How to Write a NieR Song
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- The NieR games have some of the most distinctive soundtracks to come out in the modern era, and I take the opportunity to break down some of the elements that are so core to the music's identity. Enjoy!
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I measure my progress as a musician by how clear these videos become to me
Ditto, but as a theory junkie and composer rather than a musician
real
100% my situation
as someone who is just very into nier but not very knowledgeable about music, i wish i could understand more haha
Same
NieR music just hits different. great video!!
people still say hits different?
Ayy! Hi Jack!
People who don't like Nier music have trash taste
@@peen2804 Yes. NieR music just hits different.
@@pawerojsza9342 And here I am still searching video game soundtrack that hits like NieR:Automata. Yes, it still hits different...
I know there is so much to talk when it comes to NieR music but my lord, this soul voice out of nowhere in the Simone fight, it's unreal, how do you come up with such an idea when you're composing for a japanese game with orchestral music and chiptune.
I think this is quite something about NieR music and NieR as a whole: unexpected.
Yo! I just watched the Grandma / Destruction orchestral performance video today! It was awesome, and I almost cried! Thank you and everyone involved!
It's art, it gives such a strong emotion it's almost otherworldly.
Teminite put a sax solo in the middle of a dubstep song he wrote while getting out of depression partly thanks to the joy of making that song.
The only thing that would have made this video any better would have been a small sample of your own attempt at making a song that sounded like a NieR song lol. Insanely informative and entertaining, thank you!
he wd if he cd
thing is, it's beyond his ability
Keiichi Okabe is always credited as the main composer for the series, which is true, but all the song examples in this video except for City Ruins and Repose were written by Keigo Hoashi.
This. Keigo Hoashi also participated in the OST of Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song and when that music hits I know immediately it's a soundtrack by MONACA
Wow, guess he's the real man behind the magic then.
@@delta-a17 They both are, it’s just that sometimes I’ve seen Hoashi’s work credited to Okabe. Didn’t happen in this video but it’s just a reminder
Yeah, that's a common thing I've seen with not just the NieR series but a lot of video game series too. A lot of works are usually credited by people to the main composer but they may not have realised there are other composers/arrangers involved too who are also extremely talented. The NieR series has always had composers/arrangers from MONACA (with the exception of Takafumi Nishimura).
On an interesting note, until now (even with the release of Replicant ver.1.22), we still don't know the individual credits for each of the tracks from the original NieR all the way from 2010. The whole soundtrack was simply officially credited to the whole team. The Replicant ver.1.22 soundtrack also doesn't specify the original composers, only listing the new arrangers.
@@LightKeyDarkBlade yeah good point. One thing that’s nice about Automata’s soundtrack is that it does have the individual song credits if you get it on iTunes. And unfortunately Ver. 1.22 doesn’t, like you said
I wrote my college sneior thesis on the music on Nier, specifically A Beautiful Song, and it's really nice to hear you basically say the same things I said about the song (the O Furtuna ripoff and the 9ths and all). Make me feel validated :)
thats sick wat tunes you use?
Nier has such an overrated soundtrack that I can't believe you weren't laughed out of your defense
@@zydeco2024 you're so unique
@@zydeco2024 Haha look at me I hate popular things because I think it gives me a tiny fragment of a personality
@@zydeco2024 You got three comments on this channel, two of which criticizing the game and the soundtrack separately, on a video about the soundtrack of the game. Not to mention the comments being contradictory, if you're not a fan why are you even here?
If you want to know how successful the "future language" concept is, as a french speaker, grandma's lyrics sound like syllables arranged at random. But it is obviously french-like. It feels a little weird but I love it.
Interesting. I get very japanese vibes from it, especially from the cadence moreso than the sounds of the vowels themselves.
For real though! The various future-language mix of other language sounds is so effective, I swear when I heard city ruins shade for the first time in game I could have sworn they were speaking full on English, and didn't know they weren't until I tried looking up the lyrics.
