Musical Evolution in the Civilization VI Soundtrack

In this video, I take a deep dive into Civilization VI's evolving soundtrack. The music in the game changes as you move through different technological eras, growing in scope and complexity as your civilization grows the same way.
You can buy full scores from the soundtrack for dirt cheap here: www.geoffknorr.com/civilizatio...
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[@KingdaToro]

This deserves a part 2. The new civs added in the expansions have some incredible music, with Scotland and Australia being real standouts.

[@Jovian12]

dude the Atomic rendition of Waltzing Matilda gives me goosebumps and I'm not even Australian!

[@SorrowfulNoise]

Zulu!

[@SebiSuper9mil]

Hungary

[@Paper_Sunset]

Canada

[@mikeandrews9933]

Interesting element at time 11:32. The first 5 letters on the top of the score spell out Civ VI

[@marrrtinn]

Been scrolling through all the comments to see if I was the first one to notice. Wasn't :)

[@TripleTSingt]

Ah, the good old "shitton of reverb". Great for making me love sparce melodies since Blade Runner.

[@jacobschmidt]

I would definitely thumbs up this comment if I understood that reference

[@TripleTSingt]

The movie Blade Runner is scored by Vangelis, using a Yamaha CS-80 and one of the first digital reverb devices, the Lexicon 224-X, which could do a reverb of up to 70 seconds.

[@pootwiggs]

shitton of reverb!!!!

[@firebrain2991]

Shitton of reverb is my favorite solo writing technique.

[@vaiyt]

is a shitton of reverb an instrument?

[@mediocremarty4500]

Our people are buying your bluejeans and deconstructing your synthesizer evocations of modern pop music.

[@GameScoreFanfare]

I love Civ. I have over 1000 clocked on the series. But I've always struggled with the mid-late game because I have not a lot of incentive to see the game through. Until Civ VI and its evolving music. Brazil aren't even that great of a civ but I will play them purely for that Industrial theme. 😍 Thanks for making this video. I've always wanted to do it but never knew how, so it's a weight off my shoulders. 😉

[@AlmagaTahan]

Game Score Fanfare whatchu mean Brazil is not that great? B R A S I L R U L E S HUEHUEBR vacilão

[@sineporfa9053]

(hint hint) You can start in the industrial era. :)

[@francisco9909]

As a Brazilian i feel so happy when my country is represented with some real Brazilian music

[@emmbeesea]

Christopher Tin knows how to make songs that help define video game music as a genre. Both Sogno di Volare and Coronation+Baba Yetu are incredible works.

[@ingonyama70]

YES. I'm a little sad he didnt discuss them, but it might have felt a little forced.

[@pablor.sepulveda9929]

But Geoff Knorr and Roland Rizzo done a great job on the soundtrack

[@articdude833]

Don't you mean "Great Works"?

[@keybladesrus]

I've never played Civilization, but this is great. I love that Scarborough Fair is used. The way the music evolves over the different ages reminds me of how the music grows as you build that town in Breath of the Wild. I really love this kind of thing.

[@danielmendoza6184]

FINALLY SOMEBODY GETS ME I've been raving about this soundtrack since they first showed it off. I'm in love with America's theme and even showed it to my music theory class because I love it to bits. Great video!

[@Christopher_TG]

'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, Hard times, Hard times, come again no more Far too long you have lingered around my cabin door Oh, hard times, come again no more.

[@felixmarques]

Honestly, I think the Age of Information part could be way more interesting than just adding some Hans Zimmer percussion to it. The Atomic Age could also do with some jazzy weirdness, tbh.

[@piccolomaniac]

The John Adams stuff in Civ IV (Harmonielehre, The Chairman Dances) perfectly embodies late-game Civ to me.

[@cornkopp2985]

Look up the zulu theme and listen to it as it changes. It’s one of few that are vocal based and in the atomic era... well I won’t spoil but it gets really crazy

[@TheHalcyonTwilight]

They're being a bit more experimental with the dlc faction soundtracks.

[@frogdoin]

You my friend, haven't listen to the Japanese theme because that goes from nice folk medley to striaght cyberpunk and it's great.

