The Secret to Successful Musical Transitions

[@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 :)

[@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!

[@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!

[@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

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

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

[@Darkest_of_Winter]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@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

[@Composery]

you have given so much to this world Guy 😄 thank you!

[@Markusnokio]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

thanks

[@MaxTooney]

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

[@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.

[@grobinson9352]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

happy to help! glad you found it useful

[@specialagent400]

A Series of Unfortunate Events is probably my favorite film soundtrack of all time because of the changes between ideas Paul Newman makes. It can go from a whimsical suspense to a dark foreboding in a second, yet melds so very well together. The overall feel of the music is just awesome in general, but those changes I tell ya. This started out like something from the soundtrack and I love it

[@angelocast]

PURE GOLD! like always! Thank you Master Guy! Big hug and best wishes!

[@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!

[@Banjobass2010]

Неперевершено! Brilliant! 🤝

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

ha! thank you

[@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.

[@fulanxi6434]

Merci Guy!

[@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!

[@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! 😃

[@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

[@HiggsBosonandtheStrangeCharm]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

glad you liked it!

[@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. 😅

[@rustamh7675]

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

[@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!

[@IceLocus]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Ha! True

[@AnthonyMillerComposer]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

I quite liked that analogy too

[@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

[@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!

[@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

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Wonderful tips as always

[@davidsinclair699]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Glad to hear it!

[@255TomTom]

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

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

😎

[@nicholaswheeler1311]

Another very useful video, thank you!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

My pleasure!

[@FLH3official]

Brilliant, Guy!

[@BenCaesar]

Excited for this video

[@joeldavidpalmer]

Great demonstration!

[@soulflower8687]

this was masterful

[@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!

[@neventure-sp2dx3br8w]

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

[@chaya888]

you have a video for everything I want to learn 👁👄👁

[@Catflix2023]

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

[@cozmicrahop9415]

This is gold😢

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

thank you

[@richardbarcaricchio]

That... was brilliant

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@clowray2747]

Hi Guy. Do you ever review the works of followers? If so, I'd love your feedback on an idea I followed through to completion.

[@Slynell1]

Too busy working I think

[@AryanshMalviya]

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

[@RicardoGarcia-sd1xb]

Amazing

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Thanks

[@MikJames-d1g]

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.

[@MikJames-d1g]

@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.

[@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?? ❤

[@KwamenaBrace]

Have you checked out Arva from strezov sampling?

[@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

[@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

[@chrismoule7242]

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

[@gigabruzinho]

Happy one 😅

[@Franco-h1j]

What is the benefit of changing the midi thing into the audio? Can someone explain me please?

[@user-np4hw4vn1j]

I need 'Glasses of Bravery'

[@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

[@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)

[@nirsayag]

Thanks a lot for this video, Cheers!🎉