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GMC Forum _ THEORY _ Nonfunctional Harmony

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Feb 9 2019, 06:20 AM

YouTube had auto-played me onto this video while I was walking around my house cleaning a bit, and I recognized the music, and I had to check what it was about, and I thought that there was actually some interesting bits and explanations in this video smile.gif



Also, seems these following videos seem interesting too smile.gif






Posted by: Adam M Feb 9 2019, 01:29 PM

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Feb 9 2019, 06:20 AM) *
YouTube had auto-played me onto this video while I was walking around my house cleaning a bit, and I recognized the music, and I had to check what it was about, and I thought that there was actually some interesting bits and explanations in this video smile.gif



Also, seems these following videos seem interesting too smile.gif






I love the Final Fantasy series!! It's soundtrack is overall great but Dancing Mad is an absolute masterpiece! There's an amazing cover, from Project Grissini, iirc. Look it up if you're interested. smile.gif That version is the only one I found so far to be expressing the insanity of this piece to the fullest.

I'll watch these vids at home, thank you! Nobuo Uematsu has done way too many great pieces to analyze his style but that would surely be interesting. I think one could write a long PhD thesis about it and still not cover it all. Takeharu Ishimoto's soundtrack for Crisis Core is just as great and fitting the game's atmosphere!

Your post made my day! Thanks! smile.gif

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Feb 9 2019, 02:21 PM

QUOTE (Adam M @ Feb 9 2019, 01:29 PM) *
I love the Final Fantasy series!! It's soundtrack is overall great but Dancing Mad is an absolute masterpiece! There's an amazing cover, from Project Grissini, iirc. Look it up if you're interested. smile.gif That version is the only one I found so far to be expressing the insanity of this piece to the fullest.

I'll watch these vids at home, thank you! Nobuo Uematsu has done way too many great pieces to analyze his style but that would surely be interesting. I think one could write a long PhD thesis about it and still not cover it all. Takeharu Ishimoto's soundtrack for Crisis Core is just as great and fitting the game's atmosphere!

Your post made my day! Thanks! smile.gif


My pleasure! I have played Final Fantasy 1 to 13, but never quite got more than 10 hours into 15. As well as Chrono Trigger, which is also talked about, Xenogears and so on... Vandal Hearts, Grandia, you name it... I stopped playing more and more when RPGs more often had action based combat. I prefer turn based. For my birthday I got some money and I bought a Nintendo Switch and Octopath Traveler. I like it a lot, and it's turn based and old school smile.gif That said I haven't played much, as I haven't been in the right frame of mind. I know there are other good RPGs out and more coming for the Switch. But I think it has to be one game at a time for me now, and not buying 20 to play at once and getting nowhere smile.gif

EDIT: I forgot to mention Legend of Dragoon. That's one of my favorite games!

Posted by: klasaine Feb 9 2019, 05:08 PM

That 1st vid is making something that is relatively simple way too complicated.

When he's talking about Gbmaj13 going to Fm9 for example: that's just V7 to i (minor). The Gb7 is a tri-tone or b5 substitution for C7. The notes in the Gb altered chord are mostly the same as in a C7 altered chord - just switched around. This is a super common technique.

The Abm6 up to Dm9: The Abm6 is just a Db9 with a 5th in bass. Any dominant chord will sound fine sliding up 1/2 step into a minor (or major) chord. It's what we call leading tone movement. Think about major and (most) minor scales. What's the note just before the root? A 1/2 step below.

Moveable harmony like this has been used since the middle ages. The two examples I just mentioned are super common in jazz, fusion and even some the more sophisticated pop music.

*Other than the Rick Beato vids, most youtube music theory tutorials are either out right wrong, overly simplified or overly complicated.

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Feb 9 2019, 05:28 PM

QUOTE (klasaine @ Feb 9 2019, 05:08 PM) *
That 1st vid is making something that is relatively simple way too complicated.

When he's talking about Gbmaj13 going to Fm9 for example: that's just V7 to i (minor). The Gb7 is a tri-tone or b5 substitution for C7. The notes in the Gb altered chord are mostly the same as in a C7 altered chord - just switched around. This is a super common technique.

The Abm6 up to Dm9: The Abm6 is just a Db9 with a 5th in bass. Any dominant chord will sound fine sliding up 1/2 step into a minor (or major) chord. It's what we call leading tone movement. Think about major and (most) minor scales. What's the note just before the root? A 1/2 step below.

Moveable harmony like this has been used since the middle ages. The two examples I just mentioned are super common in jazz, fusion and even some the more sophisticated pop music.

*Other than the Rick Beato vids, most youtube music theory tutorials are either out right wrong, overly simplified or overly complicated.


I think some of what I found interesting and what I at least (rightly or wrongly explained) found easy to understand was how these created tension or no tension at all (such as the forest theme in Chrono Trigger). I mean, I understand how tension works and such, but it was more so some of the explanations I found interesting - off the top of my head now something about the scales the chords derived from and the differences. I only watched the video once to be honest and went on to the Final Fantasy ones.

Well, at least to me it was explained in a way I had not heard before. And with some music I know well.

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