Modal Interchange - How to Write a Melody with Music Theory from Opeth “Heart in Hand”

[@HackMusicTheory]

When writing your modal mixture melodies, remember: What you play after each 3 will be affected by that 3's major/minor quality. For example, in our version we play the 3 followed by the ♭7, so that ♭7 feels Mixolydian. But in Opeth's version, they play the ♭3 followed by the 6, so that 6 feels Dorian (not Ionian or Mixolydian) all because of the ♭3 before it. Magic tricks are fun, right?!

[@ameralameddine]

Thanks a bunch for breaking this down! Opeth's sound is one of the most interesting and varied ones in metal for me, and I'm glad you took the time to offer some insight into how it works. It would be rad if you hack Mastodon next, they have a bunch of really cool melodies that you don't normally hear in metal too. Keep up the awesome work!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Amer, thanks for stopping by, and welcome to the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you being here! We're super happy that you enjoyed our Opeth video, and yes indeed, they're one of the most interesting bands in metal, for sure! I've been a huge fan ever since Black Water Park came out back in 2001, it totally blew me away, such a unique sound! And yes we'll add Mastodon to our radar, thanks for the suggestion. In the meantime, we hope to see you back here next Friday for more theory hacks, Amer, and until then, have an awesome weekend :)

[@benasaro1043]

Thank you for covering this; Opeth is amazing and you both did a great job of breaking down some of the madness contained within their music!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Ben! It's so lovely to see you again, thanks big time for stopping by, we really appreciate you being part of the Hack Music Theory community for so long! We're super happy you enjoyed this video, and thank you sincerely for your kind words about our breakdown. It's always such a pleasure doing these videos about super interesting songs, like this one! Cos usually, after analysing the original song, we end up writing our own version to be way more interesting than the original (just to keep ourselves motivated), but with Opeth, we definitely didn't need to do that haha! Thanks again Ben, and we hope to see you back here next Friday for more theory hacks. Until then, have an awesome weekend :)

[@muhammadrezahaghiri]

Hello my friends! It was a very hot day here and I wanted to get back home, I just took a subway train, and I sat there. I was exploring Spotify and then I found Opeth released new material! It was great! I listened to the song for three times while I was in the train. It's really good material for a hot day, specially when you're tired of work. I loved the song. And about the hack ... I really like how Opeth writes music. The first song I heard from them was a cover from Deep Purple (I think Soldier of Fortune), but when I heard to their originals I was like "WOW, this is my new favorite band". And It's 5 years of listening to these great Swedish fellas. May Odin be with them \m/ And at the end, have a nice weekend my friends

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Muhammadreza! So happy to hear we covered one of your favourite bands! Did you know that they recorded the song (and in fact the whole album) in English and Swedish? That's dedication! Sorry to hear it's so hot there, hope you're finding ways to cool off! By the way, we've settled on Friday as our release day, it's close to our old day of Thursday, sorry for any confusion! Hope you have a fabulous week!

[@JustinNogle]

Opeth is friggin great, as is this lesson. Thank you! Modal mixture mesmerizes and motivates musical musings. Marvelous!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Mmmmm we love it! How was your roadtrip? Did you enjoy Nashville?!

[@JustinNogle]

@@HackMusicTheory Road trip was fantastic, thanks for asking!No place like home though! 🙂 Nashville was crazy busy with lots of great things to do and see, and Sun Records/Studio in Memphis was awesome. We really enjoyed Beale Street; it was very chill. Graceland was neat but way too commercialized for our taste. I imagine it's highly likely, but have you guys been there?

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey thanks for sharing, Justin! Glad to hear it was an adventure 😄 We haven't been there. We're home bodies, so like you said, there's no place like home!

[@TheNebulon]

You two are so cute. Do you think that the original band wrote the lead with such depth of music theory in mind, or that they just played with what sounded good?

[@ujnhunter]

Nope. Mikael Åkerfeldt has stated numerous times that he has no music theory and only plays what he thinks "sounds good". That being said, I'm sure he realizes that by only playing the "root" note he can play whatever other notes he wants on top without it sounding "bad".

