White Canon

[amigalemming]

What speech synthesizer do you use?

[smalin]

@amigalemming I think I used Vocal Writer for this.

[danielchong1234]

nice music.^^

[devize92]

Sounds horrible xD

[smtwl90]

huh? the ending doesn't quite resolve.

[smalin]

@smtwl90 Not in the conventional way, no. That's because the two top voices are in different keys, and each one resolves in its own key. If you listen to it as if it were in a single key, then you'll hear it as unresolved, but if you hear it as two keys happening simultaneously, you'll hear two resolutions that are in different keys.

[smtwl90]

@smalin okay, I hear it now... took me a while though

[maxus328]

British Lil Wayne

[wcbroccoli]

Solution to the parallel 5ths: change notes 4 and 5 from E# F# to E D.

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli  Sounds to me like you should write your own version and post it.

[wcbroccoli]

@smalin Actually, I have drafted my own version, applying the changes I recommended to you, but I don't have the software you have to upload it. If you like, I could email you the PDF.

Instead of challenging me to a duel, I suggest you read a book on counterpoint so you won't make the errors I spotted. Learn from my comments.

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli Sure, email me the PDF (email address is on my web site).

My degree is in music theory and composition; I've read many books on counterpoint took several courses in contrapuntal writing (16th century counterpoint, canon and fugue, 20th-century counterpoint, etc.).

Have you not listened to my fugues and other contrapuntal pieces?

I know what I'm doing here (what "rules" of counterpoint I'm "violating").

I intended to write this the way I did, but you didn't understand my intent.

[wcbroccoli]

@smalin Obviously you intended to write this the way you did or else you wouldn't have written it the way you did. As for what "rules" of counterpoint you "violated",

read my ealrier comments. I'll send you some PDFs.

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli I read your comments. You assumed I tried to write a piece of Baroque-style counterpoint and failed. You were mistaken; I could have done that if I wanted, but I had other goals. You felt strongly enough that the piece should be "corrected" that you even began taking on the task yourself. You seemed more interested in demonstrating your expertise than in understanding my intentions, so I suggested that you complete your project and share your work.

[wcbroccoli]

@smalin No. I didn't assume you were trying to compose a canon on a popular (and somewhat ugly) 20th c. show tune in 16th c. modal cpt. or 18th c. cpt. But to my ears, this tune simply does not work well in canon, even when you try to force it to work with a decent bass line that attempts to bring harmonic order to the tonal chaos in the upper parts. I'm criticizing the suitability of the tune (in it's present form) for canon, not your composing skills.

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli It works as well as it works. My goal was just to show the extent to which it worked. To change the tune to make it work better would have been a different project, and one I wasn't interested in.

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli P.S. I think you misread this:

I know what I'm doing here (what "rules" of counterpoint I'm "violating").

as this:

I know what I'm doing here; what rules of counterpoint am I violating?

[smalin]

@wcbroccoli P.S. A guide to my contrapuntal pieces on YouTube:

Fugue for Friday (fairly strict)

Fugue in A minor (fairly strict, Romantic harmonies)

Fugue to Stanley Krebs (dedicated to my fugue teacher)

Marvel Not, Joseph (canon at end)

Fantasy in F (contains canon and fugue)

Getting It Together (rag with fugal section)

Quartet (some contrapuntal sections)

Scarborough Fair (chorale fugue)

Scores for these are available on my web site.

[wcbroccoli]

Another problem with this canon is the parallel 5ths between notes 5 and 6 of soprano and notes 1 and 2 of tenor!

[wcbroccoli]

Common sense tells you that unless a tune was originally composed for a canon, the tune will not magically work in canon without some alteration to the pitches and/or rhythm of the tune.

This is the way composers since the Middle Ages have made a tune work in a canon.

E.g., in Orgelbuechlein, when Bach wants a chorale tune to sound in canon with itself, he makes slight changes to the tune as needed to make it work in canon.

[wcbroccoli]

Contrary to what some people hearing this seem to believe, this melody does not quite work in this canon. E.g., you don't want the tenor to sound D-G against F#-F# in the soprano. To make it work, make these small changes: F#-F# to F-#G, D-D to D-C#-D. Change last verse from DEFFBCCCD to DEFGAGFED. I think this actually improves the sound of the melody itself, ridding it of ugly Hollywood influences. Final, make the tenor last note move G down to F# so you can resolve to tonic D!

[wcbroccoli]

I realize many of you find this pleasant. But don't you hear how very odd and "ungrammatic" (in terms of common practice period harmony and counterpoint) this canon sounds in MANY places, not just the jarring, unresolved ending that the composer attempts to justify as bitonality when it's really just one of the more glaring instances of how this melody does NOT work as a canon at the lower 5th! LOL

[NentendoLover3000]

@stomentendo o,o

I thought it was a youtube video.

[istrib]

Wow, now I can say - there always was something odd with this melody... Especially for me - Bach's fanatic. And now I know. It's a canon! I'm amazed that you've untangled it.

