Explaining Super Mario's Underwater Music
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- Опубліковано 28 лют 2024
- In this video I tackle Super Mario Bros.' iconic underwater theme, breaking down how the music fits the rhythm of the game's underwater levels and how it develops just a couple musical ideas in to a full, satisfying piece.
0:23 - Matching the Rhythm of the Gameplay
2:59 - Chromatic Neighbour Embellishment
5:20 - Developing the Piece Out of These 2 Ideas
8:20 - Ending Section
10:29 - Outro
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In my head it always made sense for water levels to be waltzes because of all the Looney Tunes cartoons with the blue Danube waltz in them
Yeah, definitely. It has the impression of a turn of the 20th century feel, if my sense of history is at all accurate.
It also sounds like a carnival ride, which is a sound you get in a lot of old-timey cartoons. Honestly, when I first "went back to" SMB as an adult, I thought it might have been some public-domain waltz from the early 20th c
That’s the reason! The “Blue DANUBE”
Maybe a “waltz to the death” lol
(we are officially friends if you know the reference)
@@averagerobloxian9077 I had to look it up. The piece from the Batman 1989 score? It's good stuff!
3/4 is often characterized as round or flowy. I think being underwater kind of matches that. It’s not like our normal, bipedal movement.
Why are waltzes always in 3, Smithers? Where’s the 4?!
Yeah, I've always felt like compound time signatures are more flowy than other time signatures.
Yeah it's flowing like the ebb and flow of a current, it is the sense of going up and then down and then up and down
@@solveforx314interesting idea..... to me different compound time signatures have different feelings. 34 being flowy, 74 and 78 feeling jilted, 54 feeling whole and round
@@solveforx3143/4 is a simple triple meter, not compound, but yes, divisions or beats grouped in 3 are sort of floaty
Funny how we think of the waltz as smooth and relaxing when back in the day it was considered a scandalous and shocking dance
In Super Mario Land 2, the waltz time is also used in the moon level, which also has that sluggish movement, if not the lopsidedness.
The Mario 3 water theme follows all of these ideas too, only in 4/4 time. It fits in so well with Mario1 and World that I never even noticed it wasn't really a waltz.
The underwater theme always fit so well I didn’t really think about it in isolation…the 3/4 really makes it feel sluggish just like traversing water
i was told 3/4 and 6/8 have an aquatic feel because it mimics the feeling of a boat rocking back and forth lol
Thank you for mentioning 6/8 - it's wild that everyone is talking about this piece being a 3/4 'waltz' cause to me there is nothing waltz-like about it - it's very clearly a complex duple 6/8 meter, which goes to what you are saying about rocking back and forth
@@Lafuedoit's not. 6/8 feels like two beats, this very clearly just feels like one. Heavy emphasis on one, then a bouncy 2 and 3 is definitely a waltz. Especially since the chord change is in the next bar
@@Lafuedo i've never had anyone explain the difference to me. it just depends how many measures you're counting.
@@BrofUJu Yeah, maybe... Funny thing about time signature is that by its nature it is subjective outside of what the composer wrote down. I personally have always heard this theme in two beat phrases, but I guess your mileage may vary.
@@Lafuedo fair! 6/8 is almost always faster too, because it's more a triplet type feel since they're more eighth notes, but you're right. It's all just made up lol
I never noticed that the ending had those sticky top notes before, and it does create a sort of "swimming" feel, like keeping your head up even as the depths drag you down, only to "kick" upward with the embellishment.
Pokémon surf music also are in a waltz. Except for Gen 5... It's funny to see that in both situations the music was made for a water experience
my favorite aspect of this theme that makes it floaty is all the inversions of the bassline root note, and how rarely the V is used
the V root only happens twice (3 times including the intro), so it feels extremely satisfying when that perfect cadence hits!
Such a fun video on a fun little song I have not really thought about. It just fits so perfectly in the game, you don't even question it.
With all the videos on OG Super Mario Bros. recently, I'd be interested to hear your take on the Castle theme. I know it probably wouldn't make for a very long video, but just think it'd be neat.
Yes! Would love to see a video on the castle theme! Such an amazing piece of music.
