The Musical Fusion of the Castlevania Series

[@12tone]

That Abandoned Castle theme is hands-down the coolest thing I've ever heard.

[@KurosakiYukigo]

Right?! Man chromatic rising fifths create some cool harmonic motion, or at least illusion thereof

[@MisterAppleEsq]

+blalo'u He actually just made a video about that! (Which you may have been referencing, but if you weren't, check it out.)

[@crono303]

Yeah, I definitely had to look that one up afterwards. The drums are pretty killin'! The laying of different voices over the C.E.S.H. (or James Bond progression) is super cool, too.

[@Mriorhan]

Curse of Darkness has the second best Castlevania OST IMO

[@isaacthelastn7687]

I love curse of darkness

[@Otokogoroshi]

Yamane Michiru is frankly one of the best soundtrack artists around, in my opinion of course.

[@sapphirejade5029]

Absolutely true! I always loved her music. In my opinion, Lament of Innocence is my personal favorite. Plays the emotions the hardest for me, even in Leon's Theme. It's so hard in emotion and power.

[@movezig5]

Mad props for using the superior Famicom version of the Castlevania 3 music.

[@IronCurtaiNYC]

Damn straight. I have Akumajou Densetsu and it is by far a superior game and not just because it uses the VRC6 sound chip.

[@wheatleythebrick2276]

original sounds better IMO, the melody is clearer

[@AlynRapi]

@@wheatleythebrick2276 the famicom version is the original tho (i know what you mean, that you like the NES version better, which is nice, but the famicom version came first)

[@clutch8685]

look up castlevania vs wu tang

[@Aenwyrm]

@@AlynRapi look up the video that combines the famicom and NES soundtrack as one complete sound. It's pretty killer to hear the subtleties of the NES version with the in your face melody of the famicom one.

[@Michirin9801]

I'm finally beginning to understand what he says! Took a lot of work, but I have yet a long way to go...

[@ivyssauro123]

Michirin9801 Me too lol, although taking theory classes helped.

[@Michirin9801]

I started watching music theory videos on KZbin that are more geared towards beginners because of this channel, and that sure has come in handy!

[@geraq0]

Hey Michirin9801, any good channel you can recommend to learn musical theory? I've thinking about it recently but I don't have much free time to actually take classes, so that would help me a lot. Thanks!

[@Michirin9801]

I just typed "Music theory for beginners" on the search bar and clicked on a ton of videos and watched them all, but the ones that stuck with me were the ones from Michael New, he tends to sum it all up in a way that you can easily understand! Once you've got a grasp of the basics I think you can learn a lot from 12tone and Ongaku Concept, or at least I have... By all means though you should totally watch more channels!

[@geraq0]

Michirin9801 that's really helpful, thanks a lot!!

[@exploitativity]

Now all I can imagine is James Bond defeating Dracula by shooting him with silver bullets or something.

[@KairuHakubi]

but not before sleeping with his hot vampire bride, Bloodypenny.

[@cmdraftbrn]

Dracula: Who the hell are you? Male Figure: Belmont. Ritcher Belmont.

[@ingonyama70]

I want to say at least one member of the Morris clan (the Belmonts' American offshoots, most notably Quincy) used a gun...

[@brianjohnson5272]

Nah he'd beg to be turned and it would not be martinis but bloody Maries all da.......night

[@HolyMarmot]

Watch The Man with the Golden Gun. Christopher Lee is the villain there.

[@Bankai2169]

I must say, this was a “bloody” good video

[@pikistikman]

Dick Johnson But enough of that. Have at you!

[@riddleiddle]

Such a bloody good video that I'm in tears!

[@gege0298]

surely I am under a terrible curse, for your comment appears two days old to me

[@riddleiddle]

What are these comments? A miserable little pile of secrets!

[@DJKoollord]

this video was uploaded today, how did you post a comment two days ago?

[@sephiros9999]

Michiru Yamane is something else, she has wrote some of the best musical pieces not only for the castlevania franchise, but in videogame history

[@ethos79]

Damn, music theory is rocket science.

[@justvibin1087]

ethos79 Nah, it's more like brain surgery.

[@masacatior]

@@justvibin1087 Brain stew

[@tomasgarcia7499]

It’s so cool I love it

[@stonethemason12]

Yet making music is not rocket science

[@kjn3350]

But scientists are seen as so much smarter than composers!

[@double2254]

You know you’ve done your job well when someone who doesn’t understand music theory at all is entertained and enjoys the lesson (even if I am lost during the whole thing lol)

[@dangelobenjamin]

From the bottom of my heart i want to thank you for analyzing all this music for the world. This channel is incredible.

[@linkkicksu]

Man, Bach must've been a huge Castlevania fan.

[@JariSatta]

CastleVania 悪魔城ドラキュラ The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night

[@KairuHakubi]

what a horrible night to have a verse

Wood Carving Partita is one of my favorite pieces of music ever. I fell in love with it since the first time I heard it.

[@CeruleanChurch]

“Check out the abandoned castle theme” Me: GIVE ME THAT GLORIOUS BASS!!!!

[@marche800]

I think Michiru Yamane is particularly good at doing this as although you didn't cover them here a lot of the later Igavania Castlevania invoke this balance perfectly. Two particularly great examples come from Order Of Ecclesias "Sorrow's Distortion" and "Lament of the Master". Go take a listen you'll hear what I mean.

[@communismwithgiggles2515]

Michiru Yamane is one of my favourite composers of all time! I can never get tired of hearing her works!

[@EmmisaryOfTheVoid]

Order of Eccelsia is my favorite castlevania game and these songs are great

[@ManiacalForeigner]

She didn't compose "Sorrow's Distortion", though; it's one of the tracks written by the game's other composer - Yasuhiro Ichihashi.

[@GutsTaijo]

No Castlevania 4? That one had a particularly excellent soundtrack.

[@brianjohnson5272]

Marmadouche was a remake of 1

[@WisteriaNerium]

Brian Johnson so what? Most of the songs there are original

[@discern7544]

Castlevania 4 had the best music out of all of them. There's no doubt it. Just listen to it.

[@AlynRapi]

@@discern7544 now then lets not make a war about Castlevania´s music, ALL OF IT IS GREAT.

[@thecaptainfalcon3316]

Since he started off the video with Theme of Simon Belmont, I was really hoping to hear him dissect it. Any song from IV would have been awesome, the SNES chip they utilized did an awesome job of replicating a funky organ! Best soundtrack by far too

[@PuppetMasterIX]

6:01 Oh so it's the "25 or 6 to 4" progress-- _"As well as in Chicago's '25 or 6 to 4.'"_ Oh well there it is! I guess that also means "Brain Stew" fits this progression t-- _"And more recently in 'Green Day's Brain Stew.'"_ *GET OUT OF MY HEAD*

[@jblen]

May I request a video on Touhou music? There's a lot of pretty unique themes that I'd be interested in seeing someone go in depth with them.

[@TalanLysander]

I second this request. There's many fascinating themes in there, I've always wanted to hear someone analyze how they work ^_^

[@Serzari]

Never played a Touhou game but I really enjoy its music and echo this. I believe the Andalusian Cadence he showed off at 5:33 is the progression used in the beginning of Native Faith.

[@bosnianlain]

yes, please.

[@Shaker626]

I was just going to ask that.

[@L4Vo5]

Yesss

[@emmbeesea]

However, there is one fusion that will never work: Hideo Kojima and KONAMI. Music transcends all. Good work 8-bit Music Theory.

[@proface5209]

Emm Bee Sea Hey aren't you the GiivaSunner commenter?

[@emmbeesea]

proface | indeed.

[@sprK92]

For me it's always been the "babe i'm gonna leave you" progression

[@luxcaelymproductions539]

Luca Casini Ah, a man of culture I see

[@masacatior]

14:00

[@noir371]

The first time I heard bloody tears I was immediately like, “oh my god that’s it. That’s what I want to make”

[@Firing_Order]

Man, Curse of Darkness gets a lot of shit but the soundtrack is one of my personal favorites of all time. It might even be what inspired me to pursue music to begin with!

[@GorditoCrunch343]

It's an underrated game to be honest. Not as good as Lament of Innocence but still stands on its own as a good game.

[@sapphirejade5029]

Curse of Darkness doesn't need the hate. I got to play the game and it's a lot of fun.

[@sapphirejade5029]

​@GorditoCrunch343 Yes!! My favorite game! The 20th anniversary is today!!😁😁

[@musicartist525]

A+ dude. In my humble opinion, not long-winded enough - I would have listened to a several-hour dissertation on this. Nicely done! You nailed it.

[@waloacme]

Abandoned Castle sound eerily close to victory fanfare in Final Fantasy 7. Awesome video, by the way.

[@gyd67ckn]

Great analysis. Interesting points about modern vs classical harmony. I had noticed a few of these tropes before (implied pedal point) but always lacked the terminology to describe it.

[@blood-redeemeddragon]

I've been looking for a video like this on CastleVania specifically for a while now. thank you for this video!

[@Keithustus]

So many years of playing these games, playing violin, and being an English speaker.....and I still need a cliff notes version to watch this video.

