Understanding "Life On Mars?"

There weren't many artists in rock music more unique than David Bowie. His work spanned a variety of styles, and he brought his own voice to each one. His passing two years ago was a great loss for the art world, but at least he left us with over 40 years of music to appreciate, so to commemorate one of the titans of the genre, we're looking at one of his first big hits, Life On Mars?. It's a really cool piece of harmony that combines advanced devices with iconic progressions to create an unforgettable, ambient soundscape.
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Last: • What Was David's Secre...
Life On Mars?: • Video
Secondary Dominants video: • Building Blocks: Secon...
Functional Harmony video: • Building Blocks: The J...
Chromatic Mediants video: • When Chords Won't Share
Modal Interchange video: • Building Blocks: Borro...
Script: docs.google.com/document/d/1K...
SOURCES:
kupdf.com/download/david-bowi...
www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia...
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Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold and Jade Tan-Holmes for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!

Пікірлер: 355

  • @12tone
    @12tone6 жыл бұрын

    Hey, folks! These analysis videos are based on suggestions from our Patreon patrons, so if you have a song you'd like to suggest, just head on over to www.patreon.com/12tonevideos and pledge at any level! Anyway, here's some more thoughts on this song: 1) Didn't get a chance to talk about this in the main video, but it's also noteworthy that he mostly plays the line cliche in the bass. Normally, in a line cliche, the bass stays the same and one of the top notes moves, but doing it with the lowest notes in the voicing draws more attention to it. 2) I'm not sure I was clear enough in the Chromatic Mediants section, so just in case, the reason it's so significant is because it's one of the most common tools used in non-functional and atonal harmony in order to evoke relationships between chords without reference to a key center. F and Ab are like cousins. 3) This song is in what I like to call "Pantera Tuning", meaning the notes are all a quarter-tone flat. It doesn't change much, and I didn't have room to dive into it in the video, but it's worth mentioning. 4) Some of you have pointed out that the last chord of the prechorus is actually Db7/Cb, with the line cliche continuing up. That's correct: I misread the transcription I was working from and didn't catch the error. Thanks for pointing it out! The structure there is still largely the same, but it makes it a bIII7 in the target key, which is a weird but usable resolution that I'm sad I didn't get the chance to talk about. Sorry!

  • @alexandermitchell9070

    @alexandermitchell9070

    6 жыл бұрын

    12tone your notes are flat.

  • @RheaStorm

    @RheaStorm

    6 жыл бұрын

    Hey dude. I recently found this channel and think it's pretty interesting. I had an idea, maybe you could open up a Discord for your viewers to talk about music and music theory. It could be neat.

  • @timbeaton5045

    @timbeaton5045

    6 жыл бұрын

    "Pantera Tuning"? isn't it likely that the recording was done on a slightly flat piano, and all tuned to that? Even a slightly off tape machine? Tell you what, the piano in the opening part of Bohemian rhapsody could have done with a better tune up! Guess we're all used to modern digital instruments, auto-tuned vocals, and metronomic beats these days. A lot of old recordings are actually all over the place in tuning, or general precision, but few of us actually care. It's usually the song/performance that counts.

  • @TheJediJoker

    @TheJediJoker

    6 жыл бұрын

    @Tim Beaton is on the right tack. It's highly likely that either everyone tuned to a piano as-is or that the tape was played back slightly slower when creating the album masters, whether for effect or by accident.

  • @timbeaton5045

    @timbeaton5045

    6 жыл бұрын

    What i also didn't know re LOM. was that Bowie had originally written english lyrics to a french song..."Comme d'habitude" for his then publishing company. They were rejected at the time, and shortly thereafter, Paul Anka wrote the final english lyrics...for an obscure song called.."My Way". Yep. That one! (This explains the hand-written note on the sleeve of the Hunky Dory album next to LOM. where Bowie wrote "Inspired by Frankie" And Bowie then wrote Life on Mars as his "version" of My Way...so the line cliches are definitely a nod to those in the original French song.

  • @MidtownSkyport
    @MidtownSkyport6 жыл бұрын

    The song was a response to Sinatra's 'My Way'. Before he made it big Bowie was a songwriter for hire and had been sent the music to My Way to put lyrics to. He sent his completed song back but didn't get the job. He later recognised the tune when he heard it on the radio and decided to do a better job than he had before - the result was 'Life on Mars'

  • @eabeeson

    @eabeeson

    6 жыл бұрын

    Source for this?

