Yasunori Mitsuda's Liner Notes for the Chrono Trigger OST


**LINER NOTES  -  AT THE BRINK OF TIME**


IN MY LIFE

I don't know whether it's a good or bad omen, but I write these notes 
while celebrating my 23rd birthday.  But when do you think I made up my
mind to compose music?  Even though I didn't have much contact with music
(save for a few piano lessons when I was young), something got a hold of
me, and I decided to go into the field.  I guess I wanted a reason to 
leave home as soon as possible.  But I wanted to study from the moment I
left, and I always thought there was nothing sweeter than to be able to 
eat my meals with music, so I talked to my parents about entering a new
school.  I can see it clearly even to this day  -  me, fearful and timid,
hearing my father's words  -  "Go to Tokyo!  This is your chance!"  I
don't think I'll ever forget it in my entire life.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that my life was changed from that
moment on.  My mere two years at the music school were hectic.  I never
realized that if this didn't work out, I couldn't just go home, for 
there'd be no place at a corporation for someone stupid like me.  I did 
not learn, however, how to compose at the school; instead, I was led to
think of music as a living organism.  At that time, such a thought always
proved staggering to me.

Thus I obtained my current job "composing" for the company called 
"Square".  Next time, however, I suppose I'll have to take the first step
and initiative in following my dream.

THERE ARE TWO SIDES TWO EVERYTHING

Do you know which is the front and which is the back of a 10-yen coin?
Either choice is the right answer!  Whichever side you chose as the front 
can also become the back.  Similarly, the human race has both good guys 
and bad guys.  But if you look a little more closely, you'll see good and 
bad in every individual.  Whichever side constitutes one's "front"
is up to personal circumstance...

Music too has "fronts" and "backs"; if the "Major" is made the front, the
"minor" becomes the back, and a composition has a front beat and a back 
beat.  In short, if you have an understanding of both sides, you strike a
good balance between them.  Conversely, if one side is lacking, the 
balance collapses.  I suppose that this's most vital to me, for it's what
weighs most in my mind.  I think I like grappling with the various factors
of fate and chance that determine success or failure; it proves useful to
me afterward, and I think it's intertwined with music.

WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

Whenever I hear the question "What is composition?", I am always stumped 
for an answer  -  I wonder if "the means for my own search" is the most
appropriate response?  It's strange that my music could end up reflecting
the conditions I was working in at the time, isn't it?  Of course, that
could say something about my psychological state of mind, but...(ha).  I 
wonder if this isn't one of the most overly harsh jobs in the music 
industry?  There's an extraordinarily high number of compositions, yet 
since the fans are in a broad age bracket, you have to have a knowledge of
so many different musical styles, and the considerations of the screens 
and scenarios override the music you'd like to use.  It's easy to fall
prey to anything from a problem to a slump.  These particular 
circumstances brought on a slump for me.  (I must've tried to start 
writing the music 4 times!)  I was stumped for a month and a half.  I 
would think, "I've got to do this", but when I would set about going to 
work, nothing would come to me, and I'd lose my will to work.  Mired and 
immobilized in my unease and dismay, I was brought to a standstill and 
felt that I'd never be able to get things done.  I am incapacle of "Self-
Control".  What opened my eyes at that time and became the most important
key to escaping my slump were the many opportunities I had to draw "Power"
from speaking with others who had different ideas than I did and to see
things from new perspectives.  (Of course, that's not the only way to pull
yourself out of a slump.)  I strongly felt that my other obligations 
factored very little into my problems with this job.  The reason for my
slump boiled down to one issue.

With each composition I write, I feel I can learn a little more about 
myself.  It's interesting!  And so, I don't think I'll ever be able to 
stop composing, and I think that it's a miraculous thing that I can live
my life through doing so.  The age in which I was born.  The environment
in which I grew up.  The people with whom I've come in contact whom I wish
to thank from the depths of my heart.  

And, in closing, to all those who supported me in this CD set's release  -
Uematsu-san, Sakaguchi-san, all the numerous staff members who gave me 
strength, and all those who bought this album  -  I would like to say one
word  -  "thanks".

--1/21/95, from the Brink of Time, Yasunori Mitsuda 
 
Chrono Trigger, the CT OSV, and all assorted official paraphernalia are
property of Squaresoft and Yasunori Mitsuda; this document isn't 
affiliated with either.  Translation by RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com; 
please don't repost this document without permission.