ELDEN RING - Putrescent Knight on Piano

[@moonlapsepiano]

Music Theory Breakdown This piece is in key of G minor, though it rarely follows typical minor-key functional harmony progressions and uses lots of neighbor tones. This characteristic is probably part of what drew me to it, as I love these pieces that have more unusual, spicy, or non-diatonic (out of the key) harmony. Like certain other From Software pieces I've analyzed, Tsukasa Saitoh adds a variety of other neighbor tones which are not in the key of G minor to give this track its particular mystical vibe. 0:01: The track starts off with a G Dorian sound, the harp cresting on that raised 6th (E) over the G minor triad (G Bb D). For the duration of this breakdown, I'll be referring to the various intervals from the perspective of G Aeolean (G minor scale). Some might refer to this E as the 'natural 6th' since the major scale is often used as a benchmark, but I think it makes more sense to refer to the various intervals in this piece in comparison to G Aeolean. So from here on out I will call E the #6. The Dorian mode is highly versatile and can often evoke a mysterious sound. 8-bit Music Theory covers this topic well in his incredible video on the Dorian mode, where he references tracks that use Dorian mode from games like Legend of Zelda, Hollow Knight, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy VI. Highly worth the watch, and he explains what I mean by 'Dorian = mysterious' far better than I can here in text format with my character limit. The thing to take away is that Saitoh immediately starts the track on a pensive, slightly unstable, peculiar sound by playing this natural 6th E over the sound of a G minor triad. 0:15: The piece introduces one of its signature harmonic motifs, the use of the #4 (C#). This interval is used often in From Software soundtracks and creates a disturbing, villainous, and dark vibe. It's dark in a totally different way than harmonic minor is dark. Notice that we still hear the #6 (E) during this section. Looking at the tones present here, we can see the sound of the Dorian #4 mode taking form. This is also known as the Ukrainian Dorian, Dorian #11, Dorian #4, Romanian minor among other names. G Dorian #4 contains the notes G-A-Bb-C#-D-E-F. It's one of my all-time favorite modes! Most of the notes here fall into this category, except for a few rogue C notes at 0:24 that break out of that mode - but overall it stays within G Dorian #4. It can be hard to put into words how this mode feels, as it's something far better understood through our ears. I recommend immersing yourself in this mode by constructing chords from the mode and playing with them, or improvising over a chord vamp containing only notes from this mode to really get a sense of it (such as Gm7 to Gdim back and forth). I really like Quist's Dorian #4 backing track - I've spent hours soloing over it on guitar and piano for practice: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6G4ZamLhLN7i5osi=JTO-QnDgDi6V8StK 0:39: Gm/D Ebmaj7 Gm/D Ebmaj7 After letting us simmer in the creepy/unsettling Dorian #4 mode for a while, Saitoh swaps the vibe and delivers us a wonderfully epic and emotional chord progression to contrast it. We have Gm/D to Ebmaj7 repeating twice. It's a classic 1 to 6 and back progression (i to bVI), used in all sorts of genres of music but especially metal and rock. It's cool to see the i chord in second inversion though - that's unusual. Saitoh put the 5th in the bass for our i chord and it creates a very cool effect, making the harmony more ambiguous, obscured, and hard to decipher - fitting the vibe of the boss! Along with this comes an ostinato (short repetitive musical figure) that repeats throughout the entire song, even in phase 2. This ostinato uses tried-and-true notes straight from G minor, G A Bb C and D, and somewhat outlines a G minor triad. To me, this swap signifies an important change in the lore scenario. At first we are perturbed and confused by a weird droopy metallic knight attacking us in such an otherworldly setting. It's unfamiliar and somewhat aggressive. When this epic section starts, it's like our character's sudden realization that this is the guardian and protector of St Trina who we've been waiting to learn about Elden Ring came out. This is where Miquella abandoned his love (and alter ego) in the garden of Deep Purple, and is a very significant moment in the series' lore - we are on the cusp of unveiling the mystery of St. Trina. 