If you hang around Pyramind then you know that we’re all big Madeon fans. So we’ve finally gotten around to breaking down the theory and arrangement for Madeon “You’re On.”
Madeon used some very unique chords that make this song a little difficult to unwrap but in the video Matt Donner lays it out, as flat as possible. We’ve also typed up the key points from the video in case you’d prefer to read.
Enjoy, and make sure you play along with a piano to get the most bang for your buck.
When is C minor G minor?
So the chords for this track are basically this:
Cm7 – E flat major 7 – G minor 7 – B flat dominant
Which would make you think C aeolian or C minor.
Then the melody comes in…
And when played alone, the melody makes you fell like you’re in G minor!
So in the right hand melody he’s saying G minor, and in the left hand chords he’s saying C minor. So who’s right? Which key are we in?
How does he do this? He is Madeon.
We believe he was telling us all along that the whole song is in G minor as he moves to other parts of the song.
Watch the video for a more detailed and entertaining explanation!
A few other key points:
- All the sections are the same length
- The whole song is almost the exact same stamp and it doesn’t get boring.
- The differences between the sections are minute. miniscule..
- Considering how it plays on the album, it fits well with the intro and the song after.
- The arrangement is ABC – ABC – ABC – out
- His simplicity = complexity in the arrangement as well as the chords.
Brilliant!
There’s lots more to this song so we highly encourage you to watch the video. Breaking down tracks like this can be mind-shifting if you really sink you’re teeth in and follow along.
If you’d like more breakdown videos like this, you can find them all HERE.
Also thanks for the sound design Dan Dignin!
