The Mediant Mandala - Understanding harmonic progressions in the music of Radiohead

[@fnbwski8610]

Amazing! I don't even know if you are German but I can sense it from your attitude and I love how German people explain theoretical concepts are normally boring with enthusiasm. You did that! Immediate subscription.

[@terrencemoore660]

Brilliantly explained in a visual sense, thank you! Radiohead examples were perfect to illustrate.

[@LoFortunato]

I think you can connect any 2 chords using 2 movements in the mediant mandala.

[@jameserenberger3425]

The terminology is different than what i am used to. Parallel minor of C Major would normally mean C minor, not Aminor. That relationship is usually called "relative major/minor." Interesting.

[@SaschaSelke]

Hi James, thanks for your reminder. Absolutely true for common English terminology, I was just lazy and translated the terminology I learned at university - which was the German nomenclature after Hugo Riemann - into English. In German “parallel” means the chord a third below for major chords (so the “parallel” to C major is A minor), while the chord a third above a major chord (for C major that would be E minor) is called “Gegendreiklang” (i.e. “counter-triad”). And what in English is called the “parallel” (i.e. the chord on the same root note, but the mode is switched from major to minor or vice versa), is called “gleichnamiges Dur/Moll”, i.e. “same-named major/minor”. Maybe I should make a short video about those differences, although that would probably mostly be useful for German speakers. But thanks again for clearing that up!

[@sergiorodriguez6889]

2:16 I was immediately confused too. Thanks for clarifying

[@stringchild]

Very cool way to organize the relationships. I always thought of them In major or minor keys. Changing the quality of both mediants (ie minor to major in major key) as one option. With there being 3 options in major or minor by flatting them in major, With the third option to make the flatted versions minor. The opposite goes for minor keys. Opposite qualities, then sharp the mediants. I love these chords. Many of them work like secondary dominants to modulate with. It made me laugh when you said " You might see the cousins less often. Who cares right?" Lol! Great video.

[@andyinnes7270]

Thank you Sascha! please make more videos like this. This really fills in some gaps in my musical knowledge

[@SaschaSelke]

Thank you, Andy! I’ll try ;-)

[@claytronico]

if you plot the voices of a chord using the circle of fifths and you move to a new chord, a melody typically wants to uses tones on the perimeter of the grouping, and only in the interior when the perimeter are common tones. e.g. going from A major to A minor triad, the voice that moves is on the outside of the group of voices plotted on the circle, and that movement is for sure going to be outlined in the melody since the common tones are only really their for support, and the action is where the movement happens. Jazz does this but the common tones are allowed to drift, typically the 3rd and 7th, and usually down by half steps. The ubiquitous dom7 to dim7 comes to mind. Playing blues is hard for people with too much knowledge, and is why jazz guys are often struggle playing blues, because the melody is so often parked on the root. I'm not talking about the jazz/blues (wherein the only real requirement is that you go to the 4), but blues blues, where phrasing is the thing. I'm going full on tangent, yay tangents!!!

[@SaschaSelke]

That’s some pretty straight insight into the developments of melodies within harmonic progressions! Kudos!

[@brettfreitas3532]

Blow Up The Outside World by Soundgarden uses a lot of this. Always wondered where they got the weird chord progressions from. Thank you!

[@Garuda0190]

Hey Sasha! Mein KZbin-Algorithmus hat mich zu dich gebracht! Das ist so ziemlich die persönlichste Connection die eine mathematische Formel jemals mit mir gehabt hat ^^ Ich kann mich noch erinnern, wie wir im Unterricht Radiohead-Videos angeschaut haben oder wie du uns das erste mal die Sandman-Cover von David Carson gezeigt hast. Zufälle können so lustig sein :D Liebe Grüße aus Graz, Patrick, ein Ex-Schüler ;) PS: ich glaube wir haben sogar No Surprises und Karma Police in dieser Reihenfolge gesehen. Das dritte Video war aber Paranoid Android :D

[@SaschaSelke]

Alter Schwede! Patrick, das ist ja ewig her! :-) Aber ich erinnere mich gut an die etwas unkonventionellen Ausflüge, u.a. zu Radiohead. Inzwischen haben wir ja einen waschechten Zweig für Multimedia, in dem wir tatsächlich Musikproduktion unterrichten. Besuch uns doch mal! Liebe Grüße, Sascha

[@khalilmadovi.]

I gave you a round of applause in my room once I finished watching this

[@SaschaSelke]

Thank you so much, I hope it helps a little with you en work!

[@GMAtheory]

I know this comment is way late. However I really enjoyed your approach to this topic.

[@ergnoor3551]

Thank you so much, sir! This is a really handy tool for composers!

[@SaschaSelke]

Thank you! I’m always glad to see that we composers can support each other. :-)

[@nilsfrederking62]

13:50 (C-G-D-#F) I would go G - D -#F so #F being the mediant to D instead of G - #D - #F. Thanks for the great work and greetings from Berlin.

[@Michael-Amelia]

great video!

