But of course, it's this Twitter account, so I guess the question is always...how does it relate back to YouTube? 1. REFERENCES: The chords before the chorus go A -> B -> Db. This flat 6th and flat 7th chords is actually the same kind you see at the end of the Mario theme, so I think has a "gamey" feel. Symbolic references, even (and especially) if subtle, can invoke feelings similar to whatever they're referencing, as that chord progression does have some cultural significance. You also see it in Super Mario Galaxy, right before the chorus of the Gusty Garden theme (attached pic). 2. RHYTHM: The rhythm of the left hand deliberately tries to invoke the feeling of someone running, although again because I didn't do music theory, I don't really have the words to describe it other than...it just feels very skippy. Rhythm and anticipation contributes a lot to music, as it does with YouTube storytelling. 3. MELODY: At the start, the melody has all the notes sorta compressed in tight ranges, with all notes being mostly only a step or two away from each other. But the "chorus" by contrast progresses up by thirds and feels a lot more spacious, making it feel more "free-spirited" in a sense - since Sonic running in a jungle feels pretty free-spirited to me. This idea of compression causing tension vs. spaciousness relieving tension can also be used in YouTube videos. I actually haven't formally studied music theory much, so there's probably much more articulate ways to describe most of the above. But in my mind, stuff like music and story is all sorta blended together in one mental model, especially because there's significant overlap (I feel) of the aims and methods in those two worlds.
.@OnTheDownLoTho posted this Sonic clip of B-roll with just sound effects (no music) from this cool looking game. So I decided to make a piece of music, just for fun, to try to fit its vibe. After about 20 minutes of playing around on the piano, this what I ended up making:
