Sci-Twi had made a pretty decent amount of progress. Thus far, she had been looking at about three chapters filled with some of her best Twilight Time questions and was not going to let three nights of work in the unlit basement get to her. The last of her segments included Octavia Melody as she talked about music, a subject she never really dabbled in.
"We were actually talking about music one day with Octavia Melody before she went to music camp for the summer," she started. "What she had to say about my tastes in listening to bubblegum music. Personally, I think it is a little campy, albeit only after a certain age, but it's a celebration of what it is to be a teenybopper. Plus, she threw out some information about music theory that we never think about, as we seen in this next clip:"
"Here on Twilight Time, we're having another Class Note before Octavia goes away for music camp. And today, Octy, @theflashsentry asks:"
Dear Twilight,
I just heard the word bubblegum when people talk about music. What is that?
As the video clip changed focus and she wrote about the quoted question, Octavia, in her gray skin, black hair, and charming accent helped to explain what was going on.
"Well, I hear it from time to time, but bubblegum pop music is a genre within popular music where upbeat sounds and somewhat campy lyrics are typical. Primarily, this is the kind of music that you'll find is geared towards preteens and teenagers. Their melodies are usually very catchy, their beats somewhat danceable, and their messages often sounding innocent, happy, silly, and/or romantic. Think the Back Alley Boys, One Other Inflection, and the like. In reality, songs like those are such that they are cash-grabs engineered by otherwise forgettable acts, especially when the songs and associated acts would be incorporated into larger media franchises, which may also include movies, games, and silly cartoons. In a related note, you also have bubblegum dance music which is just as campy and upbeat, but is actually quite enjoyable in the Eastern Hemisphere such as in Japan and Denmark. Think of every other song in that cheesy Dance Dance Revolution game that Lyra and Bon Bon were just playing....I knew that game is still evil."
Music played over the end of the clip and introduced the second clip she had. Mommymash, according to Octavia and the other kids in the neighborhood, was actually Button Mash's mom. When she isn't being a loving mother to her well-meaning but psychologically coiled son, she enjoyed video games such as Pickaxe Warrior and Neighborwatch just as much as he does. Being older, however, it was not uncommon to find humor in the games' other elements such as the music or the artwork involved.
"Hello, and welcome, welcome, welcome to a late night edition of Twilight Time. And Octavia is here today with a class note. My question tonight is from @mommymash, and she writes:"
Dear Twilight,
I like listening to music from video games. Of all the video game music I listen to with my son, there's this one particular theme belonging to Haygat from the game Highway Rumbler. Why does it sound like the beats in each measure don't add up?
Octavia began again, explaining the subject of the unconventional time signature.
"Hmm. You know, it's funny that I was trying to figure that out, too, but it's actually because the time signature is a very unconventional one. I analyzed a MIDI file recently and it turns out that the song was written in 11/8 time; that is to say that there are 11 eighth notes in each measure.
You see, The time signature defines how many beats and what beat are in each measure. The top number tells how many beats per measure while the bottom number defines 1 beat. For example, 4/4 time means that there are 4 beats per measure based on quarter notes; conveniently, you can read the time signature as 4 quarter notes per measure.
Most music, whether it be something modern or antiquated, tends to be written in regular time, usually having 2, 3, or the very usual 4 beats per measure. Music in 2-beat time (e.g. 2/4) will often come off as having cut time or polka time, like what you'd hear in Pretto's theme. while 4-beat time (e.g. 4/4) would sound like Chun Ki's theme. While not related to the game, 3-beat time (e.g. 3/4 time) is often called waltz time, like what you'd hear in a lot of underwater themes composed for Neightendo games by Cozy Contrabass. Ever notice that almost every time you go into the water?
Yoke-o Shimomura, however, had to shake things up when she did the themes for Haygat. She used what is often called an odd or irregular time signature, and can be something as irregular as 5/4, 9/8, 7/4, or even 11/8 time. It's hard to notice, but it is 11 beats to each measure, and then it changes signatures to change over to a bridge and then back again. You don't often hear those time signatures, especially because they're very tricky to use. I guess that's what adds to Haygat being difficult in the game, in addition to him being so tall."
With that clip playing, Twilight was heading into the home stretch of her project. She was now hoping to present her DVD to people around town: people in hospitals, people at daycare centers, and even people at medical offices.