Hey man! Just a little correction. On minute 5:20, it says on the sheet the bass is doing D and G and the beginning, when it is actually doing D and A. I haven't check out the rest, but I think apart from it everything is correct. Thank you for your attention, I love your videos . ) Keep up the AMAZING content dude. Greetings from a spaniard in the UK!
No worries at all my man! Being pitch perfect definitely helps hehe! I'd offer you a hand on your transcriptions since I can do it very quickly, but I'm quite sure you don't need it. Even though, if you ever are very busy... Here I am!
I noticed that too, therefore changing the chord to Dm. Regardless, I LOVE watching your videos. It's nice to analyze VGM that wouldn't otherwise get the musical attention it needs. Keep it up!
I've always wanted to see a breakdown of that NOISE BARRAGE. It's probably the best musical expression of "HOLY CRAP A COYOTE IS CHARGING AT ME AND IT'S ON FIRE!"
Personally I call it "combat whoosh", and frankly I think combat whoosh transitions are overused (though not nearly as much as they were a few decades ago)
I only know enough about music theory to enjoy and appreciate these videos. A large part of the draw of this channel is to learn about things that I didn't know before.
bVII is a lowered 7 chord (as in, a major triad build on the flatted 7th scale degree of whatever major key you in) That being said, this chord is usually “borrowed” from the parallel minor key, to add color and new harmonies to a chord progression. It’s definitely a little more advanced than basic music theory, so think of it as almost triumphant sounding, especially when followed by a I chord (happy major tonic) as shown by the “bVII-I” Hope this makes at least a little bit of sense haha!
I know very little about Music Theory, but I love watching your videos because, despite the fact I know very little about it, I still feel like I'm learning. One thing I'd like to compliment you on- at times you will put notes in red and insert footnotes explaining what exactly the emphasis is. This makes it a lot easier for me to learn, as I'm given a direct example. It's a neat touch, and I'm grateful you take the time to do it.
I am the EXACT same way! I don't retain much, but I think some of it is subconsciously making sense after seeing a few videos... I'll have to re-watch older ones as I get a better understanding.
I've noticed he's started doing those highlights much more recently, at least within the past handful of videos. I like that he's responding to the comments' constructive feedback and is putting in more effort to make a higher-quality final product!
Most of the time i dont even know what he is talking about (What the hell is even Major 5th). But i still enjoy his videos. Even have notification for him.
I played a lot of Pokemon (all generations) since I was very young and now I use that bass figure from 4:14 ALL THE TIME in my piano arranging. Maybe it came from all that pokemon playing? XD -Andrew
Always blows my mind how Masuda started out as a composer (and a damn fine one at that) then transitioned to the main producer of the entire series, while still coming back and composing a few tunes here and there, mostly battle themes and Champion themes. He always nails it aswell in my opinion. These elements you mention carry over aswell, for example in the Cynthia Champion theme. It gives a great feeling of consistency to the series and I'm always looking forward to playing a new entry to hear what his next champion theme is 😊
I always see people with musical background wondering what to do with the phrygian mode. Phrygian is metal as FUCK dude, everyone in metal uses it all the time.
Part of me is disappointed since Gold and Silver have some of the best village and overworld themes of the whole series! And I would have died to hear you dig into them! (Such as the one you played in the intro/outro) But still happy to hear your analysis of the battle themes
That was really cool to find out about. I was always curious as to why the 2nd-gen had some of the best battle music in the series, and I think you explained why very well.
Lol that’s really just your personal bias speaking. Each of these 5 are used in almost every single Pokémon battle music since, some exceptions being the rival battle musics from gen 5, 6 and 7
I’ve always felt that 8 bit music is one of the most pure forms of modern music, because it forces you to work with just three lines to create both intricate chord progressions and interesting music in general. THANK YOU for this.
It's weird looking back to see how much work goes into things that one would generally take for granted. Chromatic 8-bit chaos is easy to ignore as if it were just another element of nature like birds chirping, but there it is on paper at 50% tempo and it was actually notes the whole time...
It's always been clear that the encounter/battle start music was...chaotic, but seeing it taken apart like that gives me a whole new appreciation of it. Very intentional chaos. Great stuff.
I just went back to watch one of your first videos a couple days ago, and _wow_ you've hugely improved with using the notation visuals to demonstrate what you're talking about! The various displayed sections, the colored notes, and the occasional extra overlay (such as the "dotted quarter - eighth - quarter" pattern that was only implied by a few sections and so needed to be explicitly marked on top) all help tremendously with understanding the things you point out. I know it's a lot of extra work per video, but the final product shows _dramatic_ improvements when you use them! Please don't ever think the extra effort goes unnoticed!
Holy shit dude, this video is incredibly tailored to my interests. As a musician who spent a huge chunk of my childhood obsessively playing Crystal, all of these melodies are ingrained into my conscious - listening to them played with the notation visuals felt like returning to a familiar place. That said, hearing you talk about each of the common themes in these songs and seeing/hearing them highlighted has brought attention to all the parts of these songs that I love in new detail. I feel like I unconsciously knew most of this already, but seeing them clearly pointed out has just... made me so happy. Thank you. It also helps that the video was very well structured and paced, kudos
I have a strange relationship with Pokémon music. The games (especially GSC) are so important to me growing up, but the music just never grabbed me in the same way it did for others. Perhaps part of this reason is the music is very formulaic and I have a hard time distinguishing the nuances within it, but you've certainly helped me in that regard and deepened my appreciation for it. In my heart though, the best Pokémon soundtrack is the Trading Card Game for GBC. SO DANG GOOD. Also, you're a wizard for transcribing those insane chromatic openings. A wizard or crazy, one of the two.