  • @Lainer1

    @Lainer1

    6 жыл бұрын

    Yes, I read that too. I think it was in the liner notes from his albums. Found this on Last FM liner notes : ""Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory and also released as a single. The song-which BBC Radio 2 later called "a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting"-featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973, it reached #3 in the UK and stayed on the chart for thirteen weeks. The song re-entered the UK charts at #55 over 30 years later, largely because of its use in the original British television series Life on Mars. In 1968, Bowie wrote "Even a Fool Learns to Love", a song with lyrics by Bowie set to the music of a 1967 French song ("Comme d'habitude"). Bowie's song was never released, but Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into "My Way," made famous by Frank Sinatra in a 1969 recording on his album of the same name. The success of the Anka version prompted Bowie to write "Life on Mars?" as a parody of Sinatra's recording. BBC Radio has described "Life on Mars?" as having "one of the strangest lyrics ever" consisting of a "slew of surreal images" like a Salvador Dalí painting. The line "Look at those cavemen go" is a reference to the song "Alley Oop", a one-off hit in 1960 for American doo-wop band The Hollywood Argyles. Bowie, at the time of Hunky Dory's release in 1971, summed up the song as "A sensitive young girl's reaction to the media". In 1997 he added "I think she finds herself disappointed with reality... that although she's living in the doldrums of reality, she's being told that there's a far greater life somewhere, and she's bitterly disappointed that she doesn't have access to it". The liner notes for Hunky Dory indicate that the song was 'inspired by Frankie'. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply."

  • @dbossstha

    @dbossstha

    6 жыл бұрын

    Erik Beeson there is a video about this story on KZread

  • @SpaceCattttt

    @SpaceCattttt

    5 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, Paul Anka wrote lyrics for My Way. So without him, we wouldn't have had Life on Mars?, which is a superior song. Incidentally, Anka means "duck" in Swedish, if that's of any interest.

  • @MisterRlGHT

    @MisterRlGHT

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@SpaceCattttt That is interesting! Plus I just noticed PAUL ANKA is an anagram of ANAL PUKA so ya got that going on, too. AAA-PLUNK! .

  • @zanzibar4730
    @zanzibar47306 жыл бұрын

    I don't understand a single thing you just said, impressive video though

  • @meunomejaestavaemuso

    @meunomejaestavaemuso

    5 жыл бұрын

    Me too... I just know that resolution makes us feel good and tension makes us want some resolution... Ah, and that Line Cliche is very Bowie

  • @solarest

    @solarest

    5 жыл бұрын

    I second this.

  • @Alkaloid-Odin

    @Alkaloid-Odin

    3 жыл бұрын

    Same. All I know is that it sounds beautiful and haunting at the same time. His piano work is quite unique. It was hard the day he died.

  • @comicjon82

    @comicjon82

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'm like.... "Wut."

  • @sameris6581

    @sameris6581

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@solarest i third this

  • @doovooboowoo
    @doovooboowoo6 жыл бұрын

    *I WAS WAITING SO MUCH FOR A BOWIE SONG*

  • @catetaylor8675
    @catetaylor86756 жыл бұрын

    You're musically so gifted, however, what continuously baffles me- is your ability to consistently draw a perfect treble clef every time

  • @caleboackes9669

    @caleboackes9669

    6 жыл бұрын

    𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞

  • @samberg3864

    @samberg3864

    6 жыл бұрын

    Ikr I can't even draw a bass clef once even half as well as he draws a treble clef every time.

  • @moragmacgregor6792

    @moragmacgregor6792

    6 жыл бұрын

    I can draw a decent treble clef but I have _never_ been able to write out the all little those NOTES in a halfway legible fashion. That's the first thing that impressed me.

  • @MisterRlGHT

    @MisterRlGHT

    5 жыл бұрын

    Y'all just don't transcribe enough on paper. Yer fancy muffhuggin modern gadgets let ya notate a whole score PLUS hear it back in less than a few minutes -- but ain't do shit for yer musical penmanship.

  • @Laz3rCat95

    @Laz3rCat95

    2 жыл бұрын

    Probably got lots of practice doing it in music school

  • @ericknechtges6569
    @ericknechtges65695 жыл бұрын

    The F - Fm - Cm - Ebm7 bit is certainly an example of modal interchange, but I think it's also important to point out that there's another chromatically descending line hiding inside those chords -- A, Ab, G, Gb. Love these videos!

  • @1997Awesomedude
    @1997Awesomedude6 жыл бұрын

    The song is also partially based on a French song called "Comme D'habitude". Bowie had written an English version of the song but before he released it Frank Sinatra had a big hit with another version of the song ("My Way"). So Bowie uses a very similar chord progression for a completely different song as a sort of joke.