[@comandantethorn9929]

The jazz era is way over in the Age of information xd

[@Ghiaman1334]

I totally needed this video. Civ VI is the game that kinda started my thinking about game music with the evolution of the tunes. And yes, you're right, Brejeiro does get stuck in your head immediately, it's why I love playing Brazil. However, Waltzing Matilda for Australia is pretty catchy, too.

[@RudyAyoub]

dude yessssss

[@zachary963]

Hey i know you

[@lucashoffmannn]

Brazil's theme in Civ 6 makes me proud of being a Brazilian

[@Ag-zf8hq]

mee too

[@juliooliveira3206]

Tamo junto

[@Canalbiruta]

True brazilian music...

[@viniciussantoscubi]

O Ernesto Nazareth, o Heitor Villa lobos e até o Carlos Gomes refletem muito bem a verdadeira música brasileira, fora a bossa Nova que também é incrível

[@harrylane4]

Every single song in civ 6 is so good. Anybody would be proud to be from a culture that produces such incredible music :)

[@opalen903]

I've actually played one of these Civilization pieces for orchestra! We played the Seikilos Epitaph, Greece's music. Really cool! I very much appreciate this video, since I played Civ 6 I always found this musical progression through the ages to be very well made.

[@TrAnMu]

I’m glad you gave Brazil’s theme a spotlight in this. That arrangement progression is my favorite in the whole OST.

[@Bankai2169]

Showing us how the score evolves from the Stone Age to the Atomic Age? I sure hope this video’s popularity “blows up” because this video “rocks!”

[@plaaosert]

i threw up a little in my mouth

[@a.m.c8387]

How did you reply "a day ago" if this episode was uploaded a few minutes ago.

[@billionai4871]

ah, the wonders of technology

[@Kithara1117]

wow two puns in chiasmus gets a big thumbs up from me

[@juju8462]

Bankai2169 stop

[@cicerosflambe4965]

Damn, you did such a great job that I kinda wish you did a analysis on EVERY CIV's theme!

[@grantgarnsey4475]

Civilization VI's music is so insanely amazing, I literally cry everytime I hear America, Scotland, and Georgia's Atomic Era arrangements. Seriously, watching this video just emphasizes how much Civilization VI has made my life better, even if I don't have the time to play it anymore.

[@Mistshock]

One of the most interesting things for me is that to my ears the American Industrial Era score actually starts with a evocation of film and media that focus on WW2, the starting bars deeply resonate with images of paratroopers taking off from the shores of britain for the "Great Crusade"; later on, the score almost brings you back into the idyllic/suburban with the banjoesque/country themes, almost like a reminder of home. Moving into the Atomic Era that same military score (the snares?) definitely summons imagery that's almost poignant, jets taking off from Air Craft carriers, row on row of white crosses, great glittering cities of glass and steel. But the most poignant of all the themes for me is the China theme. Played on either a guzhen or pipa, the tranquil "Jasmine" song evolves from images of poets and concubines sitting in pagodas and dreaming of cranes and white clouds into the full orchestra in the industrial era, to me, this almost feels like the birth of a Nation (rise of Nationalist China from the ashes of the Qing Empire), the atomic era even more so (the first bars particularly) definitely feel like they're referencing the launch of the first Chinese Satellite Dong Fang Hong (Red East 1) (kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH7Kh6ijos6sj5o) which, played back said song in a very similar tone.

[@inspector_beyond]

I wish you'd covered Russian Medieval and Atomic themes, showing the change of the mood of the song about the man, that collects strwberries and wants to sleep under pine tree to the depressing and horrifying theme with menacing chorus and big base drops (or how's this called). I think this is briliant one.

[@PiercingSight]

I was privileged to be able to sing Baba Yetu with Alex Boyé, and as a composer, I must say that Christopher Tin has a truly amazing talent for bringing out the most beautiful aspects of almost any type of cultural music. The other composers involved are quite talented, but I think Christopher Tin deserves particular mention.

[@yungplum8128]

Sogno di Volare changed my fucking life.

[@zyaicob]

For me it was Baba Yetu

[@idcaf]

@@zyaicob baba yetu for sure much better i agree.

