The Broken Hourglass Music Q&A

Planewalker Games’ official website has been updated with a new Q&A chatting with composer Rob Howard about the music he’s scoring for the independent RPG.

Q: Were any segments of the music particularly challenging?

A: The best example is the Makarios theme. The character has a romance, so I had to write a lovetalk theme for him, yet the description was a violent, firey sort of fellow. How do you reflect that romance in a lovetalk and have it be firey at the same time? It seems contradictory. As one might expect, that was one where I had to submit many, many drafts to get it right.

When I finally did get it right was when it clicked in my head that I know of someone who fits the description of the character. I’m a huge fan of Jeff Beck, and I would describe his personality like Makarios’ personality-a romantic guy, but aggressive. So I listened to a lot of Jeff Beck music for ideas.

I was taught by other composers that you never want to be too married to an idea, so committed to the notes on the page that you resist changing, and I think that attitude helps with revisions. Music is one of those things where you can change a small detail but it changes the whole character of the composition. If doesn’t fit the whole theme you’re going for, sometimes it doesn’t require a whole rewrite, just a change in tempo, and I can remember a few times where that was all I had to do.

Click here for an excerpt from Makarios’ theme.