Rosalina is a Disney Princess (musically)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
- Rosalina's Observatory is a beautiful piece of music with a whimsical, dreamy quality that sounds like it was pulled right out of an old Disney movie. In this video I explore how the piece borrows from old Disney Princess music, as well as the broader Romantic musical tradition, to create this effect.
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - Disney Princess Music
2:17 - Chromatic Approach Notes
4:54 - Tonic Diminished Chord Resolutions
6:14 - Appoggiaturas
7:52 - Combining Two Techniques
11:42 - I Advocate for Musical Theft
13:58 - Outro
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#SuperMarioGalaxy #Rosalina #MusicTheory - เกม
Fun fact! This exact song (and eventually the rest of the Galaxy OST) was the one that convinced my grandparents that video game music had just as much love and artistic worth as any other kind of music.
I had gone to the bathroom while I left my game on, and when I came back, my Nana (who adores classical music) had apparently left the kitchen to sit on the couch, where she just stayed still with her eyes closed, soaking in the symphony. When she noticed I was there, she instantly started asking me questions about who made this music, and if I had a cassette of the piece. I explained that it was coming from my video game, and when my grandpa got home later that night, my Nana excitedly called "Ooh, Bobby Bobby Bobby!! Come listen to what he put on the TV!"
I eventually got them both the soundtrack CD, along with a little CD speaker for their joint birthday (they just so happen to have birthdays 1 day away from each other), and even now I will sometimes come to visit and hear a familiar Mario track playing.
Yeah, I mean. A fair amount of classical music lives on in orchestral music, which is usually heard in movies and video games.
that's adorable.. cassette
That's the best thing I've read all day.
Thank you for sharing.
What a wholesome thing to hear. Love it!
aww that's so wholesome
This is one of the only themes Koji Kondo composed for this game, and boy did he deliver.
@@liammcelroy2265 Understandable :) I was going to mention Egg Planet but I removed it to be more concise, while leaving "one of the only themes" to get the point across
Ikr, he ate and didn’t left any crumbs
I'd say this was his last master piece before going into semi-retirement. After SMG he was mostly in supervising roles and hasn't composed much at all. I think the last game where he composed something was "Zelda: Skyward Sword", and it was only the opening cinematic music, which was... kind of uninspired. After that, he's barely been in any games at all (and the few he's been in, are all Mario games).
@@XanderVJ I wouldn't consider Kondo semi-retired. Of course, Kondo is nowhere near his peak in terms of composer output quantity, but he has composed in recent years. He is the main composer for the Mario Maker games. And along with two others, Kondo is one of the lead composers for Super Mario Odyssey. Unlike with the Galaxy games, he isn't a minor guest but actually contributed to a significant amount of score, including fan favorites like Steam Gardens, Bowser's Kingdom: Main Courtyard, and even some of the boss battle music.
@@Chiffonaise the robo-brood theme is an absolute banger, just goes to show that masters truly never lose their stuff
This isn’t the first time Koji Kondo made a Mario song influenced by romantic era waltzes, he also did so with the Mario 1 underwater theme way back in 85
Now I want to hear the Underwater theme done by a string quartet.
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes is a great piece of music. Not “for a Disney movie” - it is genuinely great all by itself and without context.
For sure. A lot of the songs from that era of Disney are. Someday My Prince Will Come, When you wish upon a star, Alice in wonderland. All great songs
I took it meaning that it's context as a piece of music accompanying a movie works well
Abso fucking lutely
It's sad due to Disney's exposure(and more) their old music and Menken's are know seen as corny or just as kiddy stuff when in reality they're some of the finest music to come from movies, at least IMO
Can we all just appreciate how gorgeous the rubato is in those old Disney tunes? I feel like In the 70-odd years since then we’ve gotten a bit more metronomic
Go listen to historical recordings of classical music, and compare them to to modern interpretations (sound quality aside). The "cult of the written score" is a very real thing.
Rubato is still alive in the barbershop style!
definitely
@@agromchung not as mainstream tho. It pains me to admit it.
