Man as a producer myself I'm forever searching the web for tips, tricks, and ways to further understand music and improve my writing ability. In all my time I have never seen a tutorial as complex yet delivered so understandably, well done. I feel like I took so much out of this video and it just makes me want to watch more.
I love the way this guy talks about music. And so much actual content in these vids - great way to advertise your music school and increase its credibility
Quite simply some of the best videos on production on RUclips. Please keep it up, these are so interesting and helpful. You have inspired me to take some theory courses, I want to take my music to the next level.
I love these!!:D Learning so much and he explains everything so good!! Would really enjoy a breakdown of one of Audien's tracks, Leaving you for example!
i Had this BLOCK in my mind for using dorian scale but somehow you cleared it very easily.. WOW!!! thanks... i'll be keep coming here. I hope we all will!!
Fantastic deconstructions and analysis. LOVED all of your videos Matt. Please do more. I wish too I could get the same clear analysis and your teaching style on the subjects of sound design and mixing from somewhere. There are so many videos on youtube but it's rare to find such a good teacher as you. You made my day today!
Thank you Matt, your videos are awesome. I don't even really like the songs you deconstruct, but I love the way you shed some light on chord progressions, modality, melodic and harmonic composition. And your formula "complexity equals simplicity" already became the mantra for my own songwriting.
You are a great teacher, using tracks that I personally love. Putting everything in terms I can understand. I am an engineer not a player so it's fantastic. Thank you for all your effort. I am certainly going to subscribe to your classes
thank you matt this helped me out alot on writing my new track! i actually met seven lions at a bar once, my old boss is his mother in law lol such a nice,humble dude
These tutorials are inspiring and help to clear out the cobwebs of past studies. I'm a consistent follower. Thanks Matt! I might argue with you a bit on this one though. The harmony can't discount the melody. The Bb chord, I would say is actually Eb9maj7/Bb. The G in the melody hangs over that chord and the G as it relates to Eb major is firmly planted in our ears at that point as well. Seems more Eb9maj7/Bb.
I sound like a broken record after all of these coments, but thank you dude, I really love this tutorial, such a great insight and has really unlocked a new way of listening to these sort of 'pop' songs for me, there is more to them then you think! ;) Can't wait to see more!
I love this breakdown! I'm no musician, but I am a huge fan of Seven Lions. I believe his music is beautiful and very unique so thank you for your appreciation through this video! I hope to see some more breakdowns for other trance artists. Maybe Cosmic Gate?
Yet again another amazing video!! Keep these up man I love your big synopsis of these songs. Can you do a song along the lines of "say my name"-Odesza or "No Money" - Galantis. Both amazing songs and would love to hear from you about them.
You've really nailed some of my favorite examples of well written EDM songs! I do have a request for one that I think is really interesting and would love to see broken down, which is: Cazzette - Sleepless
Mr. Donner, Thank you for the videos! I hope you keep making more and more as they have been very helpful to many! Honestly, I would love if you released one of these videos every week! Also It would be great if you made one about Cashmere Cat and The Weeknd's new song or The Chainsmokers' Dont Let Me Down if you find those to be a good learning lesson for your viewers. Thanks a bunch!!!
Just stumbled on this vid. Great teacher. Keep em coming! I'm a music theory nerd so def diggin these breakdown vids of these songs. If I have a suggestion for a song can I post it here?
But Myon (most likely) did the melody/composition of the song. It's pretty obvious if you listen to his other work, the songs with Late Night Alumni for example.
Yeah I don't know why everyone thinks of this as a Seven Lions song when listening to the production style Myon and Shane 54 had a much greater influence.
Would love to see a breakdown of Justice - Newlands! Seems like they're always switching between Dorian, Aeolian, and Mixolydian. They do this in a lot of songs, but Newlands is a good example I think. Would be great to hear your take on it.
Wow only 2 videos and i've learned so much! Thanks a lot! I still have 1 question: What is that mysterious blue box with a lot of buttons on your right?
