I've listened to this soundtrack more times than I can count, and its impact hasn't faded one bit. If that's not a sign of great art, I don't know what is.
Journey in my opinion has the greatest video game soundtrack of all time, many games use countless cutscenes and dialogues to force you to feel something, journey achives the same thing so beautifully with it's music, the language that everyone understands, I found myself crying when the game ended and I didn't even know why. Apotheosis is just too perfect to be possible. Thank you Mr wintory for this masterpiece.
I love hearing the use of the motif of Apotheosis, weaving it’s way through the entire soundtrack, stitching it together. Also, I love how you stitched this track together from all its little parts in different places. It has a nice sense of progression to it.
Journey has to be one of my favourite games, mostly because of the music. It is something I'll always go back to playing or listening to if I'm able. Knowing the little details about the viola and harp will make me appreciate it more. Thank you!
I just want to say that Journey's OST changed my life and my perspective regarding videogames as a medium to channel artistic expression. Thank you so much for being one of the creative minds behind this outstanding masterpiece, Austin
About time! Threshold has always been my absolute favorite piece from Journey. Imagine not getting connected to another player and being robbed of that viola hotness.
It's truly incredible to click on any Journey related video, be it soundtrack, review, lets-play or anything, you can be guaranteed lots of beautifully personal and emotional stories from other peoples experiences with the game in the comments. I've not seen a community so deeply connected to a work of art before, each in their own unique and special, occasionally spiritual & individual way.
Currently writing a final essay about how the narrative structure of Journey and the music are intertwined with each other and seeing how the score is made is so incredible to see. Thank you so much for this masterpiece of a soundtrack. Without it I wouldn't know where I would be.
Ooh might you consider publishing the essay in some form? I recently did an informal presentation (streamed from home) on how the music supports the narrative in Journey, just for a small event that my former game design teacher held with some others. It was made from coalescing information/points from various other commentaries on TH-cam (like 8-Bit Music Theory and Game Score Fanfare's videos ) as well as Wintory's commentary (in interviews and videos on his own channel) and my own observations (e.g. how the key shifts throughout the different levels. The music starts in the game in B minor, changing for Threshold to F ♯ minor - literally like crossing a threshold! - and coming back to B minor in Apotheosis and I Was Born For This, helping to reinforce the idea of rebirth as the ending drone note in B melds back into the drone used in the title screen. ) I would love to see what points you have, to see if I missed any. I might also try making a video series about it too.
@@CactusFlowerSky Oh wow that is so incredible! Sorry for my late reply, I never look at my YT notifications x) I sadly can't share my essay as it is private to my professors, but I can ask him after he graded it :) I found the same things as you did! Because of the subject of the class, I had to link the narrative to a narrative structure as well, and I used Joseph Campbell's the Hero's Journey for that. The narrative of Journey is fully based on this, but I wanted to see if the narrative is also linked to it. And it is! At least in my opinion. You can actually see the stages of the Hero's Journey already in the titles of the soundtracks, but still, hearing them alongside a map of Campbell's theory, it makes sense, if you have a feeling for music ofc. But imo, if you listen to specific tracks in the right order, you can actually experience the journey of Journey. In my conclusion, the most critical parts were The Call, Threshold, Third Confluence, Last Confluence, Nadir and Apotheosis. Especially in these pieces, the cello, which portrays the character, undergoes many changes which one can link to the changes and experiences the character goes through during the narrative of the game. The other confluences were important as well, but more for the game itself and not so much the narrative (I am sorry Austin Wintory if you think this is incorrect!). If I can share my essay with you I will send it to you!
