Hehehe. I love this comment. He’s describing the harmonic function of the music...basically how the notes work together to create the vibe/feel you perceive. It is one of the most nerdy but seriously exciting things! :-)
@A1 SaucyBoi Spanish, it would require a lot more words, if you translated it literally you'd get "No hay nada mejor que ver a un músico nerd nerd afuera acerca de música" which don't make any sense, if you translated it correctly it'd be " No hay nada mejor que ver a un músico nerd divagando sobre cosas intelectuales de música" which is a lot more dull. I love English.
@@patonle yes but you would need anglicisms and that one sounds weird, it's somehow cheating. And we don't have phrasal verbs so there's something lacking
Fun fact: In an interview, Bruno mars stated that as they were composing this, anderson paak only did one take on the drums and the song started from there.
@@jazminramos1712 yup! pretty nuts. you can check the interview here if you want :))ruclips.net/video/thPqhXjZa4M/видео.html i believe they started talking bout it on the 3 minute mark.
This dude is an absolute MUST subscribe for church gospel musicians. Whether you’re comfortable with mid-level theory OR the Nashville Number system his stuff is GOLD!!
Charles: it works so well because *starts speaking in music* Me, a non-musician: ah, yes. I, too, believe the addition of Flat 9's and 13's is what makes this song bop so hard.
Those flat 9s and 13s are called chord extensions and they basically add more complexity and, for lack of a better term, _more vibes_ to a chord, especially if the chord would otherwise be something you'd frequently hear in pop music. An A major chord (extremely common, that's the IV chord in E major, a common key since E is the lowest note on basses and guitars in standard tuning) is nothing special, neither is an A7 (same thing, just with a minor 7th on top, this is called a dominant chord, in the case of A7 it's the V chord in D major). But an A7b9b13? Now you're cooking with gas. Suddenly all these weird and wonderful sounds that come from the interactions between the guts of the chord, the major triad (A, C#, E) and the extensions sitting atop it (G, Bb, F) in there and you get all sorts of fun stuff happening.
@@browncoat697 rly great explanation lol, but i think in order to understand this you need at least the basic comprehension of music theory, then we can dive into this colourful stuff
The most entertaining thing about this video isn’t the music theory or the explanation, it’s charles’ true musical passion shining through. Seeing someone be truly passionate about what they do is a rare yet lovely thing.
I ADORE watching videos of people who truly love what they do and as much of a music nerd that I am that drew me to these videos, it's his absolute passion that made me stay. Seeing people truly happy with what they do makes me happy.
@@bmefilms6879 it's less so he just discovered it, he knows soul, it's the absolute beauty in the way the song is composed and played that makes him excited about it
Bruno is known for great key changes in the songs he writes and produces for himself and other artists. One of my favorites, is the key change in the song he cowrote for Adele, "All I Ask".
@@infamouscha Yes, he did an interview talking about the collab. And there is a great video of him performing it live with a 90's R&B slow song feel to it....do a search for ""bruno mars all i ask live".
this is like a Stevie Wonder level of theory in that the writing is so well done the average listener probably wouldn't even notice how complex the harmony is. can't wait until the Silk Sonic album is out. thanks so much for breaking it down Charles!
Exactly! Stevie is one that wrote such complex music and the theory components were amazingly complicated, but made it sound easy to the listeners ears rather than some show off playing all these things he’s just learnt. Stevie made complex music theory sound easy, and now Bruno and .Paak are doing the same.
I WONDER what he thinks about this song... ehh like how I did that? 🤣 Seriously, I wonder what someone of his musical geniusnessss thinks of a song like this 🧐
I love how they've got that classic `two clear and distinctly different personalities' going with the duet, which has been missing from collabs in recent years. With Paak being the cheeky one while Bruno is all earnest (two different and equally valid ways of chatting some one up haha)
Also I feel like paak has a rough texture in his voice and reminds me of salt while Bruno’s is soft and reminds me of sweets, together they make salt and caramel
I feel like I'm Charles's dad. I don't really understand what he's talking about, but I love to listen anyway because he's so passionate about it and it's really interesting, even though I only understand like 25% of what he's saying
Sometimes I pause the video just to stare at things like "Bflat7flat9flat13" or "Aflat7sus13" in the corner and convince myself that it's a real thing despite how ridiculous it looks. I actually have composed music myself but I don't know theory, I just play until something sounds good 😅
I sometimes manage to forget how good of a pianist and musician Charles is. In this video his musicality, knowledge, wisdom, talent and skill shine right through, so amazing and inspiring
and passion. This is the first video I watched of his and subscribed half way through the vid because its really nice to see someone with knowledge and passion talk about something.
Filipino love songs uses that progression and that key change (3 half steps then back) regularly. I imagine Bruno listened to songs his filipino mom was playing a lot back in the day.
Please review city pop! It's a style of 70s/80s Japanese pop music that's often heavily jazz influenced. In recent years, the genre has had a resurgence on RUclips. Lots of people agree that the "Holy Trinity" of city pop is 1. Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi 2. Stay with Me by Miki Matsubara 3. 4 AM by Taeko Ohnuki (which is probably the jazziest out of the three; I would start with this one!)
Highly doubt he would do it the only channel that I've seen review/look and listen to citypop is a very small channel and they only did one video on it can't remember the name of the channel unfortunately Edit: the reason I say I highly doubt he would it is because there is a ton of stuff that he has yet to do a video on so the chances of him doing a video on citypop are like very small still a chance yes but a very small one and the chances of Roomie (RoomieOfficial) doing a video on citypop are like none sadly
I watched the live performance at the Grammy's and I couldn't even believe that was actually live. PERFECT harmonies, it was insane that they replicated it live.
@@diegon2020 I’m no expert on this stuff, but Rick Beato is and seems to think it’s live. He addresses it 2:00 into his Grammys video. Personally I think it’s live, they’re musicians, it’s what they do.
@@aslefjeldstad I saw that video. Having watched Bruno live twice and practically every Bruno vid on YT, I can tell you it was a prerecorded performance. Just like his “Live at the Apollo” special, they filmed a live take, then edited/cleaned it up in post.
The surprise Eb, and the underrated fall to the root chord during the "tell me that you're coming through" crescendo are the highlights of this stand-out song in pop music. Seriously, R&B/ funk soul better be mainstream again.
Everybody sleeps on RnB but it has some of the most complex progressions in all of music. Artists in this genre are incredible musicians and are woefully underappreciated. Musiq Soulchild comes to mind. Thanks for giving this genre some love!
This song is what I call a "Sunset Song" because that's what I personally see and feel when I hear it. If you can get to the beach here on the west coast to watch a sunset and play this song, you'll see what I mean.
