How to Write Kirby Music

[@Miri_the_1st]

It’s ironic that a game meant to be more easy and mellow has such intense and fast pace music!

[@RareEarCandy]

Totally! Very unexpected, but it works really well!

[@sectraaaaaa]

12:15 funnily enough, i do remember reading an interview with hirokazu ando (the other main kirby composer) where he mentioned that he composes his music with no intention of it being playable lol very informative and entertaining video, the end products were great too!! thanks a lot 💜

[@RareEarCandy]

Wow that’s cool, I didn’t know that Hirokazu Ando actually said that that was his intention haha! Thanks for sharing that, I’ll have to look that up now! And thanks a ton for watching too!

[@JinjoJinjoJinjo]

THE SONG WAS SO REAL FEELING YOU COULD GENUINELY TELL ME THAT WAS A KIRBY SONG

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks, glad to hear it!

[@AntonCorazza]

As a composer who is greatly inspired by Kirby music but doesn't usually stop to think about music theory, this was a fun watch. Thanks.

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@ScienceBang]

My face the whole video was an ear to ear GRIN 😁 and rolling my eyes at how satisfying it was at your adventureous energetic whimsical blips

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Reading that just made me smile too haha

[@CodeKirby]

Sounds like a level where you use wheel to dash throught the level. Maybe like a race or something. It's amazing!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you! Yeah I think that would be a fitting level for the theme

[@cyberjunq]

I’ve been really inspired by the style of Kirby’s music lately and wasn’t sure what I’d find in terms of videos breaking it down. You far surpassed that expectation and made it super fun to watch through to the end result (and you made a great Kirby track!!). Awesome job dude, definitely can’t wait to see what you do in the future :)

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks a ton for the support, I appreciate it!

[@Radwalls]

Idk why I randomly searched analyzing Kirby music this morning, but found your video and it's exactly what I was looking for. Great job!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for checking it out dude, I appreciate it!

[@czmAvery]

Your video editing is just as entertaining and enjoyable as the music itself

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks! It took me a long time to edit the video so I’m glad it turned out well!

[@MoolaMixtape]

Excellent analysis and composition!! you’ve really boiled this down to a science, mad respect

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks dude, I appreciate it!

[@sunnydivino]

If I didn't know it was a custom melody, I would have thought it belonged to kirby's pinball land or kirby's block ball

[@walawan23]

15:36 BRUH WHAT WAS THAT XD i really didnt expect that, yet it sounds sooo good

[@sosasees]

4:55 bill wurtz moment 🙂

[@mattameo95]

Haha this was so fun to watch, especially the transitions. And that song was great!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks a bunch man, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Kirk.Schr0dinger]

Dude, you nailed it! The modern version seems like something straight from Kirby and The Forgotten Land.

[@tragictoast2956]

Oh. My. Gosh. This is the kind of video I needed today.

[@realaharbor8466]

I’m late to this: It sounds like a recurring sub game where Kirby and Co. compete in who finds the most seashells. I wanna call it “Shell Scavengers”

[@RareEarCandy]

Shell Scavengers, I like it!

[@Kirbun]

As someone who's very interested in learning about Kirby music, this is very insightful. I was actually more curious about the process of making the song than the song itself. As for the song title, I imagine it playing for bouncy fun times, so "Frolicking with Friends" was what came to mind for me.

[@jaredf6205]

This should have so many views, this was all amazing. I hope to be able to write songs like this one day. I have a suggestion. I think you should put out a video with just the three songs, title it something like “My original Kirby composition in three eras” or something like that, as long as it’s clear it’s a music video and not a “making of” video. Split the thumbnail in three and show part of the 8, 16 and modern era games. At the end, link to this video and tell people to check out this video if they want to learn how to make their own. Something like that would get your Kirby song out to so many more viewers and bring more people to this video too, plus it’s already made.

