An investigation into the use of compositional techniques in three selected pieces by Nobuo Uematsu: Aerith’s Theme, Final Fantasy VII Main Theme, and One Winged Angel, to determine how the composer portrays a person, a place, or an event within the music.
Nobuo Uematsu left Square Enix, as they are now called, after Final Fantasy XI in 2004 since he disagreed with the companies new location. He then produced music as a freelance composer for a few years, most notably is the group of his called The Black Mages who play metal fusion versions of his Final Fantasy compositions. However, he has been signed onto the Final Fantasy team once again in Final Fantasy XIV. I listened to one of his new songs from Final Fantasy XIV in a live concert in Sydney and it carries on his style very well. I also used the concert to help me with determining the instrumentation of Aerith's Theme and One Winged Angel. Nobuo Uematsu has had a long and successful career as a composer, and has many more successes to come. Since he has a unique style that is clearly distinguishable by ear to most people, it will be an obvious comeback when he does, since I am sure that he will produce another fan favourite. The unique way he composes, melody first, attributes to his flexible harmonies and catchy melodies, as well as his ability to capture the necessary emotion or theme. These pieces display his ability to mix these elements and to move the audience to feel connected to the game they were playing. That is essentially what you would hope to find in a video game composer after all.
This is the final boss battle music, which reflects the ominous, threatening, and theatrical last confrontation with the infamous Sephiroth. Sephiroth is a descendant of the Cetra, an ancient race attuned to the planet, and a race that Sephiroth believes is far superior to humans. Thus he wanted to literally become a god and destroy the world. He was going to do this by utilizing the power of the planet to summon a meteor to destroy all of human kind. The song reflects the archaic, religious overtones by using Latin lyrics and simple repeated singing and lyrics. Oddly enough, the lyrics are borrowed from the same medieval poetry as Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and the beginning is apparently inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze. Nobuo Uematsu has said in interviews that he has always thought of this song as a rock song rather than a choral and orchestra piece, and that reflects in some of the loud and aggressive ways that the violins play and the strong beat that it has. It was later adapted into a rock song by Nobuo Uematsu’s band, The Black Mages, who played progressive rock versions of his Final Fantasy compositions. The version I will deconstruct will be the original choral and orchestra version.
Nobuo Uematsu instils a very strong fear and sense of danger through the music; playing off of the finality of this event and the plot line leading up to it; he must convey this fear and threat in the most theatrical way possible. This is achieved by establishing and maintaining several musical ideas such as diminished intervals, extreme dynamics, and the use of extreme ranges as well. The structure of this piece is not unlike a rock opera tune, which would have theatrical instrumentals (sections A, D, E, & F), a catchy chorus (Section B), and verses (Section C) and a bridge (Section G).
Section A Part 1, Bars 1-25
Section A Part 2, Bars 26 - 35
It starts with a diminished fifth interval crotches being pounded out by the orchestra in a lower register (bars 1-2) invoking feelings of marching, followed by a clarinet using melodic minor like melody ideas and the very high violin (bars 3-4). This introduction is meant to invoke fear, for example, high violin parts are used in many horror and suspense scenes, and the dissonance keeps the listener on edge. The flatted fifth throughout the first section (bars 1-2, 5-6, 9, 12-14, 19-25) adds dissonance along with a lot of chromatic movement (such as bars 7-8, 11-14, 16, & 21-23), and modulations to the relative major (like the D sharps in bars 3-4, 8, 11-12, & 16-21). The minim chords that are played before the singing build tension by changing the key a step down and adding a peddle bass that conflicts more and more with the chords used while climbing in pitch. Examples are the C sharp in bar 30, and the C flat major chord in bar 35.
Section B, Bars 36 - 51
The vocals then come in at bar 36, taking borrowed chords from F minor singing very simple archaic rhythms on the beat using crotchets and quavers. When they sing “Sephiroth” (bars 40, 42, 48, & 50) the vocals are fifths apart and fortissimo for a declarative effect. The bass uses a lot of pedal bass, with some modulation to the parallel minor (bars 37, 39-40, 42). The lyrics in this section were taken from Estuans interius, taking the first two lines of the song and repeating them. It literally translates to "Burning inside with violent anger, burning inside with violent anger. Sephiroth!"
