It's interesting, I couldn't find any instances where Koji Kondo specifically cited the influences we can clearly see here, but the way they're so seamlessly integrated just says volumes about Koji Kondo's brilliance as a composer. ALSO, super not-so-secret black friday details here: resources.betterpiano.com/bf2024
dont know if you ever heard of or played f zero on super nintendo, if you havent your missing out on some great tunes. p.s the f zero x guitar arrange edition soundtrack is also worth a listen.
Brilliant detail. A simplified version of BGM was present in many games--I'm not sure if Mario 2 was the first to do it (probably not) but it was likely the most well-known game to do it at the time.
Dude this is just RUclips at its best. The combination of pop culture with underlying education about the history of piano playing and its influence on Japanese composers is an ode to joy
Throughout my entire life, I've always heard and believed that "if you can play classical, you can play anything" .... Until I learned jazz. I say to those people. No, if you can play classical, you still can't play jazz. If you can play JAZZ you can play anything.
@@TheBlueArcherNah, I'd say if you can play the most difficult pieces in jazz AND classical repertoire without making a mistake AND with the correct expression... THEN you can most likely play anything. I say this because I've seen videos of great pianists from both worlds have trouble playing the other worlds most difficult pieces accurately. Most classically trained pianists sound terrible playing jazz and most jazz people sound terrible playing rach/chopin correctly. I say MOST because there are always exceptions.
@@TheBlueArcher if you can play jazz music still doesnt mean you can play difficult classical pieces, both require different skill sets and both are very difficult
It's so good - One time I went to New Orleans into the French Quarter at night, and there was a small jazz street band playing Super Mario 2 World 1-1! It's so good played live.
I think I know what small jazz band you’re mentioning. I took a video of them playing while waiting in line to get my beignet had heard them. I instantly turned around and smiled.
There's a reason for this! Japan didn't import Western music, in particular jazz, until their post-WW2 cultural revolution really started to take off in the 60s and 70s. They were first starting to integrate jazz into their music while the West was moving on to rock-'n'-roll. But of course production and instrumentation were driven by technology, which was being much more aggressively exchanged at the time. So yeah, the timing of when Western music was imported heavily influenced the styles and genre blending we still hear today. Charles has reviewed some City Pop before and that's exactly where this really began to manifest most apparently
Yeah it is kinda funny that people will say they don't like jazz but then you play some video game song and people love it even though they are clearly influenced.
Adding on, I did a report on this in college. While Japan mostly inherited jazz influences after WW2, mostly from stationed American military, there were traces of early 20s swing that came over via Portuguese and other European cruise ships starting around 1900.
@bryant475 I can't claim to know the specifics but from what I've read they had to code every little note and sound. So the musicians who wrote those wild pieces had to either learn how to code for the NES or find someone who could.
I am OBSESSED with this song. Just recently I was idly wondering if someone had done a jazz breakdown of the music and today I stumble across this. Kudos to you. I don’t understand it all and don’t play the piano but greatly appreciate the education! What an incredible song and great breakdown. 🎉
200 years from now, my hope is that Kondo, Soule, Williams, Giaccino, Zimmer and others are named in equal footing to Mozart, Bach or Beethoven. They are the greats of our time.
One of the coolest parts of the smb2 soundtrack is if you paused it the music kept going on the pause screen but only the baseline. And percussions as @mevb stated.
Watching Charles break down music has changed the way I approach writing over the past few years. I don't have any formal music training and I'm not going to sit here and claim that anything I do is super amazing or complex, but I do really appreciate these videos for giving me terminology to discuss things I maybe just tried to figure out intuitively or through trial and error before
From a production POV. I love how they manipulate the 8 bit notes. You talked about them detuning several notes. But also, At 7:20, the section you played is dope because they reversed the sample of the notes in that section. To me, It serves as a nice little subtle indication that they are ending that section and looping back.
My mind is blown. A friend of mine from High School was really into Jazz Piano and he often played the Mario 2 Theme song in his repertoire. Admittedly though I like listening to various types and genres of music, I'm not privvy to the history of it all (which is why I really enjoy watching this channel to learn more). Back to my buddy playing Mario on the piano, I thought it was just b/c he also liked playing video games but 20+ years later I now know that it's because there was a lot of jazz influence in the music itself.
