BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 6:17 pm
This is mostly to respond to a comment that was made in the 'Sometimes' thread asking for more music theory analyses of BoC songs. I figured the best way to do that is to let people suggest a song for me to analyze and then offer my best interpretation of said song, whether that looks like chords, individual notes, remarks on rhythm, or anything else related to music theory that might be notable for the song.
So, if there's a particular track which has made you wonder, "How does this work on a musical level?" go ahead and try me! No guarantees that I'll be able to identify what you're looking for but I recently finished a two-year sequence of music theory & ear training classes so I'm fairly confident that I can at least offer some explanations.
So, if there's a particular track which has made you wonder, "How does this work on a musical level?" go ahead and try me! No guarantees that I'll be able to identify what you're looking for but I recently finished a two-year sequence of music theory & ear training classes so I'm fairly confident that I can at least offer some explanations.
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 6:30 pm
Could you offer some insight into Cold Earth? This song affects me deeply.
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 6:53 pm
Seeya later and gyroscope
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:45 pm
Response to Cold Earth:
The chord progression for this song is F5, A5, and B Minor on a loop. The synth pads open with these notes (at about 68 BPM):
At 0:42, a synth bass comes in:
At 1:03, we get the first instance of a melody (the repetition of which at 1:11 is similar enough that I haven't bothered to notate:
They don't all mix until 2:28:
The rest of the song is mostly percussion and various atmospherics (the voices, the random sound effects, the white noise).
The reason these chords give the song such a distinct sound is their sparseness. The F and A chords don't contain a third, which makes their tonality ambiguous (could be minor or major?). However, in the context of the song we hear them as F Major and A Minor because they are next to each each, which would usually indicate the key of A Minor. The only problem here is the B Minor chord: it contains an F# which doesn't fit in A Minor, especially not when it was an F natural earlier for the F5 chord. The unexpectedness of the B Minor chord, which would be considered a minor ii in A Minor, is certainly exploited by BoC. At 1:00, 1:21, 1:42, 1:54, 2:05, 2:25, 2:46, and 3:07, the B Minor chord plays and three different things happen (not every time). The first is that the percussion drops out momentarily (creating a break), the second is that a high G note plays, which reinforces the key of A Minor but clashes against the B Minor chord, and the third is that a random sound effect plays, usually some type of clang or rattling noise.
The interesting thing is that after the 2 measures of B Minor, the song loops back to the F5, a chord that is a tritone away (the tritone can be heard clearly in the bass). This interval, also known as a diminished 5th or augmented 4th, is generally considered the most dissonant-sounding in Western music. To see for yourself, try playing a F and B next to each other on your preferred instrument. This tritone-relationship, and the presence of the B Minor chord in a key that shouldn't include it, are a great example of how BoC use unexpected chords to give their songs a unique feel. In fact, Tangerine Dream also used the B Minor against A Minor sound in their song White Eagle (https://youtu.be/mTJYvj5lE4E?t=33m47s), which I wouldn't be surprised if BoC had heard and possibly drawn inspiration from.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of how Cold Earth pulls off its distinct vibes!
The chord progression for this song is F5, A5, and B Minor on a loop. The synth pads open with these notes (at about 68 BPM):
At 0:42, a synth bass comes in:
At 1:03, we get the first instance of a melody (the repetition of which at 1:11 is similar enough that I haven't bothered to notate:
They don't all mix until 2:28:
The rest of the song is mostly percussion and various atmospherics (the voices, the random sound effects, the white noise).
The reason these chords give the song such a distinct sound is their sparseness. The F and A chords don't contain a third, which makes their tonality ambiguous (could be minor or major?). However, in the context of the song we hear them as F Major and A Minor because they are next to each each, which would usually indicate the key of A Minor. The only problem here is the B Minor chord: it contains an F# which doesn't fit in A Minor, especially not when it was an F natural earlier for the F5 chord. The unexpectedness of the B Minor chord, which would be considered a minor ii in A Minor, is certainly exploited by BoC. At 1:00, 1:21, 1:42, 1:54, 2:05, 2:25, 2:46, and 3:07, the B Minor chord plays and three different things happen (not every time). The first is that the percussion drops out momentarily (creating a break), the second is that a high G note plays, which reinforces the key of A Minor but clashes against the B Minor chord, and the third is that a random sound effect plays, usually some type of clang or rattling noise.
The interesting thing is that after the 2 measures of B Minor, the song loops back to the F5, a chord that is a tritone away (the tritone can be heard clearly in the bass). This interval, also known as a diminished 5th or augmented 4th, is generally considered the most dissonant-sounding in Western music. To see for yourself, try playing a F and B next to each other on your preferred instrument. This tritone-relationship, and the presence of the B Minor chord in a key that shouldn't include it, are a great example of how BoC use unexpected chords to give their songs a unique feel. In fact, Tangerine Dream also used the B Minor against A Minor sound in their song White Eagle (https://youtu.be/mTJYvj5lE4E?t=33m47s), which I wouldn't be surprised if BoC had heard and possibly drawn inspiration from.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of how Cold Earth pulls off its distinct vibes!
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:35 pm
That is really excellent - easily the best analysis of BoC I've ever read. It's nice to read something like that from someone who obviously knows what they're talking about. I hope you have time to do a few more
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:54 pm
deadfly wrote:That is really excellent - easily the best analysis of BoC I've ever read. It's nice to read something like that from someone who obviously knows what they're talking about. I hope you have time to do a few more
Working on the other two mentioned but Seeya Later is going to take awhile & I got stuff to do today. They will be finished though!
Re: BoC & music theory
Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:57 pm
Fascinating, many thanks 15Dreams.
Re: BoC & music theory
Tue Aug 15, 2017 12:56 pm
Awesome thread, really looking forward to more of these 15Dreams 
Re: BoC & music theory
Tue Aug 15, 2017 1:10 pm
Would love to hear your analasis of 'Kid for Today' please
Re: BoC & music theory
Tue Aug 15, 2017 2:27 pm
I'd love your thoughts on Sundown, that chord progression gives me the dang chills.
Re: BoC & music theory
Wed Aug 16, 2017 10:33 am
Julie and Candy interests me.
Re: BoC & music theory
Thu Aug 17, 2017 6:55 pm
Response to Seeya Later:
These are all the synth parts to Seeya Later. 1 is the bass, 2 is the light pad thing that comes in beginning with the bass, 3 is the calliope melody beginning at 0:52, 4 is the detuned synth that begins buzzing at 1:33, and 5 is the high synth that comes in at 2:14 (this one was a little hard to hear so the transcription may not be 100% accurate).
A few words on theory...this song could be in either F Major/Minor or Eb Major/Minor. I went for F Minor in my key signature because most of the parts seemed to stick to that pretty well; however, the trick BoC are using here is modal ambiguity. The A natural played in part 2 makes your ear lean towards F Major despite the bassline clearly playing in F Minor. 3, if played on its own, could even be in Bb Mixolydian or Minor. 5 appears to be in F Major momentarily but then leans back towards F Minor.
An interesting note is that the modality isn't even consistent with timing; at 1:35 the detuned high synth (4) plays a D flat over the main melody's D natural (3). These sort of inconsistencies give the song its chaotic feel towards the end; at 2:55 onwards if you were to ask me to identify any tonal center just by ear I couldn't do it. The song gets most of its melancholic (IMO) vibes from the reverb, the slight detuning, and the unmatching tones employed by each layer. Also the drums and bass give a nice sharp contrast to the floaty, calliope synths.
These are all the synth parts to Seeya Later. 1 is the bass, 2 is the light pad thing that comes in beginning with the bass, 3 is the calliope melody beginning at 0:52, 4 is the detuned synth that begins buzzing at 1:33, and 5 is the high synth that comes in at 2:14 (this one was a little hard to hear so the transcription may not be 100% accurate).
A few words on theory...this song could be in either F Major/Minor or Eb Major/Minor. I went for F Minor in my key signature because most of the parts seemed to stick to that pretty well; however, the trick BoC are using here is modal ambiguity. The A natural played in part 2 makes your ear lean towards F Major despite the bassline clearly playing in F Minor. 3, if played on its own, could even be in Bb Mixolydian or Minor. 5 appears to be in F Major momentarily but then leans back towards F Minor.
An interesting note is that the modality isn't even consistent with timing; at 1:35 the detuned high synth (4) plays a D flat over the main melody's D natural (3). These sort of inconsistencies give the song its chaotic feel towards the end; at 2:55 onwards if you were to ask me to identify any tonal center just by ear I couldn't do it. The song gets most of its melancholic (IMO) vibes from the reverb, the slight detuning, and the unmatching tones employed by each layer. Also the drums and bass give a nice sharp contrast to the floaty, calliope synths.
Re: BoC & music theory
Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:11 pm
Response to Gyroscope:
First issue for me was that the whole thing is detuned to where it sits between G and Ab. For convenience, I wrote in G and tuned my keyboard up a little.