The soundtracks from the 3rd generation onward were always a little hit or miss for me, but there's just some kind of charm in the first two gens' music that I love. Also you're completely right about the TCG game hahaha
8-bit Music Theory YES such an underappreciated gem. Those battle themes are just unbeatable, so groovy and such a long form too! Some of the loops are over two minutes. You get to like the third part and they just take off.
Six-year-old me who got his very own Gameboy Color and Pokemon Gold for Christmas and Current-age me who graduated from a conservatory are both screaming and I have no idea how to handle this. Honestly, this is one of my absolute favorite channels
This video gave me crazy goosebumps and almost made me cry in some parts. I spent countless hours playing and replaying Gen II when I was 11-12, but I never really went back to those games after I got my GBA. I hadn't listened to these Gameboy Color tunes in more than 15 years, but they were so ingrained in my subconscious that the nostalgia immediately hit me like a damn tsunami. Thank you for this, 8-bit Music Theory. I am now subbed to your channel.
Gen 1 and especially 2 of Pokemon were what initially turned my less-than-10-year-old brain on to what exactly comprised _music_. The Gameboy splitting the bass and percussion onto a separate headphone from the other two voices meant that suddenly I understood that there were varying parts making up the whole, and enabled me to track their motion independently in a clearer way.
I wonder how the composer came up with doing those countering speed musical lines... like he could just kept adding lines and craziness It’s just so brilliant and I’m just so amazed that this counterpoint works so well. Honestly I was wondering how he made his choices, but now using contrapuntal modes makes a lot more sense to me, even if I could never replicate these pieces lol :)
I can't help but keep commenting on your videos... You rock man. I've always loved pokemon music (childhood nostalgia), and I know my music theory, but I've never thought to bring the two together. Seeing the music (especially the battle music intros) broken down and analysed was super fun, so thank you.
At 6:36: "In these battle themes, the phrygian color is used to give the music an edge that's really effective in setting the tone..." *Super* effective, might you say?
Omg I saw this notification and got so excited. I just found your channel like three days ago and have been binge watching the hell out of it. Thank you so much for doing what you do!!!
Gen 2 has by far my favorite soundtrack of the entire Pokémon series, and despite it having my favorite battle themes as well, they're the least interesting part of the soundtrack to me. Tunes like National Park (cool remix on the outro btw) and Azelea Town never get old to me. I also wish Junichi Masuda was still the music director of the series as opposed to just doing the battle music like he does now. There's so much going on in the music of gen 2 (and to a lesser extent gen 1) that I don't fully understand, and it keeps me coming back to try and figure it out.
God I love the Champion theme from Gen 2. It's just so good. Every time I hear it it's like a shot of nostalgia straight to the heart, and I want to dig out my old GBC and play through Crystal again. Or at least get SoulSilver out and enjoy the less limited soundfont.
Darknarga Well, the "became confused" part and "evolved" part are references to Pokemon. As for the roman numerals, all you really need to know is that musicians use them to talk about different chord progressions and how different chords relate to each other. In this video, he named one of his Pokemon after a chord progression. You can learn more about them if you search up music theory and watch channels like 12-tone.
Any downvotes for this great video are surely merely the results of post traumatic stress disorder buried deep within a memory of losing crucial battle. :(
I really enjoyed the specifics of the video. Yeah, it's a bit technical, but along side the music demonstrating what you're talking about, it makes a lot of sense.
3:04 It's called "tresillo", widely used in African and Latin music. I think it adds a "tribal" feel to the combat songs. It is so common that sometimes I find it cliché (gets interesting with extra syncopation).
'A top five list with meaningful observations and legitimate insights I didn't know about beforehand? He's clearly doing this wrong!' -Buzzfeed Great stuff, as always.
Love it love it love it. The pokemon music is so out there, yet so grounded in our minds. I wasn't even sure those encounter "flashes" were notated musically, I guess somewhere in my head I assumed they were some kind of... I don't know, independant sound effect.
Another fantastic video. Listening to you talk about music theory not only inspires me to learn more but observe the music of the games I play now more
doesnt it just? I hope we get a lot more RPGs, their music seems to cover the widest range and there's so got dang many that I love and can't figure out why.. which is good because games like that you're gonna hear the music for literally hours. Freakin.. if we get any videos on like xenoblade.. tales of phantasia / symphonia.. the paper marios, or anything like that, I will be even more entranced.
I am learning counterpoint in my music theory courses right now and I thought it would be interesting if you could talk about how composers use/disregard it in video games. :D I love your videos, they are extremely well done and I love the humor you put into them. =)
I agree! it would be interesting to see how composers do counterpoint, especially because I don't see it talked about much. That and I should learn it too.
I demand Bad Parkour to be the next patreon request. Also man that was FUN to listen to, I'd love to hear more weirdly specific top 5 so-and-so's honestly, it was pretty fantastic! I'm definitely learning more about music theory which each new video.
My favorite piece of the whole game is the rival battle BECAUSE of that simmer down. Not a lot of music can make me feel emotional, but this one sure does.
