Cantare 25-26 Repertoire

LOCRIAN - It really doesn't! I dug up some examples of the Locrian mode used in video game soundtracks with surprisingly-non-spooky sounds!

This video uses entirely examples of the Lydian mode used in video game music, but it's really about general principles of using modes when writing music that could apply to any scale.

Of all the major modes, Mixolydian carries a uniquely lighthearted spirit. In this video I go through some examples of this in games, talk a little bit about what the mode isn't, and then take a look at one of the less lighthearted aspects of the scale.

The Phrygian Mode is the most threatening of the 7 major modes, even more so than the Locrian Mode! That's not a take I would've thought before doing this mode series, but looking at where you actually see these two modes used in the real world I think it's clear that the Phrygian mode feels more threatening even though the Locrian scale is technically "darker". Anyways enjoy the vid!

The Dorian Mode is the most versatile of the 7 major modes, but 'versatile' doesn't seem like a very click-bait-y word to put in the title. From mysterious to heroic to funky the Dorian mode sees a lot of play in a wide variety of musical contexts, and in this video I explore how the different ways of handling the characteristic raised 6th note contribute to each of these various effects.

You might've thought I wasn't gonna touch on the more vanilla modes, but I am! Come check out what makes the Aeolian mode, or Natural Minor Scale, sound so depressing.

Is there a point to the "Ionian mode"? It's just another name for the major scale, and surely the major scale couldn't have any unique colours or qualities that set it apart? Well, in the process of making this video I discovered that, if you treat the major scale like I've been treating every other major mode, it does have a uniquely relaxing quality. Check out the examples in the video and you'll see what I mean!

After finishing my series on the major modes, I thought I'd put together a video walking through the 7 modes of the melodic minor scale as a sort of epilogue. There were a few scales that I couldn't find video game examples of, so I had to make my own.

Music Theory Minute #1.1 - What's a Chord Extension?

This video is meant to introduce the how the voicing of a chord can affect the sound of that chord.

This video is meant to introduce the concept of altered chord extensions, and give some of the most common examples.

This video explores the concept of upper structure triads.

This video introduces the idea that certain notes in a scale or key have a tendency to resolve to other notes in that scale or key.

This video introduces the idea of "antecedent consequent period", or a question-answer type of melodic structure using the melody from Super Mario Bros. 3's Overworld Theme as an example.

This video introduces the idea of tonic and dominant form melodic phrases.

This video breaks apart the iconic Zelda Theme to show how Koji Kondo takes one simple interval and masterfully crafts it into the full melody that we all know and love.

This video introduces a simple way to capture the flavour of any mode or scale using a repeated 2 chord vamp.

This video explores some of the ways to capture the sound of the Dorian ♭2 scale, the second mode of the melodic minor scale.

This video explores creating two chord vamp progressions that deliberately don't fit into one underlying scale.

This video explores "Triad Pairs", using the same concepts we've been looking at this month to create melodic lines.

In dissecting Mario Kart World's main theme we see an interesting combo approach: the upbeat jazz fusion live band music of Mario Kart 8 returns, but with a new gritty American blues-rock influence. Join me in breaking down how the theme works and what it says about the game!

In one of my most ramble-y videos ever I look at what makes Mario music sound so distinctly like Mario music.

Since winter is upon us, I thought it'd be fun to analyze one of my favourite tunes from the Earthbound soundtrack: the Snowman theme.

Mario games have had some great haunted house levels over the past 26 years, with some great haunted house music. But what makes it sound so spoOoOoky? I took a look and found out!

In this video I took a look at a few of the ways you can make chromaticism sound goofy using the soundtrack from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as an example. There's a lot of different types of sounds or effects you can get out of chromatic notes, and this game's music was the perfect showcase for some of the more silly ones.

In this video I take a look at the overall tone that gets set throughout (most of) the Super Smash Bros. series' music. There are a LOT of similarities between the music of Melee, SSB4, and the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate theme, and some interesting differences between these games and the music of the original Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. So, I thought I'd explore that a little bit.

Mario Kart 8's Mount Wario is one of the more ambitious and impressive racetracks in the series, eschewing the typical 3 lap structure in favor of one long track. The music is equally ambitious, designed to develop musically in time with how the player progresses through the track. The tune's a definite highlight for me on one of my favourite game soundtracks ever, so you can imagine I had a ton of fun making this video!

Yoshi's Crafted World is one of the cutest games to come out in recent memory, and playing through the huge variety of environments and level gimmicks constantly put a smile on my face. Likewise, I was continuously delighted hearing all of the different ways the game handled the main theme, too, and I thought I'd share some of my favourite variations from the game's soundtrack in this video.