How to Make an Epic Final Boss Theme

[@isegeese]

i skipped to the end to see the final result first and DAMN, when i tell u i genuinely got chills

[@dradekon]

The fact that i could tell what some of the parts would sound like shows how effective the song is at sounding like a final battle theme.

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much! I'm super happy with how it turned out, and comments like yours make it so much more worth making it :)

[@theos5187]

I just got this recommended for some reason. I am not a musician at all. I've watched the whole video and it was awesome! Then I scrolled down and noticed that you have only 40subs??? This so high quality content! You really deserve way more attention! Great vid, I love this kind of music. Good luck!

[@Tarro57]

The fact that you chose to watch a random video, one on a topic you don't really have experience in, and still chose to watch the whole thing is mind blowing to me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comment! :)

[@dragontailsb1971]

1 year later and tarro has 8.52k subs. Crazy

[@loki-nemesis]

huh? he has 9k (although he should have like 100k with all this talent)

[@theos5187]

@@loki-nemesis are you dumb? I posted this 2 years ago

[@spookyalex8216]

this is a tremendous final boss theme and especially how the violins, piano and flute sound together

[@steel4331]

DUDE. HOW DOES THIS NOT HAVE MORE VIEWS??? This is INSANE(LY GOOD)!

[@Tarro57]

I'm actually really happy it's passed some of my other vids in views these past couple days, im super proud of this song and video. Thank you for the kind words :)

[@sodakcmusic]

The area around 1:52 reminds me of Heart of Courage by Two Steps From Hell. also great song, always nice hearing the weekly Tarro57 video lol

[@Tarro57]

Thanks so much Soda, always appreciate the support :) Glad you enjoyed!

[@Paolo-wn5oy]

@@Tarro57 It reminded me too !

[@NeverduskX]

I love the format of this video. It teaches a lot of techniques without boxing anything into a strict formula. I definitely feel like it was as educational as it was inspirational. I'm probably gonna open up my DAW and try a few things myself, in a moment.

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much! So happy I could help inspire :)

[@xamora]

im not even that much of a musician but this just motivates me to make music

[@Tarro57]

Let's goooo i hope you do :)

[@laurenlofton9039]

1:47 - I know I’m like a year (or more) late, but I’ve heard the rhythm in question called a “Double Tresillo”. It’s basically a Tresillo (3-3-2) rhythm but held out longer, giving it a 3-3-3-3-2-2 feel.

[@PoorGameDeveloper]

Decides to make a tutorial Makes a banger song for a tutorial Refuses to elaborate

[@blankedeye1451]

Man, this was so epic! I'd say the theme this reminded me of most was "universal collapse", which shouldn't be surprising really. But then one melody got me thinking of...the wii menu theme? Like wth?? Anyway, great vid man. This was very interesting even for someone with next to no musical talent xd

[@arm4nduk3]

CALAMITY FAN!??

[@SharpLemon]

Actual godsend of a video, I impressed my family using this!

[@Tarro57]

Let's go thats awesome! Thank you for enjoying it :)

[@Paolo-wn5oy]

This song is also very beautiful ! At the beginning of the video, I heard the chords of some of the instruments who let me think about Bergentrückung or the beginning of Asgore from Undertale. I think I will also compare your homemade song with Hopes and Dreams to find more ideas for my Final Boss theme. Congratulation for your work, you deserve my subscribe !

[@the_mortem]

holy shit the youtube algorithm did NOT disappoint

[@grendy558]

I swear, musicians are like magic. Amazing work!

[@jacobmarshall7847]

Literally a masterpiece and you make it look so easy too! Truly an inspiration!

[@117lyrics]

you have a criminally low number of subscribers. i'm happy i found your channel! cheers and will be looking forward to your content

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much, you're gonna make me cry lol. I really hope I don't let you down :)

[@Dennis_bao_duy]

Yo shout out to the musican that actually care about the music industry

[@ZekariusZetorian]

Something else that seems to be a really big part of this song that I don't think you directly called out in the video is call and response. All of the times where the brass or full orchestra plays the melody followed by a single flute doing the same thing really push the idea that this is a battle. A duel between the player and the seemingly more powerful boss (indicated by the increased instrumentation.) I really like the idea that for a boss FIGHT theme and not just a boss' character theme that this interplay exists, like the music is reinforcing the concept that this is a conflict. Not just the boss' theme song, but the theme for THIS fight, this showdown. I've seen a couple of your vids recommended to me over the last couple days and I gotta say, I'm a fan. These feel really high quality (both the video and the music) and I look forward to more content =)

[@arandomperson2732]

This is really great! you deserve more subscribers

[@Tarro57]

I appreciate the comment! Thank you so much A Random Person! ( I can't tell you how much I laughed at seeing "A Random Person commented" made my day :) )