2:56 That classic resolution was also in Earthbound's Humoresque of a Little Dog (Buy Somethin', Will Ya?) which is from the ragtime classic Dallas Rag
I studied music and music technology in school and college and you've brought back memories of learning about early Jazz and Boogie Woogie, but it makes way more sense the way you put it out here. Charles, you're a natural teacher, you've got passion out the wazoo, you're naturally captivating when it comes to speaking and you explain music theory in such a way that doesn't feel tedious and makes us want to learn more and gives us the same passion you have. Keep up the good work my man, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of your deep dives into video game music. ❤
1:25 the chord progression uses an Augmented chord, not B major - So it goes C --> B+ --> Bb6 --> A7, with the B+ being a passing chord as any good augmented chord tends to be - I think Bb6 is perfectly fine, since it adds to the function of chromatic descending lines
PLEASE perform more of these pieces when you cover them. Hearing you play bits and pieces throughout sounds so good and it's such a tease for a performance that never comes... it would be nice to cap off these vg music videos with a little performance where you put it all together and play the piece on the piano
Kondo is one of the greatest composers ever, not just for video games, but for music in general that has been so catchy yet complicated, sophisticated and all together moving. I get tears in my eyes when I hear some of his songs, especially if it's been a while since I last heard them
Dude, you're an amazing person and musician on so many levels. Thank you so much for making this enthralling masterpiece of a video! Major props for tipping your hat to the "roots" of the musical inspiration behind this timeless SMB2 theme! Legendary!
This makes me so happy! I played this game with my kids when it came out. It's still my favorite Mario game. The gameplay is different and fun, but the music is sublime! I've hummed this tune many times over the decades. I loved this musical breakdown! 😊
This is one of my all-time favorite video game backing tracks. Not just from the NES generation and not just from the Mario games. More than 35 years after I first heard it it's a tune that still pops into my head on a frequent basis and it's still jaunty and happy and reminds me of good happy times as a kid. It's just a beautiful thing
When I discovered Jazz and Ragtime I instantly fell in love with it even tho I was classically trained, I like almost every style there is (except modern pop) and Jazz is for sure my favorite,
Not only do I get to see and hear one of my all-time favorite tunes ever in the SMB2 main theme analyzed here, I also get a HISTORY CLASS about where it comes from???? This channel, man. THIS channel!
Dude you left so much on the table here!... Im no musician but this game was always my jam. You played a little bit towards the end of the video that sounded SUPER close to the theme that plays when you fight the Birdo at the end of some levels. And I gotta say I was disappointed to not hear any talk about the pause screen music. It sounds like a bass line to an untrained ear like mine but I suspect theres more to it. Still great vid, love your stuff. Its always fun to see someone nerding out over something they love.
@@actipton80 I thought it might be but I'm not confident enough to make that claim on a music RUclipsrs comments. I know I always liked leaving it on when I was doing other stuff as a kid.
Having grown up with the NES (and later SNES), I had always thought of the music from these games as just silly songs. I'm glad you are looking at all of these old games. Makes me appreciate them way more than I did as a kid.
This very song was the first one I ever played by ear (on piano). If memory serves, Super Mario 2 came out when I was in middle school (85, 86, maybe 87?) and until then, all I did was sight-read and memorize whatever my piano teacher assigned. It was this crazy video game song, with its jazzy chords, tremolos, and ragtime attributes that positively blew my mind and drove me to explore playing by ear. I eventually figured out every song in SM2, including that simple but mesmerizing ending credits lullaby, as well as tons of other video game songs. Good memories. Great share!
This song has been stuck in my head for years, especially since I heard Estradasphere's big band arrangement of it back when OCRemix was a thing. I think there was also a stride arrangement on there too. Brentalfloss also did a goofy acapella arrangement of it too. I also counted the bars in the song and it has 32 which I know is a jazz thing.
The music in this game is one of many reasons of why this was one of my favorite NES games. I love the drums in the main theme. What is also really cool with the game is that when it is paused, the music continues in the bass section only without interrupting the flow of the music, so that when you continue, the music doesn't miss a beat.
