How Ryuichi Sakamoto Paints with Chords (Asience Analysis)【Music Theory Breakdown】 ♫🎹 Johnny JAM🎸1

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   • Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Asience" 【Music Theory...  
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. Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Asience" has an almost magical ability to transport the listener to a place of calm and serene beauty. But this feeling isn't magic—it's the result of brilliant musical craftsmanship. In this video, we're diving deep into the single most important element of the song: its harmony.

Join me as we explore how Sakamoto borrows from the French Impressionist composers like Debussy and Satie to create a sound that "paints with chords." We'll uncover:

🎨 Impressionist Harmony: How Sakamoto avoids traditional musical "rules" to prioritize mood and color.
🎼 The Chord Vocabulary: Why he chooses lush Major 7th, Minor 7th, and Suspended chords to create a constant feeling of warmth and openness.
🤔 Non-Functional Harmony: The secret to making chords flow beautifully without creating tension, making the music feel like it's floating.

This is not just a music lesson; it's a deep dive into the mind of a master composer. If you've ever wondered why certain music makes you feel a certain way, this analysis is for you.

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Ryuichi Sakamoto, Asience Analysis, Music Theory, Harmony Explained, Impressionist Music, Debussy, Erik Satie, Non-functional Harmony, Chord Progressions, Music Composition, Film Scoring, Ambient Music, Modern Classical, Why does Asience sound good, Music Appreciation, Chord Vocabulary, Major 7th chords


Ever wonder why Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Asience" sounds like it's literally floating? ✨ The secret is in the harmony.
Unlike most music that creates tension and release, Sakamoto "paints with chords," choosing them for their individual color and mood, much like the Impressionist masters Debussy and Satie. He uses a specific vocabulary of lush, open chords (like Major 7ths and suspended chords) to create a sound world that is constantly beautiful and never jarring.
In my new YouTube video, we explore this "Impressionist" approach to harmony and deconstruct how Sakamoto achieves his signature sound of effortless beauty. If you're a music nerd or just curious about why music makes you feel things, you'll love this deep dive.


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Why does Sakamoto's "Asience" sound so dreamy? 🎹
It's all about the harmony. He avoids the rules of tension/release and instead "paints with chords," using a specific palette of lush Major 7ths and suspended chords to create pure mood.
#musictheory #sakamoto #harmony #composition #debussy

Title: The Harmony of "Asience": How Ryuichi Sakamoto Paints with Sound
Body:
The music of Ryuichi Sakamoto often feels like an atmosphere you can step into. His iconic piece, "Asience," is perhaps the purest example of this—a composition that evokes a sense of floating, gentle contemplation, and effortless beauty. But how is this mood technically achieved?
The answer lies in a conscious departure from traditional Western harmony and an embrace of the philosophies of French Impressionist composers like Claude Debussy and Erik Satie. In my new YouTube video, I analyze the harmonic genius of "Asience" to understand its emotional power.

Painting with Chords, Not Building with Bricks
The core idea we explore is non-functional harmony. In most music, chords function like grammar, with a subject, verb, and object, all leading to a clear conclusion. The dominant chord (V) strongly pulls to the tonic (I), creating a satisfying resolution.
Sakamoto throws this rulebook out. He treats chords not as functional bricks in a structure, but as individual dabs of paint on a canvas. His goal is not to get from point A to point B, but to create a rich, consistent texture.
The "Asience" Chord Vocabulary
To achieve this, he relies on a specific set of tools:
Major 7th Chords: The foundation of the dreamy, contemplative sound.
Minor 7th Chords: Add a touch of soft pensiveness.
Suspended Chords: The key to the "floating" feeling. These chords create gentle anticipation without any harsh tension, peacefully hanging in the air.
By exclusively using this vocabulary, Sakamoto creates a sound world that is completely devoid of aggression or strong directional pull. It is a masterclass in creating a powerful mood through subtle, deliberate choices.
To see and hear these concepts in action, watch the full analysis in the video above. You'll never listen to "Asience"—or any other piece of atmospheric music—the same way again.