An excellent composer must have exceptional understanding of the audience’s preferences.

In part 2 of the Legend of Aaron Tsang, Amos Vang and Aaron Tsang discuss Aaron’s decision to go to the University of Toronto for music composition, the evolution of Aaron’s musical style, the similarities between composers and lawyers, and the importance of mentorship in the music profession and the legal profession.

You may also be surprised at the number of similarities between composers and lawyers.

Aaron also discusses the importance of predicting and understanding an audience’s musical tastes, and Amos and Aaron discuss concrete examples such as Mick Gordon’s “Doom: 2016” and “Doom Eternal” soundtracks, as well as Christopher Tin’s “Baba Yetu” and “Sogno di Volare” for Civilization IV and VI respectively.

Intro and Outro music: Jubilant Dawn (University of Toronto Graduation Fanfare), by Aaron Tsang

Any other referenced music belongs to their respective owners.

--- CHAPTERS ---

0:00 – Recap and Introduction

0:41 – This is why the University of Toronto’s Music program is a top choice for music training.

5:13 – Musical style is defined by the rhythm.

7:39 – Mychael Danna, the Oscar Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning composer for the film “Life of Pi”, is an alumnus of the University of Toronto’s Music Composition Program!!!!!

8:07 – Christopher Tin’s Grammy Award-winning “Baba Yetu” is legendary. Here is why.

9:24 – Christopher Tin displays a mastery of different languages in his compositions.

10:26 – How has Aaron’s musical style evolved over his career?

12:04 – Aaron had to build his entire computer setup to create his own music.

12:46 – One must be sensitive and capacious to areas of knowledge that are entirely foreign to one’s own knowledge base.

16:47 – Proper musical recording technique can even lead to a Juno Award win!!!!!

19:15 – Just like musicians, experienced lawyers can find themselves struggling to explain legal concepts to junior lawyers.

19:52 – Law school does NOT teach you how to practice law. Rather, it only teaches you how to think like a lawyer (and even then, it is not very good at doing that).

21:07 – Mentors are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT in the legal profession.

23:44 – A composer can learn A LOT about unfamiliar instrumentation through trial and error.

25:25– Law school does one thing well: the work is voluminous. There is A LOT of work in law school. Legal writing is an important skill!!!!!

27:38 – Talking to clients (as a lawyer) is a difficult skill. Explaining difficult legal concepts to clients in plain English is important.

28:55 – Anything that is compelling will translate well across the board. This is true in music, law, and most other industries.

31:38 – Composers, lawyers, and sports broadcasters make their jobs look easy. This can be a blessing and a curse.

32:32 – Mick Gordon had an extremely tight timeline to compose the soundtracks for the “Doom” series.

33:08 – The OSTs for the Doom series display Mick Gordon’s musical compositional prowess.

34:40 – Good music composition is not easy.

36:25 – An excellent composer can understand the listener and can imply the listener’s expectations.

41:20 – Composers and lawyers have one common question to answer: who is the audience of their written work?

43:00 – Martha Argerich is one of the greatest pianists of all time. Here’s why.

48:40 – Back in Amos’s piano performing days, Amos also experienced a similar form of quick, instinctual learning to the type that other performing pianists have.

50:05 – Amos applies his musical training in his sports announcing. Here’s how.

55:48 – What are the similarities and differences between Aaron’s approach to film music composing and to video game music composing?

At 14 years old, his music and films were featured at international film festivals.

He’s composed for world-renowned video game and entertainment publishers such as Capcom, DreamWorks Pictures, and Konami.

In fact, the intro and outro music that you will hear on this episode was written by Aaron Tsang, specifically for all graduation ceremonies at the University of Toronto.

This is the Legend Of… Aaron Tsang, award-winning composer and music professor at the University of Toronto!

Join Amos Vang and Aaron Tsang in their discussion on Aaron’s career, musical style, musical influences, and musical analysis.

This is the first part of a multi-part conversation, so stay tuned for future parts. On this part, Amos and Aaron discuss:

- Aaron’s early classical musical influences and beginnings

- Aaron’s experiences as a young teenager making music and films at international film festivals

- The question of whether music can truly be objective

- Musical analysis on iconic themes such as the Super Smash Bros. Melee Menu 1 Theme, and why they hit so differently

- The influence of the famous Chinese story, “Journey to the West”, and other wuxia stories on Aaron’s musical style

You can follow Aaron on Instagram: @aarontsang.music

You can visit Aaron’s website: www.aarontsang.com

-- CHAPTERS –

0:00 – Introduction

2:36 – What inspired Aaron Tsang to pursue music?

4:50 – What instruments did Aaron play?

6:53 – How do pianists apply bel canto singing to piano performance?

7:44 – How did these instruments influence Aaron’s musical thinking?

8:57 – How do pianists perform within the gaps of the notes?

11:34 – The same pianist can perform the same piece of music differently across different concerts. How?

13:00 – Tempo rubato in classical music

17:33 – Public advocacy as a lawyer is very similar to musical performance as a pianist. How?

19:34 – Public advocacy, musical performance, and sports announcing have A LOT in common. How?

20:03 – Aaron’s early non-musical influences on his musical style

23:07 – Video games REALLY influenced Aaron’s musical style. Why?

25:20 – Wuxia REALLY influenced Aaron’s musical style. Why?

28:09 – Journey to the West is one of the most influential stories in the world (probably even more than Shakespearean stories)

28:54 – Black Myth Wukong reused a part of the main theme from the 1986 TV adaptation of Journey to the West!

29:47 – Westerners, especially Canadians and Americans, are rediscovering the beauty of wuxia films such as “Hero” (2001)!

31:04 – Super Smash Bros. Melee’s menu theme is ICONIC!!!!!

31:57 – In his professorship, Aaron argues that music is not subjective. How?

33:04 – Why is Super Smash Bros. Melee’s menu theme so iconic? Here’s Aaron and Amos’s musical analysis and discussion on that.

40:40 – Melee’s Opening Theme is ALSO ICONIC. Here’s why.

42:57 – Nintendo is the master of nostalgia, especially when it comes to musical composition and counterpoint.

45:08 – At 14 years old, Aaron’s work was featured at international film festivals. This is how he storyboards his music and films.

52:03 – Effective communication between the composer and the producer is important.

57:21 – Similar to music, effective communication between a lawyer and a client is important.

1:02:19 – Outro. Stay tuned for the next part!!!!!

Intro and Outro Music by: Aaron Tsang

All other referenced music featured in this episode are attributed to their respective composers.