Ever since PaRappa the Rapper hit the shelves in the early days of the original Playstation, Rhythm games have had a substantial presence in the video game industry, having high-selling hits on all consoles and permeating arcades and even the public conscience. I have played many dozens of different music games over the years, and have assembled my favorite games and series which I think to define the genre.

Elite Beat Agents

Starting off with a lesser-known title, EBA was a cult hit on the Nintendo DS, using the system’s touch screen to great effect. With a star-spangled soundtrack of licensed music and incredibly satisfying gameplay available in almost a dozen difficulty levels, this game can occupy you for many hours once you get hooked on the adrenaline.

The game has unique stories for each song, animated with hand-drawn scenes and (surprisingly for the NDS) full voice-acting and wins a lot of points for its well-humored and camp storyline about a squad of impressively hair-styled agents saving the world with the power of song.

Vib Ribbon

One of the most elegantly simple Rhythm games out there, the Japanese Vib Ribbon proves that you only need 2 dimensions and 2 colors to make an impact in the gaming world. Another cult hit in the west, Vib Ribbon sold so terribly that good condition copies of this Playstation classic are considered some of the more valuable PS games to collectors.

With simple yet enchanting art and gameplay, the main draw of this title is the ability to load the game onto your PlayStation and then insert any CD into the CD drive and the game will generate unique levels which follow the rhythm and flow of the album you inserted. This has become a common practice in modern games but was unheard of for even years after its sequel released exclusively in Japan.

Patapon

Another portable title, Patapon served as one of the flagships for the PSP in its early days. Bringing the rhythm in Rhythm Game to the absolute pinnacle, Patapon has you playing as a sage drummer controlling customizable squads of warriors as you hunt for food and conquer the land. With foot-tapping gameplay and upgrade systems rarely seen in this genre, the entire series is worth a play.

Rock Band 4

By far the biggest name in this list and part of a subgenre of Rhythm games, Rock Band 4 is the peak of Simon-says inspired rockstar simulators. Including all the features and functionality of previous Rock Band and Guitar Hero games, Rock Band 4 crowns itself king with its store of almost 2,500 songs, allowing you to play almost every song included in every previous Rock Band or Guitar Hero game and then some!

Crypt of the Necrodancer

An extremely unique spin on the genre, Necrodancer, and its Zelda-sponsored sequel combine traditional rogue-like gameplay with a funky rhythm game twist. On PC, you can load in any set of songs you happen to have to lie around to be the soundtrack to your suffering, as to successfully perform any action, be it attacking or healing or moving, you must perform the action on-beat, in time with the music.

Honorable Mentions

I couldn’t possibly finish a list of musical video games without mentioning Audiosurf, the game which eventually inspired the ever-popular Beat Sabre and even had an official collaboration with Valve!

On the goofier side of the genre, there is also Star Wars Kinect which included a mini-game version of Just Dance, but with a limited selection of Star, Wars-themed parodies of early 2010s pop hits.

The rhythm game genre has been around for 25 years now and shows no intention of slowing down, even if it is in relative hibernation after Guitar Hero fever declined. Hopefully, I have given a few people the urge to play one of these games, but if you are more in the mood for some World War fun, you can use this if you want to win all the time at hell let loose, and return to some musical fantasy in the future.

Platforms to stream music

The development of streaming platforms has made it easier for people to enjoy music as many services allow customers to make a one-off payment that will provide them with music for an entire year, one example is Amazon Music. Amazon Music launched in 2007 is one of the popular music streaming services at a monthly cost of £7.99 or an annual cost of £79. This method of payment is convenient for customers as they will not need to remember to renew their music membership.

In addition, customers who already have Amazon Prime members have access to Amazon Music at no extra cost. Having deals like this appeals to a range of populations including students who may be in financial hardship and are looking for a music service at a cheaper cost. Another music streaming platform is apple music, this comes at the price of £9.99 per month and gives you full access to all songs on the platform. If you have a family apple music has family packages at £14.99 per month. Although many music services provide a great platform to listen to music some are more suited for aspiring musicians wanting to get their music out there such as Spotify and Soundcloud.