Okay, I am French too, and I always thought I was insane for feeling this exact way while listening to this song ahah
Glad to know I am not the only one who always felt like I was listening to my own language while not being able to understand anything, it feels super weird, but definitely an experience that I've never had anywhere else, too bad so few people can experience it that way ahah
For English speakers, check out Wretched Automatons from Gestalt/Replicant. The feeling of _almost_ hearing words is surreal…
@@mads_in_zero What, did you forget Birth of a Wish(Both variants) existed? You can go beyond almost hearing words lol
I'm guessing this was an editing error but the version of City Ruins that plays at 2:10 is the Ray of Light version which is sung by J'Nique Nicole. Emi Evans' iteration is called City Ruins - Shade.
Edit: Fixed track names.
I was gonna point this out too, glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed.
You've actually got them mixed up, J'Nique Nicole sung Rays of Light (in this video) and Emi Evans sung Shade
@@fruitybnnuy Ah, the OST collection I have downloaded are ripped from the game files and it seems like they were mistagged lol (I own the released OST separately but prefer the gamerip version for having separate Quiet, Medium and Dynamic versions as their own tracks, with and without the vocals). I've been listening to the OST this way for years and never really questioned the tagging of City Ruins' versions.
Never leave out J'Nique Nicole! She is a treasure and an icon of POC vocalists in gaming
What the heck ?! In french, her name basically means "I fuck Nicole" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
If anyone wanted to know, the "i/5th to V7" (and then back to i) that sounds so classical actually has a name: the cadential six-four, which appropriately is found all over classical music!
I was about to say this! Thanks for pointing it out
Worth noting that the Im⁶₄ is so called because from the bass we have intervals of generic 4ths and 6ths. We can also analyse it as a sort of V chord in this case actually, so {1, 4, b6} → {1, 3, 5, b7}. We can make the 4 and b6 both drop down by step, and in four part harmony the first chord could have the 1 doubled, which could move down to the b7 by step too. That might be viewed as a bit icky by the classical folks, though, because of all the parallel motion, but I dunno. Point is, you can view it as a form of suspended V chord resolving to the real V chord which then presumably goes to I.
@@Aurora-oe2qp Someone's been studying their partimento
@@Aurora-oe2qp the movement is not all parallel, the bass stays the same, and everything's very standard and acceptable. in any case you can introduce the 7 after resolving 4 and 6
@@eulelier18 oh yeah, you're probably right.
YESSS I've been trying to capture the NieR sound for a while now so this is perfect, thank you so much!!
2:04 "so putting Evans' vocal at the front of these heartfelt arrangements makes them even more potent"
plays a song that doesn't feature Evans' vocals
Still, written by her I think.
I was thinking exactly that. Makes me feel so sad how people often forget J'Nique is also a singer in Automata, and sings the most iconic song as well
@@LynKoyo What song are you referring to as the “most iconic”? If it’s Weight of the World then there were 3 versions of it, English sang by Nicole, Japanese by Kawano, and Chaos by Evans. In terms of which of those three is more “iconic” than the rest, I think the answer would change based on who you spoke to. J’Nique is a fantastic vocalist and I believe she does get credit for her contributions to the soundtrack, and as some people seem to forget about her I’m sure others don’t even know of Evans, so I’m sure it evens out. Love your pfp btw, Yotsugi is great!
@@Riggs0320 weight of the world isnt iconic, the city ruins theme from part A and B is. Mainly because its heard the most throughout the whole game and weight of the world is annoying to listen to after going throught htat bullet hell
@@succulentscreams7942 seems like you suck at bullet hell games
While as you mention, there is an intensely emotional, desolate, depressing feel to the music, what has always struck me is that there is also something fantastically beautiful in it, as well. And that seems to be a theme present all over the game: the desolate beauty of the ruins that make up the environments, the unending despair of the plot which nevertheless also shows moments of immense beauty and hope... and I think that's what really makes the games so compelling. They don't just torture the player endlessly with pain and sadness, but paradoxically invite the player to find beauty in the desolation.
