How to Use the LYDIAN Mode
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- This video uses entirely examples of the Lydian mode used in video game music, but it's really about general principles of using modes when writing music that could apply to any scale. This one was a lot of fun to make, hope you enjoy!
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - What is the Lydian Mode?
1:01 - Mode Method 1: The Crust
2:14 - Mode Method 2: The Cheese
3:29 - Mode Method 3: The Pepperoni
4:06 - Fake Lydian sounds
6:00 - The Crust: Yoshi's Story
7:57 - The Crust: Zelda's Lullaby
10:24 - The Cheese: Rogueport
12:00 - The Cheese: Garden of Hope
13:35 - The Pepperoni: Space Junk Galaxy
15:53 - The Pepperoni: Perplexing Pool
17:43 - The Pepperoni: Painful Battle
19:15 - Outro
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#lydian #videogamemusic #8bitMusicTheory - เกม
Rules for writing in Lydian mode:
1. Raise the 4th of a major scale
(Example: key of F with B natural)
2. Write a fun tune!
3. …
4. “Dang it! It’s in C again!!”
Yep.
I wrote a little fanfare once. For 8 out of the 10 bars, it was squarely in F lydian... aaaaaand then it resolved to stupid C. I was pissed, but there was nothing I could do cuz that's where it wanted to go.
Drones and pedal tones are your friends!
Avoid resolving to the C chord. Using Lydian cadences. Simple
I struggle to write in Lydian. On guitar, I tried it with an A major chord, followed by a B/A, then thought it sounded familiar. It’s Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl” and the part resolves to E finally.
to avoid sounding "too majory" i usually avoid playing the Imaj chord arpeggio, it works
"Locrian isn't a usable mode because it has a tritone against the root." "But Lydian has a tritone against the root." "Yes, but jazz players like Lydian."
While I agree that "usable" is a rather nonsensical term when it comes to music, the distinguishing feature of locrian is the fact that the root chord is diminished. This also means that the dominant chord isn't really dominant, making harmonic resolutions really difficult. With lydian, the root chord is simply major, and you do have a dominant, but not a subdominant 😜
locrian isn't unusable because of the tritone against the root, it's because there's no perfect 5th against the root. which lydian has
In most voicings its not a tritone its a #11 upper extention
who needs to care about a sharp 4 being a problem when it's jazz and u can just ignore the key when u don't like how it sounds
@@caleb2050 also unusable is a misnomer bc it's totally usable if you're going for dissonance and instability
When I learned about the lydian mode, all I wanted to do was play sharp 4ths over a major 7th chord. Just all day
Yes this is exactly me
You mean there's a way to get past it? I've been doing it for over a decade and can't stop, plz send help 🙃
I've been doing that for so many years and have no intention to stop anytime soon haha.
It's been my favorite chord for many many years
can't stop won't stop
Another fun lydian idea: avoid the 4 completely in the harmony, hit the #4 hard in the melody / solo 🎸🎶🎵
*John Petrucci has entered the chat*
...thats exactly what the pepperoni technique is
Great video! The pizza metaphor… *chef’s kiss*
(2:46) "In this section of Eh-KROO-dee-yak City's theme"
That is definitely a pronunciation.
To be fair it is a made up word. Now, it's a made up word made of two real words, but 8-bit is a drummer and you can't expect a drummer to know such things as "words".
@@user-et3xn2jm1u yeah but those words have pronounciations that don't change when put together. Ecru is "Eh-kroo" and Teak is "Teek", so "Eh-kroo-teek".
Yep, he definitely pronounced it.
Use IPA
@@ValkyRiver I know how to use IPA, but in my experience most people don't, so in general I prefer phonetically typing things out the way I did because it's easier to understand.
Please complete this series! I'd love to see Phrygian, Dorian, and Mixolydian covered. Even if they're "easier" to use it'd still be great to see.
