Music
- For sound heard through actions or items, see Sound effects.
Music in RuneScape is mostly in-game background music (music tracks) designed to enhance a player's gaming experience and fit with the environment the avatar is in. Music in RuneScape draws inspiration from progressive rock, with elements of classical and world music.
Players need to unlock most tracks during game-play by going to a particular place, completing a quest, or performing some action (such as reading a particular book). As of 30 October 2012, there are 906 music tracks available via music player. As RuneScape ages, many more music tracks may be distributed.
The 500th Track was Tournament! (now unlocked automatically) which was released on 20 November 2007. Unlocking 500 tracks will also unlock the Air Guitar emote. It is notable for being one of the few emotes with audio.
Currently, the player does not receive a message when he/she unlocks every music track (though one does appear every time an individual track is unlocked.)
The volume of the music can be controlled through the Audio Settings on the Options screen.
Unlocking all song tracks is a requirement for the untrimmed version of the Completionist cape.
Genres
Music in RuneScape is divided into many genres, with the genre depending on the location that they unlock and play. Once you go to a location, any music that you unlocked of that genre will play, not just the music that unlocks there. Most genres include:
Musicians
Musicians are NPCs found throughout RuneScape who play certain tracks with different instruments. Players can listen to them by right-clicking them. While listening to the musician, players increase the rate of their Life Points regeneration and energy restoration. As shown in the picture to the right, multiple players can listen to music at once and restore their energy.
Musicians play various instruments, including a violin, flute, drums, snake charming flute (pungi), a lyre and bagpipes. The music the musicians play is based on actual RuneScape tracks, as the guitarists play a variation of Harmony, the flutists play a variation of Al Kharid, and the fiddlers play a variation of Spirit.
Music Player
On 9 February 2010, a Music Playlist was added in an update. This feature allows players to choose a list of tracks that will be played when the Playlist feature is turned on.
The Music Player is the screen on the interface that lists all music tracks. The titles of unlocked tracks are shown in green, and those of locked tracks are displayed in red.
The Music Player also features a button at the top which, when activated (in green), continuously plays the same track as a loop. If not clicked, different tracks are played after the end of each.
The Music Playist can fit a total of twelve tracks. Fans of the game's music have pushed continuously for Jagex to allow space for more tracks, or the ability to build multiple playlists, but such updates have not yet been made.
The search option was released August 19, 2010. This is where you search for a song.
Music track list
Tutorial music
As of October 24 2012, all F2P players will have the following 57 tracks unlocked upon starting the game or during the events:
- The Adventurer
- The Art of Hocus-Pocus
- Artistry
- Bittersweet Bunny
- Black Zabeth
- Bounty Hunter Level 1
- Bounty Hunter Level 2
- Bounty Hunter Level 3
- Christmas Caverns
- Corporal Punishment
- The Dance of the Snow Queen
- Destiny
- Diango's Little Helpers
- Easter Jig
- An Easter United
- Evil Bob's Island
- Frogland
- Funny Bunnies
- Ghost of Christmas Presents
- Grimly Fiendish
- Ground Scape
- Halloween Party
- Hare-brained Machines
- Harmony
- Head to Head
- High Spirits
- Homescape
- In the Clink
- Itsy Bitsy...
- Jungle Bells
- Jungle Island XMAS
- Lament of the Snow Queen
- Land of Snow
- Lazy Wabbit
- The Mentor
- Newbie Melody
- Pheasant Peasant
- Pinball Wizard
- Poison Dreams
- The Quiz Master
- Scape Hunter
- Scape Main
- Scape Original
- Scape Santa
- Scape Scared
- Scape Summon
- Scape Theme
- School's Out
- Sea Shanty XMAS
- Seasonal Sports
- Silent Knight
- Smorgasbord
- Snack Attack
- Spring Song
- Time Out
- Tournament!
- Trick or Treat?
Notes
- Many tracks can be unlocked just standing very near the area where it is unlocked, so it is not necessary to have all requirements.
- Some music tracks can, for some reason, be unlocked without visiting the area or even getting close to it, such as Dragontooth Island (music track), Legion, Narnode's Theme is unlockable for free-to-play players even though they had never been members before.
- Born to Do This is used for the opening music track, except when a Holiday event is going on. Scape Scared for Hallowe'en, and Scape Santa is used for Christmas. Other Scapes may be used for new skills, such as Scape Summon for the release of Summoning, or Scape Hunter for the release of Hunter. Scape Theme(the previous log in screen theme) is now available in the track list."
- The track Zanik's Theme is heard during a cut-scene in Death to the Dorgeshuun, but is not unlocked until Land of the Goblins.
- Until July 4 2006, the default music track in the Barbarian Village was Dark, but it has been changed to "Barbarianism". The Dark track was moved to the Bone Yard (located east of the Graveyard of Shadows in level 17 Wilderness).
- Armadyl Alliance is unlocked before the gap to Armadyl's area in God Wars Dungeon, so 70 Ranged is not needed.
- While waiting for a clan war to begin causes a slower version of "Clan Wars" to play.
- If you are standing near a crop circle outside the Impetuous Impulses minigame, the track "Impetuous" will play but no name will appear on the top of the Music Player (although, the version of "Impetuous" played at the crop circles is slightly different - it is quieter with less of a bass tune).
- The music is composed as MIDI tracks using in-house software by Jagex.
- Some time before, all tracks used to play according to a very specific area the player was in. Nowadays, tracks play according to the general theme of the area, which means places that previously only had one track accompanying it may now play more tracks.
- Lament of Meiyerditch and Night of the Vampyre can both be unlocked on the east side of Meiyerditch and North of the meeting point without even starting Priest in Peril now, since an update that allowed players to enter Morytania without starting the quest.
Tracks that are considered difficult to unlock
- Victory is Mine - This requires one of the Champion's Challenge rounds, and requires an extremely rare challenge scroll.
- Any track from Grandmaster quests such as Recipe for Disaster, While Guthix Sleeps, Nomad's Requiem, The Void Stares Back or Ritual of the Mahjarrat.
- Any track that requires high skills, such as The Task at Hand (completed 350 tasks).
Renamed tracks
- On 4 June 2007, Jagex renamed Gnome to Goblin Village and Gnome Theme to Dwarf Theme.
- At a later date, Jagex also renamed Wolf Mountain to Wild Isle.
- The song "Final Destination" was called "Angels & Demons" until changed by Jagex. The song is still called "Angels & Demons" on the Game Guide.
Deleted tracks
- Scape Summon - The main tune during the Summoning Update on 15 January 2008 was deleted from music log with an Update on 5 February 2008, although it continued to play on the Summoning loading and login screen. It was a bug which Jagex reports on their site:
- "Audio > Subcategory:" Added By: mod_clark on 5 February 2008. "The ScapeSummon track has done a runna! We are aware of this and will hunt it down and secure it with big 'stop running away chains' - in the meantime it is an issue that we are aware of and there is no need to report it.'".
- See also: Update:Music system temporarily off - 9 February 2008.
- Scape Summon back on list with the Catapult Construction update on 13 February 2008.
- Spiritual has been deleted, because it sounds too much like Taverley Dreams.
Required skill levels
These are the minimal levels (or quest points) needed to unlock all music tracks.
*All levels marked with an asterisk are boostable. All other levels are NOT boostable.
Temporary boosts
Temporary skill boosts may be used to unlock some music tracks. See articles for corresponding quests or locations to see if temporary boosts can be used.
Real-world allusions
There are a number of music tracks that can be connected to the real world, both through the name and/or the music itself. Not all of these can be confirmed to be intentional though. These include (alphabetically):
- A New Menace - The two Star Wars movies 'A New Hope' and 'The Phantom Menace' combined.
- All's Fairy in Love and War - The saying 'All is fair in love and war'
- Aye Car Rum Ba - A Spanish expression of disbelief, "ay caramba!". Also a popular phrase commonly used by Bart Simpson.
- Beetle Juice - The 1988 movie with the same name, possibly also referring to the Blue Star Betelgeuse, which has the same pronunciation.
