The Secret to Successful Musical Transitions

The Secret to Successful Musical Transitions: How do you move seamlessly from one musical mood to another? It’s a vital skill for any composers or songwriter and in this video Guy Michelmore will show you the key techniques you need to master.
Guy writes a 1 minute track which moves from happy to scary to sad to comedic - and he writes the whole thing in under half an hour! Join him for this lightening tutorial and uncover the secrets to successful musical transitions.
00:00 Hello Everybody
01:23 How transitions work
02:06 Happy
03:48 Scary
07:30 Suspense
10:59 Sad
17:50 Comedic
25:23 Playthrough
27:50 Final Thoughts

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Discover our online Masters degrees in music composition, sound design and production at our online Open Day on Saturday 13th. thinkspace.ac.uk/open-day-april-2024/

[@joshuabutlermusic]

I love how he gets so excited about Music. Even when he makes something he isn’t crazy about, he just starts over and is still excited. That’s how music should be.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

I love my job :)

[@KutiaMoyoMusic]

My most important takeaway was: If you want to compose decent melodies, you've got to wear the sunglasses of bravery! Lol, thanks for another helpful video, Guy!

[@AM-oj5xl]

As a musician and guitar teacher, I feel like this is like watching any other true professional (in any field) and saying to yourself “that’s easy!” Then you sit down to do it yourself and realize it’s extremely difficult! Lol It takes me forever to compose full length songs in a daw even with knowing music theory. I can usually write songs on guitar pretty quick, but my knowledge of instruments and arrangement isn’t stellar like yours yet!

[@IceLocus]

Very nice! It reminds me of watching a Hallmark movie. 👏👏👏

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Ha! True

[@keithgardner8000]

Your videos motivate me - your honesty, passion and humour are infectious - thank you and keep on doing these please 😃👍🏼

[@paulembleton1733]

Have been thinking about transitions last couple of days for a song, must be something in the air.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

give it a go

[@johnmac8084]

Fanastic Guy. I love that you show you're human as well, by not editing out the less successful first attempts. I guess it's those sunglasses of courage 😎

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

ha - yes the only way is forward

[@Markusnokio]

Scary part brings me to first Stalker game theme. Nice one!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

thanks

[@Darkest_of_Winter]

Yes! This is the video I needed today! Perfect timing!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@FrankColonier64]

It sounds like Thomas Newman. Very good!

[@NgaTaeOfficial]

My thoughts exactly. Interesting that in his interview with Rick Beato, Newman describes writing for animation as being “all transitions”. This reminded me a lot of the breakdown of the opening of Finding Nemo in that interview. Oh, and JUST in case anyone here hasn’t watched that interview, it’s a MASTERCLASS (much abused term) in film composition.

[@iansimpson27]

@@NgaTaeOfficial I was thinking that too, especially in the Happy and Comedic sections. I think the Newman-esque feel comes especially from a mix of the choice of instruments and the use of Mixolydian and Lydian modes.

[@MaxTooney]

Nice "student filmmaker moment" @17:20. (And indeed -- it does make a good point about musical transitions.) Great lesson!

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Oh I love that lake placid blue Strat. I've wanted one since they were featured on the back of a Guitar Player mag in the early 80s. Never could justify the cost.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Its a Mexican Strat so not as eye watering as a proper US one

[@JoelEverettComposer]

I would also add that paying attention to the visual elements - e.g. the cross-fade using a common background element - can also provide inspiration for the composer - e.g. a common tone / chord etc as you utilized. Thanks for sharing these great tips as always Guy! ♫

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Thanks!

[@VinnieLeeStudio]

Masterfully done! This type of transition is my nemesis! Thank you for these awesome tips, I've learned a lot, especially the "overlap" and the "held notes" trick!

[@CorradoLoffredi]

Dear Guy, you are a force of nature! And so funny!! Your way to explain is literally genial!! Many thanks for this and all your videos! 🙏🙏🙏🤗🤗🤗

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Thanks! 😃

[@neilingle794]

Great video Guy, and hugely entertaining as usual! I find with transitions you need to look for the common element(s) shared between the two sides - it might be a single note, maybe a related chord or key / mode. Or perhaps a rhythm. Something that the listener feels they can relate to... but on the other hand, you want to create some tension (and later relief) otherwise your listener will switch off, or say things like, 'oh I know what's coming next (yawn!)' I like the idea of notes providing an anchor point to construct a frame. One example springs to mind is the beautiful held note Bb at the start of Nils Frahm's 'Less' - several seconds in this is framed by a Gm chord, but we could pick a different chord (e.g. Eb) / sequence to completely change the mood of the song.

