"Dramatic Look" Piano

Channel:

Video Game Pianist

Subscribers:

103,000

Published on June 12, 2013 6:00:46 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lxmGXecuVM

Duration: 0:29

16,534 views

247

I play the "Dramatic Look" Theme. The theme is an excerpt from music composed by John Morris for the movie "Young Frankenstein." Also, special thanks to Mozart, Rachmaninov, and Paganini!

View the "Dramatic Look" video here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40

Let's identify the elements that make the "Dramatic Look" theme dramatic! There are only three chords, but there is a lot of meaning in those three chords! There seems to be an intended V to I cadence that is thwarted by the sudden modal change from major to minor. The implied V to I cadence is implied with the G# leading tone in the second chord.

The listener expects the G# to resolve upwards to the A and for the third chord to be A major or minor. However, instead the G# shockingly reverses direction and resolves downards to e minor! It turns out that the G# in the E major chord was only an upwards chromatic neighbor tone to e minor! In this context, the chord progression seems to be IV to I! A IV to I progression usually signifies peace and is known as the "a-men" cadence. However, in this instance the IV to I cadence sounds anything but peaceful.

I was planning to actually resolve the chord to a minor and play "I will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. However, in the end I decided to transition from a Mozart to Rachmaninov texture in 30 seconds. The touches required to play Mozart and Rachmaninov are very contrasting.
Mozart Sonata in C Major, K. 545, first movement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD59nW...
Rachmaninov Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtuMVB...

Video Game Pianist official site: http://www.videogamepianist.com