RIVER FALLS – Music experts and historians study and discuss notes, sounds, tones and chords of all kinds, and a University of Wisconsin-River Falls music professor hopes to bring more attention to a lesser-studied category of the genre: video game music. 

Casey Palbicki, a lecturer of music at UWRF, has signed a deal with Kendall Hunt Publishing to write a textbook describing the making and cultural impact of video game music. The book is scheduled for release in October. 

Palbicki previously wrote a textbook about music and movies for Kendall Hunt Publishers. When he proposed writing a book about video game music as a follow-up effort, the publisher was excited about it, Palbicki said. 

“This is an unusual topic in the music world,” he said, “and when I proposed it, the publishers jumped at it. It’s not only that it’s a different kind of music than what is typically studied, but that video games are increasingly relevant to a growing segment of our society.”

Palbicki’s book will help establish the curriculum for a new course he will begin teaching next academic year. Paul Budde, chair of the Music and Stage and Screen Arts Department at UWRF, said he is excited about Palbicki adding that class to the university’s music course offerings.

“It’s so important that we open doors to the exploration of music, including music beyond the canon of Western art music that has long dominated music study in the schools,” Budde said. “There is so much incredible music out there. Kudos to Dr. Palbicki for opening pathways to explore it.”

Writing and teaching about video games and the music that is part of them is a natural fit for Palbicki, combining his affinity for music and video games. But video game music is more than just fun and games, he said. Incorporating video games into the music education curriculum is a way to reach students who might not otherwise engage in musical study. 

“Most students don’t really know about classical music, or have an interest in it,” he said. “But they know these video games and are interested in them. Studying the music of video games is one way to reach more students, to get them interested in the study of music and then link them to classical music and other styles.”

Palbicki acknowledged that much of the scholarly music establishment doesn’t necessarily view video game music as worthy of academic study. He begs to differ. 

Composing music for video games incorporates the same process of matching music to different scenes and attempting to convey emotions through musical notes that composers use in the TV and movie industries, Palbicki said. 

However, he said, creating video game music is a more-involved process. For example, composing music for an hour-long TV program typically requires 40 to 80 minutes of music that is then edited and included in the program. Composing music for a video game typically requires four to six hours or more, he said. 

“There are so, so many short, individualized pieces that are combined into one video game, and each of them usually requires a different bit of music,” Palbicki said. 

Just like any music, video game music can be artistic and creative, he said. Programs that teach video game music also have a direct tie to future employment for students, he said. 

“There are a growing number of job opportunities in this field, and I see that continuing,” Palbicki said.

Palbicki sees another benefit to teaching video game music: the capacity to help bring a divided world a bit closer together.  

“Video games have become part of so many cultures,” he said. “They are one of the rare things in our modern world that seem to have the capacity to break down cultural barriers.” 

Submitted by UW-River Falls