@@nynvib276 I tried, it sounds interesting. I just couldn't find anything based off those keywords, then gave up and did more important stuff. Why don't you show me the source instead of calling me out for being "that guy?" :D
Fellow music theorist here. Belatro isn't just in 7/4, but oscillates between two countings of 7/8 which is (4+3)/8 and (3+4)/8 to be able to split the bar down the middle. In layman's terms, you count 4 eights, then 3, then 3, then 4 before looping the bar. This gives the song a symmetrical yet irregular rhythm that feels like it "reverses" at the middle of a bar. That, and the fact that there are 4+3+3+4 = 14 different card types in a standard pack of cards (ace to kings + Jokers).
The Balatro Theme has always reminded me of the Vsauce music, something consistent that you always like hearing no matter how long it goes, and despite being repetitive has a flair to it seen rarely anywhere else. Where I expect "Hey Vsauce, Michael here", I expect to instead be failing to draw the last card I need for my full house.
He didn't, quite. He said it was in g major. It's C Lydian. It's the same notes, but the thing that makes the f# interesting is that it's a raised 4th, but that only makes sense if the c is the root. If the g were the root, the F# would just be a regular old major 7th, and it would have a very different vibe. Lydian is famously pretty and kind of dreamy. If you want to play with it, jump on a virtual keyboard on your phone or pc, hit the white note just before a 3 black note cluster, that's the F. Then just hit white notes randomly, making sure you come back to the F every so often. Pay extra attention to the odd notes, so like, if the f is 1, then 2 white keys up you've got the 3, and 2 white keys up from that is the 5, and 2 up from that is the 7. And that's Lydian. It's lovely :) You can do the same thing with all the white keys and get a different mode. The hardest one is locrian. That starts at b, if you're sticking with white keys. Locrian has an augmented 5th, which means the 5th note is super gnarly, when usually is the biggest one outside of the octave Anyway, C Lydian is a relative of G major, so Alax wasn't exactly wrong, but Lydian is cool and I wanted to talk about it, sorry :p
@@lulairenoroub3869 I know I’m late to your comment but this was super interesting to read. I understand notes and which notes go together but I don’t understand why so this is very helpful! Thanks :)
@@jakegripss I'm glad :) I am not a music pro. Learned guitar when I was a kid in the 90s/ early 2000s, and I'm okay. But I didn't really dig into theory till the last decade or so, with all the RUclips theorists. If you're legit interested, check out Adam Neely. The RUclips channel is semi retired, but he's got a tonne of really great videos on all sorts of music theory topics Out of curiosity, did you crack open a virtual piano and have a play?
It in fact, should be great. I never knew adaptive music would travel in different axis! The multi-dimensional feel that the music has really does wonders.
One good game that have adaptative music is the pikmin franchise, lots of layers keep changing depending of what are you doing, when your pikmin are carrying treasure, you get a more uniform layer, like a march, when an enemy is nearby, intense drums or instruments start to play, when fight is engaged, additional layers are added to ramp the intensity and action, there are many examples, even boss battles on wich each attack have its own layer, but honestly i find very fascinating
I love that not only one of my favorite youtubers covered my favorite game, but also covered one of my favorite aspects of the game I have rewatched this video 3 times by now
I discovered balatro after seeing this video, played for hours and had a blast, and now i shed tears of joy with the orchestra at the game awards, what a game!
pizza towers music also has like an "Adaptive" music cheat, basically all the music is timed with the interactions of the player, it doesnt always work since its a rough estimation on what part of the level/boss the players in but once you notice it sooooo coool
as an indie music dev i can say that there's a good chance that at least half your shout-outs are completely coincidental and that's a good thing lol finding depth in art even where the artist wasn't intentionally adding it is super neat
Another example of vertical reorchestration (adaptive music) in video game music is when you're frontrunning on Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe. It adds a drumset whenever you're in first and have a bit of a lead on 2nd that goes like "boots and cats and" and just repeats until you either get close to 2nd again or you win
Alax doing a musical analysis was not something I expected to see today, but very much appreciated because I know this video is gonna give me my Balatro addiction back
I was watching this and suddenly during the ads I got hit a full episode of My Little Pony and then it went back to Balatro. What kind of chicanery did I find myself in? xD For those curious it was "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
Damn I haven't seen an Alax video since he was talking about Smash Bros back in my highschool days. Nice to see he's still making videos regarding the exact games I play lol
Glad you’re back Alex! I just love your videos. I wish I could put them on in the background and just listen but your videos are just too good. They are like candy for my eyes. You are a master of the craft and I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next!
