The Music of Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Chicory has some of the best music of an indie adventure game I've ever heard... but why? Let's see how Lena Raine's latest musical score slays it when it comes to writing music that has impact and presence.
Warning! Some decent spoilers ahead...
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[@TheCasualTheorist]

Sorry for some of the blurry pictures... Adobe is not being kind to me these days 🤦‍♂️ One day I'll suck it up and pay for Premiere instead of janky Elements...

[@_Cieluim_]

This is a fantastic analysis on the soundtrack it feels really insightful. Your channel is quite underrated you deserve more

[@skychaserthedragon2046]

Having played (most of) Chicory at this point, I can say that this analysis is great and really sheds some light on why the music caught me so well! I also want more people to play it, so...

[@skychaserthedragon2046]

Back here a year later, hmm. Forgot I already watched this and it's still great! I have finished Chicory, and it's still one of my favorite games of all time. If you haven't played it yet, play Chicory!!! It's really worth it, trust me

[@ludabam241]

This game was made with so much love from the whole Chicory team! Great analysis! This music is so special I'm glad I found this

[@RatchetSly]

Nice video! Some nice music theory talk here, coincidentally hitting on two of my favourite tracks in this OST (Dessert Mountain and Abandon Me). Wish more folks I know knew of this game! There's a lot to talk about with it.

[@madlad255]

So I beat Chicory a couple of days ago and was planning on making a review on it, where I go deep into the way the game feels like a cohesive experience and how the music manages to stand out. And then I saw this video. Just the thumbnail alone ("Music with Presence") instantly made me realize this would be a way more detailed and professional analysis of whatever I wanted to say regarding the music. And indeed, it is! There is so much about this analysis that I love: - The transcriptions and markings on the score are super-clear. (Side note: I assume you did these transcriptions yourself? I was actually looking for a transcription of Dessert Peak to play on flute but I couldn't find one.) - I've heard many people talk about leitmotivs, but never the fact that they can hurt creativity as much as they allow for it. But now that you've said it, it feels so obvious! - You start with a broad concept (e.g. syncopation, leitmotiv, unexpected harmony) and then apply it to a specific example by looking at the actual score. It's great that you didn't just jump from one example to the next, but prefaced each one by indicating what it was an example of. Specific details: - I never noticed the modulation in the Luncheon variation! It's a really cool way of explaining that Dflat7 chord though. - I didn't know this game played with time signatures so much. I did notice some examples of syncopation (e.g. in the title theme: Blank Canvas): those really caught me off-guard (in a good way). Here are some things I'd like to add: - Lena Raine wrote an article detailing her thought-process behind every piece in the game: medium.com/@kuraine/composing-for-chicory-motifs-memories-9d7351555694. - The first time this game really made me realise "Oh, this OST is more than just good background music" is the Luncheon theme variation (Seeds of Doubt) that you mentioned. The fact that this comes just after a shocking conversation with Chicory means that the game kind of "reacts to itself" by changing the Luncheon theme to fit this darker tone. Your description of this theme being "ambivolent" really hit the nail on the head for me. It sent chills down my spine. I'll definitely still make the review, but for the musical aspect, I think I'll mostly be referring to this video. There were a couple of examples you didn't mention in the video that I might talk about, but I fear I won't be able to do them justice. Oh, and it goes without saying, but you've earned yourself a subscriber!

[@TalysAlankil]

lena raine sent me here :) I'm not sure I can agree that your zelda examples of memorable vs ambient music is one that works for me, but other than that, stellar essay

[@sahirs5669]

Honestly love this analysis and would love to see longer form videos where you do talk for hours about the soundtracks of these games! Chicory has been on my wishlist for a while and now it's been pushed way up

[@RedPandaSmash]

This channel deserves way way more attention

[@christophermiller8589]

Big ups for your Critical ear and mind. I’ve never played this game, but I’ve been laser focused on anything Lena writes since Celeste. You really did this OST justice!

[@Uhcip]

Favourite food? "Chungus"

[@CreativelyJake]

the sound design of chicory is... so masterful

[@TheDataRich]

I’m so glad I found this video! As a person who loves the music of games and has been listening to Chicory’s soundtrack every day since I’ve finished it, it was great to hear some analysis behind the melodies that have been ingrained into my soul! Great video!!

[@The-EJ-Factor]

the funny thing is that I didn't know who made the music. But hearing it at points made me think, this sounds like Lena Raine, is it Lena Raine? and when I finally made it to the credits I was like, I knew it. She has a style that is recognisable.

[@nyuh]

i still get shivers and goosebumps everytime i listen to the soundtrack ps: omg that was a nice vid. i would love for you to cover tunic's music next

[@coolbean5536]

What wonderful and whimsical gameplay and music! Another great video by a Cool Bean.

[@thatotherandrew_]

Great analysis, and very interesting and entertaining video - really glad I found this after a quick search of the Chicory OST, and I practically jumped with joy at the mention of Celeste :D

[@CaitlinAyala]

This deserves way more views! Great video! I really enjoyed your analysis and comparison of the different harmonizations.

[@fonze5664]

Awesome video and great analysis! Is cool to see some of these amazing tracks discussed and broken down! ❤❤

[@blumblor4639]

Top tier content

[@gavmcdangle1893]

Its always a pleasure to watch a video from you! Content is seriously top notch. I always find myself nodding my head in agreement throughout each video.

[@TheCasualTheorist]

Thanks a bunch!

[@gaybowoser]

thanks for reminding me to listen to the games ost, i forgot how good it was

[@EzThings]

This is an amazing video!! Editing, analysis, and script is so good I can't wait to see more!!! :)

[@faithseden293]

I would love to watch you talk about this for hours! I love stuff like this! Helps me learn how to improve my own music! ☺️

[@TryHardGamerYT]

This is one of the highest quality music analysis' I've ever seen, and on one of my favourite games? Oh man I'm looking forward to binging your entire channel. *sees the end screen HOLY SHIT HE DID RAIN WORLD TOO

[@mot4353]

wonderful video!!

[@tobysuren]

Haven't played Chicory but been playing a Roblox puzzle game that uses some of Chicory's music (under some sort of license I presume) and all the best songs in said game are from Chicory. Absolutely beautiful music.

[@Christian-gr3gu]

Great vid, sucks that you have so little subs

[@nanto6865]

1:20 your drawing is actually better than chicory lmao Good job, I wasn't very good at drawing in this... drawing game..? hold on that's not ideal when playing a drawing ga- (I know it's not really a "drawing game", it's way more than that but you get the point)

[@albino-pk7np]

Amazing and very informative video! Just curious, where did you get the scores for each track?

[@TheCasualTheorist]

You can buy the soundtrack from Lena Raine's Bandcamp!

[@albino-pk7np]

@@TheCasualTheorist Makes sense! I’ve seen the bandcamp before, just didn’t know it came with the scores. Thanks!

[@albino-pk7np]

@@TheCasualTheorist Sorry if I'm being a nuisance - I bought the bandcamp (to support her and the devs) and I'm not sure how to actually access the scores as you've shown them in the video - any help is appreciated!

[@TheCasualTheorist]

@@albino-pk7np a misunderstanding! I didn't read your comment fully. The musical scores I created myself by ear in Musescore. They are incomplete and also abridged

[@albino-pk7np]

@@TheCasualTheorist My bad for not explaining! Would be really neat to see the scores though, hopefully Lena will release them at some point like Celeste

[@21productions19]

Underrated video!

[@wanderingvagrant1551]

Did you just make a 20 minute video on ONLY the overworld and title screen themes? Please the boss fights next

[@basicallytoxic]

I have a question, did you make these sheet music or did someone else make them? And are they published anywhere?

[@eldunevitz7878]

Great video, but how dare you critique pac-man world 2's music 😤

[@matarmusic]

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the sheets from? I love this video and would like to follow along if possible

[@TheCasualTheorist]

They were created by me by ear in Musescore! Most are abridged in some way so not a 100% accurate representation of the pieces

[@matarmusic]

@@TheCasualTheorist ah, thank you so much for the video! the sheets you made were very helpful in my attempts to analyze lena's choice of harmony :)

[@ErgonomicChair]

Not trying to be tooooo mean here but... in a vidya where you are commenting on sound and obviously care about sound quality etc, you should probably invest in a non-usb mic.