Nonfunctional Harmony in Chrono Trigger

Today I take a look at the way the Chrono Trigger soundtrack uses "nonfunctional chord progressions".
Thanks to my lovely wife for making the intro art!
PATREON: / 8bitmusictheory
TWITTER: / 8bitmusictheory

[@opsimathics]

I thought this was going to be some aspergers BS overanalysis, and it was, but at the same time it taught me music theory and notation which I don't know, and now I'm a little less of an ignorant idiot

[@michaelsmith3533]

opsimathics lmfao

[@isthattrue]

You're still an idiot, but a little less ignorant. :D

[@Arexion5293]

Overanalysis? This is just basic music analysis.

[@RohannvanRensburg]

Yeah this is pretty basic music analysis, unless you deem the vast majority of musical study "aspergers"-y.

[@InVINCEab13]

Arexion5293 aren't you fucking smart

[@KyleHohn]

10:35, that's not the original melody, is it? Then again, I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

[@MrHidan30]

True, but I did lose my shit for a moment after hearing it.

[@igordemelo4128]

the pentatonic one, right?

[@luiishu535]

"Then again, I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed." It's All Star by Smash Mouth. xD

[@sleeparrow4375]

your ears are probably just not used to how high quality that rip is.

[@NarCoocoobrainTeam]

That part fucking killed me

[@ToxicxEternity]

somebody once told me there's a secret in this forestttt

[@Ghandjaloodah]

Love your covers bro!

[@evan]

I ain't the sharpest sword in the sheath

[@Oberkobold]

I was looking for that comment!

[@unonker]

no homo

[@intelligentshitpastinginc]

Too many syllables!

[@prolo6309]

Fun fact: The music composer for Chrono Trigger made some of the soundtrack sound like melodies he hears in his dreams.

[@GuillaumeDrolet]

haha I wish I heard melodies in my dreams. that must be amazing

[@dawex2384]

Guillaume Drolet deadass that would be wavy

[@NotSoProishNoob]

I actually once made a track based on a melody in my dreams. It was trippy but it was really awesome.

@@GuillaumeDrolet You can experiment with sleep paralysis to do so :O qualiacomputing.com/2019/01/06/dream-music/

[@MerkhVision]

Thats amazing, I didnt know he did that. Thats actually happened to me before as well, its really cool

[@teohyc]

The music is so good people are still listening, remixing and covering it decades later. I dare to say hundreds of years later too.

[@zookkkk]

disagree, i am going to scream now because internet

[@stevanthewise7240]

lmao saying that sure is a dare

[@tfwnoyandere]

yep

[@SuperMegaPeanut]

I DID NOT COME TO THIS VIDEO EXPECTING FUCKING SMASH MOUTH BUT OK

[@PamelaTaylor]

RIGHT RIGHT

[@nickrogers3624]

after about the first 4 notes of it I was like, "NO! HE WOULDN'T!" XD I am dying laughing here.

[@TheImpolitelad]

The greatest part of all of this is the work that was put into it all. The composer put his career on the line demanding a project from his boss or he would quit. His boss gave him all of Chrono Trigger. Mitsuda worked until he passed out, writing some songs in his sleep. By the end he was hospitalized with stomach ulcers.

[@DeathBringer769]

Well, it's one of the best soundtracks of all time, not even limited to just video games. It really paid off in the end, lol.

[@treyshawnbeats]

lol this guy works so hard he shits blood "Following Chrono Trigger, Mitsuda composed the soundtrack for Front Mission: Gun Hazard, again with Uematsu. According to Uematsu, Mitsuda again worked so much that he eventually defecated blood out of stress and physical problems." (wiki)

[@TheAnomaly00]

@@treyshawnbeats jesus that is Spongebob Squarepants levels of dedication and work addiction

[@Potato-Eye]

If he shits blood after work he should stop letting men do that to his shitter

[@dancingsocrates9491]

Well that's kind of sad. Working yourself to near death wouldn't be a badge of honor

[@IRJustman]

What's really sad is that Mitsuda's original work is lost to a hard drive crash. We will likely never know what his original work was like, especially given this analysis. I really enjoyed the music as distributed, but I'm always saddened to hear about data loss events like that.

[@manydelmal]

But at least we have his amazing work on Chrono Cross

[@antcorn738]

He worked on Xc2? No wonder all of the music is awesome

[@JohnDoe-xx7kc]

Henever remade his music?

[@ariyabayat5292]

@@JohnDoe-xx7kc the original compositions before converting it to the snes

[@grapesofmath1539]

Spooky Chrono Trigger Prototype music

[@Meuterei]

The crazy part was, Mitsuda composed this soundtrack when he was 22-23 years old.

