6 Levels of Mixed Meter Time Signatures (in Video Game Music)

[@Shinkai292]

Babe, wake up, Cadence Hira uploaded another music theory video

[@EliteKindaNoob]

I'm awake

[@Shinkai292]

@@EliteKindaNoob No way it’s elitekindanoob

[@planetoforts]

​@@Shinkai292they showed up

[@ChristopherMoom]

I think VS. Marx is probably my favorite example of mixed meter; it has a very special flow that, despite the amount of Kirby fans I've seen intimidated by it, personally feels very natural and fairly simple to follow along in a way I haven't gotten from many other songs! Like you said at 8:52, it definitely feels like rather than actually picking time signatures at random, Jun Ishikawa was much more focused on the melodic phrasing, and then based the time signatures off of what he wrote (Side Note: I can say for sure that VS. Marx was specifically from Jun Ishikawa because one, Kirby's Dream Buffet (one of the modern Kirby games) reused it and attributed it to him, and two, Ishikawa would later use his compositional style to make "Beautiful Prison" from Kirby Triple Deluxe, another song that utilizes mixed meter in his unique way (While I'm at it, if you ever talk about Kirby music again, WiKirby is a better wiki to use for musical info))

[@Outer-Heaven_Supercomputer]

mad luka is also a cool one in that sense

[@Fire_Axus]

your feelings are irrational

[@Veilure]

CHRISTOPHER MOON SPOTTED!!! 🤩🤩🤩

[@googooblabla100]

i am a marxist

[@IntegerUnderflow]

I love how the outro repeats just like frothy waters but it's bossa nova (kinda) so it's even more chaotic :)

[@benjaminfricke4791]

The soundtrack to Terraria’s “Calamity Mod” (also known as “The Tale of a Cruel World”) by DM Dokuro has a fair few weird time signature gems. Of particular note are “Antarctic Reinforcement” (13/4, I think), “Infernal Catharsis Rebirth” (7/8, 6/4, 4/4, 5/4, & 6/8), “The Filthy Mind” (5/4 and something that’s either 13/4, 20/8, or an alternating pattern of two time signatures), and “Blood Coagulant” (*mostly* 11/4, but there’s some weirdness).

[@Benjy52]

Not Alone (Brimstone Elemental’s Theme) is in 5/4. A lot of DM Dokuro’s tracks have crazy chord sequences as well, similar to that of Bill Wurtz - and surprisingly not fully transcribed yet.

[@asheevee_]

Oh No! WASPS!! from Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling has almost certainly been mentioned in the comments of your previous videos because of its 23/8 (11+12) hook, but imo an underrated part of that tune is in the B section, where we get a sequence of 7 7 8 7, 7 7 8 6, before returning to that hook again-- except this time the answer phrase is cut off 3 eighth notes early, making it 11 12 11 9 ! And then after some more grooving it just sort of abruptly changes to 4/4 for a schnasty guitar solo and it doesn't sound out of place whatsoever! Huge shoutouts to Tristan Alric for making that insane tune (and the rest of the absolute banger of an OST)

[@Xcyiterr]

hi I mentioned that oh no wasps my beloved ❤

[@harrymansfield6189]

When I first heard it, my musician brain had to stop everything to try and count it out. I eventually got it but I was sitting there for like- a full 5 minutes

[@dagurtheone3969]

BUG FABLES MENTION

[@66Kusmu]

8:40 You can't just say perchance

[@silvncr]

Mario exhibits experience by crushing turts all day, but he exhibits theory by stating "Lets-a go!" Keep it up, baby!

[@alexanderclark35]

Came for the mixed meter analysis, stayed for the Fibonacci sequence 😎

[@ThatSkiFreak]

give us the anti sheet music agenda

[@itamarbarak2005]

shnippet? 9:50 amazing. I will use that from now on

[@narwhals6465]

20:27 A great example of synchronicity between the gameplay and music is the entirety of Tetris Effect. From someone who bought the entire vinyl box set, it's a great soundtrack. The OST actually wasn't even released for several years because they never originally made score sheets or anything, so they had to do a lot of work to essentially remaster all of the sounds into listenable pieces. All of the audio of all of the songs were spaghetti-coded to fit the gameplay specifically. So technically, the OST doesn't have a lot of mixed meters, BUT the actual songs that each individual player experiences will have a more mixed meter than any other video game.

