Classical Music in NES Games?

[DragonDePlatino]

U.S. copyright in "Bolero" doesn't expire until 2024.

Oh pish-posh, everyone knows copyright laws in the United States actually last forever less one day!

But seriously, would copyright infringement really be a problem when there are already legal complications with creating NES cartridges? Also, going with what rainwarrior said, "classical" could be loosely defined as any song with a lasting cultural influence long after it's creation. But regardless, it's up to Jedi QuestMaster whether or not my song qualifies.

[rainwarrior]

We all own this discussion collectively; JediMaster is not the sole arbiter of what is relevant. Bolero should be relevant, though. I'm surprised that nobody ever pointed out to me that my "Classic Chips" album doesn't actually have anything from the classical music period on it.

Yes, Bolero is a copyright problem.

What legal complications do you think there are in producing an NES cartridge? (I'm aware of none.)

Even if a cartridge had a legal problem, in what way would this alleviate the copyright issue with Bolero?

[Mod note: Potential legal complications have been split to another topic.]

[tepples]

I'm aware of three different views of what "classical music" is, from widest to narrowest:

1. Any Western art music, mostly orchestral or chamber music
2. Any such music published prior to 1923 and whose composer died more than 70 years ago
3. Any such music published after the Baroque period and before the Romantic period, roughly 1730 to 1820

"Rhapsody in Blue" and "Bolero" are classical-a, but not classical-b or classical-c. You mean "Classic Chips" has no classical-c music, correct?

In any case, classical-b is probably the most relevant definition for homebrew game development. But there's probably enough Beethoven to go around for any game style. I encourage you to buy a copy of Herbert von Karajan's recording of Beethoven's symphonies and put it on repeat on your MP3 player. You can't use the recording in your own works, but you wouldn't want to anyway on a cartridge-based platform. It's more for finding snippets to arrange for your game.

[JRoatch]

Or you can try public domain recordings of public domain music, while listening to such music I had commented that it sounds so basic as to be the base of most of the chiptune music I had been listening to at the time.

[rainwarrior]

I'm aware of three different views of what "classical music" is, from widest to narrowest:

1. Any Western art music, mostly orchestral or chamber music
2. Any such music published prior to 1923 and whose composer died more than 70 years ago
3. Any such music published after the Baroque period and before the Romantic period, roughly 1730 to 1820

"Rhapsody in Blue" and "Bolero" are classical-a, but not classical-b or classical-c. You mean "Classic Chips" has no classical-c music, correct?

The periods only have soft dates, and they overlap with individual composers usually being put in one or the other category during overlapping years. The end of the Classical period is particularly fuzzy, especially if you consider Beethoven as transitonal to Romantic (at least one author has argued that he remained Classical while his contemporaries began to pursue Romantic music). There are some broad stylistic changes that trend through these times, and of course there are figures like C.P.E. Bach who sometimes gets called "proto-classical", as his post-Baroque music directly incited a lot of what became the Classical style, but it never fully takes on that form.

Yes, I had no "classical-c" music in my album, though on the first page if follow the link to Brezza's Bach French Suite No. 3 you may find a different "classical C".

I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone use your "classical-b" definition (since the word classical is confused enough, and when speaking of copyright usually you want precision), but yes, the public domain thing is an important distinction when you want to borrow music.

[guitarzombie]

The adventures of Dr Franken proto has the entire accurate score of "Moonlight sonata"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOMprmU563M

[rainwarrior]

The title screen is Bach's C minor fugue from WTC1 (BWV 847).

The in-game music appears to be only the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata.

I'm surprised that the NES port of Thexder doesn't have its own version of the Moonlight Sonata first movement, since the original version used it for the game over screen.

[guitarzombie]

I thought only the first movement was called Moonlight Sonata?

[tepples]

There are places where you can cross over the 2nd movement of Moonlight and the 1st movement of Pathetique with another composer's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and nobody outside the classical fandom will notice your medley meddling.

[Amacias]

Put NES Mario Bros Arcade and push Start,

[rainwarrior]

There are places where you can cross over the 2nd movement of Moonlight and the 1st movement of Pathetique with another composer's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and nobody outside the classical fandom will notice your medley meddling.

That kinda goes beyond "copying" and approaches "synthesis", which is what original art is actually doing anyway.