May 30, 2012

My First Album: Gaming Fantasy

I’ve been wanting to make an album like this for so many years now, and I’m delighted that it’s finally finished! I am so passionate about this type of music, mostly because I grew up spending more time playing video games than most other things (haha), but also because I really feel like this genre of music is still vastly under appreciated for how incredible it is.  One thing that  I hope for my album is that it will help this genre gain a greater appreciation from a larger audience. I’ve always told people that they don’t need to play video games, or even like gaming, in order to appreciate this music, and they’re usually very skeptical until they actually listen to it for themselves.

There were definitely times where I doubted this album would ever get finished because of how difficult it was working on this alone.  Everything on the entire album was arranged, recorded, orchestrated, and edited by me, which I’m really proud of because it was often times quite a struggle for me that I had to continuously overcome lol.  I’ve only recently started learning about all the specifics of recording, orchestration, equipment, and how to work the software necessary to create the full orchestral backtracks, and I have really enjoyed the learning process and hope to continue improving my skills in the future.

I want to sincerely thank my family, friends and fans for giving me the support necessary to pursue my passion, and for helping to encourage me when I was doubting myself.  I’m also so thankful to those people out there who post on forums to help others get through the technological barriers that come along with this type of a project because I would have truly been lost without some of  their advice!  I really hope that my album will prove to be an enjoyable listening experience for you, and I thank you again so much for your support!

**Digital album is available in my Store, as well as iTunes, Amazon,
Google Play and Zune.  Physical copy is available from CDBaby.**

 

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Hi, I'm Taylor,
your music career guide!

I’ve been a violinist for over 25 years and for over the past 10 years I’ve been building my skills and career as an independent musician. Within that time I’ve grown an online audience of over 3 million people, released 11 full-length albums (5 of which charted on the Billboard Charts) and traveled the world touring my own live show, all without ever signing with a record label. One of my greatest passions is helping other musicians learn and grow from my own knowledge and experiences through my Musician of All Trades courses.

  1. TH says:

    Found your youtube video for Ezio’s Family (better than the original, I say, holy COW) linked on an Assassin’s Creed fansite. Then I found your Xmas album, so I bought both Gaming Fantasy and the Enchanted Christmas. I look forward to hearing more of your work.

  2. Jeanne says:

    Hi my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important infos.
    I would like to look more posts like this .

  3. Marissa says:

    I could not refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!

  4. If some one needs expert view regarding running a blog afterward i suggest
    him/her to go to see this website, Keep up the fastidious work.

  5. Miri says:

    I received your album from Amazon from my boyfriend as a birthday present after admiring it since I saw it.

    It’s even better than I’d hoped, and I’m only on the third track! THERE IS SO MUCH EMOTION HERE. I nearly cried while listening to Brothers~

    Oh, and one of my friends is madly jealous, becaue you put two of his favorite Chrono Cross pieces on the album~

    So. Thanks for such a wonderful album, it’s gorrrgeoussss~~~ Hopefully we get another similar one soon! :3

  6. Emil K says:

    Insant purchase after listening to the two first samples.

    It’s absolutely amazing!

    The only complain I have is that I only get them in 192kbps when I bought it here on the website ):

    Would have been amazing with FLAC (:

    Thank you!

  7. You’re so awesome! I do not think I have read anything like that before. So nice to discover somebody with unique thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!

  8. Ben says:

    Hey Taylor, I bought the album a few weeks back, and it got me through my part of a 200+ page academic review I had to write and edit, and it’s now getting me through my Ph.D. thesis writing. (I’m a chemist–we had a quick correspondence through your customer support about a month ago.) Anyway, I wanted to just say that I’m still really enjoying the music a lot, and that I think your presentation of both yourself and the songs is really great and inspiring. I’m getting ready to graduate, and I have to figure out what the heck I want to do with myself in the next few months, eek! I stumbled across your music on a random jaunt across the internet, and it was a breath of fresh air to see the example you’ve set by pursuing your dreams. It was a great wake-up call for me, and it’s gotta be the best 10 bucks I’ve spent this year. By supporting your work, I think I gave myself license to charge headfirst into the next stage of my career. (Sorry if I’m awkwardly geeking out at you too much :D!) I just want to say thanks again from a Hoosier fan. I hope you get the chance to do a show somewhere a little closer to the midwest soon, as I’d love to catch a performance. Have you been in touch with gaming clubs at colleges and universities at all? Beyond conventions, that seems like a good potential mode for gaining exposure, and those clubs usually have a budget for events such as that:) Just a thought. Best Regards, Ben

  9. Mireya says:

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
    You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw
    away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?