The song opens on an ambiguous G5, just a low G and D. At about 20 seconds, we get a few different notes playing with each other up higher: A, B, C, D, Eb, and F. If anyone wants me to I can try to find the name of a scale including these notes, but I doubt BoC knew what scale they were using so I won't bother. Just know that the B natural makes it sound major but the Eb and F make it sound minor, so this is another great example of the modal inconsistency I discussed in the Seeya Later analysis.
At 1:06 the bass slowly moves down to an F, and then an Eb at 1:09 (while maintaining the higher D from the G5). It then continues to walk around these notes for the rest of the song, going back down and up again each time. The reverse guitar coming in at the end also plays a G5.
I chose not to transcribe all the notes that get played because there's not really a pattern to them that I can hear and I think that was the intention behind them. Gyroscope as far as I can tell was intended to be murky and unstable, marked especially by the number station vocals and the harsh gritty beat.
First issue for me was that the whole thing is detuned to where it sits between G and Ab. For convenience, I wrote in G and tuned my keyboard up a little.
The song opens on an ambiguous G5, just a low G and D. At about 20 seconds, we get a few different notes playing with each other up higher: A, B, C, D, Eb, and F. If anyone wants me to I can try to find the name of a scale including these notes, but I doubt BoC knew what scale they were using so I won't bother. Just know that the B natural makes it sound major but the Eb and F make it sound minor, so this is another great example of the modal inconsistency I discussed in the Seeya Later analysis.
At 1:06 the bass slowly moves down to an F, and then an Eb at 1:09 (while maintaining the higher D from the G5). It then continues to walk around these notes for the rest of the song, going back down and up again each time. The reverse guitar coming in at the end also plays a G5.
I chose not to transcribe all the notes that get played because there's not really a pattern to them that I can hear and I think that was the intention behind them. Gyroscope as far as I can tell was intended to be murky and unstable, marked especially by the number station vocals and the harsh gritty beat.
Re: BoC & music theory
Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:06 pm
Response to Kid for Today:
(Once again this whole thing is tuned between G and Ab so I'm choosing to write in G)
The opening chords (and the only chords) are Gm, Amadd4 (A, C, and D), Em7, and Bm played on multiple layers of synth I believe. The keyboard melody starting at 1:10 is as follows:
The keyboard melody focused in the left channel beginning at 1:55 is as follows:
The keyboard melody at 5:05 plays these notes, I haven't bothered writing out the rhythm accurately because it's too offbeat but if anyone wants it I can:
http://i.imgur.com/tvZetqd.png
The synth at the end is the same melody more or less from 1:55 but slower.
This song is a bit more straightforward. While technically all of the chords of minor, the Em7 contains the notes found in a G Major triad (G, B, and D) so our minds kind of hear a Picardy 3rd from Gm to G Major even though E is the root. If I had to pick a key I suppose it would be G Minor but then again none of the following chords are found in the regular G Minor key. The Em7 is probably the most unusual one as it's a minor sharp vi; the Bm following it sounds less unexpected because of the Em7. The minor third/major sixth relationship between Gm and Em7 also appears in a few other BoC songs like EYDIAB (Cm7/Am7) and Sunshine Recorder (Em/Gm). This juxtaposition of minor chords is particularly interesting since the third of G minor (Bb) has to be raised to a B natural to get to E minor, giving it a haunting tonal quality that you can also hear in EYDIAB and Sunshine Recorder.
(Once again this whole thing is tuned between G and Ab so I'm choosing to write in G)
The opening chords (and the only chords) are Gm, Amadd4 (A, C, and D), Em7, and Bm played on multiple layers of synth I believe. The keyboard melody starting at 1:10 is as follows:
The keyboard melody focused in the left channel beginning at 1:55 is as follows:
The keyboard melody at 5:05 plays these notes, I haven't bothered writing out the rhythm accurately because it's too offbeat but if anyone wants it I can:
http://i.imgur.com/tvZetqd.png
The synth at the end is the same melody more or less from 1:55 but slower.
This song is a bit more straightforward. While technically all of the chords of minor, the Em7 contains the notes found in a G Major triad (G, B, and D) so our minds kind of hear a Picardy 3rd from Gm to G Major even though E is the root. If I had to pick a key I suppose it would be G Minor but then again none of the following chords are found in the regular G Minor key. The Em7 is probably the most unusual one as it's a minor sharp vi; the Bm following it sounds less unexpected because of the Em7. The minor third/major sixth relationship between Gm and Em7 also appears in a few other BoC songs like EYDIAB (Cm7/Am7) and Sunshine Recorder (Em/Gm). This juxtaposition of minor chords is particularly interesting since the third of G minor (Bb) has to be raised to a B natural to get to E minor, giving it a haunting tonal quality that you can also hear in EYDIAB and Sunshine Recorder.
