Uffe von Lauterbach

Thanks! And Metroid is from Japan, so perhaps that's why. 🤷‍♂️ But at the time, I think this particular track by Hirokazu Tanaka was probably about as close to being musique concrète, experimental, or perhaps some kind of avant-garde in 8 bit form. 😃 Anyway, I'll take into consideration of what you said, as this is something I wasn't sure about how I'd approach it.

I hate to ask this question, because I don't know if the arpeggio is entirely ignored, or if you have to figure out how many chords are within one measure. My question comes from the video below, though. Ridley's Lair does the same thing, but for Mother Brain's theme, it comes off as extreme. So how do I figure out the chords when the top (or bottom) section uses rapid arpeggios? I'm not asking anyone to figure these chords out for me, I'll do that myself if I can get an answer. Thanks in advance!

Sorry for the late response. I've actually been looking into more jazzy chords, so it's funny you mentioned it. I'm not super savvy when it comes to music theory, so I've been checking out videos on YouTube since I've posted this topic. I have no intentions of composing jazz or blues music, but the types of chords used in them are very interesting to me at the moment.

The chord I shared comes first in the composition. The mode is in B♭ Locrian with a flat 2nd, though B♭ minor works here as well. Certain instruments have certain chords or notes. The choir is a B♭aug(sus2). I have three instruments in the bass section. The first is B♭, the second is E♭, and the third, being an octave above the first, is also B♭. The choir then goes to an A♭7 chord. However, because of the basses, it ends up being E♭ minor thirteenth inverted on G♭ (E♭m13\G♭). On the piano, I suppose this could just be condensed into something with just four notes. But I see what you mean about this being analyzed as a C half diminished chord. The context for this is that I'm composing an unofficial Metroid soundtrack, so I'm trying to apply the kinds of chords used from older Metroid music as a way to achieve the sound without relying on synths alone. Your reply has been helpful, though, and I'm glad you were able to help me understand this better.

I'm trying to understand something about how a chord works. To some degree, I do understand it, but only at a basic level. If a chord has a repeated note, is that repeated note taken into consideration when naming the chord? I'll give an example of what I'm asking and compare it to what I imagine might be the correct answer. So far I haven't found a question like this online, and I may be asking the wrong question. Anyway, here is the chord: G♭ C B♭ B♭ E♭ B♭ I have a composition where the start has these notes, with the B♭ being the root, and the G♭ being the last note on top. If I have a B♭ at the tonic, or anywhere, really, is it necessary for me to add the others an octave higher? This chord starts in B♭. So is this a C half diminished seventh inverted on B♭ chord (Cm7♭5\B♭)? Or should it be an E♭ minor sixth chord (Em♭6)? This is what's confusing me. I'm hoping this is understandable to someone with more music theory knowledge. Thanks.

This is a very good explanation, and I appreciate you answering in a way that isn't confusing for me. The part that confused me about this video is that he uses the G major chord. At least I assume this because it says G and not Gm. So that's partially the reason I got confused as to why he said it was borrowed from the parallel minor key while showing in text "Both borrowed from G minor". But after reading your post, I think I now understand where the B♭(sus2) is coming from. I'm going to go ahead and keep the information you shared so I have a better understanding in case I somehow forget in the future. Thanks again!

Hello. While the title is upfront, there's a reason I'm stating this. I've recently watched a video made by 8-Bit Music Theory. I'm not very savvy in music theory, but I think I'm at least knowledgeable of it to some degree. At 10:20 of his video, he has the theme of Brinstar play. It goes G, B♭(sus2), G, B♭(sus2). He then says that if this was more generic music like Zelda or Pokemon, the music would be G, then F, making it a major ♭VII rather than ♭III(sus2), and states that they're both borrowed from the parallel key of G minor, even though the chord shows G major. This is what I found about each of those scales, and I'm no music theorist, but it's not making any sense to me. F major is F, G, A, B♭, C, D, E, F G major is G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G G minor is G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G I'm trying to figure out why he says ♭VII (F major) ♭III(sus2) (B♭ major?) are from G minor, which F major has B♭ and F natural, G major has B natural and F#, while G minor has B♭, E♭, and F natural in it. Sorry if I'm confusing. I tried to ask in a way that's not confusing, because I'd really like to understand what I'm not currently able to at the moment. Also, I did look up major/minor parallel keys on YouTube, but they don't seem to reflect what is stated in 8-Bit Music Theory's video below. Or maybe they do and I'm just not getting it, obviously.

