This post is actually a follow up on a post I made last month about using music in my game. As I mentioned, I am very emotionally moved by music and have a particular affinity for epic music. Well, after various attempts to add a soundtrack to my game sessions using various modes of music delivery -from CDs to iPod playlists to Windows Media Player- I have at last worked out a system that seems to function nicely for my group.
It all relies on YouTube.
A couple months ago, I began playing around with YouTube's playlist feature by poking around for epic music tracks and adding them to various mood-setting playlists. I started very generic with a list simply called "D&D Music" I used this list as a sort of catch all of promising tracks that I could sort later. Then I began developing more specific lists -each to fit a specific mood.
For me, the advantage of the YouTube method is that I do not have to scour the music stores for obscure groups that fit the bill, or purchase whole CDs when I only want a single track that I will likely only play during game sessions. That being said, I have definitely discovered some truly epic tunage into which I will likely invest real monies in the near future so that I may enjoy my dragon-slaying music even when away from my computer. But I digress...
Now that I have a decent start on the project, I have begun to use my playlists to underscore my game sessions. The goal is to set and enhance the mood without distracting or overwhelming my players. So far, the group has responded very positively to my audio experiment and have even started to suggest new additions.
Anyway, here is a selection of my playlists in progress. If you are running a game and want to try out, feel free to pop onto my lists and use them, or borrow them as you see fit. If you just like listening to music that makes you want to punch an ogre in the face before taking off on a ninja unicorn with laser eyes, I highly encourage you to check out some of the stuff I've come across.
Mood or Location
These playlists all continue to grow as I come across new music to fill them, so if you come back in the future, chances are good that there will be more awesomeness to be had.
This is a pretty sweet post, and enjoyed the links!
ReplyDeleteCan't agree more, music really affects your performance whatever is it that you're doing. If I listen to something when I write, I can be much more productive. It's a shame that working places still frown upon that...
ReplyDelete- andrea, an A to Z participant
I need ot get a playlist together on my new computer. I miss the music. :)
ReplyDeleteNice bumping into you.