same music pack!
→ 02. Suffix: Most Common
Each music track usually has 2 ‘Suffix’
FULL = The main music track that has all instruments
Loop = Music can run continuously in a loop
They may sound like they end abruptly but it will make sense musically when looped
END = Music concludes with an ending
End Stinger (Packs from Mar 2020) = Stinger to end the Full Loop
Intro = Intro section leading to the Full Loop
‘Intro’ is meant to be triggered before the FULL Loop mixes and might not work as well with other mixes
Lite = A lighter version of the music with less instruments
Short = Shorter length verison
Medium = The in-between length of a short and full version
Combinations of suffix: Full_Loop, Short_Loop, Lite_Loop, Full_End
For example RNR Town Atarah Lite Loop
★ This means the track is a Lite version and it’s loopable!
@wowsound 💡🎵 How to use the music intro and end stinger audio files? Let us show you! Learn more at bit.ly/Music_tutorial #gamedev #indiedev #gamemusic #gamemusiclibrary #vgm #videogamemusic #gamesoundtrack #royaltyfreemusic #wowsound #wowsoundsg #tutorial ♬ original sound - wowsound
→ 03. Suffix: Length, Mixes & Instruments
LENGTH:
30s = 30 seconds
60s = 60 seconds
P1 / P2 = ‘P’ represents ‘Parts’ or Sections in music.
Part 1 refers to the 1st half while Part 2 to the 2nd half of the music.
MIXES:
Mel = Melody, the main melody of the music track
Examples of it → noMel (No Melody), noEthnicMel (No Ethnic Melody)
Alt = Alternate Version. These versions have various instruments being changed or have more sections and different melodies from the full version.
Underscore = Additional music mix that quietly establishes a mood or theme in a visual scene or spoken dialogue.
Amb / Ambient / Drone = Ambient or Drone music version with no persistent beats. This mix consists of gentle pads, holding strings, or any drone-like instrument giving a dreamy, soundscape texture. This mix works great to create or enhance a mood or atmosphere.
Fast = A sped-up version, up by 10-20 bpm! Use them when running out of time, HP in the game or even for bonus time!
INSTRUMENTS:
Pno / noPno = Piano, No piano versions
Gt / noGT = Guitar / No guitar versions
Vox / noVox = Main vocals / no main vocals version
noWW = No woodwind instruments
Dr = Drum
Per = Percussion and Beats | Variations of it → noPer, LowPer, Short Per, including ethnic percussions.
QUICK TIP:
If the scene is busy with sound effects or dialogue, you can use a ‘lite’ version or a ‘noMel’ version so that the melody does not compete for attention. However, if the scene needs support from the music, you can use the ‘Full’ version. This way, you have an array of mixes to choose what fits best for your project!
⚠️ The mixes are not meant to play one after another to form a longer song.
→ 04. Suffix: Sections + Adaptive/Dynamic Music
SECTIONS:
Part A/B/C = Form your own music structure with these parts. Loop each section as many times as you want before moving on to the next section!
Here’s an example from one of our tracks, Oriental Fever.
CDA_Oriental_Fever_Short_Part_A_Loop
CDA_Oriental_Fever_Short_Part_B_Loop
@wowsound 💡🎵 How does the music submix Loop A and Loop B work? #gamedev #indiedev #gamemusic #gamemusiclibrary #vgm #videogamemusic #gamesoundtrack #royaltyfreemusic #wowsound #wowsoundsg ♬ original sound - wowsound
Track Oriental Fever: Part A (Green) loops seamlessly into Part B (Blue) and back into Part A (Green)
ADAPTIVE / DYNAMIC MUSIC:
Adaptive music, also known as dynamic or interactive music, is pretty popular these days. Adaptive music means the music changes in volume, instrumentation, or rhythm in response to the events happening in the game. We only have one Adaptive music pack so far, our Electronic Action Music Pack! It’s really not easy to create adaptive music.
Each of the tracks comes in 3 different intensity levels.
EA_Last_Bullet_HIGH_Loop
EA_Last_Bullet_MED_Loop
EA_Last_Bullet_LOW_Loop
‘Last Bullet’ Music Track cross-fading from Low to Medium to High Intensity
To achieve this, the different layers of music are programmed to playback at the same time. And depending on the intensity of the game, the tracks are cross-faded between the high intensity, medium intensity, and low-intensity version.
To learn more about adaptive music, have a look at these links!
1. The Dynamic Music of NieR: Automata (YouTube Link)
2. Adaptive Music in FMOD Studio: 1 – Tracks and Tempo Markers (YouTube Link)
→ 05. How to check a music loop for free
To hear how a music loops, drag them into this link and hit the play button!
(Remember to click the loop icon, it glows in yellow when it is switched on).
Please note that mp3 files will not loop seamlessly
Mp3 compression introduces silence gaps at the beginning.
Use .wav or .ogg files to loop your music tracks in game!
Wav format is the highest quality uncompressed audio file and the Ogg format is the go-to for most game developers!
@wowsound Check if your music or sound loops seamlessly for free! https://29a.ch/timestretch/ #gamedev #indiedev #gameaudio #audiotutorial #free #gamemusic #gamesfx #gamesouds #soundeffects #gamedevelopment #looping ♬ original sound - wowsound
Want to convert Wav files to Ogg files?
★ Use this website to convert wav to ogg for free! We use Switch (paid app) to convert our wavs to oggs.
→ 06. How to search on our site
Video Walkthrough
→ 07. Final Notes
If you are uploading your gameplay content or creating content on YouTube, please read the new section of YouTube’s terms of service called “Right to Monetize".
What layers have been useful or not useful for you? Or is there anything you would like to see more of? Feel free to drop us an email to [email protected] if you have any other feedback or suggestions!
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