Horizontal mixing is less about awkwardly stitching different songs together (I know that’s what Toby was going for and like it but it’s not quite horizontal mixing) and more about a smooth transition from one idea to the next within a single song. (The ideas can also be in any order/an order decided by player actions) A way better example of horizontal mixing than undertale is need for speed most wanted’s chase themes. For a good breakdown check out Noodle’s need for speed video from 23:29-25:00 (I’d add a link but that makes the comment disappear for some reason)
Balatro is easily the best example of a game where I sit down for 5 minutes and the sun rises. 3 beers are gone, I've apparently eaten at some point, but all I can hear is the joker taunting me at the end of my 147th run for the evening.
The thing with Balatro is that we would really like to recommend to someone that they play it, but with a caviat that they shouldn't play it. :) Anyway, great video, very entertaining and insightful.
I feel like the tune is centered around the key of E minor and not G major. E natural minor shares the same notes as G major but a half diminished ii chord to V to E minor really sounds better in this case, which is def not G major. I hear first chord as Emin9 and not Gma7 also due to the bass motion. Fellow music theorists, what do you think?
let's just list the cheap picks already • cruelty squad • pizza tower • celeste • insert game tangentially related to toby fox here • ultrakill • at least there is čeda čedović • hylics 2 • bug fables • -mother 4- oddity • insert game tangentially related to zun here • hollow knight • any sonic fangame actually worth playing • any game commonly compared to any of the above games
2:41 For future reference, if you wanna read Luis read it as if it were Loois or Lewis, this way it comes closer to how it’s pronounced Love your vids and your music!
the way how i found your video wasnt through fucking recommendations but through your end card from your last video. Thanks youtube for not showing me your stuff really appreciate it
Never played Balatro, but the soundtrack is really good. I'm lovin' all the music videos on the channel Alax, please give me even more. Video game music rules.
Alax, you can talk about literally ANY topic and I'll love it. Also, I don't think it'd be that hard to count 7/4 to make a song. I bet you could probably cook something up in it.
He has used my love of game music to make me watch a video about gambling I mean Baltro, a video i may of not clicked on if the title was diffrent. Fair play
So much good music in indies. From good ones like Cookie Cutter and Blud, to truly amazing ones like No Straight Roads and Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands (those have the advantage for having music as a theme). I especially wonder what you'd think of the music from Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. A game I warmly recommend. Not quite indie, but definitely not Triple-A. A prequel to the Zeno Clash games, solid game as it is but the music is *fwoly huck*. Have a listen to Pseudo's Theme for example, or The Boy Calls, Hope, The Amokuali, Moon-Sun, Wandering Players... that entire soundtrack is phenomenal. The compooser did work on The Eternal Cylinder as well. Still love to listen to the Crystal Temple from that OST.
![Balatro - Main Theme ▶︎ [METAL COVER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qui-EcxATiI/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
We're Balatro guys. Of course we listen to the same song for 300+ hours.
+2
put some podcasts while playing an thinking game of balatro and i fucking suck
We’re Balatro guys. Of course we have dog whistles like a cult.
We're balatro guys, of course we pick black deck after loosing 50 times in a row
@@agent5657you know me too well
I love that the game RUclips thinks you're talking about is Balan Wonderworld
You know, I'm not even mad about it
One game appears magical, the other actually is
Balatron Wonderworld
I don't think I would have noticed that if it weren't for you. That's hilarious.
no i'm thinking of roguelike gwent from the witcher games reminds me
fun fact, the Balatro soundtrack uses literal auditory hypnosis techniques. I don't even play Balatro and I listen to it regularly.
Source?
@@ules5799 Just had to be that guy instead of searching it up.