Cool! Thank you! I counted 11/8, but then there were some parts that broke off into a different time signature, so it was really throwing me off. I thought I even counted 5/8 at one point, but again, it's jumping everywhere. I'd much prefer a single odd time signature rather than one that's most likely moving around often, just because that would simplify things a bit to transcribe. Oh well. I'll have to do my best with this if I can. I considered 3/4 at one point. I think where the rhythm sort of "slows down" for lack of a better word. Anyway, thank you guys for your help! I really appreciate it.

This is such a cool track, but I can't figure out what the time signature is, and I've been thinking about transcribing it for quite a while now. I'm not all that great with figuring out odd time signatures. If you know how, could you help me out? Does this track have multiple time signatures?

I'm trying to come up with a composition where it sounds like you'd be in the sky or floating. I don't want to rely on synths to create this atmosphere, and I don't want to use the whole tone scale, either, since that feels a little generic when it comes to something sounding otherworldly. Are there any other chord progressions that would achieve this feeling? Or perhaps some descriptions like making the notes sound like they're swaying the wind and relying on triplets to create that feeling. Anything would help. Thanks.

I don't particularly compose in Greek modes, but moving into something that's not the typical major and minor scales does interest me. This may or may not be the one time I use Locrian mode because it's giving me a lot of trouble, but I'm committed to figuring something out. I'll have to take your word on the chromaticism if that can help out. I've never heard of dissonant thrash metal guitar riff mode or anything like that. I'm still trying to mess around with a melody for the beginning sections. Anyway, thanks for the advice and feedback.

Personally it does feel right to me. I went back and changed it a couple days ago to have it end an Fadd4, so I was having concerns about it. I haven't finished the track, so no loop yet. I was going to continue, but I stopped just to ask this question because I didn't want to have to go back and change things until then. Personally I think in terms of quality, the choir could sound more realistic, but I just have something that sounds too synthetic. Not that I have an issue with it. I haven't come up with a melody quite yet. It's in Locrian mode, so I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to make that work. And yes, Uffe is a real name. It's Danish for wolf.

I asked myself that. Even though I thought what I have is fine, it was just something that was bothering me. I asked on Twitter, even tagging the word musicians, but I got no responses. I figured I'd try the one place I know where musicians are at. Thank you for your response. And yes, the fade-in is for WIP purposes. I should've titled it with WIP at the end like I normally do, but I forgot to. I plan on making a beginning section for a scene just before this track starts.

Thanks for the response. It sounds good to me, too. I'm just wondering if it's acceptable. I was recently hearing about sentence form, ABA form, and then cadence, half cadence, and perfect cadence. I can add a build up just before the next part.

I'm currently trying to work on a soundtrack, and at first I thought things were going well, but now I'm concerned. None of this has to do with production quality or anything like that. Right now I'm just worried about what's considered a cadence and if I'm going to have to somehow change things, which I'd honestly prefer not to have to. The track below is a boss theme in 5/4 time that doesn't have a melody yet, and I began to realize that none of the sections land on a cadence. It just keeps going, but there will eventually be an ending to the track that will just repeat. There's a choir section that goes from 0:24 - 0:39. The final part of the choir section isn't resolved, either. Is that a half cadence when it reaches 0:39? Is that acceptable so long the track eventually resolves? It just lands into another section at 0:40, and it sounds cool, but I don't know if this is acceptable. I'm trying to create some kind of tension here, so it's an ongoing theme. Like I said, there will be an ending to it, which will then just repeat the track. https://soundcloud.com/uffevonlauterbach/track