I think this is a result of us listening to more and more drum-machine beats as well as more music made of computers with exact bpm that don't vary at all
Oh, how my heart flutters. SMG1 is my favourite VGM OST of all time; every element of the soundtrack is perfectly crafted to enhance the gameplay experience while being able to stand on its own outside of the game. Plus, Rosalina is unforgettable. Truly iconic.
Hey I see you at SiIvaGunner
Rosalina def beats out Peach for me, they actually gave her a personality go get attached to! I love giant Space Mama :).
SMG1 is also my favorite VGM OST!
@@robsonclark9678 there are two type of people
the one that call Rosalina "giant space mama"
and the one that call Rosalina "giant space mommy"
@@CDCHexaku
Mama in the streets, mommy in the sheets
The bit of "ranting" at the end applies to all forms of art including games themselves. Intentional use of common elements/vocabularies to communicate ideas is an essential skill to grasp as a creator, and something that people are quick to take out of context to imply malicious or blind theft. We don't normally do this with books written in the same language that might share use of idioms, metaphors, references that a shared target audience would understand, etc., but it's often overlooked that all types of expression have these building blocks.
3:20 Holy smokes, I've only ever known that piece of music as "the sappy romantic music used in dozens of silly Gmod videos" -- I didn't realize it was actually from Tchaikovsky! Thanks for teaching me something today! 😄
I first heard that in _Jimmy Neutron_ back in the mid 2000's. And I didn't know what the term "Romantic" meant in that context because the closed captioning called the piece "Romantic music" whenever Jimmy fell in love.
Lots of fun to play on the piano too
@@3enCooper Yeah 'unsubtle' is definitely what I like about romantic music, and tchaikovsky in particular. There's something very compelling about that kind of intensely direct sincerity
Stealing from the classics.
@@3enCooper tchaikovsky is one of my fav composers of all time because of the unapologetic sinceritie he delicered in his compositions. Sometimes is so blunt it hurts (looking at you 1812 overture). I mean, the swan lake goes so hard in the themes and feelings of the story, that you can keep up with what's happening even when you don't know about the piece story in the ballet number. Music start and you already know "wow this is going to be tragic".
As a game music enthusiast who’s about to start interning at Disney, I love this! I have always thought rosalina’s observatory sounded like it could have been a movie theme. It just has a beautiful, lighthearted and “magical” feel to it💙
You still working at disney?
@@SansTheSkeIeton yes
@@annieoddo1475wow!! What do you do?
The emotional attachment I have to the entire Mario Galaxy soundtrack I can’t even describe. This was a fascinating breakdown!
No wonder Rosalina’s been my favorite of the Mario princesses for years, the Romantic period and Disney Golden Age are two of my favorite musical occurrences of all time!!
What a great analysis of one of my personal favorite VGM tracks too! It's so cool to think about that tradition Kondo was thinking about. I loved what you said at the end about how composers take from the lineage of musical traditions that go on to help them with that piece, yet can make it entirely their own. I feel like I've struggled with that a lot as a composer, but I've been able to embrace the music I love and incorporate it into my own style.
I wonder how he keeps the copy right machine at bay
super mario galaxy's music is so effective. just remembering the storybook theme has me crying, all these years later.
When I heard Rosalina Observatory, it reminded me of the Blue Danube because of its use in many space scenes in movies. This video was great and shows how much Nintendo cares about their games.
i made the same connection; i’m learning both on the piano right now
This might be my favorite episode of 8BMT yet. Got me feeling some type of WAY over here! I didn’t grow up with those classic Disney movies, so I never made that connection, but it’s crystal clear and totally explains how the observatory theme is able to draw out such whimsy and emotion from the player!
I swear I always have a tear in my eye whenever I hear the minor four chord in Rosalina's theme, its just so AGH
I always wondered exactly how classical pieces like old Disney movie music and Rosalina's Obvseratory always had that slight off-major feeling, that somehow made it feels even more beautiful. Your explanations of chromatic approach notes and diminished chords were perfect to help me understand this!
I don't care if isn't game related, I now want you to deep dive into Golden Age Disney music now after this video.