[@DanielHernandez-hg5ey]

@Lavos i just cant seem to not find you in a chrono trigger video lol

[@DanielHernandez-hg5ey]

@Lavos Truer words were never spoke.

[@DanielHernandez-hg5ey]

i love to see that as well, and thank you for your contributions

[@Rubberman202]

10:38 - 10:51 I literally had to stop a play back the video to make sure I heard that right. Who are you, SiIvaGunner?

[@rega2391]

Clever

[@ficaom16]

Same dude

[@acpokefan9742]

Yep. I was like, "Wait, is that All Star?!"

[@Dunkman545]

That's F***in* ALL STAR!!!!!!!!!

[@extras5164]

Did the writer of all star copy from that??

[@ichaukan]

Being a band geek during the mid to late 90's, and always trying to figure out how to play things by ear, I always wondered why I loved Chrono Trigger's soundtrack so much and yet found it so damn difficult to follow out. You, sir, have my utmost respect.

[@OurMagicalNature]

Finally someone who acknowledges the technical ingenuity of retro game composers. In my mind many composers of 8-bit and 16-bit games are on par with the great renaissance composers. Both composed for a very limited number of voices, yet they made the most interesting compositions with it which sound good on almost any instrument. I'm gonna watch a hell of a lot more of these vids and it's an instant subscribe for me!

[@paulchapman8023]

Hans Hylkema, historical soundtracks constraints are a spur to creativity, so it makes sense to me that music composed under more constraints such as a more limited number of voices would be more creative with those voices.

[@fb1767]

They are not retro game composers. They are top notch high end game composers. The games did age though.

[@RainbowDemon]

10:50 somebody once told me, the world was gonna roll me, I aint the sharpest tool in the she-ed

[@dewinmoonl]

god 10:35 talk about playing with expectations we've all been trolled...

[@FrankJavCee]

i absolutely love this video 🎶💖🎶

[@maximilianwonschik1304]

FrankJavCee Frankyyyyy

[@domlee5902]

FrankJavCee frank...

[@Red0991]

There’s my boi Franky

[@papi1050]

Ayyy ma boi

[@dudubroder]

I absolutely love you

[@twelveminusone]

When I was a kid I would get my tape recorder and record songs from video games and force my piano teacher to teach them to me. Most of the songs came from games like the Final Fantasy Series, Castlevania, Lufia II, and Super Mario World. But when I discovered Chrono Trigger my piano teacher was blown away by the complexity. Rather than attempting to explain the theory, we both just learned the fingering. As an aspiring composer myself, this video finally taught me the reasoning behind some of my favorite songs that I've been playing for years and I can't thank you enough. While most of this is still a bit over my head, I'm going to rewatch this and all your other videos. Thanks so much for what you're doing!

[@BackdoorShenanigans]

As a composer who was largely inspired by Mitsuda and Uematsu in my early years, most of this is stuff I've said before, but it's really nice to hear it said in such a way that is organized and accessible. It's cool to hear someone speak of music in one of these youtube videos that is actually theoretically accurate, but shown and explained in a way that my kid could get. Thanks so much for this!

[@keixoun]

Did you know there is an acid jazz album called The Brink of Time, with the music of Chrono Trigger arranged by the own Mitsuda?

[@nickwallette6201]

keixoun The opening track is epic.

[@bowserh2012345]

No, and thank you !!!

[@xahdiel8292]

keixoun I do love that album. Actually the "breakfast" cover it is so not commonly.

[@rikku2ryoga]

I am so glad I read comments ! that's for pointing out that gold i did not discover before :)

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

One of the best arranged game soundtracks ever made! Right up there with Secret of Mana Plus and 90s King of Fighters.

[@insaneintherainmusic]

GREAT video. I played along with all your examples and analyses and they make sense. Here's a thought: What if in Secret of the Forest, the Gbma7 chord is analyzed as the bIIma7 (from the parallel Phrygian) in the key of F minor? bIIma7's chord scale would be Lydian (as all borrowed ma7 chords are), and Fmi9 would just be aeolian. Don't know if you looked at it that way, that's what makes the most sense to me. Edit: Also, that Ami7 to F#mi7 just seems like modal mixture, with the F#mi7 borrowed from the parallel major.

[@frajen86]

the song is in Bb minor. The Gbmaj7 vs. Fm9 is switching between Bb Aeolian and Bb Dorian

[@insaneintherainmusic]

That makes even more sense. I was thinking it would be in F minor at that point solely based on the fact that the F felt like it was the tonic note, but it also makes sense in the context of Bb minor!

[@frajen86]

I based it off the section before the bridge; there's a ii | V (or Vsus | V) that strongly suggests the key is Bbm

[@The_SOB_II]

Heyyyyy I loved your Mii channel tune time

[@james_subosits]

Oh, I know who you are! You're the guy that made the Hoenn Jazz album! I love that so much.

[@humanbass]

Still boggles my mind how they made this super elaborated song for such a small scenario of the game. I love the very end of it where the piano and bass seems to be on a little elegant battle.

[@katiegertz6972]

I feel like I just took an entire college course on nonfunctional harmony. Thank you so much, this will really help my compositions from now on, because I do them by feel and I always get unsure of myself when I stray from functional harmony. Awesome, just lovely, thank you.

[@NaikoArt]

7:08 this might be one of the most iconic pieces in gaming history, it always gives me chills

[@thegreatb3]

Well well well, if it isn't my favorite new channel!

[@gamewub1016]

100% agree

[@Alpha-Trion7]

I just found this channel today, and I agree. It is incredible!

[@Zeioth]

This > Formal education.

[@user-xi8sf8xl7r]

10:38 "sooommebody once told me the world was gonna roll me, i aint the sharpest tool in the shed"

[@kultur-vultur]

lol, I was like keep smash mouth outta this!

[@Dunkman545]

I fell of my chair as the notes reavealed themselves being all star!!!

[@vinisun9171]

Being a music student at an university an having a difficult time with the harmony classes, your videos make me literally cry with joy. Dealing with my best memories in gaming and all, such an awesome content! You're really helping me out, thanks so much!

[@livvy94]

Oh my god this is so cool As someone who makes chiptunes, but is slightly tired of making covers and wants to branch out into original composition, this is really interesting to watch.

[@mongooseinabox]

I was watching rock climbing videos when KZbin suggested... this?! Most of it went over my head, but really enjoyed every minute of it. The Chrono Trigger sound track has been my favorite video game soundtrack since childhood, and it was enlightening learning the music theory behind why the soundtrack always sounded so memorable and appealing to my ears. Thank you!

[@oenwilson2486]

11:59 just a little jazz reference, Miles Davis's 'So What' uses those same vamp of chords doing a quick swing kind of move from Em9 to Dm9. And then he does an unexpected key change by literally doing the entire riff up a half step, therefore Fm9 and Ebm9.

[@Grohlvana]

I see a Chrono Trigger video, I click it, I like it, I watch it.

[@Th0tSlAyErIII]

What if the video is about how "Chrono Trigger is the most overrated game in history". The bastard would never see my like, now that's for sure.

[@nbpraptor]

Pretty much

[@cyandinomashups]

That's in the wrong order.

[@anitamaciri6763]

I want to like this comment but you're at 69 likes........ can't ruin perfection

[@cyandinomashups]

@@anitamaciri6763 I liked it.

[@ChazEvansdale]

I have no idea what you're talking about, but for some reason I watched the whole video :) hehe

[@SuperJollyRainbows]

Chaz Evansdale Same lol. None of it means anything to me but I love Mitsuda's music so this is kind of cool. I guess. I never learned music theory and honestly don't want to because I can figure out how to play anything by ear (yes I'm one of *those* people). Or maybe I'm just an uneducated snob lol. Either way the point is Chrono Trigger music rocks. Forever.

[@miguelarturopalomaresruiz]

same here

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

SuperJollyRainbows There are a lot of us who are musically inclined despite having never been musically educated. Everyone has a different perspective, everyone has different experiences. You're certainly not a snob, and being able to play music by ear is a great gift. As for myself, I am only really ever able to transcribe the mad melodies that haunt my head. My hopes for ever being appreciated as a musician rest mostly with people like you.

[@poof65]

i don't understood a thing either. I came here for the music :)

[@miguelarturopalomaresruiz]

i have always tried to understand how does music evokes a feeling, i think musica theory is far beyond my abilities

[@reallifecooking8314]

Just found your channel. I WAS gonna go to bed (since its 9:30 and I have jazz band at 5 am), but now its 10:45 and I don't regret anything.

[@Superphilipp]

Teaching a jazz class at 5am is an oxymoron.

[@MagnusSkiptonLLC]

The only reason you should be having a jazz lesson at 5 am is if you're planning on going to bed AFTER it.

[@chungman6167]

real life cooking yeah man around 10:45 was my favorite part lol

[@elementalsteve9029]

relatable

[@joaoimai]

Have no words to describe how grateful I am for finding your channel bro. Awesome work and analysis!! I've been looking for some challenging music studies for a while, mixing it with games was an amazing gift. Thank you!

[@bwinters]

I‘m getting back to this video every few months, and everytime I understand more. This makes studying music theory and practicing so rewarding. Thank you :)

[@player042]

Haha loved the All Star at 10:40! Great video as always :)

[@goldenhide]

Soooom- Nah not going there.

[@Ockeroid]

Fantastic video!! Exactly kind of video I have wished existed for years. Learnt so much, please keep doing what you're doing!

[@DragonSwigy]

I just discovered your videos and I am in love with everything you have made so far. I’ve always wanted to make my own music and video games and it’s great to see what things composers have done in the past with such concepts as the one you talked about in this video. Honestly, you’ve sparked my interest in making music again and for that, thank you.

[@OhDannyBoy512]

10:38 I died XD On a more serious note (pun intended), this was so fascinating and it’s inspiring me to learn even more about harmony ^_^

[@cesaraltamirano3736]

OMG! now I understand why I love nonfunctional music...

[@estereofobia]

This channel is AMAZING! just want to thank you for all the great work here.

[@thevfxwizard7758]

A helpful way I like to think about chords is their relative brightness to the tonic. For instance, using a bIII gives a darker sound, as the bIII is borrowed from the minor key (ex. Fellowship theme from Lord of the Rings). Oppositely, using a vii chord may sound brighter because it is borrowed from the Lydian mode, despite it being minor (ex. the flying theme from E.T.) As for chords that can't be borrowed, from any other mode (bii, III, VI etc.) I like to use them to throw the listener for a spin. Usually non-diatonic major chords sound even more major, and non-diatonic minor chords sound even more minor.

[@jamesoconnormoneley2253]

I recently became aware of your channel and I'm absolutely loving these videos! Excellent work, keep em' coming 😀

[@heavyweaponsgaming]

The story at the beginning really resonated with my experience in musical analysis.

[@bond6007]

Great video, great channel! However, I need to make a correction to the “Secret of the Forest” analysis. Bear with me here, as I will explain everything in full (although there are Cliff Notes at the end). This is a functional piece of music in F minor (with a modulation to Bb minor in the middle). How do I know this? Yasunori Mitsuda tells us this when he ends the piece in F minor, and then it loops back to the beginning. Thus, thanks to Mitsuda's clarification, the first time you hear the opening, it is ambiguous, but the second time, it is not. So now let's walk through this, bit by bit. The first chord is a type of Neapolitan chord (bII) in F minor, which then leads to the tonic (i). Of course there are added tones, so it's more like bII7(13) - i9. But the essence of the progression is Neapolitan to tonic. Traditionally speaking, the Neapolitan chord is a predominant chord. In the Classical period, the Neapolitan chord would almost always precede V, and it would usually be found in first inversion (i.e. Neapolitan sixth). However, in the Romantic period, it became common to present a Neapolitan chord in root position, skip the dominant chord, and go straight to the tonic. In this case, the b2 scale degree acts as a type of leading tone from above, and there is a clear pull to resolve to the tonic. In other words, the b2 scale degree wants to resolve downwards to the tonic just as badly as the #7 scale degree wants to resolve upwards. So when the Neapolitan is used this way, it becomes a substitute dominant. In jazz theory, this is called a tritone substitution, since the root of the Neapolitan is a tritone away from the dominant (in this case, Gb substitutes for C). Also, keep in mind that Mitsuda is heavily influenced by jazz theory, which is very clear when you study the soundtrack as a whole (even this track is quite jazzy with all the added sevenths, ninths, etc.). At any rate, with all of this in mind, we can now see that the N-i progression is actually a functional progression, substituting for a V-I progression in a more traditional piece. OK, now moving on to m. 25 (letter D), there is a definite aural shift here, as the move to Ebm7 is quite unexpected. This is where we modulate to Bb minor, which is the subdominant key (iv) of our tonic key of F minor. The Eb minor chord becomes the beginning of a new functional progression, which not-so-coincidentally ALSO uses a Neapolitan chord as a substitute dominant. The next three chords are iv7-N7-i7, cementing our new key of Bb minor. This is followed by a four chord progression, which is just a variation of the first: iv7-N7-iiø7(11)-V7. Mitsuda played with our expectations here. Instead of leading to the tonic, it led to a true predominant-dominant progression in the key of Bb minor, which of course leads to the tonic in the next measure. Very clever! The next section has the progression i7-#vi7-iv7-v7 in Bb minor, which is a very simple and elegant functional progression, with the G minor chord (#vi) being an instance of mode mixture from Bb major. And finally, we have the last progression, which is where this discussion all began! Mitsuda is now ready to modulate back to F minor. The first chord is VII in F minor (with Db in the bass) and it just slides down to the dominant before resolving to the tonic. The chord progression is VII-VI-v7-I. The progression is capped off with a Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC) in F minor, complete with a Picardy third at the end (hence the F major quality). The Picardy third is a common way to end pieces in minor, and gives a very striking sense of resolution, but make no mistake, we are still in F minor (hence the Db and C minor chords just prior). This returns us to our tonic key, and harmonic ambiguity has been replaced by harmonic clarity. And now that we’ve returned to the original key, we can loop back to the beginning, and start those N-i progressions all over again! What a masterpiece by Mitsuda. Hope this helps to clarify the piece! CLIFF NOTES: “Secret of the Forest” is a functional piece of music in F minor. SOURCE: I’m a Ph.D. in Music Theory.

