What are the Melodic Minor Modes?

[@nickelassault]

The Dorian b2 mode really sounded like casiopea, and all Japanese jazz fusion makes me think of racing, so I'd check Japanese racing games to find it

[@RaineyDaysStudio]

Unghhhh Casiopea is SO good

[@oneupdawg]

Agreed. The Gran Turismo-like Enthusia from Konami comes to mind

[@dazza2350]

If you like casiopea check out t square's newer stuff

[@WadWizard]

Funny i was thinking of rainbow goblins by masayoshi takanaka

[@roilo8560]

Ridge Racer Type 4

[@butthemeatwasbad]

As an elementary general music teacher, I gotta say pentatonic modes are highly underrated. After going through my Orff training a few years back and getting to that part of the program I was like "damn I gotta write my own music using these"

[@reinh]

One cool thing about melodic minor is that there are actually *two* ways to turn the major scale into it. We're usually taught that you can lower the third but you can also *raise* the root! This is why some of the modes have two names! When you raise the root, you get the Altered scale (mode 7). This also explains why the Altered scale is so altered: instead of raising the root, you can also lower every note *but* the root!

[@reinh]

Please use this knowledge to make as many "raise the roof" puns as possible.

[@fermata4425]

Fun fact: the major scale (and all of its modes) is made up of five large steps and two small steps that are arranged in such a way that any interval a certain number of scale degrees wide is of one of two sizes. In fact, the diatonic scale is the _only_ arrangement of five large and two small steps in an octave that has this property, which many music theorists call a moment of symmetry (MOS for short)! It's also one of the few MOS scales that fits like a glove into 12-tone equal temperament. Knowing this has helped me understand why this scale (and alterations thereof, like harmonic and melodic minor) is so good for making music.

[@el_guingo]

nice insight!

[@Darko1.0]

Sounds interesting but I don’t really get what you’re saying

[@fermata4425]

@@Darko1.0 No worries! Here's a link that explains the fundamentals of MOS scales: en.xen.wiki/w/MOS_scale If you'd rather have me elaborate on my last comment, here's another way of looking at it: All seven notes of the diatonic scale can be generated by a chain of fifths. For example, F-C-G-D-A-E-B is a chain of ascending perfect fifths that spells out the notes of the C major scale. In this case, the fifth is called the "generator" of this scale. The length of this chain is important because it produces a scale with only two different step sizes (commonly known as the whole step and the half step). Thus, the diatonic scale has a generating interval and two step sizes, making it one of the most famous examples of a MOS scale. However, any scale that meets these two requirements is also a MOS scale, and there are even a few others that can be played on your average 12-note keyboard! Besides 5L2s (a common abbreviation of the diatonic scale as a MOS, since it's the only one with 5 large and 2 small steps), there's also 4L4s (the octatonic scale) and 2L8s (some people call this the symmetrical decatonic scale; a few others call it the pajara scale). And if you're feeling brave enough to explore past the boundaries of 12-tone equal temperament, there's a whole world of MOS scales out there with just as much musical potential as the scales we're used to hearing, if not more!

[@el_guingo]

@@Darko1.0 try a counter example: think of a different arrangement of the scale, in which the two half-steps are placed in a different order between the whole-steps. For instance: T-T-st-T-st-T-T (if we start witch C then: c-d-e-f-g-ab-bb). Now think about the 4ths of that scale. They are present in 3 different species: perfect (c-f), augmented (ab-d), and diminished (e-ab). Thus, there is no "moment of symmetry" in it.

[@Nyuu3]

Man, you really have a musical way of nerding out about music. I have enough math brain to enjoy theory vids either way, but more than any other channel, yours actually make me wanna write something.

[@andrewmazzarini2742]

If there's a future exploration of the harmonic minor modes, an excellent example of Phrygian Dominant would be the Battle with the Lake Guardians from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum. There's probably more from the Pokémon franchise but since I grew up with the Sinnoh games that's the one that comes to mind first

[@pepeowen]

TBF Phrygian dominant is everywhere. You could say it is dominant in the modal scene!

