Maclaine Diemer.8271

It sounds to me like a sample of a Brazillian instrument called a berimbau.

> Do You plan the whole music track in your head, and then if it makes whole, you start to use the right instruments, that you already planned to use, or is it more like spontaneous composing- you have the motif in your head, and just go for it, wherever your strings or piano keys want you to go. Or is it mixed up?- that's the question about your usual composing process.

It happens a lot of different ways. Sometimes it will just start with me messing around on a piano between a couple chords. That was how Rebuilding Lion's Arch started. For others, the melody pops into my head first, like on Halloween in Tyria or The Gathering of The Pact. The initial idea is always the easiest part, honestly, but taking it and turning it into a full piece is where the sweat and hard work comes in. It can often be very challenging to take a 30 second idea to 2+ minutes.

I don't know about during the composing of the pieces themselves, but the very first time we recorded with a live orchestra, which is captured in the videos you mentioned, was about as emotional as I've ever been working on the game. Stress and anxiety and joy and relief all at the same time. It was really scary working up to that first session, because I'd never done it before and afraid of messing up and never getting the opportunity again. Fortunately, it all went so well, and we've had the option to do it many more times since.

I was pleasantly surprised to see it was an option, like it was tailor made for me!

My favorites are probably Rata Novus, Faren's Flier, The Golden Cave, The Olmakhan, Labyrinthine Cliffs, and Taimi's Game. There are others I like, but it fluctuates and I've written so much I forget about a lot of things.

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> This is a tricky one to word or define, but would like to see more recognisable/iconic/noticeable tracks. I am surprised to hear of 34 new tracks simply because i havent noticed almost any new ones. Now i dont expect to recognise and hear every new track, but ls4 has felt very low key compared to say PoF and HoT. Was that deliberate?

>

> I will say the music has been phenomenal since ls1, with some really excellent and iconic tracks - from the epic Breachmaker, to the serenity of Auric Basin, the mystery of Rata Novus or the old school hollywood blockbuster feel of PoF. LS4 doesnt feel to me like it is flowing as well with the story at all times and id like to see real noteworthy pieces in the remaining episodes that really define ls4.

>

> The audio team has in general been exceptional beyond this and a real credit to bringing the living world to life.

Hi Randulf. All I can say about this is that the music resonates differently with different people, and it's nearly impossible to satisfy everyone in that regard. In the 6+ years that I've been writing music for the game, I've heard every variation on this comment. There are some folks who prefer GW1 over GW2, Living World over GW2, HoT over LW, PoF over HoT, etc. The intention is always to have music that is appropriate for the content as well as keep things fresh as the game and story develop. Sometimes it works for some people, sometimes not. Thanks for listening, either way!

> That being said, I _love_ the idea of vinyl! Would give me a great excuse to whip out the ol' turntable, plus the case would make a fabulous collector's piece!

Both of the expansion soundtracks are currently available on vinyl from our friends at iam8bit.

https://store.iam8bit.com/collections/guildwars2

They also come with a download code for the digital files. The vinyl discs are actually missing a couple of tracks from the final soundtrack due to space limitations, so you get a few bonus tracks if you purchase it that way.

It's actually just one whistle playing the melody in the low and high octaves, and it's in C. The player we recorded, Kristin Naigus, also did a version with a whistle in F, but it didn't quite have the nimble character I wanted for the tune. She also played the bassoon part on the track. She's very talented! Thanks for listening and giving this track some love. It was fun to do but kind of flew under the radar.

The rest of the audio team has probably used weirder stuff than I have (so far), since most of my work uses traditional orchestral instruments. However, on the piece called "Maws of the Ruptured Heart" on PoF, the main melody is being played on a bass flute, which is pretty unusual for an orchestra.

https://imgur.com/ttwqh6F

Mixed into the track are some sounds that the flautist did after we recorded her main part. She would make a sort of Chewbacca growl into the flute while playing a note, and then she would change the pitch of the growl while maintaining the flute note, and it would create all of these crazy overtones and wild alien sounds. It was something I didn't know was possible, and I ended up taking them, cutting them up, and putting a ton of effects and reverb on them to create a background layer that no synthesizer could replicate. Pretty cool.

Hi again, Arden!

1. I don't actually enjoy writing combat music. I find it very time consuming and tedious, which is precisely the reason I asked Will Roget to help out with it for Path of Fire. He brought Brendon along with him, and I think the two of them did an absolutely marvelous job with the combat music for the expansion. For most of their combat pieces, I just gave them some light guidance on the direction and let them do their thing. For Balthazar's music, however, Brendon did use a motif that I wrote. He took it and stretched it far beyond what I had imagined. I think that's one of the things that makes collaboration so cool, allowing ideas to change in ways a single person couldn't imagine.

2. I must admit that there was no special intention with the drums in any of Season 4's music. There are definitely purposeful moments where Aurene's theme is used in various pieces, however. I like leaving those little bread crumbs for players to pick up on, and I love it when players get so deep into the music and find their own meaning in it. Whether it's planned or not doesn't matter, if you as a player find something that moves you or intrigues you in the music, I'm happy.

I think this is a very good idea. I'll bring it up with the team.

Hi Arden. Thanks for your kind words and for listening!

1. You can always expect more music for every new content release. Some get more than others, but we always try to make sure each release has music that is appropriate for the content and enhances the experience. Both of the tracks you mentioned are two of my favorites from the PoF soundtrack, and it's a direction I'd like to explore more going forward.

2. I was just thinking about this the other day. Season 4 basically has the same length soundtrack that both expansions have had. Crazy! The best way to do it is with help, so that's why this season we've had tracks from Brendon Williams and Lena Raine. Brendon helped with the combat music on the PoF soundtrack, and Lena of course goes back many years with the studio and has written some amazing music for the game. It's been great to have them both continue to contribute. The season isn't over yet, so I don't know exactly how many tracks we'll have by the end. I'd say it's pretty likely we'll get to 40 at least, though ;).

3. I had made a promise on Twitter to post some "long lost" tracks if we hit 8 million plays on SoundCloud. I just checked and we just hit it today! Much sooner than I thought we would, which is nuts. I'll gather that stuff and post it this week to coincide with this chat. Thanks for pointing it out.

4. There are no lyrics, unfortunately. It's just gibberish. I'm using a choir sample library that uses random syllables to kind of give the appearance of real lyrics. I'm looking forward to the day we can get more live choir into the game, but unfortunately we often don't have the time or budget to do so. Never say never, though.