What IS Metric Modulation?? || The Lake Theme from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Today I break down what a Metric Modulation is and why you should care using one of the best examples I can find, the Lake Theme from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Enjoy!
PATREON: / 8bitmusictheory
NOTEBOOK: www.themusiciansnotebook.com/...
DISCORD: / discord
TWITTER: / 8bitmusictheory
#PokemonBrilliantDiamond #PokemonShiningPearl #MusicTheory

[@mathewricafrente5984]

I love that someone finally made an entire video about the Sinnoh Lake theme

[@shinydino]

I didn’t know that Ojama Lime knew about Pokemon

[@Valkron]

Bro facts, I was like waiting for 8bit to drop a video on this tune. Easily one of the best pieces of video game music made.

[@rowegardner9673]

The Lake Theme is undefeated.

[@internetguy7319]

@@rowegardner9673 I'm not a big fan tbh

[@fernandopcs_2351]

Eterna forest is also just a blast.

[@munzutai]

I love how he named his pokemon after chords

[@israellai]

I can't believe I never thought of this

[@Veecy]

I love that you named your rival "Minor iv"

[@shadyoak1899]

Sadly as someone who doesn't know chords and whatnot I don't understand that. I wouldn't mind an explanation though.

[@MechaGai]

@@shadyoak1899 IV is 4 in Roman numerals. So Minor iv is just a direct reference of the 4th Generation protagonist.

[@benjaminstoneking6134]

And the Chimchar named “bVII7#11”

[@fernandomartin9190]

@@benjaminstoneking6134 thats a mouthful

[@milky7257]

@@shadyoak1899 It's often used as a subsitute for the dominant chord. It has a much more melancholic feel.

[@FalconFetus8]

I really love how you've started playing the chords as you're talking about them! I used to really struggle understanding your early videos, because there were long stretches where you would talk without demonstrating, and it all just flew over my head. Playing the chords as you mention them makes it so much easier for me to follow along! Thank you!

[@blara2401]

Ditto ! I was about to post just that.

[@billybobberton1984]

Not enough people do it!

[@Sindel1011]

Hearing the lake music revamped was one of things I was most excited for in this remake because when I was a child I'd just keep my DS open while I was in this location and just listen 😌

[@jadedjimmy]

Same!! And I did that in a lot of places-eterna city, hearthome, Canalave, heck even the bike theme kinda got me 😂

[@deathxwombofficial]

As a metal songwriter, metric modulation is probably my favorite device in music and I try to incorporate it in my music as much as possible. Truly an underrated technique to throw the listener a curveball and keep things interesting. Great video!👍

[@TwinflameByond]

and it feels even better as a listener when you know it's coming! It's like a treat for knowing the song/piece lol

[@deyama2012]

Not sure if it counts as a metric modulation, but I immediately thought of that one part in Odyssey by Symphony X. At 15:16 there is that part that is played twice with eighth note triplets and the third and the fourth times everything's almost exactly the same, but now in straight sixteenth notes. Really like that effect

[@touffedaviau8370]

@@deyama2012 It's kinda the opposite of a metric modulation (the pulse stays the same but the subdivisions change), but the effect is similar and equally awesome!

[@NUGGet-3562]

I was thinking that too when he said metric modulation was rare, I was like "not if you're a metalhead lol"

12:25 i LOVE how "getting shot up into the air like this" is coordinated with bVII7#11's shot

[@kyle-silver]

I just want to call out my favorite metric modulation of all time, the ending of the Fugue from Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”. It starts out in a blazing fast 2/4, and right at the climax of the piece the strings continue playing their 2/4 countermelody as the time signature changes to 3/4, creating a 2:3 hemiola. In this new 3/4 time signature, the heavy brass plays the opening theme of the piece in a 4:3 polyrhythm. So there are three different, valid ways to feel the pulse, all pulled together with the same metric modulation trick

[@Cuzjudd]

Epico

[@pke571]

IM SO DAMN GLAD SOMEONE COMMENTED THIS. our marching show this year is entirely based on the YPG to the orchestra, and the closer is the finale to the orchestra piece. the amount of time i spent trying to explain the meter change from the fugue to the full ensemble portion….phew. it was super cool to see this video, as i was finally able to put a name to a concept! anyways, just glad to see the comment. i love the YPG, hope you have a great day!

