Music Education

Featured, Game Music, Indie Music

Music In Schools Bundle Looks to Raise Money for Music Education

June 6, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Music In Schools Bundle Looks to Raise Money for Music Education Share this

A new Humble Bundle has launched and is focused on providing funding for music education. Money raised from the Music In Schools Bundle will all go to the Alameda Music Project to provide music classes to underserved communities in Alameda, California. The Alameda Music Project is a free after school program that provides music education in a community where there previously has been no existing music program. The project offers the tuition-free music program to any child in grades K – 5 who wishes to participate.

The bundle includes videogame soundtracks, movie soundtracks, and a handful of games. The tiers on this bundle are a bit higher than what you’ll be used to seeing on the Bundle Store, but what you’re getting is quite a massive collection of music. The first tier at $20 will get you 15 albums and 2 games, while the $50 tier will get you an additional 52 albums and 4 more games. That’s a grand total of 67 albums and 6 games! It’s probably more music than you’ll know what to do with and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Alameda Music Project.

There are several game music artists contributing to this bundle including Ben Prunty, Zircon, Chris Rockwood, Jessica Curry, and Disasterpeace, just to name a few. The collection features the videogame music of FEZ, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, FTL, Mass Effect 3, Spelunky, and many more. This is an incredible collection of music and it’s all for a great cause. Be sure to check the Music In Schools Bundle out and spread the word.
Game Music, Reviews

Not As Easy As It Looks: Easy Piano (Review)

May 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Not As Easy As It Looks: Easy Piano (Review) Share this

I have to say that this piano peripheral is adorable. It seems like music peripherals are a dime a dozen these days, but this octave-spanning plastic piano plugged into the bottom of my DS has to be one of my favorites of all time. While that doesn’t mean it’s used to its fullest in Easy Piano, it does mean that I had a lot of fun with it.

So, what is Easy Piano about, anyway? Well, it’s not advertised only as a music teaching tool, but also as a sort of rhythm game that allows you to play along with over 30 songs. Now, don’t go in expecting to be a music master after playing Easy Piano, but you may find yourself picking up some music skills from the many lessons, songs to play along with, and even the composition mode that allows you to test your music-writing abilities.

All of this and more in our review of Easy Piano after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Mass Exodus From Capcom Part 3: Interview with Hideaki Utsumi

December 29, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

Sheesh, I can’t help but wonder what’s going on over at Capcom Japan. First it was Audio Director Tetsuya Shibata to form Unique Note, then sound designer and Sound Director Masayuki Endo to form Forcewick. We’ve now learned of a third key employee from Capcom Japan’s audio department that left the company, and that person is Hideaki Utsumi. While his name may not be immediately familiar, the list of titles he’s worked on over the years at Capcom is quite impressieve, including several titles in the Resident Evil series (including Resident Evil 5) and the Devil May Cry series.

As it turns out, Utsumi was the first to leave Capcom of the three we’ve mentioned, and he didn’t leave to go freelance either. As it turns out, Utsumi instead decided to become a music educator at the HAL Osaka Technical School (the sister site to the Tokyo campus where Kenichiro Fukui of Square Enix left to teach). We’ve fortunately been able to talk with Utsumi-sensei about this move, the programs at the HAL Technical Schools, his time at Capcom, and his record label, marth TERIT RECORDS, which has featured a number of awesome releases.

Read and learn in our exclusive interview with Utsumi-sensei after the jump! (more…)