[wcbroccoli]

@istrib You are confused about what is meant by "canon." No melody is a canon. But ANY melody can be made the subject of a canon. A "canon" is simply

a composition where the composer specifies how the melody is to be imitated. This a 2-part canon where the 2nd part starts 1 note later at the lower 5th. But since you're a Bach fanatic, can't you HEAR that this canon is VERY un-Bach like? It does NOT sound right! Not in the style of common practice period harmony or counterpoint.

[MrValerioConti]

@stomentendo Gabriele si dice che tu sia  un povero rosicone fallito..i tuoi commenti lo confermano

[Grobanite122549]

SWEEET :D

[totodepatas]

I think is great the graphic mode of the sound....BUT THIS MUSIC, ITS SIMPLY AWESOME

[MrRasputin100]

sick brosef!

[MatchbookD70]

Something about the way this sounds brings a sense of joy to my heart.

[AEFic]

Sung by Stephen Hawking. Did someone already make that joke? Probably.

[JapanYoshiTheGamer]

How did you make it?

[GabberVoorhees]

nice song!

[fiandrhi]

Don't they cross at 0:55?

[smalin]

Yes, and also at 0:28 and 0:52 ...

[Gisler5]

ffffffffffive stars!!! :-D

[fiandrhi]

This is fascinating. I'm curious: how did you have the insight that this tune worked as a canon? Did you just "see" it, or did it occur to you when you were arranging it or something?

[smalin]

I'm not sure; I think I was just fooling around with the melody at the piano, learning to harmonize it. Playing things in canon is something I'm always on the verge of doing, so I'm guessing that I was playing F#->G->G#->A, and was harmonizing it in rising sixths (A->B->C->C#) and my little "this might be a canon" alarm went off. That's as likely a scenario as any.

[wcbroccoli]

@fiandrhi Where the cf moves stepwise near the beginning it "works", but when the cf starts moving by skips there are many places that don't sound right, where dissonances are not approached and/or are not resolved correctly. The overall effect is something that might sound pleasing to ears unaccustomed to the sound of common practice period hamony and counterpoint. But overall this does not "work" as a canon, even when you try to force it to sound "right" by adding a bass.

[nyves104]

This is the only christmas song I still like, I've worked retail for too long to be able to enjoy it anymore. But still love this song and I love that you made this! You're absolutely amazing! So thank you very much <3

[sk8erkid2007]

It's a canon/round right?

[peteralaric]

BRILLIANT!!! *<:D

[SuperHappybear]

this is really very good

but i think if the 2 singer repeat the last phrase together at the end would make it much more better

[kaustin6969]

Very cutel not the adaptations throughout.

[smalin]

Adaptations?

[energycore345]

is canon considered as counterpoint?

[Terrdemarzielle]

Nope. A canon can be contrapuntal or without any counterpoint whatsoever.

[smalin]

Oh really? Show me a canon without counterpoint.

[Terrdemarzielle]

I'm not quite sure if anyone has written one yet.

[smalin]

At first I thought you were wrong, since "counterpoint" means "how the points [notes] go against each other." Whenever notes from two or more melodies happen together, it's counterpoint. "Canon" means "rule" and refers to a rule that says how a melody can be overlapped with itself. So, if you had a melody with as many rests in it as notes, and a rule that said to overlap it so that the rests in one match the notes in the other, no notes would go together, and it wouldn't have any counterpoint.

[Terrdemarzielle]

Well I am wrong, since I had presumed that rythmic contrast was a necessary qualifier for counterpoint.

In these terms, a canon in which all beats were of the same rythmic value, and containing no rests within the span of the melody, would be what I had considered to be a 'counter-pointless canon.' (and it would be pretty pointless)

I apologize for my mistake.

[smalin]

No need to apologize. Most counterpoint does have rhythmic contrasts between the voices, so it's an easy mistake to make.

J. J. Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum (probably the best-known counterpoint book, written during Bach's lifetime), begins with "first species" counterpoint, which is two parts with all the notes the same duration.

[sbutton001]

wow that conversation made no sense whatsoever to me. except for the odd 'it' and 'the' lol

[VolkColopatrion]

is that voice crossing in 0:46?

[smalin]

They touch, but do not cross.

[yourBALDneighbor]

really cool but it would be better if was in synch

[Jasutin]

It's a canon, it's not supposed to be in sync, just listen to Canon in D by Pachelbel

[Edenhyde246]

White Canon? RACIST!

Seriously, I hate people who say that.

[edenito]

C'mon man!!!!

[AlexanderZographos]

what rich harmonies, in the manner of bach, my hat off to you....

[ahaili]

haha cool!!! :-D

[1401JSC]

Really loved this!

[sk8erman77]

lol

[amirbach]

Its sounds like missing track from "clockwork orange".

[GreenHatemerald]

lol I love the computer vocals! :D I really like this. :)

[kingpolaris]

computer voices!

[jeffamarie]

Definitely should've somehow ended in D major instead of G major... I know G is what the second voice is in the whole time, but the first voice really plants it in D at the end. I'm sure it's not a big deal to break the canon for that last cadence?