Some of these sounds, instruments and styles remind me a lot of a museum I used to go to quite frequently. They've got a huge amount of self playing piano's, street organs, and all sorts of interesting musical contraptions! The museum is "Museum Speelklok" in Utrecht, Netherlands. I highly recommend giving it a go if you live in or are planning to visit the Netherlands!
Not having a strong background in jazz piano history, I always just associated it with "ragtime." That walking bass is so catchy though. If these walls had conscious thought, they would know the Mario 2 tune by heart from hearing me whistle it in the shower, at the coffee machine, in the laundry room ....
I've watched a great number of your videos. I don't understand about half of what you are saying when it comes to music theory since I never studied it. But you are excitingly talking about music that I've loved for a long time, and that's what makes these videos awesome. Music that I will also excitingly talk about but on a lower level. And it's great to watch! Who knows, I might actually learn something eventually. Keep it up!
Okay first of all, this game was crazy. The movement of the different characters, the unpredictability, it was just crazy and fun! Also as others mentioned, the music sticks with you for YEARS. Love the content, keep it up Charles!
Found this channel for the first time a few months ago and remember being a bit disappointed you hadn't covered this gem yet. Glad to see that you've worked your way back around to it cause this is lowkey one of my favorite (if not "the" favorite) Mario themes. Hated the game growing up, but this melody is fantastic.
Have you listened to "The Athlete's Rag" from Super Mario World? It's a very wonderful ragtime rendition of the Super Mario World basic theme. Pianist Tom Brier did an amazing sight-read of the sheet music.
By the way, SMB is based on a Japanese game Doki Doki Panic with some sprites changed. This is why there’s so many completely alien characters. The music was also reused, but the third , “Honky Tonk” part was composed specifically for SMB2, and some other classic melodies such as powerboost theme, title song, etc were added to the music set as well.
I'm so happy to see someone cover Fats Waller. Also, glad to see you used a clip from one of my favorite movies "Stormy Weather". To quote Waller "One never knows, do one!"
This is answering a lot of long-time, and a few more recent, piano questions for me! Mario2 music was always my favorite, and I'm just now realizing it probably was mostly because of the soundtrack. Great video! Thank you for what you do!
Even just the bass line is excellent! I remember hearing versions of this tune where the melody would drop and we'd get to really savor the bass for the 2nd and 3rd phrases before the melody jumped back in for the resolution. Top tier music and video, loved hearing about the history and potential inspiration! Thanks for posting!
Yeah, Charles, you can pick out chord progressions by ear, you can bust out crazy stride lines like nothing and give clear, entertaining and educational lessons about music/jazz history, but can you beat SMB2U four times in one day, each run using a single character exclusively like I did? I think not. In all seriousness, this analysis is FANTASTIC!
I haven't watched this video yet but I know it's going to be great. The SMB2 music is amazing. And when you hit pause and just get the base, #chef's_kiss. Can't wait to actually watch this video!!
I appreciate your channel as it's one of the few things that bridges the interests in things I like with things my mom is really into. I share your videos with her because she just loves music theory.
Super Mario 2 is undoubtedly one of the best games ever made. Yes we all know Doki Doki Panic and its history blah blah blah….FREAKING UNREAL GOOD GAME
@@Yanks1005Super Mario Bros 2 is a reskin of another nes game called Doki Doki panic. They did that so they could sell it to an American audience. Honestly, probably the right decision.
@@Yanks1005 The original SMB2 in Japan was very similar to SMB1 but was thought to be too difficult for Americans to catch on. *They were probably right*
Still my most favorite 2D Mario game of all time, and the music has always been one of my favorite aspects of it. It's always great to be able hear the classic influences in the music of so many of the 8- and 16-bit games I grew up with.
Man your content is so good. I was under 10 yo when i first heard this song. I couldnt even play the game right. But i listened to the song over and over and over and over. I never even considered the etymology of this music. This is so cool!
