Jonah Nilsson: How to Harmonize a Dirty Loops song - Part1

Ever wondered how the harmonies on the Dirty Loops songs are created? Jonah Nilsson from Dirty Loops breaks down his approach to harmony and arrangement in this 2 part video series!

Original "Next to you" music video by "Dirty Loops":

All the music and video from this clip used on this video belong to "Dirty Loops"

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[albaal]

His speaking voice is so different from his singing voice. I imagined he’d sound like Michael Jackson, but him having a deeper voice speaks volumes of how monstrous his range is.

[JakobStrand]

I love Jonah´s blend of classic and jazz writing. He´s absolutely amazing.

[Sinevibes]

"How to Harmonize a Dirty Loops song" in two steps:
1. Become a freaking musical genius.
2. There is no step two.

[DynamicRockers]

Complex Bill Evansesque harmonisation here! That's beautiful

[mister]

I agree. “Here’s two notes and then I add incredibly complex chords under those notes”. Just do it!!

[マシュードーラン]

He’s one of the best singers on the planet! Phenomenal and jaw dropping range plus an amazing piano player as well

[jalfredprufrock]

All right, here's my take on the 16 bars from 1:58:
1. [ Aadd9 - Am/E ]
- [ FM9#11 - AM7b5/C# ]
- [ Dm13(b9) - D#dim7 ]
- [ E7b9sus4 - Bb9#11(=CM7#5 | Bb7) ]

2. [ Aadd9 - Am9/E ]
- [ BbM9/F - AM9b5/C# ]
- [ FM13/C - (Am/E - E7/D - Am/C) ]
- [ Bm11b5 - Eadd9 ]

3. [ A - F# | A ]
- [ D#7#11 - E | C6 ] (probably wrong)
- [ Dm - D#dim7 ]
- [ BbmM7/F - F#dim7 ]
- [ GmM7b5 - Ab9#11 ]
- [ Dm/A - Dm9/F ]
- E7sus4

I tried to preserve most of the passing tones he hits, resulting in some weird notation. Also, no idea what's happening on the first two bars of the 3rd section, so if there's anyone trained in classical theory who could help me make sense of that, that'd be great.

[JuliaBambooliaASMR]

Oh, my gosh, this is my first time hearing Jonah speak. My heart is racing - his voice is just so dang beautiful, hahaha XD

[fiddlestix]

Why do I keep hearing classical/romantic composers here? Fauré, Chopin, Rachmaninov….so beautiful, so lush. And isn’t it fantastic to be hearing those keyboard parts on their own, just for once? And then to see how they fit into that final masterpiece xxx

[lauralee]

Jonah is a genius with awesome intertwining melodies, timing, harmony his style, yes!

[KardavoxAcademy]

Jonah: "Yeah so I sat at my piano and sorta played this"
Me, thinking he's gonna do something simple, ready at my Piano to follow along:

Dude's a legend

[arielcemusic]

It is just me or the video is missing the part when he explain the harmony and how did he worked it? -.-

[carriesaundersson]

He’s just so perfect. His talent is incredible. He literally is a musical genius 😍

[MatthewWright]

Excited to see this band getting more coverage. I literally listen to them every morning to get pumped up!

[aleataholloway]

I play bass but I haven't in awhile. You guys have inspired me to try my hand at it again. It's been a very long time since I've been so moved by music that I cry. The potpourri of sounds and rhythms. I'm am so in awe, speechless. Jonah your vocal ability has me mesmerized. Your range... insane. Marry me!! 🥰 Lol! Love, love y'all. So, so good! Amazing! Beautiful! Spectacular!...❤️❤️❤️

[gustavoheberle]

You guys are massive !!! So good to know that great musicians are growing up everywhere ! Keep the groove alive ! Best regards from Brazil !

[FindleyOcean]

I would watch him do this to every single one of his songs. Amazing

[rafaelpernil]

"Just keep into acocount the "Next to you" part and * insert musical magic *"

[LeeTavMusic]

I bought the first album in 2014 after being blown away by the genius of the cover tracks ‘Baby’, ‘Just Dance’, Circus and the rest… I enjoyed the first album but I am yet to hear the album ‘Phoenix’.. I’m hoping this track ‘Next to you’ is on it, because that short section at the beginning of this video is every bit as good as expected, truly stunning!.. and the current material with Cory Wong is just as exceptional 👊💥

[robocobrabot]

So nice of him to explain this… in my grandmothers living room.