@@SilentPaaw I hate but I’ll still love that video.
That second chord seems to me a G in 1st inversion with some decoration on top rather than a B. It makes sense as a simple I-V vamp
That would make a Gaugmaj7/B 🤔
Pretty strange functionally speaking for a V chord to have a major 7 (but so is a VII7 I cadence)
It would also make the step down to G in the next section less functional. I think it makes more sense to essentially consider the first bit as all C, the B just a kind of passing chord to add some motion, moving down to G after that with the F# passing chord. (Knowing that the chromatic neighbours are typically used as "embellishments" supports this, too.)
Yeah, thought the same thing. It's just I-V but with the weird top like you said.
This is what I thought at first but I don't think it's any kind of G7 because F# would be too weird. B7 resolving to C is a chord progression with precedent (it's the Jailhouse Rock riff)
To me the waltz makes sense. It gives off either a relaxed, laid back vibe or a sluggish vibe and both fit with beaches/water. Underwater you're definitely more sluggish and movement is more cumbersome so I agree that my mind immediately agrees with 3/4 for underwater.
Also I really like that F# bit in the music. Not only does it NOT repeat to have that cleaner resolution but it's also the only moment in the first movement that the bass breaks the pedal point of the 2nd note in the waltz figure. It's the only moment you don't have that steady, same sounding middle bass note.
I think the 3/4 feels like the first beat is the swimming movement while the other two are flowing along and enjoying the view. Something more relaxed or busy could maybe feel too static or hurried (like a swimming competition, or swimming away from a monster).
I don't know if anyone else or just me, but some of the rhythms, esp. from the remix version in the beginning of the video, reminded me something i'd hear in a mariachi song
i was wondering if t'was from the Mariachi Entertainment System guys. I love their work.
Super Mariachi Bros.
I love this channel so much!! I’m actually working on Super Mario’s Underwater Waltz on the piano right now. I have a better understanding of the music theory behind this piece now. Thank you for covering this pretty tune! ❤❤❤❤❤
Absolutely love your work. If you haven't yet, I'd highly recommend going over Tim Follin's work.
He did the silver surfer new game (level 1 theme is Great) and a ton music on retro hardware. Amazing what he did with such limited specs.
Pictionary never sounded so intense lol.
11:16 boy that was so smooth
I wish you could have touched on Super Mario 3’s underwater theme as it’s a bit of an outlier standing next to the other compositions from future games. As a musician and a video game fan I always love your content though!
Thank you for helping me understand why I love game music so much. Music theory can be tough for me to wrap my head around and you do a great job at making it digestible.
The underwater theme always reminded me of The Blue Danube. I know that they’re both obviously in 3/4 time, but I wonder if Kondo based the underwater theme on it.
I love that the background is mostly Mario getting hit. It's a good thing these levels have calming music, because these levels are usually the hardest ones.
That was really great. I never would have considered the motion of the character determining something like the time signature.
I think it’s very interesting to note that Super Mario Bros. 3’s underwater theme is not a waltz. It’s in 4/4.
The turnaround is brilliant.
This reminds me of a song in a game I love called Etrian odyssey 2 untold, and in the 5th stratum, a floating castle really late into the game, the music for castle has a 3/4 time but in the b section, the strong beat is actually on the 3 (unless I'm counting wrong which is always possible), and gives a sort of imperialistic march feeling that is kind of oppressive
6:13
Something, worth noting, is that the passage sounds so light and insignificant by using the 1st inversion of C major.
Especially, when composing a waltz, the 1st inversion of the tonic, will make the first beat to sound lighter. Also the listener expects something after the 1st inversion, as it sounds unresolved.
Thus, Mr Koji managed to recycle his musical idea of the first 3 meters (C-B-C) twice without even using the V (He used the I 5 times in total without using the V!)
That's so cool. Thank you Professional Racist!
Your research fills my day with joy. Thanks!