[@larsnyman2455]

Do you have a link to the piece?

[@pke571]

@@larsnyman2455 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqfFp5uLZ5eod68

[@pke571]

@@larsnyman2455 the modulation is at the very end, but you it is literally impossible to miss

[@aaronstephen3058]

Metric modulation? Sorry, mate, I’m American. We do modulation in feet and inches here.

[@xanderdaniels8284]

Imperial modulation

[@allegoricalstatue]

_I M P E R I A L_ modulation

[@FireEmblemForceman81]

Made me laugh; good post

[@iikorayoutpriv]

ha Ha ha ha Ha Ha ha ha Ha ha I realized a thing that changed my existence Can't spell American without Erica Don't think about it too hard, you'll wake up from the simulation.

[@dariousforbes3427]

AMERUHCUHHHH

[@biggallcaps]

This is the best way to make infinitely repeating music. It helps make the music both catching and homey, but also interesting enough to not get bored even when it repeats. It's an important technique to reuse musical ideas effectively

[@themichaelconnor42]

12:00 that 3-3-2 grouping is a rhythm you find all over the place, and it's what I generally consider to be the most driving rhythm ever. It's either called a pop clave or a tresillo (you mentioned it in your ace combat video), and it's *amazing*

[@LumberDrum]

I've always just thought of it as the rhythm to Coldplay - Clocks or Foo Fighters - Best of You. Pop clave is a great name for it. Thank you for sharing.

[@fernandobanda5734]

I used to call it power metal timing because I found it everywhere in power metal.

[@Croagunk.Collector]

Every song in the original Pokemon DPPT soundtrack is like this. All of them. It is almost unbelievable the level of care, attention and depth that this entire soundtrack manages to derive using the DS's sound limitations

[@charredbrown1149]

Another great example of metric modulation in recent games is "Butterfly Kiss" from Persona 5. That one even has the extra spice of modulating the keys/bass back to the original meter while the drum set stays in 6/8 for a short time. Sick stuff.

[@ErjaB]

Whoa! Nice catch. I've been mistening to that track for a while and never quite managed to comprehend what made that part so cool :)

[@Tsunakumura]

Cool - this kind of modulation heavily reminds me of "Blue Rondo a la Turk" by Dave Brubeck. There three eighth notes become a fouth and the transistion is as smooth as it gets.

[@allegoricalstatue]

Thanks for the rec, this is rad

[@ATthemusician]

Can't go wrong with brubeck

[@showler1132]

Man I remember last year when I got to replay platinum, when I listened to the lake theme couldn't identify the IVmaj7(#11) chord the first time I heard it, and it sounded so fancy. When I went to the piano and found out it was just a IV-I progression I was dumbfounded.

[@insertgenericyoutubernameh1564]

Pokemon Diamond has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, so happy to see one of it's songs covered in a video! Great analysis!

[@RoyFarrite]

As a music theory lover/newbie who is currently playing Shining Pearl, this is a treat. Gen 4 always had my favorite OST in the series, and I knew a lot of it was cleverly written, but I didn't yet have the words to explain why. Thanks for this video.

[@HalcyonSerenade]

Having played percussion throughout middle school and high school, metric modulations are common fair in "concert" style etudes, lol. Once I had a handle on exactly what you meant, I was like "oh yeah, those. Those are rare?" 😅 I didn't ever think about how rare they actually are in "normal" music because of how standard they are in the percussion etudes I used to play. I always think of them as essentially changing the time signature, but rather than using the main beat note as your "anchor," the change is anchored to a different note. Changing the tempo ends up being more of a technical requirement (very necessary when programming music, like when sequencing midis) -- performance-wise, it's secondary to the change in subdivision "feel." That's how I've always processed it in my brain, anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@seedmole]

Yep, the key is how to feel the subdivisions. I've seen it explained that 8/8 is the same as 4/4 but that's absolutely not the case, 8/8 is for patterns like 3 - 3 - 2, not patterns of 2 - 2 - 2 - 2.