Hell, it'd be cool to even have ones on Ionian and Aeolian primarily to just show non-standard ways to use them (particularly ways to make Ionian sound less "cheesy")
I can’t write in Ionian without it accidentally resolving to Aeolian
I think Ionian is actually quite hard! It’s hard to make it not sound tonal, and usually analyzing something as Ionian instead of tonal major will be quite subjective… I’ve used wind waker’s opening theme as a possible approach to Ionian music in a class I’ve lectured about modes… but, surely, it might as well be seen as simply tonal
Dorian is one of my favorites. It's like a major minor, and melodies involving it sound so magical at times.
Agreed
While he's at it he might as well do all the modes of melodic and harmonic minor and every possible combination of tetra chords lol
FYI, it’s “eh-cru-tiik” not “eh-cru-tii-ack”
Teak, like the wood. Ecru, like beige coloured. Hence the beige tones of the town on the Game Boy Color. And the autumnal leaf colours on the DS.
thank you for that. It was driving me crazy if no one said that. Also I remembered how to pronounce it by watching the anime far enough to hear the announcer say it before I got my hands on G/S/C
i guess you could call it Ecrutiik: a postmodern city
I died inside
@@GameDevYal Ecrutiik makes me shriik
I would say "Eh-kroo-teek" But yeah you get the point across. I don't like how this guy said it.
It's the same for me when people pronounce Cianwood "SEE-an-wud" and not "SIGH-an-wud"
(Because it's supposed to be 'Cyan' and 'Wood' together)
"Head over Heals" by Tears for Fears and "Only the Young" by Journey open with a Lydian sound and it feels so full of hope and wonder.
I love "Head Over Heals" it's definitely one of my top 3 favorite TFF songs. To offer up another song that uses the mode in a meaningful way, I think Elliot Smith's song, "Waltz No. 1" probably represents one best examples or a song that actually uses Lydian from start to finish - and does so to powerful effect, as Smith manages to harnass the mode's dreamer and magical qualities to evoke a strong sense of bittersweetness. If song could ever sound 'beautifully melancholy', it would be that song.
I personally love Lydian and use it a lot in my music. And even though, in terms of rock songs, Lydian is probably most frequently used in brighter, more upbeat and progressive (as in prog) sounding pieces, I think the mode's versatility is frequently underrated - and perhaps especially when it comes to its ability to convey a sense of poignant and delicate sounding bittersweetness.
It sounds so dreamy and vaporous, very powerful yet a bit unstable (as mentioned)
In Dorothy L. Sayers' classic novel _The Nine Tailors_ the eight church bells between them form a C Lydian scale.
forgot Sting's If I Ever Lose My Faith in You
One of my absolute favorite uses of a “fake Lydian” is definitely Genshin Impact’s main theme. Since the song very clearly resolves to E minor (E Major in some cases), it’s in E, but the song harmonically and melodically bounces between a G Lydian sound and that E minor and Major sound. It blends beautifully and creates such a dreamy sound.
This usage is pretty common in jazz, that is moving between i minor Dorian and bIII major Lydian as key centers. I want to say Blue Bossa does this
It's funny that the pizza's crust is characterized as something you don't pay attention to, because when you get into pizza making the crust becomes the main obsession.
my mom used to always burn the crust with her homemade pizza until very recently, and even though her homemade pizza is good it was still really noticable and distracting for me lmao.
second example of the crust being something you dont pay attention to: stuffed crust
Facts. Never get someone from NYC and someone from Chicago in the same room and then mention pizza...
The crust is the most important part to get right in the pizza, both literally and metaphorically.
THANK YOU
I’ve been obsessing over space junk galaxy’s lydianness for years now and NO ONE HAS TALKED ABOUT IT
it’s so beautiful
thank you
And you can hear this all over the game, from the game's opening fanfare when you first see the title screen!!! 😍
Lots of Lydian-ness in the SMG soundtrack, wonderful stuff
And I ALWAYS appreciate the use of Ecruteak City theme in any example
It's a good city :)
Even if he pronounces it Ecrutiack
@@LloydVerner amazing city even
@@godminnette2 tbh I never knew how to pronounce it either lmao
My first time hearing it it’s soooo good
Just some thoughts:
I've had the same idea of "fake Lydian" for a long time myself, when using the IV-iii or IV-V in major, specifically with Green Hill Zone and Lost Woods as well!