[@corbanXV]

great video, great song and very informative, the fact that you can make the most out of free/cheap plugins really impresses me, wishing you success mate 👍

[@Tarro57]

Thanks so much! I'd love to get the good instruments, but I gotta make do with what I have for now. Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for the encouragement :)

[@corbanXV]

@@Tarro57 dont worry, every musician is at that stage at somepoint, its what makes music such a compelling experience, making something good out of something not so good

[@crgio22]

bro's cookin so hard

[@aBean_y]

This sounds amazing! Everything is put together so well. I love how there’s the underlying adventurous theme throughout most of the song, but that sinister beating and hammering of the chorus and drums and bells looms over the whole time too! I will admit though I can’t unhear the wii sports theme in the second half 😅

[@spoon3141]

matt is the final boss

[@Metrocysh]

Great composition! How dare you have this low amount of subs!!? This reminds me to the style of Shady Cicada videos, but with more explanation throughout the break down. Truly a good channel, got some inspiration from this

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much! He's definitely a huge inspiration for me, and I'm glad these videos are also giving lots of people inspiration :)

[@thebayjay]

Tell me why I was smiling the whole time?? :) I love music so much

[@wither3615]

This is amazing, i'll definetly be taking these tips for when making a boss themes for my game =)

[@SpiralFlip]

Real nice! The composition is real clean

[@Tarro57]

Thank you! Its definitely one of the compositions im most proud of. Glad you enjoyed :)

[@magnificenteltra_rb7616]

dude this is epic and I don’t understand why your not at a million subs yet but you should be this is really epic I and really liked it bravo.

[@Tarro57]

Thanks my guy! So glad you liked it, and maybe one day lol

[@magnificenteltra_rb7616]

@@Tarro57 I believe you will succeed tarro57 and maybe should you partner for game makers maybe they might need help composing stuff and all that.

[@magnificenteltra_rb7616]

@@Tarro57 and maybe you should do collars

[@magnificenteltra_rb7616]

collabs my mistake

[@Tarro57]

@@magnificenteltra_rb7616 Trust me, I want to! Not many people have reached out though lol. Thanks for the kind words :)

[@Liamsamsit]

there are videos on youtube about mixing and all but not so many for orchestral stuff and you explain things very well very neatly, it would do people like me wonders if you did a video on how you mix your music

[@Snowstorm174]

mmmmm kingdom hearts… forza finale good :D

[@Lax915]

this is the next level of music productions!!!

[@AbsentPFP]

Underrated channel

[@hurlemort_]

Ok so i may be too late but i think the rythm you asked for was called Tresillo (Habanera variation) and it goes 3-3-2. It looks like it but not sure tho. (Vie Violence by Claude Nougaro is a good example of a song using the Tresillo) Edit : on god I wrote it a bit after you asked and didn’t watched the video in its entirety yet. I am really happy that i was right

[@mrtheunknownytquestion4592]

the best final boss themes are hollow knight from hollow knight and shinyrobobowser from paper jam

[@Riptide_33]

Dang dude. This amazing! You are seriously an underrated guy and I think that this great stuff. I aspire to be as a talented at music as you are one day and I appreciate the fire beats you’re putting out. Seriously bro keep it up and never stop. Stay epic my man! 😁

[@sorakeee]

Impressive work! It sounds really great! ❤

[@normalperson397]

Only 50 subs? We gotta fix that

[@Ekaroth]

Underrated channel on god.

[@Catherine_Ea]

Amazing, your videos are golden, this will help me so much, thank you

[@davidtapley2932]

while there are a few things I would've done a bit differently, this still slaps.

[@yunggrug]

6:40 WiiSports haha

[@grim6392]

Thanks for the advice! Will use this for my next orchestral piece

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic199]

awesome tutorial! the plugins you showed are great start for a newbie like me ❤️

[@thewhitefalcon8539]

9:08 binding of isaac vibes

[@snesmocha]

it's a fine composition. hell i actually do like it. but i'd say there are some flaws that could be worked on (btw the rhythm is called triplets if you were wondering) the lack of proper brass instruments does ruin the brass a little bit. it should be brighter, much much brighter. the bombastic horns are just way too static, they focus too much on power chords, which are honestly not a great instrument + chord pairing. i'd say go for more brighter and full chords instead of pretty bland and basic power chords. add a staccato string ensemble that will play in between the triplets of that section the use of leitmotifs should truly be used sparingly too although this is more of a personal opinion. sometimes just adding too many leitmotifs reduces the song to just another song with the same leitmotifs. save them and conserve them to give reminders to the player instead of forcing the emotion into their face. faint reminders but as the song gets stronger increase the strength of those leitmotifs and make them more obvious in order to carve out an identity for the song itself. when using a piano with very fast octave jumps and very strict low rhythms, it's best to add variation to that low octave sixteenth note syncopation and not just make it the same static note over and over. at around 4:12 when you show that melody, try adding harmonies to that melody and give it not just the same old octaves, variation gives a song that uses leitmotifs its own identity. when making such strong drums, remember to balance the lows and highs. use taikos, sticks, toms, and not just hits and hits and hits that get overly repetative. those highs and lows give the frequency spectrum more brightness and overall fullness instead of something being so concentrated in the low i also recommend maybe getting a different choir, sonata choir can often clip, be quite laggy, and honestly just be crap to use, as there recently were new choirs added to spitfire labs as well, which would be a good recommendation to use like i said, it's quite a good composition, but i feel like it could be more tbh but tbh, this video did teach some actual pretty good ideas when composing boss themes so thanks for that too

