John UM
From mito’s point of view, animated songs are shock and shock, that is, how deep the audience can be trapped in 89 seconds, and that is everything
Specific examples, such as “GO! GO! MANIAC” composed by Tom-H @ ck (TV animation “Light Tone !!!” early OP), this song has a strong sense of speed and is audible The edge of Qinghe inaudible seems to sing in a flash, and has a refreshing impact
And Oita’s “ す ー ぱ % % @@ ー ☆ あ ふ ぇ く し ょ ん “(OVA” Fantasy Carnival OP “) and he wrote to Tamura ゆ か り The song is similar, it is a lively four-beat music with Gabber color, and the call is very fast. In addition, the lyrics syllable written by lyricist Wu Yagui is very interesting, and the impact in this regard is also very great
Mito pointed out that the current music world, such as K-POP and Rap, is also the same, and the syllable parts of the lyrics, such as the strength of the cloud point and fluent music, have been accepted by the world. Animated songs foresaw this element very early. For example, Song Yagui’s lyrics that value impactful pronunciation, as well as clear lyrics written by こ だ ま さ お り are smooth stories. Two different lyrics exist in the animated song world at the same time. Quickly tempered in the big waves
Tian Yuanzhi also has cloud: The lyricist can be divided into two categories, those who write lyrics with articles and those who write lyrics with sound. Teacher Wu Yagui is the ultimate genius that both can write
Why can animate lyrics evolve differently from J-POP? According to mito, this is also the characteristic of animated songs. For example, the songs of idols can only sing themes of love and so on. Animated songs are related to the theme of the animation, so the vocabulary that can be used is very large. As a result, the lyrics of animated songs are ever-changing, and J-POP can only look at it. In addition, animated songs can also be combined with such words to add special sounds, which is their unique advantage. That is, the sound can react to the lyrics in an explicit way. For example, if you sing cute loli sounds, and add more fantasy-style bell and harp sounds, it will make your character more prominent
Animated songs do not use units such as A and B, but they are constantly changing over the course of 4 hours. To be more extreme, this is the same effect as mute and break in Hip-Hop. And being able to respond to this point with sound naturally creates a sense of excitement. Animated songs push this dense and huge amount of information to the limit
Conversely, even if you want to use J-POP in this set of methods, it will be more difficult. J-POP won’t say nothing about the claims and themes in such a short time. And if it is a band’s song, the basis of the arrangement must be the sublimation of the emotional performance, so you cannot change the content in 4 bars, otherwise the audience will not be able to focus
In contrast, animated songs produced an impact by implementing the “adjust the sound for the lyrics and voice of the voice actors”. They do not need to leave room for breathing
The clever use of this element of animated songs is actually idol songs. Among rock bands, Tian Yuan Zhiye of UNISON SQUARE GARDEN and Jingjiang Jingtai of PENGUIN RESEARCH, etc., have adopted the creative method of absorbing the advantages of animated songs. Because their audience is already used to the style of animated songs, even if the band advances the lyrics in short units around 4 bars, everyone’s ears can catch up
So now, the so-called “sing and see” songs that are sung by a band A and B are expanded by 4 ~ 5, which is already commonplace. The writers who replaced it with pop music were Mitsu Genshi. Animation-related music, as the beginning of all this, has a profound impact on this status quo. Of course, this is also inseparable from the influence of Vocaloid. However, the material of the V house song that pop music values is “voice”, and the V house P that is good at audio track production, such as Kz (livetune) and nishi-ken, has continuously poured into the animation song industry
Kz’s “Harvard Admin Miss” OP “Bitter Sweet Harmony” for Nakajima Ai
The evolution of animated songs is also inseparable from the changes in the production environment. Mito emphasized that the following paragraph is just his family’s words: The current DAW is to write a section in a section and make music by combining sections, which has a great impact on animated songs. 4 bars 4 bars to compose and unfold, this way of thinking has brought revolutionary changes to the creation of animated songs. Everyone uses Steinberg Cubase, Ableton Live, or Apple Logic to make loops in each measure and integrate them into one song. And computer hardware upgrades have made this possible. If you do this in a previous computer, the CPU will be overwhelmed and you will get stuck. Now that the computer configuration is supported, writers can add more expansion. In Mito’s view, the creative approach of animated songs in layers is related to changes in this technological environment. In addition, high-quality real-sampling software sources are becoming more abundant, and writers can write and write melody lines with full casing strings
Mito When he was writing animated songs recently, he was “melody first”, and he had to spend a lot of hard work to nurture a sense of melody that can really be sung. He felt that the various composing techniques surrounding harmony were exhausted, and if the melody was not clear, the harmony could not be settled, so he had to start with the melody. In addition, in order to make the song more emotional the listener, he composes in order from beginning to end, and will never start from the climax like many composers. The song has to be rushed all the way from the beginning to the 89th second. In order to make this feel, there must not be a measure in the audience to disappoint. Therefore, after completing the entire melody, mito will make it one measure at a time, and the drums will be changed