I actually hear Zelda's Lullaby as fake Lydian myself. While C does sound like the tonic initially to me, the sharp 4th is missing from the melody which would probably help cement it as Lydian to my ear. It instantly sounds like G Major to me after bar 4. It's definitely a more ambiguous one though! Space Junk Galaxy is one of the most definitive examples to me, no way to hear it other than Lydian.
Some other examples I hear as Lydian are Mount Ordeals and Mt. Koltz from Final Fantasy 4 and 6 respectively (with Mt. Koltz switching between Ab Lydian to G Lydian). As a bonus, the Wrong Enemy theme from Undertale is Lydian Dominant for the first section.
Check out secret practice from Final Fantasy 12. Alternatives between C mixolydian and Gb lydian.
@@DBK415 good example for both Mixolydian and Lydian! I hear Mixolydian b6 for a part of the song as well (or at least I-iv).
@@dacomputernerd4096 The opening and ending are a great example of Lydian! Even the middle section (while not Lydian) features the #4 at times.
@@vgmkas Yep Final Fantasy 12 has lot of unusual modes. Lydian augmented , whole tone , mixolydian b6.
Pokemon Tower from the original Red/Blue/Yellow (FRLG by extension).
This sprinkling of lydian is my favorite thing to write. That sort of moving stasis is really nice for writing little chord progressions for casual jamming.
Perplexing Pool is legit one of my favorite tracks in the entire gamecube library. It's got lots of color, polyrhythm, great instrumentation, and cool ass syncopation. Plus I'm a sucker for adaptive music anywhere.
Good analysis - it was interesting to see the notes F#, A, C analyzed as a C6(#4) as opposed to F#dim in Zelda's Lullaby. Shows the impact listening has rather than just looking at the notes on the page.
For me it feels like a D/C. I think this is more accurate when talking in a modal context because the use of pedal points is so common... Even if there's no D at the moment the chord plays. I hope this make any sense lol
@@joa.barrera ye I also hear it as a D/C. What z.browning mentions also popped in my mind when looking at the music. “Huh, isn’t that just F#dim. But it doesn’t SOUND like an F#dim”.
@@strayingwill I get that, it’s all about those voicings in music and how they overall sound in context rather than I guess just what the notes may look like on page. Since many chords as we know can have many different names depending upon function and context
@@joa.barrera I hear it as D/C. Quintessential Lydian progression to go from I-II.
But there's the pedal tone of C in the bass
And this is exactly what we love mode mixture! Being able to work with so many tasty ingredients means that choosing certain ones in certain situations can make the dish even better!
Fantastic analysis with quite vibrant examples too!
hello emmbeesea
Really enjoyed the examples of “fake” or implied uses of the Lydian. Also loved hearing things like Yoshi’s story with Lydian vs regular Major scale. Hope you keep doing more of these they’re awesome!!!
Hey 8-bit. I wanna just write that you are one of my favorite youtubers, period.
I initially got into music because of games. When I first saw your video on Zelda, I thought I struck gold cause your channel is a perfect mix of my interests. I'm barely getting back to music after finishing my degree, but I'm always happy to see an upload. It reminds me about my younger self.
Dont sweat on the numbers, the audience you harbor is inherently niche. I am no music theory expert, but I have enough past experience to learn and be entertained.
Keep it up man :)
An excellent overview of what makes a surprising amount of well-known game music have that little something extra overtop or woven in underneath. Very cool to learn!
Man, I'd love to see you do videos on each of the modes. This video was very eye opening. I think the way that modes are taught in school just does them no justice whatsoever.
The whole "Dorian is C Major but start on D" thing is a problem lmao
@@vgmkas Exactly! It's just the wrong way to think about modes in multiple ways. It's much more useful to think about them like "It's the major scale but slightly brighter, with a raised 4th."
this channel is AMAZING
I’m glad I’m not alone in being perpetually uncertain of which key Zelda’s lullaby is in. The A section to me still feels like G, with a B section following the common pattern of switching keys to the relative IV
Definitely hear it as G as well!