[@RareEarCandy]

That’s a great idea, thanks for the suggestion! I have noticed there’s a spike in viewership right where the song starts, so it probably would’ve been better to separate the music itself and the making of anyway. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@CadenceHira]

Great vid! Kirby music has so much depth and more music theory channels need to talk about it fr. Loved the analysis style, super informative while not losing the focus with over-granularity.

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much! And I agree, there definitely is a lot of depth to Kirby music, which is one reason why it was fun to make this video.

[@BX0T]

this could be his 40th anniversary theme its so believeable

[@holllow]

LETS GOOOOOO THAT WAS SO GOOD!!! i was jamming so hard to the last section, and had to keep reminding myself that this actually wasnt an official song lol. im trying to get better at music stuff and understanding it is sorta hard, but hearing you describe certain things like modulations and such makes it easier to understand! you earned my subscription friend ^_^

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much! Sorry I didn’t see this comment earlier, but I’m super glad to hear that this video helped you understand music a little better! Thanks again for your support!

[@dexiedoo_octo]

The only critique I have is that Kirby's Adventure actually DID use DPCM drum samples, so your NES one sounds a bit empty in the percussion department. But other than that it sounds fantastic!

[@RareEarCandy]

Did they really use drum samples? That’s cool! I’d love to know where you heard about that, cause I had no idea that was a thing. Anyway thanks for the feedback!

[@dexiedoo_octo]

@@RareEarCandy If you watch videos of the soundtrack in an oscilloscope, you can see the 5th DPCM channel being utilized, it's really cool the NES can do samples like that

[@RareEarCandy]

Ohhh that’s sick thanks for mentioning that! I’ll definitely check it out

[@elh7149]

wait what why does this have so few views????? this is peak quality wtf

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it! Yeah this is still a pretty small channel, but I’m working on putting out more video game music content like this more consistently, so be on the lookout!

[@tobyv_rhythm_gamer4158]

Only 100 views!? You deserve more than that! High quality video, I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and the song sounds veryy much like a Kirby song, I love it!

[@RareEarCandy]

That’s really kind of you, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@리뷰쓰려는데귀찮게하]

Amazing! Your explanations were interesting and I really like all 4 versions of the result👍👍

[@professoryeetus8955]

fwiw i thought the bach section was hilarious. and that's not to mention the absolute banger composition 🙏

[@SecretZoneGames]

This was exactly what I was looking for, and it was really really good

[@Alouette_EXE]

Kirby music is a combination of Salsa + Bossa Nova + Funk or sometimes Jazz or Waltz with Fantasy elements. I think that's the genre.

[@RareEarCandy]

Yeah I would agree, it definitely mixes a lot of genres together

[@Alouette_EXE]

Or sometimes it has that 1920-50s musical theater/circus vibe. Kinda inspiring. Maybe i should make a Kirby style music next.

[@matiasgomez8651]

i imagine it p,laying on the world before the climax, more accurately, being a history of dreamland themed world: lost legacy on the first level... were things are merry, before the calamity takes priority... also... i'm composing a villain theme... maybe i'll publish it... but i only let ya use it if it's with the villain i'm composing it with (more on that latter)

[@Braxx3098]

This deserves WAY more views. You did a great job!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much!

[@Talxic]

i really like your instrument choice for the live version. sounds like smth straight out of kirby's return to dream land, and the edm one you made sounds like a stage theme from kirby fighters 2

[@djughumi]

Why doesn’t this have 1k yet

[@RareEarCandy]

Getting real close now! Thanks for the support

[@jacksonlord6963]

Loved the video! As a composer in training who would love to write video game music, I really appreciate analysis and mimic videos like this, and would love to see more like it. I'd also love to see a more in depth explanation on chord progressions. I tend to stay pretty simple in that aspect and want to learn how to put together spicy chords like you did in the second section. (Plus I've been writing my own Kirby style song and I'm getting close to that part) Anyway, keep up the good work, and I can't wait for future videos!

[@RareEarCandy]

Hey thank you so much, glad you liked it! I’ll for sure be looking into other games to do music analyses and composing videos for. Also I will mention that jazz theory helped me a lot with learning spicy chord progressions, so that may be something else to look into if you want to go more in depth with chord progressions.