[@kwakuowusu1399]

the mixed meter credit song was so good

[@hnglbanana]

YESSSSS FROTHY WATERS MENTIONED!!! thank you so much! and all of these songs are incredible (beginning to think that mixed meter is just my favourite musical technique). speaking of which, my second favourite mixed meter song after frothy waters has got to be hartmann's youkai girl. the touhou series in general has a lot of incredible music that would be neat to see a video on

[@Chaoriz]

Not game music but my favorite song ever, "Window" by Gogo Penguin, is 9 12 11 11 then 7 then a tiny bit of 6 at the end. And the shortened version used with the music video cuts out some of the bits in the 9 12 11 11 section so its even more mixed. Also a ton of Vildhjarta (metal + ambient) is both mixed and polymetric, mostly due to their Meshuggah influence and being Swedish I guess idk

[@nanamacapagal8342]

Frothy waters kinda reminds me of the "Nanay Tatay" game most filipino kids are familiar with. The players stand in a circle and do this patty-cake like clapping, and when they finish the opening verse: "Nanay, Tatay, gusto kong tinapay (Mom, Dad, I want bread) Ate, Kuya, gusto kong kape (Sister, Brother, I want coffee) Lahat ng gusto ko ay susundin mo (You will do as I want) Ang magkamali ay pipinutin ko (I will pinch anyone who makes a mistake)" They continue the clapping, but every time they clap their own hands together, their do it in increasing amounts. They'll do it 1 on the first time, 2 on the second, 3 on the third, and so on. Of course, the goal of the game is to keep count and survive.

[@yth592]

2:45 actually, dawn is one of the few games that isn't in Dracula's castle! But yeah, realistically it doesn't matter whose castle it is because magic incomprehensible shenanigans are inevitable

[@vstalbain]

One of my favorite things about the Castlevania piece is that the beginning, the first note of the second 7/4 bar sounds like the end of melodic idea. If, like me, your first times listening to the piece are very focused on the melody, it's easy to misinterpret it as 4/4 | 4/4 | 6/4, and weirdly, it sets up the 6/4 section pretty effectively when you hear it wrong, lol. Was that intended? Probably not? But I distinctly remember from the first time I played it.

[@AndrewMerideth]

ooh, I always thought of "mixed meter" as including trading off two time sigs. This makes more sense though! another term we are taught that I have now seen the light and changed my mind!

[@Somefox5]

SPLATOON MENTIONNED!!!! I LOVE FROTHY WATERS!!!! I love my fishy weirdos and their silly time signatures :] (also its salmonIDS not salmonOIDS)

[@alphalizard7960]

the Frothy Waters section made me think of that video "Mii channel theme but the number of doots keeps increasing"

[@kono152]

i saw the thumbnail and immediately knew you were gonna talk about what is by far the best song in genshin impact. As a math nerd, that song is just so cool to me

[@paoinhospeedruns7726]

Helping Hands, the credits level of Rhythm Doctor, is an interesting example. It seems to be mostly in 5/4 but it adds an extra beat three times in the song to let the gameplay finish before going into the next section

[@SaltyIsaac]

I love the doom dragon theme, while the mixed meter definitely makes it sound jarring and chaotic, when listening it changes so often that I don't really notice the various time signatures. At times it sounds like motoi sakuraba straight up did not care about measures or time signatures, like instead of switching around time sigs they just don't exist.

[@Fire_Axus]

your feelings are irrational

[@ugyuu]

There's the classical composition "Circus Galop" that I got obsesesd with when I found out about it. It's supposed to be unplayable by one person alone, but also has a bunch of mixed meter, at some point even going from 3/8 to 9/16, 5/16, 3/8, 5/16, and back to 2/4. Rhythm games also have notable examples of very cool mixed meter stuff, like my all time favorite: 彁(Ka) by LeaF. 6/4, 5,8, 7/8, etc. with microtones and much more. For game music, I like the mixed rhythm of "The Amazing Maze -Pursuit-" from Rayman Legends. Starts with 3/8, goes to 7/8, etc.