[@xD-jm2ie]

​@@pepeowen*music composers when they have tomake music for a desert level*

[@cellularautomaton.]

i love phrygian dominant and dorian #4!

[@NewMateo]

Dude it irks me that he skipped over the most important mode of melodic minor and threw in some random other scale instead. I think he may be confusing it with the harmonic minor and not the melodic minor because it really comes from left field in this video and makes no sense at all when hes talking about the modes of melodic minor. The 5th melodic mode is by far the most heavily used minor / most important scale in most games today since a ton of games feature desert levels, egypt levels, middle eastern music etc. You are right though. A deeperdive into harmonic minor is due but it was weird seeing it in this particular video about melodic minor modes because it shouldnt have been their imho.

[@cellularautomaton.]

@@NewMateo i think you're confused, phrygian dominant is not in fact a mode of melodic minor! you can easily tell this by observing that melodic minor is made of only whole and half steps, but phrygian dominant has a minor third between the flat second and the third.

[@PuglyWont]

When trying to understand the FFIV Town Theme, I came up with the Mixolydian b6 as the best explanation. As you said, it sounds as far from Major as possible while still feeling Major. Nobuo Uematsu created a really depressing feeling for a town theme.

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

"Depressing"? I'd say it's more "cozy" and "secure" while still being friendly and lively. Most classic FF towns are walled-in, either by literal walls or surrounding trees. Welcome To Our Town indeed sounds like a song for greeting visitors of one's nice little slice of Eden.

[@silphv]

@@CarbonRollerCaco personally I feel it's got a sad feeling underlying it, like a traditional cozy first-town theme turned slightly sour

[@andresbernad]

It's the major I to minor iv movement (A to Dm), in that case the minor iv is a borrowed chord from the parallel minor scale. Borrowing chords from the parallel minor is used a lot in the Final Fantasy series, for example in Tifa's Theme or Aerith's Theme (major I to minor v).

[@sarge8761]

What about Phrygian Dominant?

[@FlashFlareLetsPlays]

6:10 I feel like I'm in the living room of a 80s or 90s sitcom and the dad is about to give the opening line.

[@quentinmassonnat5323]

Im really curious, how do you always manage to find songs from super obscure retro games to illustrate your videos? You either know perfectly every video game soundtrack ever made or go reaaaally deep for your video research but either way im impressed!

[@kattphloxworthych]

11:58 -- The Hendrix Chord(R)! I get a Purple Haze while looking at some Foxey Lady.

[@terdragontra8900]

Ressurections from Celeste and Murasaki Forest from Mother 3 are two fantastic (and very different) VGM examples of using that sweet sweet tonic minor major seventh chord native to melodic minor, it doesnt seem easy to resolve to such a dissonant chord but they both pull it off beautifully for different effects, dream-like and surreal in the former and, well, Dank (TM) in the later

[@prepcoin_nl4362]

A tonic minor major seventh only seems crazy dissonant to our atrophied 21st century music taste buds. But it was the default tonic chord for basically any minor key piece in jazz for the better part of a century and given how much game music was inspired directly by jazz, it's not that surprising or difficult to make work. Basically any chord with a perfect fifth over top its root can be made to sound convincing. If the tonic has a leading tone (like the melodic minor does), all the better. The challenges start to come when your tonic doesn't have a perfect fifth and you instead have a de facto tonic augmented or diminished triad. This is when individual modal voice leading formulas start to matter.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

We be getting into jazz stuff now with modes of the melodic minor? Heck ya 🥰 Lydian Augmented FOR LIFE!!! My fave

[@vannillaAJofficial204]

for me its either dorian b2, mixolydian b6, or possibly locrian #2 i cant decide between em

[@arcioko2142]

based ancom comrade spotted in the wild

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

@@arcioko2142 😎🤜🤛😎

[@cptnoremac]

One of the most striking melodic minor scale usages I've heard is at the end of the Panzer Dragoon title song. It just simply walks up the scale, but the way it slows the tempo and the drums are beating and everything climaxes is so powerful.