[@BOB-qv2fs]

To be fair I am already a musician but your analysis' always feels so well structured and thoughtful in a way that I believe anyone could understand, as long as they properly listen and digest what you demonstrate. Your work is amazing and I hope I can become as musically wise as you so I can further elevate my craft!

[@Xeconis]

Metric Modulations are some of my favorite things to encounter in a piece, since my first real step into music past those mandatory music "classes" in elementary school was as a drummer. Asymmetric time sigs and metric modulations. A perfect topic and great timing for the release of these remakes.

[@cobb_thedrummer]

Really great explanation. Thank you for pointing out how sophisticated music in video games are. Love your vids.

[@JRTIntervencion]

I have absolutely no idea of Music Theory but it's entertaining to hear you talk ^^

[@MarkyMarc413]

One of my favorite examples of Metric Modulation is the song "The Mirror" by Dream Theater, which features a 3-note figure played as eighth notes (1 & 2 _ 3 & 4 _ ) in a slow half-time feel, then transitions into 3 sets of triplets spaced evenly in a bar of 4/4 (or playing the first three notes of every group of 4 in a bar of 12/8: 1 & a _ & a 3 _ a 4 & _ ), and then finally as eighths again but with the upbeats of 2 and 4 filling the gaps between the 3-note figures (1 & _ & 3 & _ & ) with an upbeat/faster tempo feel.

[@Cuzjudd]

Dream Theater is synonymous with Metric Modulation

[@touffedaviau8370]

I'm so glad that someone pointed this out! This specific song is a big part of why I compose the way I do 😃 You have good taste, brother 😝

[@jacksonkauflin8024]

gotta love dream theater.

[@joeyharrington1863]

I hadn't heard this song before but it's so good! Thank you for the recommendation!

[@VexylObby]

My thoughts too. That feature is what brings me back to the song.

[@touffedaviau8370]

As a game soundtrack and prog rock composer, I just wanna say how happy you made me by making a video about one of my favorite composition tricks! I use it all the time, it's so fun and powerful 😍

[@SuperKirby_Gaming]

Very nice! I love this theme. I tried learning this on piano, but as a beginner I didn't have much luck 😅

[@IrvinMenezes]

It’s not too hard once you break it down! Keep at it, you’ll have it eventually :) although I will say, it’s a little impossible to play each section by yourself. This is definitely a duet piece.

[@LydianMelody]

“Into the Open Air” from the Brave soundtrack has a fun way to keep its metric modulation in your mind. Starts in 6/8 and goes to 4/4 for most of the song so that the previous quarter notes are now quarter note triplets. It has this acoustic guitar riff that’s used in both sections at the same tempo, however. So first as quarter notes and subsequently as triplets. It was my introduction to metric modulation. Underrated soundtrack imo! Even if the music felt tacked on.

[@HalcyonSerenade]

Sometimes, when programming music and your tool works with rigid subdivisions (e.g. using a tracker like MilkyTracker), to insert any triplets at all you have to temporarily modulate the tempo such that your smallest time units are now triplets compared to before -- scaling all other voices' rhythms to compensate -- then shift back once your triplets are done. One piece of music I arranged and sequenced actually had sixteenth notes and sixteenth triplets playing simultaneously between two voices, so I had to modulate the whole thing's tempo to subdivide the beat into 12 for that brief measure 😅

[@possible-realities]

In Renoise you have the option to delay the note a fraction of a beat instead. I've done that a few times, but it's kind of pain, and it makes it harder to move things around. So I agree your way is generally better.

[@andrewzwaniga2016]

I really appreciate the effort to which you have gone to present a lovely piece of music in this detail. Years ago I decided to follow my passion for physical sciences instead of music and ended up on my current career path, but watching videos like this always make me wonder what could have been for me.

[@garfieldismylove]

these videos are so well made! Ive never heard anyone go so much into detail about this with examples

[@hypedcrazy3794]

Ah the good old DS days with this song chilling in the background good to see your analyzing it I love it!