The fact that they paired this music with this 80s fantasy world video game is almost beyond genius. I had no idea why, but I can remember thinking there was something special about this music when I first heard it. And there are so many more themes from Super Mario that are absolutely brilliant!
I'm more of an old fashioned girl, and my husband is the one on the cutting edge of technology. Sometimes our interests overlap, as in the case of Mario music. I LOVE ragtime and boogie-woogie, but hadn't consciously connected it to this theme. That explains a lot! 😄 Thanks and keep up the great work!
It's interesting, I couldn't find any instances where Koji Kondo specifically cited the influences we can clearly see here, but the way they're so seamlessly integrated just says volumes about Koji Kondo's brilliance as a composer. ALSO, super not-so-secret black friday details here: resources.betterpiano.com/bf2024
@1:46 kind of sounds like its about to go into mario water theme
Charles .. check out Jon Batiste. EXCELLENT young pianist creating awesome blues arrangements of classical pieces
Would love a list of the influences in the description so I just plug them into spotify or something. Or a playlist
Man is god damn incredible
dont know if you ever heard of or played f zero on super nintendo, if you havent your missing out on some great tunes.
p.s the f zero x guitar arrange edition soundtrack is also worth a listen.
I love that you hear the bass line when you pause the game.
chef's kiss for sure!
Brilliant detail. A simplified version of BGM was present in many games--I'm not sure if Mario 2 was the first to do it (probably not) but it was likely the most well-known game to do it at the time.
YES! I was about to mention that! So cool!
do you know any other instances as such?
I became a bass player because of this song. 6 year old me would just sit there on pause and groove out, and that was it.
To this day, this song is on regular rotation in my mental playlist. I'll be doing something random at work and realize I'm humming the bassline.
same
This and the classic Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare when completing a small task.
No joke. I bet I haven't played the game in 35 years, but doggone if I don't just start whistling it at random at least a few times a year :D
yessss the bassline
Yea, that bass line is sick!
Dude this is just RUclips at its best. The combination of pop culture with underlying education about the history of piano playing and its influence on Japanese composers is an ode to joy
So awesome
MF just busts out ragtime like it's not insanely hard to play. I love you Charles.
💯
Throughout my entire life, I've always heard and believed that "if you can play classical, you can play anything" .... Until I learned jazz. I say to those people. No, if you can play classical, you still can't play jazz. If you can play JAZZ you can play anything.
@@TheBlueArcherNah, I'd say if you can play the most difficult pieces in jazz AND classical repertoire without making a mistake AND with the correct expression... THEN you can most likely play anything. I say this because I've seen videos of great pianists from both worlds have trouble playing the other worlds most difficult pieces accurately. Most classically trained pianists sound terrible playing jazz and most jazz people sound terrible playing rach/chopin correctly. I say MOST because there are always exceptions.
@@TheBlueArcher if you can play jazz music still doesnt mean you can play difficult classical pieces, both require different skill sets and both are very difficult
My reaction precisely lol
It's so good - One time I went to New Orleans into the French Quarter at night, and there was a small jazz street band playing Super Mario 2 World 1-1! It's so good played live.
That's incredible
Oh man, you were so lucky!
Used to work at bamboulas on frenchmen street. Would listen to these guys play every night!
I think I know what small jazz band you’re mentioning. I took a video of them playing while waiting in line to get my beignet had heard them. I instantly turned around and smiled.
@@Ryuujin1078 Were they playing Super Mario 2? If so, can you post it??
The amount of jazz embedded in (especially Japanese) vgm never ceases to amaze me. Very instructive analysis!
Not just vgm. Jpop chords are very jazz-inspired 🙂
There's a reason for this! Japan didn't import Western music, in particular jazz, until their post-WW2 cultural revolution really started to take off in the 60s and 70s. They were first starting to integrate jazz into their music while the West was moving on to rock-'n'-roll. But of course production and instrumentation were driven by technology, which was being much more aggressively exchanged at the time.
So yeah, the timing of when Western music was imported heavily influenced the styles and genre blending we still hear today.
Charles has reviewed some City Pop before and that's exactly where this really began to manifest most apparently
@@Pmf95k yes, I love that their bands are like a jazz band supporting a pop singer. Mad musicality and technical chops. (Zutomayo, Yoasobi stc)
Yeah it is kinda funny that people will say they don't like jazz but then you play some video game song and people love it even though they are clearly influenced.