@@nynvib276 I tried, it sounds interesting. I just couldn't find anything based off those keywords, then gave up and did more important stuff. Why don't you show me the source instead of calling me out for being "that guy?" :D
Bro i use the same profile picture on another site i freaked out seeing it here. Great choice
Fellow music theorist here. Belatro isn't just in 7/4, but oscillates between two countings of 7/8 which is (4+3)/8 and (3+4)/8 to be able to split the bar down the middle. In layman's terms, you count 4 eights, then 3, then 3, then 4 before looping the bar. This gives the song a symmetrical yet irregular rhythm that feels like it "reverses" at the middle of a bar.
That, and the fact that there are 4+3+3+4 = 14 different card types in a standard pack of cards (ace to kings + Jokers).
oh my god, the composer was indeed cookin with this one
The Balatro Theme has always reminded me of the Vsauce music, something consistent that you always like hearing no matter how long it goes, and despite being repetitive has a flair to it seen rarely anywhere else. Where I expect "Hey Vsauce, Michael here", I expect to instead be failing to draw the last card I need for my full house.
This game really does make you feel like you're eternally stuck in an alternate dimension.
The gambling dimension
This man put on full clown makeup for a 3 second bit. I appreciate the commitment
No, it should
I literally said that right when I read the title, and your the first comment I saw 😂
And it has every right to be this good, I love indie soundtracks
I liked this comment before I liked the video
I love so many indie soundtracks.
Hades and it's sequel, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Undertale, Deltarune...
Agreed
Bro went from teaching me about smash bros character moveset origins to teaching me music theory. My brain thanks you
He didn't, quite. He said it was in g major. It's C Lydian. It's the same notes, but the thing that makes the f# interesting is that it's a raised 4th, but that only makes sense if the c is the root. If the g were the root, the F# would just be a regular old major 7th, and it would have a very different vibe.
Lydian is famously pretty and kind of dreamy. If you want to play with it, jump on a virtual keyboard on your phone or pc, hit the white note just before a 3 black note cluster, that's the F. Then just hit white notes randomly, making sure you come back to the F every so often. Pay extra attention to the odd notes, so like, if the f is 1, then 2 white keys up you've got the 3, and 2 white keys up from that is the 5, and 2 up from that is the 7.
And that's Lydian. It's lovely :)
You can do the same thing with all the white keys and get a different mode. The hardest one is locrian. That starts at b, if you're sticking with white keys. Locrian has an augmented 5th, which means the 5th note is super gnarly, when usually is the biggest one outside of the octave
Anyway, C Lydian is a relative of G major, so Alax wasn't exactly wrong, but Lydian is cool and I wanted to talk about it, sorry :p
@@lulairenoroub3869 I know I’m late to your comment but this was super interesting to read. I understand notes and which notes go together but I don’t understand why so this is very helpful! Thanks :)
@@jakegripss I'm glad :) I am not a music pro. Learned guitar when I was a kid in the 90s/ early 2000s, and I'm okay. But I didn't really dig into theory till the last decade or so, with all the RUclips theorists.
If you're legit interested, check out Adam Neely. The RUclips channel is semi retired, but he's got a tonne of really great videos on all sorts of music theory topics
Out of curiosity, did you crack open a virtual piano and have a play?
It in fact, should be great.
I never knew adaptive music would travel in different axis! The multi-dimensional feel that the music has really does wonders.
This is NOT Balan Wonderworld
fr, i was expecting peak, not cringe gambling
Not with that attitude.
Yeah, it's a good game.
the soundtrack for the mega flowey fight has always been so incredible to me so it was such a nice surprise to see it in this vid!
best channel talking about best game
HI GETMADZ WTF
One good game that have adaptative music is the pikmin franchise, lots of layers keep changing depending of what are you doing, when your pikmin are carrying treasure, you get a more uniform layer, like a march, when an enemy is nearby, intense drums or instruments start to play, when fight is engaged, additional layers are added to ramp the intensity and action, there are many examples, even boss battles on wich each attack have its own layer, but honestly i find very fascinating
I love that not only one of my favorite youtubers covered my favorite game, but also covered one of my favorite aspects of the game
I have rewatched this video 3 times by now
If it's a pixelated indie video game, then you already know the music is good. I'm so happy somebody made a video on balatro's music.
