Tune of the Month for May

[Jody Kruskal]

I have a new TOTM offering. This one does not feature the concertina prominently in the mix, but it’s in there playing melody. Below is the text and the link is here.

 

A few months ago I was hired by an English on-line gaming company to write music to accompany a web-based virtual slot machine. The theme for the game is an English fair ground (in the US I would call it an old fashioned county fair) and if you win big, you get to play one of several mini games and have a good chance of winning even more $.

 

The sounds for the wheels spinning and common low level wins have to be very short, but these grander and rarer wins can actually have tunes. The developers asked me to base my sounds on the band organ or calliope. I had great fun writing and producing the music for both midi sequenced synth and live instruments including saxophone and of course... Anglo concertina.

 

Here is an mp3 of my tune for one of these mini games, the Horse Race... Ta Da! The Anglo concertina was especially useful in articulating the fast notes in the introduction. Gamers have to spend lots of time and money and really win big to hear all of this when playing the actual game but just click on the button above and you can hear it for free as often as you like.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Jody Kruskal

[David Barnert]

I have a new TOTM offering. This one does not feature the concertina prominently in the mix, but it’s in there playing melody. Below is the text and the link is here.

Fun tune!

 

A few months ago I was hired by an English on-line gaming company to write music to accompany a web-based virtual slot machine. The theme for the game is an English fair ground (in the US I would call it an old fashioned county fair) and if you win big, you get to play one of several mini games and have a good chance of winning even more $.

Or £, as the case may be.

[Priscilla]

I liked it! very nice, Jody, very upbeat and definitely reminiscent of old times... sounds like carrousel music to me. Delightful!

Thank you!

Priscilla

[Jody Kruskal]

I liked it! very nice, Jody, very upbeat and definitely reminiscent of old times... sounds like carrousel music to me. Delightful!

Thank you!

Priscilla

Thanks Priscilla. I'm so pleased that you liked it.

 

I have worked for many years as a composer, writing music to order for theater productions. In many ways, this was really the same kind of assignment. I had fun trying to get the spirit of those big carousel band organs. We have a few big old carousels with mechanical music in the middle here in New York City. Central Park, Prospect Park and Coney Island are the ones I have taken rides on and they are fun, but the real excitement begins when the music starts to play. Of course, carousel rides are always best in the company of children or lovers.