Re: BoC & music theory
Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:38 pm
Wildfire wrote:I'd love your thoughts on Sundown, that chord progression gives me the dang chills.
Me too, not sure why I hadn't looked at that one before today.
Chords are detuned between keys so I wrote in D but you'd need to tune your instrument higher. There's also some neat ones that I'll explain how to play:
A5 - just the root and the fifth, A and E
F5
GQ - This is a quintal chord built on G, meaning that you stack up in 5ths instead of a triad where you stack in thirds. The notes are G, D, and A on top. (More on this cool trick later!)
BbMaj7 - Bb, D, F, and A
DQ - D, A, and E on top
Bb Major - Bb, F, and D on top
DQ - this time put the E an octave higher
Bb Major - play the D an octave higher
CMaj7 - C, G, and B on top
EbMaj7 - Eb, Bb, and D on top
AQ - A, E, and B on top
D5
F5 - no bass on this one but fade it into
DQ
B9 - B in the bass, A, and C# on top
F#Q - F#, C#, G# on top
D5 - quickly fade in and fade out - no bass
F5 - no bass
Final chord starts off as a D5 but then a G fades in next to the A on top and I think a C fades into the bass slightly, making it rumble a bit more than necessary.
I'm going to say D minor for this one but only because it ends on a D. The obvious BoC secret here is the quintal chords - the open 5ths sound is very unique and especially when played on those wavering synth pads. There's a song by Port Blue that makes use of these same chords (progression is C Major, AbQ, FQ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eqf2uMOFs
bonus pic of the field I watched the sun set in the first time I heard this song
- Spoiler: show
Re: BoC & music theory
Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:08 pm
This is great stuff, thank you so much!
Re: BoC & music theory
Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:11 am
15Dreams wrote:Wildfire wrote:I'd love your thoughts on Sundown, that chord progression gives me the dang chills.
Me too, not sure why I hadn't looked at that one before today.
Chords are detuned between keys so I wrote in D but you'd need to tune your instrument higher. There's also some neat ones that I'll explain how to play:
A5 - just the root and the fifth, A and E
F5
GQ - This is a quintal chord built on G, meaning that you stack up in 5ths instead of a triad where you stack in thirds. The notes are G, D, and A on top. (More on this cool trick later!)
BbMaj7 - Bb, D, F, and A
DQ - D, A, and E on top
Bb Major - Bb, F, and D on top
DQ - this time put the E an octave higher
Bb Major - play the D an octave higher
CMaj7 - C, G, and B on top
EbMaj7 - Eb, Bb, and D on top
AQ - A, E, and B on top
D5
F5 - no bass on this one but fade it into
DQ
B9 - B in the bass, A, and C# on top
F#Q - F#, C#, G# on top
D5 - quickly fade in and fade out - no bass
F5 - no bass
Final chord starts off as a D5 but then a G fades in next to the A on top and I think a C fades into the bass slightly, making it rumble a bit more than necessary.
I'm going to say D minor for this one but only because it ends on a D. The obvious BoC secret here is the quintal chords - the open 5ths sound is very unique and especially when played on those wavering synth pads. There's a song by Port Blue that makes use of these same chords (progression is C Major, AbQ, FQ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eqf2uMOFs
bonus pic of the field I watched the sun set in the first time I heard this song
- Spoiler: show
This is fucking awesome. Thank you so much man, I understand enough music theory (UK grade 7 on piano) to understand what you are saying, and I can't wait to get home and try playing it from your notation. Thank you!
Also that is so cool that it's detuned between keys, that must be what gives it that unsettling edge throughout, even though it's gorgeous.
I don't suppose you have enough knowledge of analog synths to know what synth is being used? I've tried the following and can't get the same timbre, even with post processing....
SH101
Korg Monopoly
Juno 60
ARP Odyssey
Also when you have time, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the wonderfully simple but achingly beautiful 'Echus'.
EDIT: That is a fine view, just out of interest where do you live?
Re: BoC & music theory
Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:15 pm
Impressed on how you tackled seeyalater.
Re: BoC & music theory
Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:59 pm
Music theory that echoes each other in Tomorrow's Harvest?
Re: BoC & music theory
Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:47 pm
That reply makes no sense and I can't go back and edit it. I meant are there motifs and theoretical similarities throughout Tomorrow's Harvest that you can spot that are maybe deeper than what we've found so far?
"There's actually more use of subliminals on this record than on any previous album we've done, so we're interested to see what people will pick up on." - Mike
"There's actually more use of subliminals on this record than on any previous album we've done, so we're interested to see what people will pick up on." - Mike