Most of the original stuff has come from people writing poems and me setting them to music*, but if someone says ‘I’ve re-written these words to this tune, please sing it for me’ then I don’t feel quite right ignoring their request and writing a new tune for them.
I do get the immersion-breaking thing; I saw someone suggest Hakuna Matata from The Lion King at one point on one of the facebook groups. Given most of my musical training is in classical and sacred vocal I am very unlikely to come up against tunes that I already recognise so it hasn’t happened to me - yet. But if I heard Hakuna Matata on the field I can bet my reaction would be similar to yours, Hob.
Where do we draw the line? The Chemical Workers’ Song is perhaps an easy one; it talks about an industry that is so far ahead of the Empire setting that it’s taken some serious work on the part of the person who altered the words to make it work, so perhaps that is pushing it too far. But a mediaeval religious song that has been adapted for the Way - would that feel any better for someone who was familiar with it? I’m not sure.
I’d be un-troubled by hearing medieval sacred music repurposed for Empire. Same goes for most Secular music, though reworking the Agincourt carol would be a difficult stretch, as it has such a strong identity.
A lot of the Secular music can be used as is, or with only minor alteration. (-God, Mary & Heaven etc , +Virtues & Labyrinth etc)
Am I being too precious? Possibly. How many of the empire players would recognise the Agincourt carol if it bit them on the ear?
Is my potential inconvenience worth robbing the rest of the players of a chance to hear a Fabulous piece of music repurposed to the game setting? probably.
Given the PD basic rule of "Easy on the ‘Authenticity’ ", then if we just avoid the obviously modern, we can’t be going far wrong.
If I, (Or anyone else), wants more medieval music, I’ll just have to sing & play more of it, and take a ‘lead them to the light’ approach Rather than a ‘drive them from the shadows’ one…
I’ve been slipping the odd medieval tune in here and there - mostly in a quiet moment during the day. Even got the rebec out in the summer. However, gut strings and wet fields do not mix well as you no doubt know and it is not the loudest of beasties! Will endeavour to do more…
My personal rule of thumb is to go one or two steps more obscure than I think is necessary. Of course there will always be people who recognise tunes/words… Empire has a big advantage in that each nation has a set musical style, so it’s easy to find inspiration.
Custom-written music is at the aspirational end, filks do fine in a lot of cases but effort is always appreciated…
There’s quite a few new songs floating round in Dawn-mostly due to Laura’s dedication to the cause of glorious music! I love the campfire and battle singing and have really enjoyed finding out that I actually like singing in my LARP. Being much more word than music capable I’ve even tried my hand at things-I own up to being the perpetrator of the Chemical Worker’s filk ‘Britta’s Glory’ which I’d never heard before apart from as a filk at Maelstrom. I adore the Dawnish War Song but like a few of the other beautiful pieces written for Empire, I find my musical ability just doesn’t measure up to bringing them alive, and I’d much rather listen to the Bards singing those, and have some that I can join in with-Mostly things from the folk/fantasy(Heather Dale etc) genre I can sing around campfires, and tweaking these so they remain in brief has varying levels of success, as has trying not to overload the bards with requests for help and feedback.
Aspirational music on the field, every event I’ve heard new songs and regretted not having pen and ink on me at the time!
My only workable adaptation to date. ImpOrc is really hard from a musical angle - I’ve have to dump almost my entire repertoire and start from scratch.
Emperor Ahraz
(re-working of General Taylor)
Oh, Emperor Ahraz, he set us free
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
Oh, Emperor Ahraz, he set us free
Carry him to his burying ground
[Chorus]
Tell me well the story
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
Tell me well the story
Carry him to his burying ground
We’ll dig his grave with a silver spade
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
His shroud of the finest silk will be made
Carry him to his burying ground
[Chorus]
We’ll lower him down on a golden chain
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
On every inch we’ll carve his name
Carry him to his burying ground
[Chorus]
Oh, Emperor Ahraz’ all the go
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
He’s gone where the dusty winds don’t blow
Carry him to his burying ground
[Chorus]
Oh, Emperor Ahraz he’s dead and he’s gone.
Walk him along, oh, carry him along
Oh, Emperor Ahraz he’s long dead and gone.
Carry him to his burying ground
I’d be very interested in creating some simple songs for Empire that can be sung by people around a campfire or whilst at the bar with a simple structure that will allow people to add new verses as they want. Kind of like this: youtube.com/watch?v=B_Jbzl2Vkv8 which comes from one of my favourite books. It is supposedly a tune old as time that has hundreds of different verses and I like the idea of introducing it around fires and see it get used and changed and added to.
Thing is whilst I can read sheetmusic I have no real clue about putting music/melody/noise together so if I created some verses and put them up would anyone want to put them to a tune?
Second thing, I don’t know how it works on using music from the real world but are many people familiar with: youtube.com/watch?v=qOXI6giLMGU
Would it be too jarring to hear a modified version of this in Empire?
I was wondering about this for a while, but I think you could make this work to the tune of Shiloh Hill: youtube.com/watch?v=kLZuBqGH7H8
Come all you gallant warriors, a story you will hear,
About the bloody battle we fought at Ikka’s Tears
It was an awful struggle; my heart remembers clear,
Oh that bloody battle we fought at Ikka’s Tears
Was early in the morning, about the break of day,
The drums and fifes were playin’ for us to march away
My feelings at that moment I do remember here,
When first my feet went tramping across old Ikka’s Tears
Was about the hour of noon when the battle it began,
Before the fight was over, we fought them hand to hand
The snarling of that rhino did fill our hearts with fear,
Bloody murder in the wasteland, way out on Ikka’s tears
We rallied round our banners and tried the fight again,
Unmindful of the wounded; unuseful to the slain
The volleys loosed did hide the sun, and cost our bravest dear,
And streams of blood went running, we named them Ikka’s Tears
Although we won the battle, my heart is filled with shame,
The ones that brought me back from there I’ll never see again
I pray to seven virtues that Labrynth’s end be near,
To save the souls of them that died at Ikka’s Tears.
A lot of Varushkan songs are based on old Eastern European tunes and work really well but I’m very sad that there are two great ones I can never use, ‘Stenka Razin’ and ‘Dorogoi Dlinnoyu’, as they were used for pop songs in the 60s (The Carnival is Over and Those Were the Days) and will jar on the immersion .
Busby there already is at least one song I am aware of for which you can add verses easily, and I have heard at least 3 others pipe up with more verses last time I sung in a mixed nation group which is 18 rings profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/18_Rings
As with most of these things the polite version is the one in the song books and the additions get progressively more scandalous.
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