6:13 B-but Phrygian (and Phrygian Dominant) are my favorite modes! I absolute love the feel of the flattened second. It's absolutely _everywhere_ in metal.
Could you do a video on RPG town themes? Ive played many RPGs and JRPGs and I've noticed that a lot of the town themselves sound very similar. I'm currently working on making my own game, and I've been using what I've learned on this channel to help me score it. I really want to learn what makes an RPG town theme sound so Towny. What's the secret ingredient?
i believe the composition process behind these is very similiar to jpop, so IV-V-iii-vi, harmony in minor and melody in major or vice versa, and maybe also secondary dominants and 7th chords, also the instrumentation and keeping it simple is important sorry for being 3 years late but yea
Woah. I've been a fan of Pokemon music for a while - it's what got me into ludomusicology in the first place, but what really interests me is the part about the phrygian mode. I've been noticing it for a while now, but it's often combined with the harmonic minor scale. It even pops up in other gens - gen 6 has Zinnia's theme (F#/G minor with a flat 2 and raised 7), Cynthia's theme (gen 4) uses this and the 'resting' tactic, and the Team Plasma theme from gen 5, which combines this with an unhealthy dose of Phrygian modulations. I swear to Arceus - Pokemon music all follows a similar structure, but it's incredible how much freedom is found within this one structure, even more so than games like Touhou (which has great but somewhat chord-progression-predictable music) and EarthBound. The newer music in Pokemon is interesting because of the unlimited instrumentation synth channels, but even these 8-bit themes show technique, style and emotion. Wow. You've opened my eyes to a lot about my favourite game series' music. :)
Point number 4 completely explains why I'm so obsessed with soloing in the Phrygian mode!!! I might have played these games too much haha! Thank you for the video =)
I like how the note sheets do an "exit, stage left" in the case of the 1-5, 5-1 it looked like a subtle animation of stomping feet at the edge of the screen.
I always referred to that "noise barrage", as you put it, as the "Pokemon scramble". It shows up so much I start to hear it in other music like deep in the background of the Attack on Titan S1 op ("Guren no Yumiya"). Anyroads, you get a Like!
Imagine you're 117 credits into your music degree, and you walk into the final exam for the last level of sight singing and transcription. Your professor passes out blank sheet music and says "All you have to do to pass this class is transcribe this." They push play, and it's one of the three-voiced 16th note battle intros.
@@BlueSatoshi As a matter of fact, there's some very minor transcription errors (for instance, the sequence of four 16th C# notes at the end of the second bar in the very first music sheet shown are really a single quarter note) that tell me that he _didn't_ use the source code. Which makes this really impressive.
Hey Just wanna to thank you. I'm currently trying to learn how to make music and I decided to try a pokemon battle theme as my third song XD Yours videos are very cool and it helps me a lot. Cheers from Brazil.
Champion red/lance’s theme is my favorite video game song from any soundtrack. Might be because I associate it with good memories from watching marrilands wedlocke for hg/ss
#1 is only slightly incorrect but you probably already know and why: The Red/Champion fight doesn't start with the same disorienting sound. The shared use of this is inspiring and confident, showing your growth as a trainer. Really fucking cool.
As a kid I would spend hours just sitting and listening to the music on this game. Once I started writing music, I found myself drawn towards a lot of eastern modes, especially phrygian variations. Now I can see that from a young age that was what I loved about the music in this game, even though it was something I didn't understand and couldnt verbalize
The Lance battle music always gives me this feeling of everything being on the line, you (the trainer) are giving 110% to try and win and survive the battle with your Pokemon.
I doubt you'll see this comment on an old video, but as someone will little to no music theory knowledge, the information in this video was described very clearly and in a great 12345 format. Thanks!
Nice analysis! 2nd gen has always been my favorite. The Lance battle music is so intense. I never knew the battle intro's were different for each game! What a fun Easter Egg.
Im able to understand just enough that makes me realize how amazing the music you analyze is. I love pokemon and you just made me see it in a new light, thank you!
Thanks for posting this! I was actually expecting you to mention how it's neat that the battle themes all lack percussion so that it can be used for the sound effects track, and though I didn't get that, I got some other neat observations -- such as that this game extensively uses phrygian elements for its battle themes, which contributes to how it sounds darker than RBY's battle themes (of which there are only four, but the gym theme is in mixolydian and the wild theme is a mix of lydian/mixolydian/phrygian I think). Anyhow, a few comments on your transcriptions: 4:25 bars 37-39 of the gym leader battle theme use the fifth rather than the octave as their last bass note. 4:33 bars 27-28 of the rival battle theme should be in Fb major, rather than E major, in keeping with the Eb minor overall tonality and the phrygian-flavored bII usage, which resolves back down to i. 5:20 bars 23-5 of the trainer battle theme have an alternating D-A pattern, not D-G. 6:14 I'm not sure if this is intentional but this is A phrygian while C phrygian plays in the audio. 6:58 bar 5 and 9 of the wild theme, second interval in treble should have D as its top note. 7:45 rival battle theme's alto voice in this excerpted passage actually has a consistent dotted-quarter dotted-quarter quarter rhythm which is distinct from the rhythm of the soprano which features rests. In other words, it's the way you notated the alto rhythm in bar 48. 7:57 that Db in bar 40 seems weird, but also seems correct when I play at half speed. Unsure. 9:15 the second half of bar 30 of the Champion theme has two D naturals in the alto. And slowing down the video to hear this clearly made me notice that the bass Eb that starts that second half might actually be a D? (In which case it might be the same in bar 28, though you haven't included the audio for that)
4:50 I came here looking for this. This, I feel, is the single most defining feature of early Pokémon battle music. It's especially noticeable during the rests you describe in #5, but I really like how it's briefly the main melody for the intro of the Hoenn Rival battle theme.