@@DorisDollie no worries, sorry for the delay in my reply too - I don’t check mine either 🙈 Ah thank you, would appreciate seeing the essay so much, if your professor is alright with it! Ohh that is very interesting. I must admit that I listen to only certain tracks the most, and do it outside playing the game (the same as used in the piano selection transcribed by Laura Intravia because I have the piano book and like to play >_< ) and haven’t paid as much attention to the Confluences and the changes in the development of the cello during those alongside gameplay - that sounds incredibly interesting!! I haven’t seen that explored much anywhere before ^^
Love this game, especially for the music you put into it! It’s so interesting to me how certain pieces are cued depending on events in the game. I’m so used to hearing the album version (for my study time) that I never really noticed a difference from game to album
Journey is both a beautiful game and a stunning soundtrack. I listen to the soundtrack frequently (sometimes on vinyl :-) and the music gets more beautiful each time I listen to it. While I do not have ability to compose music, I believe I can appreciate the work that goes into such a monumental task and I enjoy getting a glimpse of how the elements come together. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Still one of my favourite gaming soundtracks ever. I've listened to the soundtrack in full more than a couple dozen times and it still blows my mind every time I listen to it. Thanks for making another Journey video! 😁
I have a shit ton of anxiety and this piece is one of few that can help me control it, its so calming in how its arranged, so full of character and sense of space.
It's really fascinating to see how you've created a piece of music by editing so many other sections together, yet found a way to maintain musical flow.
Threshold (both in its OST form and the cue fragments in game) is my personal favourite track in Journey 🥺 When I play the piano arrangement, I absolutely love playing the part where it goes over the E, A, B, C♯m chords lol. I love the bright pops of D major throughout, and the use of the D♯ in the F♯ minor key for a kind of Dorian mode-silver lining effect (the same with F♯ in the A minor key for Road of Trials ) My favourite part in the song is the delicate isolated flute and harp, and the same in the piano arrangement 😭😭 If I ponder more about why it’s my personal favourite, I think it’s because the atmosphere is more subdued and mellow, than me perhaps feeling slightly pressed to experience awe or elation in the game in the sunken city or mountaintop^^ I would love to see Road of Trials in the As Noted series too! 🤞
It is incredible to imagine - based on your comments in this video - how many different ways this track and many others in the album could have turned out. And now that everyone has known it for so long, edged into our hearts, I don't think anyone would have it any other way - you nailed it perfectly. But then, if you did anything differently those 10 years ago, I would probably be saying exactly the same thing. I only discovered your channel now that TH-cam recommended me the Traveler album (and thank God it did) and it is absolutely amazing to take a glimpse into all the technicalities, little details, and adventures described in your commentary. What an experience it must have been to create, in these humble conditions, but with all these great people, something for the entire world to enjoy so much later, probably very unexpectedly to you back then. It's been so long now that my fascination with Journey's music managed to fade a little - people tend to go through these "phases" and we always love the latest great thing - but now, thanks to your channel and this new album, I am so happy to rediscover it all anew, to re-live these times and find out so much more there is (and always was) to your music. I just wanted to say that - together with my father, the director, and conductor of one of the Polish philharmonic orchestras - we sometimes organize videogame concerts to familiarize the audience with the music, with very cheap tickets just to cover the costs so that anyone can come. Of course, from our very first try at this, we included Nascence + Apotheosis (arranged by Andrés Soto) and I will never forget how, after the final solo section, just before the applause, this random old lady in the audience in front of me, who would have no idea about videogames whatsoever, would just whisper to herself "beautiful". You probably heard a lot of such words from a lot of people throughout these years but hey - thank you, Austin!
This is probably one of my favourite soundtrack ever... I always go back to this one... There is something absolutely magical to this piece. It soothes you. So magical.
I’d love to see some music from Pode on this series, I recently bought the game and soundtrack after remembering you talk about how it was under appreciated 🙂
I'm much more likely to listen to calmer video game music than the more energetic stuff. So over time, I've found that the two tracks from Journey I've listened to the most are Threshold and Atonement (and I've listened to them both A LOT). The part from 1:50-3:10 is just heavenly. Thank you so much for giving us greater insight into this beautiful track. I hope you make an 'As Noted' for Atonement too one day!
This is a pretty late comment and idk if you'll ever see this, but I really love this piece, it really completes the change in tone between the previous level and this level! There's something magical about the theme at 0:25 coming in as the little cloth creatures are set free :) Also, since I've looked at many of the other As Noted vids for Journey, I'm wondering, why are all the sharps and flats written in manually instead of just having a key signature?
