You may be unto something with the ascending violin line being Peach. After 64, the castle theme has pretty much turned into "Peach's Theme" that commonly plays whenever she is mentioned or appears on a cutscene; and the only line that you can hear in these little peach melodies is the ascending one, meaning that without Bowser's interference, the ascending line is the only one that would play at the castle
Was thinking the same thing. I remember for example the cover of that theme in Mario and Luigi Dream Team, the first of only two Mario and Luigi games I played (the other's being Paper Jam that I couldn't complete the final bosses because they'd always kick my ass whatever I do so I left it) and my ultimate favorite for now, and effectively, the Peach's castle theme is played without the descending scale. I thought it was done like that because is intrincate to play that three-noted harmony with your bare right hand (so many players, including myself, simplifies the chords), but I see now why, besides, the descending harmony would make that particular arrangement dissonant. That's also why, when the final cutscene arrives and Peach returns safe, the chords are now simpler chords.
What about in Mario Odyssey when you go into Peach's castle? The descending line is there, and that track only plays after you beat Bowser (in normal play).
@@tweer64 I checked it after write my comment and its true, but the low notes are lower in the mix, still audible. There are also extra instruments that makes it sound happier
Wow, I never noticed the similarity between Slider and Bob-Omb Battlefield up until today, it somehow makes the songs feel more connected to each other.
Exploring the complexity of the Peach's Castle theme was really cool, it explains why gamers have such wildly different reactions to whether they find it charming or vaguely ominous.
I will absolutely never be unfazed by how much more thought went into these tracks than I initially thought or already knew, also nice to see more Koji Kondo appreciation
@@BigBoris i still remember my first time making it to day 3, when the dark Lord Zalgo revealed to Garfield his most timeless infinite nightmares so Garfield lobs a plate of ground veal in his face. Made it so much better when at the end of the level he's still got the plate stuck to his face when he rewards you with your baked ziti. They really knew how to write an engaging story for unreleased Atari demo discs back then, I tell ya
Really handy insights here, as a new composer it really helps to have someone break down concepts like how to pick chords that subvert expectations without unraveling the song.
Only in the American release does the red coin jingle starts one step higher on each subsequent coin. While not necessarily an oversight, the change ruins the effect of replicating that part of the Bob-omb Battlefield theme (where it’s repeated as is three times) by collecting several coins in succession.
8:18 I gotta say, I really felt that long jump with the music. I find it how interesting how simple logic can be applied to music to make it so compelling of certain emotions or actions.
As someone who mainly listens to nostalgic gaming music from the 90s/00s, I love when these videos drop. Amazing work, and I look forward to the next analysis!
Figured I'd mention it as a Jewish viewer. A lot of our traditional music (at least in Ashkenazi culture, though it seems to carry to most of them) often does what is dubbed so eloquently "the happy minor thing". This is to say, we don't hold the same cultural association of "minor = sad", so often times our music will lean on those sounds because to us, they don't hold that same association. I don't know if this is true as a matter of fact, but I have *heard* that during the post WW2 period, a lot of our music was brought to Japan and apparently was a bit of a hit there, so I wouldn't be surprised if in some roundabout way, that had a bit of an impact on things. I know it has been commented on by people who study music and play a lot of video game music (as reference in an Adam Neely video that I can't recall off the top of my head).
I'm pretty sure Japan protected the Jews in WW2, not even allowing the expulsion of Jews from the Japanese Empire, they also planned to have some new made Jewish territory inside their conquered lands so the Jews could help modernizing the lands, tho this plan was supposedly not known to Germany, so it was a secret plan
It's always fun coming back to channel and watching these videos. I took a music theory class this winter, and I'm glad I understand what you're talking about better
crazy amazing video!! the more i learn about music the more i fall in love. so much storytelling and character told by just using the right notes, chords, even time signatures! loved the analysis! super inspiring and insightful! :)
hands down my new favorite channel, the way you visualize the music is so helpful and makes what can be intricate so much on paper so much easier to follow. I would love to see you make a vid on aquatic ambience down the line!!
I'm very impressed by the presentation here, the way you displayed the chords/sheet and piano made it super easy to follow and marking them with anvils for the tonic and Bowser's face as well as styling them after each game was downright charming attention to detail! I really liked your interpretation of the music as resembling aspects of the game such as the jump in the melody corresponding all the jumping throughout the game and how the melody lines reflect the characters! What a formidable, fascinating and cozy video!
Being musically inept (idek Wtf a chord is) I never have any idea what you're talking about, but I love watching your videos and listening to all the amazing analogies you use. "Peach, ascending to the majesty of her tower." it's just so perfect.
