HEY. Hi. This was a brand new level of effort for us and took a TON more planning and executing than we're used to. My team and I worked super hard on this video and we've been incredibly excited to share it with you all so I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to go and get a reminder for the upcoming Spring Sale here! cornellmusicacademy.com/springsale

@gubbinsly

Жыл бұрын

Hey Charles!! Another *kinda* spacey game is called Sky: Children of the Light and it’s such a beautiful game… I think you should check out the soundtrack!

@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic6900

Жыл бұрын

Obnoxious.

@TRPLD

Жыл бұрын

That hard work definitely paid off! Amazing work!

@caleblarsen5490

Жыл бұрын

My goodness, it shows! Great work!

@makingastardestroyer3066

Жыл бұрын

Oh my god what the hell happened here? Last time I was there you had 136k subs, not M

Hey Charles, I got an idea for a video - since we had the Academy Awards last night could you maybe make a video where you go through all the Original Score nominees and analyze them on what makes them so good?

@MocahHamel

Жыл бұрын

I concur with DexterLol’s idea

@TheDeadOfNight37

Жыл бұрын

@@MocahHamel I concur with your concurrent

@TRPLD

Жыл бұрын

Yes please!

@spencer7167

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDeadOfNight37 I concur with your concurrent of their concurrent

@Tofh40

Жыл бұрын

@@spencer7167 To all of the cocurrents above, I concur

I feel like the "spacey" sensation that we get out of Williams' music is mostly derived from Holst's Neptune.

@PatrickWallsisawesome

Жыл бұрын

The chord is in Mars as well!! Holst was all over it, and Williams clearly used The Planets for inspiration when scoring Star Wars! (I think various movements were temp tracks?)

@shoobaloobabobdingalingadong

Жыл бұрын

I'm so glad someone mentioned this.

@thromboid

Жыл бұрын

You're no the only one! IIRC, Lucas originally planned to use Holst's music but commissioned Williams to write something of a substitute.

@highstimulation2497

Жыл бұрын

indeed. bi-tonal. em and g#m. ah yes. (same chord relation as the imperial march, by the way (AND "the end of all things" at the climax of LOTR.)

@beeble80

Жыл бұрын

I don't read or make comments usually, but I commented this time, and scroll down to see a bunch of people said exactly the same thing 😅.

The soundtrack of Interstellar really shines, I immediately got goosebumps from only those 4 bars…

@wyattl.4023

Жыл бұрын

Hans Zimmer is a genius when it comes to Epic scores

6:37 That chord in Interstellar is mind numbing. I thought people normally dropped the natural 5th in favor of the #5, but having them clustered together here is awe inspiring. I don't know if it's the instruments or what.

@clemlvn9598

Жыл бұрын

I guess we can say that this is a Cmaj(b6) chord rather than a Cmaj triad with a #5! I find this chord to sound even more spacy than the augmented triad, love it!

@fallhaunt1952

Жыл бұрын

@@clemlvn9598 could also be an Abmaj7#5 in first inversion

@viktorvolaric-horvat5190

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely, mate. Having them clustered together somehow invokes the dreadful feelings of the unforgiving harshness of space, the radiation, the unsettling queerness of it all.

@AlbertoSegovia.

Жыл бұрын

At last someone mentions it!!

@AlbertoSegovia.

Жыл бұрын

It is tedious to hear so many piano covers (amazing, the popularity it has in the piano sphere) that dismiss this chord altogether, without acknowledging that it is what makes the piece what the piece is, not so much the ostinato and chorale.

I still remember the first time I heard that chord in the Star Wars theme, it gave me chills and it still does. It had to be that chord.

@ZZubZZero

Жыл бұрын

It's perfect as the ending chord of the intro. Makes much more sense than the first one too, the first one is about grabbing attention, the last one is leaving the audience with the right mood to begin the story. It sort of summarizes the entire intro and gives all those feelings Charles talked about, but leaves some mystique.

@leonardodelyrarodrigues3752

Жыл бұрын

É a dissonância harmônica.

@leonardodelyrarodrigues3752

Жыл бұрын

​@@ZZubZZeroÉ a dissonância harmônica.