[@lastatarist]

The silence of Daylight, I have heard a real quartet string version .. really good song writing.

[@ivanamezcua5941]

Damn! What a good video! I love the music from all Castlevania games, but my favorite for sure is the Symphony of the night game. The best soundtrack ever!

[@88SJoe88]

So Dragonforce's Through the Fire and Flames got something from Fugue in D Minor, whoa!

[@nin10ja]

Castlevania is my jam

[@JoshuaConnorMusic]

7:16 I'd probably call that an +6 chord as opposed to a bVI7, given the baroque era style of the piece, plus that would have been good Segway into talking about +6 chords as they're such a quintessential technique of baroque harmony. Plus it's a good example of the blending of old and new, with such classical harmony with a funky bass line.

[@aaa_aa7607]

Agree, amazing video tho

[@JoshuaConnorMusic]

A +6 chord is a collection of pitches that uses the pitch directly above and below a target chord (almost always the V), that has an interval of an augmented 6th above it's root. In C, we want to go to G, so we use the notes Ab and F#, which has a very strong pull to G, but since all chords need at least 3 notes we add a major 3rd above the root (for Ab that would be C, so it's Ab C F#). There are 3 main variants (though others exist), the Italian adds nothing else, so in 4 part harmony the 3rd is doubled; the French adds the augmented 4th above the root (Ab C D F#), and the German adds the perfect 5th (for Ab C Eb F#). The main idea here is voice leading, each note has a clear destination to the V. An easy way to think about it, is that they're enharmonically just dominant 7th chords (or variants of) that sets up the V7. Kind of like a tritone sub for the V/V; so instead of D7 - G7 - i, we can go Ab7 - G7 - i. +6 chords were extremely popular in baroque music, especially in minor keys (along with other fancy chords like the Neapolitan chord). This particular example would be a Ger+6, as it has the notes Bb, D, F, and G# (written as Ab in the video). The Bb sinks to A, the G# rises to A, the D sinks to C# and the F can sink to E or rise to G.

[@Soundole]

Really nice analysis. I feel like you really deftly zoned in on a lot of tropes, and connected them elegantly in a way that even non-musicians will appreciate.

[@WillowEpp]

Man, there is so much of this in the Gungage OST that it's basically an honourary Castlevania soundtrack. Definitely recommend giving it a listen!

[@davek5025]

Jesus. Dork. Amazing video. I hope you’re a music teacher.

[@RohannvanRensburg]

I can't watch this yet but I just want you to know how ridiculously excited I get when YT tells me you posted a new video.

[@adhoccerswings]

that bVI bVII(m) I(m) is like the holy grail, it's even in Diddy Kong Racing, I think that's the first place where I heard it as a kid (when you open a door with trophies, the triumphant loop starts)

[@WardOfSouls]

Your analysis of music like this goes *way* beyond my musical education, but I still love hearing investigation into the technique used in older game music. Just found your channel, but I will definitely be coming back to try and learn more about what makes these songs, performed with such simple equipment, actually work

[@minikleetle9418]

I watch 8-bit music theory because: 75% fantastic content 24% fantastic voice 1% the little jokes here and there

[@kedbreak136]

Thank you for these exceptional in-depth analyses of music pieces! This is always a delight and full of learnings.

[@jstgermain256]

Kudos for using the VRC6 versions (JP) of Castlevania III's soundtrack!

[@vilhelm6134]

I love perpetual re-resurrection of villains.

[@jyuts4359]

Thank you so much for this analyse and explanation! I love Castlevania's ost and wonder why it's so awesome. I am also a fan of classical music and rock bands, it is so interesting how composers combined those elements to create such a beautiful piece!

[@DTortu0]

Now I understand why I also love Bach xD nice video

[@ChengHorn9]

I usually don't have a problem following your videos since I've take a few years of college level music theory and ear training, but this video was tough. The way the composers of Castlevania combine new and old is so intricate and subtle that you have to be extremely alert to catch it. Thanks a ton for making this and I look forward, as I always have, to whatever you put out next.

[@skaterdude7277]

I am just pausing your videos and learning classic nes shit i've never bothered to learn, and i feel like a bad ass. These melodies on bass sound crisppp

[@lishd]

this is one of the few youtube videos that i've come back to watch again & again. thank you for doing this work. it's fascinating.

[@josephmathiesen723]

I just found my new binge watch channel! This is so detailed

[@nickb9171]

As a lover of classical music and Castlevania, this is my favorite video you've made so far!

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

Your long videos are so satisfying!

