Cocho Sensei
I like Yuki
As in the title, this is going to be an attempt to analyze the song by tying together the harmony with the lyrics. Be aware of that I am in no means an expert in music theory; I am merely trying to make sense of the song with the knowledge and experience I have now, so I appreciate any ideas or corrections ^_^
I have also created a pdf of an orchestral score that I transcribed that you can follow along or use for further analysis. It can be found in the description of this video: https://youtu.be/wrZ3PF_y9Xk
Starting things off, ‘ring your bell’ is in a lot of ways similar to ‘far on the water’ (e.g. overall world view described by the lyrics and progressions which I will explain later), which is quite reasonable considering how they are from the same album, so Kajiura might be experimenting with the same things at that time. Let’s first get the overall picture of the piece:
The intro leading up to E major contains an upward progression of whole tones, moving up from C major, to D major, then after an Esus2 chord, to E major. This progression of whole tones, as we read on, is a motif that is consistently used. The Esus2 chord is used for prolonging tension using the F carried on from the D major chord before the song actually starts at 1A in E major. The cellos are used to resolve the F back down to an E. Combined with the percussion instruments, this creates an effect of the song starting undeniably in E major.
1A starts with a perfect cadence in E major – I, IV, V, I, establishing E major as its homeland/initial starting point. The melody in M7 starts out simple, consisting of two notes with one note resolving to the other. It is then repeated right after in M9 a whole tone below, in other words, this is a two-step sequence. Following that, the melody from M13 to M15 is also restated right after, which introduces what I believe to be an important concept throughout the song – duality. The lyrics portray a sense of two contrasting things – whether it be singing of both happiness and despair, light and dark, silence and the bell, or of course, the characters Kimi (you) and Boku (I) – duality is strongly presented in music too through the use of sequences and repetition.
The next section is where things get interesting. 1B starts in E major but quickly modulates, using the circle of fifths, to B major in M25. Now with the key in B major, this process is repeated except that the second time in M29, instead of resolving to B major, we go from the dominant F# chord to a half step above – G major, which has a chromatic mediant relationship with B major. Specifically, it lies a minor sixth above and shares a common tone B with B major. However, despite this chord being used, it resolves back to B major through again, the use of a sequence – G major to D major followed by E minor to B minor. The violin part also depicts this sequence clearly. Now you might wonder, is there a purpose to this surprise chord? Let’s take a look at the lyrics in the next section.
1C starts by modulating from the dominant of B major – the F# major chord – to A flat major. This kind of direct modulation is also used in ‘far on the water’ (in fact the same set of chords from F# major chord to A flat major) and I will attempt to explain this modulation with the help of the lyrics. Below is the lyrics for this section. From here on I will refer you as Kimi and I as Boku.
the night in which you cried
has concealed
the radiance of the far future
inside of it
you/i can surely go
towards the dazzling hill
where tranquility awaits you
towards your horizon
ring your bell
and raise your song
The night in which you cried – I believe this section is telling a story of the past, where Kimi has experienced a failure of some sort. This section also seems to me to be a flashback; thus, it makes sense that it would be told in a different key directly from the start. The story tells of a radiance of Kimi’s future that is being concealed in this night. A radiance that exists and is waiting for Kimi on the dazzling hill that Kimi can surely reach, in other words, Kimi’s horizon, or as I interpret it, Kimi’s fate.
What is exactly this fate? If we look at the harmony progressions, we can see that we are moving from A flat major (M37) to the dominant E flat major, and then going a half step above to E major before modulating to B major. This is in fact the same progression Kajiura uses in 1B when the dominant F# major leads to G major, except that in 1B it does not lead to modulation, but here in 1C it does. Therefore, this progression is merely ‘concealed’ in 1B, or perhaps, ‘failed’ by Kimi, but is utilized to the full extent in 1C to reach Kimi’s fate/horizon – which I believe to be the modulation to B major. B major is also the dominant key of E major – the home key of the song – so it is logical that E major’s ‘fate’ is its dominant.
Boku seems to me an important character in the lyrics to help Kimi realize Kimi’s fate. With the help of Boku, Kimi can step out of this night of suffering and climb up the dazzling hill where Kimi’s horizon awaits. I think that this duality/contrast between the darkness at night and the dazzling radiance can be represented through the keys of A flat major vs. B major. If we refer to the circle of fifths, the key of A flat major is very far away, if not the furthest, away from B major. Moving from night to day is like moving from a flat-dominated key to a sharp-dominated key. The amount of work to do this is also represented by the hill, a symbol of the efforts required to reach Kimi’s horizon.
Considering this song in the context of the anime Fate stay night, I’m also toying with the idea that Boku might represent the Servant, while Kimi might be the Master. Specifically, this might be denoting the relationship between Archer Emiya and Rin, where Archer helps Rin obtain the Holy Grail. But I am not sure about this.
