The Shocking Origins of Halo's ICONIC Vocal Theme
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- Check out my BRAND NEW ebook complete with over 200 pages of instruction and transcriptions as well as 40 backing tracks for you to play along with!! jazzpianoimprov.com/
Start your piano journey today! betterpiano.com/
Follow me!
Instagram: bit.ly/2WoR7W1
Twitter: bit.ly/2I02YAt
Facebook: bit.ly/2K4rHq8
TikTok: bit.ly/2X7pnlN
Bro imagine if he heard the Halo Reach OST
he should do another video for that OST.
That music is so good
Yes yes yes!
please do Halo Reach
He should listen to the whole of Overture( the intro title)
So true
I always attributed the use of the gregorian choir and the dorian mode to the religious implications of the enemy faction in the plot
Of course it is... I never missed so much the Cantus firmus explanation, the monody or the old Greek modes. This kind of composition have no a tonal root. It is of course necessary to clarify that point!
It totally reflects the awe and admiration The Covenant have for the Halo and the spiritual journey to ascension they believe it will bring them.
@@ColonelPatchy1 It wasnt just the Covenant, you know how it goes, you make a "random slip-space jump" and come out near a colossal super structure in space that is big enough to maintain its own atmosphere and biosphere that is technologically way beyond anything you have ever encountered and far older than we could comprehend. It was every bit of awe from the Pillar Of Autumn. The "religious sound" is generally there to inspire those feelings of otherworldly awe and mystery of what is this ring, where did it come from, who made it, it asks so many questions while still being awe inspiring before we get into the main theme which is more focused on a smaller scale like "ok lets focus on the fight at hand."
The music from games 1 - 3 is insanely good. "never forget" on the halo 3 ODST is absolutely gorgeous. It starts with a gorgeous major 1 to minor 4 phrase that I've always loved.
I also really love Deference to Darkness
No love for Reach?
The composers worked on a game for Bungie called Myth: The Fallen Lords about five years before Halo was released. There is a lot of conceptual crossover between them and both scores were a huge part of creating their atmospheres. Because I played Myth first I always get nostalgic for it when I hear the Halo themes.
@@ChrisGloschat Isn't myth getting remade/revamped? or am I thinking of a different Bungie game
Some of the stuff from Halo: Reach is absolutely fantastic. It captures the tragic nature of that storyline perfectly, giving the listener a feeling of "Things are shit right now, but there is hope, but the suck will get worse before it gets better."
You MUST do the Halo ODST score, you’d love it! Smoky jazz + morose, lonely orchestra
"One Final Effort" from Halo 3 is my favorite variation of the Halo theme. The piano intro is badass but in a different way from the original theme.
Yes completely agree. One of the most stirring and beautiful pieces of music to come out of gaming for me.
@@Rage226 Mjolnir Mix from Halo 2 has to be my favorite!
I've always thought it would be epic over a USMC commercial.
the halo theme song fills me with such joy. Incredible memories of my youth.
Just imagine if they were to make a true Halo movie (ignoring the show- whether based on Halo Reach or CE), that had it’s first teaser using the song Yesterday to lead us into the main theme as we see the UNSC losing fight after fight, and by the end we get our reveal of chief (Helmet on… always) or the Spartans on Reach showing up.
Watch Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Decent movie and pays enough respect to the lore/games for it to be enjoyable. Could be better as a lot of the Halo stuff is backloaded towards the end of the movie but way better than the show.
The fact you got a whole video out of a small part of the soundtrack has me hopeful we'll see a lot more halo music coming. Especially some halo reach
Charles needs to review Halo Reach or Halo 3 ODST soundtrack if he is going for more video game soundtracks. I'm sure he would absolutely love it!
If not I'd request Indiana Jones (either Raiders, Temple or Last Crusade) as i feel they MIGHT be John Williams best work
I started checking the comments and was upset when i saw so few. Then realized I started watching this 2 minutes after it was posted lol. Fantastic job. Very inspiring to me as a songwriter
The whole concept of phrasing is something I'd love to hear more about
💯 Phrasing can make an incredible difference. The genius of Emily Remler comes to mind but there are many examples bot instrumental and vocal.
Think of a written story in english. One word written would be equivalent to one note played in music. Words make up sentences, in music its not all that different; notes make up a phrase. Phrases can end in resolution or unresolved, unresolved phrases are like questions, resolved phrases are like statements. You can usually feel and hear when a phrase is finished and whether or not its a statement or question (resolved or unresolved)
Have heard this story so many times but always love hearing different perspectives, interpretations, explanations, etc. Excellent video as always.
The thing about an ancient piece written for an orchestra or piano, is that only so much can be communicated and we can’t be 100 percent sure if it was played exactly the same. Liturgical chants on the other hand have been done at least every week for many centuries, if not more often during other services during the week. Those roots are tightly connected.