[@coelacanth1343]

彁 is completely 4/4, LeaF herself confirmed it, it just uses tuplets!

[@IBHID]

Halo 2 has some great examples of mixed metre! 'Leonidas' (which appears at 5:15 in the Delta Halo Suite from the soundtrack) alternates between a main melody which switches constantly between 6/4 and 5/4 and breaks that stick firmly within 6/4. It later switches to alternating measures of 6/4 and 8/4 at 6:39. 'Follow (1st Movement Of The Odyssey)' by Incubus was also used in the game and has a main riff that uses a pattern something like 6/8 - 3/8 - 6/8 - 5/8 or 9/8 - 11/8, depending on how you feel it. The chorus is similarly three bars of 7/8 followed by a 4/4 measure.

[@Keitoded]

I'm a real Marxist lmao. Also I'm learning Marx's Theme on Piano and its so fun to play with the mixed meter.

[@looney1023]

My favorite "coherent" example right now is Two Rivers from Suikoden 2. So technically, the song is entirely in 3/4 with a consistent percussion groove, but all of the melodic material is composed with phrases that suggest different time signatures that always manage to line up into a consistent phrase length. First a chorus in 3 measures of 4/4, then a mixed meter verse with phrases in the pattern 9/8+12/8+9/8+6/8, then a refrain in the classic 6/8 vs 3/4 hemiola. Each of these adds up to an integer number of 3/4 bars, so the groove and the melody always start and end together, but the varied length results in a highly improvisational feel to the piece, which sounds like folk music already. And one of my favorite "you said you wanted time signatures so i gave you time signatures" example is also from Suikoden 2. Mad Luca. I mean, he's mad. What more is there to say?

[@elebonhamstarr]

ive been obsesed with the mixed meter in videogame music last 2 weeks and i just discovered this video. i cant express how happy i am rn (my fav one is the doom dragon from golden sun, so glad u mentioned it)

[@bogganboy]

wake up babe, a new Cadence Hira video is up!

[@KINGOFPIZZA92]

Why are your videos SOOOOO good?! your research is always crazy and your way of explaining is hypnotic, the editing always on spot. I'm so happy to have discovered the existence of this channel, thank you so much for these wonderful videos. p.s. The thing I look forward to most when I open a new video of yours is to hear what the outro song will be like.

[@biscuitslash5443]

Every analysis video on intricate time signatures feels like such a treat! Honestly I'm amazed at how you can transcribe such complex tunes like this! One of my favourite uses of the mixed meter is Falling Down from Megaman Zero 4. When it's deciding to use common time it keep darting out into triple time very briefly, with a 6/4 section that it blends into really well. Then there's the intro and outro that I just can't quite count for the life of me. I think the intro is 9/4 but the end bit doesn't fit into the overall rythem. It's a perfect theme for a final battle of urgency and some extent of futility!

[@mattyzkeys]

I think my favorite thing about mixed meter is the environment building within video games. For vs Marx, it’s the mutating and evolving of the phrases. Your example of line 2 and line 3 shows not just an on-paper redoubling of the phrase but an auditory echo that breaks into the phrase pattern. A context of weirdness or time dilation or stress or mutation all can be aptly accompanied by mixed meter. Here We Are from Undertale is an interesting example. It has a compound + simple, 6/8 + 2/4 feel (5/4), which would otherwise just be alternating meter, but has a switched up 3/4 instead of 2/4 measure prior to the main chorus. The alternating meter already adds to the vibe of mutation/unease but it has a bit extra mixed meter in there for fun.

[@CaptainParallax]

my favourite example of mixed meter apart from Splatoon's Frothy Waters is The Fell God's Tempest from Fire Emblem Echoes! Such a beautifully chaotic song and fitting for the final boss fight of Duma

[@goblator4186]

11:25 PERIPHERY MENTIONED YEAAAAAAA

[@miserirken]

Fitting as they have a ton of game references in their music. Periphery, Love that sh*t!