Man, you don't even understand how much I loved all of the Kaine-related tracks and how they were flipped on their heads in the ending of Nier Replicant to sound so hopeful and triumphant. You described this change perfectly lol
@@tamiamorton7389 I have a similar feeling toward Weight of the World from Automata; the songs are all so completely depressing, but the final end credits scene turns it into one of the most uplifting and hopeful anthems I have ever heard.
And the soundtrack edit of the final credits version of the song is absolutely brilliant, and filled with all sorts of really subtly-done elements to completely flip the song.
For example, first coming in on the English version of the chorus, which ends with the lines "I wish that someway, somehow / I could save every one of us / but the truth is that I'm only one girl / Maybe if I keep believing my dreams will come to life"
After which additional backing voices slowly start getting added, and it keeps switching between the other languages so the line doesn't come back up until a while later. And just as the line does come up, the background chanting ramps up and overtakes the singing, drowning out the end of the line entirely before she can finish singing "But I'm only one girl", as if to state that she is no longer alone and so that everyone can be saved now. It does a very good job of recreating the emotion you feel when actually playing that scene.
It's really amazing to me how a simple edit like that can completely change the meaning of the line, from loneliness and desperation to triumph.
This game looks cool
usually I don't understand a word you're saying but it just makes me happy to see you talk about one of my favorite soundtracks hahaha
The new Star Wars anime short "Village Bride" features a vocal song during the climax. Immediately evoked Nier vibes and ramped up the moment even more so with me. I had to check after and sure enough it was Emi Evans doing the vocals.
My thoughts exactly
I have never played a Nier game but their soundtracks are on my regular playlist!
Oof you gottaaaaaa
Definitely have to play Replicant then Automata. The music is beautiful itself, but once you have them tied to what happens in the games, it completely changes them, in a good way.
You're missing absolutely nothing, just listen to the music. They might be modern but they're essentially outdated Wii games
@@zydeco2024 I think you got the wrong game series dude lmao
@@tovi3280 yeah he definitely got the wrong game series
It's weird, a year ago I started playing piano in the pandemic, watching your videos and understanding literally nothing. And now I really feel like I'm slowly starting to actually understand more and more of your videos.
Isn't osmosis cool?
Song of the Ancients: Atonement is probably my favorite track from either game, so much emotional weight stems from the harmony of the two vocalists when you realize how the story has led up to the moment it scores. Just absolutely fabulous. Thank you for the video and letting me think more deeply about this amazing music!
Hearing Song of the Ancients at 14:00 and instinctively worrying about whether the tanks are actually pulling them apart, which one is casting upgraded shield, and the position of the closest sawblades.
LOL ben grinding NieR for augmenting gear
oh god no the flashbacks
I remember day way of bunker, everyone died to the knockback mechanic on my first run..... *EVERYONE*
Mere moments later: SE building thrown right at you
Don’t remind me thanks 😣
Don't forget those trains later on
I love these games so much I even kept tearing up while watching this video 😭
Hello
I love the fact that a game series as bonkers as Drakengard/Nier has such a rooted thematic musical through line. It tethers the player strongly to the emotions of the characters. Nier Automatas' strongest suit were the characters and no matter how strange the world became, the story always felt human, even though the characters were actually Androids and Gynoids. So it seems, just as untethered and bizarre as the plot and events are, those predicaments and relationships give the characters at least that much sympathetc weight and relatability.
It's like glancing a beautiful painting through the window of a tumble dryer that's mostly filled with confetti and the dryers' motor sings longingly in futuristic swahili.
Edit: 11:32 it's less of an o Fortuna rip off when you take into account it's probably (also) an homage to Yuki Kajiura. Actually, I bet she might be mad about the soundtrack. As much as I love the Nier music a lot of it feels aped from her.