Such a great video and explanation of how to add this modal colour to a musical palette. Also, the Lego Island clips unlocked a chest of childhood memories. Thank you.
The main _Back to the Future_ theme is forever my favorite example. Interestingly, "Part of Your World" from _the Little Mermaid_ has almost the same first few chords, even after the Lydian stuff
This was a very easy musical lesson to digest.
Or you could legally change your name to Lydia. Then all of the music you write will technically be "Lydian!"
Bravo
You could also write a song about Lydia like Groucho Marx did.
Always brightens up my day to see a new 8 Bit Music Theory video!
That Lego pizza game clip was pretty hilarious.
Your videos are absolutely incredible! Stupendous explanations, brilliantly curated examples, and illuminating transcriptions! Bravo!
i know nothing about music or music theory but these videos help me appreciate the skill and creativity that goes into these pieces i wouldn’t have given a second thought to otherwise :)
Incredible video! Really amazing music choices and super clear explanations
these videos are awesome man! I'm at a point in my guitar playing where I've got a good grasp of major scale, and most of the modes in it so this series of examples applying them is a real eye opener to me. I've always really gravitated towards suspended chords, quartal harmony and lydian so always been a sweetspot for me anyway lol
One of my new favorite videos from you. Pure excellence!
Great video! I personally think Zelda's Lullaby is a "fake" lydian as well, being C the IV of G (without resolving into G) whereas the B section is a modulation to C that also implements the same "fake lydian" chord progression, which actually does resolves in C the first time (in comparison to section A) and then leading us back to G. But of course we can agree to disagree :)
Keep up the great work!
So what you're saying is Silk Sonic was inspired by Pokemon Gold & Silver when they wrote Leave The Door Open
I would reeaaaaaly love to see such a video about the Mixolydian mode (also kind of to test my own amerteur understanding of music, hehe). Keep up the great work, thanks for the inspiration!
Your videos so good with those examples. "Sounds like adventure begun" is actualy what I needed
You keep outdoing yourself in finding new ways to shout out Perplexing Pool!! 😂
I am very much looking forward to Dorian and Mixolydian, probably my two favorite modes of major along with Lydian itself.
this video reminded of how much i love the soundtrack from Paper Mario TTYD. such an underrated game
I love the Lydian scale and I'm glad this video was done, but what I love even more is how this whole video is a pizza analogy.
This is some of your best work! One thing I would add is that the mode isn’t just defined by chords and your melody pitch set, but also which pitches are accented or fall on the downbeats. The Sonjc example is clearly in C Ionian, but paused on F Lydian, because it emphasizes C E and G in the melody, even though the harmony sits on F, telling our ear to expect resolution to C not F. What I do to test this intuitively is let my mind continue the melody without the harmony and ask myself which pitch feels most resolved.
Simply amazing video all through!!
you've made learning theory genuinely interesting and I understand it far better now because of your informative videos. big ups
Great videos, I saw both (and a lot on the other games stuff). I hope you' ll do others for the remaining modes 👍
I'm loving seeing humour take a bit more of a role in these videos! It's great at humanizing yourself, and even helps explain what you mean in more memorable and understandable terms!
Im so in love with your videos. Keep it up man! Maybe Phrygian next?
I’m loving the mode examples in video game music. Keep ‘em up
Growing up, I took piano lessons. I also competed at a state level in performance and in written theory exams. The one thing my classical piano education never really explained well to me was the concept of modes and how they can be used to analyze a piece of music. At 2:12 is the exact moment it finally clicked for me after years of vaguely understanding and following the concept, but never really being able to explain or use it for myself. This was a very well done video. Thank you!
great video! always so fun to learn from you 🤘
Not only do I appreciate a video on one of my favorite modes, but the pizza analogy makes a ton of sense! I'll definitely be trying some of these 3 out next time I want to play around in various modes
Informative as always. Mt ordeals from Final Fantasy 4 alternates between Lydian and Dorian.