[@shadycactus6146]

oh hell yeah, i’d been hoping you’d talk about gilded runner!! tbh genshin has a lot of fun mixed meter stuff

[@meruscales]

The scale you played in your video for Gilded Runner is one of Messiaen's modes of limited transposition (I think Mode 2?), the one that repeats at major thirds. Another very geometric object.

[@Wecoc1]

This was a very well put video, as always. Perchance. Even though I don't quite understand the usage of the SotN soundtrack over DoS footage at the intro (sacrilege!!), I like both games and their soundtrack is an absolute bangerfest so I can't really complain. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, stomp a turty adipiscing elit.

[@CadenceHira]

honestly i just REALLY like sotn music

[@MATroiano]

Laying the jokes on heavy, and not at the expense of good theory and research is tough. Nice work!

[@generalcorgi698]

I was so excited for this video and KZbin hides it from me for three days!? Anyways, genshin has another good example of uneven time signatures in the first phase of Scaramouche's boss theme. It's usage even ties into the story itself, as the bass represents himself and the orchestra above it represents the godhood he's trying to reach. As the track goes on, the bass aligns with and falls away from the orchestra, as he gets closer to and further from godhood.

[@scibot9000]

huh, i always thought "mixed meter" was a general case of "alternating meter". I guess it's too late now but I'd like to point your attention to "Unknown Song 2 (Sound Code 8E)" from Light Crusader, which starts out with a bar of 9, 10, 11, 23, 15, 9, and then settles into alternating 7 and 4. it's really fun. "Boss Fight" aka "Fight for the Light" from the same game is also fun, with a sequence of bars in 2, 3, 7, 13, 3 before a steady common time groove.

[@nwcr_]

Great video! Nice to see a new VGM theory channel growing As a tracker user though, I have to say that in most cases a tracker isn't any more susceptible to odd time sigs than your average DAW

[@redtomato4903]

You should make a video about game songs that use odd forms aka stuff that isn’t grouped into 4 bar phrases. Peace and tranquillity from a hat in time is a pretty popular one, using 3 bars of 4/4 as a phrase, and I know there are Kirby and splatoon songs that do the same

[@nino805]

The expanding meters in Frothy Waters reminds me of early Philip Glass, who did similar processy things with adding beats to measures over and over.

[@thatguykekai2601]

Yoooo when that Splatoon hit I somehow forgot about one of the most infamous instances of this at least for me haha

[@arrgobon32]

Yessss. Best way to start the weekend

[@prepcoin_nl4362]

I sort of disagree with how Doom Dragon is barred, mostly because I think the 4 bars of 5/8 sound like two bars of 10/8, each split in half. And when you rebar it like that, you realize that the whole excerpt you transcribed is just a sequence of two bars units with one odd bar added at the end of each section to prepare a transition into the next. This has the benefit of both being a lot more traditional but also adding a lot of regularity and explaining how otherwise very wacky and arbitrary seeming music holds together. Obviously, the surface rhythms are still largely disorienting, but I do hear a deeper level of coherence that can't be so adequately explained without barring like I suggested. In any case, great video.

[@lougamerX]

A song that technically has both mixed meter and polymeter (although primarily polymeter) is "Rhythm-Changer" from the Umineko soundtrack! Would love to see that one analyzed one day since the track still boggles my mind. As for the synchronicity to picture you mention in the end, the only song I can think of would maybe be "Four Tales" the soundtrack accompanying the opening movie from Bravely Default. Although I am unsure if the song actually has mixed meter or if it's just tempo changes and cuts.

[@3DChicken-rx1fs]

FINALY!!!! MUSIC THEORY!!!!! IT HAS BEEN 54 YEARS!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! (I love your content ❤ respect 🫡)

[@noahchars849]

The sky battles in Kid Icarus Uprising have themes reminiscent of film scores. I’m sure you could find some interesting stuff there.

