LIES OF P - King of Puppets & Romeo on Piano
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
- Lies of P (Original Game Soundtrack)
Songs: Stage of Grief, King of Puppets (Phase Change), Shattered Memories
Arrangement: Moonlapse
00:00: King of Puppets
02:14: Phase Change
02:48: Romeo!
Hi everyone!
The ergo is whispering... this arrangement is my first one that is not from a From Software game. I will still be covering mostly FromSoft game music, but I had to make an exception for this one since it's so incredible. Lies of P was truly a breathtaking experience for me, and honestly I thought that they matched FromSoft in quality and design. I'd even go as far as to say NeoWiz exceeded them in a couple of ways. I have played a ton of soulslike games made by other companies as it's one of my favorite genres, and I really enjoyed and still love a bunch of them (The Surge, Mortal Shell, Nioh, etc). However, this one was certainly the best one for me - playing through Lies of P reminded me of how I felt when I first played Dark Souls the day it came out back in 2011. It was extremely challenging which I crave, and it took me nearly 2 months to complete my playthrough. It was so engaging and intense the whole way through - some of the bosses took me over a week of repeated attempts each evening. If you haven't played this yet, enjoy dying a lot like me, and love FromSoftware's games, I highly recommend you give it a try.
The music in Lies of P also really struck me. Of course, the beautiful records in the hotel are amazing and get most of the credit (like Feel, Quixotic, Memory of Beach), but I also thought the boss music was really well done and very memorable (and not getting enough credit tbh). I will go more into this in the music theory breakdown, but I really appreciated how I could hear some aspects of Dark Souls/dark fantasy style harmony, but it was mixed with a more modern film score approach as well as a few nods to the Belle Epoque era that the game is based in. I will keep this as spoiler free as possible because the game is pretty new, but this 2-phase battle was my favorite fight from the game and the one in which the music really enhanced the battle. I also had to do an unbelievable amount of attempts to win here maybe 30-40, so this song was drilled into my head over and over again. The soft, melancholic first phase which spirals into the bestial and energetic second phase is a tried-and-true method that absolutely did its job here. (We saw this approach in Sister Friede in Dark Souls 3 too, and Fire Giant from Elden Ring, to name a few). Lore-wise it's also a very heavy moment.
I hope you enjoy this arrangement! If you're sad it's not a From Software song as usual, don't worry, I've got more content coming soon. Thank you so much for watching. And if you're interested, I'll be putting the detailed music theory breakdown for this song in the comment section below.
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Theory Breakdown
We've seen through repeated analysis on my channel that a good chunk of the most memorable music associated with Dark Souls trilogy and Elden Ring have the following harmonic qualities:
1. Based in a minor key signature
2. Utilizes tried and true functional harmony chord progressions like i iv V i
3. Spices it up with dissonant neighbor tones like the b9 and b5, often basing entire chords off of these tones (like Using Dbmaj7 or Gbdim in the key of C minor)
4. Incorporates many diminished chords, often as substitutes for dominant chords (Abdim instead of G7) or as common-tone diminished (Cm - Cdim - Cm)
5. Uses inversions to obscure what might normally be an 'obvious' chord progression or to create ambiguous harmony.
6. Dips into the harmonic minor mode frequently, using the #7 in a minor key over any chord, not just over the V chord like in a lot of classical music
The Lies of P soundtrack borrows a considerable amount of this type of musical language, which of course gravitated me towards it. However, it also adds some innovation on top of it, which leads to it having a distinct sound and not just copy-paste Souls music. One of the main things that it adds to this formula is a lot of chromatic mediant chord changes, which is something I have been experimenting with in my own compositions.
