Composition 104: Polychords

Techniques are not only useful to produce music when you are not inspired. Even when you don't have a deadline, you can resort to them to get back your inspiration, just by experimenting until you find something interesting that gets you back on track.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Bingo ! That’s how it usually goes :-)

[@alexpapas99]

The amount of useful information for someone starting out in orchestration with little musical theory knowledge is incredible in this... 😮❤

[@zipperhead101]

I gotta say, I spent some good quality learning time on this channel yesterday and bought Anne-Kathrin a coffee. I have spent several hours today again, and again learning some great stuff. So another cup o' joe. Folks, this is the absolute best value for the dollar ANYWHERE!!! The coffee is optional, but jez...

[@mamuchomusic6662]

Wie schön, Menschen zu finden, die mit Einfachheit und Bescheidenheit Themen behandeln, die in Großbuchstaben geschrieben sind. Ich gratuliere Dir

[@oldestlivinggamero.l.g.9741]

My name is Paul Kimble, I played in a band called 'Grant Lee Buffalo', and produced a bunch of stuff back in the plasticine era. I've been watching some of your KZbin, and just wanted to send you a note expressing how fantastic I think your music is. Your technical vids are all just dandy, but your musicality and natural ability are the things that can't be learned. It's great to see someone really making use of their gifts in such a meaningful way. Music, even if you know a lot about it, is still magic, and you certainly have that. I hope the future brings you all the success and happiness you surely deserve! Cheers Paul Kimble

[@BlakeByrneMusic]

WOAH!!! Hey, Paul! I love Grant Lee Buffalo - I discovered your music through Paul Dempsey of Something For Kate. (He does a cover of Mockingbird). ✨ Thank you for your beautiful work with the band!! I appreciate all the carefully thought out textures throughout. Made a very big impact on how I write music today. Eternally Grateful, and thank you! 💜

[@Maradnus]

What was your name again?

[@CyrilBellem]

Wow, I was just looking for information about polychords after analyzing a composition by John Williams, and suddenly this YT notification appears. That's magical, thank you! 😀😀😀

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@genossewurstbrot]

Yesterday I was watching a TV program where this might have been called "a happy little accident" :D

[@wyshwood]

I hear a lot of 'Bernard Herrmann' when these polychords are engaged. As a novice I guess this is obvious to most, but sometimes these lessons totally open my ears to what is going on. Brilliant stuff, thank you.

[@antongiuliogiardino4950]

Totally agree

[@chrispysaid]

Incredibly genius subversion to begin a video about music with 30 seconds of no music

[@ToneCanyon]

I very much enjoyed this video: ) I always get nervous when a “composer” says “here is my example”. You have very cool music. Very legit!! Thanks!

[@nancydevolder4433]

Excellent teaching, excellent real life examples. Very accessible. Thank you so much!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

13:35 This is the essence for all orchestrators. Bravo Anne-Kathrin 😊 Open voicings, triads of different kinds stack upon each other with register/orchestral color gap between them. They sound just fine ! Try those J.Goldsmith’s favorites derived out of Hexatonic scales. I recommend ALL your videos to all my students and even professional musicians 😊 Coffee is on your way !

[@EDUMSOUZA]

The best approach I've seen to date on this complex subject.. Congratulations!!!👏👏

[@peterharrison5833]

@Robin Thompson--yeah you're right about Goldsmith. The interview I read was in Keyboard Magazine in the late '80s. He said that he worked on craft constantly and if he had a few bars of really great music on any given project then that was a good day. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is a story about an early film producer and a director doing a project back in the 1930s and they wanted to use Villa-Lobos as the composer. So, they showed him the film, and afterward asked if he could do it, and he said yes. Then they asked him how long it would take, and he said "two years." They hired someone else,LOL! The maestro had no idea of Hollywood deadlines. Like Anne-Kathryn said, it's about craft. If you are continually expanding and deepening your craft, you'll get to where you can write on assignment without too much trouble.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Completely agree !

[@CharlesMoore2]

For me stacked triads and polychords are some of the most natural and effective self-teaching tools. Somehow, the colors and moods available are both efficient and wide-open with possibility. Your videos make outstanding contributions to our community. Wir schätzen dich!

[@serotonix987]

It’s so great to get a breakdown on this technique. This is where I see my sound living, as it’s also a big part of the kind of media I consume personally. As a hobbyist, I know what sounds I want to make, but very often don’t know what it’s called. Tutorials like these really help😊

[@kaeleb1968]

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge in a no-nonsense format. We appreciate you!

