Radiohead: Pyramid Song - Analysis
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Published 2019-11-01
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EXPLANATION OF MOTIF NAMES
- Intro: First motif to be heard in the song
- Pyramid: Most used motif in the song
- Radix: When the notes of the major/minor thirds in each the chords of this motif are plotted against time (number of beats), the sequence looks like a square root sign (√), called a 'Radix' (Radix comes from the Latin for 'root')
- BACH: The major/minor thirds in the chords in this motif are, in order, A♮, G#, B, A#. If you transpose this sequence up a semitone (half-step), you get B♭, A, C, B♮. This is known as the 'BACH' motif - in German musical nomenclature, 'B' signifies a B♭ and 'H' signifies a B♮.
FURTHER WATCHING
Radiohead - Pyramid Song [Music Video]: • Radiohead - Pyramid Song
Everything In Its Right Place: A Conversation with Brad Osborn: • Everything In Its Right Place: A Conv...
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Everything in its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead (Brad Osborn) - global.oup.com/academic/product/everything-in-its-…
#radiohead #pyramidsong
All Comments (21)
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Hi everyone - you might notice that there is a period in the video for about a minute where the video is blurred. This is to get it unblocked for the time-being while I contest the copyright claim. Hope you still enjoy it!
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What’s crazy about Radiohead is i can see them intentionally doing this all on purpose but i can also see this all being one big coincidence because they’re just THAT good.
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Insane production value, keep it going :)
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Always felt the lyrics to this song referred to Jeff Buckley’s tragic swim in the Wolf River in Memphis. The Pyramid is located there, the falsetto, “black-winged angel,” so many references
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I’m starting to think Radiohead is WAY different than I assumed
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When this song came out, I was a musicology student in my third year and spent ages analysing the form of the song just in my bedroom, counting the beats and making the patterns make sense in my own mind. This video reminded me of those days, and it was delightful to see the notes written out, too. Thank you.
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Great analysis. Tonal uncertainty is a marvellous thing. I find it fascinating how some of the greatest pieces of music actually defy modern musical analysis to a certain extent. This shows us that music theory is primarily descriptive and shouldn't be considered to be proscriptive - if it sounds good, it is good.
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I was lucky enough to see Radiohead perform Pyramid Song, it felt like the outdoor stadium was going to disconnect from the Earth and fly us into outer space. I had to walk outside during the next song to gather myself. FEELING that song live has an effect on my body and mind
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Hi. Brad Osborn here. Absolutely fantastic work, and very generous toward my own scholarship!
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I've just stumbled across your channel and I'm blown away! If you keep producing such stunning and thoughtful videos I predict that in 12 months time you'll have 100k subscribers for sure! Well done and keep going ✨✨
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I remember when I first heard this song, it was on MTV, I was hypnotised by the music and the video. As soon as it finished I run to the record shop to buy Amnesiac.
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Oh my god your graphics are getting even better than they already were, that's incredible. Holy shit man
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This has to be one of the best edited videos I saw in my life. I know huge part of it was the Pyramid Song itself, but I got goosebumps from listening to this video. Excellent job.
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Pyramid song always reminds me of Satie’s gnossienne no. 3. I know it’s a weird comparison and I’m not sure why exactly but I think it’s just that they both have that dark ethereal quality to them.
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Please make more Radiohead content, this is AMAZING!!
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Absolutely lovely analysis! The production quality is insane
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i love those quiet string noises at beggining sounding like crowd talking and those weird noises sounding like police sirens
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I don't understand why this channel has so little recognition. Your analysis was fantastic, and the video is made with great expertise. I hope you go big!
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I'm quite angry at YouTube for only showing me this channel now! 😱 They should really work on their discovery principles... This. Is. Great!
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I played this song in my senior recital, and at the first rehearsal the piano intro didn't work. The pianist wasn't very familiar with Radiohead and was just following the sheet. That's when we figured out it has swing!!