It's probably as close to the concept of "eternity" that a man can grasp with our time-limited minds.
But likewise, there's no guarantee that the chant is reproduced perfectly either. I'd back the one written down to be preserved more accurately over time.
Man, I would love to see Charles take a look at Mahler’s music! Specifically the finale of the 2nd Symphony and the 4th movement of his 5th Symphony. Just sound that is so full and heart wrenchingly beautiful!
I love it when you describe the framing of the wordless melody as conversations or dialogue
It's not as if Charles was the first to do it. There's literally an article "Call and response (music)" on wiki
@@deyama2012 Wiki isn't _reaaaally_ an authority but yes, it's a typical musical theory paradigm to call segments of notes "phrases", and as a result this leads to "questions", "answers", "calls" and "responses". See also "voicing" ;)
@@Shrooblord I'm not saying wiki is an authority, it's just that it's a good place to start and also has quite a few links and references, which probably should be good enough to prove my original point. And I don't mean to brag or anything, but I've been composing music as a hobby for 15+ years, so I know what voicing is ;)
@@deyama2012 I know the at symbol and the direct response to one thing you said doesn't make that super clear, but the intent of the message was to reply to you first, and then provide a more general clarifying statement. Sorry for the confusing phrasing.
Composing for 15+ years...! Same! Fun to meet a fellow musical mind :D
@@Shrooblord no problem, fellow musical mind. Sorry for getting confused ;)
Highly recommend you check out the Halo ODST score (for jazz/noir motifs) and the Reach score as well!
PLEASE MORE HALO MUSIC YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ALL THE OSTS
As a very cool, but probably not as popular thing to check out, I'd look at the band "Toehider". The main guy Michael mills has some INSANE song writing. "whatever makes you feel superior" is an absolute banger. Super interesting everything, melody, rhythms, harmony, pacing, dynamics, just all of it. The guy is criminally underrated.
Thanks for recommendation, this is great
Its such an iconic theme. Gives me chills every time!
Charles, do you have any plans of exploring the OST from Shadow of the Colossus at all? Id particularly love to hear your thoughts on the Prologue track
This is one of your best videos so far. Really illuminating
I LOVE how you explain music theory via the emotions contained in the notes, it really speaks to me n helps me connect sound with theory ❤ ty!
Charles, I wish you would do some history about the Gregorian Chants. They were unison and flowing because of where they were sung. The echos were so profound that anything else could not be understood and multiple notes could not be differentiated as well as one note from the next. Thus they did a lot with long phrasing.
I used to write music for video games in the 90s and was friends with Marty. One year at the E3 Expo, I ran into him and he brought me over to the Bungie booth to check out their new game. He got me to the front of the very long line and I got my first glimpse of what would eventually become the first Halo. He told me he wrote that theme the night before and finished it at 3am that night. So I heard it when it was hot off of the presses. It didn't strike me as anything extraordinary at the time (sorry Marty) but the nurturing of it over the following decade made it into the iconic music that you kids think of it now. Hurrah!
You know what else is iconic? Being early to a Charles Cornell video
Do Katamari Damacy. That soundtrack is unhinged in a great way, so I know you'll be going "OOOOOO!"
YES YOU MADE MY SUGGESTION! I LOVE IT.
Halo 2 Mjolnir mix next please!
You can title it. Halo 2 has the right to go this hard.
LET'S GOOOOOOO! FINALLY!
Bro needs to do more, especially 1, 2, 3 and ODST
Those emotional connections to history is why I'm absolutely entranced by the Seikilos Epitaph
So interesting to hear the backstory and, of course, the expert musical analysis even if I have never played the game or heard the OST!
You should do a video on the music in the show Succession. The ones from last season are so good and the theme music is just ICONIC !!!
I really admire your approach on how fast you dissect these tunes!!!
please continue in this style I always learn so much, love ur videos!!!!
I also hear bits of paint it black in the melody. Thanks for the video!
Also, the four melodic lines sound like they were lifted from Within You And Without You - also the Beatles
Thanks for the explanation, I never really thought that deep about music, but I always wondered why it had so much effect on us, when you compared it to a language with phrase and questions it made more sense
That's amazing, such a beautiful and iconic theme. Thank you for this analysis Charles!
There’s so much to the music in Halo and so many games with different themes, please do more!
CHARLES! PLEASE review the OST from Halo ODST or from Halo Reach. Marty O'Donnel just kept getting better with time. I think you would particularly appreciate ODST's jazzy inspirations.
Please please please do more halo music!! It’s so so good!