@conforzo

Жыл бұрын

Yup, it's the major with a twist.

@bonbonpony

Жыл бұрын

The sudden jump to that chord from the preceding mostly major tune makes it even more outstanding.

I love that the space chord is also the Rivendell chord. Shows how otherworldly the elves are in Middle Earth! I also think of this as the Spy chord, being at the end of the Pink Panther theme (or very similar, at least).

@kurodashinkei

Жыл бұрын

100%, and it also turns up in the Númenor theme from Rings of Power. Mystery, expanse, unknown things. So majestic!

@emilyrln

Жыл бұрын

@@kurodashinkei Ooh! I don't know the RoP music well enough yet to spot it. Very cool!

@annelervik8946

Жыл бұрын

Came to the comments to see if anyone pointed out the chord is also in the Rivendell theme :) So beautiful!

Your music analysis is untouchable. Your personality is one of a kind and very enjoyable. Your editing has elevated month after month. Your video ideas are rarely disappointing. Keep going guys.

@gregsullivan7408

Жыл бұрын

Dave Bennett Piano gives him a run for his money, just quietly..... 😉

@heatherfriedli3182

Жыл бұрын

(I'm H's son) do you have a crush on all of them?

"We listened to a bunch of John Williams scores to find a chord that he used a lot to create a space-feel and that other people stole from him because he is the origin of all creativity." John Williams is the GOAT

@HectorGarcia-ho3xe

Жыл бұрын

Although you are right and John Williams is the GOAT, he is not the beginning of all creativity as for example this chords was developed in The planets by Holst. John Williams takes a lot from classical music, which is great as he is usually inspired by great composers. I still love John Williams though hahhaha

@ethannorton564

Жыл бұрын

Bruh Williams literally stole from a lot of classical musicians Holst is probably the last famous listen to Mars from the planets suite and this chord is a big part of it

@user-he1xq5rt4v

Жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/pq2npcuFYZCYZNo.html

@adm_ezri

Жыл бұрын

@@HectorGarcia-ho3xe yeah a lot of Williams' genius is in applying those older ideas into cinema, something that wasn't fashionable before he did it. Now it's just standard practice.

@ZZubZZero

Жыл бұрын

@@ethannorton564 Bruh you can't steal from classical musicians. Unless you like steal their actual sheets of music lol. Classical music has always been borrowing and improving on existing works. Currently and I believe in the past as well (though correct me if I'm wrong), classical music is public domain. You literally can't steal it.

Gustav Holst's The Planets always leads to good space inspiration music

@jttech44

Жыл бұрын

Holst's Planet's *is* space. He wrote the book on how to do it and everyone else more or less just tips their hat to his work because he captured it perfectly.

@RSTI191

Жыл бұрын

@@jttech44 WORD...

Amazing how a single chord can evoke such a specific and powerful feeling. Hearing all those space themes back to back like that was intense.

@bonbonpony

Жыл бұрын

What amazes me is that there isn't any "chord dictionary" to this day, that would document such things.

The "ostenato" at 7:19 sounds exactly like the arpeggio used in the Jenova theme from Final Fantasy VII. Jenova being a monster from space

@aquiamorgan2416

Жыл бұрын

I call that line of ostenato strings the "Awe-peggio".

A different type of video from your normal reviews! Love to see you exploring space!

Really love this new format Charles! This is an awesome progression for the channel, super excited to see more like it in the future

The first time I heard that little sequence in the Starfield teaser, I think I was sold on the game. They nailed the space sound.

Dude, it's the Wager Chord. "Ride of the Valkeries!" It happens in The Ring Cycle numerous times. That's where Williams and company got it. And that major I to minor ii shift looms large in "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan."

@Cephalopoda

Жыл бұрын

Yep - Wrath of Khan is _riddled_ with these sorts of chords, at times with some obvious nods to Shostakovich 5 as well.

@vaughanmacegan4012

Жыл бұрын

Which is what exactly?

@rld1982

Жыл бұрын

I thought he got it from Holst?

Charles goated

@markhaga8408

Жыл бұрын

Entirely accurate comment

@Wise-Yoda-Puppet

Жыл бұрын

Mi dica governo italiano, perché ha commentato sotto questo video ?

