"Grandma" is Much More Than its Composition 

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"We like to suffer here" - a quote every Nier/Nier Automata player relates to a lot.

the accidental Grandma/Snow in Summer mashup goes so hard

Finally “Grandma” receiving the attention it deserves, I feel like musical analysis is always brushed over for this piece. Thank you for pointing out the reason this piece remains my favorite across the Nier series. Although fleeting words has a hold on me now too.

Damn, even while it's being broken down and analysed I literally cannot listen to this song without tears

Nier Replicant trying not to have the most beautiful OST (Impossible)

Personally I really like to interpret the military sounding drums as Kaine’s resolve to keep going from her grandma, and the perseverance to keep her memory. 10/10 video! Super informative and I really enjoyed it! ❤

“Grandma (Destruction)” from Nier: Automata is SOOO GOOOD. The intensity is unrivaled

Holy shit Jonathan, this video is INCREDIBLE. I'm repeating myself, but I really admire with how much simplicity you can explain the link between sheet music and the emotions expressed in the final composition. I've been listening to grandma for years now, and in section 13:09 - 16:09 you brilliantly explained that "something" that I had been noticing for so long. I had never heard of attack velocity before, but I could tell that the pianist's emphasis was giving a lot of meaning to the piece and I am so glad it's finally starting to make more sense now -in my mind at least-. I especially love the D emphasized at 13:32 (circa)... I always felt like it was a grim reminder not to get too excited, in stark contrast with how high the notes dance in those measures. The way you chose to display Emi's fluctuations in performance is also so creative. It's such a simple yet effective scheme that helped to visualize what you were analysing. I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but I also want to compliment you for how well you edit these videos. They're light, well-rounded, very well balanced in terms of how many technicalities you include, and your subtle jokes here and there make the watching experience so entertaining in general. Not to mention how much more musical theory I learn every time! I mean, of course I'm no expert (not even intermediate lol) but some recurring terms from earlier videos stuck to my mind, and helped me undestand more swiftly what you were referring to here. I just love your works, man! You never disappoint. Thank you for this amazing video❤

As a "non musician" music theory always facscinates me, and you deliver this in an awesome way. Thanks for the quality content.

I’ve been waiting for this one. My favorite track in the series.

I’ve just recently learned this piece on piano and despite the repetition, I love to play it. The point you made regarding “attack velocity” is really accurate. It is true that the expressiveness while playing is vital for this piece. Depending on my mood while playing, it actually sounds unique each time, portraying different emotions and feelings. Sometimes I go for a calmer sound thus pressing the keys softer. Other times I apply more force and emphasize on certain notes. In addition, once you know the context and intent of the piece within the story, you can truly feel the piece while playing. I even sometimes listen to the vocals while playing the piano section myself. It really is a beautiful feeling. Note: And as you stated in the video, the attack velocity just comes naturally. I never think of it while playing, it just happens. Again, thanks for another amazing video analysis. From someone who doesn’t know music theory, I am truly grateful for these kinds of videos. The effort put into these really shows. Excellent explanation, structure and editing.

I love this song so much, especially as a Spanish speaker as while most of the song is unintelligible, the very first lyrics sound to me like a slurred "Que haré?", which means "What shall I do?". Together with the pensive and somber feel of the song it pulls on my imagination, framing the song as a remembrance of someone dear, a struggle to overcome emotion, and leaves me feeling like I too lost something, but will carry a fragment of their memory with me for the rest of my life. I will learn this song, and sing/play it in memory of those forgotten, and in honour of those I never knew.

I always interpreted the drum track as a representation of kainé's determination. Her promise to keep going to nier and emil despite the uncertainty swirling inside her.

I've been here since Snow in summer video and I'm really glad to see, that your channel is continuously growing! Definitely deserved, I love those essays! Congrats your first sponsorship!

I like to interpret the military sounding drums to the fact that Kali/Curly's gestalt was actually a renowned soldier against the Legion, and so her legacy is that of a keen military mind!

It's nice to see someone articulate what makes Grandma so special. It's hard to explain but you nailed it.

Always excited for a new Barouch video. Love your stuff.

Holy shit, you did it again! I was so excited to see the notification for this. This song has always evoked the most emotional response from me on the OST despite being so damn simple. It's a joy to deepen my understanding of music composition and theory using tracks I already love from games. Thanks so much for the effort you put into these!

Great video! Loved the visualizations and appreciate the analysis and context provided outside of just the stuff that shows up on the page.