  • @leocomerford

    @leocomerford

    6 жыл бұрын

    Here's "Comme d'habitude" on KZread kzread.info/dash/bejne/eYF5lciGla6bpNY.html ... and it turns out there's a (fairly decent) recent cover too kzread.info/dash/bejne/eZmI0JdvXc_HmMo.html (from an album called "My Way", hah).

  • @andrewkowalczyk1156

    @andrewkowalczyk1156

    6 жыл бұрын

    I can't unhear this from My Way, but at least Life on Mars is superior in intricacy and just the better song

  • @deadstar44

    @deadstar44

    5 жыл бұрын

    I'm french so I've always known "Comme D'habitude", I'm not a fan of Claude François(the original singer) but it still blows my mind how Bowie could make such a great song out of it and I never realized how similar they were in terms of progression listening to it even though I play guitar. Bowie's chord modulations, lyrics and overall performance just make it otherwordly, which in the end have nothing to do with the original song he borrowed from. Needless to say, I prefer Life On Mars.

  • @gpeddino

    @gpeddino

    5 жыл бұрын

    As far as I know the producer didn't like Bowie's version ("Even a Fool Learns to Love", Bowie himself said it was crap) and then passed the song to Anka, who made "My Way". Bowie was so pissed that he got drunk, shaved his own eyebrows off (go figure) and wrote "Life On Mars?" as a sort of "revenge".

  • @bfcyouthelement1986

    @bfcyouthelement1986

    3 жыл бұрын

    I was literally sat here listening to this song and My Way popped up in my head for what I thought was no reason at all, just read your comment and it’s blown my head off.

  • @neurotransmissions
    @neurotransmissions6 жыл бұрын

    Great video! I was so sad after Bowie passed. I listened to Blackstar on repeat for like a month. So much vibrancy and creativity, even at the end of his life.

  • @travisjones4106
    @travisjones41066 жыл бұрын

    Wow, this is so complicated it makes me laugh -- I understand everything your saying, I can play and read music, but this is on the highest level of aptitude and it's cool to experience it

  • @yellowlabsrule
    @yellowlabsrule6 жыл бұрын

    1. I love how jam-packed your videos are with information and yet you make it really accessible. 2. I really appreciate how you edit/speak to keep things moving! I often have to watch videos on 2x speed but yours are already perfect! 3. I am so thankful for you writing the notes as we hear them. A+ work on combining so many learning devices together into such a succinct package!

  • @NortherlyK
    @NortherlyK6 жыл бұрын

    I love that the picture notation is right to left and the music notation is left to right; the contrast is visually appealing.

  • @jonnuanez2843
    @jonnuanez28435 жыл бұрын

    Life On Mars was probably the most complicated song I ever learned how to play. The chords were no big deal. But the sequence, the melody, and the progression-while all logical-threw me off. It's certainly not a true rock song-more like cabaret/Broadway/etc. If you're not used to that style, it can be intimidating. But it's like climbing the mountain top..."I did it!!!" feeling. Btw, yeah it's more of a piano song. I learned it on guitar, acoustic at that. Your hands will hurt if you learn it on one.

  • @tanomacrame

    @tanomacrame

    Жыл бұрын

    Do you have any video playing it in guitar?? I trying to play it

  • @dkbrantley5009
    @dkbrantley50096 жыл бұрын

    I have high hopes of one day being able to keep up with these videos. Even in my ignorance, I enjoy them. Thanks for your work!

  • @iamjimgroth

    @iamjimgroth

    6 жыл бұрын

    DK Brantley I know exactly what you mean. :)

  • @ProfessorPolitics

    @ProfessorPolitics

    6 жыл бұрын

    I'm with you! Don't understand a lick, but hope to eventually.

  • @TorstenSeemann

    @TorstenSeemann

    6 жыл бұрын

    I'll glad it's not just me 😁

  • @driverlance

    @driverlance

    6 жыл бұрын

    I only understand about 40% of it but like you, I find it interesting and hopefully might gain another 5-10% by osmosis.

  • @shkeni

    @shkeni

    6 жыл бұрын

    Same here. I'm like "PWEETTY PICTURS!"