The brilliant part about this chord is the augmented 5th makes it feel like the chord is constantly expanding, just like space.

I love how Charles is just so pumped about finding the chords and the other guys look just so done with the whole thing, it's kinda hilarious.

For me the spaciest chord is whatever the chord is at the end of Holst’s “Mars.” Leaves me in awe every time I hear it

The quality of the videos is just getting better and better. It’s insane what you’re able to do 👏🏽

The best thing is, I was searching for the spacechord myself. And I found exactly the same chord!! It this sound that make me feel the excitement of discovering distamt stars but not forgetting the danger we might find. Amazing video!!!

In the beginning I was like “it’s impossible to use just one chord to represent something so huge like the space…” but then… I heard it… mind blowing😍👌🏼

I was so happy to see Starfield’s music included in this. I’ve been hooked on the score since the announcement teaser trailer.

Dude you nailed it. Every awe-inspiring space scene I can think of, this exact chord is there.

Hey Charles, absolutely love these new types of videos. My ADHD would kick in on some of your "sitting in the studio and explaining music" types of videos but on this one I was 100% there the whole way so please keep it up. Since they take so much more effort tho be careful not to get overworked or burnt out.

@kevinwells9751

Жыл бұрын

I like it in some ways, but I was going to say that it is a bit over-stimulating for me so it's actually harder for me to follow

@arthurhaag9434

Жыл бұрын

​​​@@kevinwells9751 same, but nowadays this is the only type of content possible to get many views, fast pace and a Lot of stimulation

@peel-socks2796

Жыл бұрын

This was really exiting. I new there was something about that chord in Interstellar. It’s so familiar.

@awesome346

Жыл бұрын

Jesus loves you!

I've had no formal instruction (not counting piano lessons from age 6 to 15), but I LOVE playing with chords, chords upon chords, chord progression, etc. Your channel makes my spirit soar!!

The soundtrack to Cosmos: Possible Worlds is one of my all-time favorites ever. Alan Silvestri does such an incredible job making it so mysterious and magical.

Right when I thought his videos can't get any better YOU ARE CRAZY, GOOD SIR

As someone who is obsessed with space and film scores and music composition - this is my new favorite video of yours and I am forwarding it to my roommates immediately thank you

As soon as i heard that chord the force of a thousand Stargate Themes hit me right in the feels, would you guys consider taking a look at it too? It might be the closest to a whole piece predicated on that concept that i ever heard.

@DaBigGuns

Жыл бұрын

Yes, my first thought was Stargate as well!

I hear this chord in almost every Star Trek film soundtrack, so I was already associating it with space before I knew it was The Space Chord!

Hey Charles, great video btw, as a huge star wars, interstellar and overall film music fan, really appreciated this video and the time and effort that you put into it. Would you consider analysing/ going through war film scores, of the likes of Dunkirk, 1917, All quiet on the Western front and others of this genre?

You’ve nailed something I could only hear but never explain. I wish I were good at music theory so I could. The instant you mentioned the “space chord” I thought of ET and when you mentioned video games I had to listen to the soundtrack from Final Fantasy VII since the “Jenova” theme absolutely has that arpeggio you play later in the video. I believe Radiohead’s “Subterranean Homesick Alien” has the chord, too. I love this.

@MOSMASTERING

Жыл бұрын

I think you have a good ear! There is a lot of 7ths going on in that Radiohead song. But mainly I guess it's spacey because of the high echoey bends on the notes and arpeggios. Also a C minor over G. Which isn't a sharp 5th, but is voicing that changes the feeling my moving it to the bottom of the chord instead of the top. Music theory is never ending, but with a basic knowledge of chord construction and learning some vocabulary for describing voicings and progressions, I think you could pick it all up quite quickly.

Perfect 5ths stacked on top of each other is always my go-to space sound - reminds me of those science videos we used to watch in elementary school in the 90s 😂

I had the same reaction to that chord that you did. Once you pointed it out I was like: “yes! That’s it! That’s space!” Wow. Musics amazing isn’t it? *gasp*, now we need to find a chord for everything!

You really need to check out the music from Outer Wilds by Andrew Prahlow. That OST is one of the best videogame soundtracks imo, especially for the mood of space.

@bendubz9000

Жыл бұрын

Seconding the Outer Wilds shout, the amount that soundtrack reminds me of the Interstellar OST is incredible. Cracking game too, by god do they GET space

@Jambalambam

Жыл бұрын

omg yes, that ost is one of my all time favorites. to me it feels different from a lot of the other space media that's put out there, but still does an incredible job of encapsulating the wonder and amazement of exploring outer space

I really appreciate that you added startfield to this, it really captures that grandeur and mysteriousness of space

I LOVE the structure of this video! I do stuff like this all the time, and I loved coming along on the investigation with you. When you first asked the question, I said “D/Bb” so I’m happy we ended up in the same place

The Blue Devils are the winningest organization in the Drum & Bugle Corps activity. A few decades ago, they came up with a hornline warm up which melded standard brass warm ups, with non-traditional warm ups, with snippets of well known space movie music. It became known as “Space Chords”. There are many different vids of the Blue Devil brass line playing this excercise. They are all a little different as the official version has changed over the decades. But they are all amazing. Here’s a very good example in Hi Def audio. You’ll want to play this really loud on a hi fidelity system. It’s amazing. m.kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZHl4q6Z8lNybddY.html

@Df-sl4he

Жыл бұрын

Was looking for this comment!

@Mark-OutWest

Жыл бұрын

The Phantom Regiment FTW!

Thanks for doing the work for me. I've been getting into film scoring, this is helpful. I hate studying

@billyalarie929

Жыл бұрын

Who even needs college?

I just twiddle on my organ and play these types of chords all the time, they just sound so good when put in the right spot.

My first thought before clicking the video: "I bet it's an augmented chord." I'd begun to doubt myself, but then you got to it. To me, the use of the augmented chord to indicate the mystery of space goes back to classic 1950s sci-fi.

4:40 We have *WHAT* chords ?? ඞ

@sparky.-_

Жыл бұрын

:|

@pingucraft95

Жыл бұрын

Two kinds of them: imposter and crewmate

Super nice video! May I suggest that you listen to Holst: The Planets and hear if the chord's in there? It probably is, people are comparing John Williams' Star Wars to it.

@MOSMASTERING

Жыл бұрын

He did borrow a lot of ideas from Holst. Holst basically invented cinematic movie scores decades before it was a thing.

I just heard this exact chord in the track “Your father would be proud” from Rogue One. It’s played as C with the sharp 5 only, and the sharp 5 then drops to E over the C. Play it and you’ll know the exact moment of the film it comes from.

I've been watching Star Trek Picard S3 and the end-credits theme, which is from the main title of Star Trek First Contact gets me every single time, I just have to stay and listen to it. I would love to see a breakdown of what makes this theme so evocative :)

Hey Charles, this video came out great and it looked very professional, so I'll commend your team for that. That being said, I really hope this isn't the future of your content. I love the videos where you're sitting alone at your keyboard, listening to something live and reacting to it/analyzing it on the fly. They're personal, passionate, and genuine, and that's what make them great. This style of video was very informative and eye-opening, yes, but it felt... how do I say this? Corporate, maybe? It feels like your passion for music, which was always what made your content so engaging, has been neutered. Again, the production quality is really good, but the quality is being funneled to the wrong areas. The reason you've been able to create such a successful brand that attracts so many passionate musicians it because you are one yourself, and you aren't afraid to show it. This video, however, feels like pandering to the more modern, overly edited and fast paced style that appeals to the low attention span of many internet-goers. I levy these critiques because I care a lot about this channel, and I want to not see it deviate from what I believe makes it great.

I know this probably took a lot of effort, but I'm a 18 year old dude and im kinda done with this kind of jumpy editing. Sometimes low energy is just so much better so I can just sit back and relax and learn something about music.

@ayeitburns1

Жыл бұрын

While I enjoyed the video, I totally agree. My attention span is pretty shot at this point, but I don't need the screen to be a flurry of movement to keep me watching - it can be off putting.