[@Ripper15ltd]

My first song I fully wrote and finished was in Mixoldyian b6 because I thought the relationship between the I chord being major and the iv chord being a minmaj7 was just beautiful, and it inspired me more than I ever thought possible! Thanks for this video; I actually had it stuck in my head for ages that the going up and down being different was melodic minors whole thing so I'm glad to know that's not the case haha!

[@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq]

IVmM7 - I is a great resolution

[@jarrellbrackett4104]

8-Bit, thank you for making videos. I am glad to be a patreon of yours. Your videos have shifted and transformed my own compositions. :-) I love this channel.

[@azb2a]

9:37 In the Flat Lands from Octopath, the build up, and resolution in G are marvelous. It captures the feeling of climbing a hill to see the view and witnessing a view that is even more beautiful than expected

[@xanderdaniels8284]

That destiny theme is permanently part of my brain, I spent so much time sitting in orbit or at the tower listening to that song. I used to just sit in orbit while I scrolled on my phone after I was done playing for the night. It really is comfort music for me.

[@chrisrj9871]

I'm barely understanding Mixolydian and Phrygian and all that, then you hit me with this???

[@peterschumacher97]

Great video as always! I am an avid Destiny player, and so your inclusion of The Great Unknown for lydian dominant was awesome! A fun additional appearance of this scale in Destiny takes place in the Vault of Glass raid; there is an encounter in this activity where seven technological entities called Oracles will explode and kill you if you don’t destroy them in the correct order; they play a series of pitches and you have to repeat the pattern back by shooting them in the correct sequence. Those seven pitches are indeed the seven distinct notes of the lydian dominant scale, and so people with a musical ear can memorize the melody they play and shoot the Oracle in the corresponding spot!

[@hezzr3]

another place in destiny where the lydian dominant appears is the intro to marty o'donnell's music of the spheres, which is used in the cutscene you see when you first open the game of humans first discovering the traveller

[@ND62511]

This uploaded on my birthday, and what an awesome (indirect) present it is!

[@alexcarrguitars]

Listening to these first few scales immediately evoked the Southern Swamp theme from Majora’s Mask. I haven’t analyzed it or anything, but I think I hear a lot of tri-tone sounds in that theme, and I would be very interested to learn if that might be an example of one of the first few scales you discussed? If not I’d love to know what it actually is. Great video!

[@fjalar4856]

I agree!

[@alonkatz4633]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it (and all four main area themes in the game) is a combination of the whole-tone scale and E major.

[@TheLetterH111]

The whole-tone scale is kind of a halfway between the mixob6 and altered sounds, because it has a natural 9, b13 but also a #11. So it's definitely in the same realm as a few of these scales because it produces very similar chords (from a jazz perspective at least)

[@mrsaxophone4765]

The lydian augmented is used I believe for Tomb Raider (and anniversary) to make the famous "secret found" chord.

[@TomerII]

Great example for Lydian augmented: Ice Temple from Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Mixoylydian b6 is just the sound of major-minor interchange. You can find it as a tonic sound a lot of late romantic classical music (the first movement of Ravel's Gaspard a la Nuit is a particularly stark example, but even Rachmaninov uses it all over the place), and I'm sure it's been used in video games.

[@RoomReflections]

Criminally underrated channel, I will never stop sharing these videos. So interesting and helpful.