This is a really. Really cool video! I love your analysis and explanations. It makes the music and game feel even more cooler! Knowing these iconic songs on a deeper level is sooo interesting. Thanks for the video! I hope you can make even more!!
dude yessss, you're talking about a lydian 2. that's something I use a lot and I rarely see people talk about it. also similar to the Picardy 3rd modulation
a few corrections: The castle theme's "#4" isn't a "lydian scale." It's just outlining the 5 of 5, a secondary dominant that prepares G. So it's just the F# from the key of G. while C lydian is a mode of G, it's not particularly explanatory. Also, the most interesting part of that V/V is how it doesn't resolve to G7 like it usually would. it just goes right back to C which is what makes it almost a bealtes-esque harmonic curiosity. This is a small note, but your spelling in the transcription could be improved. The A minor passage with the descending harmony, you want a G# there, not an Ab. The reason for this is, once he hits the Am, all the passing stuff is related to A minor, which includes the harmonic minor vocabulary. The second passing chord over that Am is a G# diminished from A harmonic minor, so putting an Ab there makes no sense syntactically. your B section chords are wrong. It's not F-Em-Eb, etc. It's specifically F-Cadd9/E,-Cmadd9/Eb. The right hand goes C F A - C D G - C D G while the bass goes F - E - Eb. These are important distinctions and those trying to learn this music and how it's composed will be misled by these errors. I know you're trying to keep it simple but that was particularly wrong. Just play those Em, Eb chords etc along with the music and you'll hear it sounds off. This isn't a mistake as much as a missed opportunity. The octave leap in the battlefield theme, it's octave up, octave up, then at the end of the chorus, it does octave down, octave down. A really good use of retrograde. This sound track is a treasure trove of deceptively sophisticated composition and I'm afraid this video doesn't do it proper justice. Not to be a grump but this soundtrack means a lot to me as a fellow composer.
I'm not gonna respond to each of your points since looking through the first point you bring up, we're a world apart on this stuff and it has to do with our different definitions of these terms and how they are applied in context. As well as your paying poor attention to the actual statements in the video. Saying that the F# is “from G” is off base since, as you acknowledge, it doesn’t go to a G chord next. You might as well say the F# is “from the key of A major,” how arbitrary. You’re pulling that out of nowhere and it exposes your counterproductive approach. Your comments indicate you are saddled with the burden of your extensive music theory training and are applying elaborate expectations in a case study where nothing of the sort is happening. I don’t mention V/V or secondary dominant because the chord is specifically going from D major triad to a C major triad which , happens to be identical to the I and II chords within C Lydian. This is what we call mode mixture and it’s good that this video brought it to your attention. You tried to have a gotcha moment saying “the castle theme’s #4 isn’t a lydian scale” but that is not a quote in the video at all and it gives every indication that I shouldn’t spend any time working through the other points you’ve mentioned. I say that the lydian 2 chord is derived from the lydian scale, so imagining for a brief moment in terms of chord selection that we can take a move from the “key of C Lydian” playbook, then continue on in normal C major diatonic fashion.
@@AlexYardZone I'm afraid we'll have to kick this up a notch. You used the classic fallacy of, because you can poke a hole in one my my claims, you won't address the rest. Problem is, you're wrong about your objection to begin with. You're clearly being defensive. So try and chill out a bit and absorb what I'm trying to say. You can't just focus on an "F#." there is a context for this F#. You must look at how it's approached, and the notes happening around it. If it were a modal interchange move, ie a "lydian" move, it would be approached so as to sound like a "1 chord" in lydian, ie. the simpsons theme(which is lydian dominant, but still. The sharp 4 is sitting at home feeling like it's on the 1 chord). In this case, the melody goes C D E D C A F#, E Eb D C A F# A D. This is outlining a D dominant. It's a D dominant arpeggio with some chromatic approach notes. It is preceded by an A minor, which is prepping this V/V. It is unconventional that the V/V does not then resolve to V7, but that doesn't make it a "Lydian II" chord. It's functioning as a V/V that swerves into a second V/V instead of V. This is how to explain what's going on to someone trying to learn how the piece is composed. Finally, you must look at genre. this is a "classical-ish" piece. It's got the b2 chord, and this odd secondary dominant curveball, and some other chromatic artifice that make it "not quite classical" but stylistically, it's like mutated chamber music. "Modal interchange" is not a concept that fits in this genre. Koji is using standard tonal, functional harmony concepts and putting his own spin on them. This is another reason why it's proper to interpret this moment as a secondary dominant. Also, just use common sense. it *sounds* like a secondary dominant. Music theory should be as Occam's razor as possible otherwise it gets confusing to people trying to learn. Anyway, your disagreement with this issue doesn't address the biggest whoopsie of your video which is how badly transcribed bob-bomb battlefield's chords are. I'm happy your channel is doing well but it irks me when people try to "teach" musical concepts without properly even hearing the music first.