I started practicing this piece on the guitar and have been waiting and hoping for such a beautiful and thorough explanation.

love the in depth delves into the tracks composition. really appreciate the songs more after coming here. turning me into a fine music nerd :D

this song always gives me goosebumps, such raw emotions, both in the instrumental and in emi evans' amazing vocals. with nier songs, i always like to think what the lyrics could mean, and with grandma i hear kaine's struggle to keep living in a cruel world, and the piano almost feels like a response from the memories of her grandma, it's so repetitive like a constant in kaine's life to guide her. amazing video as always!!

Incredible video! Great analysis and fantastic use of diagrams and other aids to convey ideas. I'm glad you decided on such an amazing track.

Wow, thank you so much for delving into this wonderful piece. It's such a simple but heart wrenching melody I never got tired of. I have no knowledge of music so I'm so happy to listen to your explanation of the song and learn more about one of the best songs in the series.

Thank you for making all these music analyst videos it's all been fantastic and fascinating to watch and listen to. So thank you :)

Wow ! Amazing video ! The chapter on attack velocity made me think about two lesser known versions of this song. They are not in the game(s), but come from two albums that were released by Square Enix after the original NieR. So it's "official". The first one is from an album called "Piano Collection", and it's exactly what the title implies : piano arrangements of the original soundtrack (they also published the music sheets). This version of "Grandma" has a more melancholic, blues/jazz/impressionist feel to it. It begins much like the original, but then in the middle it shifts in tone, almost like the piano artist was going on an improv. In the same album, the reinterpretation of "Gods bound by rules" is also very good, with brutalist vibes. Unfortunately the one from "Shadowlord" is too close from the original one to be of much interest. The second one is from an tribute album called "Echo", it contain remix of the track by a variety of different artistes. This version of "Grandma" was reworked by Schroeder-Headz and has a 4 hands piano part and two singers. It also use effects marginally, like a slight reverb and echo to add texture. I think there is a post minimalist influence with the constant repeat of certain motifs. It’s my personal favorite version. These versions are so good and no one ever talks about them ! I highly suggest you give it a listen. Edit : Regarding credit, I've found the pages for these albums in the french "drakengard.fandom.com/fr" wiki (these pages don't seem to exist in the english version). The name of all composer, arrangers and interpreters are detailed for each track (but as you say in the video, citation needed). Piano collection version : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-po3_QwLr0r0.html Echo album version : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-akbj5Zc2kV8.html

Your video helped me so much to understand why i get so emotive when I hear this composition, sl thanks a lot, i like it even more now. I sincerely think you should do more videos like that, i'm not versed in music grammar but it's passionating to listen to you explaining it

Fantastic video. Just found your channel earlier and I'm super excited to explore the rest of your videos. Keep up the awesome work! I've attended the orchestral concert before so hearing this sort of take on it just adds a whole other level to this already incredible soundtrack.

Thank you for this deep dive. I have an even greater appreciation for this piece now.

I really love how you dissected and explained everything accurately. Thank you Jonathan keep up the great workt!

This is such a well-done dissection of a beautiful piece of music. Thank you for doing this, and please do more NieR music!

I love these deep dives into songs and music theory ^.^ good job once again!

Bro, thanks for your video, Grandma is my favourite music off all time, and your explication about the music and the arrangement is so perfect, thanks for this.

Man this really came as a surprise to me. After watching your Shadowlord video not too long ago I was seriously floored. Glad to see that this might be a regular thing! Thank you for your videos and your passion is just infectious!

This channel should be far more popular, thanks for much for these amazing videos!

Grandma is here, but not really because Nier. You really articulate everything well and give some serious thought into the whole why a track makes us feel something. I love the little bits of humor you leave around, which is what was left of the Aerie after our heroes saved the day :) I feel like I could get into a conversation about the performance practice and emphasizing certain things. It's not exactly my specialty per say but I do apply it in orchestra and some solos when I happen to play them. Congrats on the sponsor!

15:10 wow I never even thought about opera consciously, but I think unconsciously that's what lends so much to the weight of this piece. The opera-like vocals with a more soft, intimate tone and performance rather than belting lungs really adds a lot to the raw emotion of this song. I love how you're able to give voice to things I've totally thought myself regarding these songs or voice things I felt on an unconscious level but, when put to words, totally make sense to me! Keep doing what you're doing!

Found this vid unintentionally, but man, you really give great explanation for music in a way that just OST enthusiast like me enjoy. Your thorough explanation with a perfect mix between music theory and poetic expression. Knowledgable yet entertain. Great work man!