[@HiggsBosonandtheStrangeCharm]

Thanks again for another great video......brilliant......

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

glad you liked it!

[@rustamh7675]

Guy, you always inspire me to write something interesting))

[@Hyper5nic]

Love this demonstration to bits! And probably not intentionally, as your fingers moved and wriggled through the modes, around 16:10 a snippet of 'Private Investigations' made it's way to the surface. 😅

[@kayceparkinson9018]

That shouldn’t have worked but (considering it’s you) it did. I’m now thoroughly inspired by you demonstrating the improbable and looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Great to hear!

[@grobinson9352]

This was absolutely the best video to date! Thank you for this!!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

happy to help! glad you found it useful

[@kc-mq3cx]

i've recently grown to love this channel. your tips and quirkiness are a wonderful team. this was just the right time for this video for me. thanks~

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Welcome aboard!

[@255TomTom]

My girl got me my own set of the sunglasses of doubt for eastern - Best.Present.Ever.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

😎

[@michaeltablet8577]

Just discovered your videos and subscribed. You are inspiring and a great joy to watch! Thank you and God bless you and hello from Texas USA!

[@FLH3official]

Brilliant, Guy!

[@joeldavidpalmer]

Great demonstration!

[@aemcinematiccomposing]

I think it’s brilliant using video to describe the theory.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

I quite liked that analogy too

[@curioushybrid]

Entertaining and informative as always, Guy! I appreciated the bits of explanation about choosing the next key and would love to see a video with more tips like that - not HOW to change key so much as choosing WHERE and WHY to modulate. Outside of tropes like the relative major chorus or the truck driver's step up, I haven't seen many beginner-friendly discussions of how to choose a particular modulation and what that does for the piece. So like... here's a situation where you might want to change modes of the same root, here's where you could get a cool effect by jumping by a fourth, here a mediant, that kind of thing. That'd be a cool one to watch!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

true good point

[@Banjobass2010]

Неперевершено! Brilliant! 🤝

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

ha! thank you

[@BenCaesar]

Excited for this video

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

I can generally make everything sound melancholy whether it's supposed to be happy, scarey, sad or otherwise!

[@XXIII_89]

Oh I see the "Glasses of Bravery" work by not being able to see through enough to even see what you're supposed to be scared of.. rofl 🙈

[@XXIII_89]

I bet if you level them up, they become glasses of invisibility! "If I can't see you.. you can't see me...". Lmfao

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

works for me

[@nirsayag]

Thanks a lot for this video, Cheers!🎉

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Wonderful tips as always

[@nicholaswheeler1311]

Another very useful video, thank you!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

My pleasure!

[@davidsinclair699]

Thanks Guy; insightful and entertaining. Needed both today.🙂

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Glad to hear it!

[@douglasbradley7244]

Guy - I love your videos. Timing is perfect for my next project. Thanks!!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

glad it helped

[@kateohanlonmusic5872]

Hi Guy. Exactly what I needed, thank you! Doing your MFTM wildlife doc today (The Lion's Share) and need to get from the regal brassy section for the successful pride of lions to jazzy but melancholy section for other, smaller pride living in a desolate area. Was jarring a bit even though tempo remains the same and key is related. So will carry some elements accross. Yay! Problem solved. Thanks again

[@RicardoGarcia-sd1xb]

Amazing

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Thanks

[@richardbarcaricchio]

That... was brilliant

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@cozmicrahop9415]

This is gold😢

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

thank you

[@israelcanova]

Hello there! I'm a violinist who records strings sections (less Double basses) all in my violin (I transpose it -1oct to make the Cello and sounds pretty good). If you wish to work together and have me record some real strings for you to blend on you project send me a 40sec MIDI and I'll rec a demo for you. P.S I'm learning a lot from your videos ☺

[@israelcanova]

israviolino at GM

[@chrismoule7242]

9:14 - shades of Nicholas Hooper doing exactly this transtion in Harry Potter...