This might not be a very popular song. but can you do a 'Theory & Arrangement Breakdown' of James Gent - Unethical. The chords used in the song are very complex (or maybe it just seems that way), and they're probably the most beautifull chords i've ever heared, i think you'll love them too. Love these vids by the way
@Pyramind Another great vid! Thanks Matt! Applying the mode with the major scale was really insightful. What had me curious though was, if the F dorian scale is the same as the Eb Major scale then wouldn't the F Dorian chord progression of 1 - 3 - 5 - 4 be the same as saying it's a 2 - 4 - 6 - 5 in Eb major? I understand modes but what always confuses me is why we need all these modes if you can achieve the same result by simply starting from a different place in the major scales and applying different chord patterns within the major scale framework. Maybe I'm missing the bigger picture though.
The question is: which tonal center does the chord progression and the melody point to? It's not Eb Major if it point to F, it's not F-Dorian if it points to Eb.
Hi Matt, I love the videos but a question I have is why do you look a songs in terms of modes instead of the regular major/minor keys? Is it to do with the layout of the chords that are used in the songs or something else?
Major and minor tonality has more to do with the ways the chords are used rather than the actual notes in the scales. While they both have a note that sounds like "home", the tonal major/minor music is more strict in how chords are used (think hard-and-fast musical rules from the baroque and classical eras) and puts a lot of emphasis on cadences, especially V-I. Modal music is a bit more "free" in the sense that the notes are more of a guide to the chords and typically sounds less cliché -the "overuse" of tonality coming from what was established and heavily relied upon in Western music from the baroque era up until atonal composers in the 20th century decided to do their best to break these rules.
D# Major has 6 sharps and 2 double sharps. Eb Major has 3 flats. Which key would you like to think of it in? However in B Major, the third scale degree is a D# because of the key signature. They are the same frequency.
hey man, love the videos but I have 1 strong request. can you break down the arrangement of a nu disco song like que veux tu remix by madeon? I know it may be different than what you've done but it would be VERY MUCH APPRECIATED by me and many others wanting to get a view on advanced arrangement techniques!! thanks!
Hey Matt, I absolutely love these arrangements series. They are very helpful. Would you do videos on genres, ie: what makes a song belong to a specic genre and how to blend genres together. Also would you please post your email because I have a very specific question for you. Thanks for the time you took to make this for us.
I'm not pyramind but genres are ever-changing creatures that have very basic rules most of the time but the best way for you to understand a genre's rule-set is to listen to a lot of it. If your goal is to make DnB you need to listen to a lot of recent DnB and understand what is different from DnB in 2016 and DnB in 2010 for example. It is only when you listen to a lot of it that you can understand which rules are able to be bent and which rules should never be broken (can't make DnB at 60 bpm no matter how much you try) It's best if you listen to many different artists too because one artist will tend to have his own set of unique patterns he uses that don't exactly allign with typical DnB.
Thanks so much for the feedback Vivante, will definitely try that. I want to make progressive, experimental fusion ROCK music. So let me define the terms. I want rock for the reason you mention about the bpm because I feel that rock is versatile in terms of speed/tempo and want to definitely use drums, guitars mainly and also piano because it'll give me the versatility of using synth and other instruments and sounds. Progressive to me means movements and unpredictability in terms of progressions, musical form, transitions, cadences and time signatures Experimental: I want to use some other instruments and blending of genres (fusion/modes)such as ambient/jazz/blues/oriental/classical (counterpoints for melodies and rhythms) Those are elements I want in the music and I know I won't be able to use all of them at once on every track. I want to have a clear reference on how to blend genres instantly, effectively and use most of the time composing good melodies harmonies counterpoints and rhythm instead. Bands like Animal as Leaders and Opeth are bands I like because of how they use some of those elements. Sometimes even those bands sound forced and I want to sound as smooth as possible.
