10 Music Themes Most Commonly Used in Musical Theatre
Музыка
What makes a musical sound like a musical? This video breaks down the key elements that define musical theater. From the flat hall used in "Anything Goes" to augmented fifths in "Maybe This Time," walking bass lines, boom-chuck rhythms, chug chords, double time, sus chords, the big pullback, and hits on beats two and four-these are the secrets behind the musical theater sound. If you're thinking of writing a musical, these tips are essential.
#MusicalTheatre #MusicTheory #Broadway #MusicalWriting #TheaterTips #SoundOfMusicals #LearnMusic
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0:00 Introduction
0:16 The minor iv chord
1:03 Augmented 5th's
1:52 Walking Bass Line
2:03 Boom Chuck
2:25 Chug Chords
3:20 Key Change
3:32 Double Time
3:51 Suspension (sus) chords
4:55 Big Pull Back
5:42 Hits on 2 + 4... with a button...
Пікірлер: 216
God Damn, I wish I hadn't quit piano when I was 14...
@brennanruiz1803
5 жыл бұрын
That's a big mood right there. Piano gets almost as many awesome parts as French Horn, which I also don't play.
@ankoslitoflower
4 жыл бұрын
What's stopping you now?
@seppyq3672
4 жыл бұрын
Me too. Only I was 16. Relearning now.
@alexsicarrasquillo672
3 жыл бұрын
Get back into it!
I am so glad there are shows like The Great Comet that try to break these norms of musical theatre to create avant-garde
@PixelDoodles
6 жыл бұрын
IT WAS R OB B E D
@ixea_idol9392
4 жыл бұрын
And also American Idiot! Anyone remember the one musical that created a new generation of punk rock musical theatre dorks?
i can’t watch more than 3 kevin lynch videos in a row because than i start to feel way more smart than i actually am
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
Aw hahaha
@generalsherman5055
3 жыл бұрын
Love your vids
‘A Musical’ from Something rotten is the perfect example of a stereotypical musical theatre song!! I LOVE IT!!!!!
God, as you as you mentioned suspension chords I IMMEDIATELY thought of Wicked and Dear Evan Hansen. Almost song has them. It’s like they know how simple their music is.
I would like to say how much I IMMENSELY appreciate your acknowledgment of classic musical theatre and the LEGENDARY composers who wrote it. What we’re seeing now in the theatre world only lasts as long as it does because of the performers and not the music. True musical theatre withstands the test of time due the musics ability to attract the audience. Yes, certain performers excel in certain roles and give groundbreaking performances in said roles but it’s the MUSIC that makes a show last.
YOUR FACE WHEN IT JUMPED CUT TO WAVING THROUGH A WINDOW I LAUGHED SO HARD
Your neighbors must hate you while you’re filming these videos😂
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
Hahaha I think we have sound proofing haha I feel bad for the dog more than anything
Chug chords: Popular (Wicked)
literally just watching you play piano and having a ball makes my freaking day
1. The minor (flat) IV chord 2. Augmented 5th's 3. Walking Bass Line 4. Boom Chuck 5. Chug Chords 6. Key Change 7. Double Time 8. Sus(suspension) chords 9. Big Pull Back 10. Hits on 2+4 w/ a button welp just typing it out for my sake cuz I wanna learn deeply on these 10 themes :p I'm working on a Disney inspired song so this may be useful
Another very common theme that you'll find in musical theatre is this three-note pattern that contains the tonic, the leading tone, and the dominant. You can hear it in the "unlimited" theme in Wicked, and the melody to Valjean's "One Day More"
I love how most of the chug chord examples were Sondheim 😁
I just realized, Matilda has almost all of these as well. ...you should react to Matilda the Musical.
@MatthewMerril
6 жыл бұрын
Oh lord...I can already here him screaming at 10 year old children
@mannytij
6 жыл бұрын
Matthew Merril 😂😂😂
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
Yup lol
@PixelDoodles
6 жыл бұрын
Revolting Children is like the only song i like- i cant get into the rest
The first one is also common in Christmas music.
When I understand the musical terminology Kevin uses, I feel so much better than everyone else but then I remember how much I fucking hate music theory I wanna punch something
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
I'll help you along :)
I love that Sondheim uses something so overused and simple as chug chords to make the most absolutely complex melodies and themes of all time. That man is a genius
It's almost as if I was a psychic! I knew every single one as if I was listing them off one by one. Especially the button with hits on 2 and 4, and those sus chords! But let's be honest, while they are everywhere in musical theatre, the predictability is sometimes soothing. It definitely makes musical theatre what it is today. Great video, man!
