Why EVERY Superhero Theme Uses The Same 2 Notes

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

Check out my new mini-course for free! cornell.academy/instant-piano-guide

[@antoinepatterson4416]

What about the dark knight

[@BlakeAustin2011]

Charles, what is your brand and model for your keyboard? I’m loaded with acoustic pianos, but would love to get a solid keyboard.

[@InventorZahran]

Before valves were developed, brass instruments could only play notes belonging to the natural harmonic series, based on one fundamental pitch. Since the fifth is such a prominent interval in the harmonic series, this meant it was commonly used in fanfare music, which was played on valveless trumpets and horns. And as fanfares were traditionally played to celebrate sporting events, successful hunts, military victories, or government holidays, the sound of the perfect fifth became associated with triumph, authority, and heroism. Film and TV composers have been channeling this historical legacy by including the perfect fifth (usually played by the brass section) in their themes for today's most popular heroes, the superheroes.

[@danielguy3581]

Specifically, 'Fanfare for the Common Man' probably helped significantly popularize this.

[@InventorZahran]

@@danielguy3581 That's a great example!

[@jmcosmos]

@@danielguy3581 Don't forget _Also sprach Zarathustra_ !

[@TrophyBoiii]

Yeah, also goes for instruments. Back in the 1600s or something, trumpets equal God or the king. If there's a piece by Bach or Mozart or whomever that features trumpets and timpani, it's for a religious festivity or a royal event.

[@danielguy3581]

@@TrophyBoiii 'tuba mirum spargens sonum'

[@philipk.9205]

The famous dun dun

[@Kittypika4]

I love your pfp!!

[@predatorx8081]

😂😂

[@tackers]

Do So

[@mihast3273]

Okay but is the second dun higher or lower?

[@philipk.9205]

@mihast3273 perfect fifth up if we're serious, always downhill if we're realistic

[@brothercuber3288]

Petition for Charles to make an album with that piano sound

[@kjdude8765]

It's so moody and catchy.

[@Fastvoice]

... and call it "King Charles IV."

[@TheUnderscore_]

@@Fastvoice but y tho

[@Fastvoice]

@@TheUnderscore_ Sorry, my bad. I just corrected it, because Charles III. already exists. 😉

[@TheUnderscore_]

@@Fastvoice Ah, that makes more sense lol

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

John Williams wrote many of these heroic themes, he knew what works.

[@Whiteythereaper]

He loves a Brass March, so he knows their strengths when channeling Heroism and Victory

[@nicklee9207]

8:00 Hans Zimmer’s Man of Steel theme had that kind of thing going on too. And I love that theme just as much as the other themes that was put on here. I'm no music major or student as I only know chunks of music knowledge from playing a bit of piano and learning a few things from the internet. But it had that simple C & G (perfect fifth) thing going on like William’s Superman theme, but done in a different way that still feels Superman esque.

[@therealsnaily]

Man of Steel's soundtrack is pure gold

[@lemuelbach]

That's what I was hearing too!

[@darkslayerlion286]

I thought I was the only one who caught that...its Hans Zimmer’s Man of Steel ''FLIGHT'' theme.

[@samjesse3818]

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who heard it 😂

[@Tanfo77]

Man of Steel or Mass Effect 3

[@eosborne6495]

I think the historical reason why we associate the perfect 5th with heroes is because it shows up in fanfares and bugle calls, so it immediately calls militarism and heroism to mind, especially when we hear it in brass. But the reason it shows up in fanfares and bugles calls is because old brass instruments only played overtones and the 5th is the simplest overtone. So it’s true that the overtone series is why it works, but historical brass music is why simple overtones remind us so strongly of heroes and warriors and royalty.

[@Tylervrooman]

Great point

[@katbh]

Musicologist here. I affirm this. 👆👆👆 His ideas are interesting (and may contribute to the reasons why the fifth is *still* being used, rather than having been discarded like a lot of old conventions), but they miss the larger historical arc.

[@johnhmaloney]

A lot of rock and especially heavy metal guitar employs a similar idea. It uses power chords, which are just a root and a fifth, and that allows the harmony to go anywhere without concern for tonality and it also gives the music an epic sound.