If we take the step into that path, then he absolutely should look into some anime music as well, in my opinion
@@Leolm037 Watch your step, this slope is surprisingly slippery
The yt channel Sideways is there for you
Wow. Finally the appoggiatura showed up. One of my all time favourite things because it has such a big powerful effect. For example in Adele's Someone like you it gets used all the time to lay thick emphasis on something that's completely out of key/chord before then landing squarely on what is in key/chord for a doubly satisfying resolution.
"I Advocate for Musical Theft" is honestly one of the most important discussions on all of Music Theory TH-cam. It's really easy to fear - and acccuse others of - plagiarism as a composer (shout out to the Marvin Gaye Estate reference lol) but you summarize it best:
"If you want your music to sound a certain way, you need to do the things that make it sound a certain way."
Great video, as always. And great emphasis of an often underappreciated point.
I loved how this video showed so many different examples of the inspirations behind the piece outside of just video game music. I feel like these sorts of external comparisons give video game music greater validity to people who are skeptical about their merit as "real music."
Love how you weave music theory and music history together! Very cool!
Agreed, it shows signs of a great teacher to make use of broader context, not just technical detail.
This song from galaxy has always been my favorite of the whole Mario series. I knew it had callbacks to waltz kind music but it never occurred to me that the same motifs played in the earlier Disney movies. Which are probably why I’ve always been fond of waltz kind of music and maybe reason why Rosalina hits top spot for my favorite Mario music.
I never thought it was possible for me to appreciate Rosalina in the Observatory any more than I did before watching this video. God DAMN did you prove me wrong. Good stuff, truly.
Most of these pieces also very prominently feature sixth jumps, which I always associate with romantic music. I think that's also a very important part of the sound.
Wow, I totally thought this video was going to focus on the three unique versions of the song that play as you get further and further in the game. Amazing how there was so much to talk about even beyond that!
While I am not terribly concerned about the whole "Copying" thing, I feel like the comparison with the Flower Waltz is very much appropriate. It of course does not diminish the absolutely stunning music that was put into that piece but, having played both Rosalina's theme and the Flower Waltz (cause my orchestra conductor is cool) it is so clear from playing it that Kondo was clearly inspired by the other. That is not to diminish what he did. If anything that is another that you can find in the Romantic Era:
You make music that sounds like something somebody else made and transform their thing with your style not to infringe on copyright or cause you are a hag who steals stuff but because you honor somebody else. And the similarities between the two feel the same way. Kondo honoring the people that came before him in the way only a really good composer can. I mean it's a Waltz, still!
Dreamy waltzes just hits different man
8:56 Just a minor nitpick, but the eighth note right before the appoggiatura you highlighted is actually a D5, not an F#5. It kinda spoils the feel of the lower chromatic neighbor, but the appoggiatura makes up for it in spades!
10:21 Another nitpick: "you'll keep" is Bb3 to G3, not C4 to Bb3. (Also, it's a bit weird to write it in that octave on the clef.)
Super Mario Galaxy makes me so nostalgic :')
I'm definitely all for more coverage of Super Mario Galaxy! MasterEnex has been playing through it on his channel, and it is nice to get the opportunity to simply gush over the various original themes. The Comet Observatory is still one of the best themes ever created for a Mario game because of the many things you pointed out. It fits her tragic backstory and a hope for a better tomorrow.
Furthermore, Rosalina’s backstory does make Rosalina like an early Disney princess herself, so the use of Disney princess music makes far too much sense.
The music in SMG was just fantastic all around with every piece just somehow evoking some form of nostalgia. One of my favorite all-time soundtracks for sure.
Also I can't help but marvel at the animation of that dance scene from Sleeping Beauty with the reflection. If I'm not mistaken, that is done by hand folks.
And rotoscoping.
I've been composing for over a decade now. Very rarely do your videos surprise me with facts I've never noticed about music or certain musical styles. But this whole video I was constantly finding my jaw agape, realizing how integral these two melodic motifs are to the Silver Age style. You've done a great job both of locating the defining traits of the music and of providing key examples of them. Incredible video.