    • Taylor says:

      Thanks…I think…lol! I plan on writing more articles, but I do have to prioritize what will give me/my fans the most benefit. Since my audience is mostly from YouTube I use that as my main medium of communication, but when I gain more followers for the website I will certainly post more often!

  10. You are so good at music and that makes me cry! Guess what, l love Assassin’s creed and l was so happy what had you played Assassin’s creed 2 Ezio family and l’m going to buy one of your songs!

  11. mendey says:

    Hi taylor my name is mendey you sound and look sweet are you jewish? Mendey13@gmail.com

  12. Good information. Lucky me I ran across your blog by chance (stumbleupon).

    I’ve book-marked it for later!

  13. Sethrhi2 says:

    Thanks for sharing your transcriptions with all other violinists out there! You play amazingly well and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future!! Sethrhi2

  14. I’m not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this info for my mission.

  15. Gary says:

    Thank You for a Great Cd…

  16. pepak says:

    Listening to the album for the first time – the first shipment got lost, but CD Baby sent a replacement which arrived today. And I must say, I am impressed – you play beautifully, and the arrangements are excellent – even tracks which mean little to nothing to me on their original albums (e.g. Metal Gear or the Final Fantasy tracks) are great on this CD!

    For my cataloguing needs: I assume the CD was produced by you personally. What would you consider the label and catalogue number? TaylorDavidViolin.com and the UPC code? (Need to think for the future, when you have ten CDs released :-)).

    I guess I’ll need to put you in my RSS reader, in order to be kept informed about any future CDs. Keep up the good work!

  17. Sanjay says:

    You play beautifully, it feels ephemeral. Would love to hear something that came out from your heart, a product of your feelings. I am sure that piece will remain in everyone’s mind forever.

  18. Murder hawk says:

    Thank you so much for doing this album!! I think I’m not out of line in suggesting that you make something similar in the future. It was because of this album that I have decided to diversify my video game tastes. I originally bought this album for the Zelda Medly but I love Brotherhood and the Metal Gear Saga songs.

    Thank you again for not giving up, I think your efforts have been well worth it.

  19. Arcibaldo89 says:

    Ho appena acquistato l’album e non vedo l’ora che mi arrivi a casa, la tua musica è stupenda 🙂

  20. Chii says:

    One year I follow you on Youtube, and I love your CD “Fantasy Gaming”. The way you play always impresses me when I played the violin for almost 5 years. ^ ^ Very good luck, I hope another CD soon! 🙂 (I’m sorry, being French, my English is rather poor.: X)

  21. Mudderfubber says:

    Inspiring! The camera loves you… So when is the video companion to your CD going to come out. Lol. Really enjoyed your playing on YouTube keep up the great work. Best wishes!

    • Taylor says:

      Oh gosh that would be something…not sure what but something haha 🙂 Thanks for the nice comment!

      • Mudderfubber says:

        Your Welcome… I was searching youtube for “Now we are free” vids… thats when I discovered your youtubes…So just more of the same videos or perhaps a montage of you playing with gameing clips may work… or what if you super-imposed you playing into a game clip? lol Anyways have enjoyed your CD… again, keep up the great work Cheers!

  22. Catherine B says:

    Just found your album accidentally through youtube. It’s wonderful! Congratulations on it 😀 I love video games as well as playing violin (though nowhere near as good as you play). I really want to practise enough to be able to play pieces like this well. Thanks for re-igniting a passion for violin playing! 😀

  23. Mo says:

    I found your music just today, though the CD Baby Newsletter. I enjoyed the samples and I may buy the album. All the best to you!

  24. Katharyn Hildebrand says:

    I’m a music major in college, I play flute, I play video games more than anything else, and I love covering video game music, movie soundtracks, all that stuff. But I have a hard time practicing to actually be GOOD enough to play it all.

    You inspire me. I hear how pure your tone is, and how you’re always in tune, and how expressive you are, and it makes me want to get better. Thank you for being so amazing.

  25. Michael27 says:

    Simply divine! Speechless. God bless.

  26. Dylan C. says:

    Awesome album! I will purchase it.