It's interesting that you mention the Tresillo (the rythymic pattern you mention in point 2) being prominent in all of the battle themes. One thing that you don't mention about this is that the Tresillo is present in all of the Johto battle themes, but _absent_ in all of the Kanto battle themes. This is something that I feel gives a significantly different flavour to the two regions, to the point where I wonder how much the rest of the soundtrack does that in ways that don't involve direct musical nostalgia.
It's actually present in Kanto's wild battle theme, and every other bar employs it in the introduction of the trainer battle theme (while the alternating bars contain an extra note in between the first two). It returned prominently in Hoenn's battle themes too.
It’s cool to see how a lot of this transfers to some of the fan favorites from later in the series, like the 8th note bass line in Champion Cynthia or the melodic rhythm in the Gen 3 Rival theme, keep up the great work man
I look at HG/SS and think "Damn, they sure remixed the hell out of this music!" But then I look at G/S/C and think "Wow, they really didn't remix it quite as much as I thought! It's always been this good!" Like, I guess I wouldn't really expect such complex tunes from an 8-bit game. It's like the HG/SS music is the original, and G/S/C is those 8-bit remixes that you find on TH-cam. Y'know what I'm saying?
I find it odd that the Legendary dogs encounter music from Crystal wasn't ever mentioned, it seems to follow similar patterns as the other battle themes too. Still this was really interesting! I always felt like Pokemon battle themes had a specific kind of sound but lacked the knowledge to really explain it, but now I know why a bit better.
I love the encounter music in combination with the various wipe screens determined by the encounter. One for lower levels, one for even levels, one for higher levels... so much stuff i love
You are amazing for teaching and transcribing all this work! This is extremely detailed and informative and no one else is doing this kind of work. Keep it up man!
Hey man! Just a little correction. On minute 5:20, it says on the sheet the bass is doing D and G and the beginning, when it is actually doing D and A. I haven't check out the rest, but I think apart from it everything is correct.
Thank you for your attention, I love your videos . ) Keep up the AMAZING content dude. Greetings from a spaniard in the UK!
Don't know how I missed that! Thanks for the heads up!
No worries at all my man! Being pitch perfect definitely helps hehe! I'd offer you a hand on your transcriptions since I can do it very quickly, but I'm quite sure you don't need it. Even though, if you ever are very busy... Here I am!
confound those perfect intervals
I noticed that too, therefore changing the chord to Dm. Regardless, I LOVE watching your videos. It's nice to analyze VGM that wouldn't otherwise get the musical attention it needs. Keep it up!
The bass pedal at 2:25 starts of at G for one Beat, F# for one Beat and then goes to F :) Keep up the good work!!
I've always wanted to see a breakdown of that NOISE BARRAGE. It's probably the best musical expression of "HOLY CRAP A COYOTE IS CHARGING AT ME AND IT'S ON FIRE!"
😂😂😭
POV getting mugged by Sonic
The intro animations have different variations too!
Personally I call it "combat whoosh", and frankly I think combat whoosh transitions are overused (though not nearly as much as they were a few decades ago)
I too nicknamed my Forretress bVII I
I don't get it.
James Dell'Alba you're on a music theory channel...
I only know enough about music theory to enjoy and appreciate these videos. A large part of the draw of this channel is to learn about things that I didn't know before.
bVII is a lowered 7 chord (as in, a major triad build on the flatted 7th scale degree of whatever major key you in) That being said, this chord is usually “borrowed” from the parallel minor key, to add color and new harmonies to a chord progression. It’s definitely a little more advanced than basic music theory, so think of it as almost triumphant sounding, especially when followed by a I chord (happy major tonic) as shown by the “bVII-I” Hope this makes at least a little bit of sense haha!
Loved your Alolan Jazz rec, good stuff!
I know very little about Music Theory, but I love watching your videos because, despite the fact I know very little about it, I still feel like I'm learning. One thing I'd like to compliment you on- at times you will put notes in red and insert footnotes explaining what exactly the emphasis is. This makes it a lot easier for me to learn, as I'm given a direct example. It's a neat touch, and I'm grateful you take the time to do it.
I am the EXACT same way! I don't retain much, but I think some of it is subconsciously making sense after seeing a few videos... I'll have to re-watch older ones as I get a better understanding.
me too
I've noticed he's started doing those highlights much more recently, at least within the past handful of videos. I like that he's responding to the comments' constructive feedback and is putting in more effort to make a higher-quality final product!
I know music theory well, and I still find those footnotes extremely helpful. This channel is amazing.
Most of the time i dont even know what he is talking about (What the hell is even Major 5th). But i still enjoy his videos. Even have notification for him.
1:50 he named his pokemon ii-V-I im done
Prolly played through the whole game since it's *all he needs*
ayy
More like ii-V-fun, if you know what I mean
hahahahahahahaha
And he named himself "NERDBOY". :D
This made me laugh way too loud! XD
I played a lot of Pokemon (all generations) since I was very young and now I use that bass figure from 4:14 ALL THE TIME in my piano arranging. Maybe it came from all that pokemon playing? XD -Andrew
Hi that’s makes sense.