I KNEW I had heard this kind of thing before! It's why I feel--and maybe y'all do, too?--so comfortable sitting in this piece. We all heard the like in our younger childhood with the old Disney movies. Besides, I like the Romantics, Debussy in particular.
as the world's most amateur keyboardist, to me this technique was always called "hitting the key right next to the one you want to hit, even if it's a black one. especially if it's a black one"
Debussy was immpresionist, not romantic (sorry)
@@noisemaker0129, really? Oh. Umm...what is "Impressionism" in music? I know what it is in visual art, but not music.
@@ActiveAdvocate1 it's a musical period/genre which started with Debussy at the end of the 19th century. I am drunk right now so please check Wikipedia for the rest of the explaination
You just got me to listen to classical romance Era music. Thank you from the bottom of my heart
Super Mario Galaxy is has one of the best video game soundtracks, and it’s cool to see you do videos breaking down why! Keep up the good work (also I’d like to know what you think of the Bug Fables soundtrack since I’ve been listening to it a lot recently)
Super Mario Galaxy's soundtrack is gorgeous. No other video game music gives chills like Good Egg Galaxy's theme. I remember to this day the sense of thrill I felt the first time I played SMG. I had so much joy I wanted to cry. I do love how the game plays, but what I felt then was almost entirely due to the music.
Unironically watching this video to make better thesis and overall research papers (that title is actually amazing and inspirational)
Speaking of bringing back old styles, Jump Up Superstar has me wishing for more big band jazz. So good!
Rosalina's Observatory is one of my favorite songs in video games ever. My favorite song in Mario, certainly. I'm very glad you've outlined exactly why; I don't even have familiarity with this age of Disney princess movies, but these songs connect with me on a very similar level.
Man, now you got me singing all the notes to the songs and I'm not even finished. Excellent video, dude.
The song is simply transcendent! It stands out not only from other works but in Nintendo and Mario it's so uniquely magical with it's soft cozy and motherly warmth yet cosmically regal presentation.
The content of these videos is always fantastic and informative, but wow your visuals have gotten super sleek as well. Really well produced
8-Bit! OH MY WORD THANK YOU SO MUCH! When I threw that haphazard suggestion onto your patreon I honestly expected nothing to come of it. Rosalina's Observatory 3 is my favorite piece of all time, and it's the first song I ever arranged (though admittedly very badly). I've been growing as a musician since that first arrangement, and every time I learn something new I always look back to some of my favorite pieces to see if I can find some examples of it. Thank you so much for this beautiful deep dive into the Observatory's theme, I've learned a lot! The more I learn about music theory, the more I find myself in awe of this piece. To be honest, I tear up when I hear it and every time I hear the main melody's reprise I'm always fighting back tears and ultimately failing. This song just means so very much to me. I imported the Platinum Soundtrack CD from Japan just to listen to it in all it's beauty (along with the rest of Galaxy's amazing OST!). Thank you 8-Bit, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for always being an amazing teacher and thank you for making this song ever more so special to me. May the stars shine down on you, and thank you for helping me as I learn more music theory!
So basically, Tchaikovsky wrote Rosalina's Observatory. Good to know!
I never really watched these Disney films growing up, so to me, it just sounded like a Romantic era waltz or something you’d hear on classic Hollywood films from the early-mid 20th Century.
Excellent video - one of your best. I also advocate for musical theft. Copyright is too stringent, hampering production of one of the most valuable commodities there is
This was honestly so cool to hear. I've always been a huge Disney buff and when I saw the title of the video I couldn't place it but I knew exactly the tone you were going for so hearing the musical explanations of some of my favorite Disney songs was cool.
(It also explains several things about my Disney parks music taste but we're not going there.)
One interesting thing I noticed about Cinderella's So this is love song, in the french dub, it's transposed in C major and to be honest, I love the way it sounds in CM to me it gives a more Disney feel to it while the EM version sounds a bit more romantic in love sense.
Rosalina in the Observatory was one of the first pieces of music that made me say, damn I want to do that. Listening to the 8-bit Big Band’s version has brought me to tears a few times. Cool video man.