[@bond6007]

Also, take note that the chord marked as iiø7(11) functions as a traditional half-diminished supertonic chord (iiø7), but in all actuality, it's a quartal chord: C-F-Bb-Eb. Quartal chords are common in 20th century music and jazz.

[@GUIM1797]

I can concur with most of this. Here are a few thoughts I have... In Jazz Theory we would not considered a bII∆7 (e.g. Gb∆7 to F-) a tritone substitution at all. bII∆7 would be just considered modal mixture and would, most likely, fall under the "Subdominant Minor" category since the Gb∆13(#11) is a bVI in the key of Bb minor. Cb7(#11) is a Tritone Substitution, however, because it retains the Dominant function. The term Tritone Substitution is 99% of the time referring to a Dominant voicing. Eb∆/Db is a common Lydian voicing and considering it is a Eb∆/Db to Db∆ that's how I would view it. It doesn't go from Eb∆/Db to C-7, it goes... Eb∆/Db, Db∆, and then C-7. So it's being setup of more like a suspension to Db∆. Personally I don't really care what "key" this piece is in because of how ambiguous it is. Additionally, since the composition is written to loop endlessly, it's hard to say that F∆ is a definitive Picardy 3rd. It could also be viewed as... V in the key of Bb- that, rather than resolving to Bb minor, deceptively resolves to Gb∆7 (V to bVI). That totally works in Bb minor. F- also works in the key of Bb- as a v, it simply has an altered extension of a 9th (G) versus the diatonic b9th (Gb). This isn't meant to combat the idea of it being in F minor and then modulating to Bb minor because, like I said, I personally am not really interested in the key center of this piece, but these are some thoughts. Personally, I think the "endless looping" should be a factor in analyzing this piece rather than it having a definitive ending. Video game composers write music with this in mind, so we should analyze it with this in mind. I can view this piece in either F minor or Bb minor, but without any definitive end to the sequence and all of the ambiguity, I, personally, just view it as interpretive. You can get loads of ideas out of it no matter which one you choose.

[@bond6007]

Thanks for your thoughts! I will note that I'm 100% classically trained, so I don't claim to be an expert in jazz theory. Interesting idea on the first chord. Personally, I do see this as having a dominant function in F minor, with N-i functioning in the same manner as V-i, hence the substitute dominant designation. But, as you said, it could also be seen as the submediant (VI) in Bb minor. For clarification purposes, I tend to use VI instead of bVI in minor since the scale degree is already lowered naturally, but that's just me. With the Eb chord at the end, I completely agree with you. I didn't go into detail on that one, but I see it as a suspension chord. The Db-Ab in the bass reinforces that we have a submediant (VI) harmony, and the Eb major chord above is simply a suspension that resolves expectantly to Db major. So at the end, you are suggesting that it is either a half cadence or a brief tonicization of the dominant that simply wants to lead back to the tonic of Bb minor. If this was truly the end of the piece, this would be almost unthinkable, i.e. to end on a dominant chord, rather than a tonic. However, since the piece is meant to loop, we can alternatively view this passage as a bridge, and conclude that there is no actual ending to the piece. In that case, your idea completely makes sense! Ah, the joys of music theory. Personally, I think the final chord progression is too drawn out and conclusive to be thought of as a half cadence. Half cadences traditionally occur rather briefly with a V7/V leading to a V chord (i.e. C7 to F major in Bb minor), with an emphasis on a secondary leading tone that is lacking from this passage. To me, we truly establish the key of F (natural) minor in those last two measures, and end with a Picardy third. But your idea makes just as much sense, where we are briefly tonicizing the dominant, and then sliding out of it with deceptive motion back to the submediant. So in this case, the entire piece would be in Bb minor, except for (possibly) the last two measures. Great discussion! In the end, you're right - it doesn't matter what key it's in. But still, it's fun to theorize the night away.

