League of Legends - Nexus article + sheet music release

League of Legends – Nexus article + sheet music release

Fellow League of Legends composer is hosting our new sheet music release.

Here’s what I had to say about the theme I wrote for Taric:

“The publishing and champion teams were working on instilling a strong superhero vibe into Taric’s rework. They suggested a musical direction which revived some great childhood memories of listening to 80s and 90s action scores. That vernacular runs through my blood, so when a live recording of this piece was greenlit, I was eager to write.

I wrote Taric’s music for a live ensemble that I designed, which was more or less based on a traditional recording symphony orchestra. There’s a difference in how one writes for samples vs. live, especially when it comes to brass. For instance, the sound of close-voiced triads in the trombones just under middle C is one of the most beautiful textures of a live brass ensemble, which simply doesn’t translate well into samples. When using voicing chords, there’s a really pleasing harmonic richness when opening up towards the top of the range with trumpets that sound aggressive with samples.

Most of League’s music is based on some form of orchestral ensemble combination, but because we try to stay original and fresh in our palette choices, we rarely get a chance to write for a full traditional orchestra (which is a real treat).

In my opinion, writing heroic themes is always a challenge: How do you balance the desire to offer something new within all the tropes of the genre? How do you balance delivering a soaring sound and providing rhythmic muscle? For Taric, melody was my top priority. With his theme, I attempted to convey his strength, hubris and… a certain maturity that came to him after he ascended Mount Targon. By contrast, the B section of the piece is more relaxed and even suave. That attention to melody carried over to the middle section, where I made sure every line would have the proper arc to it. This completed the musical depiction of Taric, a more mature expression of strength and spirituality, without losing the charm and character that made him popular in the first place.

—Ed the Conqueror”

Make sure to head to the Nexus for our composers’s blurbs at https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2018/07/dev-forging-melodies/