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Piano teacher analyzes BABYMETAL by key: GJ!, THE ONE, and more

Piano teacher analyzes BABYMETAL by key: GJ!, THE ONE, and more
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This is the fourth installment of analyzing BABYMETAL in terms of tonality.

Following on from last time, this time I'll analyze the latter half of the second album.

First album (first half):A piano teacher analyzes BABYMETAL by key. BABYMETAL DEATH, Megitsune, and more.

Second half of the 1st albumA piano teacher analyzes BABYMETAL by key. Song 4, Ijime, Dame, Zettai, and others.

First half of the 2nd album:A piano teacher analyzes BABYMETAL by key: Road of Resistance, Amore -Aosei-, and more

Syncopation

A minor(A plain, simple, gentle sadness. It also conveys a feeling akin to the most feminine, devout resignation.) No key signature.

Here comes a track that greatly defies expectations.

With no key changes, no twists, easy to understand, and in a key with no key signature.Direct assertion。

Was it that they avoided twisting the tonality to draw attention to the syncopation, or did they, in a complete reversal from the previous storm of key changes, opt for a strategy to catch us off guard?

Either way,It stands out (unintentionally).This song.

I listened carefully to see if there was any twist, but there really wasn’t.

There are many instances of the progression to the tonic bass, F→G→A (he→to→i, fa→so→la).

In a sense, it's a characteristic.

It's the diatonic scale.

For example, here they are A, B, C-sharp, D-sharp, F, G, and A.

What was interesting was its connection to the previous song, Meta Taro.

The final note of Meta Taro’s melody was G-sharp.

This syncopation is in A minor.

In other words, it ends with A, la.

The bass line starts from A, but G-sharp is the leading tone to A in A minor.

In A minor, when G♯ appears, the progression leads to a cadence on A.

So the connection is really good, isn’t it?

Also, I think this piece is very fun to play.

The instruments come in on the downbeats and the vocals on the offbeats, alternating like a mochi-pounding session!

I haven’t heard it live yet, so I’m not sure, but I’m sure it’ll be fun!

From Dusk Till Dawn

C-sharp minorOne of the darkest modes. Brutal, sardonic, pathetic, eerie. Four sharps.D minor(Anxiety, sorrow and joy, solemnity, the sublime. According to Schumann, a key of immense power) one flat

It’s in the Europe edition, sandwiched between “Meta Taro” and “GJ!”, serving as a replacement for “Syncopation.”

Regarding the genre of this song, I’m completely uninformed and learned about it from this article.https://toretame.jp/babymetal2nd-album-metal-resistance-songs-review.html

By the way, my impression is that it sounds like a performance-centered piece—in other words, an instrumental.

A song has no lyrics; it is just a part of sound.

Of course, I assume there are lyrics.

Sorry I couldn’t go into it in more depth.

By the way, the meaning of this title is “From dusk till dawn.”

There is also a film with the same name.

The Japanese title is From Evening till Dawn.

I’m planning to take a look.

Now, let's get back to the topic of tonality.

I wrote this in the previous song, Meta Taro, but the ending of Meta Taro isE major (four sharps)this song isInfant C minor, four sharpsSince it's the beginning, like the previous trackIt connects well in the parallel key.It is.

C minor is BABYMETAL's key.。

In the ebb and flow of C-sharp minor, which sways and drifts in repetition, I sense new possibilities for BABYMETAL.。

Because even though it's in the same key, it gives a different impression.

The feeling that drifted is,SeventhPerhaps it's because there are a lot of sounds in it.

For example, if it’s C-sharp minor, then a C-sharp minor seventh would be C-sharp, E, G, and B.

This “Shi” is the seventh note counting up from D-sharp.

That's why the seventh.

The seventh chord feels kind of ambiguous.

If it's used from the beginning, it feels like it's just floating there.

After drifting like that for a while, there was a brief break, and then the key suddenly changed.

It modulates to D minor.

It goes up by a semitone.

For some reason, in this D minor, IfearI feel it.

It’s what you’d call anxiety.

I sense some risk as well.

It brings to mind the word ‘sleep paralysis.’

I’ve never experienced sleep paralysis, though.

The cassette tape of nursery rhymes I listened to as a child.

In that moment, the music ended, and in a woman's voice,

This is the end of Side A. Please switch to Side B.

I keep hearing a voice saying something like that, and it frightens me so much.