1:04: Dm Ebmaj7 Cm9 Gm Dm Ebmaj7 Cm9 Gdim D7(no3) This section is much closer to a more commonly-seen minor key functional harmony progression. We get lots of motion between these chords. I think it's cool to see the tonic Gm at the end of the first line. It can be very tempting to start chord progressions on the i when writing so it's a fresh reminder we can also end on the i. Another cool move is the Cm9 Gdim D7 at the end of the second line. This is a iv - V/V - V move, seen all the time in From Software's tracks (and classical music, jazz etc of course). This 'five of five' motion brings to mind tracks like Slave Knight Gael from Dark Souls III, where Yuka Kitamura uses it to great effect. The Gdim can be viewed as the V/V because it's functioning as a dominant chord leading to the D7. The V chord of D7 is A7, and Gdim can be viewed as a rootless A7b9. It has all of the notes of A7b9 except A. There are a lot of awesome resources online about how diminished chords can be viewed as rootless dominant chords (and often used as such), so if you have trouble visualizing this concept definitely dig a bit deeper reading about it. It's quite imperative to understanding why diminished chords appear in songs like this. 02:10: The start of phase 2 is super weird! I honestly am not 100% sure how to explain it but after thinking about it for a while I have some reasonable explanations. We have a G major triad in the lower instruments, but a very clear G minor arpeggio going on in the harp. It's like a triad pair of G minor over G major. Really strange sounding! I think you could just chalk it up to the fact that imposing a minor chord over a major chord of the same root is unstable and mysterious which is perfect for this boss's phase transition where he whips out the ghostflame. At first I could not believe that there was a B in the inner voices but it's absolutely there and I verified it with a spectrogram lol. I took it a step further and noticed that the notes here fall into the G half-whole diminished scale. A devious family of scales that are sometimes used in From Software tracks - we saw it in Rykard's theme a bit. To form this scale, start with a G and then move a half step, then a whole step, then a half, then a whole, until you arrive back at G. It's an octatonic scale (8 notes instead of the usual 7). We have G-Ab-Bb-B-C#-D-E-F. Both the minor third and major third are in this scale, so maybe we can alternatively view this section as being in this mode/scale. 2:35: We have a return to the Gm/D sound for an extended period. What an intense rhythmic section this is! I love it. It stays on this for a while, bringing back that original ostinato from phase 1. I really like the way Saitoh tied the phases together using this melodic figure. 2:47: Just like in phase 1, Saitoh moves beautifully from the Gm/D into the bVI chord, Ebmaj7. This time, the Ebmaj7 kicks off a new chord progression rather than being the second chord in the sequence, but it's the same harmonic movement and certainly a callback. Ebmaj7 D7 Gm Gminmaj7 I really like how Saitoh brought in the harmonic minor mode here at the climax of the song, which is more evocative of the general 'Dark Souls' sound and is especially used in those games by Motoi Sakuraba and Yuka Kitamura. This section employs the raised 7th, F#, as the primary interval non-diatonic to G minor. This gives us our G harmonic minor scale, G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F#. In this case, it's not just as a simple as having the major V in a minor key. Because it's so common to see the major V in a minor key, and the raised 7th often only appears in that chord, people often argue that's not enough evidence to say something is using the harmonic minor mode. They might just say it's using a common chord move well-established since classical music and leave it at that. However, we can see that raised 7th (F#) being used over the bVI chord as well, at 2:51 in this song. When we start to see this #7 interval over chords besides the V is when I will begin to say the piece is using the harmonic minor modal sound. This is one of my absolute favorite moments from the piece - this single note is SO cool sounding in the context of the rest of the piece. It brings a piece of that Elden Ring/Dark Souls energy that is more common/expected, and I think that's really fun to hear as you are fighting for your life in phase 2. The fight has gone from a weird, slow, methodical battle to an all-out one and this part of the OST reflects that. All of that weird #4 and #6 is gone, and we are left with something more familiar and more epic. This is further cemented by a rock-solid V-i movement from D7 to Gm, another staple in the From Software OST catalog. This move is so ubiquitous in classical music that we often associate it with antiquity, which is why it's such an effective musical device in a medieval/castle/historical inspired fantasy setting like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. To continue the harmonic minor trend, we see the #7 again over G minor toward the end of the progression. Thank you so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it and I hope you learned something and enjoyed my analysis. As always, if you want to ask questions, suggest a correction, or just have fun discussing music theory you can reach me (and other like-minded FromSoftware fans) in the Moonlapse Piano Discord server linked in the description.