I still prefer the track from Rosalina’s Ice World from one of the mariokarts. That baseclef piano is deeply unsettling but isn’t necessarily sinister, and it compliments the dreamier A Melody and while it isn’t present in the B Melody it still sounds like it leads into the B Melody’s more playful motifs (that eventually loop back into A with its low low low piano notes) while letting the melody in both A and B stay whimsical
…since Rosalina isn’t just a “fairytale princess”, she’s the closest thing the Mario Universe has to a time-paradox goddess of space. Space is both deeply unsettling and dangerous, but it isn’t sinister. It just Is. It’s also incredibly beautiful and almost magical, but its beauty has to be observed from such a distance that it’s displaced in time from the perspective of the observer. And well, Rosalina is associated with being displaced in time and the sheet loneliness that comes with that, and how gravity around stellar objects causes time to pass differently…which is Exactly what happened to Rosalina.
And well, stars “sing” in deep deep deep subsonic base notes, and piano’s sometimes called the “loneliest” instrument because it can effectively harmonize itself (and if it’s used in ensemble music, it’s either as the accompaniment or in a concerto with orchestral backing that…it doesn’t “need” to still have the music be recognizable) so it always sounds right at home in more atmospheric or artistically pensive pieces regardless of genre.
By the way, I subbed to you last night, because I've actually been watching your videos for a long time now, and you are, in terms of music theory intelligence, WAAAAAAY over my head, which I like, because then, I can learn something .Keep 'em coming: I'm certainly a fan.
I know next to nothing about music theory as well, but the way 8-Bit gives examples to specific terms and techniques within his videos is absolutely fantastic, fun, and easy to conceptualize. Love this guy's channel. :)
I can't help but whistle along the Observatory Theme every time I hear it, it's such a nostalgic and good memory from my childhood so deeply burnt into my head. Can't even help but smile a bit whenever I see SMG mentioned anywhere. 🥰
I can't read music and get lost in the technicality, but I've been playing by ear for nearly my entire life (35 now). And when I first ever heard Rosalina's Observatory, I had always consciously thought, this sounds like When You Wish Upon A Star. I thought that was Kondo's clever nod to the fact that its all about stars and space and wishes (even harkening back a bit to SMRPG and Star Road)
I never realize how innately correct my intuition turned out to be.
I have always been so touched by music of this lineage. Thank you for enlightening me.
English is not my native language but everytime I see your videos, I have the feeling to learn more about music than I ever could in German. So thank you.
Rosalina's Observatory Theme is one of those tracks that will pop up in your head randomly and stay there for the rest of the day.
For me, this whole idea all culminates in the final scene after get 120 stars, with Family. It both uses Rosalina’s theme and embraces the underlying emptiness and tone of the universe of Mario Galaxy into probably my favorite piece of music ever.
Yes. My favorite ending. Rosalina is the best.
During listening to your video. I realized that Rosalina in the Observatory is a waltz!
one of your best and clearest videos. great job!
you're an absolute chad for playing disney music in this video despite youtube's copyright beast. thank you for doing that so we can fully appreciate the history of this piece of music!!!
Rosalina's melody fits with the jazz standard "Someday My Prince will Come"
I really appreciate the effort you put into the editing, it looks absolutely great!
Huge thanks for covering this one, man, nice to finally understand why this piece felt so instantly classic.
This video was so beautifully made, I can't believe how clear you've made this it made me really happy to listen to! Thank you for this :)
So many of your videos make me cry because they unlock new ways of appreciating music that I already love and it makes me emotional
i absolutely adore this one. thank you for making this
GOSH this video took my breath away, so thankful you made this!! it’s so cool to know that there’s specific techniques that are timeless, evoking the same dreamy emotions no matter how they’re applied. my mind was blown when you mentioned waltz of the flowers, i don’t know how i never made the connection between all these classical pieces
This also applies to the Lake Floria theme in Skyward Sword, by the way. If you ever feel like talking about the musical traditions behind that game, I'd be thrilled to see it.
I thought about exactly the same song when watching this video, didn't even remember the name at first! That's really interesting.
I was JUST playing that specific part of Skyward Sword today! Every time I play through that part I’m mentally transported back to those carousel rides that would sometimes pop up in places my family would go when I was a kid with the oil paintings on the central part.
YESS ITS MORE YOU !! I feel absolutely fantastic whenever you upload. Thank you so much my man ;)
This is fascinating! Thank you for sharing! You make music analysis so much fun!