As someone who's trying to do some intentional Broadway and Disney pastiches for a project, this is actually a huge help for getting the feel I'm going for! Thank you!
big pull back! and then WITH A KEY CHANGE, love it
There's also the 8th, 7th, 5th hook (Do [8ve], Ti, Fa) and the 4th, 3rd, 1st hook (So, Mi, Do) and variations on them. Generally they all fall under what I call the Broadway Pentatonic Scale where you skip over the 2nd and 6th degrees of the major scale
Happy late thanksgiving I'm thankful for Kevin lynch and how he tells the true shit about all musicals straight out. I love his no nonsense attitude and I always learn a lot from his videos.
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
Aw thanks! I'll work hard to educate people going forward :)
I've watched this video a bunch of times. It always cracks me up! Then it inspired me to use these tropes in my writing. Without any shame! If they're good enough for those writers why not me!
There's a looot of musicals yet to be seen by me.... So many I still don't know..
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
And there always will be. I don't know half of the stuff y'all are suggesting or pay much attention to Playbill
"SUS CHORD!" XD
That was a flashback to the dark days of music theory. Nevertheless, another hilarious video! 😂😂
I'm trying to write a musical and this was soo helpful! Thank you for this gold content!!
This featured most of my favorite musical. I like your straightforward honest attitude.
I don't know much about music but I loved this video! I love buttons at the end of songs! It's the one thing that always makes a song sound like a musical theatre song to me.
The chug and boom chuck ones sound exactly like something in Godspell
Can you be my music teacher like damn lmao this is great, the kind of personality that schools need.
These are great! Love the way you poke fun at all these patterns that are so common. I was expecting most of them but here's one you didn't mention: the descending bassline! (To quote you in the video you made improvising the song about Brian "descending, always descending!")
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
Totally! haha there are SO many more
Perfect example of key changes would be "The Song that Goes Like This" from Spamalot they actually sing "and then we change the key"
Oh my gosh I learned so much from this. And it was fun! Thank you so much.
LOVE This guy: he's both informative AND hilarious!!! Reminds me of that piano guy with the bug-eyes..... breaks me up every time!!
@altareggo
4 жыл бұрын
and he's GOOD too!!
Awesome stuff, love getting to know the things I didn't notice before. A+ keep it going!
You should really listen to In The Heights. You hated Hamilton so chances are you'll hate this as well, but I personally like In The Heights better.
@PixelDoodles
6 жыл бұрын
???he hated hamilton? he must not be into rap
@emobilbobaggins1096
6 жыл бұрын
Yes. Very much so. Here's his reaction: kzread.info/dash/bejne/gmdlu6yHltOooKg.html Extreme rant warning
@haydenanderson8804
4 жыл бұрын
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who loves classic musics theatre and hates Hamilton!
Your energy reminds me of Charlie Kelly on the piano - it's just great, thank you! I was really looking for the inverted minor dominant seven! (C/ Dm) I think it's also one of _the_ most frequently used intervals in musicals (that I know of). They're also really popular in pop and rock music - My life is going on (Money Heist) - Blossom (Kerli) (Please do correct me if I'm wrong)
@fernwehfilms5983
2 жыл бұрын
There’s a spider…deep in my soul!
@Silkroadgermany2
Жыл бұрын
@@fernwehfilms5983 soul soul soul..
i love this. great info....great piano...i love how much fun you are having and singing along like most of us--- kinda in tune but super passionate about it! :)
so accurate! i wish you also added that thing musicals always do when in 4/4 time the bass line goes dotted quarter, dotted quarter, quarter note for an extended period of time. can be seen, for example, in just about every song from Chicago, and in “Don’t Rain on my Parade.”
Incredibly entertaining (and edifying beyond belief) and your piano space has style. I froze the screen and just looked at it for a while.
Thanks for this. I am actually writing a musical in the UK at present.
number 5 sounded kind of like everyone tells jason to see a physciatrist
Dude, you're amazing! Thanks for the video and just in general - for that crazy energy!
I REALLY appreciate YOU for this video right here. I am currently trying to make my autobiographical musical into more musical sounding and this definitely helps!
@KevinLynchNJ
Жыл бұрын
You're so welcome!
Omg into the woods came straight into my head then u did it aha
This was the most practical and helpful video ever of its kind. You’re extra af but I love you for what you do.
When you started playing Next to Normal, all the feels came flooding back... >_
I get ridiculously excited anytime someone reference or talk about Next to Normal
Deserves the streaky for “doing the most”
Cool vid! Correction tho, Flat four chord (bIV) is just a three chord by another name. So, a flat minor four chord = a minor three chord. I think you meant a four chord with a flat third which is how it goes from Major to minor. 4,6,8 -> 4,b6,8 IV -> iv
that was pretty helpful... thanks bro
I learned more from you than I ever learned from the 10 years of taking piano lessons.
