Metro 2033 and out of tune guitars....

[MiracleOfSound]

The end credits music from Metro 2033:


Now what i could never work out was, is that guitar supposed to have one string tuned slightly flat?

If I'm not mistaken, the G string sounds like it has been tuned about half a semitone below its normal tuning.

Do you guys think this effect is deliberate, to imply something is wrong or out of sync in the Metro 2033 world?

Or is it just a brutally bad example of something that should have been re-recorded?

 

[Nitpicker of the Wastes]

...I honestly didn't know that guitar strings could be determined to be tuned improperly through audio post-processing, let alone that one was slightly off here.

I don't make a habit of anything guitar. :/

It's good music anyway, though. Maybe it's intentional.

 

[Stoplesteimer]

Freaky, I was just playing this game

On topic; I think it goes along with the whole post nuclear apocalypse setting of the game

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Freaky, I was just playing this game

So was I, just finished it for the third time and noticed the music sounded a bit... off.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

There's more than one way to tune a guitar.

Yes, obviously.

But I've never heard a recording in a game soundtrack before where a guitar is tuned almost a half semitone flat.

 

[loc978]

Yes. It's purposeful discordance. Creates a very haunting effect.
Another example of oddly discordant tuning (though more extreme in this case, and not so much haunting as just... odd):

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Yes. It's purposeful discordance. Creates a very haunting effect.
Another example of oddly discordant tuning (though more extreme in this case, and not so much haunting as just... odd):
]

Fuck, I hate Vevo.

What's wrong with Ireland, Vevo, you assholes? Why can't we watch it here?

And whaaat.... another Captcha... this is my third one in about 5 minutes.

 

[jcallen]

It does sound a bit off. But it's still good.

 

[loc978]

Fuck, I hate Vevo.

What's wrong with Ireland, Vevo, you assholes? Why can't we watch it here?

And whaaat.... another Captcha... this is my third one in about 5 minutes.

ah, my apologies. Here's something that should play for you (I hope)...
Contains a different version of the song, but the tuning is the same off-the-wall mix.

goddamn captcha... takes me forever to find one I can actually read...

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

The end credits music from Metro 2033:


Now what i could never work out was, is that guitar supposed to have one string tuned slightly flat?

If I'm not mistaken, the G string sounds like it has been tuned about half a semitone below its normal tuning.

Do you guys think this effect is deliberate, to imply something is wrong or out of sync in the Metro 2033 world?

Or is it just a brutally bad example of something that should have been re-recorded?

I'm pretty sure that is the way it's suppose to be. The game is very bleak and cold, and the guitar goes with it very well. Remember the game was made in Eastern Europe, and they applied a lot of that feel into the music of the game.

 

[HT_Black]

It's definitely intentional, like how violinists will make their E string slightly flat when playing in minor key. In this case, it makes the song sound dead and echo-y, pardon the Buffy speak.

 

[Slycne]

Do you guys think this effect is deliberate, to imply something is wrong or out of sync in the Metro 2033 world?

Or is it just a brutally bad example of something that should have been re-recorded?

Doesn't specifically mention the out of tune track, but here's an interview with the soundtrack creator - http://www.game-ost.com/articles.php?id=81&action=view. Seems like he was getting pretty into it, so it's likely intended.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

It is on purpose to exemplify the effect you described.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Contains a different version of the song, but the tuning is the same off-the-wall mix.

goddamn captcha... takes me forever to find one I can actually read...

To me, that is something a bit different though.... they're playing a minor chord over a major chord but I don't hear any strings tuned flat.

Then again... my ears could be playing tricks on me. And some of Jerry's soloing does sound strangely off...

Alice are such a great band, saw em live last year and they still have it, even without Layne. Black Gives Way To Blue was the best album I heard last year!

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Do you guys think this effect is deliberate, to imply something is wrong or out of sync in the Metro 2033 world?

Or is it just a brutally bad example of something that should have been re-recorded?

Doesn't specifically mention the out of tune track, but here's an interview with the soundtrack creator - http://www.game-ost.com/articles.php?id=81&action=view. Seems like he was getting pretty into it, so it's likely intended.

Yeah, funny you mention it... I read that entire interview actually trying to find out if he did it deliberately.

I can't imagine it was a mistake. The soundtrack was amazingly and expertly produced all the way through the game. The Russian choir chanting in the church level was just sublime.

 

[Nibblitman]

Based on the tone(oh look at the pun or something) of the game I would say they probably meant to do that. It makes you a bit uneasy and a feeling like somethings wrong, just like you should have felt through most of the game.

 

[Eumersian]

SNIP

I imagine it was intentional. The mood of the game is pretty bleak right? So what better to make the ending music bleak than to slightly de-tune the guitar? I honestly couldn't bear to listen to more than 45 seconds of it, because of the tuning. But I consider this a perfectly reasonable choice for the music. I've heard numerous pieces of modern music with slightly out of tune notes to generate a particular effect. The organ player at my church recounts watching a Greek play where, in between scenes, two sets of instruments in different parts of the theater would play, one starting, and one responding. One of the sets was tuned a perfect quarter step below the other one, which he described as "unsettling" but it was just part of the show.