It seems like you have a solid understanding of what you're listening to so all I can say is the only thing stopping you from making it not sound forced and sound smooth is to go and try it! I'm not an expert at those genres but it sounds like you're trying to do something NEW that no one has done before so no one is gonna have the answer for you on how to make it smooth, it's all on you now. I have a lot of respect for people like you because you're paving the way. It's just time for you to jump in and do it! If it sounds bad, Whatever, try something else, change it up a bit, if it sounds good but it's unconventional then who cares, it sounds good to you. A lot of producers I know focus way too much on what to do and don't focus enough on just sitting down and making bad music for 90% of the time and eventually arriving at the last 10% that will be awesome as hell and innovative. Get out there and slap some ideas together and hope they stick~ Best of luck!
I'm curious as to what you're comparing F dorian to. When you were going over the scale you emphasized D natural. You also mentioned that the F Ab D were the essence of this key, but I'm finding it difficult to understand why you say that since they are all still within the relative Ionian mode.
After some time and reflection I found the answer to my own question. It was interesting since I had never thought to process harmony in this way, but essentially you are comparing it to F natural minor which has a Db. Being self taught in music I also had to go research into your use of calling it a bIII, and I will tell you this blew my mind once I understood the reasoning for it. It's a steep learning curve when starting out to understand even just the major scale, and then when you get into minor scales it all seems so daunting. Imagine my distress when I learn there are 5 other modes and how long I feel it will take me to grasp all of this information. But low and behold, come to find that there is a much simpler and shorter way to process all of this information and instead of learning about 84 different scales, I can just know 12 and relate everything back to these 12. Music is a hell of a drug
how to make gud chord progressions...m gud at technical aspects such as mixing nd making sounds bt nt so much musically...i ll be thankful if u help me...
I love the way he talks, the way he explains everything. Clear, simple, effective.. Thank you for doing this
Man as a producer myself I'm forever searching the web for tips, tricks, and ways to further understand music and improve my writing ability. In all my time I have never seen a tutorial as complex yet delivered so understandably, well done. I feel like I took so much out of this video and it just makes me want to watch more.
would love a breakdown of Audien - Hindsight
I love the way this guy talks about music. And so much actual content in these vids - great way to advertise your music school and increase its credibility
Quite simply some of the best videos on production on RUclips. Please keep it up, these are so interesting and helpful. You have inspired me to take some theory courses, I want to take my music to the next level.
my favourite teacher is back! woohoo!
I love these!!:D Learning so much and he explains everything so good!! Would really enjoy a breakdown of one of Audien's tracks, Leaving you for example!
yeh, audien would be awesome
Beatnick '
The man was born to teach, seriously.
yeah i play WITH this guy all the time, youtube is so great, this is way better than buying some program like Captain Chord and cheating LOL
i Had this BLOCK in my mind for using dorian scale but somehow you cleared it very easily.. WOW!!! thanks... i'll be keep coming here. I hope we all will!!
Definitely one of my favourite songs of all time, thanks for giving it such a cool analysis! Subbed and looking forward to more!
Everything you post is memorizing to watch. Thank you for being so thorough but also taking steps back to explain concepts to us music theory laymen.
jesus where have you been for the past 6 years of my production life+
Fantastic deconstructions and analysis. LOVED all of your videos Matt. Please do more. I wish too I could get the same clear analysis and your teaching style on the subjects of sound design and mixing from somewhere. There are so many videos on youtube but it's rare to find such a good teacher as you. You made my day today!
Love this content. There isn't much about arranging and producing music on RUclips. Very informative.
Best series on here, great teacher, applicable lessons, practical theory information. Really enjoying this
Love these videos, every time I watch them I learn a ton about arranging songs and the way you explain theory is so entertaining. Keep it up!
Man, I could watch these videos all day. MORE!!!!
Thank you Matt, your videos are awesome. I don't even really like the songs you deconstruct, but I love the way you shed some light on chord progressions, modality, melodic and harmonic composition. And your formula "complexity equals simplicity" already became the mantra for my own songwriting.
great series Matt and Pyramind. Loving it. keep making more if these famous song break downs.
these videos are so great, I absolutely love learning from them
Thanks Nicholas!