AHHHH! I love Rosalina's Observatory and this analysis is so so so on point. I'm a proud Patreon! Keep it up!
I keep coming back to re-watch. This is an abundantly excellent music theory lesson. This is an AMAZING hook to get young people passionate about learning music and their instrument. I hope public school teachers find this resource and budget their lesson plan for the 15 minutes for this education to happen.
If my music teacher had shown me something like this. Oh man. Its relatable, its Mario, but its also an independently masterful piece of music.
I have no idea what the hell is going on with music, but I find it fascinating that it can be teched just like bringing order and putting sounds into words in a reaosnable way. Also you explain it so well that a complete scrub like me can understand so that is super admirable as well.
Your videos always come at the perfect time! I've been doing a lot of research about Tin Pan Alley, and looking into old Disney styles and how they've been developed, and I just realized the other day that Rosalina's Observatory sounds just like it! I've also been looking at a bunch of Tchaikovsky, so this really is just exactly what I needed. I wasn't sure how to analyze it myself, so I'm very thankful for your insight into this.
I never wanted to hate, yet to adore, a TH-cam video title more than l want it now.
I love Rosalina so much. She is my favorite character in the universe of video games. She will forever be my main in any game Rosalina is in. ♥️
One of the best-made, easiest-to-follow, most-useful-for-applying-to-my-own-music of your videos yet!
Marvelous video. Thank you for pouring so much work into teaching us classic musical methods and how they’re implemented! I feel like I’m being educated and nerding out at the same time XD.
This video was soo informative ! I dont know a thing about music theory but i was able to follow pretty easily. I wish you the best for what's next !
It is by far one of my favourite waltzes and super dreamy. I love it
"If you wear a dress, and you have an animal sidekick, you are a princess."
-Maui, 2016
Very bold move to use Disney pieces in one of your videos. Loved how it turned out, though! Every time you upload, I learn something new.
Oloco, man. That video was amazing! Its one of my favourites now.
Loved this video so much. Keep up the great work my man.
Koji Kondo is responsible for so much amazing music.
This makes me wonder what pieces SMG2's Starship Mario pulls from. I love that track even more than the obervatory theme, and I'm curious what kind of motions it steals.
It's definitely a lot more peppy. I kinda wonder if there's some kind of Peter and the Wolf thing going on for it, or maybe some parts of The Magic Flute? Idk, I don't know TOO much classical music
I think you've made an excellent argument in your remarks about shared stylistic vocabulary, and I couldn't agree more.
It's funny how obvious the influence from golden age Disney/Romantic music is, yet I probably wouldn't have noticed it had I not watched the video (or analyzed it myself). Great stuff man!
This video feels like it was made just for me :) I adore the romantic era of music and loved hearing it’s influence in a modern piece
Love the rant + editing at the end lol
Love it when you cover my all time favorite game and its breathtaking soundtrack. Please, make even more SMG videos!
As helpful as this info is I am the most thankful for your rant at the end.
Those are words I've needed to hear for a loooong time. Also I *will* now and *forever* reference what you said at 14:00 as It's *exactly* why I love games music. It's a buffet of musical styles and soundscapes and I love it.
I've been waiting for this video for a long time
One of my absolute favorite pieces in all of VGM.
Super Mario Galaxy has some absolutely gorgeous pieces, but this one is just sublime.
Thank you for analyzing this one.
I’ve been calling the 1 diminished chord in a major key the “Chopin” chord forever now and I’m so happy that you made a video pretty much based on it. I’ve never seen anyone else talk about that chord even though it’s everywhere in that style of music. I’m honestly sad that it’s not used more today because I love it so much! :(
I arranged this for my piano ii final a few semesters ago, love every note in this song!
Super digging the transparent background sheet music overlay ❤️
Whoa the Luma move melodically, i only know that now.
This TH-cam series is one of my favorite things ever that I can't understand at all.
5:24 is worth noting “your heart makes” is exactly the 4th, 5th and 6th notes of the observatory music too, like down to the placement and rhythm
It’s also kind of a throwback to Nintendo’s past - in the 50’s, Nintendo’s playing card Division collaborated with Disney to make licensed playing cards.