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.
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 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!
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.
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
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!
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!")
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
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)
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.
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!
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.”
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.
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! :)
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.
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.
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"
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)
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
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
My favorite theme is the one we’re they interrogate someone and they have the “du-dum du-dam du-dum” you can here it in pirates in pansies and legally blonde
By a flat four chord, I think he means a minor iv chord that actually have a flat sixth in it, not a flat fourth. It brought me a lot of confusion, since I don't know alot about music. I hope I get it right.