What's interesting about a composer like Koji Kondo is that according to his bio from what I understand other than participating in grade school bands and working in a cover band playing jazz and rock music, he never formally was trained in classical piano or advanced music theory while in Osaka University of Arts. Making good 8-bit music during the era of 3 channel tone generator sound chips is much more challenging than one would imagine. So for him to think up and blend simple yet complex chord progressions like C major into a B minor 7th 13th flat is rather remarkable just in general and then to consolidate or know how to emphasize the important notes or voicing within the limitations is genius. Then, don't get me started on Nobuo Uematsu who was completely self-taught is still unbelievable to me with the types of symphonic and experimental pieces he's written in video games. 😇
If what you said had been stated in these videos I'd have remained subscribed.
I would relabel the third chord of the B section as C#dim7 because it makes the secondary dominant relation to the following Dm more clear.
Mmm, cool analysis and that's pretty awesome how naturally the piece progressed ^^
Great analysis!! 1 thing: I think the 1st bass note of the 4th bar of the ending phrase is a C#, leading into Dminor. Thank you for all your work :)
I always thought it made sense they used waltz in the Mario underwater theme (and Pokemon surf theme) because of the swing and sway of both the dance and the sea waves, as well as Mario's motion when you jump.
it sure fits.
I don't know the time signature of the river canoeing song from Twilight Princess, but it sure seemed to fit the feeling of going down river rapids, which is a bit faster than just a general underwater or sailing vibe.
Not just neighboring tones, but also escape and leading tones. Hooray for trad harm! 😊
Fantastic video, as always!
This and Pokemon GSC's water themes are my favorites!
5:02 You could think of the B7(b13) as a Phrygian Dominant tritone substitution for the subdominant F chord. Likewise, you could think of F#7 as a tritone sub for C.
Koji Kondo especially loves the Em7->Eb7->Dm7 tritone sub that shows up in pieces like Bob-omb Battlefield and Zelda's Lullaby
Love your videos, man
I would like to thank you 8-bit for your channel and all the videos you've uploaded the past years :)
I'm a suscriber for something like 4-5 years and thanks to you i have learnt so much about music... I remember feeling lost and confused watching the baby level tutorials you made for beginners a while ago !
Thanks to your channel, i have also discovered plenty video games i never had the chance to experience and their music. You definitively widened my culture and i thank you for that :)
Among those games you made me discover, there is Abzu. I would like to enter university in composition classes in France, where i live, and for that i have to compose music for a video game scene. I chose one from Abzu :)
The funny coincidence, is that you posted a video about water levels music in Mario, the exact day i finished my work on Abzu, which is obviously all water levels !
So i figured out i had to let a comment to thank you, because i wouldn't be the musician i am now if it wasn't for you
I don't know if you'll see this comment, but i'll let the link to my work here anyway, as a sign of gratitude
ua-cam.com/video/ZzBc8Un_vuc/v-deo.html
Thank you again, deeply :)
8BMT looking to lead into Mario Day with a whole Mario Month.
I clicked just to find out what you thought the second chord was called. I wrote "Baddb6" on my transcription, but I didn't notice the A natural right before it resolves back to C major so I think B7b13 is better. Nice.
2:30 "Hey, check out all this relaxing music.", me, just watching Mario swim into every enemy: "AAAAAAAA!"
I don't know if it was intentional when Kondo originally wrote this piece, but the "editing" variant in the Mario Maker games, which turns it into a full-on orchestral waltz, has one loop that without changing the chords sounds almost exactly like the famous waltz "Sobre las Olas" by Juventino Rosas... which translates to "Over the Waves". It may well just be a correlation between the triple meter and the feeling of moving through water, but either way I really like SMM's nod to the piece. (The SMB1 underground theme kind of does a similar nod to "Take Five"... even if it's in 6/4 :P )
Nintendo has pretty awesome composers.
My siblings and I would try and swim to the beat of the song. 😂 I was convinced it would get you through without hitting any fish.
I remember seeing a video probably a couple years ago at this point suggesting that this piece was the one that kind of kicked off the association of waltzes with large bodies of water. I wonder how true that is. The jump-fall-fall feel discussed in this video is pretty specific to this game (or similar platformer games), but not borne out of nothing, since IRL in a pool you do fall slower than you jump. Before Mario, were there a lot of water-associated waltzes?
the blue danube?
8:30 in the 4th bar of this section you missed the C# in the bass
This makes it an A7 chord that tonicizes the Dm
That remix of the underwater theme from the intro is epic! Where can I find it?