[@binchcity6119]

Ty for the breakdown, made me sub

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@binchcity6119 I am glad to hear that, appreciate the sub! 💜

[@AquaMaryn.]

Yes, thank you for taking the time to write this down. And a beautiful piano rendition. Appreciate the use of both grey and purple in the visuals to represent both St. Trina and the dull silver of Putrescene.

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@AquaMaryn. I appreciate that, thanks so much! And I did choose the colors quite carefully, thanks for noticing 💜

[@dizzyhungry]

Wow thats.... a very passionate comment. Thanks for sharing.

[@themoonlighthuntress7065]

Omg this is just gorgeous...I actually have thought that the Putrescent knight's theme is a little underrated imo. It sounds so hauntingly beautiful and melancholic to me and this song sounds so good on piano ❤ As always, fantastic job! ✨

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you! 💜I agree it's underrated, it's one of my faves from the DLC. It really suited the Garden of Deep Purple so well, I love the colors and ambiance there (a lot of my artwork is purple and it's my fave color so makes sense lol). Haunting is a great word to describe it.

[@themoonlighthuntress7065]

@@moonlapsepiano You're welcome ^^. It really does and fits the tragic story of St. Trina so well! Also hey, purple is one of my favorite colors too right alongside blue so that's really cool, both are such beautiful colors ❤

[@nERVEcenter117]

Love this cover. Putrescent Knight immediately stood out to me when playing the game, and turned out to be my favorite track (closely followed by Saint of the Bud). Shame it's so overlooked.

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@nERVEcenter117 thank you 💜 I think the softer songs can tend to be a bit overlooked in general. This track is more subtle than something like Promised Consort or Bayle. I think you will like my next cover 🌸

[@emperorpalpatine4953]

Can't wait for midra's turn. If you're considering it, that is.

[@moonlapsepiano]

It's a possibility!

[@maidros85]

Someone replied, but I can't see it here. I hope the pianist said yes

[@mt2r-music]

Quieter OSTs like this translate really well to the piano. Great work!

[@moonlapsepiano]

I agree, this one especially was very well suited and not as challenging to arrange as Rellana was. I'd be willing to bet the idea for that repetitive violin ostinato was probably composed on the piano lol. Thanks for watching! 💜

[@mt2r-music]

@@moonlapsepiano yeah, that could likely be the case. Looking forward to the next arrangement :)

[@SpektronPS]

Great cover!! This was definitely one of the more "piano-worthy" pieces in the DLC so I'm glad you decided to go with this one.

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@SpektronPS Thanks Spektron! I agree 💜

[@pancakke08]

This was PHENOMENAL. My favorite boss theme translates SO well to piano. You did fabulous thank you so much for this! This ost doesnt get enough recognition.

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you!! Comments like this are part of why I love doing underrated boss themes. I appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed the arrangement💜

[@SilverwingedBat]

This has to be one of my favourite piano arrangements of a FromSoftware track or games in general right off the bat just due to how prefect this track sounds on solo piano and the way you arranged it accentuates the emotions behind it. I love reading your breakdown of the music theory, def gonna check out Dorian #4 more after this!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that! 💜 I tried very hard to capture the emotions of the original track, so it's nice to read your comment. And I'm glad you enjoyed the theory breakdown as well. Dorian #4 is a beautiful mode.

[@AqareCover]

Sounds amazing, many parts sound even better on the piano and like they were meant to be this way, especially in phase 1. Great job!

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@AqareCover thanks Aqare! 💜 I agree many of those melodic figures in the song are very well suited to piano, to the point that I wonder if he composed this on piano a little bit. Excited to hear what you've got in store!

[@logic6615]

This felt so satisfying to hear. I really love how you did phase 2 as well. Keep up the good work

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you very much logic! 💜 I will do my best to keep it rolling

[@planetcheese]

In all honesty, I didn't think much of the Putrescent Knight's theme before hearing this piano cover. But, when I heard this, I went back to hear the Putrescent Knight OST, then returned here to listen to this cover. What was a theme I gave no thought to has now become one of my favorites from the DLC (which is already full of great music as it is), entirely because of this cover. All that is to say, you did a really awesome job on this!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you so much! I love comments like this, I am really glad you were able to have a newfound appreciation for the track. I do think it goes unnoticed for some people due to how soft it is, but it's really quite gorgeous. Thank you for the kind words! 💜

[@RubALamp]

I'm eager to see the next pieces you transcribe, in particular Romina's, Messmer's, and The Promised Consort's themes, if you have them in mind that is. This one came out excellent, by the way!

[@scrunghole]

i keep coming back to 2:35 through 3:00 , it’s so fucking good in this arrangement. great work as always, thanks for doing my favorite boss justice

[@moonlapsepiano]

thank you so much, sorry i missed your comment earlier. i appreciate it!!!