@@YourFavouriteColor If you think the lydian mode's tonic chord contains a note that is 6 semitones from the tonic, that explains your confusion. Using an example: the modes of C Lydian and C Ionian share an identical tonic chord, which is a C major triad. Even that’s beside the point because the tonic chord does not need to conform to the mode that we’re borrowing from, in order for them to be considered borrowed chords/mode mixture. As is the case of the common chord sequence of a composition in a major(Ionian) key that uses chords: bVI, bVII, I. The bVI and bVII chords are borrowed from aeolean, while the tonic chord remains the standard major triad. If a music theory professor gave you different working definitions/examples of these concepts, that’s fine but it has no bearing on the contents of this video or what I “should be saying,” and you’re going to stroke out if you can’t control yourself about this. What you think is fallacy is just a deliberate choice to protect my time from a condescending contrarian who feels entitled to an involved line-by-line review/response. You aren’t the first person to barge in with objections to the way I communicate about modes and other vocabulary. I draw boundaries about this because half the time when I explain my position(s) on music theory topics, the other person just goes silent, becoming a waste of valuable time. If we at least arrived at some mutual understanding on this Lydian II Chord topic, well then I’d be willing to entertain a discussion about your many other objections.
@@AlexYardZone the fundamental thing you're ignoring I think is that this is not modal music(again referring to genre) this is tonal music. Analyzing a passage of music that is written with tonality in mind(dominant structures resolving to tonics), it is needlessly confusing and complicating things. you're fixated on this "sharp 4." The passage in question is a dominant chord. It's functioning as a dominant chord. It's prepared as a dominant chord with the preceding Am. The only "swerve" is how it sort of "pump fakes" the G7 and instead gives you a double D7 and lets it hang. This does not make it a modal passage. Interpreting something as modal vs tonal isn't arbitrary. It's true that Kondo does also use "jazz" concepts like throwing in a bII maj7 in a neo classical piece. This could be argued is modal. But the D7 is a tonal passage. Another example of game music that actually tonicizes lydian is the theme to shining force II. it opens with a lydian figure in Bb, but then does down to Am-Dm, which suggests the Bb was the IV all along. but then right after you get a C minor chord, the ii chord of Bb ionian, with an Eb in the melody, clearly tonicizing Bb major. That is a clear example of using lydian on the 1 with modal interchange. This passage from mario 64 should be analyzed as tonal, not modal, because there are distinct functional and sonic differences.
@@AlexYardZone PS. I'm not being "contrarian." You present this musical information with a tone that conveys a lot of authority and expertise. You make a lot of errors and also a lot of weird pretentious proclamations like how the ascending line is peach, the descending line is bowser, the pizzicato line is mario, that's just like, a numerological hot take not based in anything, and is really very pretentious. So before calling me contrarian and condescending just please be more rigorous before you try to teach because people who are trying to learn are vulnerable to erroneous information.
Koji Kondo is just an unbelievable genius and deserves all the praise he gets. Even with the relative simplicity of his music (though it isn't always) he still deserves to be considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest composer in video game history.
This reminds me of the old meme with the teacher asking what the red door meant, implying it had a deeper meaning, and the student asking the author and him saying it means that the door is red. Looking for meaning in something that has none is the epitome of the human existence.
This analisis is amazing i love the interpretation behind the music theory and i feel that it gives me a new intentionality when i play bob omb battlefield in the piano.
@10:42 sometimes I think of the bii° chord as a substituted VI(7) (not vi7) chord, in the _first inversion_ instead... So instead of C#dim, I might think of it as an A7/C# slash chord instead (provided the A note is added, _which doesn't seem to be the case here_ ), but I may be wrong with this approach....
Well, this music was initialy made as a test music, and then reused for an early version of Whomps Fortress called just "Mountain", but then it stuck as music for most overworld levels in the game
Also the Red Coin melody in Bob-Omb Battlefield works better in the Japanese version since the pitch of the Red Coin jingle stays the same for each one collected.
As a music major, i was already aware of the leitmotifs of bob omb battlefield with both Snow Mountain and Slider. What blew my mind was the red coin sounds. I never connected that they were the same notes in the 3rd measure part of BOB.
10:34 Calling it his "one composition in the DS New Super Mario Bros" seems like a _massive_ understatement. That essentially became the recurring main theme for the entire NSMB series.
so first id like to say this was a lovely watch, even not knowing anything about music theory this was just lovely to learn about how much effort goes into music, even for games. second, 13:17 did you bump your mic as you said tune?
For a number of years now, work has been proceeding in order to bring perfection to the crudely conceived idea of a transmission that would not only supply inverse reactive current for use in unilateral phase detractors, but would also be capable of automatically synchronizing cardinal grammeters. Such an instrument is the turbo encabulator. Now basically the only new principle involved is that instead of power being generated by the relative motion of conductors and fluxes, it is produced by the modial interaction of magneto-reluctance and capacitive diractance. The original machine had a base plate of pre-famulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan. The latter consisted simply of six hydrocoptic marzlevanes, so fitted to the ambifacient lunar waneshaft that side fumbling was effectively prevented. The main winding was of the normal lotus-o-delta type placed in panendermic semi-boloid slots of the stator, every seventh conductor being connected by a non-reversible tremie pipe to the differential girdle spring on the “up” end of the grammeters. The turbo-encabulator has now reached a high level of development, and it’s being successfully used in the operation of novertrunnions. Moreover, whenever a forescent skor motion is required, it may also be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocation dingle arm, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration.