Subscribed, loved this track for years

Your videos are so mindblowing and amazing. Seriously keep up the good work

have never seen your channel before, just a few minutes in and already slammed the subscribe button, can't say i've ever done that before

Great video, thanks for making it. I've always wanted to better understand game composition and this video was exactly what I was looking for: detailed and insightful.

This is the first video I’m watching from your channel and I’m genuinely so impressed. Everything was explained so simply and you went straight to the point without skipping the important details and I really love that about your way of narrating your videos. As a huge Keiichi Okabe fan but also someone who’s very lazy when it comes to research, I really appreciate how you took the time to credit every artist and put the spotlight on each one during the parts they worked on. You’ve earned a new sub and I can’t wait to watch the content you produce ✨

John, this is an incredible analysis of the Grandma track. The OST in the Nier games always been a strong favorite for me but you've showed me so much I didn't understand fully. Thank you for this video, may the next project you work on go well :D

Listening to you explain the piece and give words to what it's doing made me relive what I felt hearing this piece ingame for the first time. Thank you - this is absolutely amazing!

i had to wait all day until classes were done but it was so worth it! your videos are always so good and this one is too. I've always thought that the piano and voice in this were soooo expressive with the dynamics and tone and everything, the piano line especially sounds "desperate" to me, like it's pushing forward. finding out why it sounds that way was really cool! also the visual aids showing the time signatures and emi's robato were so so so helpful, thank you for them I've listened to the chaos language soundtracks so many times trying to figure out the lyrics and timing and all that, but Grandma was the one that I could never get to sound right. the "human voice" section gave me an answer for this, and I think it would be better to try and find my own style! again, thank you for such a good video!!!

Thank you for this incredibly detailed analysis of the song that not only got me into nier well over a decade ago, but completely changed my musical tastes. I was so surprised that you have so little subscribers. Grossly underrated.

That was awesome! I think I'll never hear this piece the same way.... And also, nice edits! Good work dude! 👍👍

When I first heard this playing the original Gestalt version, I immediately put it in my favorites.

Gorgeous. Stunning. I don’t know much about music but your videos are always so easy to follow along with that I feel like I learn a whole college coarse load about it with each one. I adore Nier and have been listening to its music for years. It’s clear even to someone music illiterate like me that Nier’s OST is special, but thanks to you I can love and appreciate its tracks on all new levels. Thank you!

Hey, I found your channel and I just wanted to thank you. Your stuff is as lucid and enlightening as 8-bit Music Theory's, but it's a lot easier for a newb like me to understand. You explain everything well and really explain how some of my favourite game music of all time ticks. Thank you.

Great video and the animated graphs are really good, amazing production value here. Grandma is one of my favorites from Nier, but it depends on my mood, lately, I've been in a more "kainé from nier piano collections" kinda mood lol. Oh and also, the Grandma arrangement in those same piano collections is seriously amazing.

Awesome breakdown. In love with experiencing a touching piece through a new lens.

i never gave much thought on how much emotion these musicians invested in the tracks, i just enjoyed them, but this explanation really made me realise how much effort and musical sense it takes to create such a masterpiece.... i also cried at the end 😭

I am absolutely adoring these deep dive videos into what has to be one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. Now when I describe why a piece like Shadowlord is so fckn amazing, I feel like I have the extra in-depth musical knowledge to back it up! Thanks man.

I barely understand your videos since I know nothing about music, but I always watch them to the end. Keep up the good work

Another one I would love to hear from you about is Emil / Sacrifice. I just love how heart wrenching it is but also sounding a bit uplifting for a few moments.

Wow, what a great, elaborate video! I really really appreciate the effort you have put in this video. Definitely earned a lifetime subscriber! Keep up the brilliant work! ❤

One of my favourite pieces to listen to during winter for some reason. Both the new and the old versions give off interesting vibes. Thank you for your breakdown. Such an amazing soundtrack. And it has a freakin banger version in Automata too. I hope you will check out that one as well.

I honestly love this song so much. It has so much power to it, and Nier is such an influential game for me. Hell, I even played this piece for my high school school talent show/assembly.

I love these videos. Out of all of the nier analyses out there, I feel like this series is the only one that's not superficial. It's like I'm finally realising why I love this game so much.

Hey, thanks for this upload. Grandma gets overlooked so much for some reason, even though it probably rivals Song of the Ancients from a Lore perspective. Aside from Copied City from Automata, I've learned Grandma because the scene alone paints the necessary story required to fully understand this piece. If I can describe this piece with one word, it would definitely be Haunting. Great upload, absolutely nailed it.

Thank you for this video, I don't understand music but I loved this video. I came here when the video snow in summer came out and I am happy I did.

The piano on this composition is brilliant, but those strings sounds heavenly and adds so much more complicated emotions for me. Anyways, great content! Keep up the good work and stay healthy bro✌️

please do more of these on nier- oml im addicted

Awesome video as always !! I love the visuals you used here :)

Wonderful video as always, this is such a beautiful piece and its wonderful to hear you talk about it. That being said I think there is actually a fair bit going on with the the percussion parts so I'm gonna talk about that here: the instrumentation for the percussion is only snare and bass drum which is fairly normal, but the notable lack of any kind of symbols punctuation dramatic moments makes the percussion overall far more subdued and prevents it from infringing on the pensive atmosphere the song has produced thus far. the percussion section can be split into the same measures as the piano part, being in bars of 3/4 or 6/8. much like the piano part the percussion can (and likely will) be felt as both 3/4 (three groups of 2) and 6/8 (two groups of three) at different times and depending on what you focus on.(I will be talking about it as measures of 6/8 as that is the easiest to do through text) Both the snare and bass drums play on beats 1 and 2, but these are the only notes that the bass drum plays in the measure. Additionally the bass drum is the only instrument in the song that plays in the lower register of sound makes those beats sound far "fuller" than the rest of the measure. the percussion in this song is very simple but everything it does places rhythmic emphasis on the down beat of the measure. In most songs that would be a statement so obvious it's not even worth saying, but that changes when we take to vocals into account. As Johnathan said in the video, the vocals don't get split into the same measures as the piano and percussion. the percussion part then forces the listener the hear the rhythm of the song as following the piano and percussion AND NOT THE MAIN MELODY. This makes the vocals "out of time" in an incredibly literal way that I feel is meant to emphasis the fact that Kaine's grandmother is now just a memory.

I didn't know this was the sort of content I needed in my life. I was hoping you'd touch on Grandma (Destruction) here but I will gladly hope you get to it at a later date.

"...so even though major chords sound happy... obnoxiously so..." was way too relatable as someone who loves darker sounds lmao

As a passionate hobby composer myself I was blown away by the visualization you use in this video to explain the theory (which I only kinda understand). Incredibly well made and so much fun to dive into this beautiful piece of music. What a great video I just watched. Subscribed ❤

You earned a sub, this is incredible work.

Jonathan back at it with a banger breakdown

Thank you man,for giving insane nier content to this day ❤❤❤

I'm starting to like how you broke every NieR OST to pieces, explain how it works, why it works and point why this music enchance experience of the game. Just... Wow. I have so much more to see... Thank you. For all your work. You make me understand music, not only appreciate or feel it. And for this I'm really gratefull.

Fantastic analysis Jonathan, you deeply delved into the song from all the possibly meaningful dimensions, and actually brought out connecions I have never considered before (in general, not just this song)... Your work is inspiring! Nier's OST's deserve all the praise they get and maybe more, the whole game is a timeless piece of art, and this OST will defenetly be seen as we view the great works of classical music or jazz decades from now Ps: this is a total shot in the dark, but I feel that the software you used (which you made a brilliant use of) for the visualisations is handmade, am I onto something with this lead?

I think one thing that absolutely stands out to me here, in part due to your excellent video, is just how much I enjoy the haunting simplicity of the track and many other Nier and Drakengard pieces. I felt quite disappointed in a lot of the orchestral remixes done for the Replicant remake, and though many didn't agree with me, I always found myself preferring the original tracks. Something about the new instrumentals and added instruments in the new/updated songs always felt so.. "busy" to me, as if the new instruments were vying hard for the attention that the existing instrumentation already sold me on. That, and just making the compositions louder when some of my favorite tracks in gestalt's OST were the soft and haunting or chill tracks. The last segment where you showed the example from 2021's Grandma made me feel similarly, though it isn't nearly as intrusive as I think the remixed Song of the Ancients (Fate) was. Or maybe that's just me having listened to 2010's ost for over a decade... lmao This was an excellent and thoughtful video, though. I'm very glad to have watched it when it popped in the algorithm for me. Thank you for making it!

This song had always been my favorite out of the entire series I‘m happy to see someone breaking down its brilliance, because I feel like it tends to be overshadowed by the more popular songs. And like the Automata version is such a BANGER Just a masterpiece of a song.

Amazing video as always, awesome track. The sheer amount of work you put in these videos is crazy. I usually don't comment often on videos but you're way too underrated as a content creator for me to not give you the support you deserve! I'll do so as long as you love making those videos, I wouldn't want you to push yourself just for the sake of content. Love NieR (indeed, I too love to suffer), love music and love your content.

I love listening to this soundtrack and I love this video.

You really changed my view on Nier OST. Incredible analysis,

Solid video!!!

LETS GOOOOOOOOO. This song inspired me to get back into piano a few years ago now

This is really high quality analysis. Well done!

I legitimately squealed seeing this on my notifications and I'm mad that I won't be able to watch this video until after work (because I needed to be out of the house ten minutes ago). So excited to watch this though. I know it's gonna be a good one. Thanks for your hard work, Jonathan! God bless you! :) EDIT #1: OMG! Your first sponsor!!! This is so exciting!!! Congratulations!!! And yes I have chosen to watch the video now rather than get my butt to work. It's fine. I choose my own schedule anyway. EDIT #2: These videos are always a treat. It's especially nice hearing the contrast of instrumentation between the two versions of the song. 2021 Grandma is more orchestral and truly has some of the most gorgeous violin work, but it's hard to hear that with the vocals on top of it, which is why I prefer the original version. There's something about the more militaristic beat that gives off the vibe of a funeral march. 2021 Grandma showcases more of the despair Kainé feels but for whatever reason the 2021 Version of Grandma feels like it has more fluff in it than it should for me. The simplicity of the piece is what makes it so memorable and haunting. Grief isn't necessarily a loud emotion. It can be, but oftentimes it's a quieter sense of misery. It's an emotion full of loneliness more than anything else. The militaristic march creates the sense that Kainé is moving forward despite not having a real desire to do so. The early stages of grief can feel like that, especially if that person you lost was someone who gave you the strength to keep going. Finding that strength on your own can be extremely painful. One version of Grandma captures the quiet depression while the other captures the loud and ever-present pain... And I have got to stop writing essays in my comments. XD lol Anyway, great video! God bless you!

Even if I don't know squat about music theory or singing, I love these video analysis of the music of Nier :)

Your vids are pretty well done, and I like how you explain the unclear source about granma being the prologue music. That authenticity is good, thanks for being a quality creator. Anybody else would've flown right over that detail. Shows you did your research and give a shit if it's accurate. You should collab with BrandoSP or something if he's cool and down I just saw the bit at 14:51. This is really cool, I haven't seen somebody do whatever that vocal vibrator thing is. That's cool and you need more subs. No I haven't even finished the vid yet before typing this.

Man I’ve cried so many times to grandma. I heard so many ver of it became my top 3 all time

I like how the musicians shared parts of songs between them just for complement it, like those strings at the end, they seems like part of Ashes of Dreams

in love with the nier soundtrack all over again

Thank you for making these videos, I for one learned a lot got familiar with things because of you. Also, we do like to suffere here.

YES another NieR video. I am loving these videos, seriously look forward to them. Hoping for a Gods Bound by Rules (my fave track hahaha).

I'd never noticed the vocal melody appearing as guitar in song of the ancients but funnily enough I nearly always find myself singing the song of the ancients chorus along to grandma

It was also my favorite piece, I think it's because it's simple and catchy, the piano is playing alone for some time and beautifully introduces the vocals which are also rather simple for a new listener. There was this RU-vid video of some orchestra pianist back in 2011 iirc who said he played some video game during the summer and one track caught his attention and then went on to play Grandma for the audience, there's really something catchy and easy to grasp about it.

Another banger my man I'm still waiting for The Ultimate Weapon vid

7:45 holy shit! no wonder i keep on humming Grandma's melody while listening to Song of the Ancient!

how/why is your editing so good? great video as always

DAMN DUDE YOU ROCK IT ONCE AGAIN

Very compelling and just gorgeous. Immediately brought me into the scene you described. If I can offer unsolicited advice, the piano runs toward the end would sound more natural if they had slight accents on each down beat, or other points of rhythmic emphasis you prefer. A bit of randomization on the quantizing would help too. When the velocity of each note is too similar in fast runs, it starts sounding robotic very quickly. This is of course, just my opinion. Regardless, I think your piece is very effective. Great work.

I don't know a yota about music sheets, I just clicked on this video because.... Nier, but still even I understood some stuff you explained here, probably not all (since I steel need to at least know the notes). I liked how you emphasised the the parts that need attention, even I felt like the author wanted to guide us somewhere. thank you, It's not everyday I finish a music based video attention