[@roshunpatel1288]

This is out of control fire! Well done!

[@korreollonborre]

I don't know music theory, but I see you're really passionate about this, judging from your very long description and pinned comment. I respect that :3

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thanks! It's true, I am very passionate about both music theory and From Software soundtracks! 💜

[@LudwigVanLarx]

I'm really glad that you ended up covering this piece because it's for sure one of the best pieces on the SotE OST, and I've listened to your arrangement about four times now haha. Going through your analysis: Saitoh starting the piece off on such ambiguous harmony is actually devious. Without firsthand knowledge of the track, it could lead the listener to several different conclusions on where the harmony might resolve, but kind of keeping us in Dorian territory for awhile definitely creates that mysterious soundscape that you've mentioned. Also, the mixed third harmony at the beginning of the second phase is actually nuts. Such a simple was to create tension, but definitely a fantastic way to continue the mysterious and mystical sound that Saitoh created in the first phase. Great work, Moon!!! Can't wait to see what you do next from the DLC!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you Ludwig! Yeah that mixed third thing is incredibly cool, I want to try it out myself. I always appreciate that you read the analysis! 💜

[@goodmusicenjoyer97]

This one is really nice too. I love the theory breakdowns!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you! I appreciate you reading it and glad you enjoyed it💜

[@sSpectralls]

Cant wait to hear more elden ring dlc ost's from you Also if putrescent knight took you 4 hours.. final boss is gonna be 100 lol

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you so much! 💜 And regarding the final boss, that is good! Bayle took me 10 hours and I enjoyed every moment of it, and nobody else has stood up to his power so far!

[@moonlapsepiano]

I just beat him it took 20 lol. Absolutely insane! What a lovely fight.

[@lordsusano7667]

Can't wait for St. Trina's Theme

[@Caliko]

This one translates so beautifully to piano! Wonderfully done :) The chord progressions sound spicy and satisfying in a simple way(?) at the same time, no clue how to explain it better haha!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thanks for watching Cali! 💜 It was very fun to arrange. This one definitely hits that sweet spot of having a solid amount of spice but too much that it becomes overwhelming.

[@steakfist176]

another banger as always

[@moonlapsepiano]

thanks for watching, steakfist! 💜

[@SaimoodPianoVersions]

Perfection as always. Nice to see you making arrangements from the DLC man. I'm also still playing, even I had to back to original game because looks like I let some important talismans 😅. I'm looking forward the sheet music but don't worry, I know it needs a looot of time and personaly it's a bit tedious work . Well done✌🏻.

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you Sai I always appreciate your comments 💜I also had to go back to the base game and grab some items lol. Yeah sheets will happen but as you said, it can be quite tedious and time consuming to get them to a high quality state. At the same time, it's satisfying and rewarding to produce a nice set of sheets once it's all done.

[@rocad_guitar]

Ahhh so gorgeous!! And 2:35 is 🔥🔥🔥

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@rocad_guitar I appreciate that! 💜 And yeah that is my favorite part of the track lol.

[@WeirdTroll666]

really lovely

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you! 💜

[@ChristianClown]

I wasn't expecting a cover of this track, but now I realize that I needed it. Bro, this is awesome as usual. Thank you. You are very talented. I'm looking forward to your new covers.

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you - I appreciate that and definitely have more covers on the way💜 This track is very underrated in the DLC!

[@ChristianClown]

@@moonlapsepiano I agree, this track is very underrated. Fighting in a purple cave at the bottom of a fissure with this strange creature while this dramatic melody with a charming harp is playing in the background was definitely an amazing experience. Tsukasa Saitoh nailed it as usual!

[@swordam1063]

Beautifully haunting

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@swordam1063 thank you! 💜

[@1_Kriper_1]

Amazing cover! It seems to me that some parts of this were improved. Now it's time to wait for Midra's OST! :)

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@1_Kriper_1 Thank you so much! And maybe! 💜

[@CthulhuSeeker]

😩😩😩❤‍🔥amazing

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you Cthulu, Lord of Synthwave

[@weaselbeee]

such a beautiful cover (as always)

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thank you for always leaving a lovely comment weaselbeee! 💜 I appreciate it

[@wraithwrecker_]