Section C, Bars 52-59
This next section has a G flat in it, which is borrowed from A flat minor, located directly across the circle of fifths from D minor. It's used to create an unfinished feel in bars 53 & 56 so that the listener would be kept on edge. The entire section is using a borrowed chord from F minor, the parallel minor of the relative major of D minor, and uses peddle bass, except it alternates octaves instead of staying constant. The lyrics, borrowed from Carl Orff's most famous piece, O Fortuna, say "Sors immanis / et inanis" or translated, "Fate - monstrous / and empty".
Section B1, Bars 60-67
This section is exactly the same as section B except for the instrumental fills in between the vocal lines. At bars 64-65, the fill features a syncopated rhythm, pointing towards the song's rock roots. In bar 67, the bass line segues to the key change with a chromatic, walking bass line.
Section D, Bars 67-79
After repeating the B section, it changes keys back to E minor with occasional use of the flatted fifth (bars 69 & 75), and soon uses chromatic movement with parallel movement a major sixth apart (bar 70-73 & 76-77). This chromatic movement can also be described as modulation to E major that uses borrowed chords from the dominant (bar 70 & 76 us A sharps). In bar 77, the chromatic movement goes up instead of down to create a lot of dissonance in bar 78 to carry onto the next section.
Section E, Bars 80-91
In section E, the horns backed up by low strings use a quick quaver and semi-quaver rhythm that alternates between the IV7 – i, causing chromatic movement and tension between the B flat and B natural. Also, the C sharp in bars 82, and 86, borrowed from E major, causes tension with it's chromatic movement. Suddenly, in bar 88, the horns blast out with fortissimo parallel major sixth quavers, that mirrors the proclamation of "Sephiroth!" made by the choir in section B. The triplets create suspense and also harbour chromatic movement in bar 88-89 & 91.
Section F, Bars 92-102
It bursts into a flute playing a quick quaver and semi-quaver melody in the key of E minor, backed up by strings using the C sharp like in section E. The meter changes to 6/8 with the horns taking the melody with chord movements like the ones in Section A part two. The flute melody repeats again except this time, the horns take the melody to forte with a loud crotchet and triplet rhythm, with forte-piano dynamics on the semi-breves. In bar 102, the horns crescendo to a loud fortissimo.
Section G, Bars 103-122
The choir and piano come in for a ominous, low register, chant like section. The bass singers and piano play in synchronous a chromatic bass line that is centred around D and the violins add a creepy horror element to it in bar 107. The sopranos and altos then start singing at bar 111 a counter melody, utilizing the C sharp motif. This crescendos with added vocal octaves and horns at bar 115 into a climax of the song where they repeat the “Sephiroth” chorus at bar 119. After the "Sephiroth" chorus, the song repeats back to Section B.
One Winged Angel is considered one of the best boss battle songs ever written in video game music, winning various gaming magazine awards and public opinion polls. It has made numerous comebacks in later video games involving Final Fantasy VII as different remakes of it. It's use of harmonic devices to convey the evil, fear, and danger of the final battle and will be engraved in fans' ears forever.
The setting of a video game is very important. In Final Fantasy VII’s Main Theme, it both creates an atmosphere for the Final Fantasy VII world, and acts as the theme of the video game by incorporating a lot of the musical aspects he includes in songs throughout the video game. Since the game first starts in the slums of a giant city, it has some depressing tones in it, but it also has majestic melodies that show how beautiful the world is. Since the company Shinra is draining “Mako energy” or “life stream” for energy, it has both the sadness of the depleting life energy of the planet and also the majestic nature of the Earth and life in general. However the power of the planet is very mysterious, and powerful, and thus there’s an ominous feel to the game, like something is always about to happen. This theme has to wrap all of that up and set the feel of the entire game in general since it’s the map music that you listen to all the time.
Bars 1-18
To capture the mood of the entire video game, Nobuo Uematsu took the highs and lows of the game and put it together in sections. He starts the theme like the game starts, in the impoverished slums of Midgar, so after outlining the motif melody (bars 1-3) he goes into a dark atonal section that utilizes the minor second to convey this. With slow minims and crotches and a slow crescendos, it emphasizes the minor chord movements disparaging feel. He ends the atonal section with a Lydian mode of the motif melody (bar 14-15) which then transfers to the B section in the key of E.