[@GeorgeZwierzchowskipianomusic]

definitely one of the better channels dealing with composition. thanks for the great work and clear explanations.

[@MorisoniProductions]

Thank you so much for making your knowledge and expertise available. You explain with a lucidity and clarity and humour that I never encountered before in my musical education. Very much appreciated. Your scores too are so rich.

[@jondellar]

Your explanations are fascinating and your own compositions demonstrated here are hauntingly beautiful!

[@ArmchairAmbience]

This is unrelated but I am hoping somebody can help me...I have an issue when composing where everything is too on a grid and formulaic sounding. I don't know how to make things sound through composed and organic...hopefully this makes sense to someone and they can help

[@RiquezaEmGotas]

Your channel is unique, these polichords have opened a world of possibilities in my musical experiments. Well done.

[@DaveBessell]

Another nice tutorial. I actually know quite a bit of this already but I use your tutorials to remind myself to use various techniques which I have half forgotten. Some mornings I just dip into one of your tutorials at random and use whatever technique comes up. Useful for jogging myself out of familiar habits!

[@alvarorodriguezfilmmusic]

Brilliant resource, thanks for sharing! I recommend everyone interested in this checking out pieces by Honegger, Milhaud, Britten, Bartók, Szymanowski, Ives, Prokofiev and of course Stravinsky. A whole new world in terms of harmony!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thank you for watching and for the additional recommendations!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Thanks so much for including Szymanowski ! Hardly anybody ever mentions his name, which is a shame, because Szymanowski was one of the most important and most inventive composers of the early XXth Century.

[@alvarorodriguezfilmmusic]

@@KrystofDreamJourney definitely, I couldn't agree more!!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@alvarorodriguezfilmmusic :-)

[@andyokus5735]

Honneger is very heavy .

[@AnthonyJohnson-Hud]

Wow, to the point and direct as usual. I can't overstate how powerful your tutorials are. Always inspiring! Thanks

[@kcashion8358]

So refreshing to hear someone so knowledgeable talk about this stuff. I haven’t had anyone to talk to about this stuff since university. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Usually if I mention something like planing people give me a funny look. 😅

[@2good2beuntrue]

this is amazing, thank you so much!! just found about term polytonality - in my self-taught music theory journey I've termed polychords as cross chords before I found they're actually a thing, and categorised them under dissonant chords - I figured if I just play a chord outside of a parent scale it's dissonant hence cross chord haha but there's so much more to it - I was quite frustrated figuring out how john williams for example came up with hedwig's theme melody as it doesn't fall within any scale and was like 'what am I missing' and I think he was simply using polytonality and constructed melodies on the bases of chord tones within polychords and passing notes - soooo amazing!! your composition is so harry potterish I'm an absolute fan

[@_sonicfive]

Beautiful! I am downloading this to listen offline on my travel.

[@olsouzidis]

Your type of channel (content level / presentation etc) is massively missing from you tube you 're doing everything right - there is an army of people out there that hate the "click bait" overly produced "tutorial" videos on you tube full of pointless graphics, overly enthusiastic presentation for no apparent reason and dragged out content for the amateur producer / composer that has practically no attention span so everything ends up being a dumbed-down version void of any real educational aspect - well done for standing out. You clearly respect your craft and your skills and conversely you respect our time watching thank you so much for creating these, I ll donate to your channel and if you ever make "paid for" content I ll happily purchase directly from you, again well done

[@OliKember]

Fascinating - I never knew what to call this dissonant sort of sound. Loved hearing your examples and Star Wars too. Much appreciated!

[@commodoor6549]

Your channel is the most musically useful channel I've ever watched.

[@MatthewEverettGates]

Thanks for that! Very clear, understandable presentation, and conclusions.

[@radiozelaza]

all those polychords reminded me of a great British metal band BAL-SAGOTH which used keyboards extensively, fusing their music with every film score cliche techniques described in Anne's videos. It was amazing, I was heavily into them in the late 90s and now I can name the techniques they "borrowed" from John Williams et al with ease. Well, anyway, heavy guitars + polychords are really sick. You should check them out, for example their sci-fi themed song Return to the Praesidium of Ys

[@petersvan7880]

Really enjoyed this video. Amazing atmospheres using this technique. Thank you Anne-Kathrin!

[@Notmehimorthem]

Loving your mystery cue. Really learning a lot from you.

[@yvanroustan4426]

Awesome ! your first star wars example is really good to understand Polychords...Thank you !

[@MrDCPatterson]

Just wanted to say a huge thanks for this (and all your videos). For someone who is neuro diverse and really struggles with written music, your use of midi and the piano roll is very helpful.

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

Yooooo! I've been trying to figure out how to do those dark scary chords forever, and then I stumbled upon the answer; thank you so much! 😁

[@Mansardian]

Again and again I'm surprised how inspiring your videos are. Sunday morning in Vienna, didn't plan to write orchestral music. But I thought "Ein bisserl Anne-Kathrin kann nicht schaden" and after having heard 3 chords I can't wait to get to my workstation.😵‍💫🤯

[@michaelbishop.]

Wow! That’s a bit honest. Creative artists using skills ,technology,experience to get the job done, with inspiration as an optional extra. Thank you, so refreshing.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Inspiration (or rather experimenting, digging into yourself, your abilities to internally envision the sonority, melody, thematic palette for the project etc.) comes at the very beginning of the process. First week, perhaps two (if you have a luxury). Once you establish that overall direction for your music - the rest is pure compositional/orchestrational technique. Planing, polychords, pedal notes etc. - everything Anne-Kathrin so eloquently covered in her videos are necessary tools to use for propelling your music, moving into certain direction. There are literally hundreds of ways you can compose your music. Inspiration is an illusion, vague usage of the word that has no exact meaning.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

18:56 You are using a Hexatonic augmented scale, Messiaen’s modi Of limited transposition. The scale is Eb-F#-G-A#-B-D. Great sounding building block for variety of polytonal vertical sonorities. Used by Jerry Goldsmith (and others) all the time... I love how you voice those notes, leaving certain register gaps - critically important for good overall timber 😊

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

And yes, you omitted F#, but it’s still within Hexatonic...

[@omnimusicpublishing974]

Yes, 100% hexatonic. Jerry would build chords from this scale-same with John. It's all over Total Recall and Phantom Menace.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@omnimusicpublishing974 Completely agreed, my Friend :)

[@pierrelenik4429]

Charles Ives was a pioneer in the art of using this composition process. Great explanation Anne 👏 thanks for all your investment in music history 🙏

[@douglasbroccone3144]

I wish I started learning music theory earlier but it’s great to have resources like this so anyone can appreciate this knowledge at any age

[@ToCoSo]

I loved the honest description of a working life as a composer!! So true!! Great vid, thank you for sharing your pieces and breaking them down for us.

[@lejunctionopenmicnight5060]

Absolutely Brillian you are on youway to becoming one of KZbins great music aducators. Watch out Rick Beato.. Honestly your explainations and delivery are excellent and much appresiated

[@kimtaulbee260]

Listening to these examples I recognized something similar to Bernstein's closing music in the last scene after Tony dies. It makes sense. Thanks for another great lesson!

[@zipperhead101]

You're awesome. Thank you for taking on an impossible task of teaching this stuff outside a university setting.

[@MulattoHandle]

Great patient and calm portrayance of beautifully exquisite ideas. Quite helpful outro words allowing people to understand the intricacy of potentially avante- chord uses

[@etiennedelaunois1737]

Great video Anne! Polychords are an amazing composition technique. I think the song by Abba you refer to is Mammamia, at the introduction.

[@davidlamothe2942]

This sheds light on something that was confusing me when I wanted to learn Summer Breeze to make a heavy cover of it. In the bridge I was trying to identify the chord orchestation and it didn't make sense to me from even a " jazz chord" perspective. Now it's clear to me that they were using polychord orchestration, something I didn't even know was a thing even though I've been playing guitar for over 36 years 😳 😅

[@SoundAuthor]

I love your videos...and I'm not even a composer! i just find your breakdowns really fascinating.

[@peterreynolds8146]

27:52 Excellent examples for composer tool box. Thank you

[@henriquemuller2608]

I simply love your channel. Thanks for everything.

[@mauriceamaraggi8098]

I like very much your videos and the simplicity with which you present them. This is the second I see. I will definitely watch the others. Thank you.

[@davidgroeneveld1382]

I started hitting the like button before actually having seen the video. Even if it's something I know already it is still explained so well that I get something new out of it. Great channel!

[@gary_edwards]

Mama Mia...that's what it reminded me of. My mom was a huge Abba fan, so naturally she would get me Abba albums for Christmas, when really she was just buying those albums for herself. Sneaky, but I do miss her!

[@Paolo8772]

Your Example 1 from Star Wars is similar to the bitonal chord of Turandot, but instead of two major triads a diminished Octave apart, the bottom is minor. It's usually an A Major triad in the treble register over a compounded B Flat minor in the bass: Lowest note: B flat under an F (a P5 above it); and a D flat (a minor 5 above above that). Above all of that is the A Major triad. It was meant to convey "all that seems exotic and barbaric about imperial China to the colonial westerner in the early 20th century" . When that chord is played under the the angular four note Cruelty of Turandot as it cascades upon itself, it becomes the "execution motive" and is played as the Prince of Persia is beheaded. It falls within the the "dissonance tinta" (or colour) of the opera. It was Puccini's last major advancement in tonal/atonal harmony before he died in 1926 (as well as the "phantom scene chord" in the same opera).

[@martingravel1157]

HI! CE3K is so packed with orchestration techniques... kind of all of the 20th century stuff... Awesome vid! Thanks!

[@AynenMakino]

Once again you're knocking it out of the park. Nice!

[@AtlasBenighted]

Fantastic video! Thank you! 👍

[@JellyMonster1]

Not only the spacing of the notes but the order of them and the rich instrumentation - not something you could do on a Casio VL Tone for sure. Thanks for the upload.

[@-jank-willson]

i don't know why, but it has the same dreamy, spooky, mysterieus vibe that the whole-step scale has...

[@MrMikomi]

Very interesting. I was intrigued by the title, then when you said early on what they are, I thought, pffft, not much use to me then, but I persisted, and well, it was worth it. I don't think I'll ever use them, as for me composition means songwriting, but I'm glad I know now of their existence, what they sound like and how and where they are typically used. Thanks.

[@Unelith]

That third example is amazing, I love dark and evil sounding music 🖤

[@AndersRomin]

Thank you for this very interesting topic, I always wondered how these otherworldly sounds are created! And by the way, the abba song you thought of is probably Mamma Mia which uses a D to D#5 thing in the intro.

[@gastube22]

What a beautifully relaxing presentation style for such a complex and technical subject. Excellently described here - thank you.

[@gyur6]

Clear explanation, great examples, loved it

[@BinarySounds]

Some of them have Silent Hill vibes. Thanks for sharing. Amazing tutorial as always.

[@zofo264]

I don't know how I found your channel but I'm glad I did. This video was amazing and I learned so much. Thanks for sharing :)

[@djrbfmbfm-woa]

Good evening, i was wondering when you were going to address this topic. terrific stuff. thank you. j.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@laffikdcaps]

it's good to know that this way of playing chords already exists in the theory of music. some time ago I've discovered that seventh chords can be divided into base, three voices and another three voice chord, based on second, third and fourth voice of the first one. That would be all e on C, a on F, G on E and so on, in your examples. Sometimes part works even when only the another chord plays without the base one. Magical stuff! As puzzling as when I discovered that 9th played with the chord sounds completely consonant and can be added any time. There are things in the music theory that philosophers didn't even dream of! :)

[@theodor9763]

I've learned a lot of movie and orchestral music from your videos even I've composed music for a long time. Thanks and big up to you. I hope only good things to you.

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

A how-to for creating super-evocative chords! Next time I pull up my DAW I'm going to try out some of these ideas with BBCSO Discover.

[@aleksamrkela831]

Man, I needed this. Thanks for the terrific tutorial!

[@xyshomavazax]

24:40 I had one. Amazing work.

[@Aedhon]

wow, I had no idea, so many possibilities :) thanks for this one!

[@zipperhead101]

WOW on the tritone 27:20 and onward. Works!

[@isoEH]

Thank you for going into some detail with the voicings, colors and progressions: close and spread. You've answered a question that has been hovering around me. The final bars of 'problem = chance' by BrunoHeinen are polychordal and reading them now they look approachable, finally. Thanks!

[@jammusique]

Hey Anne-Kathrin! Great info. I'd love to see some of your harmonic palet for RomCom cues!

[@MaxTooney]

Great lesson! (Made me realize just how often James Newton Howard uses polychords.)

[@RocknRollkat]

Excellent presentation, thank you !

[@rgallitan]

I can't find the interview, but I recall Jerry Goldsmith saying basically the same thing you did about inspiration. In his typical grumpy fashion he dismissed composers that whine about lacking inspiration, saying that knowing how to write on deadline, inspired or not, is his whole job.

[@Roikat]

Agree. It represents a wrong idea of inspiration to think you need it before you can do anything. Picasso expressed it by saying something like “I believe inspiration exists, but you have to be working for it to find you.”