At M45 we reach B major and are moving into a cadenza section where we go through a number of interesting chords before arriving at B major, which is established more firmly through the use of multiple cadences. In M47, we first go through an ascending whole-tone progression from B major to D# major, which is a reference to the intro where this progression is used. However, this is quickly resolved through a sequence and we arrive at a perfect cadence in B major in M57. It is also worth noting that up to this point, there hasn’t seem to be a satisfying cadence in B major, so this is the first time we feel like we have reached B major definitely. After that, we go through yet another ascending whole-tone progression from G major to B major before ending this section. I believe that these multiple imitations of this motif from the intro is like an echo – echoing of the bell that Kimi rang at the top of the hill. This is also a reference to the lyrics of the last stanza, where the speaker sings that even if this melody/tune should disappear towards the distant horizon, it should leave an echo.
“ring your bell, and raise your song” – raising your song can best be interpreted as singing loudly, with the same purpose of the bell; it is to leave a mark of its existence, like an echo. It also reminds me of the flags used in the mv – a symbol of existence placed firmly into the ground that is later used by Kalafina in the Budokan for the 10th anniversary. For Kalafina, singing in the Budokan, as described by Keiko, has always been a dream. A dream, their fate, or what have you – it is definitely the pinnacle of radiance in their career as Kalafina.
if my heart were to
disappear someday,
i would want to at least
sing of happiness and despair
at the top of
my lungs
However, even if after this radiance of that night, Kalafina one day disappears, or should I say, already had, they would “raise their song” and sing of both happiness and despair at the top of their lungs, so that their echoes that night will always remain in our hearts. It definitely makes sense now why they chose this song as their first song for the anniversary – they wanted to deliver this message of singing to the best of their limits at the very beginning.
Sorry that I had gone off on a tangent. Moving on to the D section (as 2A to 2C is basically the same), we have a choir singing from A flat major to E flat major, then goes through F# major back to A flat major. These are keys that we have not yet modulated to before and suggests of the path continuing towards to reach where Kimi is currently at and the path needed to be taken to reach the horizon.
Next, we have a recapitulation of the C part, this time as 3C, which leads to the Ending1 in B major. There is yet another Ending2 which reestablishes B major more firmly as the final destination, as the horizon that is reached. Again, the whole-tone progression of G major to A major to B major is used extensively, given a sense of ascending up towards B major.
Ending in B major rather than returning back to E major of the beginning is definitely logical considering it in the context of the lyrics. Kimi has arrived at their fate, and being the destination that Kimi is destined to arrive at, going back to either E major or A flat major would be going against the lyrics.
Summing up, I believe that at the end, the singer tells of the importance for the listener to move forward towards our fate and that the only thing stopping us from going there is “our heart”. The radiance of the bright future is waiting, and we need to break out of this night in order to see it, and once we reach it, the singer tells the listener to ring their bell and sing out their voice for the world to remember – a beautiful message for a beautiful song.
I have also created a pdf of an orchestral score that I transcribed that you can follow along or use for further analysis. It can be found in the description of this video: https://youtu.be/wrZ3PF_y9Xk
Starting things off, ‘ring your bell’ is in a lot of ways similar to ‘far on the water’ (e.g. overall world view described by the lyrics and progressions which I will explain later), which is quite reasonable considering how they are from the same album, so Kajiura might be experimenting with the same things at that time. Let’s first get the overall picture of the piece:
- Intro leading up to 1A: E major
- 1B: E major -> B major
- 1C: A flat major -> B major
- Bridge: B major -> E major
- 2A to 2C: same as 1A to 1C
- D: A flat major -> E flat major
- D’: E flat major -> A flat major
- 3C: A flat major -> B major
- Ending1: B major
- Ending2: B major
The intro leading up to E major contains an upward progression of whole tones, moving up from C major, to D major, then after an Esus2 chord, to E major. This progression of whole tones, as we read on, is a motif that is consistently used. The Esus2 chord is used for prolonging tension using the F carried on from the D major chord before the song actually starts at 1A in E major. The cellos are used to resolve the F back down to an E. Combined with the percussion instruments, this creates an effect of the song starting undeniably in E major.
1A starts with a perfect cadence in E major – I, IV, V, I, establishing E major as its homeland/initial starting point. The melody in M7 starts out simple, consisting of two notes with one note resolving to the other. It is then repeated right after in M9 a whole tone below, in other words, this is a two-step sequence. Following that, the melody from M13 to M15 is also restated right after, which introduces what I believe to be an important concept throughout the song – duality. The lyrics portray a sense of two contrasting things – whether it be singing of both happiness and despair, light and dark, silence and the bell, or of course, the characters Kimi (you) and Boku (I) – duality is strongly presented in music too through the use of sequences and repetition.