Mito said that if you listen to the theme song “Catch the Moment” (also composed by Tian Yuanzhi and arranged by Eguchi Ryo) of the theatrical version of “Sword Art Online”, he will understand what he means. The song unfolds every two bars. At first glance, there are no abnormalities, it seems to be a normal four-beat rhythm; but when you listen carefully, you will find a difference: for example, when you just enter the chorus “servant の “ where all the instruments are suddenly paused and then together After you start playing, the rhythm of the drum will be slightly different; for example, in some places it will become half speed and then go back
Recently, there are so many ambitious animated songs. And mito himself is the same. Every two measures, it is necessary to change from four beats to half speed, and then back to eight beats, and write the drum very richly. So when he composes, he basically doesn’t take care of the drummer’s feelings. If the music does not expand so richly, it will not reach its climax in 89 seconds
In a nutshell, mito writes animated songs by writing melody first. After the melody is settled, the tempo will also be selected, and then the appropriate tune will be selected in accordance with the singer’s image and sound texture. He then writes a very introductory prelude of about 4 measures, and then pushes them down one measure at a time
When writing the melody, mito will have a rough impression of the arranger; but many things, without actually starting to do it, do not understand what it will become. Of course, there are times when he has to write challenging and amazing music. Faced with such a directional situation, the hard work is still after finishing the melody.
For example, the song “The Pride of the Knights” provided by mito for the recently launched mobile game “A3!” Of the national service, this song is no longer the level of the orchestra, but uses up to about 180 Composed of audio tracks. Majestic orchestration, strong metal drums, a low center of gravity bass, and an intense guitar. Mito has to arrange with the idea of “make an RPG with this song”, which is really a thrilling job
In addition to mito’s personal work, clammbon, as a band, has also composed and sang the theme songs for many animations such as “Flower Blossoms Iroha”, “White Bear Cafe”, and “Izakaya in Another World”. When creating animated songs as a band, it’s much simpler. Because the composition of clammbon is fixed, as long as you have a good foundation with 3 members, and add more heads, it’s easy to say. For example, the same is true of the network animation “Another World Izakaya” ED “Prosit!”. After the band has established the foundation, mito then uses the very large concept of “a wind instrument is better” to complete the music. And the orchestral arranger still asks God to come and do it for him
Mito At that time, he took the initiative to hook up with God before the two, and the two met at the same time, and lived a happy life sometimes (meeting once a week) three times and sometimes four times, and often worked closely in music work
So, when the band is in charge of animated songs, as long as the theme and lyrics are clear, mito will be less troublesome in the future, and it is not much different from writing songs for clammbon
On the contrary, it is the orchestral composition of the kind mentioned earlier, or when the client wants to add the crackling a lot of synthetic sounds unique to animated songs, mito needs to think more about what to do
Mito believes that it is absolutely impossible to write chords with a piano, because writing this way will result in the song relying solely on the piano’s tone. If a song wants to synthesize the timbre, it must be more minimalist, spread the chords, and even the sounds are slightly conflicted. It is natural to boldly challenge the limit. The harmony that the piano can play is the accumulation of sounds that have been completed when it pops up, which is completely different from the intention of synthesizing the timbre series. The most important thing in animated songs of the synthetic tone series is how many people’s hands can fill in things that cannot be created
In the interview, mito repeatedly mentioned the time limit unique to the animated song “89 seconds”. As a composer, if the client asks him to write 89 seconds, then this time will become his source of motivation: watch me write you a song with the right length and a unique song. He believes that if the quality of the work, his own personality and potential cannot be guaranteed under such restrictions, he is unqualified as a writer. Some writers and bands have complained about “89 seconds”, but mito has only one sentence to say to these people: “If you have the ability, you can write good things within this limit.” It is because of the format restrictions that writers are subject to Intense exercise. Therefore, mito believes that it is definitely beneficial to challenge this limitation
Further, when a customer asks “Please write a piece of music on this subject,” they will definitely call back and ask for a change. Those who cannot accept the request for rework will be disadvantaged as writers. Therefore, if you want to become an animated song writer, you must have the mental preparation of being sprayed 4 to 5 times in the rework request when making music; and at this time, no matter how much you advocate “My worldview is like this “It will only shorten the life of one’s own writer, without any gain
