final rush

ingx24 - 06/09/2016
actually one more thing
the part right before that
starting at 0:32
er
0:30
sry
see how it kind of... oscillates?
like it centers around one pitch
and keeps going back and forth on both sides of that pitch
Diamond - 06/09/2016
yeah
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
ok
so heres the deal
how familiar are you with modes in music
like dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, etc
Diamond - 06/09/2016
I understand what they basically are
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
ok
so im gonna tell you right off the bat
the pitch that one part is centering around is A
Diamond - 06/09/2016
ye
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
and the scale thats being used for the majority of the song is A Phrygian
or a fusion of phrygian and dorian
the notes are A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G, A
the F# doesnt actually show up but its implied in a way ill get to later
so heres whats going on
as far as i can tell, final rush doesnt really use chords in the traditional sense
its primarily modal
it relies on melody first and foremost with essentially a bassline and percussion
this means that youre not getting a tonic (home note) established through chord progressions
Diamond - 06/09/2016
ah yeah
that is true
i never really hear one
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
nor could you really, seeing as phrygian isnt a major or minor scale
you could do it but itd be really hard to pull off
usually modes are played melodically over a static harmony
like a power chord or something
which is most likely whats going on here
its hard to tell by listening because of the distortion and reverb
but i will say that the tonic of the piece is absolutely A
and it establishes it very clearly
in fact it almost beats it to death
remember that section at 0:30
Diamond - 06/09/2016
ye
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
where it oscillates around that pitch
the section from 0:30 to 0:42 serves to establish 2 things
number 1
it establishes A as the tonic by assertion
which is how you establish a tonic in non-tonal music
(non-tonal meaning not using traditional harmony to establish key)
the second thing it establishes is the mode
by clearly emphasizing the G below A as well as the Bb above A, it basically hammers phrygian mode down your throat
another thing to keep in mind
in major/minor, you get a leading tone to the tonic from scale degree 7
Diamond - 06/09/2016
no leading tone here?
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
there is a leading tone
the leading tone is the Bb
it comes from above
Diamond - 06/09/2016
oh yeah
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
phrygian mode uses the Bb as a pseudo leading tone
so let me ask you a question
what happens when you sing the major scale
but end on Ti instead of Do
what does that sound like
Diamond - 06/09/2016
It sounds... unfinished
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
exactly
so lets go back to the section at 0:42
the melody there goes
C, A, C, G
for the first four notes
now theres all sorts of things that you could do from here obviously, but the closest thing you would expect, compared to what actually happens, would be for the next notes to be Bb, F#, Bb, A
do you have a piano near you or something
Diamond - 06/09/2016
it's in the other room. i can talk to you via phone
on discord phone
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
well i cant voice chat or anything if thats what you mean
Diamond - 06/09/2016
Nah that's not what I need
I'm herr
e
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
ah ok
so play those 8 notes to the rhythm of the melody
it would probably make more sense for that F# to be a G
either one works because it fits into the phrygian-dorian scale
did you play it
Diamond - 06/09/2016
1 sex
c
Goddamnit
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
:smiley:
Diamond - 06/09/2016
 yes
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
ok
so compared to what actually happens, thats the closest thing you would expect
and it sounds fine
lands right on the Bb going to A
Diamond - 06/09/2016
yeah
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
i actually used to hum it to myself that way when i was a kid
and i never understood why it didnt quite sound like how it does in the game
Diamond - 06/09/2016
Ah
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
until today
because as it turns out, thats NOT what happens
reminder that the phrygian-dorian scale goes A-Bb-C-D-E-F#-G-A
Diamond - 06/09/2016
ye
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
and those notes have been used exclusively so far, except for descending chromatic lines from C to A occassionally
what happens during the section at 0:42 is that the song pulls a bait and switch on you
instead of going C-A-C-G-Bb-F#-Bb-A
it goes C-A-C-G-B-F#-B-Bb
Diamond - 06/09/2016
agh
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
so the first thing that goes "wrong" is that you get a B instead of a Bb
which sounds otherworldly because so far youve only heard the Bb (except for the descending chromatic lines)
its a little bit higher than you would expect
so its like "woah thats different"
but then it uses that to land right on the Bb
the leading tone to A
and it does that to you 4 times
then on the 4th time, it goes up to C and then down to A
going up to C sounds odd because you just approached it from B
going down a half step then up a whole step
Diamond - 06/09/2016
yeah
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
then you FINALLY resolve to A
then just to reassure you, it asserts A as the tonic a few more times with the oscillating motion like before
then it loops
Diamond - 06/09/2016
So this was undoubtedly intentional?
ingx24 - 06/09/2016
i would say almost certainly
because it makes PERFECT sense in the context of the story
Diamond - 06/09/2016
Composers impress me
goddamn