Songs that use Chromatic Mediant chords

❗THIS IS A REUPLOAD. THE ORIGINAL VIDEO WAS TAKEN DOWN BY COPYRIGHT STRIKE BY RADIOHEAD's RECORD LABEL❗

❗This video was originally released on 30th Dec 2022 but was removed due to copyright strike on 8th Jan 2023. This is a reupload.

Chromatic mediants are a great way to add a sense of wonder and intrigue into your music, making them a common choice in film music. What I find most interesting about them though is how the definition of "chromatic mediant" is not only debatable, but how the concept overlaps with some other music theory ideas, making for quite a confusing topic!

And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇


0:00 Introduction
0:30 The Imperial March
1:55 Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode
2:41 What is a chromatic mediant?
4:25 Light My Fire by The Doors
5:19 Lord of the Rings
5:50 It Won't Be Long by The Beatles
6:20 Morning Bell by Radiohead
7:21 Incogni
8:09 Chromatic mediants Vs. Modal Interchange
9:20 Chromatic mediants Vs. Secondary dominants
11:12 100% chromatic mediant composition

[chameleon-dream-band-official]

Oh those pesky take downs 😒. How this doesn't qualify as fair use is beyond me. Found this one really useful 👍 Thank you.

[rome]

I wish there was some way for all the successful YouTubers to band together and bring a class action lawsuit against YouTube and publishing companies for ignoring fair use law. YouTube knows very well these copyright strikes violate fair use. However, they simply side with the party that has more money because they're afraid of getting sued. Basically, the only reason this continues is because YouTube is aiding and abetting it. They could easily denying spurious copyright claims and stand up for what's right (both legally and morally). Instead, they allow publishers to block content made by hardworking YouTubers, and worse yet, to rob those YouTubers of money they would get off their content. It's the rich stealing from the poor with YouTube facilitating it.

[BahamutBreaker]

It’s hard to understand why Radiohead’s representatives would strike any of your videos. If anything, your videos drive potential new consumers **toward** exploring Radiohead’s catalog.

[striverfor]

Notes for myself

0:45 The relationship between the two chords still works because the chords share a common tone.

2:41 Mediant is the 3rd chord of the key. Submediant is chord 6. Mediant chord is also the same quality as the tonic chord.
4:09 A looser definition of chromatic mediant - the chords don't need to be the same quality.
4:43 Super charged chromatic mediant relationship because the 7th gives the two chords another tone in common.

5:20 Unusual striking sound makes them a common choice in film music. Like Lord of the Rings. Epic sound.
6:17 It Won't Be Long - still get a foreign, intriguing quality between the chords.

8:21 Sometimes chromatic mediants can also be described as modal interchange/modal mixture - when major and minor chords are used at the same time.
9:07 A | C could be described as a mix of chords from A major and A minor. Both interpretations are valid, music theory is not a standardised uniform thing.

9:30 Secondary dominants overlap with chromatic mediants. E7 in Happier Than Ever is the V of the vi (Am) so it acts as a secondary dominant.
10:43 But in this song, it's a textbook secondary dominant movement. It would be described as chromatic mediant if it only moved back and forth between C and E7. You need to look at the wider context of the music in question.
11:16 Check out other video on secondary dominants.

11:22 Exclusive chromatic mediant chords piece.

[conradtheeditor]

5:33 Aníron was composed by Enya rather than Howard Shore, so she should be credited for the chord choice here. (Although I see there’s a copyright strike citing Howard Shore because he incorporated the theme into The Council of Elrond cue!) Enya released it as a single. Her non-orchestral, synth-based original version is available as well.

[royalex]

This is insanely frustrating. Sorry what people like you are forced to go through

[pexw]

I admire and agree with almost every analysis David brings, but I have one big disagreement here. The introduction of the E flat major in Vader's Imperial March Theme comes at precisely the moment the trumpet reaches it's highest note in the melody, the absolute climax of this sonic metaphor. It's not "goodness" that demands the major chord in that moment, but "triumphalism, " precisely the kind of divinely inspired triumphalism that lies at the core of the Picardy Third. He's not just evil, he's god-like.

[reginaldperiwinkle]

Just a thought: Rick Beato seems to have had success in reversing copyright strikes by uploading "call out" videos. He'll do a "What Makes This Song Great?" video, and then get a copyright strike, and then make a video response, and in many cases there is a reversal. Considering how often you use Radiohead as an example, it might be worth the effort.

Not only is what you are doing fair use, but you have, over the course of a number of videos, been making a point about the musical depth, sophistication, and ingenuity of Radiohead's overall catalogue, including with respect to songs that are not necessarily their best known. One would think that if their label gave this any serious consideration, they'd reverse themselves.

[stephenmacartney]

Cliff Eidleman's wonderful score for Star Trek VI:The Undiscovered Country was filled with these changes.

[HenningUhle]

Immediately hit "Like" to comfort the algorithm. I knew the video before because I've seen the original upload. Keep going, David. Always good work!

[_Sixthstep]

9:50 was so enlightening, I constantly throw in E major when jamming in C and have always felt it had a dominant feel to it but couldn't explain with theory why that is.

[arthouston]

I want to add my voice to the chorus that is thankful for the work you put into your content. I bought the Alfred adult piano book three years ago, and the more I learn about music, the more it seems that I don't know, and your explanations along with a few select others, like Gracie Terzian have been helpful as I plow this new field. Thank you.

[HenryJansen]

This is incredibly useful information. To hear that it was almost unavailable because of a dubious copyright strike is saddening. All this is obvious, but I thought this comment would help you as regards YouTube analytics. You're a valuable resource to musicians everywhere. Please persist.

[TheFutureGodfather]

I don’t know if anyone has said this in the comments before, but the Sega jingle is another example of chromatic mediant. It’s just a short chord progression moving from Eb major to C major.

[mcwulf]

I wrote a song in G with AABA form. The A phrases were all the usual G major chords. The B phrase was G Bm Dm Fm. Now I know what it's

[mrdood]

Happy to watch a second time! Sorry you have to deal with idiotic copyright claims. I can't fathom how you could lose an appeal given the nature of your content but ... I was not consulted lol. Absolutely LOVE all of your content man, I've learned so much!

[gregoryhaddock]

Thanks for all the music education. And for re-loading this video 🙏🏼

[wesleytrott]

Dream Theater "A Nightmare to Remember" use chromatic mediant throughout. Also, their song "Pale Blue Dot" uses it too.

[jonathan]

One of the best first examples in history is Chopin. One piece is in the climax in his sonata 2 mvt 1. And the climax in his trios nouvelles etudes no 2

[sachamoule]

The ending tune you made feels like you blended the Star Wars and the Blade Runner worlds together and I think it's beautiful.