It's always such a charming point of Automata how it's one of the few games where humanity is entirely gone and failed completely but the emotions are as human as it gets. Every aspect of it works towards this music included.
@@waking00one "Emotions are prohibited." It's so rough when you realize that 2B was saying that to herself.
Omg, YES!! Nier's music has been really inspiring to me as of late; thank you so much for making this!
Hello
Ay.
Your that Metroid/Courage the cowardly dog guy aren’t you..
The music is best described as Hauntingly Angelic, an emotional character that relies on emotion more than written meaning, music in its finest form.
13:46 Hello? Based department? Jokes aside though, this is my favorite thing in music ever. Thanks for giving it some attention in this video.
That chord change might be my favorite ever, love it so much.
I love it when you do these “how to’s” in the style of different games. Would you ever consider talking about minecraft?
Yes!
I can't fully put into words how much I appreciate you covering compositional elements of NieR. This game series and it's OST led me to delve deep into learning music theory. So this video resonates with me (a beginner) appreciate even more about music and NieR's soundtrack.
In short, thank you so very much.
Nier Gestalt/Replicant has possibly my favourite video game soundtrack of all time. Emil's theme just hits different...
Drakengard also has some great music. The OST from the first game feels suitably nightmarish, like a fever dream.
I started playing Replicant's remake just yesterday, and I see this in my notifications.
Is this a divine signal?
Obviously there's only so much you can talk about in one video, but I think the arrangements also contribute so much to these soundtracks
Me: *listening to wretched weaponry*
UA-cam Notification: “8-bit Music Theory uploaded ‘How to Write a Nier Song’”
Me: 😮
The music crushed my soul and i crushed the rest of what's left by letting pascal live
Thank you seriously
NiER background Music 🎶 makes you Cry gives you Hope takes away your WiLL builds courage to stand that one last TiME before go out into that gentle night
Deeply Worded
Me, who took one intro to music class 5 years ago: "I like your funny words magic man!" seriously good job, I love the music of nier and you captured it well
Made me chuckle real good. I don’t understand a lick of music theory but nier’s sountrack is easily my favorite so it’s nice to hear someone passionately talking about it
An insightful and entertaining analysis. However, using what sounds like J'Nique Nicole's recordings at 2:04 and 12:40 without crediting her is an absolute crime.
The crime is being named "I fuck Nicole". What did Nicole do to deserve that? :(
Okay, I know others have said it, but not crediting J'Nique Nicole's incredibly powerful contributions to the Automata soundtrack (2:04 and 12:48 specifically), not to mention the other vocalists such as those in Alien Manifestation is a crying shame.
Exactly. Nami Nakagawa and J’Nique Nicole are always left out of these discussions about Nier music and it makes me sad
@@spinceiling7442 OMG, thank you for her name I never knew it. It definitely wouldn't be the same without her contributions! You don't happen to know the name of the members of the choruses, do you :D ?
Found this odd too, yeah. Though I guess it's unfortunately not all too surprising, after they totally failed to credit Lena Raine for her work on Celeste... in their video dedicated to Celeste's music. She was added to the video description later, but still. Come on.
@@tailesque Bruh people make mistakes it's fine. At least the dude credited something...
you: solid analysis of how sound music is made
me: me like sound
I always think of those ascending Song of Ancient chord progression as one of signature elements of Okabe Keiichi’s pieces. It’s in Yuyuyu anime ost as well.
The YuYuYu franchise's OSTs are Monaca's best works in my opinion. Not Nier, not Drakengard. They nailed it with YuYuYu.
One of the best video game soundtracks. Thanks for covering it!
This is really cool! I never thought a song would top Dependent Weakling as my favorite, but Shadowlord is just on another level entirely.
Try looking up the full in-game version. NieR uses a lot of dynamic music layers (the vocals of Song of the Ancients ~ Devola only kick in when you’re close enough to her in game to hear her) and the OST versions don’t always catch all of the elements.