[@ClusterShart]

The Industrial and Atomic Era themes for America is why I usually play as them. That music is so damn good.

[@dylantt5878]

I had no clue this music existed before this video, and I greatly appreciate you making me aware of it. As someone who's still trying to learn theory, the information you provide about percussion, chord progressions, and (using) intervals in your videos is all invaluable to me. I've gotten to the point where I understand chords and chord names, but the things I just listed are still fairly foreign to me and your videos have started to help me understand them. Thank you for making these videos, and please continue to do so!

[@ellacarroll540]

God I am always so sooooo happy when I see you come up in my subscription feed. Such an amazing way to keep topped up with my music theory - and learning new concepts along the way! Thank you and keep up with the good work!

[@straightouttaalderaan6672]

Was watching your old videos on repeat and realized this was new. cheers.

[@antoniacoutts3716]

I just found your channel today and I cannot even express how excited I am to watch your videos. I've been searching for someone who analyses soundtracks for so long and it is wonderful to finally find them!! Thank you for all the hard work so far and I'm looking forward to whatever's next ^^

[@richardpreston5154]

Easily my favorite channel on KZbin. Seems like every video you make is more interesting than the last. Keep up the amazing work!

[@IkedaFreakShow]

OMG BREJEIRO ❤️❤️ Btw love your channel, as a musician it's really great to watch your videos. Thank you so much!

[@CoralineDark]

This video needs more views

[@FastRefleksX]

I feel like you could do a video on music in rythm games (sounds kinda obvious for a video game music channel, really). Like what methods are used to make it work with the rythm gameplay, and how it differs from most VG music. I think Crypt of the Necrodancer might be a good example? Amazing video by the way

[@vpsaxman]

This whole series of videos is nothing short of amazing. Keep up coming!

[@nathanskeen5865]

The songs are great because even though there’s changing technology, cultures, religions, friends and foes, the heart of a Civ stays true throughout their entire history

[@TomtheTuba]

Great video! As an enormous video game nerd who has a bachelor's degree in music, it's a treat to see someone talking about music in games - you got yourself a new subscriber today! As for the music in Civ VI, it really does give another layer of immersion to have your progress in the game reflected in the soundtrack (just like any other game - the soundtrack can be an unsung hero for immersion). I did notice each civilization's theme (and the evolving orchestration of each) on my own in the game, at least up to the Industrial Age, but the changes from that point on are juuust subtle enough that I never pinned down exactly what was changing; I enjoyed your breakdown of a few examples here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go binge watch a bunch of videos about music in video games on this new channel I found!

[@NardoVogt]

It's incredible how often I come back to this video. Thank you so much for it.

[@TheCayDawg]

This channel has been such an inspiration for me and my education in music at my university. We even used some of your videos in our Video Game Music History class last semester. The way you examine game music inspired me to try doing a similar thing while putting my own spin on it and I plan on doing more music related content on my channel since it's what I love and It's because of your content that I came to that realization. Keep it up and thank you!!!

[@papi1050]

You have a video game music history class? Lucky...

[@TheCayDawg]

It was an elective started by one of the teaching assistants. The curriculum was chronological with video game releases so we started with the Atari and it's sound design and moved our way up to modern time and compositions by the end of the semester. It was really cool.

[@pd9020]

Great video! Love your content and especially appreciate your notes and how you highlight music as it's played so that even those of us music fans with not very well trained ears know what to listen for. Also, "shitton of reverb" is definitely not a phrase I was expecting to hear when I opened up youtube today and it's hilarious

[@Bassoonify]

Awesome work on the video! Geoff did such a wonderful job with the soundtrack.

[@simonklein6588]

Wasn't it Christopher Tin?

[@navypaladin9753]

@@simonklein6588 Christopher Tin only did the Main theme. While Geoff Knorr and Roland Rizzo did each Civilization theme.

[@tomc.5704]

Here to support the video. I love your content. Thanks for all your work.

[@vtine85]

I just discovered this channel today. Music and gaming, two things that I can't live without. Damn you! I am trying so hard to concentrate on work today.