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@Roikat Absolutely yes ! Inspired or not… When you already have themes established - everything else is pure technique…

[@grahamd9855]

Absolutely loved this … and it’s so far over my head I’m probably going to watch this umteen times. Bravo and encore!

[@DarthCalculus]

I love this exploration and demonstration! I need to incorporate some of this in my own work

[@rogeralleyne9257]

Music theory/techniques are the fundamentals & I believe are absolutely essential! Only a VERY few can survive without it over the long haul 🤔 Humbly in my opinion 🤔🙏🙏🙏

[@mattfaisandier]

Hi Anne, thanks for your excellent video. Possibly the mystery chord at 19:00 could be interpreted as Ebmaj7 / m6 , which couples nicely to the previous Cmaj7 | Eb where the B of the Cmaj7 grounds in the bass of the Ebmaj7 / m6. Admittedly this view steps back out of the polychord framework and into "conventional" harmonic world. Anyway, there are many different ways to see and understand this, whatever makes sense and feels good to you is true. Sounds great , proceed c:

[@MoodScores7538]

Thanks for the very helpful information. It’s invaluable to all aspiring composers.

[@kilohertzmusic2021]

Super interesting to see this in action, thank you. Really enjoyed your own musical cues. The first one was wonderful

[@JohnTussey]

Thank you! @Anne-Kathrin Dern

[@musicforworldpeacerecords324]

Will you be doing a video on 12-tone rows? I never fully understood the concept and you explain things in a way that's easy to understand.

[@Doty6String]

These cues are beast! I’m Inspired

[@dv6165]

Every composition lesson: John Williams didn't invent this 😂

[@davidbluecame]

Excellent video within a fantastic series of very well explained videos, very useful, thank you so much!

[@christopherkeller7734]

22:25 You're thinking of the intro to Mamma Mia My favorite polychord is in Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" when he puts an Eb7 on top of an E major triad.

[@PatrickBuzoMusic]

😅

[@edgarsnake2857]

Fascinating concepts; beautifully demonstrated and explained. I strive for cinematic content in the pop music that I work on. You have helped me with that. Thanks.

[@richardmillingtonmusic]

Thanks so much for another hugely informative video!

[@christopherravelbell8899]

The song by ABBA was "Mama Mia" (the intro)

[@YuvalRon]

Great intro to polytonality, thank you!

[@thebreathalyzer]

Some of those are kind of Charles Ives sounding, wonder if John Williams was a fan of his. Great video and explanation.

[@AMB666]

Thank you for sharing those outstanding videos!! They're really great and informative for everyone! They are really helpful for people who are not familiar with Stravinsky stuff and so on! I have a little question, does true serialism exist in film scores (beside the Matrix by Don Davis, it's the only example I know!)?

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Digest Jerry Goldsmith’s “Planet of the Apes” (1968) waaay before Don Davis :-) BTW : I love Don’s “Matrix” entire magnum opus. Outstanding !

[@AMB666]

@@KrystofDreamJourney Thank you! I will check it out! To be honest, I tried to pretend that the Matrix score doesn't exist because it's so much for a generic movie! It's so underrated although it's like a prime example of textbook headlines!! And maybe I am so biased because I am a fan! Have a nice day!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@AMB666 Did you buy a score from Omni Music Publishing yet ? I analyzed entire thing. Very difficult passage for a pianist recording soundtrack… Don Davis is an excellent composer !! The entire trilogy is breathtaking! Master. But 30 years earlier Jerry Goldsmith along with John Williams (both had the same teacher) used 12-note technique in their scores either as building blocks or simply as tools to propell certain passages of their scores. Used sparingly it delivers tension and suspense…

[@AMB666]

@@KrystofDreamJourney Yes, I have a copy and luckily I got most of my favorite parts by ear before getting it. The orchestration is what you can expect from a composer like Don but the tonality and motifs are amazing. Some cues are simple as an aeolian voicing orchestrated but yet really catchy...also the use of dynamics. And yes I know about John Williams quite a lot...he's a master. I'm just a weird music lover who enjoy lots of genres (I produce them too)...I hope I specialize in only one or two lol!

[@michaelstevens8]

Outstanding Video as Always Anne-Kathrin. For anyone that's interested , Stravinsky, Bartok, Ives, Holst, Milhaud are some of the Composers that used Polychords often. Also check out the book 20th Century Harmony by Vincent Persichetti. Thanks.