Working With Melodies

Never really thought about it, but you're right. I was going to say I really like the sound track for Mass Effect 2, but then I realized I couldn't hum a single line from it.

Yeah, the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack is amazing. I think it does the job it was supposed to, though I haven't played the game yet…or even part 1 for that matter. I'll probably start from the beginning.

I see it as 2 issues at work here. 1. It's very difficult to write a good melody… it's kind of the ultimate frontier of a composer's craft. In a day when most composers are really just sequencing together well-worn pastiches of sonic building-blocks and getting paid to do it, there's really little motivation to develop the skill. 2. Melodies generally attract too much attention to the music, when the attention in modern film/game making is largely intended to be elsewhere. I generally tend to come from a melodic paradigm as well, but I do find when I'm composing for visual media, melodies are frequently too distracting and self-serving, rather than what is best for the project.

Ironically, I find that games utilize melodies a lot more frequently and effectively than films these days. I have 2 kids and they play a lot of games, so I usually have some great melodies floating around through osmosis.