[@pedroeld]

Great video! Civilization as a videogame series has been one of the most important ones in my life, and being a musician only makes it better. I've always loved the OST in each games, especially the grammy-winning one in Civ IV - that actually was the game that helped me learn English when I was a child haha Let me just make an obligatory "Brazil does not speak spanish" comment: /bʁeʒeiʁɵ/ is the correct way of saying "brejeiro". The J sound is different in portuguese! You said it with the hispanic sound ("jajajaja"), but we say it with this /ʒ/ sound - like the sound the S letter makes in "decision", "television" and "usually". BTW, congrats on getting the R right both in "brejeiro" and in "choro" haha Keep up the amazing work

[@c.pechi104]

Such a great analysis! I loved it

[@Yossus]

That was such a cool video. I think I might have to buy the soundtrack just to hear all this in detail and in full for each theme

[@ViewtifulSam]

Wow, really outstanding work right here, man. That must have been an awful lot of work on transcriptions alone!

[@Buffalor4]

Love your vids man!

[@rarmstar]

Just found your channel - your videos are amazing! So much attention to detail, and you really make it easy to understand! 😊👏🏻 Need to stop listening to podcasts while playing Civ VI now...

[@carterpadrick6029]

God, I love this channel so much. I've been a music nerd all my life so naturally, when I play any game at all, I immediately hone in and analyze the soundtrack, can nearly make or break a game. Seeing you put these thoughts and ideas on video and fleshing them out is really just amazing. My favorite video is your persona 5 video because not only is it my third favorite game, but it's soundtrack is just amazing. The minute I get a bit of money in my pocket, I'm gonna donate. P.S. I would love to see a Kingdom Hearts video in the future.

[@CristianRM95]

1:49 Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme Remember me to one who lives there She was once a true love of mine Loved the video

[@TheBrothersHerman]

Great episode. Enjoyed the breakdown, I love the music in this game.

[@trapical]

So it's late 2020 and I woke up with a melody stuck in my head. I was humming it all morning and kicking myself to try and figure out what it was from. In a moment of revelation around lunchtime, I finally realized it was from Civ6. I had never played Civ6, but I watched a lot of vids about it when it came out years ago. That lead my down a rabbit hole of trying to find what Civ6 video I heard the song from. I finally rediscovered this very video, and started the rewatch. And, lo and behold, I FINALLY found the song. It is the Brazil theme! But the real kicker is how you introduce the music at 4:37 "And it will get stuck in your head, forever... so you have been warned" Over two years after I watched the video, it was evidently STILL stuck in my head. Props to you and your prediction.

[@gus7814]

How has it taken me so long to find this channel? Really great content here!

[@ohlert]

My take away from this video is that the solution to every problem is to add a sh**-ton of reverb.

[@Manas-co8wl]

My recently added guitar vst agrees

[@cornkopp2985]

You have to look at the rise and fall dlc, and all the other dlc in general. Especially the zulu, georgia, and the cree

[@juliauns7776]

My Music class project is exactly this topic... I guess I have done my research only by watching this vid. Thanks man.

[@FilipeSousa97]

Brejeiro is one of the most famous brazilian songs. Great choice from civ. 6. The J isn't like spanish it sounds like G. Nice job transcribing and explaining a little bit about Choro. Great video! I'm always happy when you or the other MUSICA ANALYTICA CREW talk about brazilian music. Keep up with the good work

[@dominicferreira9900]

I'm a musician and a huge Civilization fan and think that the music is one of the biggest elements in creating a truly immersive experience. I'm surprised you didn't talk about Greece and their theme of Seikilos Epitaph which is such an interesting piece that is truly ancient. Great video! Thanks for making it!

[@madbun1312]

Great vid, thanks loads

[@VoidloniXaarii]

Fascinating. Never noticed. Thank you for pointing it out. I'd love your analysis on modern times civ 3 soundtrack which is mind-blowing

[@tylerravelli636]

Wow really great video! I am a big fan of the civilization franchise and have been for a few years. I am also a musician and have even discovered music to perform from playing these games (specifically “The Girl with the Flaxen hair” by Debussy In Civi 5). I have always enjoyed the soundtrack but hadn’t really thought too much about it. Thank you for making this video I really enjoyed it!