[@SliceJosiah]

Great video! I should try this sometime. I suggest you try doing a video on putting unusual genres such as jazz into the style of the Splatoon soundtrack. Usually when making Splatoon music you either have it in some rock subgenre or some type of electronic, but more traditional styles of jazz and folk would sound pretty interesting mixed with the weird sounds of the Splatoon/Splatoon 2 soundtrack.

[@RareEarCandy]

Love the genre swap idea, thanks for the suggestion! That would be really fun to try out sometime

[@iamfoogle]

dude this was SO helpful! thanks a bunch for this!

[@RareEarCandy]

Yo, glad it was helpful for you! Thanks for the comment!

[@michaelschlem2849]

6-2-24 Yeah, that song felt 100% Kirby. And the EDM version was cool to hear. I'm surprised that this video only has 18532 Views as of now, even though this video was released July 7, 2021

[@broshigames]

Me, thinking this will be fun video that will help in music production: "This is fun!" Me, realizing that I don't know half the stuff he's talking about: "uhhhhhhhhhhh"

[@pman839]

one of the best videos ive ever seen 0.0

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much, glad you liked it!

[@abejames7529]

Make more of these!

[@OmoiMakesMusic]

Tried my best with it! :D I love the theory breakdown btw! Hoping to see more in the future!

[@calebmorris7981]

Love this kind of content! Looking forward to more, this was awesome

[@joshsanchez9793]

I LOVE THISS. Make more nintendo music theory stuff or any

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks dude, glad you like it! And don’t worry, I’ve got more music theory stuff coming up pretty soon!

[@Buki0300]

I actually needed this, thank you so much

[@Albergarri788]

I would love for you to do this with more games. For example, a video about the music of Star Fox. And I'd love to cover your song Kirby style with the actual NES chip, with the sounds from Kirby's Adventure.

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for the comment, yeah I’m planning on doing more videos like this in the future! Also that would be really cool to hear you cover the custom Kirby theme!

[@ShockHat734]

Big good video

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you!

[@AquaComputerVR]

for me the hardest thing about kirby music is the percussion. I am very bad at percussion

[@nerfko]

this is awesome

[@GhostieGwen]

Dude that was awesome! Thank you for existing is a great outro!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks man! Haha yeah one of my friends said “thank you for existing” to me one day and I was like “huh I really like that”

[@السراقالمجهول]

what an analysis this exactly what I have been looking for, im trying to learn music theory by observing experts explaining there work like a lesson more than a tutorial and this was just it thank you

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much! Glad it was helpful for you!

[@plushloler]

what a great video

[@coolbro6969]

This is so sick. You rock.

[@shadders43]

Thank you for making this, the last section was my favorite.

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it!

[@Bakie.o]

Useful!

[@unimpressivedota6585]

6k views? Wtf man I expect 500k. Great content and track!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@AphexHenry]

perfect video! really cool tune you came up at the end. like i played it looped for a while. underrated channel so far. just a thought, i wonder if the original composer does not use more syncop to his rythms? i could be very well wrong. i'm thinking Grand Canyon from Kirby 3.

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks a bunch, glad you liked it! And yeah as far as syncopation goes, I think there’s usually a healthy mix of that versus simple rhythms, but it just depends on the theme. Sand Canyon is a good example of a theme that has little syncopation like you said, same with other themes like Gourmet Race

[@ArcaGex]

this video is gold!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you so much!

[@purityboys99]

PERFECT VIDEO!! NO CLUE HOW YOU'RE SO SMALL BUT THATS AN INSTANT SUB FROM ME

[@RareEarCandy]

Yo thanks dude! Yeah I still got a bit of a new channel, so I appreciate the support!

[@jado67]

Sounds like a beach level

[@thatgiftguy5271]

this channel is a hidden gem

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for the support, I appreciate it!