A crazy but fun presentation. I did learn.
Today brilliant. I was expecting you to include the syncopated bassline as well.
What about sus chords in the beginning of a song? Do those go by a different name? You know, the intro chords at the very beginning of a song before the singer starts, usually present in lounge music songs, ballads, the part that goes up and down the scale.
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
In opera it's called a recit.
@thirteenfury
6 жыл бұрын
Kevin Lynch Thanks Kevin! 💚
Oh my god you're a delight. This video threw me back into music theory 101 in 1986.
I’m in a production of into the woods at my school and I recognized the chug chord Immediately
Hey, right now I’m trying to write my first musical and it’s a version of the 1999 comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous (even tho I know you hate movie to musicals for the most part) but this video helped a lot, I was wondering if you had any more tips on how to write? Thanks so much for all these videos by the way
PLEASE DO MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS
Hey kevin i just wanted to say i really like your channel. I thoroughly enjoy each one of your videos. I recently got the honor (sarcasam) of playing jojo in suessical the musical😧😧. i know right. At the moment im playing pugsley addams in the addams family. I just wanted to know your opinions on the music in the show. Keep making amazingly wonderful videos and try to reach me back!!!😊😊 (Edit) I just listened to your music and holy fricknuckles batman it is great. Please keep pursuing musical theatre.
I know nothing about music theory, but "Augumented 5ths" immediately sounded like Chicago to me xD. Cool ^^
he just seems so angry 😂😂
@matthewrandell5055
5 жыл бұрын
He's living his best life
You are brilliant! (And one more sub)
Hey! Can you make a video on some tricks when playing piano to someone singing a musical theatre song? I’m not the greatest at sight reading but I’ve played a lot of chords so I usually play the chords and make out some of the melody by ear. I’m more of a singer than a pianist, but I would like to improve, I just get overwhelmed when there’s three rows of notes! (sorry, i’m swedish and dont know the English terms lol)
You're amazing dude 🤟😎👌
@KevinLynchNJ
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 🙌
Will you react to fun home? Or bare?
The Flat 4th is used in I Pray I Make PA from Fame
this was an actually really cool video
that was really great
Hey Kevin, I have another question please. On using suspended chords, I want to understand them better. In the entr’acte for phantom of the opera, the tonic’s sus4 is used in my opinion to keep movement, but soon after an out of key Bbsus4 is used to move to G. I can see how Bb is relative to G but I would really like to say less and learn more
11. Cadence with bVII - V - I. Example: Can You Feel the Love Tonight. 12. Ending a phrase on a descending bass with I - V(1st inversion) - vi. Such as, I - V(1st inv.) - vi - ii - V - I.
what is the minor flat IV chord, if you flatten the forth you get the third.
I’m watching this cuz I’m currently writing a musical in my spare time and I want some ideas
Omg someone who actually knows what children of Eden is. It is so good
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
It's Wicked before Wicked became Wicked lol
@ionab1102
6 жыл бұрын
I love it!
What about the sections of the musical theaters? I mean do they always have a "dancing scene" with the whole crew?
I've been saying for a while now (to my friends) that you can fake most of Wicked by just hitting sus chords in the right order
I believe it’s actually a minor IV chord.
i just did a production of chicago and i heard all of these in at least one song
The button is amazing
i loved this video wowie also you should react to cry baby the musical !! its less known but i rly like it lmao
What was the first song on the sus chord section?
You remind me so much of my theatre group's musical director that it's kinda scary.
fucking great, love this guy
AVENUE Q AND INIO THE WOODS ALL IN ONE SPECTACULAR VIDEO!
Is that flat IV like an F minor in A cmaj scale?
Superb
What song was he playing at 3:52 ?
What was the first song he played for the sus chords??
i wanna do a musical with him lol you forgot forte-pianos and chromatic scale runs haha
סרטון מושלם אמאלה
What’s the difference between a boom chuck and a walking baseline?
Hey I know this video is 2 years old but can anyone tell me the song at 3:55
Hahaha..Very nyc .funny presentation...
Can someone explain what a button is?
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
It's the "boop" at the end of a song. Usually played by the bass, left hand of the piano, among many other instruments. If you listen to almost any broadway song, they end with a button. A "boop"
Carmina Burana contains many of these techniques!
okay but as someone who is trained in vocals but has no piano training, I love chug chords because I can play along to myself easily
Which the Big Pull Back song at 5:20?
@KevinLynchNJ
6 жыл бұрын
"A Musical" from SOMETHING ROTTEN :)
Take a shot for every key change in any modern musical. Your choice of musical. The first one that comes to mind.
love u...