- Black Zabeth - The British rock band Black Sabbath
- Cage Against the Machine - The American rock band Rage Against the Machine
- The Cellar Dwellers - The band with the same name, or the 1988 movie 'Cellar Dweller'
- Cool for Ali Cats - The song 'Cool For Cats' by Squeeze. The use of 'Ali' is a reference to the fact the almost every one in Pollnivneach is called Ali, but also alludes to the idea of an 'Alley Cat'.
- Copris Lunaris - A type of Scarab beetle (Horned dung beetle)
- Corridors of Power - The book by C. P. Snow
- Dance of Death - The song by Iron Maiden with the same name
- Davy Jones's Locker - Pirate slang for the bottom of the sea (which is where the song is unlocked)
- Dead Can Dance - The Australian band with the same name
- Deadliest Catch (music track) - The TV show of the same name about Alaskan crab fisherman
- Dillo-gence is Key - The saying 'Diligence is the key'
- Dogs of War - Reference to the 1980 film of the same name, might also be a reference to a Pink Floyd song with the same name.
- Dream Theatre - British spelling of the band 'Dream Theater'
- Eruption - A song by the band 'Van Halen'
- Faithless - The band with the same name
- Fangs For the Memory - The song 'Thnks fr th Mmrs' by Fall Out Boy
- The Far Side - The one-panel comic created by Gary Larson
- Fe Fi Fo Fum - Part of the line the giant says during the fairytale about Jack and the Beanstalk
- Fear and Loathing - The book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
- Fight or Flight - The Fight or Flight hormone is Adrenalin.
- Find My Way - The song by P.O.D. with the same name
- Floating Free - Possible a reference to the Iron Maiden song 'Running Free'
- Flute Salad - The dessert, fruit salad
- Grimly Fiendish - The song by The Damned
- Ham and Seek - The game 'Hide and Seek'
- Have an Ice Day - A reference to the greeting 'Have a nice day'. It could also reference to the song (also called Have a Nice Day) by Bon Jovi.
- Hell's Bells - An old expression of anger, a song was also released with the same name, "Hells Bells" by AC/DC
- Jester Minute - The saying 'Just a minute'. Also the name of a long-running panel game on BBC Radio 4.
- Jungle Bells - The Christmas song 'Jingle Bells'. The song sounds like it too
- La Mort - A French word meaning 'the Death' (which is why it is unlocked at the Death Altar)
- Life's a Beach! - The identical saying in real life
- Little Cave of Horrors - The film and musical 'Little Shop of Horrors'
- Long Way Home - The 1997 movie 'The Long Way Home'
- Lore and Order - The television series 'Law and Order'
- Love Bites - A song by Def Leppard
- Maiasaura - A dinosaur that lived about 74 million years ago of the same name
- Major Miner - The antonyms 'major' and 'minor'
- Meddling Kids - Could be a reference to the popular endings of the TV show Scooby Doo.
- Neverland - The homeworld of Peter Pan, written by James M. Barrie
- Night of the Vampyre - The movie(s) 'Night of the Living Dead'
- Norse Code - The communication method Morse code. Actually spells out 'Runescape' in Morse code.
- Ogre the Top - The saying 'over the top', said when something is too complex.
- Out of the Deep - The song 'Out from the Deep' by Enigma
- On the Wing - Although commonly mistaken to be a reference to Owl City's song "On The Wing", if you are on the wing, it means you are flying.
- Overture - An instrumental composition, such as the famous William Tell Overture.
- Penguin Possible - The song sounds like a modified version of the Mission Impossible theme.
- Pinball Wizard - A reference to a highly skilled Pinball Player, a song was also released with the same name, "Pinball Wizard" by The Who. The song also sounds like the song played during the 'pinball' sequence on Sesame Street
- Pirates of Penance - The Gilbert and Sullivan musical 'Pirates of Penzance'
- Poles Apart - A song by Pink Floyd of the same name
- Rising Damp - The popular sitcom with the same name
- Roc and Roll - The expression 'Rock and Roll(!)'
