Bruce Von Stiers
There have been racing and fighting games out for the PlayStation 2. Now the people who have waited for a music creator program for the PlayStation can put away those other discs. Codemasters has just released a new version of their popular MTV Music Generator program. This one is called MTV Music Generator 2 and is specifically for the PlayStation 2 platform.
This program is built on the music program that Codemasters released in 1999
for the PC. It allows you to create music and jam till your feet wear out. Grab
bits and pieces of audio tracks and make up your own song. Save your musical
creation on a memory card and you are all set to jam again.
Some of the artists that have provided tracks for this program include Roni Size, Cassandra Fox, Zombie Nation and Apollo 440. There are also tracks from Dano, Gorrilaz, Bentley Rhythm Ace and Tony Hewitt.
Funkmaster Flex reins in as the lead performer. He is even quoted on the box, saying that by getting this program, you can become a "platinum producer" just like him. Yeah, right. This is a fun program, but it would not even come close to replacing even the smallest scale home studio, let alone something from one of the big boys. Maybe the quote was intended to imply that, but some individuals will take Funkmaster Flex's words to heart. But the rest of the content he provided for the program was pretty good, giving users some insight and words of praise for what they can do with it.
The learning curve can be a little steep for those not familiar with the program. There is a 40-page manual that comes with the program that might ease the curve a bit. There are 14 pages of Basics and 7 pages of Advanced techniques in the manual. The online help isn't really there except for a Splash screen at the beginning of the program that shows you what can be done using the Dual Shock 2 controller.
The program allows you to modify the look of the interface by changing "skins" just like the features in the more popular PC music playback programs. The functions change slightly with each skin, because as the manual states, these "funky skins are more than just wallpaper."
The program has over 20 different songs from the artists listed above. These songs can be used as examples of how to put together some cool tunes.
The basic concept of the program is to take individual blocks of music and put them together to make a song. These blocks are called riffs. The program has 4 types of riffs. The first is Rhythm in which you will find all kinds of percussion (drum) segments. From individual drum beats through some gut wrenching solos, there are a bunch of different sounds there. Next is Bass, where you get the booming effect needed for strong background sounds. Melody is the next type of riff. Here is where you will find the main body of your song. There will be strings, keyboard and guitar music found here. And finally there is the Vocals riff section. This section has samples of singing and people saying cool things. There are supposed to be about 1,200 riffs available in the program for you to choose from.
Decide which riff to use and drop it onto the screen. Each riff is shown on the screen as a rectangle. There are different colored rectangles for each type of riff. But the individual riffs aren't labeled. You will have to place the cursor over a riff block to find out what it is. Try to mix and match block from different riffs to create a unique sound.
One thing that is great about the program is that you can check out your work any time you want. If you don't like what you hear, the last action can be undone. It is helpful to check your work often (I know, it sound like something a school teacher might say), because if the song gets too out of whack, you will just have to start over.
You can also compose and edit your own riffs. This comes under the heading of Advanced techniques. Some people might not get that far into the program because it is hard to learn how the program has you create these things. There are things like Note Envelopes and Arpeggiators that you design and work with to compose your own riffs.
The program allows you to import samples. This can be done with a microphone
or through a special kit from Codemasters that is sold separately. The manual
gives a stern warning about grabbing and using samples of copyrighted songs.
The manual recommends using CD's that have copyright free samples.
You can save your music using a PlayStation 2 memory card. If you will be using
the program a lot, it might be a good idea to stock up on some extra memory
cards. Unfortunately, there aren't any export features. It would have been nice
to be able to export some songs to an MP3 player.
The program has a feature called Jamming. This is where several people can use
the program at one time, putting together riffs for outrageous songs. If you
use a Multitap, up to 8 people can be jamming at one time.
MTV Music Generator 2 is a good program for those
people who want to experiment with music and have fun with it. The program is
not for those who would use it as a springboard for a musical career. There
just isn't enough there to make it happen and you can't save the music except
on a memory card. But it might be helpful in learning how the music all comes
together.
MTV Music Generator 2 is sold at stores like Best Buy and Circuit City.
To get other information about the program, or other titles from Codemasters,
visit their web site at www.codemasters.com.