“Sunset Song” is also a really good Scottish book by Lewis Grassic-Gibbon. I would recommend reading it but the old Scot’s is quite hard to understand even for a Scot like myself. I don’t know why I’m commenting this on a video about music but I just got reminded of it lmao
Yeah it's just the relaxing atmosphere, kind of a warm embrace This song surely reminds of 70s vibes like Kool and The Gang and stuff like that from which they sure draw inspiration This song came into my mind: ruclips.net/video/LnTE8Lgjt18/видео.html
That's the point of the song....leaving the door open is to let the breeze come inside in hot summer days so basically you got the meaning of the song in your own way which is awesome and that's why Bruno and Anderson didn't talk about how's it's supposed to feel like. To get that I watched a couple reactions....much more to be honest😂
Someone who shares the same sentiment! Some songs are best for the night-life, some during summer days, hanging outside with friends I believe it could because of the context that the songs are presented in, album art could also play a role in how you'll perceive the music, and the overall tone or mood of the music
@@naethavenir9422 So true. Come to think of it, I have made what I call "Personal life soundtracks" that I pretty much play depending on what I'm doing or where I'm going. 😅
This song feels viscerally like an amazing ride, and the chord progressions show exactly why. It's literally crafted to perfection. Love this breakdown Charles.
Musicians like you know exactly how hard it is to make songs like these wid so many intricacies.. And some out there who know shit bout music say bruno is a copy cat and ain't an original artist 👀👀
So...I’m not a musician, and pretty much all of this is foreign to me, but I’m so interested because he’s so excited. Of course I LOVE the song and have listened to it several times, but hearing him dissect it in this way makes me appreciate the music, their creativity and the video even more.
Been noticing an increase in "Jazz" Chords lately in Pop music and a lot of advanced musical techniques and it's so damn refreshing. That's what ive been waiting for as a Jazz musician who likes pop music. Finally producers are trusting the audience that they will accept those more intricate sounds cause as far as I know that played a part in the simplification of pop music during the previous decade. Im excited for pop music again
Same, the the three that I can name off the top of my head are leave the door open, peaches, and kiss me more. They all use those classic neo soul chords and I can name dozens of RnB songs that have the same progression as peaches. I think artists nowadays are just discovering maj and min 7 chords so they are taking advantage of it
For anyone who grew up in the 60's and 70's, this is nothing new, we heard it everyday. I'm happy that someone is bringing back the music of my generation. Let's hope the radio stations play it.
I don't think is new for most people this generation but we're extremely happy we have the opportunity to have a taste of it ...live! Finally something worth seeing live, real skills, real musicianship, real performance
Bruno Mars first album was all pop but those pop songs were the best of pop I’ve ever heard. Songs that touch your heart. His two following albums were all RnB, rock, funk, soul. He’s such a great artists.
the way charles talks about music is the way a scientist talks about chemistry, but he does it in a way that I can digest. This channel is amazing, just a guy who's fanatical about the science of music
I was lucky enough to see Bruno Mars in 2015 at a small venue and I was really floored by the precision and uniformly high quality of his performance. Can’t say I was a huge fan at that point but I came away from that experience understanding him as someone who clearly knew what he was doing. Glad to see his work is going in this really interesting direction.
Cant wait when he breakdown the Smoking Out the Window. They slay holy fuck. Edit: CANT WAIT FOR HIM TO DISSSSSSSECT THE WHOLE ALBUM, SOOO FOKIN GORGEOUS.
This song is such a game changer. When I first hear it I was speechless at how good it was. NO ONE was expecting that omg and it’s so what we all need right now
@@Tysoneko I believe he's referring to mainstream media. Bruno Mars is a big time artist that isn't a generic formula producing artist. So I think we'll see a change in what's popular which is exciting. Especially alongside emerging artists like Jacob Collier, Frank Ocean, Daniel Ceasar, and similar artists that push personality through their music and are now producing for and with the mainstream with their strong grasp on more complex musical concepts.
10:06 man that little laugh almost brings a tear to the eye, that’s what music is all about! That laugh is the reaction of a musician who’s so in it, so feeling it, that they simply HAVE to express their joy in that way. It’s like an unconscious reaction, like a reflex. Beautiful.
Smoking out the window sounds like a song written by two people having fun in the studio too, u can tell they were trying to one up eachother with the lyrics.
As a child of the 60s, I can tell you that this song smacks thoroughly of the 70s. Music was interesting and groovy, and it combined jazz, and r&b, and pop and made it sing with the gloriousness of the day. Your analysis has brought the joy of creativity to my jaded ears. Thank you sir!
I’m obsessed with this song! I heard and I thought omg all those dirty little chords with those flat 9s and 13s. Completely deceased. Can’t wait to show this to my music students! Thanks for putting out great content and I agree with you, this excites me that this stuff is happening right now in music.
Charles really has an incredible talent of talking about music-he makes it accessible to music-lovers, no matter your instrumental ability or theory background. He always brings super solid analysis, brilliant playing, and an infectious excitement to discuss music. Love his depth of knowledge and his amazing ability to break down all these musical and contextual elements!
Thanks for bringing this song to my attention. I knew Bruno Mars was bringing harmonic sophistication back to pop music, but this is on another level. Why can't all art operate on multiple levels like this? There's something for everyone here.
I am too old (80) and that old cliche' "been there done it"...if I don't play this at least once a day I get MEAN!!! I feel ya'! Just an old B3 blues/cafe jazz /road dude...so glad you did this!!!!!!!!
😂😂😂 but it's true though.. I play violin, but I can't play most of pop songs since it so repetitive. It feels so refreshing hearing song that actually have melody in it.
The first part is almost exactly earth wind and fire's All about love. And I love it! Seriously happy to hear 'proper music' making a comeback from the overbearing shadow of the decades of manufactured paint-by-number tracks thrust upon the charts. Yes there always has been, and will be, superb tracks being made by musicians, but the major labels have kept it out of sight for not being commercial enough to make money out of. For someone as big as Bruno and Anderson .paak to release something as musically diverse from the rest into the mainstream charts is incredibly exciting and a welcomed surprise.
Proper music. That term is so cromulent. It shall find use in my lexicon henceforth. Thank you for bringing my attention to that adroit turn of phrase. Regards.
from 12:47 onward i was like ok this guy gets it! that progression sounds like a million dollars. its actually my favorite part of the sound...long live the sharps
I’m in my bed eating pizza and cheesebread, high out of my mind . I know zero about music theory and I haven’t picked up an instrument in my whole life. But somehow - this is the best video I’ve ever seen
Also F/G is just a Dominant 7th chord with the 7th on the bottom which gives it its tense and suspension feel. Or a V4/2 if you know roman numeral analysis in music
This song brings me to tears every time I hear it... This is writing on a level with Stevie's Fullfillingness First Finale, Joni Mitchell's very best, the very best of the Beatles... truly brilliant...
I don’t understand music theory at all but somehow this song’s melody sounds familiar to me - like old school music. I’m reminded of the Carpenters, the Stylistics as well.
Remember its Ebmaj7 not Eb7 so its just... mindblown to hear especially in modern pop music where its just basic F G Am C. This song is quite refreshing actually.
As a classical musician, when I heard this song for the first time, I was like whoa!!! This is special! Glad to see Charles did this analysis. So good!!!
@@JoseSantos-hb4nx You could see it like that. I don't think it works as well because when the A minor chord happens, it's preceded by an E minor 7 chord, not an E7 chord. Also, the actual A minor chord is an A minor 7 chord, which isn't as strong of a resolution chord as the C major 7 chord that happens at the end of the chorus. I think the biggest evidence that it's in C is that the 2-5 before the C chord in the chorus is the most tense and emphasized part of the entire song, leading to a strong resolution to the C major 7 chord. Not to mention that at the end of the bridge, there's a huge 2-5 leading into the new key of C#.
Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak are old souls reminiscent of R&B of the 60's and 70's. In those times, buildups, transitions and key changes were pretty common. It's ear candy from the days of old for music of this time. Listening to the musical composition, the musicianship and the feel of the song is just so good!
Alot of these kids today dont know about this and dont get why this is so good. But this is old hat to alot of musicians. But this is why Bruno brouight this style back. And BOY we needed it.
@@TuneStunnaMusic I agree to a certain degree because there are a lot of kids that are going back to see why the music was so different. Some are starting to understand what musicianship is about. Bruno kind of sparked the interest and curiosity.
@@TonyAFX Exactly. Musicianship. I see alot of comments on how Paak is playing while singing. Im thinking, he doe that in almost all his videos, are these kids just now seeing this and dont know many musicians do it? I think Bruno sparking the curiosity was his masterplan all along. 90s, then 80s, then 70s. Seems to be working. Charles breaking down the technicals has made me want to compose again.
I am also so excited to see a song like this come out. The first time I heard it the modulations blew me away because we rarely hear this sort of thing from pop musicians. It’s so great to see mainstream musicians displaying an in depth understanding of harmony and composition. I hope we get more songs like this in the future
I legit love you right now, Charles. This song is so incredible, and your ability to get inside it and break down the harmony with equal parts theory and passion is at the heart of why music is magic.
I don’t know anything about music theory and I’ll be honest most of this went over my head, but seeing Charles so excited about this song had me beaming for the whole video, I love it!
6:35 The reason why minor third key changes like C to Eb work so well is that they're not really key changes in the first place. I mean, diatonically they are, but these chords are essentially tonic to each other. Let me explain: Ever noticed how the pentatonic scale sounds so relaxed? Well of course Charles did, as this struck me when I was watching your Minecraft soundtrack video; when going over Calm 1, you said that it was written fully in pentatonic, and that it really only uses two chords, Ebm and Gb. Using that pentatonic scale sounds so relaxed because you're removing the dissonant semitone intervals in the scale, which together form a dissonant tritone (the 4 and 7). That's when I noticed that these two chords are the only two chords you can make with the pentatonic scale, and that they also happen to be the two tonic chords in the Ionian/Aolian scale. They're the vi and I, or the i and bIII, depending on how you look at it. That's why these two chords are tonic: they're the only two triads you can make by completely avoiding the two dissonant notes in what's essentially the simplest, most logical scale there is. The pentatonic scale is _always_ at rest, that's why wind chimes are practically always tuned to pentatonic. Well now think about this: we've got the relative minor and major, for example in the key of C like in this song, Am and C - but there's also parallel minor and major; A and Cm. The relative keys of those parallel keys are F#m and Eb. So we've already reached Eb, but let's continue. The parallel keys on this level are F# and Ebm, and they are the relative keys of each other. By this logic, you can basically conclude that there are always 8 tonic chords to a key, 6 of them being non diatonic. That's why Eb is such a simple change to make from C, it's not even really a change at all, the only thing weird about it is that it's a chromatic chord. And more to this, it's a maj7 chord in this song t show that it's a relaxed and non directional chord. _This isn't really related anymore but you can keep reading if you want._ Chords with the same quality in this dim7 shape all have he same function. Keep in mind that they have these functions by extension of diatonic harmony, so they might for example feel relaxed but still point somewhere, like the bVII chord. Here's how I'd define the functions, though subdominant and dominant should probably have different names: - a tonic chord is a chord that feels fully relaxed, no matter how abrupt going to that chord sounds. - a dominant chord is a chord that's not fully relaxed, but points to a tonic chord. - a subdominant chord is a chord that isn't tonic, but points to somewhere different than the tonic. We've got our 8 tonic chords: i, I, biii, bIII, t, T (#4 or b5 really aren't the right names here), vi, VI. Major dominant chords (adding the b7 makes this clear): bII, III, V, bVII. Minor dominant chords (adding the 6th makes this clear): ii, iv, bvi, vii. Major subdominant chords: II, IV, bVI, VII (for example here, VII is a very tense chord, so while it might point somewhere other than the tonic, it's still a strong resolution). Minor subdominant chords: bii, iii, v, bvii. Now diminished and augmented chord lack a perfect fifth, which means that they aren't stable enough to be tonic. Augmented chords are weird, because they have the shape of an equilateral triangle. Each note in the chord is exactly as far away from every other note as every other note is. There are really only 4 augmented chords, because 3 different augmented cords are just inversions of the same chord. This means that an augmented chord points at 3 different tonics at once, times their 4 relative parallel extensions. On other words, augmented chords are dominant to every single chord, which makes them both dominant and subdominant at the same time. Now the extensions you add might change this, like for example, a mMaj7 chord might not have that same function. Idk, I haven't tested it out. Two thirds of diminished chords are subdominant, since they point away from the tonic. The dominant diminished chords are the same ones as the minor dominants: ii°, iv°, bvi°, vii°. You can therefore always mix them together, which is a pretty bluesy/spooky sound, as you're adding the tritone.The thing is, while only a third of diminished chords are dominant, they are all so dissonant that they are all good resolutions. This is what makes diminished and augmented chords such good portal chords to new keys or chords, they're symmetrical (dim7 is square). Hopefully you found this interesting, tell me what you might disagree with.
@@admiralrng6506 Yeah well looking back, it's not very well written, and it's clearly not proofread. I don't disagree with anything I've said, really, but in 8 months, I've really developed this entire theory and it makes a lot more sense.
I requested this on a drum streamer who was doing a 70s themed stream one day and he said 'if you had not told me that song is from today, I would've thought that it was a really good remaster of a 70s tune.'
@@jas_bataille Actually every Soul/RNB artists were writing like this 😳. I think you didn't grasp the intentions of this duo... (Hint: it's a plagiarism/hommage)
No shade or anything, but most of the moments he's pointing out as mind blowing sound pretty familiar to my ears. 60s-70s soul music is full of these harmonic devices. Don't get me wrong, I'm all the way into it, but I feel like it's pretty obvious that this is just another one of Bruno Mars's homages to great pop music of the past.
*dude I’m so excited for the rest of 20’s music, so much live music and great stuff being put out by mainstream pop artists, bubbly pop is practically non existent now*
I've been spreading this around drum streamers who play requests when it first came out and the sheer JOY that proceeds to happen is always such a great thing to see and experience because not only is this song GROOVY as hell, but the arrangement and production quality is just PERFECT.
Changing to where singer feels comfortable with intonation. That's rare when having duo with same male. And they done it with great harmony. Truly amazing
You should get similar accolades for your analysis and reaction. Emotion is part of the music, and the way you are a mirror allows us as viewers to see further into music, even if we don't have a complex musical understanding. And, funny enough, you're one of the few music youtubers to create re-watchability not off of the usual paradigm of amazing original music and video editing. Indeed, by making this appeal to both theory-fiends and the general public, we can come back after educating ourselves to find even further value in following along in the steps of the masters you highlight, inspiring further research and personal growth. Much love for what you're doing, Charles. You're not just spreading knowledge, you're spreading how music deserves to be felt. 💕
Fun fact: that IV-V-iii-vi progression is like the I-V-vi-IV equivalent for the east/asian culture. One of its many name is "Royal road" progression and it's practically omnipresent in anime opening, old city-funk/city-pop music (think "plastic love" by Mariya Takeuchi) and also a lot of 80s/90s music ("never gonna give you up" to name one). This last use-case is probably the reason why they used it, since they are trying to replicate that "old times vibe" with this song.