  • @monsieurbrochant7528
    @monsieurbrochant75286 жыл бұрын

    3:37 isn't the last chord supposed to be a Db7/Cb, I clearly hear the 7th in the bassline of the original song

  • @MusicFed
    @MusicFed Жыл бұрын

    great analysis! the Eb minor on the coda gets me every time with those pumping orchestral hits that rise and rise to the I ... so melancholy and a masterful use of the iv - I cadence

  • @catherinelevison3310
    @catherinelevison33105 жыл бұрын

    WOW, I’m gobsmacked! I read music and I LOVE Bowie so this was a real treat for me. I’m no where near your ability so allow me to applaud the note writing with the notes, nicely done. Loved this. Thank you.

  • @ducacalainho
    @ducacalainho5 жыл бұрын

    Amazing piece of music, thanks for helping us decode it.

  • @seeker_-_
    @seeker_-_5 жыл бұрын

    One of the best videos on KZread! Thanks so much!!

  • @ErikWolowitz
    @ErikWolowitz6 жыл бұрын

    I've been writing software for 20+ years, not a dumb guy by any stretch, but I watch this video and my brain hurts.. I feel like the apes at the start of 2001 a space odyssey staring at the obelisk.

  • @Puppy_Puppington

    @Puppy_Puppington

    4 жыл бұрын

    You’re not dumb or intelligent based on you being able to understand this lol if you haven’t studied music then you have no reason to understand this.... it’s like me watching a video about programming software & saying, “ oh I’m not a dumb dude whatsoever but I don’t understand a single thing about this software programming video” no duh..... it’s kinda pointless to state it isn’t it?

  • @Puppy_Puppington

    @Puppy_Puppington

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yeah. That tends to happen when you try to understand/blindly jump into a language you’ve never studied or learned.... no need to be like “oh I’m smart as heck and do software stuff for 20+ years but I don’t even get this!” Umm you would if you just took the time to study it lol. It’s like redundant to state that you are intelligent yet you don’t understand a language you’ve never studied. Obviously no one even super intelligent geniuses will completely understand a new language they’ve never specifically studied. Like hey buddy, I’m super smart and stuff and have a PhD in Blah blah, but EVEN I dont understand a concept/language that I’ve never studied before! Like no duh.

  • @Puppy_Puppington

    @Puppy_Puppington

    3 жыл бұрын

    J Are umm. It’s called studying or not studying.

  • @ErikWolowitz

    @ErikWolowitz

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Puppy_Puppington Did I mention I was 14 yrs old? No phd etc... might want to take your own advice regarding blindly jumping....

  • @goonyougoodthing
    @goonyougoodthing6 жыл бұрын

    Thanks 12 tone. It's one of my favorite songs and its a wonder more people hav'nt analysed it before. :)

  • @moragmacgregor6792
    @moragmacgregor67926 жыл бұрын

    I just discovered your channel. Fan for life. Thanks for what you do.

  • @diego10ev
    @diego10ev6 жыл бұрын

    This video was amazing. I've been waiting for an analysis of Bowie for so long.

  • @benmusicperson
    @benmusicperson6 жыл бұрын

    make a video on Paranoid Android

  • @spinnpet

    @spinnpet

    6 жыл бұрын

    Ben Berg i

  • @thatsyncopation6530
    @thatsyncopation65302 жыл бұрын

    Glad I could watch such good content, thanks

  • @inaquiilarragorri
    @inaquiilarragorri6 жыл бұрын

    thank you for this

  • @matthieujoly424
    @matthieujoly4246 жыл бұрын

    Thanks.. such a great & moving song.

  • @justinjohnson4278
    @justinjohnson42785 жыл бұрын

    I just got into Bowie again at the end of December and Im glad I did

  • @Hoodiebud
    @Hoodiebud2 ай бұрын

    What I love about the arrangement is the stripped down verses representing the dull "Earth" which the girl with the mousy hair lives in, while the choruses explode with strings, representing "Mars" i.e the escapism the girl is desparate for. Another is the use of the recorder in the second verse. The recorder is associated with children and innocence, fitting the main character of the song, but because of the studio effects, it sounds more like a theremin or synth giving it an obvious spacey and dreamlike sound. The recorder melody flies up in pitch, reinforcing the metaphor just exploding with tension, like the kid is screaming or crying for a brighter life that is just out of reach.

  • @joncampbell5021
    @joncampbell50216 жыл бұрын

    Understanding "the wind cries Mary"?

  • @JackTheMan26

    @JackTheMan26

    6 жыл бұрын

    Jon Campbell you gotta donate to his Patreon to get a song request in

  • @JackTheMan26

    @JackTheMan26

    6 жыл бұрын

    But that’d be awesome

  • @alexsalamander4251

    @alexsalamander4251

    6 жыл бұрын

    I'd rather see little wing.