[@riklloyd1303]

Your comment about mixed meter via syncing to film made me think about two examples! 1. Dancer of the Boreal Valley kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIuVYn2Ij7CGgZYsi=jmHbgHI0zB8b9hdU 2. Windwaker combat kzbin.info/www/bejne/epzEg56natipr6Msi=56Aq5rSWnLMlUmhB I think there is an argument to be made that middleware creates a tighter execution of audio syncing to screen than film score, which is sort of a hyperextension of "meter" that goes beyond what we tend to notate. I'd say Windwaker is way more literal, but I've heard a lot anecdotally about Dancer's fight rhythm requiring an understanding of the music cues, which feels like a more "cinematic" understanding of meter conforming to screen for games. Neat to think about!

[@IvysChannel-kb9sn]

Can't believe you made a Mixed Meter video and did not mention a Single Tim Follin track. Treasure Master - Microchip and Plok! - Beach are the main ones I can think of, but there are also a lot of ZX examples.

[@The-official-grindel]

That’s crazy, I was literally just trying to find that one marble game theme with a crazy mixed meter that I think I saw either on this channel or David bennet Update: it was intermediate race from Marble Madness from your microtonality video

[@hukasu]

not video game music, but there is "Thrid Time UNLucky" by T+Pazolite

[@coelacanth1343]

it is videogame music, it's from the rhythm game groove coaster :P

[@hukasu]

@@coelacanth1343 is it explicitly part of the soundtrack or is it a custom map made by a player?

[@coelacanth1343]

@@hukasu explicitly part of the soundtrack, it is in the "original" [songs made for the game] category

[@tsunderecat413]

some of my favorite recent examples, though somewhat simple in comparison to your examples, are the east province theme from pokémon scarlet & violet and the hyrule castle theme from breath of the wild. both alternate (at least from my perspective) between 5/4 and 6/4, though they go about it differently. east province alternates in a pattern throughout most of the song, whereas hyrule castle stays mostly in 5/4, with splashes of 6/4 here and there (as well as that fantastic middle section that plays either the main theme if you're outside or zelda's theme if you're inside, which stays in 6/4 until the last measure).

[@Doc-randomplay]

Im suprised you never mentioned CHAOS from ULTRAKILL, I'm no music guy but im pretty sure it would fit the textbook definiton of mixed meter from it being a clusterfuck of a song lmao

[@SpaceMalakhi]

Cadence Hira the GOAT

[@ruskah0307]

ULTRAKILL (slams the floor like donkey kong) ULTRAKILL (bites a person's whole top half off) ULTRAKILL (bats eyelids) (ultrakill has cool mixed meter stuff)

[@el.k9776]

now that our boi Tigran Hamasyan has kinda released a game, can you review a song from the Bird of a Thousand Voices album?

[@toddhouchin3252]

New subscriber here! Not game music, but I played Holsinger's To Tame the Perilous Skies on tuba in high school. It was so tough to count!

[@CadenceHira]

I love Holsinger! I played Scootin on Hardrock in high school wind ensemble, he has a bunch of bangers (and a lot of mixed meter lol)

[@toddhouchin3252]

@@CadenceHira Your presentation is really excellent. Thanks for the great content!

[@AndrewMatute-ll2zk]

My favorite example of mixed meter has got to be pikmin 3's boss theme, which keeps swapping between 4/4 and 7/4 or 4/4+3/4

[@mateostauffenecker1014]

9:04. Thanks for slipping that in there 💀👕

[@chasebrace7575]

OMG U MADE A VIDEO BOUT IT YAYY honestly i prefer time sigs videos because to me they are way more simple to understand

[@chasebrace7575]

also related to time sigs, what's the time signature of your intro? I'm always trying to figure it out

[@CadenceHira]

@@chasebrace7575 it's just 4/4 but i played it kinda wonky lol

[@cashwarior]

20:21 you are looking for Kid Icarus Uprising (this track is a great example of that, too kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGmlooymi9d3nbM)

[@HYP3RBYT3-p8n]

I think divine intervention by DM DUKURO is incredibly interesting and has tons of mixed meter

[@Meme--lord]

To second a handful of other commenters, if you ever have the time, give Oh No! WASPS!! from Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling a listen, it's my absolute favorite example of mixed meter.

[@kevingalicia6770]

golden Sun mentioned = instant sub

[@Terracrafty]

i've never heard Frothy Waters before and if you told me that was a Siivagunner rip i'd believe you

[@looney1023]

OMG Frothy waters can and should be written in: 4/4 + ((x+1)/8) [x=1,16] where the second time signature is written like sigma summation notation; x=1 underneath, 16 on top.