Remember, a chromatic mediant movement just means moving FROM a minor or major chord, TO a minor or major chord that is either a minor 3rd or major 3rd away. People have been using these for a long time, from classical music (see Holst's Neptune) to many modern film scores (John Williams, Howard Shore, etc). They often have a magical, otherworldly, or thoughtful quality to them, and tend to feel bold and surprising at times. They are one of the very best ways to get 'out of the key' when it comes to writing music and escape the diatonic box that some composers find themselves in. If you aren't familiar with them I highly recommend watching bunch of TH-cam videos on them, there are a lot of good resources out there. I like the videos from Rick Beato, MusicTheoryForGuitar, David Bennett Piano, and Ryan Leach on this topic.
Let's take a look at a few sequences from the track. At the very beginning 0:03 we get this one:
Cminmaj7 Abmin/B Cmin Ddim
First of all, starting off with a mysterious minor major seventh chord is a bold and effective way to set the mood of the song. It establishes a C minor key AND brings in harmonic minor, immediately establishing a somber, dissonant, and mournful tone.
Already in the first 4 chords here, we have our first chromatic mediant: Cminmaj7 to Abmin/B. While this is also diatonic to harmonic minor, it still qualifies as a chromatic mediant change since it's moving down by the distance of a major third to a minor chord. In my opinion, the fact that the second chord is in first inversion does not alter its status as a chromatic mediant.
We also have the very common dark chord of Ddim, which is a form of the V chord in C minor. This Ddim chord is best thought of as a rootless G7b9. This is a more traditional functional harmony move that's used all over Souls music and classical music. Using the iio like this is probably the second most straightforward way of using diminished chords, right after the leading tone diminished viio (which would be Bdim in C minor). The o here denotes 'fully diminished' in Roman Numeral notation.
at 0:25 there is a really awesome movement:
Dbm/Ab Cm
This is basically a minor chord sliding down a half step to another minor chord. It's a form of chord planing - the inversion makes it slightly more complicated and interesting though. In 'true' planing every single note of the chord and its voicing all move in parallel. I haven't seen this move in any of the From Software music I've analyzed. I've seen this a lot more in death metal and black metal (early Whitechapel, anyone?). That's probably because moves like this are really easy to play on guitar. This chord really caught my attention and sounds dramatic within the previously established harmonic minor context, which does not contain a b9 like this chord does. And once again, the inversion just makes it a little more spicy and obscures that crystal clear planing effect which is more captivating in my opinion.
At 0:54 the track changes into a 3/4 waltz, and we get this progression:
Cm G/B Gm/Bb Fadd9/A
The first thing to note here is how many inversions are used. It has that chromatic descending basssline that we've seen many times now, and the inversions are partially chosen in order to support this bassline's intended downward movement.
It's also got that bright major IV in there, which is seldom seen in the From Software tracks I usually look into. This is one of the many ways that the Lies of P soundtrack differentiates itself and creates something unique and special. I've never seen Yuka Kitamura use the major IV - correct me if I'm wrong! This can be looked at as a i V v IV progression - to me that's a pretty unusual one! More like something a progressive rock band like Porcupine Tree might use. Minor v is not seen all the time in dark fantasy music, and it sounds awesome - especially inverted like this! The waltz flow reminds me of the Belle Epoque era, like a grand dance in a huge ballroom. The way this section brightens up the track but only a little bit (it's still pretty melancholy) really caught my ear when I first heard it. The major IV in a minor key can sound triumphant but serious like in some superhero soundtracks (see 8-bit Music Theory's video on Spider-Man) - yet, it can also sound extremely sad and poignant like in Gary Vee's 'Mad World' where Amaj is frequently used in the key of E minor.
Romeo's theme starts out with a bang - I love the fast rhythm and strong pace here. Probably the best moment of the soundtrack for me, when combined with the absolute chaos and challenge of the gameplay. Like, this fight DESTROYED me and had my heart rate skyrocketing every time. In the intro of phase 2, we hear a pedal tone-style section in G minor. This means G is our base note pretty much the entire time. Chromatic notes descend wildly, creating a lot of dissonance and tension. There's also some blues scale stuff going on in the horns! But the most amazing part for me is when - you guessed it - we get a chromatic mediant move of the entire theme from Gm to Bbm at 03:17. The entire melody moves up a long with it, so this could also be looked as as a type of chord planing. This minor third upward leap feels like such a dramatic rise in the action and I will probably be porting this concept into my next piece.