Key signatures are almost never used anymore, particularly in recording sessions for games/film etc. The fundamental reason being that recordings rely on sight reading, and remembering a key signature is more difficult than simply stating the note/accidental each time
I love the idea behind these videos, though as a slow reader I find that I have to pause the video to make sure I can read all the text. Would you be open to intercutting the music with your voice speaking the text and then playing the music in it's entirity? I realize that's probably a lot more work, though. And it may only accommodate a small section of your viewers.
Alas the idea is to present an audio-only version to not interfere with playback. I try to limit my text as much as possible for the exact reason you mention, but I'm afraid if it's too much pausing is the best option
Just for a little bit of context: What I think is happening for me is that I listen to music and read text both with the language center of my brain, and it can't do both at the same time. I'm not sure if this is also the case for other people though.
@@AynenMakino score-reading is like this, with practice I’ve learned to jump back from text to music but in general there’s so much information on screen that a single reading would never get through it all anyway
@@DallasCrane Aye, much respect to conductors who can sight-read orchestral score in realtime! I'm curious: When a track has lyrics in it, do you also have to choose between focussing either on the lyrics OR on the orchestration? (even if you're not following sheet music)
![JOURNEY - Suite for Piano [+Sheet Music]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zIM14-7a4co/mqdefault.jpg)
I've listened to this soundtrack more times than I can count, and its impact hasn't faded one bit. If that's not a sign of great art, I don't know what is.
I still replay Journey several times a year, it's such a gem.
For a musician, it is so great to be able to see an active score and explanations of the music along with listening to the recorded track.
"As Noted" is genuinely my favorite playlist on TH-cam
👁🗨〰️👁🗨
Yep, by far!
Journey in my opinion has the greatest video game soundtrack of all time, many games use countless cutscenes and dialogues to force you to feel something, journey achives the same thing so beautifully with it's music, the language that everyone understands,
I found myself crying when the game ended and I didn't even know why. Apotheosis is just too perfect to be possible.
Thank you Mr wintory for this masterpiece.
I love hearing the use of the motif of Apotheosis, weaving it’s way through the entire soundtrack, stitching it together. Also, I love how you stitched this track together from all its little parts in different places. It has a nice sense of progression to it.
Journey has to be one of my favourite games, mostly because of the music. It is something I'll always go back to playing or listening to if I'm able. Knowing the little details about the viola and harp will make me appreciate it more. Thank you!
I just want to say that Journey's OST changed my life and my perspective regarding videogames as a medium to channel artistic expression. Thank you so much for being one of the creative minds behind this outstanding masterpiece, Austin
Yes, Threshold! The pink sand sequence is one of my favorite scenes! And another breakdown of the lovely track is really nice to see. :)
About time! Threshold has always been my absolute favorite piece from Journey. Imagine not getting connected to another player and being robbed of that viola hotness.
It's truly incredible to click on any Journey related video, be it soundtrack, review, lets-play or anything, you can be guaranteed lots of beautifully personal and emotional stories from other peoples experiences with the game in the comments. I've not seen a community so deeply connected to a work of art before, each in their own unique and special, occasionally spiritual & individual way.
Currently writing a final essay about how the narrative structure of Journey and the music are intertwined with each other and seeing how the score is made is so incredible to see. Thank you so much for this masterpiece of a soundtrack. Without it I wouldn't know where I would be.
Ooh might you consider publishing the essay in some form? I recently did an informal presentation (streamed from home) on how the music supports the narrative in Journey, just for a small event that my former game design teacher held with some others.
It was made from coalescing information/points from various other commentaries on TH-cam (like 8-Bit Music Theory and Game Score Fanfare's videos ) as well as Wintory's commentary (in interviews and videos on his own channel) and my own observations (e.g. how the key shifts throughout the different levels. The music starts in the game in B minor, changing for Threshold to F ♯ minor - literally like crossing a threshold! - and coming back to B minor in Apotheosis and I Was Born For This, helping to reinforce the idea of rebirth as the ending drone note in B melds back into the drone used in the title screen. )
I would love to see what points you have, to see if I missed any. I might also try making a video series about it too.