I laughed way harder than I should have at the notation in the Team Rocket Battle Theme saying, "These chord symbols aren't helping anybody".
Neither is Team Rocket.
whew... that was the best.
Always blows my mind how Masuda started out as a composer (and a damn fine one at that) then transitioned to the main producer of the entire series, while still coming back and composing a few tunes here and there, mostly battle themes and Champion themes. He always nails it aswell in my opinion. These elements you mention carry over aswell, for example in the Cynthia Champion theme. It gives a great feeling of consistency to the series and I'm always looking forward to playing a new entry to hear what his next champion theme is 😊
Jokes on you, he remixed and repurposed an existing song for the gen 8 champion theme!
I always see people with musical background wondering what to do with the phrygian mode.
Phrygian is metal as FUCK dude, everyone in metal uses it all the time.
Part of me is disappointed since Gold and Silver have some of the best village and overworld themes of the whole series! And I would have died to hear you dig into them! (Such as the one you played in the intro/outro) But still happy to hear your analysis of the battle themes
I live the golden rod theme.
Next request: 8-bit Music theory spends hours transcribing chromatic 16th-note noise barrages
That was really cool to find out about. I was always curious as to why the 2nd-gen had some of the best battle music in the series, and I think you explained why very well.
Lol that’s really just your personal bias speaking. Each of these 5 are used in almost every single Pokémon battle music since, some exceptions being the rival battle musics from gen 5, 6 and 7
I’ve always felt that 8 bit music is one of the most pure forms of modern music, because it forces you to work with just three lines to create both intricate chord progressions and interesting music in general. THANK YOU for this.
It's weird looking back to see how much work goes into things that one would generally take for granted. Chromatic 8-bit chaos is easy to ignore as if it were just another element of nature like birds chirping, but there it is on paper at 50% tempo and it was actually notes the whole time...
It's always been clear that the encounter/battle start music was...chaotic, but seeing it taken apart like that gives me a whole new appreciation of it. Very intentional chaos. Great stuff.
I just went back to watch one of your first videos a couple days ago, and _wow_ you've hugely improved with using the notation visuals to demonstrate what you're talking about! The various displayed sections, the colored notes, and the occasional extra overlay (such as the "dotted quarter - eighth - quarter" pattern that was only implied by a few sections and so needed to be explicitly marked on top) all help tremendously with understanding the things you point out. I know it's a lot of extra work per video, but the final product shows _dramatic_ improvements when you use them! Please don't ever think the extra effort goes unnoticed!
I know nothing about music theory and yet these videos are so interesting
Holy shit dude, this video is incredibly tailored to my interests. As a musician who spent a huge chunk of my childhood obsessively playing Crystal, all of these melodies are ingrained into my conscious - listening to them played with the notation visuals felt like returning to a familiar place. That said, hearing you talk about each of the common themes in these songs and seeing/hearing them highlighted has brought attention to all the parts of these songs that I love in new detail. I feel like I unconsciously knew most of this already, but seeing them clearly pointed out has just... made me so happy. Thank you. It also helps that the video was very well structured and paced, kudos
I have a strange relationship with Pokémon music. The games (especially GSC) are so important to me growing up, but the music just never grabbed me in the same way it did for others. Perhaps part of this reason is the music is very formulaic and I have a hard time distinguishing the nuances within it, but you've certainly helped me in that regard and deepened my appreciation for it. In my heart though, the best Pokémon soundtrack is the Trading Card Game for GBC. SO DANG GOOD.
Also, you're a wizard for transcribing those insane chromatic openings. A wizard or crazy, one of the two.
The soundtracks from the 3rd generation onward were always a little hit or miss for me, but there's just some kind of charm in the first two gens' music that I love. Also you're completely right about the TCG game hahaha
8-bit Music Theory YES such an underappreciated gem. Those battle themes are just unbeatable, so groovy and such a long form too! Some of the loops are over two minutes. You get to like the third part and they just take off.
I disagree so much.. the first two gen games had amazing music. Such a grand feeling, like setting out on an epic adventure.
Game Score Fanfare tcg has such dope themes +1
I’m glad you mentioned the TCG game! I love the normal duel theme. I never got tired of it in the game.
I love your Ampharos’s nickname.
I’m understanding these more and more.
I’m learning.
This is the video I never knew I wanted. Junichi Masuda is an actual genius, and this deconstruction proves that. Thanks so much!
Six-year-old me who got his very own Gameboy Color and Pokemon Gold for Christmas and Current-age me who graduated from a conservatory are both screaming and I have no idea how to handle this.
Honestly, this is one of my absolute favorite channels
This video gave me crazy goosebumps and almost made me cry in some parts.
I spent countless hours playing and replaying Gen II when I was 11-12, but I never really went back to those games after I got my GBA. I hadn't listened to these Gameboy Color tunes in more than 15 years, but they were so ingrained in my subconscious that the nostalgia immediately hit me like a damn tsunami.
Thank you for this, 8-bit Music Theory. I am now subbed to your channel.
Gen 1 and especially 2 of Pokemon were what initially turned my less-than-10-year-old brain on to what exactly comprised _music_. The Gameboy splitting the bass and percussion onto a separate headphone from the other two voices meant that suddenly I understood that there were varying parts making up the whole, and enabled me to track their motion independently in a clearer way.