Adding on, I did a report on this in college. While Japan mostly inherited jazz influences after WW2, mostly from stationed American military, there were traces of early 20s swing that came over via Portuguese and other European cruise ships starting around 1900.
This song gets stuck in my head a few times a year for the last 35 years.
Same
Same. And it's a beautiful thing. Mood lifter for sure! I actually have a whole "Mario" playlist on Spotify dedicated to this stuff.
Here! Here!
This song has been stuck in my head for 35 years
The 8-bit sound is deceptive as although it sounds primitive to the ear, the composition is next level. Incredibly insightful breakdown, Charles!
And they had to use such relatively primitive technology to program the music on the NES sound chip. Crazy stuff.
@@LikeWhateverDo you know how Koji did it? Was it like a piano connected to a chip?
@bryant475 I can't claim to know the specifics but from what I've read they had to code every little note and sound. So the musicians who wrote those wild pieces had to either learn how to code for the NES or find someone who could.
I am OBSESSED with this song. Just recently I was idly wondering if someone had done a jazz breakdown of the music and today I stumble across this. Kudos to you. I don’t understand it all and don’t play the piano but greatly appreciate the education! What an incredible song and great breakdown. 🎉
Oh wow
Bro used a Mario Bros song as an excuse to talk about jazz history and I'm all for it
Koji Kondo never fails to deliver
Man's been consistent for 40 years of games
koji kondo if he was a doctor who helps women give birth:
200 years from now, my hope is that Kondo, Soule, Williams, Giaccino, Zimmer and others are named in equal footing to Mozart, Bach or Beethoven. They are the greats of our time.
One of the coolest parts of the smb2 soundtrack is if you paused it the music kept going on the pause screen but only the baseline. And percussions as @mevb stated.
And the "percussions".
That's why i love PPF's cover so much, he actually puts that part in.
@@KairuHakubiYes! The legend himself.
I’m so used to hearing music from Mario games that I often forget how musically genius they are
Kondo knows his $h!t
@@bemasaberwyn55Definitely the shit!
Damn shit has been burnt into my brain for thirty years.
Koji Kondo is an absolute master
Watching Charles break down music has changed the way I approach writing over the past few years. I don't have any formal music training and I'm not going to sit here and claim that anything I do is super amazing or complex, but I do really appreciate these videos for giving me terminology to discuss things I maybe just tried to figure out intuitively or through trial and error before
Lil deuce coupe you don't know what I got
This is a fucking masterpiece. It's stuck in my head for 35 years already.
I LOVE that you show the mistakes and imperfections, feels actually REAL
From a production POV. I love how they manipulate the 8 bit notes. You talked about them detuning several notes. But also, At 7:20, the section you played is dope because they reversed the sample of the notes in that section. To me, It serves as a nice little subtle indication that they are ending that section and looping back.
My mind is blown. A friend of mine from High School was really into Jazz Piano and he often played the Mario 2 Theme song in his repertoire. Admittedly though I like listening to various types and genres of music, I'm not privvy to the history of it all (which is why I really enjoy watching this channel to learn more). Back to my buddy playing Mario on the piano, I thought it was just b/c he also liked playing video games but 20+ years later I now know that it's because there was a lot of jazz influence in the music itself.
2:56 That classic resolution was also in Earthbound's Humoresque of a Little Dog (Buy Somethin', Will Ya?) which is from the ragtime classic Dallas Rag
I came here to say this! Total 😮moment when Charles played it and my brain said "hang on, that's Earthbound's shop theme!"
You're enjoyment is contagious. I love your enthusiasm.
