The Magic of Minecraft's Music | Volume Beta

Two and a half years after C418 released Minecraft’s first album, the eternal Volume Alpha, a second, longer, and paradoxically more complex album was released as a sequel to that first ensemble: Daniel Rosenfeld’s Volume Beta. On this album, you hear things you never would have expected to hear in Minecraft - new sounds, new instruments, and a tone that can put both a smile on your face or a tear in your eye. You’ve likely heard my ramblings about the first collection, and how they perfectly embody the spirit and essence of Minecraft, but if not, take a moment now to look, because this second album takes C418’s first release and fills the gaps that we didn’t realize were left. Most notably, he added an entirely new soundtrack to Minecraft’s creative game mode, a subsection of the game that holds a special place in my heart, and in many of yours, I’m sure. But we’ll get to that in just a moment.

There’s a reason that I, like Rosenfeld, took 2 and half years to cover Volume Beta - not that I would compare my passionate blather to the musical genius he created. The details and emotion in this second album range from elated joy to empty sadness, and it’s not a collection that can be discussed without dedicating the proper time to the concept. Minecraft and its music are inseparable, and regardless of whether you took the time to truly appreciate it when you were a kid, these songs were the backdrops to a generation of childhoods, with each track holding a special meaning to each player; holding memories, laughter, hours of heated discussion with your friends over voice chat — the discovery of your creative side, the awakening of your adventurous spirit - all over the carefully composed soundtrack by C418.

#meraki #minecraft #c418

Chapters:
intro - 0:00
welcome - 3:41
the title tracks- 4:50
creative mode - 9:22
the track that needs no introduction - 10:05
the reminiscent tracks - 11:42
C418's innovation - 13:48
into the nether - 17:26
the end (of minecraft) - 20:02
alpha - 21:55

BACKGROUND VISUALS/WALLPAPER
Firewatch

MUSIC
C418 - Volume Beta
DR. KEYZ - Minecraft LoFi Remix (Outro Song)

MY GEAR

MY SPECS

[drdinod.diplodocus]

C418 didn't give the game a soundtrack, he gave it a soul.

[BaconPuncakesX]

as a minecraft veteran at this point, having been playing since 2012, i do miss the experiences i had in my later childhood with minecraft.

[craniot]

The Aria math is my favorite track from Minecraft. Feels like discovering something new, different, dreaming, trying to reach it, and has some sort of "lonely" feelings, like you're really the last person in the world

[HarrisonGray]

Fun fact about music in The End:
When you enter the End dimension, once you reach within a certain radius of the Ender Dragon existing, a different track actually plays called ‘boss.ogg’. This track continues to play until the dragon is defeated. Not until the dragon is killed do you hear the track ‘The End’, which will play in place of ‘boss’ when you’re anywhere in the End from there onwards. Unless you respawn the dragon, at which point ‘boss’ will play again when within proximity to the dragon. If you enter the End without going near the center of the main End island, ‘The End’ track will play, but will be slowly cut off with ‘boss’ once you approach the Ender Dragon.

I found your channel a few years ago from that very first video about Volume Alpha, and I’m glad you were able to make a sequel to it. Looking forward to maybe one about the 2018 Aquatic soundtrack ;)

[rekh]

I'm going to be honest. I feel like the first soundtrack mostly makes me feel "sad" and nostalgic whilst the volume beta, tho still making me feel nostalgic also fills me with hope and joy. It's almost like when I listen to it, I have flashbacks to when I was playing with my friends and building random different stuff. There are some true banger songs in there aswell that i feel are highly underrated. You continue to put a smile on my face meraki, thank you.

[artfunky]

I think that alpha is the most underrated song on the whole minecraft soundtrack. It manages to perfectly capture everything in the whole game in 10 minutes of music and in such a perfect way. It's a shame most people skip over it.

[lukehavener]

My favorite track from album Beta, titled “alpha, ” has always had a deep place in my heart. It takes the simple parts of Minecraft music and expands to broad orchestral sweeps of sound. I had always assumes that because of the tracks specific, orchestral nature, the developers had never used the song in the actual game. Up until recently I had played every part of Minecraft except for one thing: beating the whole game, in survival, with no cheats or anything. So imagine my surprise and delight to find that this is the exact track that plays during the credits of the game. Still gives me chills 😊.