[@ruledtrendy5066]

I've heard this said often.i don't agree with it. I'm too tired to go into it now. Someone disagree with me and I'll write more tomorrow

[@hyalinamusic18]

@@ruledtrendy5066 I'm curious what your thoughts are now. As a metal guitarist myself, power chords are my go to when writing a riff. They sound the most "clean," for lack of a better word, through distortion whereas other intervals cause a lot more rubbing, highlighting the dissonance. That's actually a really cool sound I love to use often, but sometimes power chords, just a root, fifth, and sometimes octave are where to go to get a really massive and powerful sounding riff. Through distortion, power chords also almost act as just bigger sounding notes, giving power to more single note based riffs where just single notes or octaves might feel weaker. But yeah, curious to hear your side and why you disagree with the first comment

[@herkuskaminskas1409]

A good example of this is Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, songwriting using primarily power chords and then singing chord tones on top of them. Just having that ambiguous fifth as a base and deciding the quality of the chord by singing identifying chord tones over it, like seconds, thirds, fourths and upper extensions. This kind of an approach allows a lot of freedom to weave between major and minor tonalities by just changing the notes that you're singing, it's really cool. Rick Beato has a few videos on Nirvana songs where he talks about this.

[@PaulGuy]

@@hyalinamusic18 I think the thing is that when it's all just fifth chords moving around, the only part that matters is the root. And metal tends to use flatted fifths in the chord progression.

[@Kriegter]

​@@hyalinamusic18i think what he means is that power chords work different to other intervals and chords in that they work as individual notes instesd of proper chords in the context of rock and metal

[@vesuvius2444]

As a trumpet player who played supermans theme in an symphonic orchestra. It automatically stood out to me as a bugle call. Which makes sense why super hero movies would draw from fanfares and that sort of horn introduction.

[@funbobby7778]

That piece of music near the end was 🤌. Very Man Of Steel vibes 😊

[@PaulGuy]

I was getting that and Mass Effect 3.

[@MalditosBares]

Reminded me of the House M.D. theme ...

[@niceguy191]

NIN vibes to me

[@Mitashade]

All I could hear was Westworld.

[@tbone121974]

What is interesting is the same harmonic series occurs on brass instruments. Any bugle calls use the harmonic series. This is primarily due to the limitation of the instrument. It does mean a sequence of 4th and 5ths are associated with the military. I wonder if that adds to the reason why it's heard in so many films involving heroism.

[@EJCAudio]

The harmonic series occurs in every sound (with the exception of a pure sine tone, which *only* has the fundamental). The balance of those harmonics is what gives us timbre - it's the reason why one instrument doesn't sound identical to any other.

[@LionmightOfficial]

aka John Williams's go to interval. Great video Charles!

[@user-yr3tk2rk6h]

What Charles says: "It's no wonder that the perfect fifth is the superhero interval" What we hear: " [...] the perfect fifth IS the superhero"

[@trayc.2736]

I didn't want this video to end. Your playing near the end felt like a pivoting point in a movie! Thank you for this.

[@andrewwilliams2353]

II have never seen a KZbin presenter who so obviously enjoys his subjects as much as you do Chris. Live Long and prosper, Brother !!

[@SkulGurl]

One of my favorite superhero themes is Mile's theme in Into The Spider Verse, which uses a sudden octave leap followed by descending to the third degree of the scale. It's such a great way of musically enforcing the film's theme of how being a hero is a "leap of faith". Both the film and the theme are about rising, falling suddenly, and hoping you catch yourself in time, and it works so well.

[@AE_Thomas]

7:00 we're at PEAK Joe Hisaishi. Good old Spirited Away. Love this breakdown so much!

[@jean-jacquesgoebel5088]

I love love love his music for the Buster Keaton classic "the general". Wish more modern composers would re-do old movies.

[@ryanalytic]

Tron: Legacy main theme by Daft Punk follows this pattern exactly as well, starting with the fifth being the first two notes, and ending with the flat 6 to flat 7 to resolve to root open fifth. There are also a few songs in that soundtrack which hang out on the root alone or the open fifth while other harmonies move around it.

[@evanmisejka4062]

As a composer, I love all of the possibilities that I have with these tools. A neet progression that I just recently used is Eb dom9, Ab aug, E major. It is incredibly dissonant but a really neat sound if used correctly.

[@UnanimousDelivers]

Power Chords are actually SUPER POWER CHORDS

[@novemberbravo6194]

Aaah, you beat me to the joke lol

[@alex0589]

if a tonic is the floor then the fifth is a load bearing wall

[@maniacalkoala]

I am once again asking for Charles to listen to Laufey’s music (Fragile, Falling Behind, and Dear Soulmate in particular)

[@alex31027]

Yes!! It's a great idea, he should definitely do it

[@itsbekah29]

YES

[@somerando999]

yes

[@jeremiahnoar7504]

One of the most common story architypes. The hero is the one who goes into the underworld and returns alive. He's lived through the tragedy of being and still choses redemption. The hero is changed, he's neither jaded and hateful from what he's experienced (minor) and he's no longer naïve and overly optimistic like he was before the ordeal (major). But he stands in perfect resolute like the perfect 5th, neither minor or major.