This piece really struck me during my first attempt at the fight. The contrast between the graceful music and the grotesque knight and horse is really stark. You can feel the abandonment. Edit: I also connected with this song in a unique way. Really ecstatic to hear I'm not the only one. Additionally, I'm also not finished with the dlc. I'm very stuck on the last boss lmao

[@moonlapsepiano]

I am glad to hear this, it seems underrated but I knew I wasn't the only one who really loved Putrescent Knight! Your point about the contrast is a good one. Thanks for watching! 💜 I am now stuck at Leda/Freyja's fight in Enir-Ilim, it's so tough! But amazing. It also has quite an insanely good song... hmmm might sound good on piano.. lol That final boss is probably gonna take me very long! Can't wait

[@Utamaru56]

Great cover. It's my favourite piece from the DLC. Can't wait for sheet music to get released. Want to use it as a baseline for my metal arrangement. Some instruments are sooo quiet my untrained ear just couldn't get the notes

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@Utamaru56 Thank you! I will work on sheets after my next SotE cover and let you know when they're available. Yeah the mixing is odd on this song for sure, lots of buried instruments, but it kind of also gives it that blurry ethereal sound. Metal arrangement of this sounds great!

[@smrtasscrb5302]

Very nice cover! The voices get rather muddy and obscured in the original, but sound much clearer on piano. Especially appreciate the complete release of the pedal in parts of phase 2.

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@smrtasscrb5302 Thank you smrtas, I appreciate it 💜. I agree this one suits piano very well. I am working on not always having the pedal down lol so I'm glad you noticed that part

[@rts8398]

Love it!!!

[@moonlapsepiano]

Thanks!! 💜

[@h74c45]

We gotta have Midra theme next!!

[@moonlapsepiano]

It might happen! It's an insanely good track, but there are so many good ones in the DLC. Thanks for watching 💜

[@BuzzBuzzBoomBX]

I love the motif of Maiden Astrea from demon souls in this ost

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@BuzzBuzzBoomBX where do you hear it?

[@BuzzBuzzBoomBX]

​@@moonlapsepiano 0:40 and 2:35

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@BuzzBuzzBoomBX wow you are right, can't believe I didn't notice that. Great callout!

[@BuzzBuzzBoomBX]

​@@moonlapsepiano Both themes have a night protecting a Maiden behind them

[@MoneySlgn]

Please do Rominia Saint of The Bud next

[@moonlapsepiano]

It's possible! I haven't decided yet - thanks for your request and for watching!

[@hououinkyouma5539]

Who's willing to do an organ version of this. Eerie Though it is worth stating the piece brings its own vibes from the original

[@almostlasagna9106]

would you maybe consider checking out the Bloodstarved Beast's theme from Bloodborne? I just think it's a super interesting piece and it feels so underrated. Love your analyses btw very cool stuff!

[@moonlapsepiano]

I appreciate that! That is actually my favorite OST from Bloodborne but I've always felt it would be really tough to adapt to piano. However, I will ponder it some more because of your comment lol. Thanks for watching 💜

[@korreollonborre]

My keyboard isn't big enough to play this :/ I could move one (octave?) down, but then the right hand notes would be way to light

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@korreollonborre I'd recommend keeping right hand where it is, and move left hand up but only when it goes outside of your range. It's not absolutely essential to hit the deepest lowest G1, G2 will still do a nice job in that sitch. Good luck! Thanks for watching 💜

[@korreollonborre]

I tried that, and maybe it's just me who's inexperienced but I felt it sounded nicer moving everything an octave down so I could actually get the right transposition between everything instead of missing some notes​ @moonlapsepiano

[@loading...5882]

Please 😭 I need sheet Music for this so badly 🙏

[@moonlapsepiano]

I will do it at some point soon! Will let you know 💜

[@JeanBalayn]

Erhu sound is to strong you can't not heard.

[@wart502]

Just amazing. Do you have the sheet music?

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@wart502 thanks! not yet, going to make another arrangement and then go back and make sheets for this. I'll let you know! 💜

[@aubriannashields6467]

when is this coming to musescore?

[@moonlapsepiano]

Not for a few weeks, I am going to make some more piano covers first before doing sheets for all of my SotE arrangements.

[@rysspace2511]

This thing was underrated, it deserves the same hype as the glazing of the dlc final boss (which was ass personally)

[@moonlapsepiano]

@@rysspace2511 I agree it was super underrated. Though I do like the final boss as well (I am currently still trying to beat him!) 💜