As the fight with the Shadowlord continues, the music gets stripped back more and more, till it’s just a lone music box… and the last hit ends it.
I so wish I had enough music theory background to follow this stuff. It just sounds so fun when you geek out on breaking things down like this.
Beautiful music, and thank you for covering it and for your insights on it!
The one word I think of that describes Nier music is melancholic
i understood nothing and would undoubtedly fail the job of making a nier song (or any song for that matter) but thank you for making this video it makes me appreciate nier music so much more
I have been waiting for a video over the Nier series ever since I found this channel!! so glad you were finally able to cover it!
I've been waiting for this video for years. Thank you!
I love getting jobs with the time travellers bureau. This was very informative
Omg omg omg omg yayyyyy thank you, your videos are all soo amazing, enjoyable and informative! Thank you thank you so much for everything!
Thank you so much ! I've followed the principles you describe to compose my own NieR inspired song, this would not have been possible without your video 😊. Keep the good work !
I love how in depth this analysis is thank you!
Each piece of Nier is a masterpiece on its own, great video !
Honey, wake up! 8 Bit Music Theory posted a new video
This 6:35 reminds me of Voices of Passion by East West. Back in the day it was a go-to for me whenever i needed something with choir
You always put so much effort into your videos and it makes them so easy to follow and understand the themes you convey. The transcribing and the notes you add as well are just chef's kiss *mwah*
But please make a video on Ori and the Blind Forest. Gareth is a melodic genius and the way it helps convey the emotions in the story makes me cry every time I hear it. You don't even need to go through the second game, the first is a milestone in and of itself PLEASE!!!
This soundtrack and that of Destiny/Destiny 2 are some that carry such a consistent feeling throughout its really quite impressive. Fantastic video!!
Yoko Taro: I need a music that justifies sliding on sand with high heels.
Keichi Okabe: Ok.
> Creates "Memories of Dust"
Wrote my masters thesis on the music of nier and nier Automata.
Thank you so much for making this episode on NieR. IMHO, NieR's OSTs play an apparently more significant role than any other aspects of the game for gamers' immersive experiences.
So many of the tracks in N:A give me chills. Thank you for covering this!
Oh, boy, will I spend the next month or more taking every screen of this video apart to study it on my keyboard.... Thank you a lot!
Shoutout to the homie for using the original soundtrack and not the cleaned up remaster
I’d imagine it’s because the 1.22 ost isn’t on Spotify and such, but yes, I also think the original arrangements sound better.
City ruins is the only piece of music that gives me chills every single time I listen to it
Thank you for mentioning Song of the Ancients. It probably has become one of the most important songs I've ever heard in my life
Now we're cooking~ I especially love Amusement Park from Automata. You walk up to the gates of what could be Disneyland, and you get the weird, xlyophonic melody and *those* vocals, and you just scratch your head... and walk right on in like NONE of that was clearly saying 'this place might be trouble'. It's such an immediately DARK mood. So good. XD
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR A VIDEO EXPLAINING NIER’S OST ! Thanks 🙏💕
I loved your videos years ago, when I barely knew note names and nothing else about music theory, not even chords. But I've studied guitar(by myself + internet)in the past 1-2 years and know way more now, ans your videos are incredibly inspiring now that I can actually understand way more
God that "classical minor" sound of the 4-part vocal piece sounds SO MUCH like something written by Fauré or even Mozart. They really nailed the late classical-early romantic period sound there!
I have 0 musical background, but the way your professional yet easy to follow along explanation really made this so entertaining to watch
Truly a master of your craft
There's vidya OST and then there's the NieR OST, MONACA has just a beautiful way to create music for both Drakengard and NieR Series
So I've made it through most of your videos now and what I can say for certain is that your videos have given me an even more profound appreciation for the music in videogames. It's honestly astonishing how much genius goes into these media that many people will just never see because "videogames rot your brain..."