I remember quickly stopping it before that voice was heard, flipping it over, rewinding it, and listening to it.

This scary feeling is quite similar to something.

There are probably more people who don’t know what a cassette tape is—or the experience of using one—haha.

By the wayIt ends in D minor as is.however,D major, the parallel key (same tonic)and the next song, GJ! (B minor with two sharpsis in the parallel key.

While it’s not entirely unrelated, it feels like it was included as an experiment.

It ends on a B-flat major seventh.

This code is, in the sixth degree of D minor (false endingand moreover, a floating code called “Seventh.”

They’re saying there’s more to come.

GJ!

B minor(Extremely dark and melancholic, yet also hinting at quiet anticipation and patient hope) #2 versions orB power chord– D majorNoble and ornate, grand and religious. Especially suited to expressions of ecstasy. Also used for lively fanfares. Two sharps.

Now then, what are the chords of the previous piece (Syncopation)?

It sounds like Dm to me.

It ends in the first inversion with the third of D minor in the bass.

This next GJ! starts with a drum rhythm, but the bass melody is based on Bm or B.

This doesn’t feel out of place.

D and B minor, which are parallel keys to D minor’s tonic major and relative minor, are closely related keys.

Regarding its connection with From Dusk Till Dawn, I describe it at the end of that song.

The image of this song that starts in B minor, or with power chords, is indeed dark.

And then it switches to D major for the chorus.

This key… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…?

What was the key of BLACK BABYMETAL again?

No, no, that’s not right!

It's the same as 'Catch me if you can'!

It modulates from B minor to D major in the chorus!

There’s one thing that’s different from “Catch me if you can,” isn’t there?

That's right!

Su-metal is not here!

So BLACK BABYMETAL has finally taken over B minor and D major, huh.

Lowering the key step by step—C-sharp minor, then C minor—and we’ve finally reached B minor, haven’t we?

By the way, my first impression of this song was that it didn’t leave much of an impact.

However, the moment I heard the live recording, my impression changed 180 degrees.

The groove of this song.

When it comes to how cool that initial low melody line is, I can’t help but grin.

No, no, the movements of both of them are full of groove, and as for Yui-chan’s moves in particular, they’re the very embodiment of groove.

I'm humbled.

Sis.

Anger

D minor(Anxiety, sorrow and joy, the solemn, the sublime. According to Schumann,enormous powerKey with one flat

Speaking of D minor, do you remember which song it was on the first album?

It’s “Headbanger!!.”

So you’re going to express D minor without Su-chan as well, huh.

It’s starting to look like they’re saying that BLACK BABYMETAL is, at this point, metal.

It feels like turning anger into a colossal force and coming straight at you.。

A strong energy with no front or backI feel it.

I hope to see this possibility—expressing it with two girls—develop further from here.

Alright, three songs left!

What will happen? RESISTANCE!

NO RAIN, NO RAINBOW

A minor(A plain, simple, gentle sadness. It also conveys a feeling akin to the most feminine, devout resignation.) No key signature.C major(Simple,simplemoreoverfirmly; resolutely; with certainty(to give off a ... feeling/atmosphere)※A major（Brilliantly, with conviction and hopeFilled with it. Suited to simple, pure, cheerful, and sincere emotions. *E-flat major* (possesses composure within gentleness, with a rich resonance)The expression of the greatest change in splendor and solemnityIt is said to be suitable for this. It is particularly often used to express serious emotions or a grand or heroic mood. (Also called the key of the blue sky.)

The strategy of subverting tonality through syncopation comes to an end in this piece.

Without any twist in tonality and showing no surprise in modulation, the “direct route” starts in A minor with syncopation and ends in A minor with NO RAIN, NO RAINBOW. (I would later realize that this was only what I thought. I didn’t notice it at all here. In fact, this A minor was also related to the next song.)

As with the first album, it was BLACK BABYMETAL’s GJ! and Sis. Anger, with Su-chan in between.

What’s different from the first album is that BLACK BABYMETAL has shifted more toward metal. Now, when I listened to this album all the way through for the first time, I felt that this song was extremely far removed from the others.

It gave me the impression that this alone wasn’t really metal.

But if we look at it in terms of tonality, it relates to the earlier syncopation, so it doesn’t feel out of place.

The opening of the next piece is also in the tonic of A minor, so the connection is spot on.

Then why did I feel a sense of discomfort?

That's because the tempo of this song is slow.