I watched countless orchestras playing it live, on UA-cam, and it gives me chills everytime
Thanks dude, this was one of your best segments. I’m looking forward to jamming on this Halo theme to accompany ballet, modern and contemporary dance classes on piano. I reviewed that Beatle’s phrase and found it odd that it’s based on an odd number of measures, 7. ✅🔥❤️
Dude....yesterday was my all time favorite song....and to know this knowledge now, my god is my mind blown
Great video! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the GUILTY GEAR STRIVE soundtrack. Their use of modes, minor, and major keys all in the same track is fascinating imo
👍 I also recommend the jazz covers by The Consouls eg. The Disaster of Passion
Halo 2 is my nostalgic jam! Amazing to see the analysis on this! Love it!
Awesome video as always! I'd love to see your take on the new Final Fantasy XVI OST, it is FREAKING AMAZING!! Keep up the good work!
Iv waited so long for you to cover this ❤❤❤
In the Halo symphonic universe the 117 theme of Halo 4 definitely deserves a shout out
Beautifully explained. This piece always has more secrets to give.
Charles, please make this a series, where you look at the progression this theme makes throughout the game and the rest of the franchise! 🙏
This is definitely my most favourite game soundtrack ever!
The very first time my best mate and I started up this game, back in the day and heard *this* ... 😳😯😍
I think we all bought that Gregorian Chant CD released in the 90s. You know, the one with the floating monks and stone bricks on the album.
The Gregorian chants are still in churches today. They are usually in the evening songs. It’s quite relaxing as a bass singer of 20 years. But yeah it really good and recommended if you visit a cathedral or a church that hosts evening songs
The thing about the Halo soundtracks (at least 1-3) is that O'Donnell and Salvatori created music that goes way beyond what the games managed in terms of creating an epic space opera. Some would probably argue that game and music was a perfect match when played on release in 2001, but I played through the series a few months ago and the games never got close to matching the sheer scale of the music. Halo 2 probably comes closest, especially with the gloriously remastered cinematics. My favourite track, though, is Released from Halo 3.
With music, we can indeed time travel
Marty is a beast! Definitely the Hans Zimmer of video games and such a defining feature of the Bungie Halos.
I think it makes more sense to think of E dorian as part of the D major key (second mode), rather than as an alteration of the E minor one
Yes you can "tweak" the E minor scale to get it, but why would you when you can take the D major scale as it is?
Halo Reach's soundtrack does this even more. You should check that one out too, if you ever can.
As a Gregorian chant enthusiast, I love this.
Great work as always. May I suggest the Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix as well. Listen to it, then find the video of it being created. The studio recording session of them working through the process in a similar way as your videos, it is just chillingly good.
Need more Odd Time Podcast.
Halo! Finally!!
Seriously though, Halo has some of the most amazing music that I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. I may not be a music expert, but I personally believe that Martin O'Donnell is on par with John Williams and other greats.
I'm looking forward to an in-depth on other Halo music as well, especially Reach and ODST, if you do so in the future.
Thanks for making this video! Ive heard about this alot over the years now i have a reference video pfftt. Id love to see more halo content like about neon nights from halo 3 odst?
The Halo melody also sounds remarkably similar to 'Battle of the Heroes' by John Williams. I wonder if both composers were inspired by Gregorian Chant...
The Halo theme's ghostly chant lead me down a rabbit hole and I discovered Arstidir and their impromptu Icelandic Hymn in the train station. I highly recommend it, it's on UA-cam. Love the analysis as always!
Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður (Icelandic hymn) in train station
The two last phrases are straight lifted from the Easter sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes. Literally same melody, only a tone higher.
How did I miss this? I love Halo!
How interesting to hear the history of such an iconic song! 👏👏
LOVE Martin O'Donnell's music! Would love more looks into his catalogue, especially Halo 3
I love this series!
While I was expecting this to be really cool - and it was! - I was a little disappointed that you didn’t also cover the post-choral part where the theme really gets into gear and you get the part that everyone remembers, with the pounding drums and strings playing that repeating, slowly rising phrase...
Anyway, though, still a fantastic video as always. Keep em coming!
Hello Charles! ...I was listening to this piano version of a song, and somehow, you came into mind, so...
I was listening to "Peaceful Sleep" from the OST of the video game Nier:Automata. The piano version from a separate official album.
The game is well-known for its "unconventional" plot and gameplay but also for it's amazing music, whose composer and musical director was Keiichi Okabe.
On the original OST, there are a couple of female vocalists, mainly "Emi Evans", who basically made up a dialect to sing lyrics in a way that they feel they are from 10,000 years ahead. And the harmony is very beautiful also.
Maybe you find it interesting enough for a video of yours.
Best wishes man!
Hi Charles !
Since the Halo theme is based on gregorian chants, I wanted to recommend you something to listen to : “Damien Poisblaud : Abbaye du Thoronet .”
To give you a little bit of context, this man has been studying traditional music in europe and middle west countries in order to “recreate” how gregorian chants were done in the Middle Ages. When I was a musicology student I joined a masterclass / teaching session and he was the teacher, and that was one of the most incredible musical experience of my life.