[@AtlyxMusic]

6:32 Just in case you're not aware, Destiny 1's entire musical identity is based in this scale. That chant recording is also originally from The Hope, which is also entirely in C Lydian flat 7. Countless pieces on the Destiny 1 soundtrack feature this scale. Music of the Spheres, the game's theme(s) is an 8 movement orchestral suite where the key centers of the pieces progress through the scale. The first is in C, the second is in D, the fourth is in F#, etc. and then the eighth is back in C. The Path (piece 1) opens with C Lydian flat 7, The Ruin (piece 3) is E Lydian flat 7 and Ab Lydian flat 7, The Ecstasy (piece 6) features C Lydian flat 7 pretty heavily later in the piece, and The Hope (track 8) is C Lydian flat 7 and later D Lydian flat 7. You could pull like 10 different prime examples of using that scale evocatively from Destiny: Music of the Spheres.

[@DallasCrane]

The Rite of Spring is my fave example of 6th mode melodic minor

[@edelcorrallira]

Dude that belt towards the end knocked my socks off. Just shows why restraint is so important, I did not see that coming at all then BAM. If instead, we had too much at the beginning it would have still been great (it was great so it would have been well received regardless) but it wouldn't have been as powerful as it was with this approach. This really was a great reminder, thank you so much for this (and everything else) you rock Ken!!

[@pnintetr]

Princess Peach Showtime features - Db ionian #5 (Sour Bunch moments) - C lydian #5 (Right after Sparkle Theater is stolen by Grape) - G / A / E mixolydian b6 (Swordfighter / Mighty / Mermaid Peach).

[@valentinasanchez5757]

Thank you ! Im about to learn all the minor modes at school and this is very useful to begin with

[@TehFilmFanatic]

Locrian #2 is one of my favourites. It's used really effectively in "I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles, and anyone who likes either musical theatre or just feeling emotions in general should have a listen

[@headfullofdreams6083]

If y'all are looking for something fun to write in, try the double harmonic scale. It's my personal favorite. It's like major, but with a flat 2nd and 6th.

[@MNolanMillar]

I was looking up modes of the melodic minor literally an hour before this video came out... but I went to sleep. Watched this video as soon as I woke up. I'm preparing to take a master's in composition for video games, so this video had very helpful examples. Subscribed.

[@marcozema9986]

I got two example of the altered scale: The First one Is from Zelda tears of the Kingdom where it's used c# altered scale at the beginnig of the demon king second miasma phase; The last one Is from Ravel scarbo

[@KenKenn17]

Music with Mixolydian b6 = Goosebumps

[@dergrosserobini]

If I ever wind up wondering how to capture the tumultuous inner feelings of a young maiden/caterpiller chew toy, I'll sure know where to look 😊

[@LovevonMelenEkman]

Your examples are great! And this whole shouting out the chapter names dramatically is obviously both effective and cultured

[@prepcoin_nl4362]

One of the major increases in my musical understanding was realizing that nearly every asymmetrical scale used in Western music is based on a stack of fifths with one optional chromatically inflected note. So obviously, the pentatonic scale is well known to be a stack of 5 fifths and the diatonic modes as a stack of 7 fifths. The melodic minor is much less recognized though as *also* derived from a collection of 7 fifths with either the second one raised (giving us a Lydian #5 family) or the 6th one lowered (giving us a Lydian b5 family.) This is also true of the harmonic minor (derived from the Lydian #3 family) and the list goes on and on. This observation also gives us a more consistent form of nomenclature since some of the resultant modes are difficult to intuitively name. Basically, we just look at the stack of fifths and every mode we assign to one of the traditional diatonic modes based on wherever it is on the "brightness hierarchy" plus whatever the altered chromatic degree is in relation. Hence we can look at the so-called F Lydian Dominant from the stack of fifths (F, C, G, D, A, Eb, B) and we can call it Lydian b7. By this same nomenclature, it also reveals the Locrian #2 can be thought of as the Aeolian b5 and the Altered Scale to be a Locrian b4. It does yield some pretty unintuitive results when you're talking about the mode based *on* the chromatically inflected note since you actually have to describe it as the unaltered transposition with a raised or lowered root. Hence in the same collection, we have to talk about an E Phrygian b1 (giving us Eb, F, G, A, B, C, D) which produces the more familiarly named Eb Lydian Augmented. But I haven't found a better system, especially once you start getting into the truly unusual modes. The Lydian #6 and #3 families barely have any representation at all to my awareness, and if you have a better name for a scale like C#, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb (C Dorian #1 btw) I'd love to hear it. Of course, you could say it isn't a "real" scale because it doesn't produce a clean tonic major or minor triad. But that's all arbitrary convention. The point of thinking this way is to extend an often used technique *past* what is conventionally recognized. Anyway, that's all to say that I'd love if you did videos of all these mode families. But it may be difficult since only the Lydian #2 (Harmonic Minor) and Lydian b3 (Melodic Major) families have much representation.