I wonder how the composer came up with doing those countering speed musical lines... like he could just kept adding lines and craziness
It’s just so brilliant and I’m just so amazed that this counterpoint works so well.
Honestly I was wondering how he made his choices, but now using contrapuntal modes makes a lot more sense to me, even if I could never replicate these pieces lol :)
I can't help but keep commenting on your videos... You rock man. I've always loved pokemon music (childhood nostalgia), and I know my music theory, but I've never thought to bring the two together. Seeing the music (especially the battle music intros) broken down and analysed was super fun, so thank you.
At 6:36: "In these battle themes, the phrygian color is used to give the music an edge that's really effective in setting the tone..."
*Super* effective, might you say?
Omg I saw this notification and got so excited. I just found your channel like three days ago and have been binge watching the hell out of it. Thank you so much for doing what you do!!!
Gen 2 has by far my favorite soundtrack of the entire Pokémon series, and despite it having my favorite battle themes as well, they're the least interesting part of the soundtrack to me. Tunes like National Park (cool remix on the outro btw) and Azelea Town never get old to me.
I also wish Junichi Masuda was still the music director of the series as opposed to just doing the battle music like he does now. There's so much going on in the music of gen 2 (and to a lesser extent gen 1) that I don't fully understand, and it keeps me coming back to try and figure it out.
Well, time to go play Silver again. Another great video!!
God I cried watching this.
The Pokemon Music was highly effective! Kurt Mill took 62 damage!
Lol. Thanks for making this video!
You should definitely check out some of the Fire Emblem soundtracks. Not only are the newer versions really good, the retro ones are just as amazing
Tamborrino_64 that would be awesome, especially with fate's soundtrack or the archanean ones, though I'm down for any of the games.
Gaiden/Echoes is super interesting.
You genius. I knew about the chromatic intros, 1-5 basslines and Phrygian harmony, but the rhythmic profile in #4 was a complete revelation to me
0:37 Noise Barrage
3:03 Syncopation
4:50 Bassline
6:02 Phrygian Stank
8:21 Pacing (hard to classify)
God I love the Champion theme from Gen 2. It's just so good. Every time I hear it it's like a shot of nostalgia straight to the heart, and I want to dig out my old GBC and play through Crystal again. Or at least get SoulSilver out and enjoy the less limited soundfont.
ii-V-I became confused!
ii-V-I evolved into a V/V-V-I!
Man, I'm just trying to imagine the staggeringly small amount of people that will get this joke. Excellent work!
William Doran And I don't get it haha...poor existens without meme understanding .-.
Darknarga Well, the "became confused" part and "evolved" part are references to Pokemon.
As for the roman numerals, all you really need to know is that musicians use them to talk about different chord progressions and how different chords relate to each other. In this video, he named one of his Pokemon after a chord progression. You can learn more about them if you search up music theory and watch channels like 12-tone.
I have decided that ii-V-I must also be an evolution of IV-V-I. If IV-V-I -> ii-V-I -> V/V-V-I is an evolution tree, what else is there?
GSC was without a doubt, the most *metal* of the Pokemon soundtracks (so far) ;)
Is there a full version of that National Park theme you used? That's probably my all time favorite Pokémon song.
Syd Little I dunno what he used, but have this: th-cam.com/video/Pa9xdH4MSp8/w-d-xo.html
Not sure if you're still looking but I wanted to find it too.
I've come across FamilyJules' version for now th-cam.com/video/GZ3gZiMdf_U/w-d-xo.html
Any downvotes for this great video are surely merely the results of post traumatic stress disorder buried deep within a memory of losing crucial battle. :(
I really enjoyed the specifics of the video. Yeah, it's a bit technical, but along side the music demonstrating what you're talking about, it makes a lot of sense.
Literal mind blowing stuff here 💕 johto’s music is some of my favorite so I love seeing and hearing it being dissected!
3:04 It's called "tresillo", widely used in African and Latin music. I think it adds a "tribal" feel to the combat songs. It is so common that sometimes I find it cliché (gets interesting with extra syncopation).
All I can say is that I wish you had more videos for me to watch lol. I find that video games make learning music theory a lot more entertaining.
'A top five list with meaningful observations and legitimate insights I didn't know about beforehand? He's clearly doing this wrong!' -Buzzfeed
Great stuff, as always.
The most interesting thing I thought was the cooldown in the songs. Never thought about that before but almost every pokemon battle theme has that.
Love it love it love it. The pokemon music is so out there, yet so grounded in our minds. I wasn't even sure those encounter "flashes" were notated musically, I guess somewhere in my head I assumed they were some kind of... I don't know, independant sound effect.
Another fantastic video. Listening to you talk about music theory not only inspires me to learn more but observe the music of the games I play now more
doesnt it just?
I hope we get a lot more RPGs, their music seems to cover the widest range and there's so got dang many that I love and can't figure out why.. which is good because games like that you're gonna hear the music for literally hours. Freakin.. if we get any videos on like xenoblade.. tales of phantasia / symphonia.. the paper marios, or anything like that, I will be even more entranced.
Did anyone else tear up a bit?
Every time he played the intros, the whole song echoed throught my head.
I did!
Yes.
I'm not even actually sure why I did.
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but these are some fantastic songs.