More good stuff at 03:53.
F Abm Am Am/C
Fm Abm Cm Cm/Eb
I'm kind of freaked out by how awesome this is. First of all, starting this new phrase on a major chord at all is mind-blowing because we've mostly been in a minor key setup so far. We have a chromatic mediant movement from F to Abm - totally unexpected as we've just dropped F's major 3rd A to its minor 3rd Ab. Then we repeat the minor chord planing thing, but this time UPWARDS, sliding the Abm to an Am. And to top it off we get a little inversion, Am/C. So in that one little sequence we had chromatic mediant, minor chord planing, and an inversion. You can see why this song stood out to me, as its combining a lot of my favorite techniques. When it comes around the second time, instead of the minor chord planing, we get ANOTHER mediant move from Abm to Cm. They really are giving me exactly what I want. So we can basically just go from one chromatic mediant to another over and over and it's going to sound good as long as it's done confidently and with good voice leading? Throw keys out the window - count me in.
And finally we have the best part at 04:21. The King of Puppets theme from the first phase is brought back but in a lighting fast and brutal way. And in the same key, C minor! When this happened during the fight the first time I just had to stop attacking so I could listen to the song in all it's grandeur. The earlier melody is recognizable, but it's warped and they added a whole bunch of chromatic mediants and other chords to it. After each exploration chord, we return to a familiar homebase of Cm, so that it doesn't become too crazy and we stay somewhat grounded. Let's take a look. It makes me very happy.
Cm Abm/B
Cm Fm
Cm Baug
Cm Fm G7
Pretty cool, we got the iv minor here, a spicy Baug chord (pretty similar to the Abm/B though). And a classic i iv V setup. But where does it go? Is it a V-i like our ears want to hear? No - it's a chromatic mediant modulation from G7 to Em at 04:43. Before, in the phase change we saw E7 move to Gm, and now we have G7 moving to Em. Is this a coincidence or some genius composing? Either way, get ready for some gorgeous and creative chord movements:
Em Fsus2
Em Gm
Em Fm9b5
Em Gm
Each Em to Gm is a wonderful and dark chromatic mediant move - one of the most regularly chosen (moving from a minor chord to a minor chord a minor 3rd away). I think it's the most sinister of all the chromatic mediant movements you could put together.
The Em to Fm or Fsus2 seems to be another example of the chord planing, moving between two minor chords that are right next to each other. Both the mediants and the planing are just such effective ways to get out of key.
I have more to say but I think I'll cap it there for now, I know my writeups are pretty lengthy as it is. If you want to come chat with me and other likeminded musicians and game music fans, ask me further questions, or make requests, feel free to join my Discord server which is linked at the top of the description! As always, thank you so much for listening/watching/reading, and I have a lot more music coming soon.
This is genuinely some of the best musical analysis I’ve ever seen. Amazing work!!!
Bro, i like the fact you did the whole theme for Romeo including his phase change, i can hear the chants in my head during the stage of grief too. THIS is sick.
@@JamesLem Thank you so much James. The phase change is a very important part of the song!!! I appreciate you checking it out 💜
Yes! Stage of grief and Shattered memories! Thank you! Two of my favs from Lies of P.
Me too! I’m glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching 💜
I know i told myself I wouldn't be spoiled with music until I played it, but wow your cover is just gorgeousssss. Can't wait to go through the theory explanation, love how lengthy this one is!
Thank you Dyroth!! 💜 And yeah for this one even the 10k character limit in the comments felt limiting. There is so much going on.
@@moonlapsepiano AHAAHA oh god, 10k is WILD
More reading theory for me 🤤🤤
I didn't play the game but I have heard / read lots of amazing review about it.