I have a request: My favorite solo of all time is from Double Dragon 1 (City Slums - Stage 1, I think). It gives me goose bumps every time it resolves, even thirty years later. Can you talk about what makes this such a powerful solo? Thank you!!
Perfect video, was planning to swim today 😅🏊♂️
I have always felt that Koji must love the idea of scuba diving or something. Every water theme is exactly what it needs to be.
phenomenal video, I would love to know what that first cover of the underwater theme was though. It gives off such a nice chill mariachi band vibe.
Oh man that out-of-tune trumpet in backing music 😢 killing my ears
I was hoping to hear about Mario 3's water music... not 3/4... Dire Dire Docks? Excellent analysis of the SMB 1 water theme, and it did set a lot of precedents, but not water music is 3/4. Mario 3 water music is possibly my most favorite of the Mario water music...
Fantastic video
Thinking about how Mario 64's theme isn't a waltsy bit, but it also kinda evokes the motion of the game's water, I think.
Maybe I should’ve mentioned that none of the 3D Mario games go for a waltz feel, they all use more ambient tracks. The rhythm of the movement is very different in 3D Mario games vs 2D Mario games so a waltz feel probably wouldn’t fit as well
@@8bitMusicTheory Yeah! They're slower, more methodical, and just in general entirely different from how the 2D handles it. And the ambient tracks help to really solidify some of that ethereal, floaty nature to the 3D motion in water. (Especially how Mario Galaxy has different versions of the tracks for when you're above and underwater, which is so cool.)
So does anyone hear striking similarities between this piece and the last 50 seconds or so of "Kitchen, Surgery, Face off" from the original 1989 Batman Score?
hi. is the waltz also the reason why this song makes me feel like I’m sailing on a ship?
From this point on, all 2D Mario underwater levels used this same idea... except, you know, not the next one? SMB3's underwater theme is a very clear 4/8, though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was also a waltz. It sounds pretty similar to the SMB1 theme, but it's not in 3 at all! It starts out G C G F#, A, F# G E C F#, A, F# G..., and the G C G F# sounds like it should be in 3 except that the F# isn't on the downbeat but rather on the fourth note.
I also don't think that the New SMB examples really fit the feel of SMB1, but maybe that's just me. They sound like an underwater merry-go-round, not like a water level. (I don't automatically associate waltzes with merry-go-rounds, but when you use a glockenspiel it's hard to avoid the comparison...) Meanwhile the 3D Mario water levels have themes of serenity (SM64), or a Caribbean-style beach, or... whatever Galaxy does, I honestly can't remember.
Finally... you left out the intro! The intro is awesome! D E F# G A A# BBB B B, G E... It starts on the V/V, which is something Koji Kondo likes to do a lot (slide theme from 64, for example), where you don't actually know the right key until a bar or two in. He even starts the SMB1 overworld on a V/V, but without the harmonic ambiguity.
I'm waiting for your Rick Beato interview! Rock on sir!
Finally a video I can understand
Hi 8-bit music theory, could you do a video about Mario party 3 music, Waluigi's inland theme specifically?
the song so good, they went back and made it the title theme of games that didn't have one.
I know this isn't the place to make requests, but I'm just gonna shoot out that I think it'd be funny to see you do It's Pizza Time! from Pizza Tower.
Love your stuff. I know so very little of music theory, so believe you me when I tell you that most of this is going over my head, but I watch all the same! It's great to see the thought process the creator (or perhaps more accurately, you) have on the way the theory effects the emotions of a piece.
Lol in the original Batman, the waltz that comes on with the joker - sounds very similar. I wonder if Kondo was inspired by that (the waltz is older than the movie)
Could make an analysis on the music from Koudelka (PSX)? It's very strange and a mix of different genres, but it's lovely.
0:59 Icy caves too
I think the second measure would be best notated as a G+/B, it just sounds more like it than a B chord to me
I only recently learned that this theme got recycled into the title screen theme in SMB 2 - i feel pretty dumb for not realizing that for 35+ years LOL. 😂
I feel like Mario games almost singlehandedly defined the best way to write music for a water level, this is definitely the beginning of that.