Spotify

As technology has advanced and developed it seems there is a wide range of options to listen to your favorite musicians. As streaming services are being used more frequently the price per month has decreased to an affordable cost. For instance, Spotify is £5 per month for one person, other packages from Spotify allow for more people to use the account. Technological advances over the past decade have supported musicians’ production of songs through their mobile devices or laptops, before this many musicians would need to book a slot in a recording studio.

The music service Spotify founded in 2006 in Sweden has now expanded globally with offices in 17 countries and currently has 345 million monthly listeners. For new musicians aspiring to have their music appreciated and heard by others will benefit from using the streaming platform Spotify. This particular service provides you with the opportunity to buy spotify playlist followers which will help to get your music out there for more people to listen to your original music or covers. The number of playlists will vary depending on the package you buy, some packages include 100 playlists others can include 10,00 playlist followers. Playlist followers’ packages range in cost from £2 for 20 playlist followers to £33 where you can have 10,000 playlist followers. The more followers the better but nonetheless any followers will contribute to your music career.

Soundcloud or Audiomack?

Soundcloud is an online music service that distributes and promotes music provided and or produced by the artist to music lovers and or another artist. This music platform was founded in Berlin in 2007 and currently has 76million users. This service comes at a monthly cost of £5.99 for the Soundcloud Go subscription or £9.99 for the Soundcloud Go+ subscription which provides better quality audio and access to all music on the platform. In recent years some artist has had great success from SoundCloud. One example is Post Malone.  In 2015 he uploaded his song White Iverson which hit over a million views within a one-month period and the music video being produced just 5 months later. He was soon recognized and signed with Republican Records. Additionally, Norwegian DJ Kygo rose to fame after his cover of Ed Sheeran’s I see fire hit 50 million views. This streaming platform is suited for many musicians whether you enjoy distributing original music or covers.

Audiomack is an online music distribution platform that will allow you to upload your music. This platform is free of charge which is appealing to many young aspiring musicians. However, musicians need to be mindful of the potential lack of followers they receive as this is not like other music platforms where you can pay a fee to have your music distributed to others. Both Audiomack and SoundCloud offer similar services, however, SoundCloud may be slightly more intuitive when uploading your own music. Meanwhile, Audiomack does not limit the distribution of music.

As with everything else in the world right now, there is uncertainty about what will happen and when. Last year lots of events had to be canceled from local funfairs to the Olympics. Unfortunately, music festivals did not escape this either with small gigs and even Glastonbury having to be canceled. More so than other events, music festivals can be even more dangerous as singing can allow for more droplets to spread. There also wouldn’t be much point in trying to listen to someone sing if they aren’t allowed to remove their mask when in public spaces or buildings.

What Music Festivals became in 2020

To look forward, first, we often have to look back at the past. Ever since the first national lockdown started back in March, musicians have been finding new and inventive ways to continue sharing their music. Dominic Richard Harrison, or Yungblud as he is better known as a singer who encapsulates the attitudes of today’s youth with his lyrical content and activism.

This further extenuates his response during the lockdown. After his tour was canceled, he becomes one of the first acts to decide to have their tour be entirely virtual instead. Even though it was being held online, the tour still traveled around by having each performance be for a certain area. Yungblud stated that he wanted his tour to “be a unique localized experience with full-scale production”. It was during this tour that fans first heard his song “Weird!”, that was influenced by the craziness the last year had brought to his life. This idea quickly caught on with many other bands and singers including K-pop idols BTS, deciding to hold live online concerts and tours in a pay-to-view system so that fans could still watch their performances. It is not outside the realm of possibility that instead of just a singular act, a festival made up of multiple different artists could be viewed online.

Watching Music Festivals in person

Unfortunately, it seems like watching live music festivals in person is not something we are going to do anytime soon. As stated before, festivals pose additional risk due to the amount of singing. Similarly, with gathering being banned, it is unlikely that the large crowds drawn in by festivals would pass government regulation. And with many being held on open fields to hold such large numbers of people, it would be hard for staff and police to enforce social distancing. We may have to wait until 2022 to experience another summer of music festivals in the UK.