Because all of BABYMETAL’s songs are fast!

Aside from that, what makes it metal is the presence of the guitar.

It’s good because there’s a guitar solo.

I haven’t seen the live footage yet, so I don’t know, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that it was apparently amazing.

Let’s get back to the topic of key/tonality.

This piece, which begins in A minor,It's not in A minor the whole time.

Song start: 'Why?'The chord is C, a major chord.

simplicityI feel it.

But it returns to A minor once more.

But it modulates to C major before the chorus.

I feel a faint glimmer of hope here.。

「a resolute feelingThat's about it.

And as expected, it returns to A minor in the chorus,In A major at the end of the chorus on “dokoma demo”It ends up becoming.

This is a Picardy third (cadence).

Does it mean “light, hope”?

Most of the singing is in A minor, expressing a sense of sadness.

versus; against; toward; to; in response to; regardingThe guitar solo is in A major.It starts with.

You’re expressing “light and hope,” right?

Isn't it kind of unfair that it suddenly gets brighter during the guitar solo?

I can't help but cry.

And then, the clinching key change: the grand-sounding E-flat major.

After briefly feinting a shift to C major, it returns to A major, and then passes the baton to the vocals.

I like this feeling of being turned down.

The song begins, as expected, in a simple C major.

This time, the phrase ends in C major in one go, and on to the chorus.

A feeling like you're heading straight toward the light—a message telling you not to give up hope.。

And it ends singing in A major, with hope and conviction.。

The end of the guitar solo is in A minor.。

as beforereverseRight.

In the middle section, the vocals were in a minor key while the guitar was in a major key.

So the guitar fades out quietly here, doesn’t it?

Ah, this seems to segue nicely into the next track.

It’s in A minor. (The next opening is also in A minor)

But the true final code is F.

It came out.false endingIt is.

It’s like pretending it’s over… but not really.

It feels like there’s a lingering sense of “I can see some hope, but is it really true?”。

It’s kind of frustrating—hard to put into words.

Because, well, the next song is that one… (laughs).

The keyword is “fate,” isn’t it?

By the wayX JAPANIt is often noted for its connection to the song “Endless Rain.”

The general image is similar.

Even the titles are two sides of the same coin: “The rain won’t stop” and “There’s no rain that never stops” (lol).

It is clearly an homage.

However, the concept is entirely different, and I don’t think there’s any need to forcibly relate the content, so I will omit the explanation.

Tales of The Destinies

E major(Brilliant, gentle and joyful, in a noble tone) with four sharpsA minor(Simple, naive, gentle sorrow that also evokes the most feminine, devout, resignation-like feeling) no key signature

At first, I hated this song.

It's too complicated and too different from the surrounding tracks.

Or rather, I used to dislike metal.

Because it was noisy (lol).

The reason I’m suddenly bringing this up now is that the very first song that led me to understand metal was this one.

While listening to the second album, one day it somehow stuck in my head, and I kept playing it on repeat.

Then, while driving, I forgot to skip back and it moved on to the next track, and when it unexpectedly went into THE ONE, tears welled up.

I've been a fan of this song since then.

To be honest, this is a piece where I’d like to talk about the time signature before going into key and such, but since that strays from the theme this time, I’ll reluctantly cut it.

It was really fun to solve the time-signature quiz for this piece.

Now, let’s return to tonality.

My first impression is that it's overwhelmingly complex—and the emphasis on that complexity makes it feel like I'm being jerked around.

It keeps modulating frequently, but in each measure the chord is so clear that it doesn’t come across as a cohesive sense of tonality.This is one of the causes.

It has no tonality; it just drifts.

That's easy to do.

But still, I can’t be satisfied unless I analyze this.

There must be some reason this key was chosen.

Believe that.

Alright, let's give it a try.

Even when listening while following the key, there were limits, so I wrote in the chords and analyzed the tonality based on a provisional score I created for piano performance.

It’s long below, but this is the rough overall picture.

A minor↓It starts with a prelude.↓C-sharp major↓The guitar melody comes in.↓It’s that difficult melody shared with THE ONE.↓A minor↓The vocals begin.↓E major↓“Don’t worry”↓C-sharp minor↓“3 2 1”↓E major↓Chorus↓A minor↓Two insane guitar solos↓B minor↓“Isn’t that no good?”↓In the middle of the guitar solo↓A minor↓It grooves and the singing starts, with intense modulations↓E major↓“Can’t stop me”↓C-sharp minor↓“3 2 1”↓E major↓Chorus

That's all.