[@midnightdrearyy1658]

This stuff gave me a headache in music theory class but it’s explained beautifully here

[@RaineyDaysStudio]

Thank you for all of this. The only thing I can ask for is MORE.

[@nervaaugustus7089]

Your example from the Locrian #2 immediately reminded me of the soundtrack from Superhero League of Hoboken.

[@rockallmusic]

9:45 The D7(b9) is a Phyrygian Dominant chord from the Phrygian Dominant mode of the Harmonic Minor scale. It's the same scale as Mixolydian b6, but with a flattened 2!

[@CutieCakeClips]

Another banger video on different scales for pitch material with awesome examples. Really surprising how much these examples can be found in video games that are also the best of all time.

[@willcooper8028]

8:08 this is the vibe of this whole channel

[@ДмитрийБаженов-ш6т]

8:33 in Russia this mode is called “melodic major”, by the way, as well as Ionian b6 is called harmonic major

[@TiredLowBrass8048]

I like mixolydian flat 6, in fact I use it a lot for songs with a lot of minor four resolutions.

[@Strelicables]

Great video as usual! If you’re looking for examples of Lydian Augmented(or at least bold uses of Maj7#5) in video games, check out “Forgotten Epic” from the Genshin Impact OST. Really dope OST in general

[@HolarMusic]

I didn't expect the locrian to sound but god was i wrong, absolutely love it

[@user-ov8pc1yz4q]

Thanks for the awesome video bro. You make the best music theory presentations.

[@Trombonemusic765]

I really liked the locrian sharp 2 example. Its got that StANk!

[@wolftickets1969]

Two of my favorite game music pieces that use the Lydian dominant mode are "Toxoplasma"(Stage 6) from RayStorm, and "May 10, 1940"(Main Theme) from Medal of Honor: Underground. The former also incorporates Phrygian dominant(a harmonic minor mode), and the latter Mixolydian flat 6.

[@LittleSkepticalButStillSmart]

I'll use Lydian Dominant in my rhythm novel game

[@deliciousmrcheese]

Probably one of your best videos. Nice original composition( snippet)s!

[@ruadeil_zabelin]

I'd love for you to pick appart "Ink Long Dry" from Final Fantasy 14. There's some crazy stuff going on in that song. Its counterpart "Great Gubal Library" hard is also very interresting. A reinterpretation of the theme.

[@tsbulmer]

I was thinking the same thing! That music was one of the things that made me fall in love with FF14, and what a musical journey it's been! As a fantasy gamer and a jazz musician, I never thought those two interests would mix, but then I got to late Heavensward...

[@connorevans104]

Am i to underatand that since the last time i watched you, that you now compoee your own examples when you dont know of any examples in existing music? You put in so much effot i love it

[@Vicketoma]

Just as I decided to check out the Lydian #2 after rewatching your Lydian video, you release this. I even wondered if you would ever cover any modes outside of the major ones, but figured there was no chance. Happy to be proven wrong though. That's some synchronicity if I've ever seen it (Ok technically I was looking at the harmonic minor modes, but still)

[@SamusSelf-Destruct]

I love melodic minor modes. I use locrian #2 in a guitar solo for a goth rock song written entirely in locrian.