Koji Kondo is one of my top favorite composers, for sure! I have the 25th anniversary CD that shipped with LoZ Skyward Sword, and listening to that while driving through the mountains on a road trip was so majestic! 😆
Hey! Alex yard. Is it possible for you to do a music theory for a sonic FAN game specifically Sonic Triple Trouble 16 bit. I’m eager to see a music theory for Atomic Destroyer (act 2 especially) also I recommend you to try the game since it’s pretty good. I would almost call it a sonic 3 “half” sequel.
I've definitely considered something like this....if I did, it would be a cool comparison between the 8 and 16 bit versions. And yes, I've streamed the 16-bit game a bunch, it's top notch!
My favorite thing about watching video game music theory videos is that not a single one knows how to explain music theory (or terms) to a layman like me. You can't define technical terms with even more jargon lol.
Not sure if this has ever been pointed out, but there are some very strong similarities between the Bob-Omb theme and compositions "Music Break" (1967) and "Samba De Marcos" (1979) by jazz musician Sadao Watanabe. Watanabe has previously been cited as one Koji Kondo's main influences, and even played alto and soprano sax for the jazz arrangements on the original SMW soundtrack. The chord progression in the first section of Bob-Omb is remarkably similar to that at 1:30 of Music Break (th-cam.com/video/qSq1EgBcAAs/w-d-xo.html). And both parts are in the key of C. The second section is rhythmically almost identical to the part at 2:03 of Samba De Marcos (th-cam.com/video/8G0cqQNwloo/w-d-xo.html), and features the same sort of descending progression. The sax lead here also seems to match up with the horns section in Bob-Omb.
Koji Kondo, the legend himself. What secrets are nested here? Lets-a find out! Also, I KNOW I HIT THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON WELL OVER A MONTH AGO... anyways, most excellent job on this as always!! 😎🎵
You may be unto something with the ascending violin line being Peach. After 64, the castle theme has pretty much turned into "Peach's Theme" that commonly plays whenever she is mentioned or appears on a cutscene; and the only line that you can hear in these little peach melodies is the ascending one, meaning that without Bowser's interference, the ascending line is the only one that would play at the castle
What a cool detail!
And GoodFeel thought they were being clever in Princess Peach showtime, ha!
Was thinking the same thing. I remember for example the cover of that theme in Mario and Luigi Dream Team, the first of only two Mario and Luigi games I played (the other's being Paper Jam that I couldn't complete the final bosses because they'd always kick my ass whatever I do so I left it) and my ultimate favorite for now, and effectively, the Peach's castle theme is played without the descending scale. I thought it was done like that because is intrincate to play that three-noted harmony with your bare right hand (so many players, including myself, simplifies the chords), but I see now why, besides, the descending harmony would make that particular arrangement dissonant.
That's also why, when the final cutscene arrives and Peach returns safe, the chords are now simpler chords.
What about in Mario Odyssey when you go into Peach's castle? The descending line is there, and that track only plays after you beat Bowser (in normal play).
@@tweer64 I checked it after write my comment and its true, but the low notes are lower in the mix, still audible. There are also extra instruments that makes it sound happier
Wow, I never noticed the similarity between Slider and Bob-Omb Battlefield up until today, it somehow makes the songs feel more connected to each other.
Yep! I don't make a huge deal of it in the video, but the chords and general melody are shared between Bob-omb, Snow Mtn. and Slider!
I always noticed it. Super Mario 64 utilizes its main theme everywhere.
If I composed Bob-Omb Battlefield, I would want to make good use of it too.
same thing happens with snow mountain
How the fuck did you not what? I guess if you haven't realized it cool cool mountain is the same melody too.
evil bassline be like: i'mma not follow the root of the chord
Exploring the complexity of the Peach's Castle theme was really cool, it explains why gamers have such wildly different reactions to whether they find it charming or vaguely ominous.
I will absolutely never be unfazed by how much more thought went into these tracks than I initially thought or already knew, also nice to see more Koji Kondo appreciation
How have I legit never ever realized that bomb omb battlefield and cool cool mountain are very similar...
Me too!!! Mind blown
same!!! i was like waaait a min
lol there is like one song in Mario 64. The castle theme. Everything. It’s all the same.
Can't believe you used the "Strawberry Get" theme from Celeste 64 after the Sopranos part. Amazing.
Man, that one just flew over, was glued to my screen throughout
holy shit a wild John
@@SmolLillia holy shit it’s you. You okay?