I discovered balatro after seeing this video, played for hours and had a blast, and now i shed tears of joy with the orchestra at the game awards, what a game!
pizza towers music also has like an "Adaptive" music cheat, basically all the music is timed with the interactions of the player, it doesnt always work since its a rough estimation on what part of the level/boss the players in but once you notice it sooooo coool
Alax, your video was the one that got me to go ahead and finally get the game!
Learning that this song is in 7/4 is the highlight of my week. I LOVE that TIME SIGNATURE!!!
Panasonic. Blue, ray. 99.
Panasonic. Blue, ray. 99.
hhgregg
as an indie music dev i can say that there's a good chance that at least half your shout-outs are completely coincidental and that's a good thing lol
finding depth in art even where the artist wasn't intentionally adding it is super neat
I hate how RUclips didn't recommend this to me, this is amazing work, I am really enjoying this new ara Alex, keep it up
I love Northern Lion
“I love Poker… just based on the gameplay”
Ngl made me spit laugh
9:30 Bro ignored the full house.
But it can, and it must, for the sanity and pleasure of our brains
Another example of vertical reorchestration (adaptive music) in video game music is when you're frontrunning on Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe. It adds a drumset whenever you're in first and have a bit of a lead on 2nd that goes like "boots and cats and" and just repeats until you either get close to 2nd again or you win
RELAX ALAX VIDEO?! AND GAMBLING?!
I knew there were some hocus pocus shenanigans in this game's music ..
This feels like watching old John Tron videos
Damn you. You made me launch Balatro today. I was wanting to do work! now, instead, I get to listen to sick synthwave and watch jonklers laugh at me
This is the most entertaining description of how Balatro works
Alax doing a musical analysis was not something I expected to see today, but very much appreciated because I know this video is gonna give me my Balatro addiction back
there should be an intro where u just don't enter the room at all and the main topic of the vid just starts
I was watching this and suddenly during the ads I got hit a full episode of My Little Pony and then it went back to Balatro.
What kind of chicanery did I find myself in? xD
For those curious it was "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks".
Damn I haven't seen an Alax video since he was talking about Smash Bros back in my highschool days. Nice to see he's still making videos regarding the exact games I play lol
Glad you’re back Alex! I just love your videos. I wish I could put them on in the background and just listen but your videos are just too good. They are like candy for my eyes. You are a master of the craft and I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next!
Horizontal mixing is less about awkwardly stitching different songs together (I know that’s what Toby was going for and like it but it’s not quite horizontal mixing) and more about a smooth transition from one idea to the next within a single song. (The ideas can also be in any order/an order decided by player actions) A way better example of horizontal mixing than undertale is need for speed most wanted’s chase themes. For a good breakdown check out Noodle’s need for speed video from 23:29-25:00 (I’d add a link but that makes the comment disappear for some reason)
I like the song that go “den don don den don don” and that Leigh motif is used on most of the songs
this game rocks, thank you for sharing this musical breakdown
A great example of adaptive music is a game called ape out, in which gameplay molds and shapes the music
Okay, I laughed several times during this video. Subbed. Many Jimblessings upon your runs.
Another banger, thanks Alax
8:22 THE LUIGI WOOHOO
I wonder if on the backend all the tracks are playing but different ones fade in and out while the others are muted .They sync so perfectly
awesome video, I had no idea why I loved this theme so much, well now I know
Came back after my new addiction started.
The Funk Fusion remix of this song is SOOO good
for some reason youtube didn't recommend me this video, but I definitely need to watch it!
This is much more in depth than what I’d explain Balatro being. I’d just say that it’s Poker, but you remove the Poker part half way through
Balatro's Soundtrack dipped in Mama Liz's Chili Oilllll
Balatro is easily the best example of a game where I sit down for 5 minutes and the sun rises. 3 beers are gone, I've apparently eaten at some point, but all I can hear is the joker taunting me at the end of my 147th run for the evening.
The thing with Balatro is that we would really like to recommend to someone that they play it, but with a caviat that they shouldn't play it. :)
Anyway, great video, very entertaining and insightful.
Love how youtube thinks this is Balan Wonderworld
I love video games, and I love music. These videos are what I live for.