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha thanks Bryan, and thank you big time for stopping by again, we really appreciate you being such a positively contributing member of the Hack Music Theory community! Regarding your question, which is a great question. With a band like Opeth, I wouldn't be surprised if they do know all the theory behind what they're doing. Thanks again Bryan, and we hope to see you next Friday for more theory hacks. Until then, have a lovely weekend :)

[@aliquidcow]

Personally I think Mikael is being modest. Looking at his songwriting there's just no way he doesn't know what he's doing; some of his key changes in particular are so sophisticated. I've heard plenty of guitarists make this claim that they don't know any theory when they clearly do, I'm not sure why they say it really. I would concede that perhaps his knowledge is more 'organic', in that he kind of knows what he's doing without knowing the terminology for it. He's not just playing random notes and looking for what sounds good, he's clearly got an awareness of how notes relate to each other - which is theory!

[@HackMusicTheory]

@@aliquidcow 100% agreed!

[@viniciusbertucci]

@@ujnhunter No such thing. Mikael knows how chords, scales, modes and keys work, and that's all theory. He doesn't just pick up the guitar and play random stuff until something that "sounds good" suddenly appears. He knows what he's doing. He, like many others, might believe that music theory is about complex and technical terms without any application - It's not. The stuff that he knows is theory.

[@owelguitar]

Just WOW!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, thanks for watching and connecting, Reuel! We hope you have a great day :)

[@kentcourtney5535]

The end guitar really tied everything together. I like the big lettering, too. That looks great on my iPad. No squinting with my tea.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey Kent, lovely to see you again, hope all's great your side! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed a cup of tea with our new hack! Thanks big time for being a part of our Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you :) By the way, how's the techno folk coming along? Have a lovely week and talk soon!

[@kentcourtney5535]

Hack Music Theory I have been doing some unusual things on the latest project. I have gotten good at doing arpeggios on the ukulele. It has a very unique sound. Since it is a soprano ukulele there is a tingling associated with the arpeggio. Thanks for your great videos.

[@illlanoize23]

Pretty sweet I know mikael åkerfeldt often talks about not knowing any theory and just writing by ear

[@HackMusicTheory]

Good to hear from you illlanoize23! Hope you're doing well and finding time to make lots of music! Take care and see you soon :)

[@TJ_ax]

Such positivity. Love you guys

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aww thanks Trey, and a warm welcome to our Hack Music Theory community! We hope to see you again soon for more theory hacks! Until then, have a wonderful week :)

[@MikaelaHedberg]

"Det är för bedrövligt! Usch! Vem fan är du?!" As a Swedish person I just love the little line of Swedish in the beginning of the song (which says "This is deplorable! Eww! Who the fuck are you?!", in a sort of abhrored old man's voice). Besides that, great lesson. I love that you guys hit home with my music taste and break down awesome music in components I never knew I was interested in knowing. You guys are the best! 🖤🤘

[@vovinlonshin3708]

another video full of great theory! so much to play with in the future!!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yay! Awesome to hear you got some ideas, Vovin! Hope you're having a great week so far :)

[@ulf8468]

Some more music theory related to opeth would be great ;)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Ulf, it's great to hear from you! Hope you're well :) How goes your music making these days?

[@triggerhappy522]

omg they uploaded a new video! omg!

[@Nivenization]

Thank you.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for watching Niven! Hope you're doing well :)

[@HAZARDOUS88]

Thank you, love this video a lot.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Happy to hear it HAZARDOUS88! Hope you're having a wonderful week :)

[@HAZARDOUS88]

@@HackMusicTheory Usually, yes. But your content definitely makes it better.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aww you're very kind, thanks! 😄

[@EmptyRoni]

Hack droeloe.....preettyyyyy please!

[@garrettromero4497]

I know you've done TesseracT before, but I absolutely can not figure out the time signature of their songs Eden from the One album. I've been trying for years.