[@hypedcrazy3794]

You're*

[@BlueGrovyle]

@@hypedcrazy3794 you know you can just edit your comment, right?

[@hypedcrazy3794]

@@BlueGrovyle Perhaps... Maybe thanks for letting me know

[@sleepy6256]

This video was really good, the breakdowns were super helpful in making things clear and your enthusiasm is contagious!! Hope to see more Diamond & Pearl in the future :)

[@lukamtc9188]

These videos are incredibly well constructed, not only are they super informative but they also heavily inspire me to write stuff, not even including the subject of the video. I don't see anything you could do better here. Good job!

[@SuperVitality]

Thank you for this breakdown. I've always loved this song. Having this new perspective and understanding, can really appreciate it in a more complete form.

[@Brassydoots]

Similarly to how the modulations can add depth to a piece so it can be seen in a new light, your videos allow me to do the same thing with just about every piece you cover. Thank you for continuing to make these videos, they always brighten my day up.

[@velcro4836]

This is awesome and so helpful. There are so many concepts I've studied formally and known about for years, but were poorly explained to me by one or more teachers, and you always explain things so clearly and helpfully that even if I understand and can demonstrate a concept going into one of your videos, I always come out having learned something wonderful, that tangibly impacts my future compositions.

[@pedrofreire6169]

your sudden bursts of excitement got me excited about a song I've been hearing for the 12 years hahaha great vid man

[@chibbychaps6445]

The Lake theme is in my top 3 favorite Pokemon songs (all three are from DPPt)

[@tophatcat9996]

Is one of them the team galactic theme?

[@EmjayMusic05]

What are the other two? Mine are route 209, route 216, and a town i forgot which one lol

[@chibbychaps6445]

@@EmjayMusic05 Tie between Galactic Admin and Cynthia as well as Rowan's Lab.

[@chibbychaps6445]

@@tophatcat9996 yes, yes it is

[@lamptrent]

game corner theme!

[@Nawer_Rapter]

it's so nice to see and understand now why I decided to start my musical creation journey through a simple remaking of this song in a GB style. That pentatonic use above those jazzy chords, so nice.

[@pizzzaeater1425]

The way you explained chord extensions made something click in my brain. I never even knew there was an actual method to tell what notes will undoubtedly sound good over what chords. I've never heard anyone even imply that there was a pattern, so I just assumed that it was one of those things where you just have to memorize them or look it up to be able to figure it out. And that's why I love this channel so much. You explain advanced music theory concepts in a way that makes perfect sense (to my ADHD brain, anyway) without being overwhelmingly technical or obnoxiously boring. And you wrap it all up in the neat little bow of some of the best video game music of all time. Thank you for your contributions to the internet :)

[@TheSteelDialga]

YOOOO I love this song. Thanks 8bit!! Your channel is my favorite

[@RyanonBasss]

Wow. The detail of this analysis is SUPERB. your channel is such an asset to us musicians (who also love games)

[@Bassynater2500]

I’m excited to try and implement this in music, super great in depth information about it! Thank you!

[@NickOleksiakMusic]

I'll definitely use that groove change technique in future tracks! It feels so intuitive. Man, listening back to DPPt soundtracks makes me realizes how TIGHT they are. Like, wow.

[@sudgylacmoe]

I'm learning a song on the piano, and I laughed at 9:56 because the song I'm learning starts in C and then transitions to A with exactly that feeling, and then I laughed even harder at 10:52 because that's exactly how the song I'm learning does it.

[@nicholask99]

Thank you for shining more light on one of my favourite pieces in Pokémon. As always, expert analysis. And now if you excuse me, I'll be going to listen to the Lake Theme all day

[@PascalvandenBos]

I accidentally wrote a metric modulation into a song i was writing before watching this video, and now i actually know what i did so thanks for that! great video as always! also Go Ichinose is a god let it be known!!