- Roll the Bones - The song by Rush with the same name
- Romancing the Crone - The 1984 film 'Romancing the Stone'
- The Route of All Evil - The biblical expression '(love of money is) the root of all evil.'
- The Route of the Problem - The expression 'the root of the problem'
- Scarabaeoidea - A superfamily of beetles
- School's Out - The song by Alice Cooper with the same name
- Sigmund's Showdown - The song sounds similar to Team Rocket Headquarters theme from Pokémon
- Silent Knight - A popular Christian Christmas carol 'Silent Night'.
- Smorgasbord - From the Scandinavian word "Smörgåsbord", Swedish: Smörgås means sandwich and bord means table. which is an assortment of foods on a long table where guests can pick their own food. It is mostly served during Christmas.
- Slice of Silent Movie - During old silent movies, a hero would have to fight a villain while a female is tied to a railway. When this is unlocked, the player has to fight Sigmund in order to free Zanik, tied to train tracks.
- The Sound of Guthix - The Broadway musical 'The Sound of Music' or Doctor Who episode 'The Sound of Drums', where the intro sounds similar to the background drumming.
- Storm Brew - The saying 'A Storm Brewing'
- Tomb Raider - The famous video game and movie with the same name
- Too Many Cooks... - The saying 'Too many cooks spoil the broth'
- Trinity - The Christian doctrine of the Trinity
- Under the Sand - The 2000 movie 'Sous le sable', which is translated to 'Under the sand'
- Where Eagles Lair - 'Where Eagles Dare', the 1968 movie and song by Iron Maiden
Trivia
- In the music 'Norse Code' (playing while in Jatizso), the high pitch flute plays the Morse code letters for 'RuneScape'. With short notes being dits, and long notes being dahs: dit-dah-dit R, dit-dit-dah U, dah-dit N, dit E, dit-dit-dit S, dah-dit-dah-dit C, dit-dah A, dit-dah-dah-dit P, dit E.
- The following sounds may be heard on the FunOrb game Armies of Gielinor: Legion (Lobby), Principality (Misthalin Map), TzHaar! (Desert Map), Poles Apart (Snow Map) , Dead Quiet (Swamp Map) and Attack 1-6 (In Battle). Campaign mode also includes Brain Battle, Faithless, Fight or Flight, Kingdom, "Life's a Beach!" Soul Wars, Strength of Saradomin, The Other Side, The Shadow, The Sound of Guthix, The Terrible Tower, Zamorak Zoo
- Life's a Beach! can be heard on the Mos'Le Harmless arena on the FunOrb game, Arcanists.
- Occasionally The Horn of Chill, normally unlocked at Ghorrock during The Temple at Senntisten quest will play when encountering Evil Elder trees.
- When unlocking the 500th track, players get the message "You've unlocked 500 music tracks and can use a new emote!".
- "Beneath the house" is the only music piece without the proper name (house) capitalized.
See also
- List of recent music, for dates of release
- Free-to-play music, for non-member music
- Music Player, the in-game interface for controlling background music tracks
- Sound effects, sounds heard through different actions or items ingame
- Quest Music Rewards - This is a list which shows the amount of music unlocked during the quest.
es:Musica de runescape fi:Music
| Game-related | |
| List of music tracks |
List of free-to-play music • List of recent music • List of boss music • List of all music tracks • Unlisted music tracks |
| Musical instruments |
Bells • Church organ • Cowbells • Enchanted lyre • Holy Cithara • Organ • Penguin bongos • Slayer bell • Snake charm • Windchimes |
| Items with sound |
Bull roarer • Crystal chime • Summer storm ring • Summer sun ring |
| Holiday items with sound |
Chocatrice cape • Easter carrot • Rubber chicken • Snow globe • Yo-yo • Squirrel ears |
| Emotes with sound |
Air Guitar • Around the World in Eggty Days • Beckon • Idea • Stomp • Freeze and melt • Trick • Dramatic Point • Give Thanks • Lolcano • Seal of Approval • Taskmaster • Skillcape • ROFL • Storm • Snow • Head in the Sand • Disappear • Ghost |