[@latisansklay]

Some thoughts for 8-bit from a fan: - Long videos are good! Never apologize for giving us more content, please and thank you!

[@hellsongfurry123]

Wow how fantastic! Just today I was looking at SOTN's Marble Gallery as inspiration for making synthetic loops and was thinking "I really wish there was some youtube video that picked apart the music theory aspect, so I can understand how this works thematically" and voila! You managed to make my dreams come true! Thank you 8-bit Music Theory!

[@Dhalin]

The one favorite track from Symphony of the Night that you DIDN'T mention whatsoever at all, was The Tragic Prince. How.......tragic. Definitely modern rock, but yet there's something underneath it that makes it sound old-timey too. I'm not a musical genius or anything, so I don't really know why that is... it just sounds awesome.

[@itsguidry8125]

This is one of my favorite channels ever

[@thomasdr08]

I used to idle in the towns on Castlevania 2 just to drum out that theme. Loved Castlevania’s music.

[@samsonite789]

This is absolutely the fastest I ever clicked on a thumbnail. The work you do is incredibly valuable. Keep it up!

[@kirbyrox2]

Castlevania has some of the best game music of all time imo

[@erikgrundy]

Another thing is that baroque composers, especially Bach, really liked 16th note runs to give a feeling of movement

[@andrewfranklin9034]

The Silence of Daylight really reminds me of a 70’s fusion jam. If only Return to Forever could have played this….

[@IIITrunks]

Could you do a video on Animal Crossing's music? Preferably loads.

[@westkana]

Hugh YESSS I was just thinking about this- an animal crossing video would be AWESOME

[@jasonblalock4429]

Animal Crossing is an interesting problem, too, because it's a game that is designed around the idea that players will play it on a near-daily basis for an entire year or more. How do you write music that doesn't drive people nuts after many months of hearing it over and over?

[@DEATHMETALRUST]

Yes... please this!!!!

[@mostlyokay]

This channel never ceases to put out good stuff! Thanks!

[@pedrozavarize6309]

Ooooooh man! Yes! A music theory video about Castlevania from 8-bit Music Theory!! Oh, What a marvelous video :D Seriously, I found that the Castlevania Soundtrack is a topic that is rarely aborded on KZbin regarding theory, and you presented the informations in a way that only a video in this format might be able to do. I really have to congrat you, good work! I feel that all the videos in this channel are "top tier", and the frequency is really good too. Apart from that, it seems that I've talked enough XD Well, thanks for the vid, it really made up my day :-)

[@kjetilrossignol]

Not long winded at all! My favorite video yet, you knocked it out of the park with this one! Such a thought provoking subject

[@kalaniseymour5642]

At the end of the day it comes down to the harpsichord and organ sound to evoke the sound of Castlevania, even on the NES it manages to sound like one of the two on most songs.

[@davidprodigy5833]

Nice change-of-pace video. Love it.

[@KX5Kat]

Watching this video doesn't do it justice, you study it.

[@dspmusik81]

Excellent video, and I really appreciate the clear and accurate theory explanations 😅

[@f.joaquinrevilla]

I'm taking the time to watch all of your videos from the beginning, and I have to say, this is the one I liked the most so far. Thank you very much for sharing your wisdom!

[@SuperMikeFender]

You really explained that well with The Silence of Daylight. If you heard that with drums and guitars, that rock riff would sound great but the other parts not so much. If you heard it done by an orchestra, the rock riff would be lacking in punch, but the rest would sound great. It's a perfect example of what you said: Limitations forcing people to get creative. While the 8-bit sounds on the NES can't really sound like a rock band or an orchestra it can sort of do its own thing and branches the two styles together in a way that works. It really does have its own character. When there's a piece of 8-bit music I love I often look on youtube for remixes and live versions but they always feel like they're lacking something and I think it's that 8-bit quality that can't be replicated.

[@elgatto3133]

Gotta admit it, I love your take on music theory way more than classroom theory... in the classroom I'd rather just sing it or play it than listen to them talking about it before sightreading...

[@Augnos]

i nearly choked when you called out all the vampire movies and dissed Twilight! Such great content!

[@countessofcats5549]

god, the blending of modern and traditional musical techniques is, like, my whole entire jam. its just so good and im so glad you covered it!

[@jasongarrett768]

I have been waiting for an indepth look at Castlevania's music for a very long time. THANK YOU

[@Nightowljrm]

This video is brilliant; thank you for creating it!

[@sonjaadamson1714]

6:30 It was also used in Led Zeppelin's Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.

[@div-64]

Fantastical analysis and thoughtful presentation. Thanks.