1:06 descending bass line for the first half of the phrase, ascending for the second. I'M LEARNING, CHARLES! 💕
I studied music and music technology in school and college and you've brought back memories of learning about early Jazz and Boogie Woogie, but it makes way more sense the way you put it out here. Charles, you're a natural teacher, you've got passion out the wazoo, you're naturally captivating when it comes to speaking and you explain music theory in such a way that doesn't feel tedious and makes us want to learn more and gives us the same passion you have. Keep up the good work my man, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of your deep dives into video game music. ❤
1:25 the chord progression uses an Augmented chord, not B major - So it goes C --> B+ --> Bb6 --> A7, with the B+ being a passing chord as any good augmented chord tends to be - I think Bb6 is perfectly fine, since it adds to the function of chromatic descending lines
I was thinking the exact same thing.
This is my favorite channel for watching someone get giddily excited by intervals.
I sincerely love it. ❤
I have always thought this about these pieces! They are etched in my mind. Koji Kondo is a genius.
PLEASE perform more of these pieces when you cover them. Hearing you play bits and pieces throughout sounds so good and it's such a tease for a performance that never comes... it would be nice to cap off these vg music videos with a little performance where you put it all together and play the piece on the piano
Solid breakdown of the main theme in SMB2. Always loved how groovy that walking bassline was in that track.
Kondo is one of the greatest composers ever, not just for video games, but for music in general that has been so catchy yet complicated, sophisticated and all together moving. I get tears in my eyes when I hear some of his songs, especially if it's been a while since I last heard them
Such a great ragtime / gypsy track. The covers in particular are amazing. The walking bassline is just perfect.
Good heavens! So cool you covered this tune. It is in my head on an almost daily base for the last 34 years!
Dude, you're an amazing person and musician on so many levels. Thank you so much for making this enthralling masterpiece of a video!
Major props for tipping your hat to the "roots" of the musical inspiration behind this timeless SMB2 theme! Legendary!
This makes me so happy! I played this game with my kids when it came out. It's still my favorite Mario game. The gameplay is different and fun, but the music is sublime! I've hummed this tune many times over the decades. I loved this musical breakdown! 😊
This is one of my all-time favorite video game backing tracks. Not just from the NES generation and not just from the Mario games. More than 35 years after I first heard it it's a tune that still pops into my head on a frequent basis and it's still jaunty and happy and reminds me of good happy times as a kid. It's just a beautiful thing
This is one of my favorite video of yours. I love how you bring in so many examples of the music that influenced this. Even video footage!
6:24 "And then you're gonna miss, right?"
For once, Charles, you really get me.
We need more moments where Charles just flexes like at 3:40. Thank you
Yeah that is always cool!
I loved this ragtime feel to the theme. Thanks for breaking it down!
I love how geeked out you get about geeking out! 🎹🎶
The thing that makes this genius imo is the song is like two melodies at once, the bass line is almost like its own lead on its own
When I discovered Jazz and Ragtime I instantly fell in love with it even tho I was classically trained, I like almost every style there is (except modern pop) and Jazz is for sure my favorite,
Ragtime's so great. The big three especially
Never forget Tom Briar
Dude I’ve struggled with that second half of maple leaf rag for like a year and then you just effortlessly crush it 😭
I heard Blue Suede Shoes at 8:40. Definitely Rock N Roll before Rock N Roll.
Definitely feel like Charles would love to dissect the *Snake Rattle 'n' Roll* music from the NES.
Ridiculously under appreciated game!
Not only do I get to see and hear one of my all-time favorite tunes ever in the SMB2 main theme analyzed here, I also get a HISTORY CLASS about where it comes from???? This channel, man. THIS channel!
Yes sir.
This song is an absolute masterpiece.
I love ragtime, the Super Mario World Athletic Theme uses heavy ragtime style “left hand” patterns as well.
So satisfying!
Dude you left so much on the table here!... Im no musician but this game was always my jam. You played a little bit towards the end of the video that sounded SUPER close to the theme that plays when you fight the Birdo at the end of some levels. And I gotta say I was disappointed to not hear any talk about the pause screen music. It sounds like a bass line to an untrained ear like mine but I suspect theres more to it.
Still great vid, love your stuff. Its always fun to see someone nerding out over something they love.
The pause screen is just the bass line of the music of whatever area you happen to be in. (overworld, underworld, boss room, etc.)
@@actipton80 I thought it might be but I'm not confident enough to make that claim on a music RUclipsrs comments. I know I always liked leaving it on when I was doing other stuff as a kid.