I am learning counterpoint in my music theory courses right now and I thought it would be interesting if you could talk about how composers use/disregard it in video games. :D I love your videos, they are extremely well done and I love the humor you put into them. =)
I agree! it would be interesting to see how composers do counterpoint, especially because I don't see it talked about much. That and I should learn it too.
WhimsyHeath it’d be awesome if he analyzed the counterpoint in the dark souls 3 title theme
The pokemon songs are some of the most nostalgic for me and you made me see (or hear) them a bit differently.
I demand Bad Parkour to be the next patreon request. Also man that was FUN to listen to, I'd love to hear more weirdly specific top 5 so-and-so's honestly, it was pretty fantastic! I'm definitely learning more about music theory which each new video.
another great video! Love the b2 description and how the phrygian mode adds a nice dash of color. Keep up the good work man!
My favorite piece of the whole game is the rival battle BECAUSE of that simmer down. Not a lot of music can make me feel emotional, but this one sure does.
You should do another "How to write a song from...", but this time actually write a song at the end :P
6:13
B-but Phrygian (and Phrygian Dominant) are my favorite modes!
I absolute love the feel of the flattened second.
It's absolutely _everywhere_ in metal.
I just found heaven on Earth, this channel is amazing!
Could you do a video on RPG town themes? Ive played many RPGs and JRPGs and I've noticed that a lot of the town themselves sound very similar. I'm currently working on making my own game, and I've been using what I've learned on this channel to help me score it. I really want to learn what makes an RPG town theme sound so Towny. What's the secret ingredient?
i believe the composition process behind these is very similiar to jpop, so IV-V-iii-vi, harmony in minor and melody in major or vice versa, and maybe also secondary dominants and 7th chords, also the instrumentation and keeping it simple is important
sorry for being 3 years late but yea
Ima need that national park mix you used at the end linked, slaps too hard to just pass up like that.
Woah. I've been a fan of Pokemon music for a while - it's what got me into ludomusicology in the first place, but what really interests me is the part about the phrygian mode. I've been noticing it for a while now, but it's often combined with the harmonic minor scale. It even pops up in other gens - gen 6 has Zinnia's theme (F#/G minor with a flat 2 and raised 7), Cynthia's theme (gen 4) uses this and the 'resting' tactic, and the Team Plasma theme from gen 5, which combines this with an unhealthy dose of Phrygian modulations. I swear to Arceus - Pokemon music all follows a similar structure, but it's incredible how much freedom is found within this one structure, even more so than games like Touhou (which has great but somewhat chord-progression-predictable music) and EarthBound. The newer music in Pokemon is interesting because of the unlimited instrumentation synth channels, but even these 8-bit themes show technique, style and emotion. Wow. You've opened my eyes to a lot about my favourite game series' music. :)
Point number 4 completely explains why I'm so obsessed with soloing in the Phrygian mode!!! I might have played these games too much haha! Thank you for the video =)
Why is this show consistently the greatest thing on TH-cam?
God, I appreciate the effort put into these videos in editing, scripting, and all the studying put into analyzing the music. Thank you so much.
I like how the note sheets do an "exit, stage left" in the case of the 1-5, 5-1 it looked like a subtle animation of stomping feet at the edge of the screen.
I always referred to that "noise barrage", as you put it, as the "Pokemon scramble". It shows up so much I start to hear it in other music like deep in the background of the Attack on Titan S1 op ("Guren no Yumiya"). Anyroads, you get a Like!
How the HECK did you transcribe this
Neil Bolima I assume he slowed it down
Imagine you're 117 credits into your music degree, and you walk into the final exam for the last level of sight singing and transcription. Your professor passes out blank sheet music and says "All you have to do to pass this class is transcribe this." They push play, and it's one of the three-voiced 16th note battle intros.
The code's long been reverse engineered.
@@BlueSatoshi As a matter of fact, there's some very minor transcription errors (for instance, the sequence of four 16th C# notes at the end of the second bar in the very first music sheet shown are really a single quarter note) that tell me that he _didn't_ use the source code. Which makes this really impressive.
Every time you played some music I SWEAR, _MY ANXIETY JUST SHOOTS _*_THROUGH THE ROOF_*
Hey Just wanna to thank you. I'm currently trying to learn how to make music and I decided to try a pokemon battle theme as my third song XD
Yours videos are very cool and it helps me a lot. Cheers from Brazil.
Champion red/lance’s theme is my favorite video game song from any soundtrack. Might be because I associate it with good memories from watching marrilands wedlocke for
hg/ss
#1 is only slightly incorrect but you probably already know and why:
The Red/Champion fight doesn't start with the same disorienting sound. The shared use of this is inspiring and confident, showing your growth as a trainer. Really fucking cool.
cool observation
As a kid I would spend hours just sitting and listening to the music on this game. Once I started writing music, I found myself drawn towards a lot of eastern modes, especially phrygian variations. Now I can see that from a young age that was what I loved about the music in this game, even though it was something I didn't understand and couldnt verbalize
Everyone's talking about the Pokémon called ii-V-I, but what about bVII-I? Gotta have those backdoor resolutions.
that's a useful piece of vocabulary, thanks
You're welcome! I think I learnt it from the TH-camr 12tone, who's pretty great.
The Lance battle music always gives me this feeling of everything being on the line, you (the trainer) are giving 110% to try and win and survive the battle with your Pokemon.