[@RubiconVale]

What a great video, really hit the spot. Been on a Baroque binge lately and always loved that "sound" in Castlevania but never could tell myself how/why. Great stuff.

[@danstewart6311]

Hearing this music for the last 30 odd years through game play and never knowing the technical side if it makes me feel a bit abashed that I never invested more into the work behind it all. You have a grateful sub :)

[@ae6eespage727]

I play castlevania sotn soundtrack everytime I'm on the plane and stare and gaze at the clouds and look down imagining a huge castle down bellow me specially when I went to visit Romania in December 3years ago.

[@HEHEHEIAMASUPAHSTARSAGA]

Of course, Megalovania also used a i - bVII - vi - bVI bass motion.

[@RamiElRefai]

You, sir, have earned yourself another subscriber. Highly nutritious content. Whenever I'm working on a game soundtrack, I catch myself watching your videos for a bit of guidance or inspiration. Thank you.

[@McGravyboat]

7:17 I hate to be pedantic, but I suspect it's probably more accurate to say this is a German augmented sixth chord, rather than a dominant chord. I know they are enharmonically equivalent, but since the next chord is an A chord, which is V in the key, an augmented sixth chord seems more likely. Technically, though, the score on the screen had neither a g# nor an ab, so I can't say for certain.

[@undeadalph]

This is my favorite video from you. I keep coming back to it every few weeks

[@dosito86]

I absolutely adore your videos and the moment I saw this video I immediately started watching it. Castlevania has to be one of my most favorite series music wise

[@Manas-co8wl]

Modern ------------- Groove & Syncopation Power Chords bVI - bVII - i 2:26 Chromatically Rising 5ths in Tonic 3:51 i - bVII - vi - bVI - V (mod Andalusian Cadence) 5:12 Classical --------------- Restricted Harmony (II-)V7 - I vii dim7 - i (also on non-tonic chords) 7:54 Inversions 9:47 Ghost Pedal Points 11:15 Fusion ----------- 12:24 Castlevania has some really good music I didn't realize

[@ryanleber]

I love how amped up you were in this video. Great stuff!

[@theshinken]

Marble Gallery is one of the few songs in this world I could listen indefinitely to!

[@hunterhoose9375]

This is my favorite youtube channel of all time, I mean look at my sib list I'm subscribed to a lot of people, and this is by far my favorite channel.

[@treefroggy]

been getting into the music theory of video games lately, glad that when I make a search nowadays there's awesome content waiting!

[@FinalGamerJames]

Damn this is really damn nice I gotta say, it makes total sense this series fuses classical music with modern stylistic approaches but it's so nice to have it explained in such a reasonable fashion. Props to ya 8Bit!

[@JasonGodwin69]

Please do one on Hoenn's trumpet music. Why does it sound so amazing, triumphant, and adventure-y?

[@domemaster]

I really love Unova's awesome high melodies

[@reemeroma2156]

For some reason I think gens 3 and 4 have the most unique sounding town themes. I would like to see a breakdown of the tunes of Mauville, Lilycove, Jubilife, and Canalave in particular.

[@wheatleythebrick2276]

agreed

[@toferhomokin9598]

Ive been waiting for this forever.

[@Neobelmont1]

Very interesting stuff I didn't even know a channel like this existed. Really makes me want to go back to playing the piano and bettering myself.

[@Nintendofan2024-e7y]

Did you know that the 1989 game Gyruss borrows from the Castlevania formula? Take a listen to some of the soundtrack. Including the first two songs. Mainly the intro music in both the family computer and Nes, and the first level stage.

[@TIEpilot918]

That Ar Tonelico suggestion! Would love to see a video on it.

[@ulylia5099]

^This

[@retrorebootmusic]

That abandoned castle theme, not just in the progression you mentioned, but the instrumentation and melodies ALL sound 007 style to me. In a REALLY awesome way.

[@shitcreekpolka]

I just spent two hours learning how to play some of what was in the video. super fun. thank you for that!

[@MarkTomczak]

With October fast approaching and Simon and Richter now in the Smash roster, this video suddenly became extremely topical. :)

[@benjaminfriesinger219]

To me as a German, it's kind of funny like people say "Baak" because they cannot spell the ch in Bach.

[@iopklmification]

Der Schwabenboy pronouncing ch as an r is a bachbachic idea !

[@asmylia9880]

iopklmification I mean, you don't pronounce ch as r neither in German.

[@ToTaLShaFF]

I know absolutely nothing about writing and composing music and 99.9% of this video went over my head but dammit I enjoyed every minute of it and I'm still just as ignorant in the end as I was at the beginning.... Subbed!