[@RyeNorth]

The chord played for C Melodic Minor scale is literally the opening chord for the song "Traces" from the game Transistor.

[@Camorelius]

That introductory dialogue between Cyrus and Mercedes had me laughing. I'd love to see more Octopath Traveler music in your videos!

[@a52productions]

I was a bit confused by the explanation for Mixolydian flat six. It was hard to tell what was about Mixolydian flat six, and what was about melodic minor.

[@katon4444]

Music teacher: *still trying to explain the major scale* 8-bit theory : *literally explain all music theory in 10 sec*

[@lunyxappocalypse7071]

Future teachers response: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6TWinWpnpKil5Y

[@Taizen_Chisou]

taking this video as a personal challenge to put all of them into a videogame

[@i_cam]

My favorite video game use of the lydian augmented sound (or at the very least a maj7#5 chord) is the last chord of the Master Sword pull theme, from most iterations of it. The botw version probably hints the mode the most with the speedy piano lick at the end but its too fast for me to tell lol

[@dungnguyentan8058]

The 5th mode, mixolydian b6 is used in marble garden zone of sonic 3. They use it in both the melody and chord.

[@uffevonlauterbach]

Your Dorian ♭2 scale track reminded me of something I might hear in F-ZERO: Maximum Velocity.

[@sdw-hv5ko]

Love the examples you wrote for the less common modes!

[@mattygregmusic]

Amazing. Are you going to tackle the harmonic minor modes next?

[@matthewfera2954]

Really happy you made this video. I'm really only familiar with the 6th and 7th mode from studying jazz vibraphone and using them in minor ii V i progressions (usually calling them locrian #2 and altered or super locrian scale). I have toyed around with the lydian dominant scale as well but don't have that sound in my ears quite as well, and only really use it on the obvious dominant #4 chords which I don't see much. The lydian sound seems to just pop up on major 7 chords 99% of the time.

[@castielsidhe]

Just yesterday I was looking for this and didn't found it anywhere! Thanks!

[@rowdyriolu1]

I hope I could learn to understand this one day... I was just getting the hang of the major modes too!

[@ryanedwardmusic]

The modes of the major scale and melodic minor scale exhaust all 7 note scale possibilities using half steps and whole steps, without consecutive half steps.

[@GWIZZ2]

I could not think of the right to word to describe certain sounds in music until learning the technical term 'stankify', it describes it perfectly.

[@inf1n1typlus1]

Another common way mixolydian b6 is used is to include the minor iv while still having a major I chord. Since the minor iv chord has a stronger resolution to the major I chord than the major IV does, it packs an extra punch of color to a song.

[@sheepphic]

I could be wrong but the chords in Locrian #2 really remind me of a section of the boss theme for Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (specifically the section with the piano chord stabs)

[@AtomizedSound]

Nice how about doing some on Harmonic Major modes? Doubt there are any example in game music but you never know.

[@ChordyRingler]

I’m a little confused about your Mixolydian b6 section… The scale has a raised third, so it’s supposed to resolve to G major in the example, isn’t it?

[@ivanquish3372]

Not quite yet - and here comes help: (1) What he does is not giving an example in pure Mixolydian b6 (or b13) where the mode is also the tonic-mode/scale. There is no actual harmony/melody or the typical sound of the Mixolydian b13 mode in this. (2) Instead he gives an example in G-minor where - only for one bar - the V7 (in G-minor the D7 chord) gets the D-Mixo-b13 mode (5th mode of MM) instead of the usual Phrygian-Dominant mode (5th mode from HM). (3) And this is how that specific mechanism works: G-minor (notes and tonic triad G Bb D): (G) A (Bb) C (D) Eb F (G) A strong resolution to the tonic triad "Gm" can be created melodically either ascending (E F# G = maj6 to maj7 to 1) or descending (Eb D = b6 to 5) If you give the V7-chord in G-minor (D7) the D-Phrygian Dominant mode from G-Harmonic Minor you can find the descending version in it: D-Phrygian-Dominant: (D) Eb (F#) G (A) Bb C (D) If you give the the V7 the D-Mixolydian b13 mode from G-Melodic Minor you can find the ascending version in it: D-Mixolydian b6/b13: (D) E (F#) G (A) Bb C (D)