Love the passion behind every second of this video! Your videos have a way of tapping into the sheer wonder of experiencing music. It reminds me to be happy with living even when anxieties are present. Thank you to everyone at this channel and keep up the wonderful work

E aug is the chord I used in one of my own space songs, just gives off space vibes.

5:32 That chord is not actually C#5. It's a polychord built of C Major and Db Major at the same time.

Dude the quality of this video is off the fucking charts and I'm all for this!. The intro bit where you 'want to go to space' was hilarious.

Mass effect has lots of other worldly soundscapes. The main theme is just pure bliss

The Lydian Augmented mode I think is the best mode for capturing that mystic otherworldly sound and fits perfectly with the augmented fifth.

The major to augmented triad also works as the sound of wander or vastness. Hear that on soundtracks a bunch.

As soon as I saw your title I knew the chord. It's all about setting the "normal" environment of a major chord, then that raised 5th says you're going UP to a realm outside of the norm. It's space from a Human perspective. The familiar and the unfamiliar combine.

Who knew the answer was a lot clearer than it appeared! Brahms' 4th symphony in the first movement has the same idea and the last chords of Bruckner's 4th symphony also does this. Cool to see it is also on classical music!

Its a chord that is basically a leading tone and its resolution together. It's suspense in a bottle. Our minds want to resolve its dissonence, but it won't. It just hangs there, and as a consequence, it evokes mystery and suspense. These are the emotions of exploration and discovery. I think it's not just a chord for space, but for great adventure and exploration in general. But of course, space is that next, final frontier.

When you started talking about Star Wars, THAT chord immediately clicked in my brain.

I thought about this for a while too, and converged onto the Lidian key change thrown into the major/minor melody to create that fresh edgy vast wondrous feeling of awe.

I agree with you completely! During your introduction of this video I was thinking to myself E G# B C. Because I remember as a young teen listening to both Star Wars and Star Trek music and figuring out patterns and chordings and playing/experimenting with them using analog synth sounds. For many years I have used that exact structure when setting the appropriate mood during live shows etc. It was so rewarding and fulfilling when at the end of your video you chose not only the same chord structure, but the exact notes I have been using for decades! Very well made video!

When you look at it, the C-E-G-G#-B chord has the harmonics of a major triad (CEG, EG#B) and a minor triad (EGB) and an augmented (CEG#) all simultaneously. It only lacks the diminished triad.

Years ago it wanted to know how to make that space sound but didn't know enough theory to find it out myself. Nice to see a video made about it with actual data in it!!

As someone who is very addicted to space content this year (got kerbal space program for free on the epic store and got hooked, and right about the same time watched interstelar and the martian), this video is just perfect for me. I can't stop watching this kind of content!

There's a brass band piece by a fellow named Paul Lovett-Cooper called "Enter the Galaxies" which starts with the cornets doing arpeggios on that exact space chord, too!

I love this new style of video! It combines your awesome teaching ability with the creativity/skit like feel that first brought me to your channel in the first place!

Much as John WIlliams borrowed the epic opening from Korngold and Death Star material from Holst's Planets (Mars), check the Neptune movement of the Planets (by Holst) and you'll see where John truly derived his space-content. The more subtle, less in-your-face stuff comes from Neptune, including some magical augmentations.

That chord in isolation immediately makes me think of the theme for Wrath of Khan.

We had our 2021 marching band show about space and that chord was literally the opening hit

I love that it can resolve to make any of those notes the root too! Just like in space, you never know where you’ll end up!

This fixation on the sound of space, is why i love The planets by holst. It really dives into the endless possibilities that embodies the whatever unknown. The barely observable. The only imaginable.

Its why i always remember the lydian scale as the space scale, because of that sharp four that makes it sound like a major combined with a whole tone scale, and thats also basically a scale of aug chords...

One of the first formative "space sounds" i figured out was noodling around in middle school Ab (root C) to C, which is exactly what you said for E.T. As of late, I've been trying to write a generic Star Wars fanfare and soundtrack for a parody webshow my friend and i have been conceptualizing, so this is timely. Thanks for all you do man!