11:34 more RUclipsrs should say that lol
I feel like the tune is centered around the key of E minor and not G major. E natural minor shares the same notes as G major but a half diminished ii chord to V to E minor really sounds better in this case, which is def not G major. I hear first chord as Emin9 and not Gma7 also due to the bass motion. Fellow music theorists, what do you think?
I usually see your videos the day they come out. How this not pop up for me till now :))
always great content from yo0u alax
let's just list the cheap picks already
• cruelty squad
• pizza tower
• celeste
• insert game tangentially related to toby fox here
• ultrakill
• at least there is čeda čedović
• hylics 2
• bug fables
• -mother 4- oddity
• insert game tangentially related to zun here
• hollow knight
• any sonic fangame actually worth playing
• any game commonly compared to any of the above games
Omori
Stardew valley
10:59 what is the name of this song
It's the pause theme from Mario Strikers Charged
Really interesting and funny, good job 🫡
2:41 For future reference, if you wanna read Luis read it as if it were Loois or Lewis, this way it comes closer to how it’s pronounced
Love your vids and your music!
ten years
You absolutely forgot when you hit a major multiplier and you already won
Balatro my Beloved
three title changes? make up your mind, alax.
I do love me a good dynamic music system, especially a vertical one. Great video! I've been thinking about taking the Balatro dive for a bit now
Wouldn’t be an Alax video without him talking bout New Soup 👌👌👌
You cant make me not like the video *presses like* BAM. Loved more :P
There's a sick Cover/remix too. Localthunk and LouisFSoundtracks made an iconic piece of music while making one of coolest games of the last 10 years.
always nice to see you in my feed
how many video game music uploads will it TAKE?!
Love to see the boy back at it with a really great new game
the way how i found your video wasnt through fucking recommendations but through your end card from your last video. Thanks youtube for not showing me your stuff really appreciate it
Never played Balatro, but the soundtrack is really good. I'm lovin' all the music videos on the channel Alax, please give me even more. Video game music rules.
I am so happy you’re making a video about Balatro my God
Great video Alex. If you want another game that does wonders with its music maybe you haven't heard of Planet Dob.
I thought that intro was gonna segue into a BetterHelp sponsorship I got so scared thank god it wasn't
Great video Alax! Hope you are taking care of yourself ❤
Alax, you can talk about literally ANY topic and I'll love it.
Also, I don't think it'd be that hard to count 7/4 to make a song. I bet you could probably cook something up in it.
Oh yeah I could listen to Balatro's music for 3 days straight and still vibe to it like I'm in trance
good video👍
edit; oh MTL!
RelaxAlax - come for the video games, stay for the music theory lesson
The Noise update Pizza Tower
OH IRONIC AFTER I GET INTO BALATRO, YOU MAKE A VIDEO ON IT
NOT IRONY
FITTING IS THE WORD YOU'RE LOOKING FOR
This should be a series
Not the balan wonderworld as game description 😭
Wouldn't be a RelaxALax video without WUUUUUUUAHHHH-
He has used my love of game music to make me watch a video about gambling I mean Baltro, a video i may of not clicked on if the title was diffrent. Fair play
More music videos plz!
7:25 Donkey kong "ouuh"
balantro wonderworld
Ah yes, Balan Wonderworld, my favorite gambling game.
You can't tell me what to do! I'm liking the video!
Like that little pun at the end and if I still had my PC maybe I would give it a try at some point but...I need one
Ah yes my fav indie game, Balan Wonderworld
Screen is literally split between BALATRO and this video starting with BALATRO
So much good music in indies. From good ones like Cookie Cutter and Blud, to truly amazing ones like No Straight Roads and Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands (those have the advantage for having music as a theme).
I especially wonder what you'd think of the music from Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. A game I warmly recommend.
Not quite indie, but definitely not Triple-A. A prequel to the Zeno Clash games, solid game as it is but the music is *fwoly huck*. Have a listen to Pseudo's Theme for example, or The Boy Calls, Hope, The Amokuali, Moon-Sun, Wandering Players... that entire soundtrack is phenomenal.
The compooser did work on The Eternal Cylinder as well. Still love to listen to the Crystal Temple from that OST.