[@user-eh1vp3ev3c]

Seems to be quite a bit of debate in the community over quantization these days. I started out in the rock/metal community 15-20 years ago, learning to play real instruments (guitar, bass, piano) relatively in time with drums, no click tracks. Eventually I picked up drums as well, and quickly realized drums and click tracks aren't the same thing. Groove/shuffle timing just doesn't seem to work to a click track, you lose everything that makes it uniquely rock and roll. The world of computer/sample based composition has been a transition for me, initially trying to play to a click track just like everyone else. More recently I've discovered artists like Brian Tyler, who seems to be borderline obsessed with playing every instrument himself, and never touching samples. Then you have composers like Daniel Licht (sadly no longer with us), who seems to delve so far into ambient soundscapes that a click track loses all purpose. I personally enjoy working with samples, and will continue to utilize them along with real instruments, but I've been increasingly seeing statements from Hans Zimmer more as a challenge rather than a rule. He said something like "if you don't have a tune in line with a click track, what do you have?". Well I think it's up to the next generation of composers to find out. So long as my instruments are somewhat in time with each other, I don't worry about quantizing anything these days. If it's out of time to an unpleasant degree, I take it as a sign that I simply need to get better as a player.

[@doodle6497]

I've heard that Hans Zimmer quote. I think what he means is that it's the boundaries of the grid (or measure) that give the notes context and definition. That's how we understand their length, their pacing. Midi recorded onto a grid that doesn't contextualize the structure of the music (a mismatched, misaligned tempo, for example) isn't really notated music.

[@user-eh1vp3ev3c]

@doodle6497 Of course, but then what is it, and why does it even matter anyways? When does the music end and ambient soundscape begin? Listening to Everywhere At The End of Time is really an exercise in blurring that line. And again the majority of traditional rock music is constantly shifting tempo, quantization didn't exist, even a real orchestra is never perfectly in time. Zimmer came about at just the right time to explore music that is perfectly in sequence, but that's a relatively new thing in the world of music production/rendition. Ironically he didn't utilize music notation early in his career.

[@Catflix2023]

Can you tell me what keyboard you are using? I really love it.

[@AryanshMalviya]

Really sounded like Two Point Hospital's BGM. I wouldn't be surprised if you have worked on that.

[@gigabruzinho]

Happy one 😅

[@saruphim2548]

Hey Guy, I have an important question. Do you know of any good children’s choir libraries? I can’t seem to find any. I’m trying to capture a LOTR type of vibe but I can’t seem to find anything. Hopefully, Spitfire, EW, Audio Imperia, Native instruments, or perhaps orchestral tools will come up with this seriously lacking gap in the Choir range. Do you know of any off the top of your head?? ❤

[@neventure-sp2dx3br8w]

Great explanation of classic transitions Guy, what made you transition from NI to Arturia controller keyboard? Cheers .

[@mpoirier101]

You make it look SO EASY... 🥴

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

been doing this way tooooooo long

[@ozbaldbiscuits7230]

😂😂 Hit quantise and hope for the best. 😂😂 We’ve all been there. 🤔Hang on. This must mean we’re all now fully qualified musicians 🙌🙌😁

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Yup

[@stephaneexcorier4363]

Hello Guy, and what about Ableton ?

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Ive done an ableton vid quite recently but I will come back to it

[@stephaneexcorier4363]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation I'm really hesitating between cubase, which I already have, and ableton.

[@IamTooLateForThis]

​@@stephaneexcorier4363 i used to start with ableton, but then Guy happened and i switched to Cubase via splice

[@ClassicCaleb]

@@stephaneexcorier4363 I recently switched to Cubase from Ableton, since most the people in this type of work use that over Ableton. They've had a sale on the new Cubase 13. It's already made learning this stuff so much easier for me in this experiment/journey, and figured it's easier to switch now rather than later. The Score Editor alone was also already worth it for me.

[@JumpingCow]

That was slick.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

thanks

[@rustamh7675]

It's better to choose another clarinet))

[@100states6]

Isn't that American Beauty?

[@IamTooLateForThis]

Oh! How exciting, I get to see Guy losing his mind. (again)

[@DanielaTocan]

You play Albion without the Spirit of Christian Henson… do not work…

[@desoconnor7445]

Gosh !!! I’m guessing you are probably the only person to benefit from that comment .I suppose that’s “special”

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

I remember writing a song with the spirit of James Hennessy and woke up on the floor of my garage with my amplifiers still on and my guitar beside me. True story.

[@desoconnor7445]

@@BellsCuriosityShopwell I’m stunned what a revelation and what was the consequence

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

@@desoconnor7445 to be fair it was actually an amalgamation of several occasions. I frequently went to the garage with a bundle of albums and cans of beer or bottles of spirits to strum along to. I'd wake with condensed morning dew on myself with guitars and albums across the floor. The Hennessy brandy story was actually a mass lyric writing session (I was attempting to write swathes of lyrics and fit them to chord progressions later). I think I wrote four sets of lyrics with two good ones (a great record for me) and a ten page love letter to my girlfriend which was a ramble of nonsense that had the handwriting of a six year old. Oh, and a mad hangover.