[@willianwyler5941]

I love you guys and I love Opeth! Very inspiring video again! But it is also frustrating, because at the moment I don't have time to make music :( As soon as I have some time I'll post something in the HMT forum. Have a nice weekend!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Willian! So great to hear from you, hope all's well your side! Thank you sincerely for your kind comment, that means the world to us! We're so sorry to hear that you don't have time to make music at the moment though, that really sux! We're crossing our fingers for you that you'll be able to carve out some music time soon though, and we know your fellow apprentices will also love to hear what you've been up to, so please do share your work-in-progress in the network when you get in underway. Thanks again Willian, and in the meantime, we hope to see you back here next Friday for more theory hacks. Until then, have an awesome weekend :)

[@JamesRamboPearce]

Good old Opeth not giving a shit about the rules 😁 good lesson guys

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey James, super great to hear from you! How's the weather in Brighton this summer, are you having a good one?

[@JamesRamboPearce]

@@HackMusicTheory It's bloody scorching down here at the moment!! Hope you're both enjoying your summer, loving the vids as always!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Wow, no kidding! We just saw that you're breaking records over there, yikes! We're enjoying our summer, but hoping to get outside a little more, and work a little less :) Talk soon, Kate

[@JasonKeisling]

Love Opeth. I’ve seen you do some thom Yorke videos lately. Could you do one on how to achieve his glitchy drum sound?

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Jason, thanks for stopping by, and welcome to the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you being here! Thanks also for your suggestion, we'll add glitch drums to our radar. It would be helpful if you share a specific song as a reference though, did you have one in mind?

[@JasonKeisling]

I think most of his solo stuff has this sort of glitchy ambient sound that’s both busy but also pretty mellow. Maybe something on using complex drums in a way that still sounds ambient.some examples include the title track from Eraser, and twist and not the news from his anima album.

[@PsyJaye]

We just love you guys - I know you are busy BUT, (the infamous but) is it possible to do an entry to intermediate level class or series dedicated to the mechanics of home recording (analog or digital) i.e, 12 tracking ect., (we are using the Korg D-12) so that we can follow? Thanks again for an insightful & revealing class -

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey Jaye! Thanks big time for your lovely comment, and for being a member of the Hack Music Theory community for such a long time, we really appreciate you being here! Regarding your request. I'm afraid we are one-trick ponies haha! Using music theory to write creative music is our only trick, so when it comes to recording (and everything else), I wouldn't want anyone learning that from us haha! We believe in mastery, so we teach our one thing, and we learn everything else from other people who've mastered their disciplines. Or, even better, if you can afford it, hire professionals to do the work, as that allows them to keep making a living from doing what they've spent decades learning and mastering. While we do record ourselves at home (purely for the convenience of being able to record in pyjamas though haha), we pay an engineer to mix and master all our music. Hope that makes sense, and sincerest apologies we can't help you with the recording side of things. Once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being here, Jaye, you're awesome :)

[@baroufess]

Great video as always.May i ask what vst are you using for guitar?

[@HackMusicTheory]

Aww thanks Kostagiannis, and a warm welcome to our Hack Music Theory community! We used Steven Wilson's EastWest Ghostwriter (www.soundsonline.com/ghostwriter). We hope to see you again soon for more theory hacks! Until then, have a wonderful week :)

[@WizardOfArc]

I first heard this trick in a Joe Satriani piece where the bass is chugging on A and the guitar is playing all different A modes

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Azi, great to hear from you! How's the Irish summer treating you?

[@WizardOfArc]

Hack Music Theory I think we are getting about 4 days of summer this year. Got some news though. My wife got a job in the US so we are moving back to Seattle in October! So we’ll be neighbors again!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Wow that's awesome, Azi! Congrats to your wife 😄 You'll get much more summer there!

[@JasonKeisling]

I also use reaper and I haven’t figured out how to drag-select multiple midi like you do. When I try it starts drawing more notes. Are you holding down a key while dragging to change the function?

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yeah either right click and drag over the notes, or hold Ctrl and left click on all the notes you want to highlight. Hope that helps :)

[@JasonKeisling]

Very much. Thanks!

[@jeffreybrown8422]

Hack Nickel Back

[@nandakoryaaa]

First!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Yay, you're on it! How's the music making going this week?

[@nandakoryaaa]

@@HackMusicTheory Excellent! I've made quite big progress on some things from last year that I didn't hope to have finalized. Also, I'm trying some modal interchange!

[@HackMusicTheory]

That's awesome news, Andrei!! Thanks for sharing and huge congratulations :) Do let us know how you get on with the modal interchange, it's super fun! Until next time, have a fabulous weekend :)