[@gabrielchavessamper9077]

FINALLY, i've been waiting for you to make a video about this theme😭

[@BestCase_Scenario]

I’m so glad my absolute favorite piece from Pokémon is being reviewed. It’s not necessarily under appreciated but it could definetly use more attention

[@Mulch4321]

Phenomenal explanation and editing, as usual. Hope to see a similar video explanation on Silksong's 'Lace' theme when it finally drops - the swap from 5/4 to 3/4 always throws me for a loop!

[@awhaleandadeer8785]

Man, your videos are GOLD, thank you for this, your videos are great, and i especially love the rhythmic topics, your channel is great. Also, beatiful Resource/Concept: 4:56 Pentatonic Scale Skip-Step Pattern of the scale.

[@epicness877]

As ive begun looking back on gen 4 after all these years, i cant help but be whisked away and weeping from the music i somehow forgot. Great disection of the song direction dude, clean stuff. For real, never really noticed the chords even change in that beginning bit from how seemless they make that little jump

[@ErjaB]

I admit that I havent given the Sinnoh lake theme much of a thought aside for an "oh, cool" when I hear it and moving on. This video breakdown actually made me cry tears of happiness! I have found a new love for this theme now

[@XavierExel]

I love this video, I listen to the lake theme as part of my morning soundtrack sometimes ☀️ Always appreciate your work 🙏 Thank you

[@agussaa.ilion155]

Woww I just discover this channel with this video. Looks amazing! thanks for this content

[@MrPalmers1000DollarQ]

Awesome analysis, loved this!

[@ruben_skyline_]

i love that you named your rival Minor iv

[@fathead1616]

I would die happy if I got to hear you break down why the xenoblade chronicles x sylvalum theme absorbs my mind body and soul.

[@princeapoopoo5787]

what a surprise it absorbs my mind body and soul too

[@kevenandsoki]

PHENOMENAL explanation about this, ah my god! ive been learning much more music theory in school and now im really started to get what you're saying now!

[@cpemby]

Makes me think of "First Circle" by Pat Metheny. Metric modulation (and just odd meter in general) is a main driver of tension and release in that tune. Makes you feel like you're floating on clouds.

[@taylorm520]

I just played the percussion ensemble arrangement of first circle in November with my university’s percussion studio and it’s insane. I love the piece so much, and you’re right. those odd meters are tricky to get down too, but the energy the piece has gets you so pumped

[@LilMoonieDragon]

Man, I had no idea that so much goes into music and why certain things sound good to us! Thanks for this cool explanation!

[@BassVolte]

Everything's perfect in this video, great job!

[@dckog8282]

lol as soon as I'm learning about metric modulation in eartraining class, you post a video hahahha imma watch and see if it helps!

[@RyeClarke]

You are one of my favorite channels ever TvT just saying it again before I watch this.

[@alxjones]

Another way to think about those passing chords at 7:34 is through the lens of a circle progression. Em7 - Eo7 - DM9 can be written Em7 - A7b9 - DM9 i.e. a II - V - I progression in D, except that the middle chord doesn't feature an A (it's rootless). The same argument applies to the F#o7 as a II - V - I in E. Using that same idea of rootless substitutions for passing chords, the entire phrase becomes a big circle progression IV - (VII) - III - (VI) - II - (V) - I in D, with the F/G acting as a dominant and pivot chord to get us back to the Bb in the [A] section.

[@otocinclus4600]

The bicycle theme from DPPt also has the 332 pattern. Looks like Ichinose likes it, and I love it too. Great video!!

[@YeetMeDadi]

Thanks for covering the song I've listened to 1000+ times in the last week as I shiny hunt my starter lol. Great video

[@elecboy5126]

This tweak to your style is welcome - I’d love to see more if it, just not at the expense of your more laser-focused-on-one-concept work

[@calvinbaxter7151]

This channel is insanely cool!

[@Luciano0903]

This is one of the best channels out there, ever.

[@alexd.3048]

8-bit Music Theory, or the channel that merges childhood nostalgia and adult search for knowledge. Loved your analysis and hearing this theme again! I played hours and hours of Pearl...

