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.
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.
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 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
"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 😜
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".
@@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.
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.
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 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)
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
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!
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
@@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."
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 :)
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.
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!!!
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
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 :)
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
Man, it feels like an oversight not bringing up Jiggywiggy's Temple on this list. What a clear and well-constructed example of the Lydian mode. Gotta love Grant Kirkhope.
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.
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
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!
Thats crazy to me that they don't teach this, this just proves to me even more that the classical teachers are idiots, (i think jazz players are worse) the medieval music is where its at, even in the baroque era modes were still intentionally deployed quite commonly.
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!
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.
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!
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.... ;)
Not sure if this counts, but there's Bowser's Pinball machine from Mario Party DS track that I think would count as Lydian, albeit lydian b7. Absolutely crazy track in terms of music theory, goes all over the place so I'm not at all sure of this. It's using C and Cdim a lot, so the flat 4 is really pronounced. Eventually it then eventually lands on a really nice major section in D where the sharp 4 gets a cosy new home. Not for long though, it's immediately kicked out again by the F. Sad times indeed. 9/10 would recommend the track.
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!
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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
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 great series. I'm still learning the joys of modal composition lol. I picked up most of my music theory just by hanging out with legit musicians and never had any formal training, so I remember last year when I was working on an arrangement of Vaati's theme from the Legend of Zelda I was desperately trying to figure out if it was major or minor and then I suddenly realized "oh fuck me it's in phrygian mode."
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
ok i know like nothing about music theory, so almost all of this goes over my head, but when he played the example of the lydian mode by itself, i did immediately recognize it as the end of level fanfare from super mario bros 3
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
I can't wait for the Phrygian episode - I already see Brock with the maracas in my head every time because of your previous reference to it being relegated to vaguely Spanish sounding duties
I find that, generally, Lydian tends to feel floaty and ethereal. I think one of the most effective Lydian chord progressions to be I to #ivø7 and back again.
One of my favorites! Like using it with the ivo7 in second inversion. The typical I-II as well as I-vii work as well. Using Isus#4 (even on its own) can work too
I just recorded a guitar cover for Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart which is Lydian and I really enjoyed this mode, so I found this video to learn more about it (my mode knowledge is super basic). This is super helpful, great video.
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!
2009 "A Boy And His Blob" has a track Home Blob Home which is very much in Lydian. And it uses Lydian in both chords and in melody. In the credits song of that game "Everything To Me", the non-verse parts are in Lydian.
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
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!
One of my favourite lydian songs in video game soundtrack is the boss fight theme from M&L Inside Story. It goes from F Lydian to G Lydian to A minor. (I think correct me if I am wrong)
Space junk galaxy is the Mario track that has always stood out in my mind, and it inspired me to write a piano centric song in 5/4 with some weird, Scarborough-Fair-by-Simon-and-Garfunkel-esque type arpeggios. It sets such a special atmosphere, if I do say so myself. And that specific flat six flat seven one progression that sounds so mellow is one I'm sure I've heard twice before--once in a trailer to a Barbie movie (heard it many a time since it was on VHS) and a H.I.M. Mass Choir song
Never thought I would see that really old obscure Lego pc game in any clips haha! I know it was for the pizza metaphor, but now I wonder if it had any examples of certain music techniques in it.
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
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*
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
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
"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
"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.
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
(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.
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
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)
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
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.
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).
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
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.
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!
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.
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."
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 :)
this channel is AMAZING
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.
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!!!
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!
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 :)
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
Always brightens up my day to see a new 8 Bit Music Theory video!
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
this video reminded of how much i love the soundtrack from Paper Mario TTYD. such an underrated game
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.
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!
Informative as always. Mt ordeals from Final Fantasy 4 alternates between Lydian and Dorian.
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.
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.
Man. My brain does not have the structure to retain any of these music theory basics, but I appreciate all the videos regardless
So what you're saying is Silk Sonic was inspired by Pokemon Gold & Silver when they wrote Leave The Door Open
I would love to see some of the other modes explored personally! I’ve always loved Phrygian
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.
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
This was fantastic. The pizza metaphor was perfect. Thank you for the lesson!
Man, it feels like an oversight not bringing up Jiggywiggy's Temple on this list. What a clear and well-constructed example of the Lydian mode. Gotta love Grant Kirkhope.
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.
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
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!
Thats crazy to me that they don't teach this, this just proves to me even more that the classical teachers are idiots, (i think jazz players are worse) the medieval music is where its at, even in the baroque era modes were still intentionally deployed quite commonly.
Your videos so good with those examples. "Sounds like adventure begun" is actualy what I needed
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!
One of my new favorite videos from you. Pure excellence!