  27. Thomas says:

    Awesome Tay!!!!!!!! Could you put one winged angel in the store plz it’s my favorite song ever it sounded amazing plz ; D
    Awesome work

  28. Tony says:

    Bought it. Love it. Expecting more in the future. 🙂

  29. pepak says:

    Hi! Is it still true that “Physical copy will be available later in June from CDBaby”? I am rather looking forward to that…

    • pepak says:

      Guess my question has been answered by the change to “Physical copy is available from CDBaby.” I placed the order and will hope that the CD arrives quickly – first to CDBaby, then to me. Looking forward to hearing it!

  30. gordie141 says:

    Beautiful album Taylor. I started watching your video’s after stumbling upon you on YouTube when searching for skyrim and instantly fell for your music.
    Congratulations on the album and good luck.

  31. Lucas says:

    How can I acquire your album, An autographed One? Hehe And will you marry me?

  32. Dan Bevis says:

    Congrats on the album, Taylor – I just brought a bunch of tracks off of it!

    Thank you for dedicating your time to do this for your fans – I don’t know if you’ve ever listened to her work on YouTube, but Katethegreat19 has also done a lot of gaming covers [composed and arranged with various instruments by herself].
    She released her first original tracks album in the last year, I hope that you get the chance to do the same with your music one day soon. 🙂

    ~ Dan

  33. jbay says:

    Congratulations on the album! It’s so relaxing to listen to. Also, playing along to your music really helps me practice the violin. =)

  34. Joseph says:

    Your music on this album is gorgeous and inspiring, aflame with heart and soul! Thank you!

  35. Leana25 says:

    I am so glad that you released this album. Not only do I love the fact that its all about gaming music but also the violin, which I have come to love. This is definitely an inspiration for all us string instrument players.

  36. Donte' says:

    Your music is beautiful, never stop following your purpose. Congratulations on your voyage into a new world, I’ll be listening wherever you are. I wish you the best of luck Ms. Davis. Thank You for your gift

  37. TeDai says:

    Got the album as soon as i saw it xD Great stuff.

  38. Bliss says:

    Awesome news and congratulations. The second I have a few quid spare it’ll be the first thing I buy.

  39. Chrissy says:

    Hey Taylor, congratulations on the release of your album! I think you’re the best gaming music violinist out there and I can’t wait to hear more of your compositions! Keep up the hard work!

  40. Schönenberger says:

    C’est cool! et vous avez raison de dire qu’il ne suffi pas de jouer à des jeux vidéo pour aimais les musiques des final fantasy. 😉

  41. HollowRiku says:

    Congratulations Taylor!! Those previews sound amazing, I’ll get your album as soon as I can! *-*

    And this website looks beautiful, I love it!!

  42. Jessica Kohlgraf says:

    Hey I’ve been following you since I happened to come across your page while looking for songs on the violin,and i tell you,you are the best!I’m so glad you got this far and I’m hoping i can be something like you!

  43. Jason B says:

    I have been hoping for this but never thought it would happen because of licensing costs. Congrats, I will be purchasing.

  44. David O'Brien says:

    I know an artist is their own worst critic, and I also know how easily one can get discouraged. I’m glad you worked past the self-doubt and continue to share your musical passion with all of us. There are few who play with as much soulful feeling as you do and the violin is the perfect instrument to convey everything from the highest joy to the deepest despair, depending on what the music is meant to evoke. Any time you feel discouraged, just remember that your fans are legion and ever supportive!

  45. Jason says:

    Taylor,

    Many warm and hearty thanks from an appreciative admirer whose formative childhood years were shaped in part by the stories, characters, and, of course, lovely music of some of video game’s greatest RPGs, including Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series (long live numbers IV, VI, VII, and IX, especially!).

    Your renditions of many of these songs are magnificent, and they’re particularly heartwarming to those of us who have a habit of becoming lost in the mists of nostalgia.

    I’ll be very happy to purchase your first album and even happier to listen to its music.

    Best,

    Jason

  46. JOSE says:

    eres grande te deseo lo para tu carrera sigue esforzándote que así se consiguen los sueños saludos!!!

  47. Dan says:

    You should play some lotro tunes. You should play lotro also 😀

  48. Slider Blackrose says:

    Taylor, I’m a follower on FB, and have been since the Skyrim/Morrowind theme. You do a wonderful job on that violin, and inspired me to get back to the cello after 1 years. Thanks for the music!

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