So It Begins
By Cyndars
January 20, 2019
On January 19th’s LOTRO Players News (LPN) podcast, Teriadwyn gave me a homework assignment to listen to the Update 23 soundtrack as they all had just discovered that I play without the in-game sound. For me, personally, music has a visceral pull on my emotions. In-game sounds, especially combat sounds and the accompanying musical sound effects are tension inducing, and limit the amount of time I am able to comfortably play on any given day. When I turn those sounds off, I am able to play longer because I do not feel additional tension. In the interest of actually being able to offer an opinion, I accepted the homework. As I was listening to the first 11 of the soundtracks, I realized two things. First, I had no in-game references for comparison, and second, I have a young hobbit minstrel, Cantarlina. In order to do the assignment justice, I have decided that rather than level this character quickly to join a group, I will instead turn the sound on, and take my time in each area while sharing my thoughts on the soundtrack with those reading these articles.
Before delving into this though, I think it is important for you to know a little bit about me and my style of playing. I was introduced to Tolkien in 2012 by my sister, Sanswinda, followed by LOTRO and LPN in 2017. My play has been, and continues to be, primarily driven by my desire to participate in the things that matter to my sister. It is not driven by the storyline, landscapes, or anything else, despite the fact that all of those parts of the game are well-done. Also, I am not a scholar in the sense that one might expect although I do teach elementary music.
As Cantarlina is a hobbit, I have chosen to begin in the Shire. In Hobbiton-Bywater, as well as Michel Delving and Waymeet, the lilting flute music is delightful, and fits perfectly with how I have often envisioned music in the Shire might sound. As the string instruments join in, one finds themselves ported to a dance in a small country village. To me, it is reminiscent of the music one might hear at the county fair, with a jig/reel feel, and stylistically, it seems to share characteristics with music from artists like Celtic Thunder and Celtic Woman. Given that Middle Earth was brought to us by an Englishman, the style choices of the composer feel authentic and relevant. It also maintains a parallel with what one hears in the Shire music from the movie adaptations, without mimicking compositional ideas.
In Overhill and Brockenborings, the music has orchestral string(s) that support the continuing theme led by the flute. The continuity of the flute helps transition between the two themes, and the orchestral stringed instruments move the music from a dance to a meandering pace that matches the slower place of hobbit life in a small village. Despite turning combat sound down to zero, I discovered that every combat instance was accompanied by pounding drums. Turning combat sounds down only prevented me from hearing my hobbit’s yells and the glorious sounds of her battle bagpipes. It did nothing to stop the drumming.
Moving towards Needlehole and into Rushock Bog, the music switches to a harp and the combat is accompanied by raucous bagpipes, rolling tympani, or rolicking strumming rather than only pounding drumming. Stock has a similar switch in musical instrumentation. Riding through the outskirts of Stock, you will hear the sound of harps. However, as one gets closer to the Golden Perch, the dancing themes return. The dancing drum beat, sounds of shakers and snapping is enough to make you tap your toes along with the hobbits dancing before the stage. The feel of the music here is almost a bluegrass feel. It preserves the folk dance feeling from Hobbiton-Bywater, but it uses a slightly different instrumentation and rhythm which in turn alters the feel of the music. Needlehole, seems to have continued with the orchestral strings, only rather than the calm, peaceful sounds of country life in the Shire, one instead hears a lament. My current theory is that the changes in instrumentation might signal the change into the different zones in the game. As I head to Celondim and Ered Luin next, I hope to test this theory as I listen to the music of the elves and dwarves.
Finally, I think the music is intrinsic to the game in two ways. First, it sets the mood for the area as the player enters. Second, it gives the player a clue that they are transitioning between areas within the game. More important to the overall game play feel, in my opinion is the ambient sound. These are the birds tweeting in the trees, horses hooves clip-clopping along, frogs croaking, and other sounds from the natural world. When I play, I do like to keep these sounds on, and have even when I have turned the music itself off, because they are the subtle clues that shape the sense of the world around me. They are also generally restful sounds, and make the game seem more realistic and believable.
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