Having grown up with the NES (and later SNES), I had always thought of the music from these games as just silly songs. I'm glad you are looking at all of these old games. Makes me appreciate them way more than I did as a kid.
This very song was the first one I ever played by ear (on piano). If memory serves, Super Mario 2 came out when I was in middle school (85, 86, maybe 87?) and until then, all I did was sight-read and memorize whatever my piano teacher assigned. It was this crazy video game song, with its jazzy chords, tremolos, and ragtime attributes that positively blew my mind and drove me to explore playing by ear. I eventually figured out every song in SM2, including that simple but mesmerizing ending credits lullaby, as well as tons of other video game songs. Good memories. Great share!
This song has been stuck in my head for years, especially since I heard Estradasphere's big band arrangement of it back when OCRemix was a thing. I think there was also a stride arrangement on there too. Brentalfloss also did a goofy acapella arrangement of it too. I also counted the bars in the song and it has 32 which I know is a jazz thing.
Estradasphere are one of my all time favourite bands! Great to hear them mentioned! :)
"back when OCRemix was a thing" Pretty sure it's still a thing.
This game and song was one of my fav NES games. Still smile whenever I hear it.
Charles is constantly being amazed by music and I'm all for it cause music is *amazing*
Mario music has always been S tier
The music in this game is one of many reasons of why this was one of my favorite NES games. I love the drums in the main theme. What is also really cool with the game is that when it is paused, the music continues in the bass section only without interrupting the flow of the music, so that when you continue, the music doesn't miss a beat.
Some of these sounds, instruments and styles remind me a lot of a museum I used to go to quite frequently. They've got a huge amount of self playing piano's, street organs, and all sorts of interesting musical contraptions! The museum is "Museum Speelklok" in Utrecht, Netherlands. I highly recommend giving it a go if you live in or are planning to visit the Netherlands!
This is my FAVORITE Mario theme of all time! Thank you for covering it!
3:48 I'm hearing the end of the Thomas the tank engine theme 😂
Same
I can't unhear that
Yep 😂 Thomas does have some jazz ties in it's music so it makes sense
Same
@@colecarter1844James the Red Engine’s theme is literally Big Band swing music
This has been one of my favourite game themes for almost four decades now. Great to see a breakdown of it at last.
Koji Kondo is nothing short of a legend, an insane career.
Not having a strong background in jazz piano history, I always just associated it with "ragtime." That walking bass is so catchy though. If these walls had conscious thought, they would know the Mario 2 tune by heart from hearing me whistle it in the shower, at the coffee machine, in the laundry room ....
Ragtime is close to Jazz! One of its progenitors!
I've watched a great number of your videos. I don't understand about half of what you are saying when it comes to music theory since I never studied it. But you are excitingly talking about music that I've loved for a long time, and that's what makes these videos awesome. Music that I will also excitingly talk about but on a lower level. And it's great to watch! Who knows, I might actually learn something eventually. Keep it up!
Okay first of all, this game was crazy. The movement of the different characters, the unpredictability, it was just crazy and fun! Also as others mentioned, the music sticks with you for YEARS. Love the content, keep it up Charles!
Found this channel for the first time a few months ago and remember being a bit disappointed you hadn't covered this gem yet. Glad to see that you've worked your way back around to it cause this is lowkey one of my favorite (if not "the" favorite) Mario themes. Hated the game growing up, but this melody is fantastic.
Have you listened to "The Athlete's Rag" from Super Mario World? It's a very wonderful ragtime rendition of the Super Mario World basic theme. Pianist Tom Brier did an amazing sight-read of the sheet music.
Maple Leaf Rag is so legendary
Probably, possibly the most insanely fun and great video game theme ever.... thanks for covering this one! Always stuck in my head
By the way, SMB is based on a Japanese game Doki Doki Panic with some sprites changed. This is why there’s so many completely alien characters.
The music was also reused, but the third , “Honky Tonk” part was composed specifically for SMB2, and some other classic melodies such as powerboost theme, title song, etc were added to the music set as well.
