A Song That Actually Uses Locrian 

I’ve just released a part 2 to this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mhDxvNY9J68.html I look at whether “Army of Me” is really in Locrian or actually in Aeolian!

RU-vid thought I was smart enough to know wtf Locrian is

I always knew Bjork was Locrian. No way she's human. She has to be from the planet Locria.

BRO. I used Army of Me as an example of Locrian mode in pop music when I took AP music theory in high school, and it was MARKED AS INCORRECT. I should have taught the class myself lol.

Why is that bass line so badass

Locrian is just like an unfinished sneeze

Dunno what a locrian is, but Björk is on the thumbnail, so I click it.

Bjork is a genius. You don't have to like her, but you have to appreciate what she does. If you dismiss her as "weird for the sake of weird" or "just yelling" you're missing *everything* that makes her brilliant.

"I ate a bowl of nails for breakfast - without any MILK" - Locrian Mode (Probably)

So, I decided to turn on automatic subtitles. 0:04 Locrian 0:13 latverian 0:30 la Creon 0:38 Lockean 0:56 la crème 1:48 la Korean 2:36 lockrey 2:44 La prions 2:48 lock Crean 3:11 la pre 3:18 Lachlan's 3:39 lot Korean 4:31 la Crean 5:34 LA Korean 5:55 La Koreans 6:04 solo Korean 6:10 LOC Korean 6:14 lottery 6:18 fellow Korean 7:40 long Korean (long Korean mode is a very rare beast)

I think Björk is a person who isn't in the slightest afraid of dissonance.

Bjork is so innovative and her songwriting is so unusual and unique that this use of a relatively rare sound doesn't surprise me at all. She is just INCREDIBLE and her voice is so gorgeous and most definitely one-of-a-kind. 🎵💜

Now we have "Gliese 710" from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in Locrian. Its an 8 minute long Jazz / Jam song. as part of an album that has a song in all 7 Greek Modes. Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. Its a fantastic album and well worth a listen

me : *don’t play any instruments* youtube: LoCriAn? me: *clicks*

Who else could choose a weird scale if not the queen of weirdness

gotta admit, that bass line is pretty badass

For anyone who can't get enough Army of Me, it's worth listening to the cover and remixes album, with 20 versions of the song in different styles ranging from metal to bossa nova to Swedish bitpop. It's a testament to how good the original song is that it works in so many styles.

It's satisfying to see the notes being highlighted as they're being played.

Go resolve, locrian, you're drunk.

Army of Me is a great song. First heard it in the movie "Sucker Punch". It fit in so well with the story.

I literally covered this exact topic about this exact song in school about 4 years ago and didn’t get any of it. I now understand that entire part of the course after a 8 min video. This is wild.

Great video, and of course Björk would be on this list.

25 years after the release of "Army of Me" and i still doesn't sound dated.

When I took theory back in college, my teacher said that in Classical music, Locrian exists only in theory because of the diminished tonic chord. ETA: He did mention that it is used in some forms of jazz because the jazz musicians came to it 'by the back door' and didn't know they weren't 'supposed to' use it.

there's this song, It's called "historia del arte" by the group "las bistec" this song is in locrian, not a section, no, the entire song is in locrian

Björk's songs are in a whole different level. Absolute genius.

Am I only one impressed at the sheer authority with which this young man speaks about music? I'm blown away. Keep up the good work my friend.

King Gizzard have just released a full-on Locrian track - "Gliese 710"! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JB7oa9KkIg8.html

Most of this went over my head, but I love listening to you explain music. Your delivery is very good. Thanks for making these vids.

IDK what locrian is so when I clicked this I thought it was some kind of super obscure language lol

This is one of Bjork's best tracks. When I first heard this in 1997 I went nuts. The contrast of the dark, mechanical bass line and the slow melody line always got me. Every time I hear this it invokes images of someone lying in bed in perfect peace while floating away in a raging sea.

Hey there! Just wanted to say that I'm from Brazil and simply love your channel. Helps me to have good and Accessible examples of what I teach on my music classes ❤. Thank you!

Dude as I'm starting a really deep study of modes in college, this chanel is a freaking gold mine for me. Keep up the good work!

Glad I stumbled across this video. I'm musically illiterate but my daughter is an oboist who excels in music theory - thanks for the brief and understandable glimpse of her world.

My explanation is, Bjork does what Bjork wants she does not care what us humans think.

Really good work man. This is interesting in a very nerdy musical way and also very interesting to someone just enjoying the way sounds are built together.

As always, an absolutely brilliant and engaging analysis and explanation by David. You, Good Sir, are a treasure.

"Songs That Actually Use Locrian" -This song doesn't really use it, this song doesn't really use it, this song doesn't use it at all. cool

This sounds like all those CGI anime movies tension songs of action in the 90s. lol

Thanks for the info, love your videos. Wrapping my head around Music Theory, it's starting to come together.

Oh wow. This song was important to me. I appreciate this.

I love how she sings "Army" with an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent in the chorus.

This explains why she's more popular among musicians than the public, although i do remember 'Army of me' being heavily played on the airwaves when i was a child. Older people have unfortunately generally disregarded her music as just noise. It seems they cannot comprehend the compositions of her work, as (if i recall correctly) the majority of her music is neither 4 chord, nor written to please those who thrive on pop music.

This channel is so good! Thank you

I unexpectedly learned a ton from this, thank you!

"we've lost that locrian feeling" _that's what she said_

Someone should try a pure Locrian. I'd be curious to hear.

Thanks, I enjoy your channel for your understanding and presentation of music theory. I'd love to support your work, but times are tough at the moment. As soon as things are settled, that will change. Reading your comments section also shows how you are respected by musicians. I like when you show Leonard Bernstein clips since you remind me of him with you demeanor.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom, David.

This ia a great explanation of Locrian, David! I work as a therapeutic harp musician, and we use the modes a lot in our work with people in hospital and hospice. You are correct - Locrian is a mode that doesn't really resolve and really cannot resolve because of that flatted 5th. This mode is sometimes used in hospice when a patient is transitioning - an improvisation in the Locrian mode is played, sparingly to enable the person to 'let go'....one of the tune we use in training is the Japanese folk song 'Sakura' - it is definitely in the Aeolian mode, however, like the example with Bjork's song, a therapeutic musician can use a Locrian vamp/improvisation of sorts to give a feel of Locrian - but the tune is anchored with the A minor Aeolian when playing Sakura. A Locrian 'feel' of otherworldliness, timelessness, never resolving is achieved if it is played v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I don't think there is truly a Locrian tune in and of itself - it appears from your research that musicians modulate from other keys into Locrian. Keep up the good work!

"we've lost that locrian feeling" Righteous pun, bro.

Excellent videos. You really are like a music detective, with a very convincing case. I like it.

impressive that Bjork let her music be used for this lesson, shouts out to David and Bjork for this educational gem

Ionian? Basic. Dorian? Jazzy. Phrygian? Edgy. Lydian? Literally, who? Mixolydian? Jazzy basic. Aeolian? Societally accepted edgy. Locrian? Too edgy to function.

very informative. Björk is a musical genius.

Thank you for the Dorian mode lesson. You helped answer variant modals for example "B Dorian"! It is interesting how my fav pop, Funk & R&B songs uses Dorian too 😀

I love your channel as not only do I get to learn about music which is a subject and medium I love and respect (to a degree I don't stan horrible people) but I also get to listen and find new and interesting music I would have never heard otherwise

Army Of Me is an awesome song. Sinister, anxious and sexy all at once.

Even so, Bjork is an absolute genius in the way she performs a song.

I learn more from you videos than any other musician I've worked with and had lessons with. Thanks for sharing. Oh, I'm also popping on Ebay or Amazon to buy a Bjork Greatest Hits CD for the car!

Excellently done! Thank you!

The Indian classical thaat (mode) Todi is equivalent to Locrian. There are a number of ragas in this thaat that are quite harmonious, like Todi, Mian Ki Todi, Madhuvanti, Multani and others. It is called the king of thaats. Many ragas within this mode evoke sentiments of everything from mourning, to deep pathos, to gentle affection.

1:16 Björk "Army of Me" 4:50 The Strokes "Juicebox" (opening bassline) 6:24 Metallica "Seek and Destroy" (First bar of the intro)

this is really intriguing. thank you.

Hey D., you know your stuff man. Keep on rocking.

Amazing! I love Army of Me, and its sonic tension, now I know why it has that tense under current. Thanks, this was really interesting.

"How does Bjork?" Great question!

I learnt a lot from your channel, thank you sir.

I really enjoy you teaching method and the quick/accurate videos... The really long, wordy videos from others on RU-vid are nice, but a little too much information for me, at this point in my journey...

We need more analysis about Bjork´s music, David.

“Scatterbrain” by Jeff Beck from the “Blow by Blow” album. I took this to my guitar teacher and he taught me about modes in one lesson. Music teachers are awesome 👏🏼 ❤️

I love your videos! thank you!!

nine inch nails - "I'm looking forward to joining you finally" appears to use locrian

To borrow from astronomy, Locrian is the Pluto of the modes.

