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Dramatic countdown music8/23/2023 ![]() Modulating to different keys can sound natural or they can sound dramatic, and this one is definitely dramatic. ![]() The horns play an Eb chord again over the static A in the bass at the end of the phrase (a tritone away), and the music modulates into G minor. This keeps the music in the key of A minor, but the chords get progressively brighter and darker. Measures 5-12 feature a chord progression over a pedal bass (meaning the bass note doesn’t change). The chord resolves in the next measure to a slightly less jarring chord. The piece opens with an A minor/major 7 chord, which is rarely used because of how dissonant, or ugly sounding the chord is. The harmony is very dark throughout the piece, and it constantly shifts around to keep listeners from feeling comfortable. By using tritones in the melody, Everhart adds a nice “edge” to the music, making it more memorable. While it can sound very dark and dissonant, it can also sound super bright or magical depending how it’s used. ![]() However, Nelson Everhart also uses tritones frequently, which is often called the “devil’s interval” and can sound very harsh. The melody itself features many jumps of a fourth or fifth, which are called perfect intervals, and sound very strong. There are also darker parts of the melody played by violin and low brass to contrast the heroic parts. Everhart gives most of the melody to trumpet and French horn, both brass instruments which are often used in heroic segments of film scores or other pieces of music. This might represent our wizard trying to stop Malistaire, or maybe to reflect how mighty the people of Dragonspyre once were. In Dragonspyre Opus 1, the melody is very heroic throughout most of the piece. Those with some musical experience will be able to understand it more easily, but don’t let that scare you away if you don’t! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or tweet either or Melody Warning: the following portion of the article will contain some musical terms. There are three main aspects of music: melody (what you can usually hum or sing out loud), harmony (the chords underneath the melody that help determine where the music wants to go and how bright or dark it sounds), and rhythm (how long or short notes and what kind of pattern they’re in). After looking over the sheet music, and listening to the piece multiple times, I believe I can explain how Everhart was able to evoke the high stakes and the story into this piece. In case you missed it, Everhart recently uploaded the sheet music to Dragonspyre: Opus 1 on his website here, which basically acts as an introduction, or overture, to the final world of the first arc (If you haven’t listened to the piece before or don’t know which song it is from the soundtrack, here’s a link). But how exactly does Nelson Everhart capture that feeling in his music? The music you hear while trudging through the streets of Dragonspyre perfectly captures the rising circumstances and the feeling that time is running out to stop Malistaire. The final world of Arc 1, Dragonspyre, called for a more serious and dark tone, and Everhart didn’t step away from the challenge. The stakes don’t begin very high, but the story gradually gets darker. The main quest takes you through Wizard City, then Krokotopia, Marleybone, and Mooshu. From Wizard City’s magical setting to Mooshu’s exotic scenery, Nelson Everhart, the major composer for Wizard101 and Pirate101, evokes the heart of every world in his music. The soundtrack of Wizard101 does a great job of matching each world and making the game really come to life. It can add to the environment, make you feel a certain emotion, or add to the overall experience. ![]() Football players wear patches on their uniforms.Music is a very important part of any video game. Kind of like the missing man formation in a military flyover. Sometimes I run with ludicrous thoughts so what if they left the #1 video open like athletes sometimes do if a teammate passes away? Announce that taking the top spot is Jason Aldean with “Try That In A Small Town” but due to decisions above our pay grade, we will not be showing the video. CMT pulled the music video so it will not air at all on CMT. What is a producer supposed to do when the #1 video in the country has been dropped entirely from the channel? Yes, that’s right. I don’t know if it’s the elephant in the production room up there in Nashville, but everywhere else in the country knows that Jason Aldean has the most-watched video in country music. They’re responsible for putting together an entertaining show with the best country music has to offer, and they’re good at their jobs. Some of my best friends came from my time at CMT so as the drama has unfolded with Jason Aldean, I think about my friends working on Hot 20 Countdown.
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