The time signature also changes to 3/4 in Threshold (again, supporting the feeling of coming across something new)
@@CactusFlowerSky Oh wow that is so incredible! Sorry for my late reply, I never look at my YT notifications x)
I sadly can't share my essay as it is private to my professors, but I can ask him after he graded it :) I found the same things as you did!
Because of the subject of the class, I had to link the narrative to a narrative structure as well, and I used Joseph Campbell's the Hero's Journey for that. The narrative of Journey is fully based on this, but I wanted to see if the narrative is also linked to it. And it is! At least in my opinion. You can actually see the stages of the Hero's Journey already in the titles of the soundtracks, but still, hearing them alongside a map of Campbell's theory, it makes sense, if you have a feeling for music ofc. But imo, if you listen to specific tracks in the right order, you can actually experience the journey of Journey. In my conclusion, the most critical parts were The Call, Threshold, Third Confluence, Last Confluence, Nadir and Apotheosis. Especially in these pieces, the cello, which portrays the character, undergoes many changes which one can link to the changes and experiences the character goes through during the narrative of the game. The other confluences were important as well, but more for the game itself and not so much the narrative (I am sorry Austin Wintory if you think this is incorrect!).
If I can share my essay with you I will send it to you!
@@DorisDollie no worries, sorry for the delay in my reply too - I don’t check mine either 🙈
Ah thank you, would appreciate seeing the essay so much, if your professor is alright with it!
Ohh that is very interesting. I must admit that I listen to only certain tracks the most, and do it outside playing the game (the same as used in the piano selection transcribed by Laura Intravia because I have the piano book and like to play >_< ) and haven’t paid as much attention to the Confluences and the changes in the development of the cello during those alongside gameplay - that sounds incredibly interesting!! I haven’t seen that explored much anywhere before ^^
@@DorisDollie my email is on the About page of my TH-cam channel (sorry I think one of my previous comments was removed)
Love this game, especially for the music you put into it! It’s so interesting to me how certain pieces are cued depending on events in the game. I’m so used to hearing the album version (for my study time) that I never really noticed a difference from game to album
In fact, nearly literally *all* the music is cued by the player :)
Journey is both a beautiful game and a stunning soundtrack. I listen to the soundtrack frequently (sometimes on vinyl :-) and the music gets more beautiful each time I listen to it. While I do not have ability to compose music, I believe I can appreciate the work that goes into such a monumental task and I enjoy getting a glimpse of how the elements come together. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Still one of my favourite gaming soundtracks ever. I've listened to the soundtrack in full more than a couple dozen times and it still blows my mind every time I listen to it. Thanks for making another Journey video! 😁
Yes one of my favorite songs from the best game ever made from one of the best artists I know
one of my favorite tracks! I will forever love the music in this game
I have a shit ton of anxiety and this piece is one of few that can help me control it, its so calming in how its arranged, so full of character and sense of space.
Me hearing this: 😌😌😌
It's really fascinating to see how you've created a piece of music by editing so many other sections together, yet found a way to maintain musical flow.
Threshold (both in its OST form and the cue fragments in game) is my personal favourite track in Journey 🥺 When I play the piano arrangement, I absolutely love playing the part where it goes over the E, A, B, C♯m chords lol. I love the bright pops of D major throughout, and the use of the D♯ in the F♯ minor key for a kind of Dorian mode-silver lining effect (the same with F♯ in the A minor key for Road of Trials )
My favourite part in the song is the delicate isolated flute and harp, and the same in the piano arrangement 😭😭
If I ponder more about why it’s my personal favourite, I think it’s because the atmosphere is more subdued and mellow, than me perhaps feeling slightly pressed to experience awe or elation in the game in the sunken city or mountaintop^^
I would love to see Road of Trials in the As Noted series too! 🤞
Watch this space in the coming week. You'll like it I think ...
Love this soundtrack. On my permanent playlist.
It is incredible to imagine - based on your comments in this video - how many different ways this track and many others in the album could have turned out. And now that everyone has known it for so long, edged into our hearts, I don't think anyone would have it any other way - you nailed it perfectly. But then, if you did anything differently those 10 years ago, I would probably be saying exactly the same thing.
I only discovered your channel now that TH-cam recommended me the Traveler album (and thank God it did) and it is absolutely amazing to take a glimpse into all the technicalities, little details, and adventures described in your commentary. What an experience it must have been to create, in these humble conditions, but with all these great people, something for the entire world to enjoy so much later, probably very unexpectedly to you back then.
It's been so long now that my fascination with Journey's music managed to fade a little - people tend to go through these "phases" and we always love the latest great thing - but now, thanks to your channel and this new album, I am so happy to rediscover it all anew, to re-live these times and find out so much more there is (and always was) to your music.
I just wanted to say that - together with my father, the director, and conductor of one of the Polish philharmonic orchestras - we sometimes organize videogame concerts to familiarize the audience with the music, with very cheap tickets just to cover the costs so that anyone can come. Of course, from our very first try at this, we included Nascence + Apotheosis (arranged by Andrés Soto) and I will never forget how, after the final solo section, just before the applause, this random old lady in the audience in front of me, who would have no idea about videogames whatsoever, would just whisper to herself "beautiful".
You probably heard a lot of such words from a lot of people throughout these years but hey - thank you, Austin!
This is probably one of my favourite soundtrack ever... I always go back to this one... There is something absolutely magical to this piece. It soothes you. So magical.
Thank you so much
This is so beautifully hypnotizing I found it hard to read your notes. A 2nd watch was need to actually read them. Thanks for this!
I’d love to see some music from Pode on this series, I recently bought the game and soundtrack after remembering you talk about how it was under appreciated 🙂
Added to the list for counterpoint studies!
I'm much more likely to listen to calmer video game music than the more energetic stuff. So over time, I've found that the two tracks from Journey I've listened to the most are Threshold and Atonement (and I've listened to them both A LOT). The part from 1:50-3:10 is just heavenly. Thank you so much for giving us greater insight into this beautiful track. I hope you make an 'As Noted' for Atonement too one day!
Stay tuned :)
Amazing as always. Could you make an as noted version for Atonement (tower music) as well? :)
Can we get a little bit more pathless in this beautiful serise?
Kumo would be my favourite, anything else is also good.
Eventually perhaps! :)
This is a pretty late comment and idk if you'll ever see this, but I really love this piece, it really completes the change in tone between the previous level and this level! There's something magical about the theme at 0:25 coming in as the little cloth creatures are set free :)
Also, since I've looked at many of the other As Noted vids for Journey, I'm wondering, why are all the sharps and flats written in manually instead of just having a key signature?
Key signatures are almost never used anymore, particularly in recording sessions for games/film etc. The fundamental reason being that recordings rely on sight reading, and remembering a key signature is more difficult than simply stating the note/accidental each time
@@awintory oh wow you actually saw my comment! Thank you so much for the response, I never thought about that but it makes a lot of sense!
And what a journey it is!
I love how the Cello track is just titled "Tina". Made me smile. It just wouldn't be right, otherwise, would it?
Very relaxing makes you wanna pray to Jesus
Whatever works for you :)
I love the idea behind these videos, though as a slow reader I find that I have to pause the video to make sure I can read all the text. Would you be open to intercutting the music with your voice speaking the text and then playing the music in it's entirity? I realize that's probably a lot more work, though. And it may only accommodate a small section of your viewers.
Alas the idea is to present an audio-only version to not interfere with playback. I try to limit my text as much as possible for the exact reason you mention, but I'm afraid if it's too much pausing is the best option
@@awintory Yeah, I see your point. I can always just read all the text first and then re-listen to the whole track without pauses.
Just for a little bit of context: What I think is happening for me is that I listen to music and read text both with the language center of my brain, and it can't do both at the same time. I'm not sure if this is also the case for other people though.
@@AynenMakino score-reading is like this, with practice I’ve learned to jump back from text to music but in general there’s so much information on screen that a single reading would never get through it all anyway
@@DallasCrane Aye, much respect to conductors who can sight-read orchestral score in realtime! I'm curious: When a track has lyrics in it, do you also have to choose between focussing either on the lyrics OR on the orchestration? (even if you're not following sheet music)
I really love how you write! If you are interested in some trombone tracks let me know! Stay safe!
Christian People can listen to this right?
Literally anyone can listen