I'm so happy to see someone cover Fats Waller. Also, glad to see you used a clip from one of my favorite movies "Stormy Weather". To quote Waller "One never knows, do one!"
This video felt especially informative, loved hearing you spill all this jazz lore
It's been 24 years since I was 5 and last played this game, and I kid you not I still hear this playing in my head and sing along.
I have loved this song and memorized the melody exactly since I was like 6. Glad you finally got to it
This is answering a lot of long-time, and a few more recent, piano questions for me! Mario2 music was always my favorite, and I'm just now realizing it probably was mostly because of the soundtrack. Great video! Thank you for what you do!
I am so happy you covered this song!! it's genuinely one of my favorite Mario games and probably my favorite Mario song!!! This is so cool.
I love this song. The jingle is so catchy
Really appreciated the switch-up to a history lesson.
Even just the bass line is excellent! I remember hearing versions of this tune where the melody would drop and we'd get to really savor the bass for the 2nd and 3rd phrases before the melody jumped back in for the resolution. Top tier music and video, loved hearing about the history and potential inspiration! Thanks for posting!
Yeah, Charles, you can pick out chord progressions by ear, you can bust out crazy stride lines like nothing and give clear, entertaining and educational lessons about music/jazz history, but can you beat SMB2U four times in one day, each run using a single character exclusively like I did? I think not.
In all seriousness, this analysis is FANTASTIC!
I haven't watched this video yet but I know it's going to be great. The SMB2 music is amazing. And when you hit pause and just get the base, #chef's_kiss. Can't wait to actually watch this video!!
I appreciate your channel as it's one of the few things that bridges the interests in things I like with things my mom is really into. I share your videos with her because she just loves music theory.
Thank you! It’s about time you did this one!
havent played this game for 25 years and still hum the theme around the house sometimes. Excellent
10:18 actually, when I first heard the character select theme, I immediately thought of old-school rag (and I was only 7)
Every RUclips guitarist says this song is hard af, thank goodness you play piano and can keep up
Super Mario 2 is undoubtedly one of the best games ever made. Yes we all know Doki Doki Panic and its history blah blah blah….FREAKING UNREAL GOOD GAME
Dude! Lol👋🏾
Doki Doki what now? What is that?
@@Yanks1005Super Mario Bros 2 is a reskin of another nes game called Doki Doki panic. They did that so they could sell it to an American audience. Honestly, probably the right decision.
@@Yanks1005 The original SMB2 in Japan was very similar to SMB1 but was thought to be too difficult for Americans to catch on. *They were probably right*
@@Jafiveon @redgunnit Next thing you'll tell me is Zelda is a girl.
I've been waiting for THIS particular video for soo long :)
That boogie woogie… I had the pleasure of seeing Little Richard perform live when I was a kid. His piano playing sounded just like that.
growing up I was super into video games and classic jazz piano. So this was always a favorite of mine.
One of my favorite pieces to play! Great lesson and analysis
Your video quality has improved so much, loving the more educational and fun style of videos!
Still my most favorite 2D Mario game of all time, and the music has always been one of my favorite aspects of it. It's always great to be able hear the classic influences in the music of so many of the 8- and 16-bit games I grew up with.
Man your content is so good. I was under 10 yo when i first heard this song. I couldnt even play the game right. But i listened to the song over and over and over and over. I never even considered the etymology of this music. This is so cool!
I still have some faith left for a Made in Abyss video. VOH is a must listen in the genre.
The fact that they paired this music with this 80s fantasy world video game is almost beyond genius. I had no idea why, but I can remember thinking there was something special about this music when I first heard it. And there are so many more themes from Super Mario that are absolutely brilliant!
I love how you delve into the melodic history and influences in detail - like a historical analysis - sub'd!
I'm not joking when I say I'm so thankful that you analyzed this theme. I've wanted to see someone analyze this scene for a while now!!
I'm more of an old fashioned girl, and my husband is the one on the cutting edge of technology. Sometimes our interests overlap, as in the case of Mario music. I LOVE ragtime and boogie-woogie, but hadn't consciously connected it to this theme. That explains a lot! 😄 Thanks and keep up the great work!
Ive never met like anyone this talented in my life lol.