What I love about your reaction is as fan we love music because it sounds good to our ears and souls. You are confirming that as a musician it is also brilliantly WRITTEN!! We hear it, you see it. Thank you!!
Versace on the Floor had a pretty clever modulation up a half step. I didn't even realize it until I transcribed it. I tell my friends all the time I'm surprised that Bruno is sticking all this stuff in his music that other writers are afraid to use because it's too "offensive" or "dissonant"
That's why i love listening to different reaction of the music. The point of view of instrumentalists with their instrument is just awesome. It's educative.
I was also shocked when I heard it, I like heard it 10 minutes after it came out and I couldn't stop listening to this this a true masterpiece. And thank you for reacting to this and talking about the music theory stuff, thanks man!
Through the whole video you sounded so flabbergasted, and I can honestly say I feel the exact same way. The brilliance of this piece is just breathtakingly refreshing and nostalgic.
I love this song and your infectious enthusiasm in your analysis makes me appreciate and love this song even more. That’s pure musicianship right there!
NEW SUBREDDIT- www.reddit.com/r/CharlesCornell/ Go post stupid memes or ask music questions or something idk have fun it's whatever
Epic
Subreddit is great. Charles Pornell.
NICE! 👍🏾 but PLEASE I BEG OF YOU OUR JAZZ LORD AND SAVIOR!!!! PLEASE ANALYZE THE CUPHEAD SOUNDTRACK!!!!
Hello!
Dude how pog champion is this
I didn't understand a single thing you said in this video but you seem real excited about it and I love that for you
HAHAHAH
Amen
Hehehe. I love this comment. He’s describing the harmonic function of the music...basically how the notes work together to create the vibe/feel you perceive. It is one of the most nerdy but seriously exciting things! :-)
😭😭😭😭😭😭😅😅😅😅
Haha.
There's nothing better than seeing another music nerd nerd-out about music ❤️❤️❤️
I love it how in English this comment makes all the grammatical sense in the world
Exactly!
@A1 SaucyBoi Spanish, it would require a lot more words, if you translated it literally you'd get "No hay nada mejor que ver a un músico nerd nerd afuera acerca de música" which don't make any sense, if you translated it correctly it'd be " No hay nada mejor que ver a un músico nerd divagando sobre cosas intelectuales de música" which is a lot more dull. I love English.
@@faridrosero6040 “no hay nada mejor que ver a otro nerd de la música nerdear sobre música” .. 🤔
@@patonle yes but you would need anglicisms and that one sounds weird, it's somehow cheating. And we don't have phrasal verbs so there's something lacking
Fun fact: In an interview, Bruno mars stated that as they were composing this, anderson paak only did one take on the drums and the song started from there.
What!!?? Insane
@@jazminramos1712 yup! pretty nuts.
you can check the interview here if you want :))ruclips.net/video/thPqhXjZa4M/видео.html i believe they started talking bout it on the 3 minute mark.
wow
😲
As a drummer I'm ashamed I didn't know about Anderson.......BUT I DO NOW!
these videos must be gold to those who actually understand music theory
YESSS THEY ARE! I'm a pretty good musician and it was soo amazing to have such an amazing insight to the beauty of this song.
This dude is an absolute MUST subscribe for church gospel musicians. Whether you’re comfortable with mid-level theory OR the Nashville Number system his stuff is GOLD!!
Oh they definitely are. I love learning more and nerding out as much as he does about the music
They are!
They are. 🥰
Charles: it works so well because *starts speaking in music*
Me, a non-musician: ah, yes. I, too, believe the addition of Flat 9's and 13's is what makes this song bop so hard.
Those flat 9s and 13s are called chord extensions and they basically add more complexity and, for lack of a better term, _more vibes_ to a chord, especially if the chord would otherwise be something you'd frequently hear in pop music. An A major chord (extremely common, that's the IV chord in E major, a common key since E is the lowest note on basses and guitars in standard tuning) is nothing special, neither is an A7 (same thing, just with a minor 7th on top, this is called a dominant chord, in the case of A7 it's the V chord in D major).
But an A7b9b13? Now you're cooking with gas. Suddenly all these weird and wonderful sounds that come from the interactions between the guts of the chord, the major triad (A, C#, E) and the extensions sitting atop it (G, Bb, F) in there and you get all sorts of fun stuff happening.
@@browncoat697 Jesus Christ man
@@browncoat697 im likin this explanation, easier to understand for ppl who dont know anything LOL
@@browncoat697 rly great explanation lol, but i think in order to understand this you need at least the basic comprehension of music theory, then we can dive into this colourful stuff
@Rip Steakface You remind me of Jacob Collier? Is this your alt account?
me: knows nothin about music theory
also me: watches Charles religiously for the immaculate vibes and passion beaming from every video
Almost exactly that :)
I play the saxophone since 2009 and jazz since 2018, yet I still don't understand some parts of his videos
same
saaaaameee
saaame! i dont understand music theory but i feel his excitement and i was like *"yes charles, i agree"*
"Making the simple sound complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated sound simple, that's creativity." - Charles Mingus
I used to transcribe some of Duke Ellington's music. He used to do that all the time.
AMEN. Tell this to the post modern serialists of the mid 20th century...
The most entertaining thing about this video isn’t the music theory or the explanation, it’s charles’ true musical passion shining through. Seeing someone be truly passionate about what they do is a rare yet lovely thing.
I'm agree, I'm new here, and I will sub for his passion
seeing a musician so passionate about soul music because he just discovered is....well... sad!
AGREED
I ADORE watching videos of people who truly love what they do and as much of a music nerd that I am that drew me to these videos, it's his absolute passion that made me stay. Seeing people truly happy with what they do makes me happy.
@@bmefilms6879 it's less so he just discovered it, he knows soul, it's the absolute beauty in the way the song is composed and played that makes him excited about it
This song is seriously some of the best soul music I've heard since the 80's...they knocked it out of the park.
The Anderson paark
I’ll see myself out, thank you
@@alexWii3DS1mathis Here have a cookie
Knocked it out of the .Paak
Bruno is known for great key changes in the songs he writes and produces for himself and other artists. One of my favorites, is the key change in the song he cowrote for Adele, "All I Ask".
Agree!!!!
Woah I didn't know he helped write that song
@@infamouscha Yes, he did an interview talking about the collab. And there is a great video of him performing it live with a 90's R&B slow song feel to it....do a search for ""bruno mars all i ask live".
Right Round by Florida, One day by Matishayu, Baby by Justin Bieber, Tears Always win by Alicia Keys and All I ask were also written by him
@@jenifermasong4993 F*ck you by cee lo green
Surprise Eb Major Modulation: 😏
Charles: 🥵🥵
U gon do a cover of this song or what???
True but his enthusiasm is infectious and a major part of the allure of these videos.