Alex i gotta say,you make some of the best video game music theory vids on youtube,you explain everything super thoroughly
Based SOAD pfp.
he also connects the theory of the song to the situation of the song pretty well
For the longest time I didn’t know that most of the Star Collect theme’s just Bob-Omb Battlefield.
And Super Mario Odyssey's Power Moon's a remix, or something!
I will now never not think of Bob-Omb battlefield as a proto-Metal Gear Solid 4.
Isnt metal fear solid that prototype game of Garfield's Week for the NES?
@@cartoonistanonymousoh my fucking god you just brought back so many childhood memories with that comment
@@BigBoris i still remember my first time making it to day 3, when the dark Lord Zalgo revealed to Garfield his most timeless infinite nightmares so Garfield lobs a plate of ground veal in his face. Made it so much better when at the end of the level he's still got the plate stuck to his face when he rewards you with your baked ziti. They really knew how to write an engaging story for unreleased Atari demo discs back then, I tell ya
The red coin sound being part of Bob-Omb Battlefield theme blew my mind the most
Really handy insights here, as a new composer it really helps to have someone break down concepts like how to pick chords that subvert expectations without unraveling the song.
Only in the American release does the red coin jingle starts one step higher on each subsequent coin. While not necessarily an oversight, the change ruins the effect of replicating that part of the Bob-omb Battlefield theme (where it’s repeated as is three times) by collecting several coins in succession.
8:18 I gotta say, I really felt that long jump with the music. I find it how interesting how simple logic can be applied to music to make it so compelling of certain emotions or actions.
Brilliant analysis. 🔥🙌 Koji is definitely one to study. Absolutely love these themes.
I think Bob-omb Battlefield might be my favorite Mario song. I never noticed how it was a main theme used in other songs.
As someone who mainly listens to nostalgic gaming music from the 90s/00s, I love when these videos drop. Amazing work, and I look forward to the next analysis!
THANK YOU MASTER!
I got chills when you showed how the star and coin sound effects were mirrored in one of the songs.
one of the best songs in video gaming history, no, of all time.
Figured I'd mention it as a Jewish viewer. A lot of our traditional music (at least in Ashkenazi culture, though it seems to carry to most of them) often does what is dubbed so eloquently "the happy minor thing". This is to say, we don't hold the same cultural association of "minor = sad", so often times our music will lean on those sounds because to us, they don't hold that same association. I don't know if this is true as a matter of fact, but I have *heard* that during the post WW2 period, a lot of our music was brought to Japan and apparently was a bit of a hit there, so I wouldn't be surprised if in some roundabout way, that had a bit of an impact on things. I know it has been commented on by people who study music and play a lot of video game music (as reference in an Adam Neely video that I can't recall off the top of my head).
That's fascinating. Been wondering about that for a while. Thanks for sharing!
Isnt the 4 chord in Lydian minor
I'm pretty sure Japan protected the Jews in WW2, not even allowing the expulsion of Jews from the Japanese Empire, they also planned to have some new made Jewish territory inside their conquered lands so the Jews could help modernizing the lands, tho this plan was supposedly not known to Germany, so it was a secret plan
This video was surprisingly emotional. Thank you for taking your time and doing this.
@@possamei you're so welcome! Yeah, this game is super impactful for millions of gamers...
It's always fun coming back to channel and watching these videos. I took a music theory class this winter, and I'm glad I understand what you're talking about better
Fantastic, so glad to hear that!
I've never fell in love with a video so fast after one minute in. Amazing work!
Your color-coded chords function graphics are incredible. Earned my su, mister!
perfect job on the video alex
crazy amazing video!! the more i learn about music the more i fall in love. so much storytelling and character told by just using the right notes, chords, even time signatures! loved the analysis! super inspiring and insightful! :)
Usually I get lost at music theory videos but this one felt super clear with your visualisations and scenaric implications!! Great work!
Amazing work Alex!
4:57 Isn’t that the berry collect jingle from Celeste 64?
wow man i love this channel, please keep it up, i really appreciate your insight and hearing how you analyze these songs
The way you visualize what's happening with the music is amazing.
Love this channel!! such a fun way to interact with and learn about music theory!
Yes! I've been waiting for a Alex Yard break down of Mario 64 music for quite some time!
hands down my new favorite channel, the way you visualize the music is so helpful and makes what can be intricate so much on paper so much easier to follow. I would love to see you make a vid on aquatic ambience down the line!!
I'm very impressed by the presentation here, the way you displayed the chords/sheet and piano made it super easy to follow and marking them with anvils for the tonic and Bowser's face as well as styling them after each game was downright charming attention to detail!
I really liked your interpretation of the music as resembling aspects of the game such as the jump in the melody corresponding all the jumping throughout the game and how the melody lines reflect the characters!
What a formidable, fascinating and cozy video!