Bars 19-30
The motif melody contains a basic minims and crotchets rhythm, with a simple melody containing major thirds and perfect fourths and fifths for a majestic feel (bars 19-30) which portrays the games theme of "life" as a whole. The harmonies contribute by adding some modulation to the parallel minor (bars 22 & 29) and ending the phrase on the V like an imperfect cadence. The strings playing the melody with the horns as accompaniment (bars 29-30, not shown on score) make a quiet, peaceful, yet dramatic effect with the crescendo in to the more full repeated section.
Bars 31-42
This section (bars 31-42) has the same melody only an octave up, and a 2nd violin harmony and a more full backing section, the lower strings emphasizing beats 3 & 4 (bars 31-39, not shown on score). The dynamics are also fortissimo, varying with the contours of the melody.
Bars 43-58
The next section is quieter, reaching down to piano; the timbre changing with clarinet and marimba doubling the melody, and harp laying the chord progression of ii – I – IV – I in quaver arpeggios. The violins then take over the melody for a variation of the first eight bars of this section, playing a ii - I - IV - V7 progression instead. At bar 55, the violins crescendo and play a majestic variation of bar 47 and then transfers to the perfect cadence (bars 57-58) into the B1 section again.
Bars 61-81
The B1 section then changes keys to the parallel minor’s relative major, or from the key of E major to G major for the D section. Horns, crash cymbal, timpani and violins add to the exciting climax of the piece. the timpani plays important quavers (bars 62, 66, & 70) that accentuate the declarative nature of the climax. This bright sound lasts until a slow minim rhythm with a short quaver introduces a minor feel. However, Uematsu again modulates to the parallel minor of G and back to G with tight string section chords and some added arpeggios on the marimba at the end. A soft, eerie minor section with the string section is introduced, reflecting the games wayward, disturbing storyline.
Bars 82-99
During this section, he modulates to the dominant over the repeated bass line and harp, creating a lot of tension. This section reflects a lot of the evil that is encountered in the game by modulating to the major dominant like it does in various other pieces in the game. The soft crotchet rhythm and diminished chords (bars 85-87 & 94-95) give an eerie, almost supernatural feel to the section, which matches the strange supernatural events in this world.
Bar 100-114
He pretends to resolve this section with dramatic chord changes from C major to E major, which uses the chromatic mediant much like a romantic era piece. This raises the drama and tension greatly through a gradual crescendo; even though it's more pleasing to the ear than the previous diminished chords it still causes drama. The drama is defused when it moves to the V chord in bar 104. It resumes to a more quiet section, with some borrowed chords from B minor and other keys, making the chord progression from bars 108-111 look like vii˚7/V – iv(maj 7) – bVI – iv/vi using modulations from parallel minors and the dominant for a unique harmony.
The piece ends with a quiet string section with some chromatic movement in the chords and finally on a leading chord into the B section, where it plays for the final time on the recording.
The contrasting sections of the majestic and the eerie, shows the contrast of the game, illustrating the super-natural events of the game and the amazing, majestic scenes depicted throughout the game. It also reflects Nobuo Uematsu's themes he used in this game of modulating to the parallel minor and diminished harmonies. This with it's pronounced, very easy to remember motif, it sticks in the mind as a well written theme for a video game.
The theme song for a character in a video game is a crucial part to developing an emotional attachment to that character. The most prime example of this in the Final Fantasy series, or almost any video game released to date, is Aerith’s Theme. The character of Aerith is a symbol of purity, and freshness in the surrounding chaos and gritty world. A flower girl in the slums, and also one of the two descendants of the Cetra, an ancient race who were very in tune with the planet, she’s one of the love interests of the main protagonist as well. Aerith’s theme also comes up in many other songs in the series such as Flowers Blooming in the Church and during the ending scene.
Nobuo Uematsu develops this strong emotional attachment by describing the character through the music, in this case, he would have to convey purity and innocence in a bittersweet way. He does this by establishing a strong melody (bars 1-4) that is repeated in different variations through the piece and the timbre of the instruments used, such as violin, harp, piano, and flute, giving a soft flowing texture to the piece. The structure is simply divided into four sections A (bars 1-4 and bars 36-39), B (bars 5-10), C (bars 11-22), D (bars 23-31), and D1 (bars 32-35).