Here are the key points.

It can be broadly divided into four categories.

Broadly speaking, two keys (A minor and E major) serve as the axes.

  1. A minor
  2. E major
  3. A minor
  4. E major

Using the irregular (conclusive) form

A plagal cadence is a chord progression that resolves from the subdominant to the tonic; moving from the IV degree to the I degree is the same cadence as when ending with “Amen.”

It evokes a strong sense of prayer.

Here, it makes an evaded cadence from A in A minor to E in E major.

Each one is in a form that ends with a terminal (finite) form.

So that means the key of this piece is E major.

Sigh... I never thought I'd end up concluding in E major.

And so it was Amen.

But still, it's a piece that, above all, leaves only a faint impression of E major.Right.

I'm all shaken up and feel like I'm going crazy.。

That's what feels good about it.

The connection to the start of the next piece is clear, beginning in the tonic of E major.I will do it.

The flow is perfect.

However, it is clear that these two pieces, which were said to have originally been one, are related.

Digging deeper, what does it look like from the perspective of tonality?

We'll continue with the next song!

THE ONE

E major (brilliant, gentle, and joyful; the key of nobility) four sharpsNote: C-sharp major (more elegant, bright, and brilliant than C major) four sharps

Now then, what kind of development will this song—connected from the previous track—unfold?

Let's also take a look at the general flow of tonality.

E major↓C-sharp major↓That guitar melody part that also appeared in the previous piece↓E major↓Song: "Transcending Time"↓C-sharp major↓Song: "We are THE ONE"↓E major↓Guitar solo↓C-sharp major↓Song: "La la la—"

That's all.

Here are the points below.

The structure is completely different from the previous piece, and whenever the key changes, a B7 always appears and leads into the next key.

The modulation destination alternates between E major and C-sharp major.。

Use a perfect cadence when moving to E major, and a deceptive cadence when moving to C-sharp major.。

I said it could be divided into three parts, but if you look only at the tonality, all three are repetitions of the same key.

Repetition = circle, circular

What appears first in C-sharp major is the brilliant guitar melody that was introduced in the previous track’s intro.

In the sections in C-sharp major that appear the second and third time, the vocals take the lead, but that guitar melody keeps repeating in the background throughout.

Repetition = circle, circular

Circle = THE ONE

Perhaps it also expresses THE ONE through the repetition of tonality.

What is the key of this song?

If asked, I would answer, “E major, I suppose.”

However, from another angle,The importance of the deceptive cadence to C majorI will say it.

The previous album ended in C-sharp minor.

And the beginning of this album was in C-sharp minor.

This album, which ended on the tonic of C-sharp major, effectively concluded with a Picardy cadence for BABYMETAL.

Became a god

Maybe that's going too far! (LOL)

It deified.

Let's leave it at that.

As BABYMETAL, wasn’t it an album that aimed to establish a new genre?

METAL RESISTANCE

That was the title of this album, wasn’t it?

RESISTANCE has succeeded.。

They made extensive use of deceptive cadences and evaded cadences, throwing the listeners off and mounting a RESISTANCE.

In conclusion

It was an analysis of tonality, where the farther we went, the more difficult the pieces became.

To the people who created the song, thank you for the wonderful music.

You're probably thinking my analysis still has a long way to go as you watch me (lol).

I’d be grateful if you would accept only my love.

I always feel like making piano arrangements of songs I like.

So as you keep arranging and performing it, I think your understanding of the piece will deepen even further.

I wonder what kind of songs will be on the next album.

This is probably something that only the BABYMETAL team led by the producer would know.

My preference is G-sharp minor. (As I wrote in the section about Benitsuki)

I’d also like to hear it in B-flat minor. (That’s the key of BABYMETAL DEATH)

I want to hear the Kami Band solos too.

I’d like to hear a Picardy third cadence in E-flat minor as well. (It might be cool if the Rondo of Nightmares ended on a bright note.)

and so on.

I'm really looking forward to the album's concept.

When I started this analysis, I had no ideas about tonality, but now they’re coming to me one after another.

I might end up making my own metal someday (lol).

Also, to everyone who read the article, thank you for reading this long series all the way to the end.

May the THE ONE of performers, composers, and devoted listeners all resonate and flourish together.

May positive energy swirl around you and lead you to a good life.