[@bloodspatteredguitar]

In Star Wars the revealing of a minor key after a solid 5th opening is exactly what happens in the Throne Room- which I've always thought of as the minor version Star Wars theme.

[@terenceosorio6680]

Ooh boy, what is that piano rhythm going on in the background when you're not playing anything? I'm loving it every time it comes on.

[@faastex]

Finally a video I can understand from start to finish even with my very limited music theory knowledge!

[@DrMattHersh]

Just found your channel last week, and I can’t get enough of your videos. You’re a fantastic teacher and inspirational musician!

[@toblexson5020]

With the third remaining as a secondary interval to the harmony, it also makes it super easy to switch to a minor theme when needed. How many super hero films do this? Just using a minor version of the hero theme for the sad/cold part. Or the other way round, the villain has a minor theme that changes to major when they're redeemed.

[@petfriendamy]

A lot of these music theory videos kind of go over my head, but I actually understood a lot of this one! Maybe because I was using the perfect fifth in my own noodlings long before I knew much anything else about music theory, haha.

[@Sutefan7]

The theme from Goku going Super Saiyan 3 from Dragon Ball Z is a cool example too.

[@curioushybrid]

Huh, I was surprised not to get some discussion of the roots of superhero themes in classical fanfares. With valveless trumpets / bugles only able to play a handful of intervals, the fifth cropped up a lot in fanfares, and John Williams was very definitely referencing that sound in his themes from the 70s / 80s. And of course JW's theme work was so prolific and impactful at the time that he ended up pretty much defining the sound of a 'hero theme' for a generation... Then (to my layman's understanding) more modern heroic themes have extended the familiar sound by leaning a lot on that bVI-bVII-I cadence that really came to prominence with the Avengers theme.

[@romerbass2813]

I always wanted you to do this topic - finally my prayers have been answered! Thank you so much!!!

[@Kekoapono]

Composer Eric Whitacre (among many other composers) really likes to use parallel 5ths as a foundation for his harmonies, usually carried out by the basses (or bass instruments). It's amazing how full and, well, _powerful_ the chords sound with that open fifth chord in the lower voices. It almost feels like there's no foundation at all without that lower open fifth chord, even if those notes are present in the higher voices in any given chord. But omitting that open chord is also a great way to help the music feel lighter if that's the intention.

[@dhpbear2]

Check out the first 2 notes of "Also Sprach Zarathustra'! (also, a 'superhero', of a sort!)

[@charlieb8735]

The thing you played at the end actually ended up pretty close to “Something I Can Never Have” from Nine Inch Nails first album, Pretty Hate Machine. I’m curious if Trent Reznor used the harmonic series/scale of harmonics as a basis. It’s a pretty cool because as the song plays with melodic dissonance and then finally breaks the adherence to the harmonics after as the song progresses to a climax in a thematic way, almost like accepting that the sort of perfection of the initial harmony wasn’t attainable.

[@sanguinetales]

Nine Inch Nails has a way of turning Major chords into minor ones.

[@N.I.X_T.V]

That last improv my goodness!!! The James bond series has 24hrs to respond

[@ZakuHD]

I don‘t know how many times I have watched a video about essentially the overtone series xD and every time I‘m fully in it

[@jkdbuck7670]

Movie composers know how to do it. Example: Thor's arrival at Wakanda was awesome thanks in large part to the theme music

[@Innulus]

Just started the video, and I can already tell it will be great! Love seeing another Charles cornell vid!

[@andrewlowden322]

06:51 you've entered Christopher Nolan territory with those chords And with what you play around with at the end def any part of Interstellar soundtrack

[@EvanYoungMusic]

Nice you are talking about the harmonic series too!!!

[@luminousfaedust]

Final fantasy capitalized on that. So much. From the very first one and the overworld theme, up to the song that's used in the final fantasy 12 menu music though that is one that had been in several final fantasy games before 12. Though the ff 12 one is one that kinda turns it on its head because it goes from 5-1 instead of 1-5. For example if you're playing in the key of b-flat it starts on f sort of thing. It's so common but it's also one of those things that one doesn't really think about until someone points it out... like this video did.

[@R0bilicious]

The most prominent modern superhero music motif is the minor i to Major IV chord. The Avengers theme made me aware of it, but since then I hear it everywhere in superhero music.

[@vulkanosaure]

Battlefield OST uses exactly that (and it's crazy good)

[@elsagreen1476]

I would so love for you to analyse Tenet's soundtrack. Nolan always picks the right composers and Ludwig Göransson did an incredible job. The soundtrack is incredibly textured and layered.