Perhaps not coincidentally, FF6's Mt. Koltz likewise uses Lydian to some great modal effect.
Great video as always!! When people talk about lydian mode in videogame music my first thought is always Mario Galaxy. I think they really owned the lydian mode, mostly in the first game. It hits so hard in the main theme for example, straight to the face.
But there's another game that does it really well and has such an amazing use of lydian, mostly in melodies. Genshin Impact's main theme is a melody in lydian and they use it so damn good in the entire OST, really recommend you giving it a listen because it's one of the best soundtracks i've ever listened to!
This was fantastic. The pizza metaphor was perfect. Thank you for the lesson!
Great video! I'd like to learn more about modes, so I'd really appreciate more videos about them (although I'll probably get it in school sooner or later)
Amazing explanation and great examples!
Tons of great musical knowledge in these videos!!
My sister-in-law surprised my brother by having the quartet play a rendition of Zelda's Lullaby as she walked down the aisle. The song is fittingly timeless.
OH MY GOD that's perfect
Man. My brain does not have the structure to retain any of these music theory basics, but I appreciate all the videos regardless
loving these mode analyses! I hope you do dorian next, that's my favorite as a jazz fan. it's like minor with a sharp 6 kick that I always end up abusing
The pizza analogy is incredible and the use of Lego Island footage even more incredible such a good video!! ❤️
i love your channel purely for the fact, that i have been ranting about no one caring enough about pokemon soundtracks, which are a masterpiece, most of all the first 3 gens. Love your stuff, keep it up
Zelda's Lullaby is in G. Fight me.
Actually I think it's never supposed to resolve, and that's the point. But I think the turnaround/resolution at 8:50 is much stronger than the one at 9:11. That's why it's repeated twice, and the bridge is not, and even the bridge melody suggests G as a tonic.
Or Koji Kondo wrote a melody in G and harmonized it in C Lydian. The fact that we don't know and that it keeps pulling us back and forth is why it's such a classic.
I definitely agree with it being in G as well. The turnaround just overpowers any Lydian feel that was present prior and forces me to hear G as the tonic from there on.
@@vgmkas yeah, his Cmaj7 to C6(#4) sounds like a reach when you can literally just interpret it as Cmaj7 to D7/C, a simple IV-V.
The melody (in the A section) also make more sense in g if you interpret it as 3-5-2, 1-2-3-5-2
I would love to see some of the other modes explored personally! I’ve always loved Phrygian
Almost wrote an angry letter because of the beginning section 😅 Man, you’re awesome! In the end I don’t think I agree with the centricity of Zelda’s lullaby, or even Rogueport; both initial chords feel kinda like IV chords to me, but it just goes to show how hard it is to see actual Lydian examples in music! I’ve got huge respect for your view in music, and I’ll surely recommend this video to people who want to learn something about modes. Great analysis!
This is a really great video man
You could buy me dinner first and we’ll talk.
The beautifully crafted ambiguous lydianness of zeldas lullaby gives it a quality i can only describe as delicate beauty. After listening to it enough, the C F#dim loop of the A section feels like a super unorthodox but super colorful resolution to me.
Loved the Pizza metaphor, and banger examples as always!
Zelda's Lullaby's A section is in garden variety G ionian. If you hum a G and a C underneath it, you'll see what I'm talking about.
Also its B section sounds like it's in D? Dorian I guess? I'm not terribly confident there but I am certain that the A section is in G.
Agree with it being in G! I hear it as that "fake lydian" sound.
I just discovered your content and Im in love
Love how you implemented the pizza analogy. Perfect!
Most of these terms are going over my head but I can’t get enough of these videos lol
I was about to comment about how none of the examples were Lydian before you revealed your devious master plan. Lmao I love this channel so much
Bro this is fantastic. What a great way to connect with theory.
Wow, this is an amazing resource! So creative, it makes the concepts pop (unlike some theory books). Thanks for all the work you're doing🙌🏼🎼
I'll be first in line if you ever release a book!😁.