You are a great teacher, using tracks that I personally love. Putting everything in terms I can understand. I am an engineer not a player so it's fantastic. Thank you for all your effort. I am certainly going to subscribe to your classes
The way he explains everything is just beautiful
Love this video. Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing Matt. Really interesting video, and as always have given me much to think about and implement in my music.
Love this videos, and the way u explain things is perfection... please keep it, need more of this kind, waiting for next one already!!
This is brilliant, by far one of my favorite series on RUclips! Your taste also really resonates with mine, love to hear more in the future!
You guys are my favourite if it become creating chord progressions! Thanks
Great video again , i want more !!
Good information. This guy is clearly a very learned musician as well as an excellent teacher.
thank you matt this helped me out alot on writing my new track! i actually met seven lions at a bar once, my old boss is his mother in law lol such a nice,humble dude
Thoroughly Informative and clear. Thank you !
Thanx for your theory and arrangement breakdowns! This is helping me out on my project more than you know!!!
These are so interesting. Please keep doing this. You even keep picking the songs i'm interested to. You earned a new sub for sure.
thank you a lot I learned music theory with books and your explanations are way more pleasing and simple ! Love from france :)
These tutorials are inspiring and help to clear out the cobwebs of past studies. I'm a consistent follower. Thanks Matt! I might argue with you a bit on this one though. The harmony can't discount the melody. The Bb chord, I would say is actually Eb9maj7/Bb. The G in the melody hangs over that chord and the G as it relates to Eb major is firmly planted in our ears at that point as well. Seems more Eb9maj7/Bb.
You are my hero. Thank you so much for your videos!
nice keep doing this man
Great video, as always ! Thanks for this !
I love these videos!! Keep em coming!
Wow, this is great! Thanks for the knowledge!
Matt you are a beast flat out
I sound like a broken record after all of these coments, but thank you dude, I really love this tutorial, such a great insight and has really unlocked a new way of listening to these sort of 'pop' songs for me, there is more to them then you think! ;)
Can't wait to see more!
I love this breakdown! I'm no musician, but I am a huge fan of Seven Lions. I believe his music is beautiful and very unique so thank you for your appreciation through this video! I hope to see some more breakdowns for other trance artists. Maybe Cosmic Gate?
Ahh thank you so much for making this one!
Amazing Mat, thanks!
NIcely Done!!! Respet from Brazil!! Jeff is a Genius!!!
Thanks!
Love these theory videos!! Thanks so much!
"So sweeping and beautiful" lol Great lesson! Thanks!
Wow, I was gonna suggest you do a Seven Lions track. Incredible work once again!
Another episode, yess!!
The best teacher!!!!
Yet again another amazing video!! Keep these up man I love your big synopsis of these songs. Can you do a song along the lines of "say my name"-Odesza or "No Money" - Galantis. Both amazing songs and would love to hear from you about them.
So good!
Please do more Porter or Madeon!
I really love these theory vids
You've really nailed some of my favorite examples of well written EDM songs!
I do have a request for one that I think is really interesting and would love to see broken down, which is:
Cazzette - Sleepless
Mr. Donner,
Thank you for the videos! I hope you keep making more and more as they have been very helpful to many! Honestly, I would love if you released one of these videos every week!
Also It would be great if you made one about Cashmere Cat and The Weeknd's new song or The Chainsmokers' Dont Let Me Down if you find those to be a good learning lesson for your viewers. Thanks a bunch!!!
Subscribed. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO A BREAKDOWN OF THE THEORY AROUND THE DROP OF THIS SONG. Watching this was so insightful!
Amazing video, man. I can't believe you knew about the axis of awesome.... Then again your life IS practically saturated in music knowledge...
this is amazing
preciate the tutorial.keep it up
Thanks for the song breakdown
Just stumbled on this vid. Great teacher. Keep em coming! I'm a music theory nerd so def diggin these breakdown vids of these songs. If I have a suggestion for a song can I post it here?