[@cureabees9440]

thank u so much for making this video 💙

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@KirbyMasterArchives-カービィ]

Kirby >>>

[@james_kaboodle]

Niceeee but I thought that in the 16-bit version you would use a Soundfont from a Kirby's games

[@StygianEmperor]

ooh i’m gonna watch this later

[@StygianEmperor]

i coulda sworn i followed up on this before, but i did watch this later - now it’s twice! great work!

[@NuningMinie]

Thanks! Now I can go crazy with these Edit: I still can't make it 😭

[@jameswhitten2530]

This was awesome!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks man!

[@renlasan6821]

Great stuff here brotha!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks dude, I appreciate it!

[@mauricestardddude8317]

This was a fantastic video Love myself some informative videos and this was a really well made one, didn't get tiring at all Only criticism I could say is that maybe you could give some more examples (might be hard to balance in length). And give some more indication of how you are progressing through the track during things such as the chord progression visualisation (3:34), it'd help in seeing how the A chord is held longer. -Next try some Touhou-

[@RareEarCandy]

Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video! And thanks for the feedback too, that’s really helpful!

[@mauricestardddude8317]

@@RareEarCandy Forgot to mention that I also really enjoyed your composition, for the most part it is extremely close to the Kirby sound (maybe even too close making it sound a bit like an imitation, but that's what it is after all, so for a one time thing there isn't much way around it) The final part you put in is actually surprisingly faithfull to what they might do, next to the usual Kirby sound Ishikawa also really enjoys doing intense stuff and doing his own kind of thing I can only explain as the Ishikawa sound (like Sullied Grace or La Follia d'amore).

[@RareEarCandy]

Oh thanks again! Man yeah I’d love to see what Ishikawa and Ando do with their music in the future!

[@chaoscriterion3637]

could you please release your song i love it so much

[@RareEarCandy]

I have the song on Soundcloud! I titled it Bubblegum Beach so just search for that and my channel name

[@chaoscriterion3637]

@@RareEarCandy thanks !

[@prod.GavinHaven]

Nice video!

[@RareEarCandy]

Thank you!

[@artman40]

No Kirby flute instrument?

[@margiemorrison9190]

As for 8 bit I don't know but for the modern ones just find the goofiest instruments u can find and make fun experimental synth pop with some sugar on top oh and also make sure to add orchestral

[@RareEarCandy]

Lol yeah that just about sums it up

[@the-NightStar]

As admittedly impressive as your discussion before sharing the actual song was..... I'm sorry to say but I don't feel as if the work you produced in the end, really warranted it. To me it doesn't sound like something based on Kirby Music Theory alone.... it actually feels extremely derivative of, and too much like already existing Kirby musical tracks specifically. In more straight-forward terms, to me, it sounds like slightly altered, "sound-alikes" of existing Kirby songs with some harmonies and melodies ever so slightly changed from existing songs, and less like original compositions in the style OF. More like "copyright friendly replacement" versions of already existing Kirby songs, placed together in a medly", and less of a simple style pastiche that I would expect based on the discussion at hand of how to make a song in the style of, and not just slightly altered existing tracks.

[@RareEarCandy]

I can see where you’re coming from in terms of what you were expecting to hear. But creating a sound-alike is actually exactly what I was going for! Not only is it a fun challenge to produce something that replicates the sound of an existing work, but it’s also a useful skill I wanted to practice because many media production companies look for sound-alikes that mimic a certain style without treading on copyright infringement. Thanks for taking the time to write that comment!

[@Ari-ez1vj]

Making a game rn for a game jam. I'm really hoping this is gonna help me out! (:

[@RareEarCandy]

Sounds cool! If you have any other music questions after watching I’m always happy to help 👍🏼

[@VictorRamirezMusic]

W Video

[@itzjwhite6228]

Cake wheel canyon

[@Miri_the_1st]

5:02 is this referencing bill wurtz?

[@RareEarCandy]

Wow you’re the first one to recognize that! Yes I did draw some inspiration from him 😉

[@Miri_the_1st]

@@RareEarCandy Yay!