[@johncardwell8037]

So basically there's no functional or even color difference in this context and just thinking of it as the regular melodic minor scale from the tonic key will save you a lot of brain cramps

[@tccostello]

2:25 - THANK YOU! PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT TO ME FOR YEARS, AND NEVER IN PRACTICE DID I PLAY IT DIFFERENT ASCENDING THAN DESCENDING. SORRY FOR YHE CAPS LOCK, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, BUT THIS DESERVES TO BE YELLED.

[@FarewellApollo]

Thanks for making a video explaining these scales in a way that makes sense lol I always had a hard time remembering them

[@Rome.Monroe]

The best example of Mixolydian Flat6 in videogame music is Atlantis from Banjo Tooie.

[@Gogurtbump]

Time for the harmonic minor modes video next. Can't wait for Superlocrain

[@chameleond9485]

Now we need a harmonic minor mode video

[@peteroselador6132]

Dorian b2 appears a bit in Crash Bandicoot 3, though with a raised 4, which…is more akin to a mode of the HARMONIC minor scale but still

[@ZetaPyro]

The Altered Scale at 12:58 reminded me of the opening chord in the Final Fantasy VI Opening Theme, though it turns out that's a bit different. That chord is E B D G C F, rising in perfect fourths each step. That's not quite a mode of any of the major, melodic minor, or harmonic minor scales from what I tell, but the sound quality was similar IMO.

[@JbPianiste]

I think the Lydian dominant scale sounds so well for space (and this beautiful destiny track) because it underlines for example a chord progression that would be C - F# (the bflat would be an a# then). Two major chords a tritone away. Which is a common chord progression in SF and space movies soundtracks ! Thank you for this video.

[@JeffBriceMusic]

G dang it Mr 8-bit now you have me vibing on on A locrian #2 and I do not have time to figure this out

[@Deioth]