Tritone substitushion detected
For the bassists out there, I've made two covers with tabs on screen on my channel ! An accurate one and a easy one. Check it out!
When you're like
Do I half tune down so the EbM9 is open or play half step up and kill my.vocal chords? 😂
this is like a Stevie Wonder level of theory in that the writing is so well done the average listener probably wouldn't even notice how complex the harmony is. can't wait until the Silk Sonic album is out. thanks so much for breaking it down Charles!
Exactly! Stevie is one that wrote such complex music and the theory components were amazingly complicated, but made it sound easy to the listeners ears rather than some show off playing all these things he’s just learnt.
Stevie made complex music theory sound easy, and now Bruno and .Paak are doing the same.
I WONDER what he thinks about this song... ehh like how I did that? 🤣 Seriously, I wonder what someone of his musical geniusnessss thinks of a song like this 🧐
Yes, yes, yes!!!! Jazzy harmonies and chords in pop is a Stevie thing and the reason why his songs are so good. Nice to hear modern pop like this.
Btw. Stevie actually wrote a similar (or even the same) chord progression for Saturn on his songs in the key of life
Exactly!
I've reached the point where I get exposed to new pop music bangers exclusively through your channel, man.
Thanks for that!
Listen to Anderson Paak's albums, his sound is very varied. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I find it hard to choose between his albums.
What are you doing here? Go back to your channel and make more amazing videos!
Always love seeing my favorite artists watching each other :P
A collab between these two would be *chef’s kiss*
This is the crossover I didn't know I needed???
I love how they've got that classic `two clear and distinctly different personalities' going with the duet, which has been missing from collabs in recent years. With Paak being the cheeky one while Bruno is all earnest (two different and equally valid ways of chatting some one up haha)
Also I feel like paak has a rough texture in his voice and reminds me of salt while Bruno’s is soft and reminds me of sweets, together they make salt and caramel
@@superzrod7723 This!
Yeah!
I think of them as a Sam & Dave for the 21st century, wrapped up in Philly Soul.
@@superzrod7723 holy shit this is some english teacher interpretation
This song is a modern masterpiece.
Completely agree
Agreed
I feel like I'm Charles's dad. I don't really understand what he's talking about, but I love to listen anyway because he's so passionate about it and it's really interesting, even though I only understand like 25% of what he's saying
Perfectly said!
Yes. Just like my son explaining the AmongUs mod or his Roblox adventures.
Exactly (except I only understand 5%!!)
Sometimes I pause the video just to stare at things like "Bflat7flat9flat13" or "Aflat7sus13" in the corner and convince myself that it's a real thing despite how ridiculous it looks.
I actually have composed music myself but I don't know theory, I just play until something sounds good 😅
Charles has the kind of enthusiasm and passion that is absolutely infectious.
I sometimes manage to forget how good of a pianist and musician Charles is. In this video his musicality, knowledge, wisdom, talent and skill shine right through, so amazing and inspiring
and passion. This is the first video I watched of his and subscribed half way through the vid because its really nice to see someone with knowledge and passion talk about something.
@@robpotter4175 I completely agree haha
@@robpotter4175 I just subscribed lol
Charlers explaining key changes:
Me who knows nothing about music: right, exactly!
Literally me! 🤣
77 up
@@jemima9037 b
@@jemima9037 55 up
Filipino love songs uses that progression and that key change (3 half steps then back) regularly. I imagine Bruno listened to songs his filipino mom was playing a lot back in the day.
That's interesting! Can you give me an example? I'd like to listen to filipino love songs
Bruno said its listening to Stevie Soul funk and R&B that Inspites his sound. Clearly as it is practically identical.
More like most Filipino songs copied the style from older American rnb and funk styles
@@weldon29 Yes!
@@NB-nh2sf No doubt!
Keyboardist: Doesn't leave door open
Me: Backdoor 2 5 1 to get the key
Okay, this one is amazing xD
underrated comment 😂🔥
Best comment so far😂😂
You sneaky👀
Only jazz/gospel musicians got this one. Well done sir
Ha bars!
Please review city pop! It's a style of 70s/80s Japanese pop music that's often heavily jazz influenced. In recent years, the genre has had a resurgence on RUclips. Lots of people agree that the "Holy Trinity" of city pop is
1. Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi
2. Stay with Me by Miki Matsubara
3. 4 AM by Taeko Ohnuki (which is probably the jazziest out of the three; I would start with this one!)
Totally agree!
Oh yes, I need this in my life.
Please! Make it happen!
Highly doubt he would do it the only channel that I've seen review/look and listen to citypop is a very small channel and they only did one video on it can't remember the name of the channel unfortunately
Edit: the reason I say I highly doubt he would it is because there is a ton of stuff that he has yet to do a video on so the chances of him doing a video on citypop are like very small still a chance yes but a very small one and the chances of Roomie (RoomieOfficial) doing a video on citypop are like none sadly
Great suggestions. Having relatively recently discovered the joys of Japanese 70's funk a Charles video on it would be so good.
I watched the live performance at the Grammy's and I couldn't even believe that was actually live. PERFECT harmonies, it was insane that they replicated it live.
It wasn't xD if you AB it with the video it's the exact same, and that would never be the case, and never had been for Bruno's performances
I actually doubt it was fully live. There were prob overdubs there and there. But ill give em the benefit of the doubt.
it wasnt live, but still its an AMAZING performance.
@@diegon2020 I’m no expert on this stuff, but Rick Beato is and seems to think it’s live. He addresses it 2:00 into his Grammys video. Personally I think it’s live, they’re musicians, it’s what they do.
@@aslefjeldstad I saw that video. Having watched Bruno live twice and practically every Bruno vid on YT, I can tell you it was a prerecorded performance. Just like his “Live at the Apollo” special, they filmed a live take, then edited/cleaned it up in post.
This duo feels like it was unavoidable, bruno and paac have both been bringing the heat in their genres!
The surprise Eb, and the underrated fall to the root chord during the "tell me that you're coming through" crescendo are the highlights of this stand-out song in pop music. Seriously, R&B/ funk soul better be mainstream again.
Producer: How many key changes do we need?
Bruno: Yes.
That's funny because Bruno is one of the producers.😅
@@upsych1042 True, and Bruno is infamous for adding a key change to songs.
@@emb5091 its called...........music!!!
@@bmefilms6879 correct! Bruno is one of the best at creating music!
Bruno: let's....leave the door open
Everybody sleeps on RnB but it has some of the most complex progressions in all of music. Artists in this genre are incredible musicians and are woefully underappreciated. Musiq Soulchild comes to mind. Thanks for giving this genre some love!
Of course it does. It's literally a branch off jazz.
They are all gospel musicians.
This song is what I call a "Sunset Song" because that's what I personally see and feel when I hear it. If you can get to the beach here on the west coast to watch a sunset and play this song, you'll see what I mean.
“Sunset Song” is also a really good Scottish book by Lewis Grassic-Gibbon. I would recommend reading it but the old Scot’s is quite hard to understand even for a Scot like myself. I don’t know why I’m commenting this on a video about music but I just got reminded of it lmao
Yeah it's just the relaxing atmosphere, kind of a warm embrace
This song surely reminds of 70s vibes like Kool and The Gang and stuff like that from which they sure draw inspiration
This song came into my mind: ruclips.net/video/LnTE8Lgjt18/видео.html
That's the point of the song....leaving the door open is to let the breeze come inside in hot summer days so basically you got the meaning of the song in your own way which is awesome and that's why Bruno and Anderson didn't talk about how's it's supposed to feel like.