[@Smoke3380]

Where have you guys been my whole life? This is straight up music theory porn.

[@TheUKNutter]

Interesting. In my country we call the cadences “perfect cadence, imperfect cadence and plagal cadence”. Authentic sounds... too American for us, so we don’t teach it in schools.

[@leosabat4636]

this is insane i am studying music and i dont know half of the stuff you just analiise. Instant sub

[@Smoke3380]

It will come with time, practice, and listening. You can do it!! :)

[@rynxlaneran]

Re-watching this for the first time in a couple years and I'm realising just how much this particular video and the content within inspired me as a composer. Wonderful video and very well presented. Can't thank you enough.

[@musicin3180]

0:54 seconds in and I'm already giggling about music theory. This is going to be an amazing video

[@savanchandul7451]

Most of us are musically ignorant, obviously we can't disagree since we don't understand what's going on.

[@TumbleDice]

I can almost remeber every note of the music in this game, it is fucking memorable. Back when i played this gem the music immersed me so deep into the game, scenes became really emotional. Very good music, especially for that time. Even now it kicks the shit out of most game soundtracks.

[@Shadlocke33]

I'm so happy I've found your channel! Great way to approach teaching music theory, even it is only an analysis.

[@ettousan]

Such a greta video man! Thank you so much for your work! it is really really good!

[@MatheusManente]

That was a fantastic video! Thanks for putting it all together! Just as a very small note: Sealed Door, one of the compositions used as an example of Mitsuda's style at 11:28 was actually written by Nobuo Uematsu. =)

[@luke.friesen]

I know little about music theory & can barely read basic notation, but I love your videos. I think I can listen to what you say because your voice is disarming, & you don’t linger much on the complicated nuance; you express your love for them, but then you move on. You actually speak quite smoothly despite these elations & even when you interrupt yourself with backtalk you’re quite brisk about it & keep it moving. 👍

[@MyrrdynWhitefall]

Thanks for posting! You've given me a new appreciation for this sound track that I never had till today.

[@overcaffeinatedengineering]

Nice! really great analysis, and really grounded perspective on the non-function aspects of Chrono Trigger harmony and why it provides the feel it does.

[@davidjung3145]

I feel like Paper Mario is also an entry that has some cool, unconventional choices. At least, in the slow, contemplative parts--- Shooting Star Summit, or Snow Road. Maybe that's just me

[@RogersBase]

Fascinating stuff!

[@Galluchh]

This is by far your best video yet. Perfectly explained and wonderfully showcased

[@shadoninja]

This is so valuable! I am currently studying music theory to compose my own video game music and your channel is teaching me so much. Thank you for doing this!

[@ThrashMetalAvenger]

This video is so fucking good. Great analysis! You're an All-Star!

[@oldbird4601]

I see what you’d did there 😉

[@painco94]

About the first example: I think in some way it is possible to "preserve" a functional meaning of those two chords. The key, in my opinion and to my ear, is actually F minor, and the Gb chord is the neapolitan chord of that scale (though used in fundamental instead of first inversion as usually happens), hence a pre-dominant chord. This (somewhat) leads to a succession of predominant-tonic chords, kind of resembling a plagal cadence (though with a neapolitan chord instead of the usual IV)

[@TheInterplanetary]

This is really incredibly well done and in depth, I appreciate your analysis and as a video game designer and music enthusiast, I am taking a lot of good information with me. Subscribed!

[@louiecando6078]

Holy crap, your channel is amazing. Always loved Chrono Trigger's music; nice to see someone analyze it in the way that you did!

[@Lucas-ce5yc]

10:38 Wait . . . *Somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me, I ain’t the sharpest tool the shed*

[@RomanHoltwick1]

Lucas I knew someone else must have heard it xD

[@Brokenface]

It's the same melody 😂😂😂 or at least it's very similar

[@analogaudiorules1724]

Just got shrekt on a music theory video, beautiful...

[@robertmcdonell831]

I was about to say the same thing! 🤣

[@Holistic-songwriting]

Very interesting, thanks! :)

[@MrMayhem1225]

I always wondered why I was so attracted to the chrono trigger soundtrack. Having someone explain it like you did helps me understand how and why it was written the way it was and it makes it that much more beautiful! Thank you!!

[@codystork3008]

at 10:45 you just made all star out of by Smash Mouth out of Chrono trigger

[@aonodensetsu]

or the other way around

[@youmukonpaku3168]

Can't be the other way around, Chrono Trigger predates All Star by almost five years.

[@J.Guiao.]