[@Tygo20PG]

Hey, first of all: Amazing video! Secondly, I have a small question: At my school the music classes they give are actually terrible (“here take this and play this”, that’s it), and I’d love to learn how to make music via software like the ones you use (to make something similar to like Kirby music, which I absolutely love), is there anything you could recommend (preferably free) to start learning, like a video or website? (I know 0, I didn’t even know what chords were before this video :/)

[@RareEarCandy]

Hey thanks for the comment, I appreciate it! That’s awesome that you want to learn more about music software, I wish more schools offered those kinds of classes! But here are some of my suggestions: If you don’t really know basic music theory, I would watch “Learn Music Theory in 30 Minutes” by Andrew Huang. It’s a lot easier to produce music when you know some music theory, and Andrew Huang does a good job explaining the basics. For the music production software, I know a couple different channels for different software. RecordingRevolution has some great tutorials with how to make songs with Pro Tools. There’s a free version called Pro Tools first that you can start with. If you want to learn Logic Pro, which is the software I use, you’ll need an Apple computer, and I would suggest the channel MusicTechHelpGuy. He goes into depth with how to use Logic Pro in many different ways. The software is $200 but it comes with a lot of awesome stuff and is a lot cheaper than the Pro Tools full version. Hope that helps!

[@Tygo20PG]

@@RareEarCandy I’ll be trying out the free one for now then (and watching that video & those channels obviously), since I don’t have an Apple Computer or 200 to buy the one you’re using, Thanks so so much! You’ve basically made it possible for me to try something which I’ve been wanting to try doing for a few years

[@RareEarCandy]

Of course, happy to help! Thanks again for reaching out! And actually I’ll mention one more thing: a couple other softwares you can check out are Ableton and Cubase. They’re also music production softwares but I think they give you more virtual instruments than Pro Tools does, which is good if you’re wanting to do music similar to Kirby. I know Ableton has a free version called Ableton Live Lite, but I’m not sure about Cubase. I’m not too familiar with either one of those programs, but I’ve heard great things about them so it’s definitely worth checking out!

[@Tygo20PG]

@@RareEarCandy Thanks so much, again! I will make sure to check them both out aswell! I will most likely spend a few days of next week full on trying everything, would you mind if I come back here if I have any questions?

[@RareEarCandy]

No problem dude, sounds great! If you have any follow-up questions you could actually message me on Instagram @megadudexd

[@caleb5780]

Toby Fox was here

[@AGF1674]

한국어 자막을 추가해주시면 안될까요?

[@RareEarCandy]

I will work on that

[@AGF1674]

@@RareEarCandy thx

[@raditudesydney]

🤨

[@boiseboi2007]

Do you have the LPX files?

[@RareEarCandy]

I don’t have any in that format, sorry

[@boiseboi2007]

No, I mean the Logic Pro files you used in this video

[@boiseboi2007]

Have any files I can use to modify the track with?

[@boiseboi2007]

How about MIDI?

[@JuhoSprite]

12:50 wtf the german accent is instead

[@JuhoSprite]

*insane

[@upside_you_mop]

Kapustinnnnn

[@hyperbitcoinizationpod]

Is it me or does Kirby music sometimes venture into phrygian mode?

[@RareEarCandy]

You know, I have heard a few Kirby themes that do that. One example that comes to mind is the bridge section in “Having Fun Outside” from Kirby Squeak Squad. Good ear!

[@hyperbitcoinizationpod]

@@RareEarCandy I'm into Flamenco so my ear is trained on that Andalusian chord progression and Phrygian key with extra D# arabic funk. The 'Arena' theme is 100% Spanish influence toreador stuff. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nai7omutpM2Eic0

[@hyperbitcoinizationpod]

@@RareEarCandy And I just listened to your recommendation. Yes, the bridge sounds very phrygian indeed.

[@RareEarCandy]

@Hyperbitcoinization Podcast oh yeah, no question you’d recognize it if you listen to a lot of Flamenco haha! Also that theme you shared is a much better example of the Phrygian sound

[@hyperbitcoinizationpod]

@@RareEarCandy yes. wen phrygian composition, ser?

[@Machinewashere]

Humans?