This OST sounds very emotional and it's definitely something I will hear again and again. Wonderful performance yooooooo
thank you!! 💜 I highly recommend giving a play sometime
easily one of the best boss fights in the game, and the best boss soundtrack for lies of p and you captured all of its emotion and importance so perfectly
do you have any plans on making sheets for this one?
@@thehandicapp4638 i agree, it was my favorite fight along with Laxasia. Thank you so much! 💜
I do have plans to make sheets but not quite yet, still working on lots of Elden Ring stuff this summer since SotE came out. I'll let you know
Another flawless cover 💯 my favorite piece from this game. Absolutely killed it!
I never played the game but always cool to see when you upload, great job!^^
thanks Aqare!! I feel the same about your uploads as well they’re all incredible 💜
The second phase music by piano is so cool!
Thanks! I love Romeo's theme.
Wow very beautiful a game play my friend. Great work and thanks for sharing. All the best. 👌👌🤝
Gasp yes! This is my favorite boss fight in the entire game and you did this so much justice ❤Gosh the piano really captures the somber tone of the first phase perfectly...it's absolutely beautiful and then the 2nd phase sounds tense and just plain awesome, you did a wonderful job with this!
Thank you so much! I appreciate you listening 💜 My favorite boss also
This is gorgeous. Thank you so much for making and sharing it.
Thank you for watching and for your comment! 💜
Yessir!! Glad to finally hear the completed arrangement and it's fantastic! I still can't get over how Pokémon-esque phase two of this piece is behind all of the wild percussion, haha.
I was going through your analysis of the piece. which is extremely thorough! But I couldn't help but notice in the opening statement that you make a very good point. The music from Dark Souls or Elden Ring that most people often remember are those using very simple harmonies, which is of course being the i - iv - V - i progression. Although sometimes the composers for these games can substitute different harmonies in for one of these chords-for example, instead of i - iv - V - i, seeing something like i - viio7/V - V - i or something to that effect-the more simple the music, the better or at least more memorable it seems to be.
There are of course exceptions, but I do believe this holds true for most of the music!
Thank you Ludwig! And yeah Phase 2 definitely sounds pretty Pokemon-like. It’s those bluesy lines.
I agree that the simple functional harmony chord progressions often lead to the most memorable lines. They’re highly effective. I wouldn’t say they’re better, but just more memorable and more digestable
@@moonlapsepiano I agree!
Very beautiful play
This is fantastic.
thank you flamelurk!! 💜
I love this soo much hes my favorite boss! Also do you have a version of this in letter notes?
thank you so much! 💜 my favorite boss too.
I don't have sheets for this yet but will try to get around to making them in the next few weeks!
@@moonlapsepiano okay thankyou!
Such an great cover friend. I don’t understand what you really means with chromatic mediants? It is like Cm-Ebm? With three semitones? Or i am wrong? Anyway. I still read your theory breakdown and have to finish it. It is always so complex but its worth to read it. 😄
Thanks Alex!!
yeah Cm to Ebm is one of the possible mediants. From your starting chord Cm:
Move 3 OR 4 semitones to a major or minor chord (in either direction up or down). Here are all of the chromatic mediants for Cm:
Moving up
Cm Ebm
Cm Eb
Cm Em
Cm E
Moving Down
Cm Am
Cm A
Cm Abm
Cm Ab
Ah yeah that is what i through it would be. Thanks.👍 This chords are common in film music. Best example „Newt Says Goodbye to Tina“ or A close Friend“ by James Newton Howard 😁😊
Yeah they're all over film music. My favorite chord concept at the moment since there are so many options, especially if you include the inversions like Cm to Ebm/Bb@@alexgerlach5630
Great! Favorite song and boss battle in the game. Do you have the sheet music available?
@@stefangavula thank you!! 💜 I haven't made sheets yet but I plan to at some point soon-ish. I'll let you know
@@moonlapsepiano awesome! Looking forward to it
😶🌫💖