[@yuji4109]

please do more theoretical lessons ( plus explaining radiohead music and what they do to make their music as it is)

[@baptistewxpolpodcast3339]

Interesting, I'll give it a shot !

[@samueldesrochers8504]

Thanks !

[@Ingles4allYou]

Thank you!!!!z

[@summerwind3217]

Subscribed

[@markcbeaumont4670]

Surely F to Bbm is best expained as a flat 6th.

[@johnbake9304]

sorry i dont understand the point of this. isnt it easily understood if you see the Cm as a boorow from the parallel minor?

[@SaschaSelke]

I suppose by “parallel minor” you refer to the American terminology, where the “parallel minor” of C major would be C minor. The point is that major/minor transformations are relatively new in codified music history, having come into use mainly during the Viennese Classic period and then, even more, the Romantic period. But even at that time their use was more a fashionable gesture (found a lot in Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert) than a relation deeply founded in the application of a theory of harmony. But technically, you are of course absolutely right!

[@Vasioth]

OK this was awesome. Going to give you a wee nit pick though. The colour codes for parallel minor and counter parallel minor - I'm colour blind so can't distinguish them! Had to rewind your video when you introduced them. Please do more, and if you have a patreon would love to send money your way.

[@SaschaSelke]

Dear Vasioth, thank you! And the colour coding for people with colour blindness - that I actually did not think of, my bad, I am sorry! But thanks for the hint, I’ll keep that in mind for future videos. Always great to receive productive criticism!

[@SPCEMN3]

This mandala has more connections than a conspiracy theorist's cork board. Love it and will put it to use. Thanks!

[@jasonbeau9773]

I realize I am kind of randomly asking but does anyone know a good site to watch newly released movies online ?

[@jasonbeau9773]

@Arthur Jimmy thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :D Appreciate it!

[@arthurjimmy9388]

@Jason Beau no problem :)

[@VynceMontgomery]

You introduce the counter-parallel minors but as far as I can tell you never then use them at all. Why is that? Especially when C -> cm is only one step if you do use the counter-parallel...

[@SaschaSelke]

Your point is absolutely valid, coming from modern music theory. My approach, however, tries to build a bridge from the beginnings of harmony in Western music - basically the standards established in the mid Renaissance and canonised in the Baroque Era, when the circle of fifth and fourth was the main road map for modulation - to a contemporary approach. Of course, as early as during the Viennese Classics, a modulation from C to Cm would have been quite an ordinary thing. But I still believe that - from a historical standpoint -the harmonic relations, as depicted here, represent the historical evolution and “liberalisation” of the traffic rules for harmony, concerning what is “close” and what is “far”. But, again, I think you are absolutely right from today’s point of view. Also, there's a big caveat: As declared in the disclaimer at the beginning of the video, I am (being lazy as I amaccordingHugostandardwhilewhatgleichnamige Molltonart”, a “same-named minor key”. I am sorry for the confusion, I am just so used to German terminology that it makes more sense to me. But al least I tried to avoid the confusion concerning B, Bb and H, between English and German terminology. It’s a minefield!

[@VynceMontgomery]

@@SaschaSelke I mean, i'm just talking about what's in the video - you brought up the counter-parallel minor (which i had never heard of before) and put it on your graphic - and then ignore it. That's what I find confusing.

[@SaschaSelke]

@@VynceMontgomery Ah, I hink I understand now. I introduced the parallel and the counter-parallel minor as being the twins of a major triad, and then never used that special twin for analysing a song. True, I could have sought other examples that use this relation, it just didn't occur to me, since this modal mediant “twin” relation is so all over the place in the music from which I, historically speaking, have learned my first music theory (which is the music of the Renaissance and the Baroque era). But thank you for making that point! In future videos and posts on that topic I will include the counter-parallel minor. Also, thank you for being so attentive, I take that as a compliment and a gesture of respect.

[@mechols56]

I love this kind of tjing❤😂❤

[@johntrotta5375]

Sascha: A minor is the relative minor of C major. C minor is the parallel minor of C major.

[@SaschaSelke]

Dear John, thank you for your comment. The difference in terminology comes from me using German music terminology after Hugo Riemann (because that’s what I learned at university). I am, however, planning to do a video on those differences in terminology between German and English. But of course you are right that in the common English terminology what I call the “lower mediant” would be the “relative minor”, and what you would call the “parallel minor” (C minor / C major) would be the “same-named” (“gleichnamige”) minor or major in German.

[@grahamhaynes9201]

The parallel minor of C major is C minor, not a minor

[@SaschaSelke]

Hi Graham. As I mentioned before, that's Absolutely true for common English terminology, I was just lazy and translated the terminology I learned at university - which was the German nomenclature after Hugo Riemann - into English. In German “parallel” means the chord a third below for major chords (so the “parallel” to C major is A minor), while the chord a third above a major chord (for C major that would be E minor) is called “Gegendreiklang” (i.e. “counter-triad”). And what in English is called the “parallel” (i.e. the chord on the same root note, but the mode is switched from major to minor or vice versa), is called “gleichnamiges Dur/Moll”, i.e. “same-named major/minor”. Maybe I should make a short video about those differences, although that would probably mostly be useful for German speakers. But thanks again for clearing that up!

[@PalTed1]

I watched both of the other videos you mentioned. This video is 10,000 times clearer on how to cough up the chords someone would like to use. Like the Myth of Pythagoras for progressions. This is what I don't understand. Consider the song Creep again. Watching the analysis, a beginner, such as myself, comes to the impression that the chord progression should be G-B-G-C-c, instead of G-B-C-c, which is the actual chord progression. Why doesn't the missing step matter? Your video reminded me of another wonderful video that you might enjoy called: Combinatorial Music Theory, kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX6npaNubr2kotk, as well as your other viewers. Just something I stumbled upon, as I stumbled upon your video.

[@grahamhaynes9201]

a minor is the RELATIVE minor of C major, not parallel minor

[@SaschaSelke]

As I stated in the video (00:58), I am using German terminology after Hugo Riemann.

[@OneMountainNine]

I always hear Sexy Sadie with Karma Police :)

[@dancopeland254]

im confused the song no surprises isnt that just 1 going to 4 minor? its not even a major or minor 3rd

[@jeremybourke4871]

Dan Copeland I think he is saying the iv minor can be subbed for the b6 major ... eg Fminor for Ab ... that’s my guess anyway

[@karolakkolo123]

It's actually the opposite. It's 4 minor to 1 major. It's a plagal cadence. But I see what you're saying. Tho, the explanation here is: even though there's a fourth between the roots F and Bb, we are moving 4 places around the circle of fifths. I think of key signatures being different worlds, and Bb is in the same world as Dd, which is a direct chromatic mediant to F

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I'm too much of a Noobie to really understand this. But I was never one at music camp.

[@colinburgess7728]

I would disagree with your classification of Eb and Ab as chromatic mediants in C: E and A major have only one sharped note so are closet the diatonic, so counts chromatic mediants Eb and Ab are not symmetrical i.e. they should move away from the tonic in the same way, not both flatted or sharped Eb and Ab are parallel mediants, and a different animal in my book, although many more qualified than me may disagree wouldn'tsymmetry

[@SaschaSelke]

I get your point, Colin. However, i this video I decided to address only the chromatic mediants that stem from a transformation of the major root key into minor, since those are the ones I encountered most in film music (the realm that I come from). A much more comprehensive look at chromatic mediants (including the ones you pointed to, I think) can be found, as mentioned in the video, on the brilliant Rick Bento’s channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpm7fWanbMpgrsU.

[@piotrpopczyk8154]

Sascha, why to use that mandala, You know it The best that from C major to F sharp major You can go really smooth without a real modulation in just two steps: C major - E flat major - F sharp major and return The same smooth in next two steps to C major. I consider it just as black magic when People trying to justify something without a special relations in such funny esoteric way. Beside that I Love to use chromatic mediants - that is really helpful to kill such boring stuff like diatonics. What a pitty not to have such People passionate for music like You in own environment, I mean that I have nobody to talk to about complicated musical issues like for egzample best choice of scale in a particular example of non-chromatic chord progression. Best luck to You!

[@SaschaSelke]

Sorry to take so long to come back to you, Piotr! Of course you are right. But one of the reasons I developed this visual representation was to motivate aspiring composers to use it as an inspiration. As for analysing harmonic progressions, there are of course much more intricate ways than this. And thank you so much for watching and getting in contact!

[@karolakkolo123]

I don't think this diagram is used to "justify" anything. It's just a visualization that one can use to acquire their music vocabulary more effectively

[@jfcomposition]

Du hättest das auch auf deutsch erklären können...😂😁

[@SaschaSelke]

😂 Stimmt! 😂

[@tasteapiana]

All Radiohead has done is start with base cadences, such as II-V-I or I-iii-IV and add in a tritone either from the I or the ii. That's it, nothing more than that, it's not complicated. I try to be accepting of all tastes but with them I just can't because I can't consider them to have any. They are out to be weird intentionally and I understand that urge, from a marketing perspective which I believe they are built upon, but nothing they've ever done, not even Creep which is otherwise a 100% rip off of a 1950s US pop song, resonates with my inner feel for what is legit. Interesting video and graphics but that is a theoretical mess that only complicates simple concepts in order to make them seem complex. There are no practical applications to confusing oneself intentionally, which is pretty much what listening to Radiohead is at its core.

[@luminiial]

this is a good opinion. However it also dismisses some of their music which can be quite beautiful. But I agree, it keeps you in a "head space" even though it's trying to be emotional.

[@DeathScyther006]

Musicians working in the field are out to find new things that work but don't need to understand why they work. Theorists always come behind later to explain why it works. Almost certainly Radiohead was not thinking this technically about what they were doing, but the analysis still checks out. Whenever theory comes before the music you risk coming up with results like serialism which are quite interesting to learn about, but the public largely rejects.

[@badnick6659]

Their music still touches people's hearts though. Timeless.