To get that I watched a couple reactions....much more to be honest😂
Someone who shares the same sentiment! Some songs are best for the night-life, some during summer days, hanging outside with friends
I believe it could because of the context that the songs are presented in, album art could also play a role in how you'll perceive the music, and the overall tone or mood of the music
@@naethavenir9422 So true. Come to think of it, I have made what I call "Personal life soundtracks" that I pretty much play depending on what I'm doing or where I'm going. 😅
This song feels viscerally like an amazing ride, and the chord progressions show exactly why. It's literally crafted to perfection. Love this breakdown Charles.
Musicians like you know exactly how hard it is to make songs like these wid so many intricacies.. And some out there who know shit bout music say bruno is a copy cat and ain't an original artist 👀👀
So...I’m not a musician, and pretty much all of this is foreign to me, but I’m so interested because he’s so excited. Of course I LOVE the song and have listened to it several times, but hearing him dissect it in this way makes me appreciate the music, their creativity and the video even more.
My thoughts exactly ❤️
Every time I listen to the song now, it feels like it's missing your keys over the top haha
that is definitely the point of this video. they should do a collab!
Song is ruined for me now that I don't have Charles piano on it :)
I would pay serious money to listen to a version that includes this piano arrangement
The fact that we get a bridge, key changes and a fade out, I'm sold!! Bring back the soul music.
Been noticing an increase in "Jazz" Chords lately in Pop music and a lot of advanced musical techniques and it's so damn refreshing. That's what ive been waiting for as a Jazz musician who likes pop music. Finally producers are trusting the audience that they will accept those more intricate sounds cause as far as I know that played a part in the simplification of pop music during the previous decade. Im excited for pop music again
Same, the the three that I can name off the top of my head are leave the door open, peaches, and kiss me more. They all use those classic neo soul chords and I can name dozens of RnB songs that have the same progression as peaches. I think artists nowadays are just discovering maj and min 7 chords so they are taking advantage of it
Leave the door open is obviously on a whole another level though
For anyone who grew up in the 60's and 70's, this is nothing new, we heard it everyday. I'm happy that someone is bringing back the music of my generation. Let's hope the radio stations play it.
They definitely are. I think bruno is one of the few artists that captures the old school sound so perfectly
It's constantly on the radio where I live. Amazing.
I mean,I hear it everywhere
I don't think is new for most people this generation but we're extremely happy we have the opportunity to have a taste of it ...live! Finally something worth seeing live, real skills, real musicianship, real performance
Music from the old gen must be brought back. The new songs nowadays are mostly soulless, formulaic and automated.
Bruno Mars first album was all pop but those pop songs were the best of pop I’ve ever heard. Songs that touch your heart. His two following albums were all RnB, rock, funk, soul. He’s such a great artists.
the way charles talks about music is the way a scientist talks about chemistry, but he does it in a way that I can digest. This channel is amazing, just a guy who's fanatical about the science of music
I was lucky enough to see Bruno Mars in 2015 at a small venue and I was really floored by the precision and uniformly high quality of his performance. Can’t say I was a huge fan at that point but I came away from that experience understanding him as someone who clearly knew what he was doing. Glad to see his work is going in this really interesting direction.
Cant wait when he breakdown the Smoking Out the Window. They slay holy fuck.
Edit: CANT WAIT FOR HIM TO DISSSSSSSECT THE WHOLE ALBUM, SOOO FOKIN GORGEOUS.
This song is such a game changer. When I first hear it I was speechless at how good it was. NO ONE was expecting that omg and it’s so what we all need right now
This is the most musical music to hit the charts since the 80s
Wow
John mayer got some cool stuff too
Listen to music soukchild, classic RnB/soul artists and singer in the early 2000s
absolutely
The most is an overstatement...but this is a certified banger
with these two geniuses we can still have some hope in the music industry
What a weird take, there is a lot a lot to be excited about in the music industry besides silksonic right now
@@Tysoneko I believe he's referring to mainstream media. Bruno Mars is a big time artist that isn't a generic formula producing artist. So I think we'll see a change in what's popular which is exciting. Especially alongside emerging artists like Jacob Collier, Frank Ocean, Daniel Ceasar, and similar artists that push personality through their music and are now producing for and with the mainstream with their strong grasp on more complex musical concepts.
@@dfrancz even Charlie puth started going a different path
@@dfrancz glad you mentioned those names
10:06 man that little laugh almost brings a tear to the eye, that’s what music is all about! That laugh is the reaction of a musician who’s so in it, so feeling it, that they simply HAVE to express their joy in that way. It’s like an unconscious reaction, like a reflex. Beautiful.
Couldn’t have said it better my friend
No one is talking about how Bruno Mars sings “Smooth like a new born!” 😂😂😂😂
I wondered if they were walking around the studio all day saying: smooth like a newborn and laughing. That's typical muso humour.
That’s Anderson pa.ak singing
Or “Shut yo trap!” That one took me out💀
Smoking out the window sounds like a song written by two people having fun in the studio too, u can tell they were trying to one up eachother with the lyrics.
I was BLOWN AWAY when I heard this!! Thank you for analyzing it!
Alternate title: Charles Cornell likes interesting chords & key changes with long names
If you're going to play the jazz piano I sure hope you do lmao
As a child of the 60s, I can tell you that this song smacks thoroughly of the 70s. Music was interesting and groovy, and it combined jazz, and r&b, and pop and made it sing with the gloriousness of the day.
Your analysis has brought the joy of creativity to my jaded ears. Thank you sir!
I'm calling it right now: this is a new instant classic. This is going to be a throwback millenials dance to in 40 years (and I'll be one of them)
This and the Jacob Collier stuff.
10:50 yeah, those kinds of modulations just blow my mind. This one is like one of the top best transitions I've ever heard.
I’m obsessed with this song! I heard and I thought omg all those dirty little chords with those flat 9s and 13s. Completely deceased. Can’t wait to show this to my music students! Thanks for putting out great content and I agree with you, this excites me that this stuff is happening right now in music.
Charles really has an incredible talent of talking about music-he makes it accessible to music-lovers, no matter your instrumental ability or theory background. He always brings super solid analysis, brilliant playing, and an infectious excitement to discuss music. Love his depth of knowledge and his amazing ability to break down all these musical and contextual elements!
Yeah, Anderson Paaks Tiny Desk concert really is extraordinary!
Thanks for bringing this song to my attention. I knew Bruno Mars was bringing harmonic sophistication back to pop music, but this is on another level. Why can't all art operate on multiple levels like this? There's something for everyone here.
I mean this song single handedly restored my entire faith in music this era. This piece is pure genious.
I am too old (80) and that old cliche' "been there done it"...if I don't play this at least once a day I get MEAN!!! I feel ya'! Just an old B3 blues/cafe jazz /road dude...so glad you did this!!!!!!!!