I doubt you'll see this comment on an old video, but as someone will little to no music theory knowledge, the information in this video was described very clearly and in a great 12345 format. Thanks!
Nice analysis! 2nd gen has always been my favorite. The Lance battle music is so intense. I never knew the battle intro's were different for each game! What a fun Easter Egg.
You are a true legend
Anyone who uses Ampharos is.
I was just thinking about your channel earlier today. Loved the analysis.
Omg, I hope there's a Diamond and Pearl video similar to this one, by far my favorite OST of any Pokémon game.
Im able to understand just enough that makes me realize how amazing the music you analyze is. I love pokemon and you just made me see it in a new light, thank you!
PLEASE never stop making videos because they bring me more joy than anything.
I'm surprised Phrygian isn't used more in action games, it seems pretty much perfect for many games with different tones and just conveys ''it's on''
Thanks for posting this! I was actually expecting you to mention how it's neat that the battle themes all lack percussion so that it can be used for the sound effects track, and though I didn't get that, I got some other neat observations -- such as that this game extensively uses phrygian elements for its battle themes, which contributes to how it sounds darker than RBY's battle themes (of which there are only four, but the gym theme is in mixolydian and the wild theme is a mix of lydian/mixolydian/phrygian I think).
Anyhow, a few comments on your transcriptions:
4:25 bars 37-39 of the gym leader battle theme use the fifth rather than the octave as their last bass note.
4:33 bars 27-28 of the rival battle theme should be in Fb major, rather than E major, in keeping with the Eb minor overall tonality and the phrygian-flavored bII usage, which resolves back down to i.
5:20 bars 23-5 of the trainer battle theme have an alternating D-A pattern, not D-G.
6:14 I'm not sure if this is intentional but this is A phrygian while C phrygian plays in the audio.
6:58 bar 5 and 9 of the wild theme, second interval in treble should have D as its top note.
7:45 rival battle theme's alto voice in this excerpted passage actually has a consistent dotted-quarter dotted-quarter quarter rhythm which is distinct from the rhythm of the soprano which features rests. In other words, it's the way you notated the alto rhythm in bar 48.
7:57 that Db in bar 40 seems weird, but also seems correct when I play at half speed. Unsure.
9:15 the second half of bar 30 of the Champion theme has two D naturals in the alto. And slowing down the video to hear this clearly made me notice that the bass Eb that starts that second half might actually be a D? (In which case it might be the same in bar 28, though you haven't included the audio for that)
Man I’ve been looking forward to you covering the GSC games.
4:50
I came here looking for this. This, I feel, is the single most defining feature of early Pokémon battle music.
It's especially noticeable during the rests you describe in #5, but I really like how it's briefly the main melody for the intro of the Hoenn Rival battle theme.
It's interesting that you mention the Tresillo (the rythymic pattern you mention in point 2) being prominent in all of the battle themes. One thing that you don't mention about this is that the Tresillo is present in all of the Johto battle themes, but _absent_ in all of the Kanto battle themes. This is something that I feel gives a significantly different flavour to the two regions, to the point where I wonder how much the rest of the soundtrack does that in ways that don't involve direct musical nostalgia.
It's actually present in Kanto's wild battle theme, and every other bar employs it in the introduction of the trainer battle theme (while the alternating bars contain an extra note in between the first two). It returned prominently in Hoenn's battle themes too.
Excellent transcriptions and analysis. Really would love to see more from the gold/silver ost or other Pokemons!
It’s cool to see how a lot of this transfers to some of the fan favorites from later in the series, like the 8th note bass line in Champion Cynthia or the melodic rhythm in the Gen 3 Rival theme, keep up the great work man
Wow!!! This is amazing, I loove the detail and I can't believe there's so much sheet music in 1 video, I've never been able to find this stuff!
The spaced out bits in the battle themes are where you're meant to picture a dramatic tableaux of the whole battle
I look at HG/SS and think "Damn, they sure remixed the hell out of this music!" But then I look at G/S/C and think "Wow, they really didn't remix it quite as much as I thought! It's always been this good!" Like, I guess I wouldn't really expect such complex tunes from an 8-bit game. It's like the HG/SS music is the original, and G/S/C is those 8-bit remixes that you find on TH-cam. Y'know what I'm saying?
This is so good!! more weirdly specific stuff please XD
I find it odd that the Legendary dogs encounter music from Crystal wasn't ever mentioned, it seems to follow similar patterns as the other battle themes too. Still this was really interesting! I always felt like Pokemon battle themes had a specific kind of sound but lacked the knowledge to really explain it, but now I know why a bit better.
ooh, I needed to hear this old kind of pokemon music. thank you for this video.
I love the encounter music in combination with the various wipe screens determined by the encounter. One for lower levels, one for even levels, one for higher levels... so much stuff i love
This was a really cool video. Found this channel on accident but im happy i did!
I love this channel, thank you for making me notice things that I always listened to as a kid, but never noticed
I didn't understand 90% of what you said but now I kinda know what makes these themes sound so "full" and "intense/dramatic" lol
Loved the "Top 5 list"! Your analysis of 5 was spot on, I found those intros to be very funny.
You are amazing for teaching and transcribing all this work! This is extremely detailed and informative and no one else is doing this kind of work. Keep it up man!
The great thing about Pokemon battle theme formula is that it's easy to build them on midi makers and make your own battle themes that sound genuine