8:30 I love how nathaniel bandy got absolutely TJ "Henry" Yoshi'd in this video
Lol legend comment
Being musically inept (idek Wtf a chord is) I never have any idea what you're talking about, but I love watching your videos and listening to all the amazing analogies you use.
"Peach, ascending to the majesty of her tower." it's just so perfect.
This is a masterpiece. I enjoyed every second, keep it up - what a treat!
This is a really. Really cool video! I love your analysis and explanations. It makes the music and game feel even more cooler! Knowing these iconic songs on a deeper level is sooo interesting.
Thanks for the video! I hope you can make even more!!
Great video! Glad it showed up in my feed!
dude yessss, you're talking about a lydian 2. that's something I use a lot and I rarely see people talk about it. also similar to the Picardy 3rd modulation
just now finding this channel and i love it so much. literally my 2 favorite topics, video game music and music theory. keep it up!
a few corrections:
The castle theme's "#4" isn't a "lydian scale." It's just outlining the 5 of 5, a secondary dominant that prepares G. So it's just the F# from the key of G. while C lydian is a mode of G, it's not particularly explanatory. Also, the most interesting part of that V/V is how it doesn't resolve to G7 like it usually would. it just goes right back to C which is what makes it almost a bealtes-esque harmonic curiosity.
This is a small note, but your spelling in the transcription could be improved. The A minor passage with the descending harmony, you want a G# there, not an Ab. The reason for this is, once he hits the Am, all the passing stuff is related to A minor, which includes the harmonic minor vocabulary. The second passing chord over that Am is a G# diminished from A harmonic minor, so putting an Ab there makes no sense syntactically.
your B section chords are wrong. It's not F-Em-Eb, etc. It's specifically F-Cadd9/E,-Cmadd9/Eb. The right hand goes C F A - C D G - C D G while the bass goes F - E - Eb. These are important distinctions and those trying to learn this music and how it's composed will be misled by these errors. I know you're trying to keep it simple but that was particularly wrong. Just play those Em, Eb chords etc along with the music and you'll hear it sounds off.
This isn't a mistake as much as a missed opportunity. The octave leap in the battlefield theme, it's octave up, octave up, then at the end of the chorus, it does octave down, octave down. A really good use of retrograde.
This sound track is a treasure trove of deceptively sophisticated composition and I'm afraid this video doesn't do it proper justice. Not to be a grump but this soundtrack means a lot to me as a fellow composer.
I'm not gonna respond to each of your points since looking through the first point you bring up, we're a world apart on this stuff and it has to do with our different definitions of these terms and how they are applied in context. As well as your paying poor attention to the actual statements in the video. Saying that the F# is “from G” is off base since, as you acknowledge, it doesn’t go to a G chord next. You might as well say the F# is “from the key of A major,” how arbitrary. You’re pulling that out of nowhere and it exposes your counterproductive approach. Your comments indicate you are saddled with the burden of your extensive music theory training and are applying elaborate expectations in a case study where nothing of the sort is happening. I don’t mention V/V or secondary dominant because the chord is specifically going from D major triad to a C major triad which , happens to be identical to the I and II chords within C Lydian.
This is what we call mode mixture and it’s good that this video brought it to your attention. You tried to have a gotcha moment saying “the castle theme’s #4 isn’t a lydian scale” but that is not a quote in the video at all and it gives every indication that I shouldn’t spend any time working through the other points you’ve mentioned. I say that the lydian 2 chord is derived from the lydian scale, so imagining for a brief moment in terms of chord selection that we can take a move from the “key of C Lydian” playbook, then continue on in normal C major diatonic fashion.
@@AlexYardZone I'm afraid we'll have to kick this up a notch.
You used the classic fallacy of, because you can poke a hole in one my my claims, you won't address the rest. Problem is, you're wrong about your objection to begin with. You're clearly being defensive. So try and chill out a bit and absorb what I'm trying to say.
You can't just focus on an "F#." there is a context for this F#. You must look at how it's approached, and the notes happening around it.
If it were a modal interchange move, ie a "lydian" move, it would be approached so as to sound like a "1 chord" in lydian, ie. the simpsons theme(which is lydian dominant, but still. The sharp 4 is sitting at home feeling like it's on the 1 chord).
In this case, the melody goes C D E D C A F#, E Eb D C A F# A D. This is outlining a D dominant. It's a D dominant arpeggio with some chromatic approach notes.
It is preceded by an A minor, which is prepping this V/V. It is unconventional that the V/V does not then resolve to V7, but that doesn't make it a "Lydian II" chord. It's functioning as a V/V that swerves into a second V/V instead of V. This is how to explain what's going on to someone trying to learn how the piece is composed.