[@Tarro57]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm definitely not as experienced when it comes to full orchestra production so tips like this are very helpful! I will mention, the rhythm in question was definitely not triplets, it was the one that was like an extended tresillo.

[@Tarro57]

Also, would it be cool if I could add you on discord or something? I'd love to talk and maybe get some advice!

[@snesmocha]

@@Tarro57 it has been a month, and i finally got the notification, sure

[@kiddolink]

Very helpful tutorial! Thank you!

[@kassiaactuallydraws9361]

This sounds sick!

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much!

[@wormo2841]

What the heckkkledee heck this is amazing

[@energy-tunes]

very professional

[@latchflex838]

where did you get the "bombastic bass" from it sounds really good

[@Tarro57]

From the free Knontakt Library "The Free Orchestra"

[@chell_tbi3170]

Greate job

[@erez2417]

where do you learn all of these techniques? from books, courses or what else? this video has been both very fun to watch and helpful, thanks!

[@Tarro57]

Mostly lots of practice and imitation. This song alone took a little over a month of studying other similar songs ,specifically the Kingdom Hearts song i play at the beginning of the vid. I listened to that song over and over, looked up sheet music, and pretty much used it as a template of how to make an epic orchestral arrangement. It really is all about watching some tutorials, studying music you like and either remaking them or using them as inspiration, and just making music until it starts to sound good lol. Ive been making music for about 14 years and been playing piano for 20 so its a lot of time put into where I'm at now, but people can do what I do in less time with more practice.

[@erez2417]

@@Tarro57 Yeah, this video is honestly great, but hearing about all the additional efforts you put into it really gives me a fresh perspective. Ive been composing my own stuff on musescore and your videos gave me a push to finally buy FL studio, which was a decision I've been postponing for a while. I should probably stack up on music theory tutorials/ books, though.

[@Tarro57]

@@erez2417 For sure! Andrew Huang has a great intro to music theory video. As for tutorials, In The Mix is a great FL teacher, Shady Cicada is mainly entertainment but gives amazing tips for different types of songs, and then just analyze the music you like and try and learn what parts you like about it and figure out how to replicate it! Good luck, thanks for watching the video :)

[@erez2417]

@@Tarro57

[@erez2417]

@@Tarro57 by the way, when you said study the notes of similar songs. do you mean by hearing, or the full arrangements? since there are only fanmade piano arrangements for 99% of things

[@spamtong7914]

I gonna to make a game "metroidvania-like", a has with some ideias that other game that i recently played have. That make me sense kinda unmotivated, because he have the "same" mechanic that my game was supposed to had. I am a musician too, but i dont have such knowledge of yours, but i can say that your video motivated me to keep on work. I already have everything written down on a special book; im also looking for an "music-creator-app" can you say what you use? Anyways, keep with the good job, i loved your music. One more sub to the statistics😊

[@undrpaid]

Very good music, but I can't listen to the full soundtrack because none of the links worked for me. Please fix it as I love your style of music and want to hear more.

[@Tarro57]

Thank you so much for letting me know! I have no idea why there was an issue with it but it should be good now. Thank you for your interest and kind words :)

[@Monokirb]

thank you so much !

[@YaBoiATEG]

please, try this at 1.5x speed its amazing

[@wepmasters]

6:40 Wii Sports

[@johanliebert9993]

As someone who writes music with limited access to VSTs, this video is amazing at highlighting some of the things that I feel like I'm missing in my battle themes! May I ask what VST you've used for the French Violin?

[@Tarro57]

If you Google "free French violin vst" it should be the top result, by SampleScience ;) Also thank you for watching and getting something from the video! So happy to be able to help :)

[@johanliebert9993]

@@Tarro57 Thank you very much! Always glad to learn and witness beautiful writing!

[@R34L1T7]

@@Tarro57 What do you use to make music?

[@Tarro57]

@@R34L1T7 FL Studio :)

[@R34L1T7]

@@Tarro57 Ok, Ty! :D

[@Random_NPC187]

Is the chorus part at the start a reference to Heart of Courage?

[@Tarro57]

Funny enough, I didn't intend to be using that song as inspiration, but I'm 99% sure it was a subconscious reference.