P U R E Q U A L I T Y 10/10 Would analyze the chords progression again

[@LTGuitarist]

I'm 1 minute in and sold. Love this, will be watching everything you have for the rest of the day. Nice one ;)

[@qutri]

I know basically nothing about music theory, but this video is really well done and enjoyable. Thank you for doing these, I'll be sure to check out your other vids

[@AqareCover]

another great example for nonfunctional harmony (though its not video game music) is the zankyou no terror opening. it blew my mind the first time i listened to it

[@Atma505]

Love your videos, my guy! 5:25 Undertale has a ton of chromatic progressions, too - something to listen for.

[@zaneetue7991]

PLEASE DON'T CONTAMINATE CHRONO TRIGGER, ITS THE ONLY GAME I FEEL EMOTIONALY ATTACHED TO

[@kpdelaney6460]

Pretty music! I've always overlooked this game, but those songs are so beautiful; I need to listen through that OST

[@huemins]

Im hardly 30 seconds in but this video is already endearingly entertaining. I love this channel, it brings me so much joy and satisfies my never pursued deeper interest in musical theory.. I'm so happy this exists I could cry haha 😂

[@lumigpictures]

To me, E minor sounds more like the tonic of the title theme, and the process really seems to be modal mixture: Am (iv-aeolian), F#m (ii-dorian), F (bII-phrygian) and Em (i-aeolian). Anyways, cool video, I think this is the best video game music theory channel in KZbin, you analyze things really worth being analyzed, in a more complex way than usual. Congrats!

[@FusionRey]

Wonderful video on one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. I wonder if you would consider looking at Chrono Cross's OST sometime? Maybe how Mitsuda both evolved and changed as a composer, yet retained his own voice (as well as emphasizing the themes of the game with his music).

[@hendrix5757]

Yet another perfectly epic and profoundly impactful video game soundtrack to theoretically breakdown! Having a formidable grasp in music theory feels so rewarding when I can now learn precisely how/what makes a piece of music feel, sound, and evoke such an incredible mood or vibe! Like much of FF's music, I've referred to this OST for inspiration, but I've never bothered to analyze and breakdown the melodic devices at work in it. That's why this channel is exclusively for individuals -- like me -- who put in the time to learn and appreciate how music theory methodically contextualizes what we hear, thus, making content like this very informative, insightful, and exciting to watch! Especially considering how much incredible music exists within many of these (early) games, it's super awesome there's a channel dedicated to acknowledging the level of finesse and sophistication that went into these compositions!

[@AnthoReco]

This is my new favourite channel! You have done very well with these studies.

[@guilhermecantarela3700]

I stumbled upon this, what can I say... Im amazed

[@GuanTones]

8:43 they are very much functional non-functional. its just a minor 3rd on the A chord that makes it. its just 1 note from functional harmony

[@IconforShort]

Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that I've seen every one of your videos at least twice, and I love them all to death. The amount of work you put in is inspirational to me, and you've helped me understand some more music theory, which I greatly appreciate. Keep it up, and thanks for all of the work you do for people like me.

[@7EEVEE]

Great stuff, no idea how I haven't watched more of these!

[@martinmorales3195]

I remember being 15 and totally ripping off the trial chord progression and using it in a melodeath song.

[@rileywebb4178]

is 10:26 not the melody to all-star by smashmouth?

[@FranciscoMorales-qk4ux]

wtf jajajajajaa, you're totally right xDDD

[@ash1rose]

Riley Webb 😳😳😳😱😱😱 I had to go back and listen to it again. Holy shit you're right.

[@qwertyquazo673]

This melody is everywhere. Check Adam Neely, in some of his videos he talks about exavtly that.

[@bjdooi]

Riley Webb I heard the exact same thing and was about to make this same comment

[@ahmaddeedatibrahim6631]

wtfffffffffff. how did i not notice it? hahaha.

[@AkiraUema]

Awesome! I've made an arrangement for Wind Scene for classical guitar and I was amazed to see a dominant 7-th chord and its resolution in the middle of what I thought it was a pure modal harmony!

[@darrkstarg]

Chronotrigger is probably my favorite game music of all time. Thank you for your time and in-depth analysis. You earned a thumbs up :-)

[@JohannesFrykholm]

"Functional music almost never stays in one key" lol yeah except in almost every pop song ever. Extremely interesting video though, never seen this channel before but I'm following for sure!

[@marciamakesmusic]

Blantantly false. Pop music doesn't have to be basic. Listen to any Beatles song, anything by Steely Dan, hell even fucking Put a Ring on It is incredibly harmonically dense.