Finally, you must look at genre. this is a "classical-ish" piece. It's got the b2 chord, and this odd secondary dominant curveball, and some other chromatic artifice that make it "not quite classical" but stylistically, it's like mutated chamber music. "Modal interchange" is not a concept that fits in this genre. Koji is using standard tonal, functional harmony concepts and putting his own spin on them. This is another reason why it's proper to interpret this moment as a secondary dominant. Also, just use common sense. it *sounds* like a secondary dominant. Music theory should be as Occam's razor as possible otherwise it gets confusing to people trying to learn.
Anyway, your disagreement with this issue doesn't address the biggest whoopsie of your video which is how badly transcribed bob-bomb battlefield's chords are.
I'm happy your channel is doing well but it irks me when people try to "teach" musical concepts without properly even hearing the music first.
@@YourFavouriteColor If you think the lydian mode's tonic chord contains a note that is 6 semitones from the tonic, that explains your confusion. Using an example: the modes of C Lydian and C Ionian share an identical tonic chord, which is a C major triad. Even that’s beside the point because the tonic chord does not need to conform to the mode that we’re borrowing from, in order for them to be considered borrowed chords/mode mixture. As is the case of the common chord sequence of a composition in a major(Ionian) key that uses chords: bVI, bVII, I. The bVI and bVII chords are borrowed from aeolean, while the tonic chord remains the standard major triad. If a music theory professor gave you different working definitions/examples of these concepts, that’s fine but it has no bearing on the contents of this video or what I “should be saying,” and you’re going to stroke out if you can’t control yourself about this.
What you think is fallacy is just a deliberate choice to protect my time from a condescending contrarian who feels entitled to an involved line-by-line review/response. You aren’t the first person to barge in with objections to the way I communicate about modes and other vocabulary. I draw boundaries about this because half the time when I explain my position(s) on music theory topics, the other person just goes silent, becoming a waste of valuable time. If we at least arrived at some mutual understanding on this Lydian II Chord topic, well then I’d be willing to entertain a discussion about your many other objections.
@@AlexYardZone the fundamental thing you're ignoring I think is that this is not modal music(again referring to genre) this is tonal music. Analyzing a passage of music that is written with tonality in mind(dominant structures resolving to tonics), it is needlessly confusing and complicating things. you're fixated on this "sharp 4."
The passage in question is a dominant chord. It's functioning as a dominant chord. It's prepared as a dominant chord with the preceding Am. The only "swerve" is how it sort of "pump fakes" the G7 and instead gives you a double D7 and lets it hang. This does not make it a modal passage.
Interpreting something as modal vs tonal isn't arbitrary. It's true that Kondo does also use "jazz" concepts like throwing in a bII maj7 in a neo classical piece. This could be argued is modal. But the D7 is a tonal passage.
Another example of game music that actually tonicizes lydian is the theme to shining force II.
it opens with a lydian figure in Bb, but then does down to Am-Dm, which suggests the Bb was the IV all along. but then right after you get a C minor chord, the ii chord of Bb ionian, with an Eb in the melody, clearly tonicizing Bb major. That is a clear example of using lydian on the 1 with modal interchange.
This passage from mario 64 should be analyzed as tonal, not modal, because there are distinct functional and sonic differences.
@@AlexYardZone PS. I'm not being "contrarian." You present this musical information with a tone that conveys a lot of authority and expertise. You make a lot of errors and also a lot of weird pretentious proclamations like how the ascending line is peach, the descending line is bowser, the pizzicato line is mario, that's just like, a numerological hot take not based in anything, and is really very pretentious. So before calling me contrarian and condescending just please be more rigorous before you try to teach because people who are trying to learn are vulnerable to erroneous information.
Koji Kondo is just an unbelievable genius and deserves all the praise he gets. Even with the relative simplicity of his music (though it isn't always) he still deserves to be considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest composer in video game history.
This reminds me of the old meme with the teacher asking what the red door meant, implying it had a deeper meaning, and the student asking the author and him saying it means that the door is red. Looking for meaning in something that has none is the epitome of the human existence.
Everytime I learn more about Nintendo music I realize kondo is simply built different
What a genius video! Thank you for putting so many things I love in video game music into perspective.
Another cool version of battlefield warfare shows up in Spyro 2 with Zephyr and Breeze Harbor where you can choose which side of the feud to support
Another fantastic video, keep up the great work!
Wow what a fantastic video. Mario 64 truly is the GOAT
7:01 i can never unhear that now... who made this is an absolute genius...
6:45 - Okay, now that fact’s just cRaZy.!.! Them ol’ stars & red coins, huh…!
This analisis is amazing i love the interpretation behind the music theory and i feel that it gives me a new intentionality when i play bob omb battlefield in the piano.
Genius, I hadn't even noticed the depth in that simple part at the start of the castle
This is awesome! You should totally do one for the Bowser battle theme, especially the final one, it's really cool with the classical-sounding organ
Phenomenal analysis..mind blown!
Great video! I learned a lot, thank you so much for making it !!