I love watching your videos. Are the letters on your keyboard at the beginning of videos supposed to be real letters? Do they mean anything? I’m always trying to figure them out.
3:24 my brain went straight to Kokiri Forest
Shoutout to Nintendo World for using the (NSMB Wii) Underwater Theme in the bathrooms
Happy Mar10!
I find it interesting that Kondo went back to a 2/4 feel for SMB3’s water music before returning to the waltz step for basically the rest of time. I like the SMB3 water music, but it just feels less…wet?
I have a deep suspicion that the underwater theme was inspired by Eddie Lang’s April Kisses.
Never heard of that one before, but had to check it after your comment and... wow!.. This looks like a straight-up plagiarism to me.
@@thulsa_doom Super Mario Bros. 1 is almost entirely plagiarized.
@@suburbanindie I happen to remember now one of Larry Graham's bass lines was used in the underworld theme.
@@thulsa_doom sadly, the majority of video game music is plagiarized.
I hear no similarity.
8-bit, your analysis of the B section was weird. You spelled a V/ii with flats and you missed the fact that he used a variation of the "common approach and escape from tonicizing ii" progression:
I-V+-(iiø43-V7)/ii
ii-V+/ii-IV64-V6 :||
However, your melodic and thematic interpretation was very interesting. Cool stuff
Fantastic! Also, your video demonstrates that Bloopers are evil and deserve their fate.
It is not just water levels. What about the Comet Observatory from Super Mario Galaxy?
Will you ever do a video on Minecraft's music, or is there to many videos about Minecraft's music that you feel you would be oversaturating that area?
Did you know that the US version of super Mario Bros two uses the same water theme when you power up the game whether it’s on the super Nes, Nes, or the Game Boy advance systems?
Are there any Mario songs that changed their themes drastically? Like did they try to branch away and fail horribly?
Not really? Galaxy has a different vibe but it’s pretty beloved, and while Odyssey has a wider range of music genres, none are that irritating or anything
Over here waiting for a video on Bakadarou.
Early for once! Lit
I hear the second measure as a dominant function. Instead of B7flat13 it could be written G#7#5/B. Yes?
As an artist I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about but I sure do like the way you say it.
I don't get it either. He deconstructs the notes but for what purpose?
@@MoonwalkerWorshiper Music theory.
@@NuiYabuko What kind of theory? The notes are what they are.
5:09 well DUH buddy. There is nothing "awkward" about creating with what works.
2:51 Forgive my ignorance of newer 2D Mario: What game is that where Mario appears to be both Fire Mario and hatless?
Googling "hatless fire mario" only found fanart, not the game.
I believe it is New super mario bros. for Wii U
New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you lose your hat in that game once you reach 99 lives and enter the next level
@@kasigeritoIt’s Wii, but they’re similar
@@geschnitztekiste4111 ah yeah you're right. I got confused because the water themes are really similar
@@kasigerito The music is literally the same so you're not wrong, but the visuals are Wii.
took me 1 minute & 44 seconds before realizing this wasn't Alex Yard's voice narrating
Now that I look back at iconic older games, it seems that there was some sacred knowledge that the ancient civilization had when making them. Despite all of the technological progress, billions of dollars in the industry and decades of accumulated knowledge at our fingertits, most modern games don't even come close to that level of attention.
I wish I understood music theory. I have no idea that these words mean. Any favorite resources for the basics? I have no musical background
Personally, my favorite underwater music from Mario is from Super Mario Bros. 3.
That always kinda sounded like the Simpsons opening to me lol
Do you use a rhodes or a wurli for your sample notes?
Waltz was often used in Esther Williams' underwater scenes, like here with Tom & Jerry ua-cam.com/video/Agz2RduEL8M/v-deo.html
Koji Kondo nadou para David Wise surfar!
Can you analyze Pokémon diamond pearl and platinum music
My brain is ruined. I can't hear neighbor without a small chuckle.
Dire Dire Docks would like a word
NSMBW Underwater music: calm and relaxing
9 y/o me when getting chased by spiny cheep cheep: 😨😱
That B7b13 chord is not. It is G augmented maj7 in first inversion. It is a five chord.