My choir teacher played this song in the middle of class because he heard it and was so excited it was a pop song with actual instruments
😂😂😂 but it's true though.. I play violin, but I can't play most of pop songs since it so repetitive. It feels so refreshing hearing song that actually have melody in it.
I love the face of pure joy Charles puts while listening to this song
Bruno mentioned in an interview, that Anderson played the drums one-take and then they builded up the song around it... such an amazing artist
The first part is almost exactly earth wind and fire's All about love. And I love it! Seriously happy to hear 'proper music' making a comeback from the overbearing shadow of the decades of manufactured paint-by-number tracks thrust upon the charts. Yes there always has been, and will be, superb tracks being made by musicians, but the major labels have kept it out of sight for not being commercial enough to make money out of. For someone as big as Bruno and Anderson .paak to release something as musically diverse from the rest into the mainstream charts is incredibly exciting and a welcomed surprise.
Proper music. That term is so cromulent. It shall find use in my lexicon henceforth. Thank you for bringing my attention to that adroit turn of phrase.
Regards.
from 12:47 onward i was like ok this guy gets it! that progression sounds like a million dollars. its actually my favorite part of the sound...long live the sharps
I’m in my bed eating pizza and cheesebread, high out of my mind . I know zero about music theory and I haven’t picked up an instrument in my whole life. But somehow - this is the best video I’ve ever seen
That right there is a vibe
I Agree 👍
I agree
Yep
Dissections of Keys and Chords Melodies
Love 💗
I like how you chill, lady...
Bruno finally getting credit he deserves. Not a lot of mainstream artists are doing what he’s doing. Thank you for making this video. 😀
Now see I was waiting for this
Absolutely
Finally we've got someone who can talk about the real music and not only idolize the voices 😂🔥
Actually, F/G could be interpreted as F9sus4 which explains the suspended feel it gives. Great work as always!
Also F/G is just a Dominant 7th chord with the 7th on the bottom which gives it its tense and suspension feel. Or a V4/2 if you know roman numeral analysis in music
@@wildwyatt9 yeah, I was thinking that, G7 with the "7" on the bass giving it the "leading" feeling into the Em 🤔
Y’all I’m enjoying the nerding out in the comment ahaha I don’t understand any of it,Just started theory but one I hope to get there….
Was it G/F instead ?
This song brings me to tears every time I hear it...
This is writing on a level with Stevie's Fullfillingness First Finale, Joni Mitchell's very best, the very best of the Beatles...
truly brilliant...
I adore this song, but it says a lot about the repetitiveness of a lot of modern music that all of a sudden everyone is blown away by an Ebmaj7...
it's what our ears have been missing
Hahaha I laughed out loud at your comment. You’re absolutely right.
Its because its modulating to Eb suddenly not because there's a major 7 chord. 7 chords are everywhere in modern pop tbh
I don’t understand music theory at all but somehow this song’s melody sounds familiar to me - like old school music. I’m reminded of the Carpenters, the Stylistics as well.
Remember its Ebmaj7 not Eb7 so its just... mindblown to hear especially in modern pop music where its just basic F G Am C.
This song is quite refreshing actually.
As a classical musician, when I heard this song for the first time, I was like whoa!!! This is special! Glad to see Charles did this analysis. So good!!!
It's funny that the song is in C major, but there is only one bar in the whole progression that's a C major chord.
along with a couple of counts before the pre-chorus
It's because the song changes key a couple of times.
@@mikosoft lmao he knows that im pretty sures hes just pointing out how ironic it is lol
Then wouldn't it technically be more of a A minor natural? Then that one bar of C would be a bIII Maj7. I think that makes more sense.
@@JoseSantos-hb4nx You could see it like that. I don't think it works as well because when the A minor chord happens, it's preceded by an E minor 7 chord, not an E7 chord. Also, the actual A minor chord is an A minor 7 chord, which isn't as strong of a resolution chord as the C major 7 chord that happens at the end of the chorus. I think the biggest evidence that it's in C is that the 2-5 before the C chord in the chorus is the most tense and emphasized part of the entire song, leading to a strong resolution to the C major 7 chord. Not to mention that at the end of the bridge, there's a huge 2-5 leading into the new key of C#.
Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak are old souls reminiscent of R&B of the 60's and 70's. In those times, buildups, transitions and key changes were pretty common. It's ear candy from the days of old for music of this time. Listening to the musical composition, the musicianship and the feel of the song is just so good!
Alot of these kids today dont know about this and dont get why this is so good. But this is old hat to alot of musicians. But this is why Bruno brouight this style back. And BOY we needed it.
@@TuneStunnaMusic I agree to a certain degree because there are a lot of kids that are going back to see why the music was so different. Some are starting to understand what musicianship is about. Bruno kind of sparked the interest and curiosity.
@@TonyAFX Exactly. Musicianship. I see alot of comments on how Paak is playing while singing. Im thinking, he doe that in almost all his videos, are these kids just now seeing this and dont know many musicians do it? I think Bruno sparking the curiosity was his masterplan all along. 90s, then 80s, then 70s. Seems to be working. Charles breaking down the technicals has made me want to compose again.
I am also so excited to see a song like this come out. The first time I heard it the modulations blew me away because we rarely hear this sort of thing from pop musicians. It’s so great to see mainstream musicians displaying an in depth understanding of harmony and composition. I hope we get more songs like this in the future
I legit love you right now, Charles. This song is so incredible, and your ability to get inside it and break down the harmony with equal parts theory and passion is at the heart of why music is magic.
Bro if your blown away by this song I can't imagine how incredible the album is that they're about to drop!!!😱😱😱🥵🥵🥵🤩🤩🤩🤩
I don’t know anything about music theory and I’ll be honest most of this went over my head, but seeing Charles so excited about this song had me beaming for the whole video, I love it!
Watching people light up with passion & witness them being so moved like this...is definitely one of the best feelings in life.
6:35 The reason why minor third key changes like C to Eb work so well is that they're not really key changes in the first place. I mean, diatonically they are, but these chords are essentially tonic to each other. Let me explain:
Ever noticed how the pentatonic scale sounds so relaxed? Well of course Charles did, as this struck me when I was watching your Minecraft soundtrack video; when going over Calm 1, you said that it was written fully in pentatonic, and that it really only uses two chords, Ebm and Gb. Using that pentatonic scale sounds so relaxed because you're removing the dissonant semitone intervals in the scale, which together form a dissonant tritone (the 4 and 7).
That's when I noticed that these two chords are the only two chords you can make with the pentatonic scale, and that they also happen to be the two tonic chords in the Ionian/Aolian scale. They're the vi and I, or the i and bIII, depending on how you look at it. That's why these two chords are tonic: they're the only two triads you can make by completely avoiding the two dissonant notes in what's essentially the simplest, most logical scale there is. The pentatonic scale is _always_ at rest, that's why wind chimes are practically always tuned to pentatonic.
Well now think about this: we've got the relative minor and major, for example in the key of C like in this song, Am and C - but there's also parallel minor and major; A and Cm. The relative keys of those parallel keys are F#m and Eb. So we've already reached Eb, but let's continue. The parallel keys on this level are F# and Ebm, and they are the relative keys of each other.
