Vader's Redemption: The Imperial March in a Major Key

Muted Vocal · 3.6M views · 2015-11-20 · 3:03

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Overview

A complete rendition of John Williams' Imperial March rearranged in a major key. The change turns Vader's menacing theme into something triumphant.

On Hacker News

Used as a counter-example in music theory discussions to show how mode changes a melody's mood.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2020–2024

Topics

Music performance & songs Music theory, synthesis & production

What people said

Kye · 2024-07 · Reference
The canonical video on the subject: [LINK] Some people will naively say "All music has pentatonic! Universal!" but ignore vital cultural context. One example in the video is ragas: they can look a lot like Western scales and modes, but they have a time and context. Western music also has a time and context, but it doesn't stand out as much to us unless someone goes full ham breaking that context like with the Imperial March in a Major mode: [VIDEO] It changes the mood from "this is the bad guys!" to something more positive and triumphant.
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082349872349872 · 2020-10 · Joke / meme
For those who suspect HN may have been infested by Rebel shills and their fake news: [VIDEO] Anyone know where I can find the drawing of the stormtrooper in a locker room, complete with I M P E R I A L knuckle tats? I'm doing my part!
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dragontamer · 2020-02 · Reference
Though you asked for an example... but maybe its best to show a counter-example instead? Here's the Imperial Death March played in a Major-scale, instead of a minor scale. [VIDEO] If everything was in an 8-note (no accidental, transpositions only) measure, they'd sound like "Vader's redemption". To sound sad, you MUST shift to a minor key. A minor key has sharps and flats to create tension. Any "sad sounding" song cannot be properly played in a major key.
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Sources

Video by Muted Vocal, played through YouTube.

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