Sunday, September 27, 2009

Instant Soundtrack

Following up on yesterday's post recommending Audacity, I wanted to give a pointer to a collection of 1920's big band music from Abe Lyman and his band at the Internet Archive . In terms of authenticity it can't be beat and it makes a killer soundtrack for a session. I know there are folks that will disagree, but I think the endlessly cheery and upbeat nature of the music helps amplify the horror when things really start to fall apart during a game. Another effective technique is to produce a version of the loop that's slightly off-speed with a little reverb and phasing mixed in. Carefully crossfading between the two can really ratchet up the tension.

3 comments:

Nick Storm said...

Music and prop sounds were always a part of out games. We were "classic" CoC gamers so the 20's and 30's stuff really appealed to our group.

Good stuff and thanks for including it...

~Nick

Doc Atomic said...

Consider adding just the slightest hint of chorus. Chorus mixes a varying degree of pitch shifting into a track -- when done correctly, you can create an old, warped record effect with very little effort. I've used this technique often and it's really creepy. The key is subtlety. Just a hint of processing goes a long way. You want the recording to sound old and neglected, not ancient and abused.

If you have a recording of record scratches, or just very light, random radio static, try layering it on top of the original recording. Also, very light record skips can be simulated by clipping a beat or two out of the track and then splicing the two parts back together.

Again, stay subtle -- less is definitely more.

Alban said...

I found 21 webradios here > http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?genre=30s diffusing music (from Jazz to Classical) original recordings of the 20's, and 30's.

Just digg...


Alban