[@anarchoshaggy-ism3925]

This was the most accessible and easy to understand video I've seen you do. I very much prefer this but I know many prefer the super technical.

[@michaelallenbailey9242]

Great analysis as always!

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

The music in this video made me cry, and I have no idea why because I have no emotional connection to the Civilization games. Have you done any videos on how music primes the listener to feel particular emotions?

[@JaneXemylixa]

There's one about light and darkness in Persona 5 OST, if I'm not mistaken...

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

Jane Xemylixa I interpreted that as “here’s how the music conveys character motivations and how serious a situation is.” I’m talking about feels.

[@jonassholmberg8071]

Check out youtuber Sideways, he's done that kind of stuff (mainly film score).

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

Jonas S Holmberg Thanks! Literally the first video listed on his page is called “How Pixar’s Music Makes you Cry.” Looking forward to watching that.

[@DiscoLucas]

when i saw the trailer for civ vi for the first time, it made me cry like a little bitch. Adagio in d minor is just overwhelmingly beautiful.

[@mikeagbenya8418]

Great work

[@refl9630]

Hello. My name is Renato and I am a big fan of your work. I am also a Choro musician from Brazil and I'm delighted to see my culture represented in the game as well as your channel. I just want to point out a common mistake people make when transcribing Brazilian music. In the Choro style we use the 2/4 time signature witch make a big difference in accentuation and dynamic. I love your work man, keep on. (Also the prononuciation of "brejeiro" and "cavaquinho" were rather painful)

[@tchen2556]

The Civ 6 rendition for Australia's Waltzing Matilda is also really good. In general, I felt Civ 6 brought back all the little details that made civ 4 so memorable - specifically the music score and the wonder animations.

[@YoutubeBuam]

I love your channel. Simply amazing. Every single video. Viele Grüße aus Deutschland

[@danthelatch]

Hell yeah one of my favorite games music being analyzed by one of my favorite channels.

[@esotericVideos]

That music is so amazing. It makes me want to play the game and music doesn't move me easily. Awesome music, great video.

[@YingwuUsagiri]

No matter what amazing music they will throw at us it will never get better than Baba Yetu. That song is just an awesome mindblow and jolt to the system making you want to play and explore and grow your civilization. (and as an extra piece of context for me personally, when the Yogscast Jingle Jam raised 1 million dollars in one day and they thanked everybody with a thoughtful, albeit drunk and shouty, speech and promptly going into some Red Alert as an encore, all while Baba Yetu was blasting in the background, will forever make me get goosebumps and shudder when I hear the song).

[@patchpen5613]

There's a reason that it's the first piece of video game music to win a grammy.

[@iLikeTheUDK]

Niels Schellekens I like Sogno di Volare a bit more but you have a very fair point.

[@YingwuUsagiri]

I agree that Sogno di Volare is a great song but to me it's (to put it in 8-bit's words) Dynamic Range is too little, it feels too sedated. It fills you with pride for sure but doesn't entice you to go and do something, it stays about equal in energy throughout the entire song while Baba Yetu starts of calm, goes up a notch, falls all the way back down and then blasts you around the ears with some phenomenal Brass Sections. Hope that makes sense.

[@iLikeTheUDK]

@@YingwuUsagiri I don't think Sogno do Volare stays in the same dynamic all throughout, quite contrarily. Baba Yeti IMO takes a rather common path through this, a bit too common to my ears, while Sogno gets louder, then stays loud, then suddenly gets quieter, then loud again, then quiet, and then it climbs it's way into being louder than it was any any prior point, climaxes, and then ends.

[@RaphaelWendorff]

Great video, very interesting and entertaining!!

[@mkwiigod3448]

Nice video. Good job 👌👌👌👏👏👍

[@barbershop1856]

This channel is fantastic! Keep up the great work! Maybe a Metroid Video would be real nice? I might be bias though

[@taxtengo7427]

And you transcribed all that by ear? Unbelievable!