[smalin]

Sure, I could have broken the canon for the ending, but I decided to leave it this way, and expose the dual-key nature of the piece. If you listen to it many times focusing your attention on the lower part, you can get your ear to the point where it will accept the final note as a resolution.

[Kurtyoungblood]

Nice ending, I wasn't expecting G major there!

[whangster]

awesome

[Gazer1234567]

I thought it was pretty cool :D

[spasmous]

Huh? It says no longer available... why? This was a cool video.

[smalin]

It's showing up okay for me ...

[npc223]

me also

[MansoorClan]

just hit refresh or f5

[JaredtheJaredLong]

GlaDos and Mr. GlaDos?

[katanamd]

It must be :P

[Atma505]

No way, it's the singers from the Katamari fugue!

[URZeroGravity]

Katamari.. fugue? o.o

[Atma505]

Search it here on Youtube, it's the first thing that pops up.

[mariofan2468]

It does sound like them! You mean Fugue # 7777 during the part with the King of All Cosmos? I love that song. I want the game so bad, but I don't have a PS2. :(

[mariofan2468]

My comment was a reply to Atma505's comment.

[danixian]

@JaredtheJaredLong ... the presents are a lie!

[KimmyRose12]

@JaredtheJaredLong You mean GlaDos and HAL

[Eltieth]

It sounds rather artificial when the notes change. I like the melody, though

[jamesjddong]

Hi just wondering, why is it called white canon?

[3cplantin]

A canon can be like a round (like Three Blind Mice) and the song is "White Christmas" and a canon, so...

Merry Christmas a little early!

[JSbeat]

I agree... the final sounds weird... i would go for a resolved chord too

[ratsouffle]

Oh? I think its nice to end on a sustained fourth.

[HierJ]

Its sounds like Stephen Hawking singing a christmas carol - the british accent

[smalin]

I composed the bass, but the "unresolved" note comes from the canon (which I did not compose --- only discovered). Because the canon is at the fifth, the two voices are in different keys (see the score); this bi-tonality is exposed at the end, when the upper voice is finally heard as being in the key of the lower voice (rather than the other way around, as is the case during the rest of the piece). If you focus your attention on the lower voice part, that last note might make more sense.

[smalin]

(I've added a link to the score to the "About This Video" section.)

[jessica153222]

you are so amazing i also can play keyboards i now have you to look up to i want to be abal to play like you wow

[NihilNominis]

White canon also means a priest of the Præmonstratensian Order (in England, at least)! I love your animations; keep them coming!

[xb8db8]

I want some Stephen Hawking voice there.

[RedRaven555]

hahahaha!

[pdbacos]

Hi,

I'm a graduate student in composition. I'm currently adjuncting at a couple of Chicago-area colleges and wanted to let you know that I recently used some of your animations to illustrate the difference between imitative textures. They're terrific for students who can't read music.

"White Canon" is great because the students can hear the lyrics. May I suggest the 18th variation---the canon at the sixth--from the Goldberg Variations or any of the other canons for a future project?

Cheers

[smalin]

> 18th...Goldberg Variation

Good suggestion; thanks; I'll add it to the list. That's the canon with the shortest time between the first and second parts, which means that it's the easiest canon to get completely into your ear (the original and the imitation are almost both happening 'now'), so with the scrolling score, it should be really obvious what's going on.

[sfd3333]

Smalin, who is the little girl singing in the background??? Her voice is sublime.

[smalin]

> who is the little girl singing

These synthetic voices are from VocalWriter (see the production notes for details); I don't know whose voices they were originally modeled on. Coincidentally, the tenor voice in that software sounds somewhat like my singing voice.

[KarrotKun1]

I'm glad you got a job doing what you love :).. you create some wonderful stuff

[smalin]

>I'm glad you got a job doing what you love

This is not a job, just a hobby. For now, anyway.

[dcwetern]

This is pure art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[xChrisBoulterx]

ew, sorry to say, but I didn't like this at all.

[Kamibambiraptor]

Very witty! :)

[major600]

You should do the "Doll On a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious" round from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

[smalin]

If you can get me permission from the copyright holder, I'll consider it!

[major600]

I admire your ethics, but if you can be tempted, the duet is already on YouTube. Search "chitty chitty bang bang - doll on a music box". Problem is, Van Dyke's accompaniment is interrupted. You'd need the soundtrack recording.

[smalin]

Cute piece ... but it's not a round.

[major600]

Right because it's two different songs. What is it called when two diferent songs mesh together like that?

[smalin]

Sometimes, it's called a quotlibet ... and sometimes it's called a "lucky accident." :-)

[SirGillean]

sounds like stephen hawking

[aStrimbu]

LOL @ SirGillean

[Maestrojosh87]

The perfect cadence would be good, but I also like the basso continuo and how it fits the canon. It sounds impressive.

[viologist]

wow! they sing the notes so well! wow! awesome scrolling score production!

[treasurehunter29]

wouldn't it be better if the song ends with a perfect cadence?