Basically the purpose is to sing in a non equal temperament context, with specific thirds, fifths and fourths intervals that modulates in heights from one mode to another.
And the purpose of the vocal technique is ideally to make your entire body resonate to fill the space of the church.
Definitely worth listening to.
The Halo 2 theme adds more layers to it, by literally adding layers. That first phrase plays similarly, but never hits its last note, but holds the second last note as the start of the second phrase comes in over top of it. But only the first three notes of the second phrase, and again holds the note, as the rest of the second phrase is sung in female voices an octave higher. Then the rest of the melody is sung by the whole choir in harmony, louder and louder, before suddenly stopping, but once again leaving off the last note, never fully resolving.
Would love to hear you cover Greater Together, the main title for the upcoming Spider-Man 2 video game. It's such a great blend of Peter's and Miles' themes from their respective Insomniac games.
'No water for him' scene in the original Ben-Hur starring Charlton Heston. Music composed by miklos rozsa.
I would love to see you talk about the music in Over The Garden Wall. Keep up the great content
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO MY ENTIRE LIFE. Now do ODST and Reach OST
Speaking of video games, I'd like to see some videos on your favorite video game composers, especially Nobuo Uematsu.
Halo theme is the definition of iconic.
I recently started watching The Magic School Bus again with my toddlers. Now I’d love to see Charles break down THAT theme song to discuss how funky and fun it is. 🚌 🎶 Ms. Frizzle is the GOAT.
Interestingly, the rising question tone in English only happens on yes/no questions. Say "Did you eat lunch?" out loud and then say "What did you eat for lunch?" out loud. The word lunch goes down in the open ended question.
Charles, please make a video about the soundtrack of Halo 3 ODST, it's soo jazzy and melodic!
I always thought the chant melody and the medieval-sounding tunes throughout the soundtrack were inspired by Hildegard von Bingen because her music has some very interesting phrasing going on.
That was just plain fun!
I think he would love the Halo 3: ODST Soundtrack next. It has some of the best atmospheric soundtracks out of all the Halo games even though the game itself was not the most popular on launch
I was listening to the Fable main theme and wanted you to analyze it. Danny Elfman is a legend and the Fable main theme is amazing. I didn't knew where else to suggest this so here it is.
Hmm…Charles, nice job. I thought I posted something here but perhaps I broke a rule. Anyway, my point was that your excellent explanation took longer than it took me to write the melody.
Didn’t mean to promote anything else.
I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on Martin O’donnell’s work in Halo Reach and Halo 3: ODST! Honestly any of his work throughout the series is really interesting
Two of our FAVS! Sacred chant and the Beatles....
Bro literally managed to connect Halo theme with Yesterday 🔥
One thing that puzzled me is that the structure that you described is already present in gregorian chant. I know the author acknowledge the influence of the beatles themselves, but it could be argue that such a structure is actually present in melodies since the ancient times and in a way gregorian chant also inspired the beatles in this regard.
I’d love to hear your take on how to get into listening Jazz 😮
Might I recommend starting with vgm jazz covers by The Consouls - some great listening. Or Charles' Christmas album.
Phrase 2 sounds like a simplified Scarborough Fair! "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme..."
I can’t express how much halo music means to me. 1,2,3, odst and reach have impeccable sound tracks.
you should definitely check out Thomas Bergersen's music
incredible composer, incredible music
I especially like his newer tracks from the Humanity series or Myth but many older pieces are also great
You'll love it!
Random thought but when the drums kick in it reminds me so much of the Uncharted series
You NEED to cover the Halo 3: ODST Soundtrack, it's so jazzy, atmospheric, and just beautiful
Can you please do Monkey Island? Would fit your style perfectly
Crazy that Bungie just fired Michael Salvatori. This still blows my mind. When I think of video game music there are like 6 games that come to mind. Mario, Pokemon, Halo, Zelda, and Tetris. Donkey Kong could also be in there and for me in particular Destiny 2 and smash bros melee but whatever. Halo music was incredible. Destiny 2 music was just as incredible, not as iconic to most people but still incredible but I fear bungie is going to AI music.
Anyways if you haven't heard Deep Stone Lullaby from Destiny 2 you really should. It wasn't just michael salvatori it was michael sechrist, but still probably the best D2 song.
I love your breakdowns of video game music!
I'd love to see your take on the soundtrack for Gris (just found your one of Hollow Knight!)
Ooh! And Ori and the Blind Forest!
I manifested this video, I swear!!!!
For those that are unaware. Michael Salvatori was just laid off by Bungie on Oct 31 of 2023. A guy who has been with Bungie since the beginning of Halo, into Destiny and Destiny 2. Just a couple of years before he could have retired from the company that he's spent the better part of 2 decades with.
Mike Salvatori may have been working with Bungie since 1999, but he didn’t join them officially until 2011.