By this logic, you can basically conclude that there are always 8 tonic chords to a key, 6 of them being non diatonic. That's why Eb is such a simple change to make from C, it's not even really a change at all, the only thing weird about it is that it's a chromatic chord. And more to this, it's a maj7 chord in this song t show that it's a relaxed and non directional chord.
_This isn't really related anymore but you can keep reading if you want._
Chords with the same quality in this dim7 shape all have he same function. Keep in mind that they have these functions by extension of diatonic harmony, so they might for example feel relaxed but still point somewhere, like the bVII chord. Here's how I'd define the functions, though subdominant and dominant should probably have different names:
- a tonic chord is a chord that feels fully relaxed, no matter how abrupt going to that chord sounds.
- a dominant chord is a chord that's not fully relaxed, but points to a tonic chord.
- a subdominant chord is a chord that isn't tonic, but points to somewhere different than the tonic.
We've got our 8 tonic chords: i, I, biii, bIII, t, T (#4 or b5 really aren't the right names here), vi, VI.
Major dominant chords (adding the b7 makes this clear): bII, III, V, bVII.
Minor dominant chords (adding the 6th makes this clear): ii, iv, bvi, vii.
Major subdominant chords: II, IV, bVI, VII (for example here, VII is a very tense chord, so while it might point somewhere other than the tonic, it's still a strong resolution).
Minor subdominant chords: bii, iii, v, bvii.
Now diminished and augmented chord lack a perfect fifth, which means that they aren't stable enough to be tonic.
Augmented chords are weird, because they have the shape of an equilateral triangle. Each note in the chord is exactly as far away from every other note as every other note is. There are really only 4 augmented chords, because 3 different augmented cords are just inversions of the same chord. This means that an augmented chord points at 3 different tonics at once, times their 4 relative parallel extensions. On other words, augmented chords are dominant to every single chord, which makes them both dominant and subdominant at the same time. Now the extensions you add might change this, like for example, a mMaj7 chord might not have that same function. Idk, I haven't tested it out.
Two thirds of diminished chords are subdominant, since they point away from the tonic. The dominant diminished chords are the same ones as the minor dominants: ii°, iv°, bvi°, vii°. You can therefore always mix them together, which is a pretty bluesy/spooky sound, as you're adding the tritone.The thing is, while only a third of diminished chords are dominant, they are all so dissonant that they are all good resolutions.
This is what makes diminished and augmented chords such good portal chords to new keys or chords, they're symmetrical (dim7 is square).
Hopefully you found this interesting, tell me what you might disagree with.
oh boy this comment's gonna take me a while to digest
@@admiralrng6506 Yeah well looking back, it's not very well written, and it's clearly not proofread. I don't disagree with anything I've said, really, but in 8 months, I've really developed this entire theory and it makes a lot more sense.
Me: yeah, I thought so too 😳
Wish you would check out my version. Memphis.
Your comments so penetrating
I requested this on a drum streamer who was doing a 70s themed stream one day and he said 'if you had not told me that song is from today, I would've thought that it was a really good remaster of a 70s tune.'
Which it probably is.
A candy for the first one who finds the original song...
@@HeadbangoO yawn. I smell envy in you. Keep your candy. You'll need it in your sour life.
@@HeadbangoO LMAO no one was writing verses like .Paak did in the 70's
@@jas_bataille Actually every Soul/RNB artists were writing like this 😳. I think you didn't grasp the intentions of this duo...
(Hint: it's a plagiarism/hommage)
No shade or anything, but most of the moments he's pointing out as mind blowing sound pretty familiar to my ears. 60s-70s soul music is full of these harmonic devices. Don't get me wrong, I'm all the way into it, but I feel like it's pretty obvious that this is just another one of Bruno Mars's homages to great pop music of the past.
*dude I’m so excited for the rest of 20’s music, so much live music and great stuff being put out by mainstream pop artists, bubbly pop is practically non existent now*
I think you just made an error by just 100 years. If you talk about the 1920’s I agree with you. ;-)
I've been spreading this around drum streamers who play requests when it first came out and the sheer JOY that proceeds to happen is always such a great thing to see and experience because not only is this song GROOVY as hell, but the arrangement and production quality is just PERFECT.
'Let's Bring Back Jazz' - Every jazz musician's dream
Changing to where singer feels comfortable with intonation. That's rare when having duo with same male. And they done it with great harmony. Truly amazing
this song definitely needed a reaction, its a masterpiece and no one can tell me otherwise
You should get similar accolades for your analysis and reaction. Emotion is part of the music, and the way you are a mirror allows us as viewers to see further into music, even if we don't have a complex musical understanding. And, funny enough, you're one of the few music youtubers to create re-watchability not off of the usual paradigm of amazing original music and video editing. Indeed, by making this appeal to both theory-fiends and the general public, we can come back after educating ourselves to find even further value in following along in the steps of the masters you highlight, inspiring further research and personal growth. Much love for what you're doing, Charles. You're not just spreading knowledge, you're spreading how music deserves to be felt. 💕
I think the part that gets me is that the key changes and more complex chords are so effortless
Fun fact: that IV-V-iii-vi progression is like the I-V-vi-IV equivalent for the east/asian culture.
One of its many name is "Royal road" progression and it's practically omnipresent in anime opening, old city-funk/city-pop music (think "plastic love" by Mariya Takeuchi) and also a lot of 80s/90s music ("never gonna give you up" to name one).
This last use-case is probably the reason why they used it, since they are trying to replicate that "old times vibe" with this song.
What I love about your reaction is as fan we love music because it sounds good to our ears and souls. You are confirming that as a musician it is also brilliantly WRITTEN!! We hear it, you see it. Thank you!!
Versace on the Floor had a pretty clever modulation up a half step. I didn't even realize it until I transcribed it. I tell my friends all the time I'm surprised that Bruno is sticking all this stuff in his music that other writers are afraid to use because it's too "offensive" or "dissonant"
Now I know why I had goosebumps listening to this!
Charles is what I aspire to be. He goes so in depth with music and is so happy. You can tell he loves what he does. I want to be like that
This dude knows his %^&$. And silk sonic hit it out of the park.
That's why i love listening to different reaction of the music. The point of view of instrumentalists with their instrument is just awesome. It's educative.
I was also shocked when I heard it, I like heard it 10 minutes after it came out and I couldn't stop listening to this this a true masterpiece. And thank you for reacting to this and talking about the music theory stuff, thanks man!
No Way!!! I'm obsessed with this song and Anderson in general, I didn't expect to be blessed with a reaction from Charles Cornell though!
The key change to the Bridge and the Maj7 with Bruno mars falsetto-ing r what really makes me respect the musical aspect of this song
When you demonstrated the possible modulation to the Bruno Marrs section it made the song sound something like a David Foster composition.
I love how Charles shares the giddy and nerdy excitement of other musicians listening to this❤️❤️❤️❤️
Favorite Jazz youtuber/pianist reviewing my favorite artists and song of the year
Absolutely perfect.
Through the whole video you sounded so flabbergasted, and I can honestly say I feel the exact same way. The brilliance of this piece is just breathtakingly refreshing and nostalgic.
Yes!!!
Yo this guy's excitement and delight was so mfn infectious, get it i guess
I love this song and your infectious enthusiasm in your analysis makes me appreciate and love this song even more. That’s pure musicianship right there!