I'd love to see an assessment of Final Boss music some day and exploring how uncommon it is to hear boss music that isn't some manner of intense/stressing, disconcerting, dark, or evil. Boss music, especially final boss music again and again is almost always some manner of dreadful or dangerous or oppressive in so many games (with most exceptions, I feel, being games with a more whimsical theme overall like a Kanjo-Kazooie or Donkey Kong Country where they sound almost playful). Name me a single Nobuo Uematsu JRPG, for example, that has a single boss theme that does NOT sound like the heroes are in trouble (other than intentionally "joke" fights/characters). I can only hope 8-bit or some patreons agree with me. Three examples in particular of final boss themes that break this mold incredibly well compared to their respective game's other themes and how a typical boss theme sounds that I think would be perfect to assess are: Gwyn, Lord of Cinder from Dark Souls 1; Hopes and Dreams from Undertale (hear me out, I know I already exempted "whimsical" games); and Meridian Dance from Secret of Mana. Any number of Nobuo's songs would make for great snippet examples of intense boss themes, final bosses being no exception, though there's a massive library to pull from for those regardless. Gwyn's theme (despite having been covered in an older vid, so if there's a comparable I'm open to it) is one that flips over every expectation leading to his encounter. Every boss leading up to him has been orchestral, horrifying and terrible, oppressive and smothering, dangerous and deadly. Then Gwyn shows up and it's this sad, melancholy, single piano that feels so depressed and tired, as if Gwyn is now just going through the motions like an automaton, long since lost to his glory days, a shallow and dried husk of his former self. You aren't a hero, and he isn't a villain, and the game wants you to know that. Hopes and Dreams (despite His Theme, Save the WORLD, and Last Goodbye feeling more like parts of the whole and worth covering with it but that'd become quite the long video) is another example that also flips over every expectation leading to the encounter, AND of the encounter itself, especially when you consider the Flowey fight in context to the pacifist run and the additional lore you discover leading up to the pacifist final battle. Despite Undertale being an overall very whimsical and memey game in and of itself, holy crap does it respect its overall story with its music. Its "true" final battle with Hopes and Dreams, it doesn't sound playful, it doesn't sound heroic, it doesn't sound dangerous or evil, it sounds... eh, well, not to sound like a cliche meme of the game, but it sounds determined. It sounds like how it must feel for someone to save their best friend from themselves and their own worst impulses, to save a life not from some nefarious evil but from that life's own anger and hatred and depression and loathing of both themselves and the world around them. It sounds like what every heroic theme wants to convey, yet without sounding heroic at all. It sounds so intensely hopeful and encouraging, and nothing like any boss theme I've ever heard (and just makes me want to give Asriel a real hug don't judge me). Meridian Dance, meanwhile, rather than breaking expectations from the rest of the game, it breaks expectations from final boss themes in general (which SoM does with its regular boss battle theme Danger! as well). Meridian Dance sounds incredibly heroic. This is it, the final encounter, the fight that will determine the fate of the world, and as the intensity of the first part of the song breaks into the song's peak, it doesn't sound oppressing or dangerous or anything like that. Instead, it sounds uplifting. It sounds like you, the player, and the heroes you play are going to make it, going to become legends, going to save the whole world from destruction, and all you have to do is defeat this one, final obstacle. And you know what? The song sounds almost like it knows that you will and wants you to know it knows. No intense stingers, no dramatic key changes, no discordant choirs, no dread inducing melodies like so many other final boss fights. This one is pure hero, and it's going to be a happy ending.

[@zacksguitarhacks6390]

These videos are pure gold my friend. Ty!

[@daniellaguilles8955]

Locrian sharp 2 can be found briefly in FFVI's Battle to the death, albeit for a simple scale run towards the end

[@felixtkm]

i was listening to a fiona apple song (get gone) and i got the acoustic/lydian dominant scale, it's so cool

[@DarkWorldQ8]

The only 2 modes of this scale that I have used are the melodic minor and the phyrgian #6 scales. I didn't even know that it was part of the melodic minor, I just raised the 6th of the phyrigian scale for variety, especially after learning some Arabic music theory and Maqam Zanjran (Mixolydian b2)

[@AndrewPRoberts]

8:19 So I'm just now learning that a score I've been working on for almost a year is in mixolydian flat 6

[@leiocerayt]

can't wait for the harmonic minor modes

[@CrispyGFX]

God, the Melee menu music triggers a pavlovian response in me.

[@raddastronaut]

What fun mixolydian b6. Is my fave. Now do the harmonic minor. I know it but this was fun.

[@Hinotori_joj]

Hi, please do a video on harmonic minor scales next. I love the few times ive used harmonic minor and i want to hear it used in other ways now.

[@ansonbaliel]

Also the 14 Neapolitan modes as well. And the double harmonic modes.

[@finally_dorian]

5:59 *skepticism* 6:12 *stank face unlocked*

[@finally_dorian]

It was the final neighbor tone for me 😅

[@phillipstardust]

This guy never disappoints me

[@eleanorcerar6273]

I'm just happy to see the Destiny ost mentioned here :)

[@zacharywong483]

Fantastic video, as always!

[@mikegeld1280]

Why not just call mode 6 Aeolian b5 ?

[@bomubomuboi]

I think the Locrian #2 shows up in the B part of Narshe from final fantasy VI! (It starts out in straight up Locrian too, which is not the most common!)