[merakimerakimeraki]

here it is! hope you guys enjoy. :)
to answer the two biggest questions (based on the two biggest questions from the last one) the song during the intro is called "Intro" from Volume Beta, and the shaders I'm using are BSL.

missed you guys!

[dekuisagreatmaincharacter]

The creative mode songs are the ones that impacted me the most. Brings me back to when I was younger and would play with my sister on our Xbox.

[image]

I like that there are people who really appreciate creativity C418. I think he reinvented music. Clark, Aria Math, Living Mice, Subwoofer Lullaby, Dreiton, Taswell, Biome Fest, at the End of the Alpha - all this is a masterpiece.

[elidaw]

The quality of content on YouTube just keeps getting better and better; this video is no exception. A carefully crafted, meaningful and well-informed video with beautiful graphics and astonishing production value, all to uphold the wonderous perfection of C418's music.

Not only does the topic resonate with millions of people, but you have managed to so perfectly explain the unexplainable feeling we get from this game and it's music. It is almost a certainty to me that this video is going to do well. Thank you for pouring your time and dedication into these videos for us.

[It-Could-Be-Fun-Tho]

I absolutely love how most of the soundtrack in Minecraft is mostly synth, piano, and other noises, but then you get to Alpha which has all of the above AND orchestral music in it. It's as if you reached the end of this epic adventure, but it sounds like it's telling you to keep moving and come back again for more journeys, which are all completely different.

I really love how someone has made a video to show unlimited appreciation for C418's music, and that I get to see hundreds, maybe thousands more people agree!

This video is truly amazing, and I appreciate all your hard effort you've put into the making of these videos! 😊

[fredrix]

I am so glad this video gives the recognition to Dreiton and Taswell because I've always found those two the most nostalgic, emotional and beautiful ones in the entire game. I listen to them to fall asleep and they're the main reason C418's music is my favourite game music artist. Beautiful work

[KallTheSkeletonMan]

The soundtrack of minecraft never fails to amaze me.

[Simon-tlhz]

Aria Math gives me so good memories thank you for making this video

Also, I would love if you sometime did a third part on the discs. Even though you don't hear them as often as the other songs in the game, they're super good and it's very interesting to hear c418 make more "chiptuny" songs.

[PurpleStormProductions]

Dreiton and Aria Math are easily my favorite tracks, I think it's because of the perfect Pan drum melodies, its simultaneously melody and percussion and it feels the most like Minecraft to me than anything else, definitely the most nostalgic for me as well.

[clownythejoke]

16:42 Nobody has noticed the skeleton dissapearing

[KingLaZrButBad]

the creative songs are some of my favorite songs from any game and any time I listen to them I am reminded of building giant abstract structures, weirdly shaped houses, and game recreations with my little sister on one big superflat world we titled "our world"

The xbox it was on is gone now, and we lost the world, but I still remember building on it like it was yesterday and I will forever miss messing around on that world with my little sister

[thespacedingoking]

4:45 omg THANK YOU I have to agree Alpha is by far the BEST track in the game. A nostalgic, memorable collage of some of the best, most vibeful tracks in the game and turning it into something special. Something melancholic yet inspiration and so good.

[toydotgame]

I think I should point something out with The End, being my favourite track in Volume Beta; that _buildup, _ that builds for several minutes as the echoes of the Volume Alpha remixes play through, the synths, and the _noise._ Eventually, it builds so much that any tune is impossible to hear; you have to turn down the volume it's so loud. But it's not meaningless noise, I feel that it represents a culmination of Volume Alpha and the player's Minecraft journey – all in 15-20 seconds of synths on top of melodies on top of more synths on top of more noise.
And what happens after this section where the song practically screams at you? One bass note, as the noise disperses into the void. The subtle melodies and sounds that follow all have this reverb to them more than before, which I feel represents the player's one remaining journey – to the outer End islands: so far away, so distant, and at such an incomprehensible scale. The indiscernible noises heard at the End, unknowable, and extremely distant.
It portrays a scale that I can't justify critically, but it's there, and makes The End easily the most grandiose, impressive, and detailed piece in the whole album.