[@nickpater]

Damn!! Love your content, sending this to my Pokémon friends And my music friends

[@crancelbrowser5478]

I love your videos! I would absolutely love to see an analysis of the Moon Theme from Ducktales, beautiful composition that I think would make a great video!

[@JohnSmith-sq4db]

I’ve been feeling less motivated about studying music since COVID, and I’m really stressed and frustrated by my exams but I’ve always wanted you to make a video about this game’s music and it reminds me what I like about Bering a musician so thank you I really mean it

[@nixel1324]

I have next to no knowledge on music theory and the closest I've come to writing music was composing a town theme in animal crossing for DS, but videos like this always fascinate me. Really goes to show how much thought, effort and creativity goes into music. There's tons of rabbit holes like it (for example pixel art, shaders, level design), but none have quite the same magic to them.

[@demartian4281]

Your script in this one was incredible!

[@John-ko2lr]

Dear 8-bit Music Theory, I love you :) keep it up

[@mynameisjoeeeeeee]

i like how u gave tips at the end to help us implement this technique ourselves

[@mimisaiko]

Really cool trick! Never thought of that!

[@martinvovk7499]

This man is a godsend! Always loved the track, never really knew why.

[@gotrejo]

Bro I just discovered this channel. As a music major and and video game lover, this is perfect for me lol

[@nickgarcia1136]

I’ve been soft resetting this part of the game to shiny hunt the starter and I haven’t gotten tired of Lake theme, even after hundreds of retries. Such a banger.

[@fkeyzuwu]

great video, also loved this song now i understand why its so good

[@jactotum]

im not a music guy but you make such high quality videos. even tho i don't know what all the chords and numbers mean this is great content

[@mbrucell]

love this video, the whole dpp ost is god tier and deserves this recognition

[@levonkeijner1092]

LMAO literally listened to this song yesterday and i was wondering about that metric modulation! thanks for the vid

[@ktvx.94]

Yess this has been one of my all time favorite Pokemon songs and especially overworld. It's so unique in so many ways.

[@jaredkhan8743]

I did this in one of my songs before but I didn't even realize it had a name!! I loved this one

[@slightcurve98]

I love this channel because it takes music from video agents seriously and most people will just think it’s not that great because it’s in a video games

[@indubiousComrade]

loved how you did a quick lesson on superimoposition @ 6:20

[@DaenGaming]

I know this wasn't the point, but your example of a bad/abrupt modulation at 10:38 actually fits really well haha

[@Coziest777]

Hitomi Satou's musical contributions to the Sinnoh region in general were awesome

[@rumblingrose49]

Opened the video and immediately knew which part the video was about. This theme is finally getting the analysis it deserves

[@PedroKrebs]

dude you're the best channel on youtube

[@LilyTengoku]

i never even noticed it tbh it's so well done

[@kjl3080]

Metric modulation is always fun, and gradual ones are really satisfying

[@alymix6037]

That just made my day

[@Cynsham]

The lake theme has been one of my absolute favorite pieces of video game music ever since I first heard it in 2008 when I first played Pokemon Platinum.

[@Dl3o]

Great stuff as always! At around 9:45, while talking about the purposes of metric modulation, you bring up the point of how playing a piece in two different keys won't make any difference to the listener, all other things being equal; but that isn't exactly true, is it? Theoretically, sure--unless the listener has perfect pitch--but in real life, timbre is a distinct feature of a sound that usually changes with pitch; a passage played in two different pitches may have a dramatically different character depending on what instrument it's being played on, and how the instrument's timbre changes with the changes in pitch. Naturally, how central timbre is to the perception of the piece or passage of music depends on multiple variables like the instrumentation, the density of tones, and even performance. I agree entirely that usually the most readily perceived aspect of modulation in general is tied to the relationship of the music after modulation to what happened before the modulation, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that playing a key in one key or another won't make any difference to the listener :)

[@DivNambiath]

Pokemon music has always been incredible!!! No one else but you could do a video explaining the musicality on show here!!

[@wagyube]

I love the lake theme and had no idea it was using metric modulation! The transition was indeed smooth.