[@phillboucher1960]

Brilliant! And it would've been a huge missed opportunity to have a modern-era chord progression for America that wasn't I V vi IV. Had to do it!

[@mauricesandoval1135]

Great vid. Im a big fan of the civilización series!

[@TommyNorrisComposer]

Love these vids.

[@MichaelTheAwesome32]

It's truly such a beautiful game with an very underrated soundtrack. I'm glad you decided to cover it

[@legoman1690]

I absolutely love the progression for Scotland! Thanks for the video~

[@FinalGamerJames]

I never played the Civ games but damn I need this soundtrack now for just how wonderful it sounds in its evolution. Thanks 8Bit!

[@MelvaCross]

When this was in my recommendations I was like "cool, a new video", but this video is almost a month old?! Amazing video, as always, but I think KZbin screwed up again :C

[@kevinhuynh6565]

You didn't go over Scarborough Fair? That's the one I was looking forward to! Great video!!

[@vladimirshadrin3182]

Great video! My absolute favorite in Civ VI is Hungary’s theme - Atomic era version hits every time

[@JoshuaDolman]

Listening to the Brazil and America Industrial Age tracks actually got me choked up a bit... thank you for highlighting this fantastic soundtrack!

[@KurosakiYukigo]

Can confirm. Played a long game as Brazil a few days ago. It will not get out of my head.

[@jamiebruce4734]

Sounds like these guys were seriously channelling some John Williams while they were working on this. Awesome breakdown - I love it when games progress their music along with their story/setting/civilisational evolution tree :P

[@Felix-lz9cv]

What a great video. I can't imagine that transcribing a classical piece of music is something easy...

[@sineporfa9053]

Really really good video, good idea, it had to be done by someone at some point. You grabbed the opportunity by the balls and gave them an incredible treatment.

[@mistraluss.5177]

I have a school project with exactly this topic... Thanks man

[@jordanjamesmusic7631]

So I've just finished playing Final Fantasy X and I loved every second of the music. I know you've already covered Final Fantasy, but I feel as though each FF has a different tonality and atmosphere in their scores (even if there is a similar theme between them all). I especially love the music in FFX, especially "To Zanarkand". It would be really cool if you could cover the music in that game :D

[@nickjeffery536]

I'm no musician, and I've never really studied music theory, but I've always loved the Civ VI music, and found this analysis fascinating... thankyou!

[@matheuscastello6554]

Aside from the odd Portuguese pronunciation part, this video is perfect :) really enjoyed it, keep it up!

[@emmanuelfernandes5610]

Ernesto Nazareth neles! Amazing game and soundtrack! Just a lil bit kinda critical of Brazil being this big land of cheerful extroverted music?... Could have used Chiquinha Gonzaga's Corta-Jaca, though! It can be lonely, reflexive and also epic with each different instrumentation. Awesome work in this channel, too!

[@sarahkennedy5053]

I know you only do video games but boy I would love it if you talked about the Eighth Grade soundtrack.

[@dozzy9984]

I'm not sure that's the part of your interest or content (KZbin suggested it to me, I'm glad it did, it's interesting video), but I think there's also a nice bonus with sang themes (Cree, Zulu and Georgia come to my mind right now) that with progress not only get more instruments, but also additional words and singers (I'm not 100% sure that this really happening, it's just a feeling I've got whenever I play as or with these civilizations).

[@Alexander_Grant]

Baba Yetu may never be beaten, but damn if the industrial America music doesn't give it a run for it's money. Really appreciate what you do man, I couldn't make it in music in college and had to switch to physics, this stuff is what I wish I could have studied without the stress. Love your channel.

[@RaptorShadow]

I'm an especially big fan of the arrangement they did of Waltzing Matilda for the Australia DLC. It's not something you would expect to find in a game soundtrack, and the epic multi-era treatment is a take on the song I'd never really expected to hear.

[@ButCritically]

see ya at 500k subscribers by the end of this year

[@tomwheeler1082]

Cool!! Pls more video on orchestral pieces!!!

[@Nothing-rf5sm]

löve your channel!!! ur the best!!

[@PiercingSight]

I see you've enhanced your animations... I approve. Me likey.