When I first released "Above the Southern Rim," I thought it was one of the best tracks I had recorded up to that point. Turns out, it decidedly not one of my more popular tunes! I think the main reason for that the tune d...
2020-11-17 14:33:01 +0000 UTC View PostIn the Hero's Journey there's a moment when a fresh adventurer crosses a threshold from the known to the unknown. I always think of this moment as when Samwise says "If I take one more step, I'll be the farthest away from home I've ever bee...
2020-11-17 14:23:33 +0000 UTC View PostThose of you who play my music via mp3s might not realize that by far my most popular track on Spotify is "Shelter at Last," a sort of slow and meditative tavern tune. I guess it's popularity stems from the fact that it end...
2020-11-11 15:04:48 +0000 UTC View PostY'all have been asking for a while for some genuinely sad and emotional music, and I think I've finally got something with genuine melancholy. A well-executed sad moment in an RPG can be a really satisfying gut-punch! The death of a PC, death of an NPC, a failed mission, a battle lost. Hell, even recognizing a betray...
2020-11-11 14:59:03 +0000 UTC View PostI've been so enjoying doing all of these ambient versions of tracks lately. I've found that there really is a lot of great sonic material underneath all the melody and activity I usually having going in my tracks.
This ambient version of "A Moment of Focus" is even more slow and methodical than the origin...
2020-11-05 20:43:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe notion of "focus" is of crucial importance to a number of different classes across RPGs. Wizards learn complicated spells and practice create the effects with through arcane knowledge. Monks harness ki to channel energy through their body. Hell, even a ranger has to remain hyper-focused when they lie in wait while trackin...
2020-11-05 20:35:52 +0000 UTC View PostTruly the most important thing that will happen this week: the November track request poll! Remember, it is your duty to vote for track requests. It is in your inalienable right as patron of Music d20 to make your voice heard. Democracy is a team sport, and your participation matters.
October was great I ...
2020-11-01 21:07:42 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the fun things about writing a tune like "Divinity Unshackled" is that with a late classical structural skeleton, you can really strip it for parts and rearrange it for any instruments you want. I decide to (perhaps) take the obvious route and score it for solo piano, and guess what! It's... very moody. This piano vers...
2020-10-30 13:13:05 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, this one was a bit of a challenge! It's hard to imagine a more epic moment than a God being freed from something that could imprison a God. Thanks for your patience as I refined the massive scale of this track. Big organs, brass, strings, pounding drums, choirs, with some light bells ...
2020-10-30 13:01:18 +0000 UTC View Post
October is coming to a close! You know what that means: first and foremost, get those dang track requests in! We'll be doing a new poll on the first of November, and the best case scenario is that you'll get basically a free commission. Rad! Maximum 2 requests per patron.
Next up, our massive Hall...
2020-10-28 18:02:19 +0000 UTC View Post
It’s that time of year again. The air grows cooler and the greens of summer burst into hues of gol...
2020-10-25 21:38:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Look, I know that not all of you are solely here for Dungeons and Dragons content. Yes I know it's "the world's greatest roleplaying game," but there are plenty of other systems you can and should be using. Aaaand over the next... say... 30 days 2020-10-20 14:02:40 +0000 UTC View Post
When the folks behind PlayQuest approached me about potentially doing some music for their new season, they made sure that I knew I had a lot of freedom to explore Asian themes at my own discretion, though they made clear that the theme song ought to be so...
2020-10-19 16:04:30 +0000 UTC View PostSome of you have been clamoring for more Eastern-flavored music since I started Music d20 over a year ago. Today, thanks to a collaboration with the PlayQuest podcast, I bring you "Ako," a sparse Japanese-inspired track to score your Bushidō adventure arc...
2020-10-19 15:55:09 +0000 UTC View Post
DID YOU KNOW: In addition to making music for tabletop games, I also score video games! My biggest release to date is the dungeon-crawling metroidvania Batbarian: Testament of the Primordials which released today on 2020-10-15 13:19:58 +0000 UTC View Post
I hope you enjoyed "Lost Whaler's Love" in the main post for today's collaboration. It was a tune I originally wrote months ago for a collaboration I had planned with 2020-10-10 20:08:15 +0000 UTC View Post
I really love pirate adventures. That's why I was so hyped to join with Limithron for the massive free collaboration I just released. Well, I think the versi...