I know nothing about music and found this entertaining and informative. Great editing, examples and explanation 5/5

Fascinating dive into the elusive Locrian mode, David! It's amazing how this 'outcast' of modes can still create such captivating music when used creatively, just like in Björk's 'Army of Me'. Speaking of unique Locrian tracks, have you guys heard 'From Time to Time' by Tetjus? It's a pop song that also bravely ventures into the Locrian territory, and it's quite a rare gem in modern pop music. It's intriguing to see how Tetjus navigates the inherent dissonance of Locrian to create something so melodically pleasing. This video just made me appreciate their work even more! 🎶

Incredible... both the analysis you performed and the fact that a single mention of Björk's work makes the comment section a fascinating experience on its own.

it*s amazing how I can simultaneously make music myself and play several instruments and not have any clue about what you*re talking about.

I've played music for 25 years, I'm now 40. Drums were my first instrument, and guitar my second. As time wore on, I learned how to play bass and sing and/or scream, as most of my projects were punk, hardcore, or metal in nature. I've always been the "just do what's natural" type, "the song already exists- it's on me to translate it" type, but as I get older I am trying to rediscover scales and modes, and different elements of songwriting to grow, in light of composing over 25 songs already, I want to go deeper into the hardcore, metal, rock and maybe programming & film score arena in my creative projects. Of all the things that I am putting together to help me on this journey, your videos are the springboard for all of my research. You cover very complicated ideas and deliver them in a way so easy to understand. You also touch on the subtle nuances, this video being the perfect example. Whether you're a beginner, an intermediate or an expert you can take something away from your videos and that's truly a hard thing to put out into the universe, I want you to know. I cannot thank you enough for posting these videos. I saw one recently on lack of choruses in songs , and it made me re-imagine something I was recording; I am now thinking of creating a through composed version of it that will end up replacing the old version. I'll be able to do this by trimming out the chorus repetition and keeping the tenants of through composed in the back of my mind. The way that you describe things In that video made me realize I was only a couple of trims and part rearrangings away from composing my own first through composed piece of hardcore/metal. I only had two repeating pieces of music and everything else was a fresh take, And I think I was just putting the repeating in out of habit, but taking it out made it so much more interesting, to imagine it in sections only. The way you arrange these videos, the editing, the delivery of the lesson is all just stunning. For someone like me playing guitar was tricky, because I've always been a drummer first and not one that reads music. I'm a feel drummer and a feel musician, but as a guitarist, when I would write songs I was always sort of guessing where the right notes were. Your attention to detail helps me understand what makes things what they are. Thank you. From the bottom of my aging heart. Thank you. I will be heading to Patreon as my finances improve because your work is truly an inspiration to me. Apologies on the novel. Eternal respect, Mr Bennett! And may I also add, I love how you bring elements of film score, classical music and contemporary music all to the same point!!! You rock

Nailed it, Dave, as per usual.😉

Björks work is on a whole new level they should create a degree around it

Something really neat to try, take the Locrian Mode and subdivide the intervals into 5 notes using the golden ratio (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 13th). The resulting Pentatonic scale has no official name and sounds wicked af.

You do an excellent job explaining these things.

Thank you. Good to keep learning.

I love these in depth dives into theory. Thanks buddy!

Another excellent analysis.Thank you for this upload.

Super great analysis, that Björk song is great !

Björk is one of the more adventurous artists out there who practically strive to compose original pieces that stand out from the typical fare we hear on broadcast radio. (I should also mention...I'm her peer. I was born only three days ahead of her in the SAME YEAR. No wonder I've been such a big fan of her music for so long.)

I have no idea what you’re talking about but I love it.

Really insightful video with great presentation and graphics - I came away well informed! Thanks for that!

Really cool, thanks. Gotta listen to Björk now - didnt quite plan for _that_

Mind blown. Good content!

Your channel is very cool! Finally, finally someone analyzing a Björk song, I would love to see more of that, I really don't know why her music is so overlooked in most music education channels. Thanks mate

I have always found it fascinating how different styles of music are so strongly cultural based. How tastes in sound vary throughout the world. I have never thought of Bjork's music as "weird", simply tapping into her Icelandic roots.😄

Great video as always

This is great! Thank you!

4:19 "we've already lost that locrian feeling" wooah that loooving feeling (lmao)

Is Thriller by Michael Jackson in Lycanthropy mode?

This channel is incredible. I’m going to show everyone I can!

This video introduced me to Björk, and I am so glad that it did.