tn-shi - Synthesis. explained (Visualizer & Composition Breakdown/Analysis)
If you liked watching/listening to tn-shi - Synthesis. but didn’t understand what the hell was going on in the music video… or have always wanted to learn more about music, but never knew how or where to start… this video is for you!
I almost didn't want to upload this thing because it's so scuffed and the production is so jank and the camera keeps crashing and I ramble a lot. But I'm determined not to let my past self's suffering go to waste. And it's not like a ton of people are going to see this video anyway. So I'm uploading it.
Here's Synthesis: • tn-shi - Synthesis.
Here's my music analysis playlist with more analyses of cool songs on the way: • Music Analysis
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Chapters, Parts, Timestamps
0:00 - Begin
0:27 - Intro (I’m so sick and tired)
1:57 - Musician breaks down tn-shi - Synthesis. + prereqs
4:16 - Deep dive beginning; square waves, reverb + delay, the motif
8:08 - The two equations in the bottom left; the wave nature of sound, A440, tuning, tempo
19:19 - The top left; 4:3 polyrhythm breakdown, reading + writing + counting rhythms
36:51 - The center; scale degrees tracing out the bassline
42:32 - The motif reappears. Motif counter
43:52 - Editor’s note: Synthesis chapter names
49:42 - The center; fractions of quarter notes, dissecting and transcribing a rhythm with dotted and tied notes
1:03:50 - Editor’s note: what makes a good rhythmic transcription?
1:08:16 - This motif is omnipresent.
1:08:54 - The bottom; notes C-B
1:09:11 - The right side; the tune’s sound waveform, sound is air compression as a function of time
1:12:28 - The left side; the frequency spectrum, performing a Fourier transform on a complex sound signal
1:19:07 - Moving on…
1:19:49 - A super-brief introduction to jazz chords and jazz harmony; 7th chords, extensions, alterations, what the hell is a BbMaj9(#11)?
1:29:29 - Toby Fox commonly writes melodies like this
1:31:19 - Modulations before Synthesis.dimension()
1:32:06 - Synthesis.dimension() 🔥
1:33:38 - The synth solo; portamento, monophony, the ubiquity of the minor pentatonic scale
1:35:51 - “there’s legit nothing to analyze here”
1:36:03 - Editor’s note: the ever-changing snare + the typical snare sounds of various EDM genres
1:43:53 - Any osu’ers? + terminus
1:44:27 - I’m almost out of beer
1:44:36 - Extra thoughts + s/o to Cooly + the role of “music theory” in creating music (I’m really sick and tired) + FINISH!!!!!!!!
Recommended Reading #1: Andrew Huang - Learn music theory in half an hour. • Learn music theory in half an hour.
Recommended Reading #2: TED-Ed - How to read music. • How to read music - Tim Hansen
In this video I offer an introduction to a bunch of Western classical/tonal & jazz music theory and sound design/production concepts using tn-shi’s Synthesis. as a source of material, while hilariously deathly ill, severely jetlagged, and slightly intoxicated. Hopefully you learn something from this video, and more importantly, hopefully this video gets you interested in learning more about music in general.
You might be thinking that this video kinda came out of nowhere. Yeah, it did. I was doing fine all winter, and then I got super duper sick. And I had the idea to make this video a month ago, so I figured I'd just make it right then and there. I find that I have to work on something to pass the time and distract my brain when I'm sick and feeling horrible. So that's why I made this video.
If you feel like I'm talking too slowly, or that I ramble too much, try watching at 1.5x or 2x speed. Worked for me.
2024-08-01 update: Here's the write-up on polyrhythms and polymeters I made for @laughinginthe90s. If you're unsure about what a polyrhythm is vs. what a polymeter is, or want to hear more examples of polyrhythms and polymeters, or want to see tn-shi's tweet about how Synthesis. uses a polyrhythm (lol) click the link below.
https://raidsrc.notion.site/Explanati...