[@kag2576]

No castle Bleck :( But seriously, probs my favourite example of this in recent memory is Chronos' theme from Hades 2, whose switching is a nice representation of his time titan status

[@andeggbreaks]

Another banger video

[@Xcyiterr]

anyone heard about the absurdity that is the mixed meter bgm for PMD Explorers of Sky's Dark Ice Mountain trust me, take a listen also bonus recommendation of Icicle Forest from the same game for the 5:8 polyrhythm

[@charliezard64]

Minecraft Dungeons mentioned??!?!

[@sirschnee8737]

I had to laugh when hearing Frothy Waters, I laughed in 8/8, 9/8, 10/8,...16/8 my laughs sounded exactly like the insturments like wth

[@kono152]

11:26 PERIPHERY MENTIONED 🗣🗣🗣🗣

[@golfjugo]

If youre into the fibonacci thing, check out Mystic Brew by Vijay Iyer very cool fibonacci sequence morphing

[@wyattstevens8574]

I liked the "Oops, I double-counted that one!"

[@creampuff4610]

Yes new video

[@lordfrogIII]

I got so called out being a math dork hahahahaha 💀💀💀💀

[@silask.1966]

The end card broke me…….😂😂😂

[@Airlord3670]

Well this was several new types of anxiety transcribed in front of me…!

[@miserirken]

18:20 * Laughs in Tool *

[@SeanTBarrett]

There are some other linearly increasing time signature changes "out there" outside videogames, though maybe not sustained for the entire song; the only I can remember offhand is the song "Fuuuuuun" by the garage rock band "Be Your Own Pet", which increases then decreases in length in the middle and at the end (but with slightly different meters). kzbin.info/www/bejne/jarHnXuCoMh_Z7M#t=38s

[@harmathdenes]

Another iconic Kirby example is Welcome Your New Overlord from Return to Dream Land: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqHYapaDf7iil6Msi=_5LEHcsqMyyZvJCY&t=115

[@bamdad4927]

No chaos from ULTRAKILL? Or out of Tartarus from hades?

[@sybiliminalSyntax]

THE FUCKING??? GENSHIN TRACK???? USES THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE?????

[@5ionnach205]

first! Love your videos also

[@jan_Eten]

4:37 2 bars of 22/4, ðen 2 bars of 23/4

[@ItsWolf0]

Oh boy, more things I don’t understand!

[@Arlojmikk]

i ❤ blade arts III

[@jacobbrockett898]

Tool mosh pit got me lol

[@lumadewa]

Hoyoverse may disappoint us but Hoyomix never do

[@silvncr]

No Castle Bleck????

[@Outer-Heaven_Supercomputer]

i thought there would be plok beach

[@CadenceHira]

i talked about it a bit in my Follin Brothers video :D

[@greenrreal]

theres a minecraft song with kalimba (a music instrument) which has a really weird time signature i cant figure out

[@coelacanth1343]

haggstrom, it's written in 7/4

[@ytsejam58]

Exponential Linear Growth XD

[@WillowPercussion]

Cadence, you make some good points in your essay but, you can't just say "perchance"

[@Nawakooo0]

If I don't see VS. Marx I'm gonna break all of my table's legs

[@Nawakooo0]

And also Catching Fleas (Akrilic) from Plok

[@Nawakooo0]

And also Frothy Waters from Splatoon 3

[@CadenceHira]

2/3 is honestly not terrible i'll take it, maybe only break one leg of the table

[@Nawakooo0]

​@@CadenceHira I'll just break 1/3 of every leg

[@ufoufo2788]

Periphery Spotted

[@earv6470]

Would the shrine battle theme from zelda breath of the wild not count as mixed meter?

[@CadenceHira]

Yes! It goes to 4/4 later iirc

[@earv6470]

Thank you! I was just expecting it to show up and was surprised not to hear it.

[@pilby457]

I've never played a Kirby game but I am a fan of Marx

[@windowbar]

AGH A NEW VIDEO 😨