  • @mushyw1234
    @mushyw12346 жыл бұрын

    The modal interchange from F to Fm in the chorus is one of my favourite musical moments. So simple yet brilliant. Orinoco Flow by Enya does something really similar in its transition from verse to Chorus going from C to Cm. However in Life on Mars the effect is more wistful, rueful, in Orinoco Flow it's more stormy or brooding.

  • @DamienWise
    @DamienWise6 жыл бұрын

    My favourite David Bowie song. Thankyou for the insights!

  • @MrDuncanBelfast
    @MrDuncanBelfast5 жыл бұрын

    Every few months I come back to these, and I understand them a bit better.

  • @a_lampshade2278
    @a_lampshade22784 жыл бұрын

    I feel like functional harmony is 12tone's Pot of Greed

  • @optionfinder
    @optionfinder6 жыл бұрын

    Dude I’m learning such cool stuff thanks!!

  • @kogure7235
    @kogure72356 жыл бұрын

    I literally heard this song somewhere, wondered why it sounds so damn good despite seeming simple at the beginning, and then I remembered seeing your Toto video. I came here looking for Life on Mars, and I can't believe I actually found it.

  • @recyclinggestapo6943
    @recyclinggestapo69433 жыл бұрын

    Your editing skills are mind blowing, Sir.

  • @LeschekOfLechia
    @LeschekOfLechia6 жыл бұрын

    Investigate Ashes to Ashes. It has very interesting intro in terms of expressing title idea with chord progression.

  • @LeschekOfLechia

    @LeschekOfLechia

    6 жыл бұрын

    PS. Only album version has it. They shortened intro in radio edit.

  • @Wayne_Robinson
    @Wayne_Robinson6 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the analysis! That song packs a lot of complexity into 4 minutes.

  • @nir2594
    @nir25946 жыл бұрын

    Falcon Heavy launch of 6th Feb, had this perfect fitting song. What an excellent tribute.

  • @PestratorProductions
    @PestratorProductions5 жыл бұрын

    Wow. Thank you for this

  • @HAZARDOUS88
    @HAZARDOUS886 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, so amazing.

  • @emikillua
    @emikillua6 жыл бұрын

    Great analisys! Bowie is a huge inspiration

  • @danikainq6494
    @danikainq64946 жыл бұрын

    I literally let out a cry of joy when I saw you're doing a Bowie song! Thank you! Oh how I wish you did hour long videos so that you could analyse Blackstar (the song).

  • @nickmonks9563

    @nickmonks9563

    4 жыл бұрын

    Blackstar is an insane work of brilliance. Part hot mess, part virtuosic dark psychedelic occult genius. I think it's one of those "perfect" songs in that it intentionally fails to adhere to the rules, and yet perfectly outlines the spirit of the rules. So amazing.

  • @hallospaceboy3693
    @hallospaceboy36935 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much huge Bowie fan 💞😭

  • @drewburke6095
    @drewburke60956 жыл бұрын

    I am very thankful you do this. I realized during my senior year of music college that this was not your run of the mill chord progression, but a lot of these terms are new to me even now. This is really exciting to discover 10 years after my realization of Bowie's brilliance in this song. This may be a simple request/answer, but this song makes me think of it: What is the function/name of the chord progression on the line "Wouldn't you like to get away" in the Cheers theme? I can't tell how that works, but boy does it sound good.

  • @auralanjuhl
    @auralanjuhl5 жыл бұрын

    great presentation

  • @caueribeiro3969
    @caueribeiro39696 жыл бұрын

    What a awesome piece of music!! The harmony is so complex and simple at the same time, it's amazing!!

  • @ThatMattGoodMusic
    @ThatMattGoodMusic6 жыл бұрын

    This is really great, Reverb did a similar thing recently but you explained what was going on way better

  • @seanwalter9383
    @seanwalter93836 жыл бұрын

    "Chorus's key" = Curiousity. Very well done.

  • @edbuller4435
    @edbuller44354 жыл бұрын

    Just love the Horn of plenty !

  • @Mamac2006
    @Mamac20065 жыл бұрын

    i love these piano songs

  • @petitnicollas
    @petitnicollas6 жыл бұрын

    One of my favourite Bowie songs.

  • @theowinters6314
    @theowinters63146 жыл бұрын

    Good timing with this as SpaceX used the chorus of this song as part of the launch of the Falcon Heavy this week.

  • @HippieCzar
    @HippieCzar6 жыл бұрын

    Great video! Bowie’s one of my favorites. You should cover some king crimson at some point too!

  • @johnsmith5669
    @johnsmith56696 жыл бұрын

    I love that opening progression. Gram Parson did the same thing on Hot Burritos #1.

  • @ComaAlpha
    @ComaAlpha2 жыл бұрын

    Please do a part 2

  • @anchoDePulso
    @anchoDePulso6 жыл бұрын

    This song is awesome !!!!

  • @buppie2000
    @buppie20005 жыл бұрын

    Thank you.

  • @tieukhavu8832
    @tieukhavu88325 жыл бұрын

    He did it "My way"

  • @anonimous__user
    @anonimous__user5 жыл бұрын

    Wow This video is just impressive!

  • @timothystephens3909
    @timothystephens39096 жыл бұрын

    In the first verse, the chords' bass moves down a half step, instead of what you said (thus it becomes F, Fmaj7/ E, F7/Eb, etc). I just thought this sounds better and thought to tell.

  • @hiZarki
    @hiZarki5 жыл бұрын

    This is awesome oh my god keep it up

  • @8TurnThatOnItsSide
    @8TurnThatOnItsSide5 жыл бұрын

    I love this song! It's my favorite by Bowie. 😊

  • @db1815
    @db18156 жыл бұрын

    Man when he wrote this song he tapped into something special, its absolutely genius on many levels. You didn't even mention the lyrics wich are intertwined with the music to make up a timeless masterpiece. There are not many songs in which so many things come together like genious lyrics AND music, the right musicians, production etc... Very high level this

  • @jenski5338
    @jenski53382 жыл бұрын

    Have you ever done analysis on this being a response to Bowie,losing the contract for "My Way"? This song is evermore fascinating in that context.

  • @dliessmgg
    @dliessmgg6 жыл бұрын

    5:30 I'd personally view that Gbaug as sort of a passing chord. It keeps most notes of the preceding chord, but moves the bass note a half step downwards, so that it creates a chromatic bass line between Gm and F. This is also the justification I'd give for the weird chords in the guitar solo. This technique is not too far away from a line cliche, but imo it's not quite the same.

  • @xeraph02
    @xeraph026 жыл бұрын

    A lot of Bowies songs sound so natural and easy and yet they are complicated and technical as F.... And thats why I like his songs, they challenge you and make you learn new stuff.

  • @noyanoamtal_music
    @noyanoamtal_music5 жыл бұрын

    Can you please make a part 2 to this song? It has so much to it... Anyways Thanks for the great video!

  • @Richard_Nickerson
    @Richard_Nickerson5 жыл бұрын

    Oh how I love music theory

  • @willpeggofficial
    @willpeggofficial6 жыл бұрын

    Interesting - cool video! I hear a Db7/Cb just before the chorus - it fulfills the ascending chromatic bass line from the two chords prior and creates a deceptive cadence with the ensuing Bb - word painting the phrase, "as they ask her to focus on." It's been awhile since I've heard the song, though.

  • @JohnTheBlindMilkman
    @JohnTheBlindMilkman6 жыл бұрын

    do part two on this song analysis pleaseee!

  • @FilipSandecomposer
    @FilipSandecomposer10 ай бұрын

    "Captain of Dreams and Colours" is a song that is a tribute to David Bowie. It was also amazing to work with @Lydia Consilvio who performed the voicals, oboe AND English horn parts!! In Filip's words about this piece, "it is also a song about [a] farewell to anyone...'sail on...your new journey has just begun.'" Thank you so much Filip for having me on such a sentimental piece and bravi to Lydia for her beautiful performance on so many parts!

  • @tobortine
    @tobortine6 жыл бұрын

    I think Rick Wakeman may have had a lot more to do with the musicality of this song than he was credited with.

  • @n-Chantreuse

    @n-Chantreuse

    6 жыл бұрын

    maybe not. Check out this vid: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nKOb2JmtdJSel9Y.html

  • @timbeaton5045

    @timbeaton5045

    6 жыл бұрын

    Well, if anybody is interested in hearing from Rick Wakeman himself, check the "5 Years" documentary, some of which is on Vimeo... vimeo.com/108694354 especially after about 3:10... sounds like the actual chords were Bowie's and the part was performed by Wakeman pretty much around those chords. Love the final remark he makes after running through the song... (at that time, RW says he hadn't played it for 40 years.

  • @tobortine

    @tobortine

    6 жыл бұрын

    That's a great find and thanks for sharing. So it seems that the genius was mostly Bowie's after all. Wherever it came from "Hunky Dory" remains my favourite Bowie album.