What we can look forward to

On the bright side, this means that we can now enjoy music festivals from the comfort of our own home. There will be no need to spend a small fortune on travel or tickets. You won’t have to stay in a leaking tent stuffed to the brim with people for nights on end. Or wish that you had brought warm clothes whilst freezing in your shorts and bohemian crop top. Nor will you get drenched when it inevitably starts raining. Instead, you can relax with soothing egf masks as opposed to a face mask whilst listening to the sound of your favorite artists. You can dance in the space of your living room without accidentally elbowing strangers in the face. And message your friends, who might overwise have been able to visit the festival, that now has the chance to experience it. Plus, you can experience all of this for just a fraction of the price. So I say bring on 2021, and all the music that it brings!

The summer solstice is on the 21^st of June and it is the day that marks the first day of the summer season and it is also the longest and lightest day of the year making it the perfect day for a fireside party. This day was given its name as the words have Latin roots, it comes from the Latin words – sol, which means sun and sister which in Latin means to stand, meaning the sun stands still which happens twice a year so we have a summer and winter solstice. This day is one of the most popular days of the year for people to have a fireside party as it can go on late into the night without getting dark and it’s the perfect way to start a summer.

There are some essentials you’ll need for a fireside party on the summer solstice including enough guests, a nice outdoor spot for the party, flowers, and candles for decorations, and a good propane fire pit that’s really portable as it wouldn’t be a fireside party without a fire. Also, if you want to go all out for the summer solstice theme you could even send out sun invitations prior to the event and get creative and make some summer-themed snacks and treats for your guests on the day.

There are many summer solstice party traditions that you and your guests could also take part in if you wanted to such as attempting a sun ritual as when better to do it than the day the sun is out the longest. Another tradition that is great fun and makes for some great Instagram pictures is providing your guests with sparklers to mark the end of the night and the start of summer. The most important thing for any fireside party is making sure you’ve got the best playlist possible to set the right mood for the party so we’ve helped think of some great songs to add to your party playlist.

Kokomo – The Beach Boys

Kokomo is a popular song by the American rock band The Beach Boys who formed in the 1960s. If you’ve heard the song you’ll know there’s no better way to start off your summer solstice party than with the song. The lyrics are all about the places they want to visit like Aruba and Jamaica and we’re sure now it’s the summer solstice and its holiday season this song will get you and your guests pumped.

Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles

Here Comes The Sun is a hit song by the world-famous British band The Beatles, they released this song on their 1969 album Abbey Road and it quickly became popular and is still a fan favorite today. We’re sure you’ve all been missing the sun during the winter months so you and your guests will have a great time singing along and waiting for the sun to finally arrive.

California Girls – Katy Perry

California Girls is a song by the popular female artist Katy Perry from her 2010 album Teenage Dream, even though this song is over a decade old it would still be near the top of our summer solstice playlist. It also features American rapper Snoop Dogg and has the perfect vibes for a summer solstice party. With the lyrics focusing on many iconic summer things like palm trees, martinis, and sun-kissed skin you’ll be dreaming of your own summer adventures listening to it.

Summertime Sadness – Lana Del Rey

Summertime Sadness is one of Lana Del Rey’s most famous songs, why not add this to the playlist for the guests who prefer winter and are sad summer has come.

Some DJ’s actually start the very beginning of their careers DJ’ing a house party for their friends in high school or college and realize that this is what they want to do. It’s the perfect setting to give DJ’ing ago to see if it’s your calling. It might start out as some fun at a house party but if you try it and you’re talented it can become so much more. It’s not just friends DJ’ing for friends at house parties though, many individuals who DJ for a living actually say that one of their favorite DJ sets to be booked for is house parties. While all DJ gigs will have more in common than different one thing that massively different which adds to why many DJs enjoy house parties so much is the atmosphere.

Any professional DJ would tell you that the atmosphere at a house party is extremely different from that in other scenarios such as a club. The atmosphere at a house party tends to be more fun and house parties are seen as less pressure so many times DJs perform better sets as they’re less nervous. House parties are less intense to DJ for as the host and all the guests are trying to have a good time, they’re not there to judge the DJ’s performance making it much more comfortable. If DJ’ing sounds like something you think you could be good at or you are a DJ and you’re nervous to do your first house party gig then we’ve got some great tips for you.

Target Audience

One thing that is super important for any DJ is to consider who the audience is, if you’re DJ’ing for your friends then you’re in luck here as you’ll likely already know what music they’re into and you’ll likely be familiar with it too making it much easier to please everyone. However, if it’s not your friends then you’ll have to make sure you have a range of music and based on things such as age, the theme of the party, etc. you’ll have to figure out what music will make their party good. It’s best to test some songs out at the beginning of the party to see how people react, you’ll have to be able to read the room and see what is most popular then base the rest of your set on this. It’s always a good thing to remember that people love listening to songs that they already know, if your set included popular recent songs and old-school classics that everyone knows then it’s bound to be a popular set.

Time of Night

DJ’s have to be able to read the room to figure out what stage the party is at and play complementary music. If it’s early on then don’t play your best songs, keep it more relaxed and build up to these songs. If people are relaxing then choose music to compliment it, when things are more pumped up play your most popular songs then. Another thing a great DJ should be able to read is when music is not wanted at all, if people aren’t dancing then you can engage them in another way. You want the host and guests to be entertained all night so if it’s not the right time of the night for music then you can get the guests to play some classic party games like never have i ever to improve the mood and get people pumped.

What You Need

To DJ a set successfully you’ll need to have the right equipment. You can either go all out for your house party gig and come with a full DJ set up. You’ll have to download your chosen software onto your laptop and connect it to some great quality speakers. Or, you can now DJ from a smartphone, there are plenty of DJ’ing apps to choose from, this is a great option for someone just giving DJ’ing a try as it’s the cheaper option so if you decide DJ’ing isn’t for you you’ve only bought an app. If you get nervous at the party then make sure you have Spotify on stand by and the guests can pick what songs they want instead.

One of the most interesting and vital areas of the music scene is not on the main stage. In fact, all the real music magic happens behind the closed doors of the studios. Music producers are the unsung heroes of the music world. If it wasn’t for them, all your favorite musicians would not sound as good as they do. Not to mention the instrumentals wouldn’t be as crisp or in time. And a lot of the more electronic sound effects and mixes you hear on modern musical tracks is also down to them.

With modern laptops becoming more powerful and with the new various ways to charge your laptop without a charger, you can take your music production with you wherever you go. So it’s important to have software that can put in the hours. So today we want to take a look at the best Audio-editing software available. We will examine their strengths and weaknesses and give our opinion on which is the best choice for all your audio editing needs.

Audacity 2.2

The latest version of the classic audio editing software platform. Audacity is one of the oldest and most reliable editing software on the market. The biggest upside to audacity is that it is open source. This means anyone can access the source code and make modifications to the program.

There is a  large community of music producers constantly releasing new mods for audacity allowing musicians to get really creative with their projects. In terms of audio quality, audacity isn’t the best. But it’s fantastic considering the app is completely free to use. It is recommended for new podcast creators or independent musicians.

Avid Pro-Tools

The argument about PC vs Mac has been raging for years. And it seems Mac managed to dominate the creative world. A lot of music studios make use of Apple products in their editing suits. This can be a problem if you are collaborating with someone who is working on a different platform.

Avid Pro-Tools provides excellent sound quality and editing control, but its main selling point is its cross-platform functionality. Able to work On PC, Mac, Linux, or any other OS you need it to. If you are going to be working on a big project with lots of producers, this could be the one for you.

Garage Band

If you own an Apple Mac, chances are it has Garage Band pre-installed. And you might be cautious about using the software that comes with the product as, on PC, this software is often lackluster. But part of the massive price-tag that comes with Apple products is quality.

Garage Band is a fantastic editing software for anyone looking to dip their toes into the music editing scene. It allows users to create music completely from scratch. Or to edit their own work to a reasonably good audio quality. The big downside is, of course, it is incompatible with other systems and is fairly limited in what it can do. You won’t see a chart-topping hit produced in Garage Band, but you might find some absolute bops on youtube.

Our Choice

If we had to pick one of this software to name as the winner, it would have to be Avid Pro-Tools. The versatility of it paired with the quality it can produce makes it the standout winner in our books. If you are serious about being a music producer, we highly recommend you invest in this software.