[@purplealice]

A trumpet sounding those two notes consecutively in that order sounds like a fanfare, or a call of alarm. And that's because those two notes are easy to play in succession, because of their harmonic relationship when blowing into a bugle.

[@limnem7864]

3:10 The Root of All Evil - Dream Theater

[@shawnheidingsfelder8179]

That piece at the end sounded like an alternate version of Daredevil's theme from the show, and then I thought it could be kind of a dark motif of a Batman theme (where something serious or bad just happened, and Bruce/Bats is dealing with it in his head).

[@MadHawkMoody]

Hey, I'm a self taught composer, and your music has been such a huge help!

[@MaverickChristian]

2:10 - Liked it right there for referencing Justice League. 😁 Man, I loved that show!

[@Sammy71ful]

Interesting that the root & fifth together are known as a “power” chord. Even more superhero vibes 😁 Does anyone actually know where the name “power chord” comes from? Is it because of its extreme versatility?

[@PaulGuy]

The chord has obviously been around forever, as long as the 12 note scale, probably. I think the name itself might have come with the development of guitar amplifiers, because it's a very clean interval, and amplifiers can make them really hit hard. That made it popular in the rock and metal scene. Amplification and distortion also makes atonal stuff even more noticeable, and the power chord avoided that. And on top of it all, it was simply easier to play on stage at high speeds, running around.

[@anythinginbetween8469]

This video was so great!! I mean they all are but i learned so much in this one!😁love your content!!❤

[@aydenwoyus7943]

This was a super informative video for me about perfect fifths. Thank you for the knowledge I thoroughly enjoyed it

[@ProgJazzRocker]

2001 A Space Odyssey theme comes to mind. It goes from a major right to a minor off that perfect 5th at the start.

[@davidtatro7457]

That is from a Strauss tone poem.

[@IvoryMadness.]

A FREE course? That's great!

[@DustinKreidler]

Interesting how that overlaps with the "folk chord claw" (my terminology) where folk songs are built around a G chord on guitar (3-2-0-0-3-3), but the pinky and ring finger NEVER leave the 3rd fret on the top two strings, voicing an open 4th (inverted 5th!) that floats over all the other chords. G, Cadd9, Dsus4, A7sus4, Em7, Bm6... and they can be played in pretty much any order, and will eventually result in 'Banks of Marble' or 'We Have Fed You All (For a Thousand Years) or 'What Did You Learn in School Today?'

[@robertpien8708]

So much emotion you can develop and create when adding the interval of the fifth with any other notes great lesson ty

[@matias_8823]

Came to hear some kickass superhero themes, left with my entire worldview on music changed

[@ianlounsbury9256]

I didn't hear the overtone but my tinnitus started ringing.

[@valvenator]

Out of boredom one day I tuned my acoustic guitar with the low E and A totally slack and pushed off the fretboard and the rest tuned: D stayed the same, g up to A, b down to A and E down to D. Using the lower D and A as drone strings and the unison A and high D for melody and chords. Seemed like endless combinations were possible just for messin around.

[@AndreyRubtsovRU]

..but also 4th. ..but also octaves. ..and some major 3rds.

[@kingpin201]

That last bit “noodling” as you put it sounds like a great Batman entry point or Dark Antagonist anthem.

[@aurelienyonrac]

That scientifique explanation was awesome too

[@ppheard1254]

6:52, 7:10 Tritone

[@etistyle96]

6:52 tritone + semi-tone C-C#

[@alex31027]

So what? It can sound very good in right context

[@kwonhogan]

yeah the ending piano piece gave me hans zimmer man of steel vibes for real. very cool! the chord progression was very nice

[@alexdundas-taylor3420]

Star Wars has a major third down low in the chord that hits just after the keynote in the quoted phrase, so it tips its hand even earlier - but that’s still after a huge fanfare that could go either way.

[@przemysawgesieniec3495]

I have learned more from this video than in four years of music school... Gr8 job Man!