[@Rudreax]

@@marciamakesmusic They're not saying Pop music is basic. They're saying Pop music, most likely music in the past decade or so, doesn't change keys often. This is very much true.

[@marciamakesmusic]

@@Rudreax I don't think "every pop song ever" and "music from the last decade" are the same thing.

[@SamaelXII]

@@marciamakesmusic Read again. They say "almost every pop song ever."

[@marciamakesmusic]

@@SamaelXII "Almost every" still isn't accurate though

[@DeadCatX2]

Thank you for covering this game. It's one of my favorite games of all time. Even now the music moves me in a very powerful way. Seeing the nerdy analysis helps me appreciate it that much more.

[@slerpderp6148]

ahh i see you have ways of making us pay attention! you'd seriously would be an awesome music teacher in some high school or university, and i'm glad your analysis is available on youtube, i am attempting 8 bit music and wish to understand it better and you've been the best channel i found to explain it to laymans like myself.

[@ChronicalV]

Just wanted to point out that the Db pentatonic should have F natural, not Fb as shown at 9:53 in case anyone was confused or wondering Also great analysis! I'm doing a viva voce (kinda like an interactive musical conversation) for my final exams in music at HS and your videos and analysis, especially on entire soundtracks, make a great resource for me to use since my talk is pretty broad as well (about interest in video game music of 90s-00s).

[@NickOleksiakMusic]

I live for Nonfunctional Harmony! It's pretty much always a fun listen when done with skill.

[@raymcmahan5080]

Wow! This is superb content. Thank you so so much for doing this.

[@higurashikai09]

Man, I love this video. The harmony is just mesmerizing and I’m glad you decided to analyze it.

[@danielmirandacastro7161]

In the Secret of the Forest, I believe it's simply a song in the F minor key with the Gbmaj7 chord coming from the F phrygian scale. So the Gbmaj7 actually has a function, its a minor predominant (contains the minor sixth from F (Db))(in Brazil we usually call it subdominant, heh), and the F minor is the tonic. This kinda happens over an over again throghout the songs in the video and, well, using chords from parallel scales doesn't really take you away from functional harmony, even tho it's super awesome anyways. There's probably a technical name for it in english, but I don't know it.

[@TheUKNutter]

Tritone substitution.

[@SeveredLegs]

I'm really glad you stretched the 4:3 to widescreen. Man, it looks so great stretched like that.

[@007blond]

This is very interesting, I absolutely love how you supply excerpts to follow along with. It's nice cause I study a lot of scores, as a composer lol

[@mjfentertainment6927]

I totally love this, instantly subscribed 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@splabbity]

I love that ethereal floaty feeling.

[@leerv.]

Yatsunori: "I'm tired of making sound effects for our games, I want to make music!" Square: "We have Nobuo-san, why would we change what works?" Yatsunori: "Let me compose or I'm quitting." Square: "Fine, you can have the soundtrack for this game. We'll give Nobuo-san a little break." And here we are, ladies and gents, one of the most striking beautiful soundtracks in all of Square's body of work.

[@Final-Ts]

Ironically, Nubuo-san STILL wrote a couple of tracks in the game. I know that "Sealed Door" is one of them.

[@davidjimenez3822]

@@Final-Ts I'm sure Tyrano Lair was another, and Boss Battle 1 I think was a collab between Nobuo and another artist.

[@luf4rall]

@@Final-Ts Mitsuda worked so hard he got sick.

[@medigoomnis]

BATMAN. So I just found your channel and I freaking love it. Never completed any of my music courses in college beyond some really basic theory, but I love analyzing [particularly video game] music outside of a classroom...so...your channel. Anyway, on top of that, when you told me the world was gonna roll me, I had to subscribe.

[@reyespiano945]

Your knowledge on music theory is amazing. Definitely subbed

[@GUIM1797]

Hey, man. I'm curious about your decision to state the Main Theme as A minor. I actually just posted up a video of my own analysis for the entire theme and I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on it if you happen to watch it. I find it to be moreso in the key of E minor rather than A minor. That said, I know you generally know what you're talking about, so I'm curious how you came to that conclusion regarding the other segments. Do you hear the final chord of the piece as wanting to resolve back to A minor? Or do you hear each section of the theme is modulating and as such the end doesn't want to go back? Anyways, keep up the solid work. Looking forward to the next post! :)

[@mellowords]

Hey, I thought the same thing when I first saw this analysis. Definitely feels like it's in E minor to me, starting on the iv.

[@GroovyDominoes]

Glad I'm not the only one lol. I immediately raised an eyebrow when he said the main theme was in A minor instead of E. Loved the overall analysis though.