Mito Although notorious for its reputation, it also encounters requests for repairs. When asked to modify, he will think about the difference between the work he submitted and the requirements of the client. Even if the customer wants something that he does not have, he will desperately make a song that meets the requirements. In this way, the more he composed the music, the more cards he could play
Buddy Shen Qianxiao was recuperating due to illness, and Mito was in danger and took over the “Story” series of animated OPs. As a result, the first song “Ghost Story” OP “white lies” was called back by Xinfang Zhaozhi and changed 16 times
Mito is 44 years old this year, and he thinks that if you want to publish music on this stage that is young and full of freshness, what you can think of in your head will not work. Moreover, if he can’t surpass his composition skills, he will not make sense as a writer. Moreover, he believes that in the unique format of animated songs, he may also cause some miracles. With these ideas, he has been involved in animated songs for many years
Animated songs have such an environment and an audience that embraces this uniqueness. Mito believes that this kind of soil may be the biggest reason for colorful animations to follow. Although the band is free from any restrictions, it can also do some interesting things; however, doing it like an animated song will be too unique and lose entertainment value
From mito’s point of view, animated songs are not a place to assert “that’s how we are”. If you say that, you will cut off communication. It is difficult for mito to treat works that refuse to communicate as music. He believes that even if it seems to be apostate music, there is always something designed to resonate with the listener; and it is the music that can give charm to the way and way of communication. In this sense, it may be the animation song world today that produces a variety of changes in a variety of ways every day
In such an environment, mito has to think about how many emotional textures he can use in composing. When writing the opening song, let the listener ’s mood keep rising and increase the audience ’s expectations The end of the song makes the listener feel trapped by the aftertaste of the song. However, there will also be a special case of “Attack on Titan” OP “Red Lotus の 矢” written by Linked Horizon, a prelude, all the melody, chords and lyrics have finished everything. However, this unique approach is also a powerful shock. From “ も っ て け ! For 5 to 6 years since セ ー ラ ー ふ く ”, this kind of shocking work is like a rush of wind and spring, which makes people even have no time to sleep
Looking forward to the future trend of animated songs, mito believes that under the influence of “Hypnosis Mic”, the Rap world and artists and animations have begun to merge very well. Rap in previous animated songs are more lines close to the character. In the future, there may be more and more real-life Rap in animation songs and more streamlined Rap, which will eventually become more refined music like the globalized K-POP
K-POP can be as prosperous as it is today, without the element of music people posting information to the world through social media like Instagram and TikTok. As a creative product of Japan, animation has already entered the world through another channel. The opening and ending songs that people hear in the animation, if the K-POP learned through SNS as mentioned earlier, can be accessed by more people around the world, then Japanese music should become more interesting.Mito didn’t know whether the Japanese music industry was aware of this, but because of the existence of animated songs, J-POP has now spread to the whole world
On this basis, if we continue to improve the quality of today ’s Japanese cultural and music world, the final animation-related music maybe everything in Japan ’s music industry. Mito thinks that it can also imagine this Animated music is “global” (not global in a geographic sense, but genre-wise). Therefore, if the animated songs can be more and more refined, so that Rap and Hip-Hop’s audio tracks can also flow into the animation, it should become a very interesting situation, and all music is connected by animation
In this situation, even if you want to talk about animation specifically, it will necessarily involve a wide range of global music. Mito doesn’t just think so from the perspective of animated songwriters. As a person in the J-POP and J-ROCK circles, he is also convinced of this. Recently, more and more people who are about the same age as mito and have been interested in creating music since the band started to take on animation-related work. This is the case with Izawa. From mito’s point of view, people realize the significance of animated songs and start to take action, which is a very good sign
Izawa Ichiba is a pianist for bands such as the Tokyo Incident and the HIATUS. Last year, he first stepped into anime peripheral music and provided Sakamoto Shinji with the second theme song “Backlight” of the mobile game “Fate / Grand Order”. This year’s original album “Today’s 音 楽” released by Sakamoto Shinji also includes music provided by him
Nogizaka 46’s debut song “ ぐ る カ ー テ ン “ is the title song for Doraemon and the captain of the band for Animelo Summer Live Created by Ke Yan. The texture of animated songs has flowed into J-POP and J-ROCK as a matter of course. This reality is just how powerful the texture of animated songs is