Charles Cornell - This Song Is So Good At Making You Cry, It's Used EVERYWHERE
The discussion centers on how the song by the Cinematic Orchestra effectively evokes deep emotions through its chord structure. The song uses a series of seven chords that are voiced in a way to create a condensed, yet expansive sound. The analysis highlights the use of a double plagal cadence, which contributes to the song's bittersweet and pensive feel. The chords are mostly major, creating a sentimental rather than sad atmosphere. The video explains how simple voicings and dynamics in the piano part contribute to the song's emotional power, making it effective in various contexts. The song's ability to evoke tears is attributed to its harmonic structure and the way it builds energy and emotion through its progression.
Key Points:
- The song uses seven chords with specific voicing to create emotional depth.
- A double plagal cadence is used, contributing to a bittersweet feel.
- The song's chords are mostly major, creating a sentimental atmosphere.
- Simple piano voicings and dynamics enhance the emotional impact.
- The song is effective in evoking emotions due to its harmonic structure.
Details:
1. 🎵 Unveiling the Song's Emotional Depth
1.1. Emotional Impact
1.2. Contextual Usage
2. 🎹 The Art of Chord Voicing
- Effective use of seven chords establishes harmonic motion, with the voicing of chords playing a crucial role.
- Simplifying chord voicing can enhance musical pieces, exemplified by a D major chord adjustment where the third is raised an octave, expanding the chord to a tenth.
- Raising the third of a D major chord an octave transforms its sound, creating an open feel with a larger interval, making it less crowded.
- Spreading notes apart in chord voicing can smooth out frequency rubs, leading to a quieter, simpler sound, demonstrating how note arrangement impacts overall sound quality.
3. 🎼 The Impact of Plagal Cadence
- The piece highlights the use of a single chord due to its effective and beautiful sound, emphasizing simplicity in composition.
- The chord progression features a 10th interval (a third an octave up), which adds a distinct character to the music.
- Incorporating a ninth in the chord voicing subtly enhances the piece's complexity and depth.
- The root motion involves transitioning from D major to A major, then to E major, forming a double plagal cadence.
- A double plagal cadence is a sequence where each chord functions as the fourth of the next, creating a unique descending fourths motion.
- In this context, E serves as the dominant (five chord) in the key of A, with D as the subdominant (fourth), leading to an intriguing harmonic movement.
4. 🎶 Crafting Emotional Climaxes
- Utilizing a plagal cadence (IV-I), also known as the 'Amen Cadence', introduces a darker, more reflective sound compared to a traditional cadence (V-I), offering a powerful emotional effect in music.
- The technique of stacking fifths generates a smooth consonant harmony, essential for crafting emotional climaxes, as the fifth interval is the second smoothest after the octave.
- Transitioning from D major (without the third, but with the ninth) to E major using stacked fifths creates a cohesive and powerful resolution in the music.
- Employing a double plagal cadence (D to A to E) and the chord progression B minor, D sus two, A major, E major, results in a beautiful resolution that enhances the emotional power of the composition.
- An example of the plagal cadence in popular music can be seen in the song 'Let It Be' by The Beatles, demonstrating its ability to evoke deep emotions.
5. 🎤 Melody and Harmony: A Perfect Blend
- Breaking up chords into separate top and bottom parts creates a dynamic motion and energy, enhancing the listener's experience.
- Using a major 7 chord and rocking the hand back and forth generates a sentimental feel without resorting to sad or minor chords, creating a bittersweet effect that can evoke strong emotions.
- The progression of mostly major chords, despite their happy nature, can still draw emotional responses, showing that context and chord arrangement significantly impact emotional perception.
- The technique of separating chords and using dynamics can make simple progressions feel powerful and emotionally engaging, even without a contextual backdrop.
6. 🎻 Orchestral Layering for Emotional Resonance
- Transitioning to a new chord, such as F# minor, and returning to the main key creates a powerful emotional release.
- A repeated chord progression with a piano generates a rocking motion, building emotional tension that peaks with a dramatic octave jump in the melody, illustrating the effectiveness of dynamic changes.
- Simple voicing in strings enhances emotional impact without altering the harmony or piano technique, demonstrating how subtle orchestral layering can deepen a piece's emotional resonance.
- The use of a bittersweet chord progression combined with orchestral layering adds emotional depth, evoking a visceral response from the listener.
- Techniques such as octave jumps, subtle string voicing, and dynamic chord transitions are strategically used to amplify the emotional narrative of the music.
7. 🎧 The Bittersweet Simplicity
- The use of darker resolutions and plagal cadences (four to one resolutions) creates a bittersweet emotion in the music.
- Traditional cadences like the five to one are less prevalent, contributing to a less bright, more pensive sound.
- The song structure relies on simple, yet effective piano chord voicings and dynamics, emphasizing expression over complexity.
- The emotional impact of the song is significant, often leading listeners to tears due to its bittersweet nature.
- The song's simplicity and emotional depth make it widely appreciated, despite potential overuse.
- Audience engagement is encouraged by requesting comments on other bittersweet songs, suggesting a community-driven content approach.
- Examples of other songs with similar impact could enhance understanding of this emotional technique, creating a shared experience among listeners.