Nobuo Uematsu, YOU THIEF! I KEEL YOU!

[Nekofrog]

escariot is actually right on. The only thing those two motifs have in common (aside from the G and Gb) is the contour. The reason you listen to them back to back and go HEY WAIT A MINUTE is because of the G and Gb. But in reality, final fantasy is using that Gb (or as I prefer to think, F#) as a modal mixture, going from a minor i chord to a major IV (modally dorian), whereas the batman, just for that motif, is staying in a purely natural minor state (modally aeolian).

Honestly I am not familiar with the soundtrack to batman with anywhere near the same intimacy as I am with FF7, but even though I hear similarities between the two tracks, I hardly think nobou was "stealing" from danny elfman any more than any composer steals from any composer. In fact, I think coincidence is just as likely a culprit here as theft is. The FF7 motif, as mentioned earlier, is a motif used THROUGHOUT the game (I think Aeris' theme is the strongest example of this motif). Listening to just the batman track that Neko posted, the motif is used melodically much differently than the FF7 motif. Though I do admit, I hear bits of jenova in the batman theme opening

The other thing is that there is only so much music that can be contained in the genre of cheesy japanese video game music, so it's practically impossible to avoid sounding like other cheese incidental music without making a bold move. So all in all, I don't think nobou stole from danny.

But I still think nobou rehashes his music all the time

Shut up and do more dramatic takes for our Lufia remix, jackass >

[Thin Crust]

Neko, I'm thinking you're full of it.

[zircon]

The tonality is pretty different. However, the Elfman theme actually quite a ripoff of a Schubert symphony written hundreds of years ago. Here's proof - I made this comparison to a part of the Credits theme from Advent Children (which is just the FF7 main theme in a minor tonality anyway), but it applies here:

http://zirconstudios.com/music/random/schubff7.mp3

This is more damning imo

Someone respond plz

[Hemophiliac]

good composers borrow, great composers steal

[Animae]

escariot is actually right on. The only thing those two motifs have in common (aside from the G and Gb) is the contour. The reason you listen to them back to back and go HEY WAIT A MINUTE is because of the G and Gb. But in reality, final fantasy is using that Gb (or as I prefer to think, F#) as a modal mixture, going from a minor i chord to a major IV (modally dorian), whereas the batman, just for that motif, is staying in a purely natural minor state (modally aeolian).

Honestly I am not familiar with the soundtrack to batman with anywhere near the same intimacy as I am with FF7, but even though I hear similarities between the two tracks, I hardly think nobou was "stealing" from danny elfman any more than any composer steals from any composer. In fact, I think coincidence is just as likely a culprit here as theft is. The FF7 motif, as mentioned earlier, is a motif used THROUGHOUT the game (I think Aeris' theme is the strongest example of this motif). Listening to just the batman track that Neko posted, the motif is used melodically much differently than the FF7 motif. Though I do admit, I hear bits of jenova in the batman theme opening

The other thing is that there is only so much music that can be contained in the genre of cheesy japanese video game music, so it's practically impossible to avoid sounding like other cheese incidental music without making a bold move. So all in all, I don't think nobou stole from danny.

But I still think nobou rehashes his music all the time

Umm... I'm not entirely sure where you hear the FF7 motif in Aeris theme. We are talking about the theme heard one the world map(major scale) and the theme in the example that OP posted(minor scale variation), aren't we?

However, I agree that Nobuo sometimes rehashes himself. He likes to use "broken"(not if that is the english term) chords in ascending patterns, slow arpeggios, especially with the harp(prelude, aeris theme, Aria de mezzo carattere, Bittersweet Romance(IX) and many more). The intro(3 first notes) to Aria de mezzo carattere is identical with the three first notes in Aeris Theme.

And On That Day Five Years Ago sounds nothing like the theme from Batman.

Robo's Theme however is PURE plagiarism on Rick Astleys Never Gonna Give You Up.

[ProjectSpam]

Someone respond plz

Yeah, those two themes are more similar than the Batman/FF7 themes in particular. Kinda hard to differentiate which is which.

I didn't hear much similarity to FF7 beyond the opening of Elfman's piece.

[TSori]

a lot of songs use the same chord progressions, and frequently similar rythms. Its just coincidental, not necessarily a ripoff. In music with a lot of long tones (like the two themes in question) the similarities just become that more obvious. Still, its usually just a coincidence. with all of the music in the world, there are bound to be similar songs.

for example...

all the buzz around this song aside, its a good example of the same kind of similarities

[Animae]

a lot of songs use the same chord progressions, and frequently similar rythms. Its just coincidental, not necessarily a ripoff. In music with a lot of long tones (like the two themes in question) the similarities just become that more obvious. Still, its usually just a coincidence. with all of the music in the world, there are bound to be similar songs.

for example...

all the buzz around this song aside, its a good example of the same kind of similarities

It was irony on my part, man!

[42]

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=IXLlBLq82fI

It

all

makes

sense now

[K.B.]

Yasunori Mitsuda, YOU THIEF! I KEEL YOU!

It's ok, just let it out.

Thanks Animae and SciRe, I'd heard of/seen that video before... I laughed so hard I nearly cried.

[DrumUltimA]

Umm... I'm not entirely sure where you hear the FF7 motif in Aeris theme. We are talking about the theme heard one the world map(major scale) and the theme in the example that OP posted(minor scale variation), aren't we?

Oops! Yes, that's the one I'm thinking of. Thanks!

[TSori]

Haha, My bad Animae. I actually missed your post when i was reading through. Didn't realize you had already mentioned that video.

[LuckyXIII]

Furthermore:

Megaman Elecman Stage:

Whoah - I always thought Elecman was a ripoff of Journey's "Faithfully" but this song makes more sense.

[zircon]

Wow, that Dr. Mario one is really close.

[OverCoat]

Patchabel

pachalbel

[zircon]

I'm using that image next time I NO someone

[cobaltstarfire]

There's also a bit in one of the Dr. Mario songs that I've heard in a Jazz tune before, although the Jazz song escapes me, (well I never actually knew the name, since I wasn't in the Highschool Jazzband, but it was one of their main songs one year).

[MojoHamster]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SBKOpFVggr8

vs

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4GYu02FrcAw

[friendlyHunter]

Wow, that Dr. Mario one is really close.

Hmmm, I actually think it's a bit of a stretch. Doesn't help that the songs have two completely different feels.

I like the Elecman and Street Fighter ones though

And since this hasn't been posted yet:

Romeo & Juliet theme (1968 )

vs

Ninja Gaiden

(The song is at 6:34 - 7:19)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23LwxQolpc

[Mustin]

Could someone please contact Mr. Elfman? That's a pretty sweet remix; we should ask him to submit it.

BTW: there's a lot more to Uematsu's tune than just that bit, and that bit is so small that it's reasonable to think it's been used more than once before... see

(shamelessly stolen from an older thread).

EDIT: I post too slowly. See previous two posts.

This is the exact reason I hate mash ups. Yeah, there are only 13 notes people. Shit's gonna fit with other shit.

Hemo - who said that quote - you know you gotta say who said it, y'all...

zirocn, good catch on the Batman, though I do believe Elfman admitted to lifting it from Herman, as he did much of his work - mostly his first (and my favourite) major work, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

This is a great thread.

, Batman!

[anosou]

Now I must admit I haven't read through everything but I'm pretty sure Uematsu took some TV-commercial and did like.. prelude or something like that

and a bigger thing: who cares? In the 16th and 17th century borrowing was considered standard and it wasn't until the mid-18th century (romanticism) that individuality became a GOOD thing.

[anosou]

wut

Also, you can make a case for FFV's theme being styled after Tonight from West Side Story. I can't remember if I posted that one or not.

ROFL, I forgot how you use blablath century, for us 20th century is "1900-talet" or directly translated, 19th century. Sorry for the confusion

[The Author]

Hmmm, I actually think it's a bit of a stretch. Doesn't help that the songs have two completely different feels.

I like the Elecman and Street Fighter ones though

And since this hasn't been posted yet:

Romeo & Juliet theme (1968 )

vs

Ninja Gaiden

(The song is at 6:34 - 7:19)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23LwxQolpc

Made more blatant by : http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR00867/

[Hemophiliac]

i think the ninja gaiden one isn't that close at all the first few notes are the same but it digresses quickly.

i have a remix i'm working on right now where i was just using a C minor chord and i had to curse John Williams' name because the order and rhythm of the notes i used was Vader's theme. completely unintentional and i didn't realize it until afterwards when i listened to the track rendered.

[Tricklozen]

In the spirit of comparing songs that share a similar motif and/or similar characteristics:

1) "Somebody told us that the refrain in this remix [sweet] somewhat resembles an old 80'ies pop tune. This must be purely coincidential, and we have yet to find which tune this is. [Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)] We'll get back to you if we find it."

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

I don't know. Was this a coincidence? With the refrain and title as well? I mean, I've talked about ideas with people before, who at some later time contacted me introducing "their new idea," which was the idea I talked to them about. Don't forgive my skepticism.

2) You could also do a James Horner (rip from yourself):

James Horner - Bicentennial Man

James Horner - A Beautiful Mind

3) It's easy to find recurring parts in songs by Uematsu (which I've probably heard the most of in that realm of music), even parts that can be copied and pasted into later songs (the first that comes to mind is taking the bassline from Seymour's battle music (FF X), using it with the lead chorus of The man with the machine-gun (FF VIII)). I guess that's a consequence of making short compositions--a number of them--which are supposed to be repeatable.

4) I think the similarity was already mentioned (Rick Astley) about Robo's Theme:

..which could partly be similar to: