Harmonic Relationships in the Music of Disasterpeace

In this video I look at some of the ways Disasterpeace constructs chord progressions, specifically looking at the similarities between his compositional style and the modal jazz movement of the 60s and 70s.

[demilad]

I love pretending to understand all of this, while in reality I just pick up a few basic ideas from it. Oh whale. I'll learn, I'm sure.

[kyrla]

TFW Disasterpeace includes Chopin's Prelude in E Minor in one of the endings to Fez *and then cuts off the last two bars*

[satchmo]

Hey, 8-bit. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you spending so much time on the musical examples. In my experience, other similar videos on YouTube tend to blast through relatively short musical examples, whereas your last excerpt, for instance, was almost a full minute long. In my opinion it is absolutely essential that when you are learning a new musical concept, you spend as much time as possible listening to works that use that concept. Just hearing someone explain the theory is not good enough. So, thanks again for that. Your videos are excellent!

[ryno_io]

it’s insane that this video is 7 years old now. this is one of those videos i keep coming back to, as disasterpeace has gone on to score movies. such a simple idea like the use of cross relations makes this and the chrono trigger music my favourite on your channel

[GUIM]

I never have linked up most of Disasterpeace's music with Modal Jazz (despite being a Jazz head). I always related it more to Satie, Debussy, and similar colors of music. That said, Deluge is an amazing tune, so thanks for including it (I just hope you don't get pinned for it by copyright claims).

Interesting stuff! I also see you opted for "Chromatic Mediant" this time 'round versus "non-functional." We gotta spread the greatness of Chromatic Mediants! Haha. ;)

Keep it up, man!

[VelvetRobot]

I'd been thinking of trying out both Hyper Light Drifter and Fez for a while, but your video pushed me over the edge and convinced me to play them both

[PiercingSight]

That's some beautiful analysis... The dude knows what he's doing.

My favorite piece of his is Panacea. It's like... Debussy and Chopin had a music baby, and Disasterpeace is that music baby.


Also, I wonder... I wonder if sometimes you are finding things in people's music that THEY didn't even know was there. For example, when I'm composing, I don't think about the chord structure, I don't think about "this is a major 9th" or "this is the 2nd chord to the tonic" or whatever. I go by feel, and if it feels right, it is right. And that's what I play.

I also wonder if, while yes, what you are saying is true, it isn't the analysis that the composer would give you. The composer might describe an entirely different thought process, or perhaps even have an entirely different tonic in their minds (if any). That would be a fun thing to explore: Perhaps analyze a piece of music, and then ask the composer to tell you what they thought was significant while composing it.

[AndersEngerJensen]

Wow, didn't know this. Gotta check out Disasterpeace for sure! Great work, as usual! :D

[SomniRespiratoryFlux]

Having never heard these pieces or played these games before, I think one of the other things that jumped out at me (besides the really well explained topic of the video) was the relationship with tempo that these songs have. Specifically, a very loose, flowing one. Nocturne from Fez, in particular, seemed to have strong use of rubato tempo to create a vibe that's more ethereal and ambient than more rhythmic pieces like Flow. Even some pieces with a more fixed tempo, such as A Chorus of Tongues, are structured in a way that feels looser and less rigid, especially the way it seamlessly flows from 4/4 to 3/4. It's an interesting style and I really say it works well with the kind of chord progressions used. Great video, can't wait to see more!

[CinderMox]

Your videos make me wish my middle school music teacher hadn't convinced me that I would never be any good at music just because I struggled to memorize scales. Maybe if I'd stuck with it I might have learned enough music theory to be able to follow the things you talk about.
That said, I think Disasterpeace is a great artist to analyze. His work is really distinctive and I remember being ecstatic to learn he was attached to Hyper Light Drifter. The soundscapes he crafted for that game really did the heavy lifting conveying the tone and mood, and I still regularly come back to the soundtrack to listen to it on its own, too.

[happy-composer]

Disasterpeace is by FAR my favorite modern score composer, and FEZ is my favorite soundtrack of all time. I keep coming back to this video because seeing some of my favorite music written out and explained makes me cry.

[offbrand]

saw marcel the shell this weekend, turned to my companion during the credits, and remarked on how much i liked the soundtrack. turned back to the screen and there was disasterpeace, listed as composer! this man doesn't miss! and i started thinking about this soundtrack and this analysis too

[emmbeesea]

I love your musical analyses. They tend to tap into things I already know like mode compatibility and harmonic movement, but also show how these things work on a psychological level. I love your videos dude. Keep up the great work!

[ghdrum]

As a drummer who studied jazz at university, I have to take my hat off to Disasterpeace. The man has a great ear. It's interesting to view this as a musician who doesn't play video games. Respect where it's due.

[neurotransmissions]

Man, I love Disasterpeace. Fez was my introduction to it and now I just listen to his music for fun. He makes beautiful soundscapes.

[Jiroxys]

I gotta say, this is one of the most accessible videos to come out of this channel in some time. I love learning about music theory in this way, but I'm definitely a beginner and I get lost in a lot of 8bmt videos. I'm not sure if it's just the clear examples or if the scriptwriting is improving, but I'm really happy to see somewhat easier-to-grasp videos from the channel! keep up the great work!

[emptysrealm]

Thank you, thank you so much for covering Disasterpeace’s work! He is one of my most favorite video game composers. You’re awesome!

[melonenstrauch]

Really cool analysis! This video was the point for me where I finally began to understand music theory, thank you for that! However as a fan of Impressionism I would have to add that despite the analysis holding up perfectly, Disasterpeace said that he was mostly inspired by Debussy and Ravel for the Hyper Light Drifter soundtrack, not Modal Jazz. It even has the "Impressionism" tag on his Bandcamp. Nevertheless, the analysis is great and Modal Jazz is indeed very cool.

[shadoninja]

Thanks for playing examples a ton in this one! I like it when you explain something and let us listen to it right away to let it sink in!

[DKOJ]

8-bit Music Theory + Disasterpeace = heaven