[@vulkanosaure]

4th and 5th were also used much earlier than 3rd (which was considered a heretical interval and was forbidden). The 5th is also the most natural interval after the octave in terms of ratio of frequency, so maybe this also has to do with this sense of absoluteness that it gives. (and 4th is the complementary, so it kind of works the same)

[@malcelinho]

And, of course, we can streeeeeetch and say that this stability also resembles the stability that they are meant to represent...but this is just me reaching farther than I can reach an interval with one hand hahaha

[@gabrielpearlman1665]

Missed opportunity to discuss the super metroid soundtrack. Would love to see a vid on that! Amazing hero music

[@chezent]

great video but i think the funniest thing was during the harmony part you said "let's listen to this" and right when you were about to play a note an ad cut in it honestly was super funny

[@Alinktome]

"Back to the future" plays a 5th too. It begins by the 5th note: G, C, F#

[@not2sharpmd]

It’s funny that you started out with John Williams’ Superman theme, because when you were noodling at the end playing with just having the root and 5th over the top the whole time, you basically accidentally played Hans Zimmer’s new Superman theme from Man of Steel called “What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving the World?” …long title, but great theme.

[@amjan]

The 5th is the only interval with an unambiguous root as it strengthens the root. Even if you reverse it into a 4th, it will still indicate the same root. And it doesnt express tonality.

[@jeteague78]

Excellent! So much theory distilled and easy to comprehend. You do this very well, sir.

[@jc2333]

John Williams Keeping the compositions simple is good.

[@MasterHigure]

8-bit music theory did a video on this interval (and other superhero music tropes) four years ago, specifically focusing on the PS4 Spider-Man game, but of course looking at the history as well.

[@red5_skywalker]

The improv at 8:00 feels very Marvel and very "Falcon and the Winter Soldier"

[@dharambasi1928]

It sounds more like Man of Steel/Hans Zimmer-esque.

[@mcfahk]

It's horns. It's ancient military stuff.

[@MaxRamos8]

Yes. He needs to talk about the history of Bugle calls

[@chucky35uk]

Superb foxy…thoroughly looking forward to this…passing it onto my pals ✌🏼

[@PaulMurrayCanberra]

National anthems are also a big fan of that interval. Case in point, the first two notes of "Advance Australia Fair".

[@MrPeaceandLiberty]

I finally discovered the words to that Superman theme: I'm wearing blue tights. Yes. I. am! I'm wearing blue tights. (falsetto) TIGHT they are!

[@maplenpancakes]

You're amazing! I learn a lot of new things every time I watch your videos. Keep it up, man! 🎉❤👏

[@MaxRamos8]

You have to include the history of Bugle calls for armies

[@Vaennylla]

Never thought interval 5th can be used in so many ways. I just thought it was a one-note thing (no pun intended).

[@taylorboice]

Loved this man. Keep up this super interesting content!

[@bonbonpony]

08:01 Hahah you've just made the soundtrack for "Touch" TV series ;) But the reason they used perfect fifths in it wasn't superheroes (unless you take autistic math geniuses as superheroes), but because the theme of this TV series was perfect mathematical harmony and geometrical patterns and laws that govern the Universe, which only special people with special minds can notice and use to predict future events.

[@Fastvoice]

It's also the interval of our german police/emergency/firefighter car horns. Not by accident I guess. Hint: Where's Hans Zimmer from? 😁

[@neur01]

the end improv is really inspiring wow

[@RandomPlateu]

If you listen back to the Tears of the Kingdom theme, it also uses the perfect 5th for the main melody as well

[@Alinktome]

Jurassic Park is even more 5th melodic cause it plays c g, d, a... That makes 2 different 5th in a row. They are Major. The third chord is a a minor.

[@jakovkartelo]

I think it's not just the use of the perfect 5th,but also the use of the natural minor/dorian mode

[@mslabo102s2]

I'd like to know more like this for other intervals. This helped me understand the Perfect Fifth more than anything.

[@LilBurntCrust99]

The reason why F#5 didn’t sound good compared to all the others was because not only where the 2 roots a Tritone away, but the tritone is the only interval to have never been found to show up ever on the harmonic series of a note. No matter the octave up it is. Although 17/12 is a good approximation that can be found.

[@glarntt]

Would absolutely LOVE IT if you could break down the music in WandaVision.

[@blzrdphoto]

I want to hear a 24 hour live stream of you just vibing on the piano.

[@Curleyconcon]

IS THIS THE SUPERHERO INTERVAL??? Proceeds to play Star Wars.

[@No__one1]

Glad I'm not the only one that noticed, lol

[@Jalexander14]

Charles Cornell, thank you for your videos! even tho this comment may get ignored if somehow seen just know your videos are highly appreciated by me and I’ve learned a grip from you already 🙌

[@phosphorus4]

I also had the same fanfare idea in the comments, but specifically to Superman, with his circus concept origins, being the big pioneer.

[@reenchanted]

Charles tried to prove a superhero music theory and accidentally wrote a Radiohead song. Nice!

[@JCBaseball13]

The contender (boxing) song? That is such an awesome song. Only did one season but the song was so inspirational!