Not a space chord but the piece with the buildup starting at 4:20 of Imperial Attack always causes me to break down into a whimpering mess. I can't define it but that is the most powerful piece of music I have ever heard.

5:32 I cant get the Leonardo Dicaprio meme out of my head here hahaha

I figured out awhile ago that if you take a major triad, add a half step on top of it, and play them in descending order it sounds really spacey. Now there’s a whole video about it. Love it! Actually I think I learned it from Ratchet and Clank 2 OST - Wupash Nebula truth be told. The opening arpeggio is that exact sequence.

I think its a testament to John Williams's influence over modern film scoring. He has been a major influence on most of the big name composers in the last 40 years or so. Although Williams himself draw inspiration from Holst in forming the language of outer space.

This extra-effort style including the extra skits was phenomenal. Thank you as always.

Frost Waltz by Kevin MacLeod, as featured in Kerbal Space Program, uses many/all of these sounds. Also Star Trek TOS theme opens with that Amaj to Amaj plus F natural for that augmented sound. I am pretty sure it was the Planets suite which established this as the space sound in the collective unconscious. That relationship of four half steps evenly divides the octave into 3rds (mathematically, and also musically), which is why those arpeggios over the whole keyboard sound so ethereal and amazing.

I love the Interstellar soundtrack even more now. Knowing it shares that same underpinning sound with all other space films is so satisfying.

really like the video, the production quality certainly took a huge step. great effort! i really enjoy your more unedited content reacting to music and really being in the moment more to be completely honest, but im certain that will stay, so geat to see you exploring and trying out newe things.

I took a break for a couple months and then come back to a video like this! You're upping your game

Signs. The Signs main theme is just one giant set of variations on the Space Chord. And James Newton Howard plays with the orchestration and resolution at the end to make us question if this really is a space-alien battle or a spiritual battle.

Literally the exact chord I thought of when I clicked this video! That's amazing. Btw, this chord also features prominently in Holst's Mars, the OG space music.

The effort that went into this video was amazing, we'll done man. You and your team are epic.

I remember coming across this chord on the piano just fiddling around and I always thought it was cool and reminded me of signs or another show I couldn’t think of at the time but definitely alien like

Atlantis the Lost Empire uses both the I - bII (#4) and the Major (add b6) chords extensively, makes sense since it has similar themes of exploration, mystery, and danger as many space movies

I think you nailed it. The chord progressions at the end of the Star Wars theme might be my favorite of all time. The two chords you mentioned from ET have that “space” feeling, as well. The first is like, “We’re here” or “We’ve made it”. But then the second is more like, “But there’s more to see” or “There’s something beyond”. It’s amazing what a chord or the change of one note in a chord can do to change the way you feel.

You should do more of these like what chord makes a western, or makes a thriller, or makes a fantasy world

Nice work. Seems appropriate that the augmented sound is aligned with expanding to the cosmos.

This space chords you're all looking for has a name screaming out of it: Holst (whose The Planets Suit was, by the way, one of the biggest influences for John Williams to compose Star Wars themes).

Love how u changed scenery in this video. Super nice and super interesting as always. Inspiring❤

Yeah, you can get that feeling of foreign wonder with both the whole tone scale and the double harmonic scale. I think it is all about the atypic interval of subsequent whole tones and the augmented second respectively...

Hey Charles! An example of this chord being blatantly abused to sound like space is Maria Schneider's "Sputnik". Literally this chord in every key with a bari solo over the whole thing

I remember hearing that chord for the first time as a kid watching star wars it was one of the first times I remembered being fascinated by music

I figured this out while messing around on a piano a couple years ago. It's such a recognizeable sound!

Stone in focus - Aphex twin is an amazing example of feeling like you're floating in space

A spread voicing of E\C polychord really works for me

as someone who hasn’t been to music school yet..i was sooo happy i accidentally predicted the chord..cause i always go to my piano when watching charles lol and i thought to myself “ i wonder if he will go to the cmaj sharp 5 chord?” i definitely geeked out 😆 side not the major sharp 5 is used in the lord of the rings rivendell theme and alot of other stuff for the elven themes specifically so you can use that chord as something for a magic fantasy sound to even outside of space..definitely a favorite chord of mine