Your videos are the most I've used my music degree for. Love them heaps keep it up :D
Great great video! Thank you so much for that!
Incredibly researched video!
So someone recommended me this channel, saying that my newest composition actually uses lydian mode, I swear the more I learn, the more I know that there are so many things that I don't know 😂 thanks for this video! Very informative! Cute graphics as well, I want some pizza now
2:46 Your pronunciation of Ecruteak City threw me for a loop! I had to pause the video so I didn't get hung up on it and miss what you were saying
Best turnkey solution to use modes. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you for making this video!
I would argue that lost woods is a true Lydian sound as the emotional quality is style bright, with a lot of lift.
I also really enjoyed how you mentioned the emotional quality part and used the word “bright” I think often times when people are learning about modes and especial in jazz they are taught “oh C Ionian goes over the one chord, play d Dorian over the ii chord and G mixolydian over the V chord”. And technically they are right, but that’s for very “diatonic” jazz. Where As modal jazz deals with a lot more parallel chords, similar moving upper structures, or holding the same upper structure while moving the bass around. And all of that is done with the intention of creating emotions in the quality in the harmony.
Anyways, I think this is a great masterclass in modal theory and is a very good way to teach it! Thank you so much!
I use pure Lydian (or Lydian Dominant, or both 7ths at once) all the time. It's not difficult to nearly the same degree as Locrian (although I've made a banger song in Locrian, too!)
It's not "pure" Lydian, but one of my favorite Lydian tricks is to have one bar be in Lydian on a maj7 root chord, then you move down a whole step and play another maj7 chord, suddenly swapping you into Mixolydian. Love the sound and feel this creates. Hell, I have one song that the chords swap between Lydian _Augmented_ as the first chord and normal Lydian as the second chord throughout the song.
That would not be pure Lydian, but I get what you mean. I think using the Lydian sound over multiple chords with modal interchange really opens up a world of possibilities!
@@darknightmike10yearsago Yeah, it's not pure Lydian - it's a swap between Lydian and Mixolydian in a really fun and interesting-sounding way.
When I saw the thumbnail, I KNEW we were going to touch on Mario Galaxy. Lydian has been injected into our brains as consumers as the "Spacey" or "Floaty" mode. That game is full of it, as most space games are. Holst did this too, as well as Satriani and Vai.
It's everywhere with astronauts in the picture too. Hopefulness and aspirational soundtracks chock full of it.
And that Mario cadence also sounds an awful like Kiss From a Rose.... Hm.... ;)
Usually I don’t understand some things in your videos but they are still very interesting even as someone who doesn’t have as much knowledge or experience with music theory
I just want to say thank you for showing the Ecruteak City theme, was my first time hearing in it and I fell in love instantly. Thanks Mr 8 Bit Music Theory
I dont know if your going to see this, but I LOVE this channel. Truly underrated. I really hope you continue doing this work in the future and see lots of success!
Another example of a song (well, more like a jingle) in lydian having an almost whimsical nature would be Clefairy's Song from the mini game in Pokemon Stadium.
PLEASE MORE MODE SPECIFIC VIDEOS THEYRE AMAZING
Lydian this, lydian that. How about lydian me jam out to Green Hill Zone at 3 am on a Thursday night. Naked. With mac n cheese.
All these songs are so good and so iconic, and some of them I could never explain why I liked them so much. Now I know that I just really like lydian mode.
Please do the other modes too! I'm a huge fan of Phrygian, would love to hear you talk about it
5:32 this contrary motion over C#dim7 sounds so nice
I always wondered what makes sharpening the 4th sound so good but it never clicked that it was the Lydian mode. Makes sense now!
Abandon Kansas' song "The Golden State" is in Lydian the whole time, dancing around never using the actual 4 chord just like you said... But then the very last chord of the song they finally play a real 4 and the singer follows it in, and it's just DELICIOUS.
NEW VIDEO FROM 8BIT THEORY *dies from banger*
I Just finished watching an hour of videos about mixing and a music theory video pops out yay