[@JuicyBurger29]

Quick question. Are these songs free to download? Because I’m broke as heck and looking for final battle music for my finale

[@cobrastancult3241]

Do you have some libraries or this is vanilla?

[@LandofHeros2234]

KZbin link doesn’t work It just says the video is unavailable

[@Tarro57]

Huh, weird, I'll work on fixing that. I may just upload all the songs as videos.

[@NemesistheNemesus]

Hey! If you dont mind me asking, what music software do you use?

[@one_and_online]

Would you be okay with it if i use some of the patterns in a remix im currently making?

[@AbsentPFP]

can I have the sources of the instruments pls?

[@Marius04020]

how to get the instruments 🕺

[@tylerdeshoun]

Is that a Tresillo rythnm ?

[@xovuishere]

Someone pls tell me what are the bombastic bass

[@Tarro57]

From a free Kontakt library called The Free Orchestra. Look up The Free Orchestra and you should find it!

[@xovuishere]

@@Tarro57 BRO AGAIN THIS PLUGIN?????? I NEED IT SO BAD WHEN IM DONE TO LOG IN

[@ForsakenSandpaper]

can't make a ost without used french horn.

[@mckennalien5444]

what software is this?

[@_gertrude.]

8:22

[@SeigeGoat]

_why so i hear some game voices_

[@Akawump]

*Opens vid* *Goes to the comments* *Nobody left a comment on it being >11 minutes* *leave*

[@Tarro57]

@@Akawump because the tutorial is

[@Akawump]

@@Tarro57 Omg, no way, real creator!!

[@sortalgoshton1104]

mad song

[@alloounou6900]

This gives me, "final boss is a friend turned evil vibes" feels as much an emotional battle as it is physical.

[@Sparkle8205]

i actually clicked on the video myself since i need to make one for my dnd character who is the BBEG's right hand man who the party will fight against later on and the fact it SOUNDED like that here is funky

[@MelonyMelonester]

You thought King Koopa worked ALONE?

[@mrdemon4429]

nah it sounds more like evil out of desperation like to save someone they had to turn evil

[@TGVBT640]

at first i was thinking that i just use a bunch of different motifs so the player is like "omg thats the part from the other song or smthn 🤑" but this helps a lot

[@DaemonWorx]

Idk how you don’t have more subs, your content is better than mine and i have more subs. You truly feel like you should have 10k subs at the very least

[@Matsiv25]

If you don't mind my asking, what program is this? I've been wanting to get into music development for my own projects, but have struggled with finding the right ones

[@Tarro57]

This is FL Studio! It's definitely one of the more common ones when it comes to indie devs and such. There's a free demo with everything but you can't open saved projects if you wanna try it out!

[@Matsiv25]

@@Tarro57 thank you!

[@olimar7647]

Is it completely irrational that I want to compose a piece for the BBEG in the Star Wars TTRPG I'm GMing? Like, I have nearly no experience in music comp or theory - only the loosest grip on the basics and a single, crazily ambitious project for a class I had a while ago - and would have to rely almost solely on intuition and what I can glean from videos like this, but I have this urge to do it......

[@Just1_Melo]

6:40 Wii sports?

[@justcactus8148]

I’m literally so glad I’m not the only one bro 😂😂😂

[@loki-nemesis]

wow, i know a LOT of people will hate me but i think this music is better than "scourge of the universe"

[@Tarro57]

@@loki-nemesis man I fully disagree but I appreciate that SO MUCH, that's some super high praise :)

[@Da_Nihto]

extremely underrated and also just what i needed thank you! by the way, what program do you use here?

[@ecquin1003]

WOW THIS IS SO GOOD By chance have you watched shady cicada? this really reminds me of his content. your composition skills are so good!!

[@Tarro57]

Love Shady Cicada, they are definitely a big inspiration :) And thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[@TuxLinuxOfficial]

Pretty sure the rhythm is called Tresillo

[@alterveli]

I'm saving this up to watch later :D

[@wuffles9584]

6:40 is that wii sports resort?

[@LynnyToons]

UNDERRATED AS HELL WHAT IN DAMNATION?? You my friend just earned a sub! I will be using your advice and show your channel to my friends!

[@Tarro57]

Haha thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it :)

[@seiikei]

Its giving touhou stage 6 boss

[@zizzi9806]

Dude this is insane you deserve so many more subs, and I think seeing you visually do it is the most helpful, and seeing all the layers, thanks!

[@Taiyafog]

I’ve never been so happy to discover a channel b4

[@adeluna1726]

I'm so glad you used forze del male as example ^^ the video is amazing ty

[@Tarro57]

Its such a good song! Never played KH but it popped up on my Spotify and ive been in love since lol. Thank you for enjoying the video :)

[@adeluna1726]

@@Tarro57 ty for replying! ❤️