While gameplay and visuals are the most recognizable aspects of League of Legends that contribute the game’s overall experience, the music is definitely nothing to scoff at. Champions and events bring new waves of music to fit whatever theme or emotions Riot Games is working towards, and some of the sheet music for the game’s scores is now being released for fans of the game and the music to play.
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The post from Ed the Conqueror, a composer for League of Legends, talked about the work that goes into creating music that is both enjoyable for players and plays well with the game’s themes. In his post, he declared the time for releasing sheet music from the game was “long overdue,” but he warned that some of the sheet music that they’re releasing may look a bit rough, but that’s because some of them actually are.
“Some of them look OK, some of them look like they were made in a rush (they were),” the post read. “Some have mistakes in them, some are nearly flawless. Some were modified during the recording session (“Should we take the trumpets an octave below? Let’s extend that A for another two beats. Cellos, make that a mezzo forte “plus”, not a forte.”), but these verbal changes are not caught on paper.”
Four compositions have been released by Riot Games as of now with the process and goal behind each one explained below. Check out these compositions, and add them to your League of Legends music collection alongside songs from the Pentakill album and DJ Sona’s beats.
Kled, The Cantankerous Cavalier
Before you can even see Kled ult in from the fog of war, his music is more enough to let you know that it’s about time you got off of his land. The direction for the Noxian champion’s music was pretty clear when the music team saw how quickly and forcefully Kled and Skaarl will burst onto the screen with a rough-and-ready attitude.
“Kled is one of those projects where musical execution was crystal clear from day one,” composer Ed the Conqueror said about creating the music for Kled. “I decided to play with the big guns (a big, heavy brass and woodwind section with a cello ensemble) pitted against an assortment of bluegrass instruments (guitars, dobro, mandolin, banjo, etc.).”
Even though he said that Kled is a pretty straightforward champ, Ed also added that he and the team attempted to bring a bit of musical finesse to the character’s music by recording some of the instruments separate from others. He was also thrilled at the chance to include a very rare tuba solo in the composition.
You can check out Kled’s login music above, and the full sheet music for Kled’s compositions can be found and downloaded here.
Camille, The Steel Shadow
Looking at the music for Camille right after hearing Kled’s boisterous tunes is a prime example of how diverse the music for League of Legends can be. Her music comes off as much more graceful than Kled’s, but the direction of Camille’s music changed a bit as the composers worked on it.
“The main melody for Camille’s theme was originally developed on a synth while researching electronic textures, but it was later adapted for violin,” said Chemicalseb, a composer who worked on Camille’s music. “A lot of the melodic motion came from using the pitch bend wheel on a keyboard, something I probably wouldn’t have done had I known it would ultimately be played on violin. This resulted in an interesting and angular theme, depicting her leaping and surgical precision.”
Though she’s got some Hextech modifications that make her more robotic, Chemicalseb and the team were careful to not let the sound drift too far towards something that would sound too much like a PROJECT skin.
“At one point, the texture of the piece started to sound a little too “PROJECT,” the post read. “A lot of the electronic and motoric elements in the louder sections were rewritten for cello, ultimately reinforcing Camille’s elitist nature and making the music more exciting! It also led to the middle, more baroque section, which was fun to write.”
You can check out Camille’s login music above, and the full sheet music for Camille’s compositions can be found and downloaded here.
Tahm Kench, The River King
Tahm Kench’s folk music that accompanies his login screen is a slower composition that adds to the eerie, swampy scene shown in his login intro. Players may argue forever about calling him a catfish or a frog, but The River King’s music is some of the best that League of Legends has to offer.
“The meat of the Tahm Kench theme can be found here in this guitar sketch,” said ProtoShredanoid, a League of Legends composer. “I felt the melody really came to life after I stumbled into a little vintage guitar shop one afternoon, coming across an old 1930 Robert Johnson style National Resonator guitar. I swear the thing was staring at me from the wall and had a life of its own—I never played slide before, but with this guitar I could play like Ry Cooder (ok, not really :P). Still, it was a weird feeling! Somehow it seemed like a mini-Crossroads Legend, which made sense with Tahm’s story and him being a demon and all.”
You can check out Tahm Kench’s login music above, and the full sheet music for Tahm Kench’s compositions can be found and downloaded here.
Demacia Rising
The final piece of League of Legends sheet music that Riot released wasn’t tied to one champion in particular, but rather to a whole faction.
Also different from the others compositions, this music gives a bit more insight into the process by which the music is made as they work through some bumps along the way.
“This score offers a glimpse into the editorial process that frequently occurs after recordings have taken place,” said composer Scherzo. “We decided to remove several bars from the introduction after hearing the recordings and added solo vocal and cello parts, giving some more melodic and textural interest.”
In fact, this score wasn’t even intended to be attributed to Demacia at first. The music was first being composed for a champion that wasn’t even from Demacia, but they put the music aside in hopes to work on it later.
“This actually happens surprisingly often with music: While working on a project, we’ll end up writing a melody that we feel works as a musical theme but doesn’t quite fit the project we we’re working on, Shcerzo said. “Sometimes these rejected themes find second lives in surprising places.”
You can check out the Demacia Rising music above, and the full sheet music for the Demacia Rising compositions can be found and downloaded here.
