21 replies to this topic

[Hecksa]

So, I couldn't stop myself seeing what was possible with the notes we were given for bell choir. Turns out, since we got a dorian scale, things get a little trickier. Billie Jean is about the only well known song around that is written in the dorian mode. So, I pulled out a piano arrangement, adapted it to fit for handbells, stripped out all the notes that the Bell Choir can't play, and then started work.

Thanks to Arenanet for the awesome minigame that made this possible. Next time, maybe we can get a few more notes? Just throwing it out there...

Edited by Hecksa, 22 December 2012 - 05:34 AM.

[atreoo]

Good Stuff. Pretty creative.

[The Shadow]

This video is epic.

I agree though, Dorian is an odd choice imo.

Would be cool if you could decide, upon initiating the bell-choir, which mode/ scale as well as key you want to be in. Maybe even have access to a somewhat musical in-game metronome. But then I guess it becomes slightly less accessible to the people of GW2 who don't study music.

[RaoulDukeHST]

you should get a dredge tonic and walk backwards,it looks like you're moonwalking

[Proxenos]

Very good video! Good music, good imagery, good presentation! 9/10 is my vote!

[Senatic]

Shame about the annoying sound it makes when u hit a note. Very well put together! *applause*

[Red Omen]

Well, the Guild Wars theme is in Dorian, as is Fear Not This Night. In fact, a lot of Jeremy Soule's tracks are either in Dorian or strongly imply it (like the Skyrim theme). Makes sense given the tunes they gave us to play.

Eleanor Rigby's also in Dorian, by the way. Get to it.

[HurricaneMP]

That is pure Awesome! great work there.

[XgreatArtist]

thank god they didnt put lydian mode. Cant stand that. Dorian mode sounds alright to me though.

Great video. That must have took a long time.

does anet knows about this? If not, they should post this on their fb page as recommendations. i think jeremy soule might applaud too.

Edited by XgreatArtist, 22 December 2012 - 12:56 PM.

[The Shadow]

Red Omen, on 22 December 2012 - 10:20 AM, said:

Well, the Guild Wars theme is in Dorian, as is Fear Not This Night. In fact, a lot of Jeremy Soule's tracks are either in Dorian or strongly imply it (like the Skyrim theme). Makes sense given the tunes they gave us to play.

Eleanor Rigby's also in Dorian, by the way. Get to it.

Well yes, but seeing as modes are just varying degrees of the major scale (Ionian) I find it odd they did it the way they did.

XgreatArtist, on 22 December 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

thank god they didnt put lydian mode. Cant stand that. Dorian mode sounds alright to me though.

Great video. That must have took a long time.

does anet knows about this? If not, they should post this on their fb page as recommendations. i think jeremy soule might applaud too.

Hey! Lydian is the main mode used in jazz!

[Starmage]

Love this, thanks for the efforts!

[Hecksa]

Red Omen, on 22 December 2012 - 10:20 AM, said:

Well, the Guild Wars theme is in Dorian, as is Fear Not This Night. In fact, a lot of Jeremy Soule's tracks are either in Dorian or strongly imply it (like the Skyrim theme). Makes sense given the tunes they gave us to play.

Eleanor Rigby's also in Dorian, by the way. Get to it.

Yeah, I realise why they did it, and that's cool...I just would have liked a few extra notes really! My original plan was to do a medley of a few songs by autotuning the bells to get all the accidentals and such that I wanted, but...that felt like cheating, so I stuck with what was available.

Yes, yes it is. I've had tonnes of "This song is in Dorian too, go make it!" suggestions, I'll be set up for months! I would like to do more in the future, but I don't have immediate plans to, since I've got Uni revision to contend with for now.

XgreatArtist, on 22 December 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

thank god they didnt put lydian mode. Cant stand that. Dorian mode sounds alright to me though.

Great video. That must have took a long time.

does anet knows about this? If not, they should post this on their fb page as recommendations. i think jeremy soule might applaud too.

The person at Arenanet that's responsible for the minigame commented on my Reddit thread, so someone there knows at least. Was nice to get recognition from them.

It'd be unreal if Jeremy Soule heard it, but I'm not holding my breath. It's not all that complicated musically speaking anyway, it's more of a feat of recording and video editing than musicality, imo.

[Moorecore]

This is great!

[BuddhaKeks]

Cool stuff.

I had a hard time with that minigame, as I'm completly nonmusical, I can't even play a simple melody if some teaches me exactly how to do it. Still since the game is more about pressing the right button in the right time, I could get my achievements fairly quickly. Good thinking Anet.

[ShezuTsukai]

Dorian is a great mode because it is not quit minor or aeolian thus giving it that exotic feel.

@ OP Great catch on the mode and making the video. That must have taken some serious edit time.

Oh and jazz uses a lot of Lydian but the jazz scale is not Lydian and short one note from a traditional Western European mode.

[The Shadow]

ShezuTsukai, on 22 December 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Dorian is a great mode because it is not quit minor or aeolian thus giving it that exotic feel.

@ OP Great catch on the mode and making the video. That must have taken some serious edit time.

Oh and jazz uses a lot of Lydian but the jazz scale is not Lydian and short one note from a traditional Western European mode.

Aeolian is natural minor.

Only difference between Dorian and Aeolian is a flat 6.

Dorian is generally considered a minor mode.

All the modes sound 'exotic', in comparison to the Major scale, I thought that was the point behind them. Some sound darker and brighter than others though. Phyrgian sound particularly Egyptian and evil imo.

Jazz scale is essentially Lydian mode as there is no other mode (that I'm aware of at-least) that has a sharp 5 and 6. Also, Lydian is the only "sharp" mode. So unless there's another mode I don't know of yet or we're talking about en-harmonic equivalents of another mode I really don't know what else it could be. Arguably could be a mixture of harmonic-minor and Lydian with the addition of a sharp 5. Either way, I'm not familiar with the traditional Western European mode, fill me in?

It's an interesting subject and I'm a music student at University, so I always appreciate the opportunity to lean a bit more about modes

[Red Omen]

General rule: the more lowered scale degrees, the darker it sounds. They have a tendency to pull melodic motion down to the tonic. It's part of the reason we raise the sixth and seventh scale degrees in melodic minor - we keep the strength of ti-do and eliminate the augmented second between le and ti, but raised scale degrees also signify upward motion in voice leading.

Lydian mode is just major with a raised fourth. What you're describing, I think, is the whole-tone scale. Not all scales can be described in terms of church modes, particularly not hexatonic ones like whole-tone (modes are heptatonic).

Edited by Red Omen, 22 December 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[Keepy]

wooow!!! Im dying of cuteness right now, awesome!  *___*

[SpiralCee]

Absolutely amazing!!  High-fives and headbutts to you.

[Gilles VI]

I don't understand a single thing about all these posts about music modes and what not, but @ OP, epic clip really!

[KrakenAZ]

Well done, but:

Quote

Next time, maybe we can get a few more notes? Just throwing it out there...

The bell choire isn't about musical talent, it's about hand-eye coordination.  The freestyle mode is just a bonus for those of you who actually have musical talent.  Each note you added would make it multiplicatively harder until very few could have a chance of doing it.

[Hecksa]

KrakenAZ, on 23 December 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

The bell choire isn't about musical talent, it's about hand-eye coordination.  The freestyle mode is just a bonus for those of you who actually have musical talent.  Each note you added would make it multiplicatively harder until very few could have a chance of doing it.

Of course the game shouldn't be made too hard. But adding more notes or instruments doesn't have to make things harder at all; it's not difficult to imagine ways of adding them that don't affect the actual minigame.