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Posted

The discussion about what makes some chords follow well or poorly from another made me think to start another topic about songs, pieces or tracks that prominently use cross relations, polymodality or even, polytonality.  I'll start with an example:  Bellas Lullaby from the Twilight Series:

This piece (at 0:26 where the piano comes in) is in A minor but uses a Bb prominently in the melody making it both A aeolian and A phrygian.

Posted

This is a track from the original "Star Fox" for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.  "Titania" is an ice planet in the game that you have to traverse in the novice course to the planet "Venom" the ultimate seat of the antagonist "Andross".  I like this track because of it's cool house beats and use of both the natural and flat 7th degree of the scale at the same time.  If you listen carefully, the bass has a kind of tonic pedal-like riff that includes a flat 7th while the melody is playing a natural 7th.

The factor of musical memory and how the ear, over time, will get used to a certain sound if it is repeated enough is pertinent to how the ear accepts cross relations or polymodality.  In this case the tonic/b7th pedal riff is repeated throughout the track causing the ear to accept it without objection.  Then the natural 7th comes in in the melody after a certain amount of time with all it's own melodic logic for why that natural 7th has to be there and it all just makes sense.

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