2:05 That's not Emi
Please give credit to J’Nique Nicole as Emi Evans was not the only vocal in Automata and offers a beautifully powerful contrast to Evans' vocals
I've sung Nier Automata's praises til my throat was sore, and I'll never get tired of it. Great video!
NieR, FaR, where eeeeeeeever you ArE
"vibes are dripping off and making my floor wet"
That's pretty... visceral
I don't know much about chord progressions but it surely doesn't stop me from enjoying nier's music
Always good to let more people know about these beautiful soundtracks
I'd love to see a video on the music of the Ar Nosurge / Ar Tonelico series -- they all have some stunning multi-chorus arrangements, often in made-up fantasy languages with a Bulgarian vibe (a la "The Making of Cyborg" from Ghost in the Shell), and eventually inspired me to find some doujin circle producers & singers for my own RPG that I'm currently making (Erum Nagi allows a lot of her songs to be used in game-maker projects for free, for example).
oh boy, here I go listening to the entire nier/nier:automata soundtracks again
I’ve been waiting for a Nier vid from you for years so epic
You seriously make music theory so much more fun, thx for the video man
What looping 8-bar form you have, Grandma.
I literally asked for and have been waiting for this video for you for YEARS! Finally haha
Nobuo uses that ninth melodic motif In tons of his music!
Aaaa I've been waiting for a video covering this forever, thank you so much! Very informative
Emils theme hits home everytime. NieR Replicant despite the grind sometimes, was a game with a great story
I haven't looked this vid yet, but it's already makes my day better
These videos are gold and I wish I had them while studying music in college. Thank you!
I love Nier music. It's sad, but it's also so heartwarming...By the way, really well done video, I enjoyed understand a bit more about what makes Nier's OST so unique!
I know this video is a year old, but if anyone wanted to listen to something similar to Nier's soundtrack (literally from the same composer), I suggest checking out the soundtrack from the anime "Yuki Yuna is a Hero". He uses the same compositional techniques and it rocks
NiER is game that every musician should play and listen to. Its Breathtaking.
The Artistic vision and genius use of set notes 🎶 is rarely found
Mine favourite : Amusement Park, City Ruins (Rays of Light)
BUT
The GREATEST of ALL that TORE me Apart
*THE Weight of The World - The END of YoRHa*
It 😭 hurts. You reminded me of the end game. I thought i would lose everything but i forged ahead and did that impossible.
bro i dont get jack about music theory, but i love break downs on everything, especially in my favorite music. love your channel
It’s so interesting to learn about the NieR music in this video. I know nothing about music composition and I’m pretty blown away from what I learned here.
AYO?? Let's gooo!!!
Just commenting for the algaerithm. Have a good one.
Edit: Just watched the entire thing twice so I could properly digest the information. (And because I just really love these soundtracks.)
Thank you, 8-bit Music Theory and everyone who requested this!
Oh definitely your best yet! LOVE this soundtrack
Listen if you wanted to make me cry while learning, you’re doing a good job at it.
OH MY GOD IVE WANTED YOU TO MAKE A NIER VIDEO FOR SO LONG THANK YOUUUUUUUU
This video introduced a concept to me that I have never implemented and that's with the "less movement" with 3rds and 4ths. Thank you so much for this video and I'm very glad to see you covering NieR music.
This soundtrack is a masterpiece, and so is this video! Bravo! Subscribed!
This is absolutely fantastic. Best way to dive into advance music theory.
I love learning about how music theory can apply to the experience in a game, and Nier music has made a significant impact on me. I cannot fully express how much I enjoy watching this vid as a music and nier fan. Great work!
I just happened to come across this while thinking about Nier music. Thanks for the insight.
Great video! NieR has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, it’s so calm and haunted at the same time….
Having that made up language being a mix of multiple languages really makes it even better. After that many years all the languages got merged as one