Bars 1-4
The simple beginning with the soft piano gives a sense of sensitivity and the simple crotchet and minim rhythm gives a sense of simplicity and purity. The I – v cadence (bars 1-4) is used to convey the bittersweet characteristic, the tonic to dominant movement being the sweet and the minor chord being the bitter. The melody starts at bar 1 with a few arpeggios and then a melody of quavers at closer intervals in bar 3 that finishes on the supertonic so it doesn’t resolve, growing slightly in dynamics with the swell of the melody.
Bars 5-10
The second section (bars 5-10) adds violins and brass for a full sound, playing a modified version of the previous melody with semiquavers. This one uses more parallel minor modulation in the harmony (bars 7-8), and more dynamic swells in it for a full orchestral effect. The smooth transitions are made with the addition of a moving bass and more instruments, creating a warmer tone and a majestic sound.
Bars 11-22
After the last note on the tonic (bars 9-10), it moves to the third section (bars 11-22) with a quieter clarinet solo, accompaniment on marimba and soft choral voices for an intimate sound. The texture is more thin but still with some body to it and the dynamics swelling and falling with the melodic contour. The rhythms have a lot more quaver and dotted minim combinations (bars 11-20), with harmonies that alternate between iii – IV and a much higher tension melody than previously causing a lot of anticipation.
Bars 23-31
It all builds up to have all of the orchestra stop except the violin and flute who play the first three leading notes (bar 22) into the climax where the whole orchestra comes in for a rich, thick texture and homophonic rhythms that are declarative crotchets and minims on the beat (bars 23-24). The texture turns thick with some movement of the tuba with a quick modulation to the dominant (bars 25-26) and the melody builds dramatic suspense with a perfect fourth jump up to the submediant (bar 25). Uematsu then repeats the three dramatic notes one more time before the ending, where he heightens the drama by making a perfect 5th jump up to the tonic (bar 29) and then playing the minor second chord (bar 30). The minor second replaces the major 5th found in the V – I cadence and thus he ends the dramatic section with a few quavers resolving on the I.
Bars 32-39
In the last section (bars 32-35), the flute plays a melody much like the one in the previous section while the rest of the orchestra drop back to just the strings for a thin texture in contrast to the thick section just before. A major dominant arpeggio leads into a reprise of the introductory piano part (bars 36-39), and thus the song repeats.
Through the entire piece, it pushes and pulls to evoke emotions, in dynamics, melody, harmony, texture; to stimulate the audience to be attached to what this song is attached to, this character. This song needs to be bittersweet however, because it’s also played right after the main antagonist kills the character permanently without warning. It is one of the most reproduced songs from the series, perhaps because of its memorable melody and orchestral sound. This scene and the song’s ability to capture people’s hearts made this song one of the most memorable songs from this video game and of Uematsu’s work.
This blog is an investigation into the use of compositional techniques in three selected pieces by Nobuo Uematsu: Aerith's Theme, Final Fantasy VII Main Theme, and One Winged Angel to determine how the composer portrays a person, a place or an event within the music.
Nobuo Uematsu, a Japanese composer, did his first published compositions with the small video game company Square back in 1985 for a video game with little success called Genesis. For the next few years, their video games continued to have moderate success and financial troubles plagued the company with potential bankruptcy. Then, as a last ditch effort made by the company, they made a game that would either make or break the company, and aptly named it Final Fantasy. Luckily, the video game was a huge success and it catapulted the company, along with the team that worked on it, into fame and reversed their previous fortunes. Ever since then, Nobuo has been a legendary composer, composing for Final Fantasy's one through nine and most recently, fourteen. He's also written music for Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssy,and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as several motion pictures that generally tie into his video game compositions.
His musical style is very distinct from other composers, having a very clear, repeated melody over classically influenced harmonies that don't go to the extremes of the Romantic Era,
but uses dramatic dynamics, creative instrumentation, and diverse textures in the Romantic style. In his writing method, he writes the melody first, which explains his melody heavy song writing. The particular game of Final Fantasy VII is one of the finest examples of Nobuo Uematsu's implementation of his writing technique: it ranges across multple styles and moods of music from western style fiddle music, to music based on Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. Some of these pieces include Aerith's Theme, which portrays the character of Aerith, Final Fantasy VII Main Theme which represents the world in which the game is played, and One Winged Angel, representing the dramatic final clash between the protagonist and the antagonist.