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.
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.
you've made learning theory genuinely interesting and I understand it far better now because of your informative videos. big ups
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.... ;)
Not sure if this counts, but there's Bowser's Pinball machine from Mario Party DS track that I think would count as Lydian, albeit lydian b7. Absolutely crazy track in terms of music theory, goes all over the place so I'm not at all sure of this. It's using C and Cdim a lot, so the flat 4 is really pronounced. Eventually it then eventually lands on a really nice major section in D where the sharp 4 gets a cosy new home. Not for long though, it's immediately kicked out again by the F. Sad times indeed. 9/10 would recommend the track.
Same scale as the Simpson theme lol
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!
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
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’m loving the mode examples in video game music. Keep ‘em up
I have learned that the lydian mode gives me tingles. It is just so bright.
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.
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
I think one of my favorite Lydian video game jams is the opening music in Bart vs. the Space Mutants.
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.
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
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!
Your videos are absolutely incredible! Stupendous explanations, brilliantly curated examples, and illuminating transcriptions! Bravo!
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
5:50 graphic footage of link getting his face impaled with a spear. Just brutal.
Most of these terms are going over my head but I can’t get enough of these videos lol
The pizza analogy is incredible and the use of Lego Island footage even more incredible such a good video!! ❤️
This is a great series. I'm still learning the joys of modal composition lol. I picked up most of my music theory just by hanging out with legit musicians and never had any formal training, so I remember last year when I was working on an arrangement of Vaati's theme from the Legend of Zelda I was desperately trying to figure out if it was major or minor and then I suddenly realized "oh fuck me it's in phrygian mode."
Bro this is fantastic. What a great way to connect with theory.
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
Love how you implemented the pizza analogy. Perfect!
That Lego pizza game clip was pretty hilarious.
ok i know like nothing about music theory, so almost all of this goes over my head, but when he played the example of the lydian mode by itself, i did immediately recognize it as the end of level fanfare from super mario bros 3
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
I can't wait for the Phrygian episode - I already see Brock with the maracas in my head every time because of your previous reference to it being relegated to vaguely Spanish sounding duties
Really interesting…I never realized how rich the music in video games is!
I find that, generally, Lydian tends to feel floaty and ethereal.
I think one of the most effective Lydian chord progressions to be I to #ivø7 and back again.
One of my favorites! Like using it with the ivo7 in second inversion. The typical I-II as well as I-vii work as well. Using Isus#4 (even on its own) can work too
The more epic sounding version is just I to II back to I, it also has that "wait are we in lydian or mixolydian" quality
if.only they don't play the 2nd degree, the C6 (#4) is actually #iv half-diminished
Fake Lydian usually has these floaty feels
I just recorded a guitar cover for Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart which is Lydian and I really enjoyed this mode, so I found this video to learn more about it (my mode knowledge is super basic). This is super helpful, great video.
13:50 This makes me want an 8-bit music theory video on silent hill music
I always wondered what makes sharpening the 4th sound so good but it never clicked that it was the Lydian mode. Makes sense now!
You could buy me dinner first and we’ll talk.
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!
Im so in love with your videos. Keep it up man! Maybe Phrygian next?
2009 "A Boy And His Blob" has a track Home Blob Home which is very much in Lydian. And it uses Lydian in both chords and in melody.
In the credits song of that game "Everything To Me", the non-verse parts are in Lydian.
that yoshis song example was kinda mindblowing
this made modes finally make so much sense
PLEASE MORE MODE SPECIFIC VIDEOS THEYRE AMAZING
Incredible video! Really amazing music choices and super clear explanations
Bit by bit understanding more and more of what this guy is talking about by learning music theory.
Oh my… this is what I came here for. It’s all been leading up to this.
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
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!
One of my favourite lydian songs in video game soundtrack is the boss fight theme from M&L Inside Story. It goes from F Lydian to G Lydian to A minor. (I think correct me if I am wrong)
Space junk galaxy is the Mario track that has always stood out in my mind, and it inspired me to write a piano centric song in 5/4 with some weird, Scarborough-Fair-by-Simon-and-Garfunkel-esque type arpeggios. It sets such a special atmosphere, if I do say so myself.
And that specific flat six flat seven one progression that sounds so mellow is one I'm sure I've heard twice before--once in a trailer to a Barbie movie (heard it many a time since it was on VHS) and a H.I.M. Mass Choir song
3:47 Lost Woods was actually my second thought. my first was the Now Or Never theme from Splatoon 1 and 2 :)
Never thought I would see that really old obscure Lego pc game in any clips haha! I know it was for the pizza metaphor, but now I wonder if it had any examples of certain music techniques in it.