2020-10-10 19:59:55 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been really enjoying stripping apart my tracks lately to find an ebbing-and-flowing ambient soundscape underneath. This extremely sparse rendition of "Midvale Moonrise" has the same sort of nocturnal vibe as the original, but with even less activity. Throw it on for a late-night rendezvous, a slow trudge through a dark w...
2020-10-02 12:33:45 +0000 UTC View PostI don't know about you, but I've never met a God irl. To my knowledge, that's a fairly rare occurrence here on good ol' planet Earth. In my D&D campaigns however, encountering a God, a deva, or some other celestial entity is noteworthy, but not entirely unheard of. For those moments, you need a score that highlig...
2020-10-02 12:24:03 +0000 UTC View PostSomebody wake up Billy Joe Armstrong, because September has ended! October is here, and that means spooky rules are in play. I'm glad no one requested "creepy skeleton tune" because... I mean, I obviously have that planned for this month anyway.
I think September was a lot of fun! I was surprised that "Gener...
2020-10-01 12:29:47 +0000 UTC View PostGreetings patrons! Another big month here at Music d20. I released 8 tracks, which I think is tied for my most ever. Woo! Also, I totally blanked but September 19th was my one year anniversary! I probably should have done some celebratory post about it, but I was too busy ma...
2020-09-29 13:02:56 +0000 UTC View PostSometimes an epic confrontation calls for a bit of cheese. War drums, sure. Giant choirs, yeah okay. '80s hair metal guitars? Hell yes.
This variant of "In the Court of Anise and Lavender" should be reserved for special moments. This is not standard goblin slaying music, but final boss music. The party...
2020-09-26 14:19:56 +0000 UTC View PostAdventurers don't belong in dignified courts. They ought to be adventuring, not cavorting with dastardly politickers. Geralt feels uncomfortable in Vizima Palace, Tormund sticks out like a sore thumb in Winterfell, and your murder hobo Khajit spamming dragon shouts in Dragonsreach is certainly... out of place. There'...
2020-09-26 14:13:42 +0000 UTC View PostAt the heart of most of my dungeon tracks is a carefully crafted bed of synths, spacey strings, and filtered noise. Sometimes my method of writing a track like "Nakkas Khath" involves first way oversaturating the piece with crunchy ambient pads, before carving out an actual tune from the cacophony. That was certainly...
2020-09-22 15:56:04 +0000 UTC View PostI quite like running weird dungeons. Crypts, crumbling fortresses, and spider-filled caves are all well and good, but I like to spice things up with at least one or two bizarre details. In one of my campaigns "Nakkas Khath" was the name of a long-abandoned underground city, now functioning as a hourglass-shaped astro...
2020-09-22 15:48:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all, I'm very stoked to announce the release of my newest album!
If you're a patron of mine, you already have access to these tracks, but I know lots of folks lurk in the free posts on this Patreon. To you all, I say: enjoy! While I'm very happy with the service I provide here on Patreon, I also understand tha...
2020-09-18 13:34:10 +0000 UTC View PostHey folks!
I hope you enjoyed that giant new collaboration. It was really fun to release so much music all in one go. I also hope you check out friends of Music d20: Ela Morana, 2020-09-16 15:17:36 +0000 UTC View Post
In celebration of the release of Rime of the Frostmaiden and the (hopefully) cooling weather as we move into the fall and winter seasons of the year, a collection of 36 (!) TTRPG content creators have come together to create a massiv...
2020-09-16 15:04:25 +0000 UTC View PostI really hope you enjoyed reading through the Silverspring Mine adventure I just published! It was a lot of fun to work on with the rest of the team. I really enjoy making weird and spooky dungeon music that's musical but still evocative of the physical space itself. For those of you looking for something mo...
2020-09-13 15:52:59 +0000 UTC View Post