Seven Lions Worlds Apart please!!!
One of my fav songs ever.
Ps- I really
Like when you make mistakes on the piano. It’s really humanizing and relatable
love this one.
But Myon (most likely) did the melody/composition of the song. It's pretty obvious if you listen to his other work, the songs with Late Night Alumni for example.
Yeah I don't know why everyone thinks of this as a Seven Lions song when listening to the production style Myon and Shane 54 had a much greater influence.
Would love to see a breakdown of Justice - Newlands! Seems like they're always switching between Dorian, Aeolian, and Mixolydian. They do this in a lot of songs, but Newlands is a good example I think. Would be great to hear your take on it.
Thanks
I love this
Great work! My go to guy!
Good stuff!!
NEW PYRAMIND WOO
Wow only 2 videos and i've learned so much! Thanks a lot!
I still have 1 question: What is that mysterious blue box with a lot of buttons on your right?
This might not be a very popular song. but can you do a 'Theory & Arrangement Breakdown' of James Gent - Unethical. The chords used in the song are very complex (or maybe it just seems that way), and they're probably the most beautifull chords i've ever heared, i think you'll love them too. Love these vids by the way
They way you explain music is very intriguing. Can you do DeadMau5 4ware??? :D
These explanations are so helpful! Can you analyze an Ummet Ozcan song next? Thanks!
Man, you are so cool!
That chord progression for me is Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode!
@Pyramind Another great vid! Thanks Matt! Applying the mode with the major scale was really insightful.
What had me curious though was, if the F dorian scale is the same as the Eb Major scale then wouldn't the F Dorian chord progression of 1 - 3 - 5 - 4 be the same as saying it's a 2 - 4 - 6 - 5 in Eb major?
I understand modes but what always confuses me is why we need all these modes if you can achieve the same result by simply starting from a different place in the major scales and applying different chord patterns within the major scale framework.
Maybe I'm missing the bigger picture though.
The question is: which tonal center does the chord progression and the melody point to? It's not Eb Major if it point to F, it's not F-Dorian if it points to Eb.
subbed
Do you have any examples of songs which use mode mixing with the Locrian (or some of the other modes that get less love)?
Would you be willing to break down the song "Empire" by Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman? I'd love to know what's going on in the chord structure.
Please do theory & arrangement of You and Me - Disclosure but Flume's Remix!
i would love to know the breakdown of Martin Garrix - Oops
Interesting that I said: "hear, that's enjoy the silence progression!" when I heard get lucky for the first time :)
Hi Matt, I love the videos but a question I have is why do you look a songs in terms of modes instead of the regular major/minor keys? Is it to do with the layout of the chords that are used in the songs or something else?
Major and minor tonality has more to do with the ways the chords are used rather than the actual notes in the scales. While they both have a note that sounds like "home", the tonal major/minor music is more strict in how chords are used (think hard-and-fast musical rules from the baroque and classical eras) and puts a lot of emphasis on cadences, especially V-I. Modal music is a bit more "free" in the sense that the notes are more of a guide to the chords and typically sounds less cliché -the "overuse" of tonality coming from what was established and heavily relied upon in Western music from the baroque era up until atonal composers in the 20th century decided to do their best to break these rules.
at 8:24, what's the difference between D# and Eb? I thought they're the same?
D# Major has 6 sharps and 2 double sharps. Eb Major has 3 flats. Which key would you like to think of it in? However in B Major, the third scale degree is a D# because of the key signature. They are the same frequency.
hey man, love the videos but I have 1 strong request. can you break down the arrangement of a nu disco song like que veux tu remix by madeon? I know it may be different than what you've done but it would be VERY MUCH APPRECIATED by me and many others wanting to get a view on advanced arrangement techniques!! thanks!
dude what the fuck, I am currently applying this to my production and its making my chord progressions fucking sick
Hey Matt, I absolutely love these arrangements series. They are very helpful. Would you do videos on genres, ie: what makes a song belong to a specic genre and how to blend genres together. Also would you please post your email because I have a very specific question for you. Thanks for the time you took to make this for us.