  • @timbeaton5045

    @timbeaton5045

    6 жыл бұрын

    Difficult to say... i find i vary on which is my favourite according to mood. But my current favourite track is the EP version of Sue (or a season of crime) with the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Just extraordinary. And i suspect that Blackstar will long remain as the album that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

  • @tonychristo8393

    @tonychristo8393

    6 жыл бұрын

    tobortine hunky dory is hands down his best, which is saying a lot considering his other albums are pretty friggin good!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @apanapandottir205
    @apanapandottir2056 жыл бұрын

    I played drums (as secondary instrument) on this song in school, it was haaaard. My main instruments are guitar and violin so is was pretty crazy. I always wanted to instinctively raise the tempo aaaall the time.

  • @althealligator1467
    @althealligator14674 ай бұрын

    7:06 They're _rotationally_ symmetrical, to be exact. Which means that they are axially symmetrical several times over, they have more than one axis of symmetry. The diatonic scale (the major scale and all of its modes), for instance, is axially symmetrical too, but it only has one single axis of symmetry and so it isn't notably rotationally symmetrical.

  • @ShaharHarshuv
    @ShaharHarshuv4 ай бұрын

    An important thing that you failed to mention in the chorus analysis is that a chord moving from major to minor with the same root will have a IV-iv sound, and minor iv is actually a more of a dominant function compared to IV. It works here because Fm would be the iv of C minor (which is exactly how it resolves) and Em7 is the iv of Bb (which is exactly how it resolves). Also Cm7 and Eb7 are almost the same chord in terms of common notes.

  • @ChristianSpliess
    @ChristianSpliess6 жыл бұрын

    Every time I hear this song I have to think about time travel, Britain and the 70s. - Damn, I have to watch "Life on Mars" again on DVD...

  • @R0DisG0D

    @R0DisG0D

    6 жыл бұрын

    No better time and place for music than Britain in the 70s. Bowie, Pink Floyd, Queen, Genesis, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who... I could go on an on.

  • @ledzepdeu
    @ledzepdeu6 жыл бұрын

    Love your videos! Whch books would you recomend to someone (me) interested in the understanding of music?

  • @jgwire
    @jgwire6 жыл бұрын

    i never thought of it that way before

  • @overlord2304
    @overlord23046 жыл бұрын

    Just hearing the first few notes of the song made me tear up

  • @Dave-hp4vh
    @Dave-hp4vh3 жыл бұрын

    HOLY HELL Rick Wakeman played on the album? NUTS!!! I had no idea. Just learned this last week on piano, long time fan of this youtube channel and this popped up at random today.

  • @ousiavazia
    @ousiavazia6 жыл бұрын

    I'm quite new to the channel, started watching today and i'm diggin it (this one was the first, by now i have seen like six or seven videos in sequence). idk if you done it already, but i thought it would be... "fun"... or nice if you did this work for a song from sonic youth or the pixies, if i may suggest, "the sprawl" and "#13 baby", or any other if you think it would be more interesting. great work, thank you very much

  • @ousiavazia

    @ousiavazia

    6 жыл бұрын

    or even, idk, mulatu astatqe or tinariwen, but ... i do love the rolling stones, but i don't think there's much to talk about any song as far as i remember. lou reed did better in "mr rain" or "new age"

  • @Adderkleet
    @Adderkleet6 жыл бұрын

    The version of this song that I remember is the first version I heard - a toy piano version by Neil Hannon & Yann Tiersen. Which omits the guitar.

  • @colinpierce1788
    @colinpierce17886 жыл бұрын

    You should do a song like Hanger 18 or Cemetery Gates

  • @vetlerradio

    @vetlerradio

    6 жыл бұрын

    Hanger 18 is just a i - iv - IV - iv progression.

  • @Cohemotgus
    @Cohemotgus6 жыл бұрын

    Can you look into knights of cydonia by muse? The verse plays the same melody 3 times in a row but played in keys a minor 6th from each other. That seems super weird to me but it doesnt sound weird, and I don't know why.

  • @jeremykeaton274

    @jeremykeaton274

    6 жыл бұрын

    I haven't heard the song before, but here's an idea: when talking about the way keys change, it's usually easiest to talk about them in terms of an intervals' smallest form (remember, since the key change could be either considered up or down, the interval can be inverted). So from what you describe, the keys wouldn't be a minor 6th away, they'd be a major 3rd away. And in that case, assuming the song begins in the major mode, you'd have a *chromatic mediant* (just like 12tone talked about in this video!). Key changes a 3rd apart are some of the most common ones, and are a staple of bands like Muse. Chromatic mediants are good at facilitating them because the major III chord sounds exotic at first but smoothly resolves in new directions away from the key. And since the major III chord shares 2 out of it's 3 notes with the key still, many melodies could fit over it that also worked before the chord change. Just my thoughts!

