User:GVNintendoNMore/Music theory
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| The Music Theory Page | |
| Rhythm Heaven actually does a good job subtly teaching music theory in its games. I don't know too much about music theory, so I'll try and explain it as best as I can. | |
Triple Time
Donk-Donk is special in that it's measured in triple time. Very few other games have this signature, these few including Mahou Tsukai]] in Rhythm Tengoku and the DS game's Remix 3.
It actually switches from 3/4 time (Donk-donk) to 6/8 time (Deet-deet-doh) and back.
The two time signatures may seem alike, at least mathematically, but the note grouping makes them sound very different.
While 3/4 means that a measure is 3 quarter-notes long, 6/8 means that a measure is 6 eighth-notes long. The way the notes are subdivided gives 6/8 a more brisk pace, which is why the "deet-deet-doh" part sounds so different from the "donk-donk" part, despite having similar timing.
Remix 3 in Rhythm Heaven also switches between triplet measures, with Love Lizards, Crop Stomper and the Dazzles using 3/4 time and Freeze Frame using 6/8 time. While the first 3 games have an audible swing to them (like the fast 1-by-1 poses in the first few Dazzles sections), Freeze Frame has a more dramatic rhythm with emphasis on every other eighth note.
Wizard's Waltz is relatively simple, it uses the same 3/4 measure throughout.
Offbeats
Lockstep is a prime example of this. The Stepswitchers are constantly changing from front to backbeat in time with the music. Lockstep is one of the most prominent, but many, many other games play with this.
The endless game Mr. Upbeat is all about this. While the metronome swings side to side at a steady tempo, Mr. Upbeat himself has to jump over the needle when it hits the center. On the upbeat. This is why his reading material is titled "A Musical Term"—the said musical term is "upbeat" and it's referring to why he was named so in the first place.