I'm not pyramind but genres are ever-changing creatures that have very basic rules most of the time but the best way for you to understand a genre's rule-set is to listen to a lot of it. If your goal is to make DnB you need to listen to a lot of recent DnB and understand what is different from DnB in 2016 and DnB in 2010 for example. It is only when you listen to a lot of it that you can understand which rules are able to be bent and which rules should never be broken (can't make DnB at 60 bpm no matter how much you try) It's best if you listen to many different artists too because one artist will tend to have his own set of unique patterns he uses that don't exactly allign with typical DnB.
Thanks so much for the feedback Vivante, will definitely try that.
I want to make progressive, experimental fusion ROCK music.
So let me define the terms. I want rock for the reason you mention about the bpm because I feel that rock is versatile in terms of speed/tempo and want to definitely use drums, guitars mainly and also piano because it'll give me the versatility of using synth and other instruments and sounds.
Progressive to me means movements and unpredictability in terms of progressions, musical form, transitions, cadences and time signatures
Experimental: I want to use some other instruments and blending of genres (fusion/modes)such as ambient/jazz/blues/oriental/classical (counterpoints for melodies and rhythms)
Those are elements I want in the music and I know I won't be able to use all of them at once on every track.
I want to have a clear reference on how to blend genres instantly, effectively and use most of the time composing good melodies harmonies counterpoints and rhythm instead.
Bands like Animal as Leaders and Opeth are bands I like because of how they use some of those elements. Sometimes even those bands sound forced and I want to sound as smooth as possible.
It seems like you have a solid understanding of what you're listening to so all I can say is the only thing stopping you from making it not sound forced and sound smooth is to go and try it! I'm not an expert at those genres but it sounds like you're trying to do something NEW that no one has done before so no one is gonna have the answer for you on how to make it smooth, it's all on you now. I have a lot of respect for people like you because you're paving the way. It's just time for you to jump in and do it! If it sounds bad, Whatever, try something else, change it up a bit, if it sounds good but it's unconventional then who cares, it sounds good to you. A lot of producers I know focus way too much on what to do and don't focus enough on just sitting down and making bad music for 90% of the time and eventually arriving at the last 10% that will be awesome as hell and innovative. Get out there and slap some ideas together and hope they stick~ Best of luck!
What piano are you using?
Very helpful video. Could You do a song from Calvin Harris, please
Not sure how you do with request but if you could Sad Machine by Porter Robinson or You by Galantis that'd be awesome~!
I'm curious as to what you're comparing F dorian to. When you were going over the scale you emphasized D natural. You also mentioned that the F Ab D were the essence of this key, but I'm finding it difficult to understand why you say that since they are all still within the relative Ionian mode.
After some time and reflection I found the answer to my own question. It was interesting since I had never thought to process harmony in this way, but essentially you are comparing it to F natural minor which has a Db.
Being self taught in music I also had to go research into your use of calling it a bIII, and I will tell you this blew my mind once I understood the reasoning for it. It's a steep learning curve when starting out to understand even just the major scale, and then when you get into minor scales it all seems so daunting. Imagine my distress when I learn there are 5 other modes and how long I feel it will take me to grasp all of this information. But low and behold, come to find that there is a much simpler and shorter way to process all of this information and instead of learning about 84 different scales, I can just know 12 and relate everything back to these 12. Music is a hell of a drug
These videos are awesome! Is there any way you can do some Theory & Arrangement Breakdowns of rap songs? Maybe some of Kanye's new stuff?
Guys , the IV chord is suspended ?????
I think you mean Strangers by Seven Lions and Myon & Shane54 :)
how to make gud chord progressions...m gud at technical aspects such as mixing nd making sounds bt nt so much musically...i ll be thankful if u help me...
can you do a theory vid on something by porter robinson plz!?
I dont get it. F minors relative major is A flat not E flat, can someone please explain
Watching Matt is like watching one man theatre show...