  • @rolfisdreamworld489
    @rolfisdreamworld4895 жыл бұрын

    well well, very funny explanation, thank you, master :)

  • @arj8865
    @arj88656 жыл бұрын

    YAY!!!!!!!!!!

  • @ronaldsrenick5492
    @ronaldsrenick5492 Жыл бұрын

    Any way I can purchase those amazing analysis sheets from you?

  • @jeremykeaton274
    @jeremykeaton2746 жыл бұрын

    I think there's one more line cliche/descent you forgot to mention - in the beginning of the prechorus, , the G minor's G moves down to F to make it the Bb/F, then to E for the C7 chord. It's not a complete line cliche, because of the move down from D to a C to make it a C7, but in this song rich with line cliches (full and partial) and chromatic movements, it's work noticing! Your functional analysis of it also makes total sense though, and is another good way of looking at it.

  • @godsoncoke
    @godsoncoke6 жыл бұрын

    I came looking for a lyrical breakdown and stayed for the whole video, I don't get any of this lol but I love it, really interesting

  • @TheBookDoctor
    @TheBookDoctor6 жыл бұрын

    I love these song analyses. But what would help me a lot--even in a song like Life on Mars which I know very well--is to have you write the lyrics underneath the music as you're going along. Your style of mixing snippits of piano with verbal analysis is great for the analysis, but often leaves me feeling a little lost within the song you're analyzing. I have a very verbal brain, which keys strongly off of the lyrics. You don't have to talk about the lyrics (unless you want to) or reference them at all, but just having them there for me to key off of would really help me keep my bearings within the analysis.

  • @OEpistimon
    @OEpistimon6 жыл бұрын

    Wait, Henry Reich from MinutePhysics is a patreon supporter of this???

  • @Ironypencil

    @Ironypencil

    6 жыл бұрын

    He plays the mandolin! There's a video of it on youtube. (Search "Henry Reich Mandolin")

  • @napkinshoplifta5163

    @napkinshoplifta5163

    6 жыл бұрын

    It's basically the same channel lmao. For real though, this channel is great

  • @eduardoalfonso4509
    @eduardoalfonso45093 жыл бұрын

    Like many others I didn't study music, and maybe I would spend months (or years?) until I could fully understand the video. I was just trying to find some video that explains why life on Mars is so...so... unique. It seems this video explains it all, but I wish I could understand it. I also wonder if Bowie or the pianist (Wakeman?) created the melody by heart, or weather they built it being fully aware of these tricks.

  • @astromus
    @astromus6 жыл бұрын

    I don't know if it would be an interesting analysis, but I'd like to see/hear you look into Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)". I find it such a compelling song (both musically and lyrically in it's Romeo and Juliet context) and would love to have your take on it. Thanks for all the work you put into this!

  • @bennythebear0711
    @bennythebear07116 жыл бұрын

    Feel like there’s a few bass notes missing? C/e then c7 in the intro and eflat in the bass at the start of the pre chorus to start the walk up

  • @macronencer
    @macronencer6 жыл бұрын

    BEAUTIFUL. Whoever gave this a thumbs down can't possibly be human in the sense familiar to me...

  • @bingbongtheory
    @bingbongtheory6 жыл бұрын

    You should consider going over Dancing Days from Led Zeppelin. Some really bizarre stuff going on in that one.

  • @FilipSandecomposer
    @FilipSandecomposer6 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for these very interesting videos!....you du have a rapid voice though, I have to tell. ;)

  • @AGenericMoron
    @AGenericMoron5 жыл бұрын

    I love your videos and you explain everything very well, with a lot of energy and clarity, but as a viewer I think I'm letting you down. I feel like I understand what you're telling me in each video, but understanding an idea and understanding how the idea actually works are two very different things and my grasp of music and structure isn't enough to read between the lines (literally I guess, on staff paper) and actually internalise this stuff. I'm going to have to come back to these videos again when I have a real understanding of musicality and progressions and I can actually tell what all the little things in your toolbox are meant to do, so you can teach me these things properly.

  • @thenicname279
    @thenicname2795 жыл бұрын

    Good old my way on Mars