0:55 you are 100% correct on peach, the music when you get the letter uses that in it
The mario and luigi dream team version of the peach's castle is my favorite version of the theme and it only plays in the opening cutscene
@10:42 sometimes I think of the bii° chord as a substituted VI(7) (not vi7) chord, in the _first inversion_ instead...
So instead of C#dim, I might think of it as an
A7/C# slash chord instead (provided the A note is added, _which doesn't seem to be the case here_ ), but I may be wrong with this approach....
Well, this music was initialy made as a test music, and then reused for an early version of Whomps Fortress called just "Mountain", but then it stuck as music for most overworld levels in the game
Do you have a source
@@sparkeee3 Shoshinkai 95?
I always found something interesting about the mario 64 music
Great video as always, Alex.
Love seeing all your music theory videos, the wait is worth it! Maybe next theory video could be Sonic Adventure, or Kingdom Hearts?
Also the Red Coin melody in Bob-Omb Battlefield works better in the Japanese version since the pitch of the Red Coin jingle stays the same for each one collected.
Love all of your videos but this is one of the best. Multiple views by now
so many facts in this video
As a music major, i was already aware of the leitmotifs of bob omb battlefield with both Snow Mountain and Slider. What blew my mind was the red coin sounds. I never connected that they were the same notes in the 3rd measure part of BOB.
Can't believe all of Mario 64 is just Bob-omb Battlefield...
And super mario world is all just "green green" by the new christy minstrels!
Was not expecting to see a reference and musical example from my favorite show in this video but was pleasantly surprised 🔥
10:34 Calling it his "one composition in the DS New Super Mario Bros" seems like a _massive_ understatement.
That essentially became the recurring main theme for the entire NSMB series.
so first id like to say this was a lovely watch, even not knowing anything about music theory this was just lovely to learn about how much effort goes into music, even for games.
second, 13:17 did you bump your mic as you said tune?
The song is called Main Theme because you can clearly hear the original NES Theme on it, but a much more evolved version.
Honestly that passing chord is what makes it a mario song now that I listen to it.
Ok THIS is the videogame music analysis i want! Thank you!!!
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Koji Kondo is one of my top favorite composers, for sure!
I have the 25th anniversary CD that shipped with LoZ Skyward Sword, and listening to that while driving through the mountains on a road trip was so majestic! 😆
Have u seen the new 3d platformer Bolt Bot Screwy Viruses? It looks a bit like a PS1 and N64 platformer.
Sensational video. Mario 64's music is just perfect.
"The snow remix of Bob-omb Battlefield..."
I'm sorry; the *what* !?
I never once realised that the two tunes were similar until this moment 😅
Amazing content! Super entertaining
Great video. Koji Kondo is an amazing composer
I wonder if you could listen through Hearts of Iron IV OST. It's really unique compared to any other game I've played, even from the same studio.
my whole fyp is in super mario 64
16:49 - Wow, you were actually rIgHt.?.!
6:37 "Cmon Shadow. Its time for the reception"
This video was beautiful in every way
I never realized how brilliant Koji Kondo was. Superb analysis.
This was incredible 🥹 thank you for making this
Hey! Alex yard. Is it possible for you to do a music theory for a sonic FAN game specifically Sonic Triple Trouble 16 bit. I’m eager to see a music theory for Atomic Destroyer (act 2 especially) also I recommend you to try the game since it’s pretty good. I would almost call it a sonic 3 “half” sequel.
I've definitely considered something like this....if I did, it would be a cool comparison between the 8 and 16 bit versions. And yes, I've streamed the 16-bit game a bunch, it's top notch!
This channel blows my mind ❤❤❤
My favorite thing about watching video game music theory videos is that not a single one knows how to explain music theory (or terms) to a layman like me. You can't define technical terms with even more jargon lol.
So great !
Let’s gooooo new video!!!
Not sure if this has ever been pointed out, but there are some very strong similarities between the Bob-Omb theme and compositions "Music Break" (1967) and "Samba De Marcos" (1979) by jazz musician Sadao Watanabe. Watanabe has previously been cited as one Koji Kondo's main influences, and even played alto and soprano sax for the jazz arrangements on the original SMW soundtrack.
The chord progression in the first section of Bob-Omb is remarkably similar to that at 1:30 of Music Break (th-cam.com/video/qSq1EgBcAAs/w-d-xo.html). And both parts are in the key of C.
The second section is rhythmically almost identical to the part at 2:03 of Samba De Marcos (th-cam.com/video/8G0cqQNwloo/w-d-xo.html), and features the same sort of descending progression. The sax lead here also seems to match up with the horns section in Bob-Omb.
Thanks youtube for recommending stuff like this, great interesting video! :)
Koji Kondo, the legend himself. What secrets are nested here? Lets-a find out!
Also, I KNOW I HIT THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON WELL OVER A MONTH AGO... anyways, most excellent job on this as always!! 😎🎵
Instant sub. Awesome video much in the same realm as the 8 bit music theory channel.