The next section is where things get interesting. 1B starts in E major but quickly modulates, using the circle of fifths, to B major in M25. Now with the key in B major, this process is repeated except that the second time in M29, instead of resolving to B major, we go from the dominant F# chord to a half step above – G major, which has a chromatic mediant relationship with B major. Specifically, it lies a minor sixth above and shares a common tone B with B major. However, despite this chord being used, it resolves back to B major through again, the use of a sequence – G major to D major followed by E minor to B minor. The violin part also depicts this sequence clearly. Now you might wonder, is there a purpose to this surprise chord? Let’s take a look at the lyrics in the next section.
1C starts by modulating from the dominant of B major – the F# major chord – to A flat major. This kind of direct modulation is also used in ‘far on the water’ (in fact the same set of chords from F# major chord to A flat major) and I will attempt to explain this modulation with the help of the lyrics. Below is the lyrics for this section. From here on I will refer you as Kimi and I as Boku.
the night in which you cried
has concealed
the radiance of the far future
inside of it
you/i can surely go
towards the dazzling hill
where tranquility awaits you
towards your horizon
ring your bell
and raise your song
The night in which you cried – I believe this section is telling a story of the past, where Kimi has experienced a failure of some sort. This section also seems to me to be a flashback; thus, it makes sense that it would be told in a different key directly from the start. The story tells of a radiance of Kimi’s future that is being concealed in this night. A radiance that exists and is waiting for Kimi on the dazzling hill that Kimi can surely reach, in other words, Kimi’s horizon, or as I interpret it, Kimi’s fate.
What is exactly this fate? If we look at the harmony progressions, we can see that we are moving from A flat major (M37) to the dominant E flat major, and then going a half step above to E major before modulating to B major. This is in fact the same progression Kajiura uses in 1B when the dominant F# major leads to G major, except that in 1B it does not lead to modulation, but here in 1C it does. Therefore, this progression is merely ‘concealed’ in 1B, or perhaps, ‘failed’ by Kimi, but is utilized to the full extent in 1C to reach Kimi’s fate/horizon – which I believe to be the modulation to B major. B major is also the dominant key of E major – the home key of the song – so it is logical that E major’s ‘fate’ is its dominant.
Boku seems to me an important character in the lyrics to help Kimi realize Kimi’s fate. With the help of Boku, Kimi can step out of this night of suffering and climb up the dazzling hill where Kimi’s horizon awaits. I think that this duality/contrast between the darkness at night and the dazzling radiance can be represented through the keys of A flat major vs. B major. If we refer to the circle of fifths, the key of A flat major is very far away, if not the furthest, away from B major. Moving from night to day is like moving from a flat-dominated key to a sharp-dominated key. The amount of work to do this is also represented by the hill, a symbol of the efforts required to reach Kimi’s horizon.
Considering this song in the context of the anime Fate stay night, I’m also toying with the idea that Boku might represent the Servant, while Kimi might be the Master. Specifically, this might be denoting the relationship between Archer Emiya and Rin, where Archer helps Rin obtain the Holy Grail. But I am not sure about this.
At M45 we reach B major and are moving into a cadenza section where we go through a number of interesting chords before arriving at B major, which is established more firmly through the use of multiple cadences. In M47, we first go through an ascending whole-tone progression from B major to D# major, which is a reference to the intro where this progression is used. However, this is quickly resolved through a sequence and we arrive at a perfect cadence in B major in M57. It is also worth noting that up to this point, there hasn’t seem to be a satisfying cadence in B major, so this is the first time we feel like we have reached B major definitely. After that, we go through yet another ascending whole-tone progression from G major to B major before ending this section. I believe that these multiple imitations of this motif from the intro is like an echo – echoing of the bell that Kimi rang at the top of the hill. This is also a reference to the lyrics of the last stanza, where the speaker sings that even if this melody/tune should disappear towards the distant horizon, it should leave an echo.
“ring your bell, and raise your song” – raising your song can best be interpreted as singing loudly, with the same purpose of the bell; it is to leave a mark of its existence, like an echo. It also reminds me of the flags used in the mv – a symbol of existence placed firmly into the ground that is later used by Kalafina in the Budokan for the 10th anniversary. For Kalafina, singing in the Budokan, as described by Keiko, has always been a dream. A dream, their fate, or what have you – it is definitely the pinnacle of radiance in their career as Kalafina.
if my heart were to
disappear someday,
i would want to at least
sing of happiness and despair
at the top of
my lungs
However, even if after this radiance of that night, Kalafina one day disappears, or should I say, already had, they would “raise their song” and sing of both happiness and despair at the top of their lungs, so that their echoes that night will always remain in our hearts. It definitely makes sense now why they chose this song as their first song for the anniversary – they wanted to deliver this message of singing to the best of their limits at the very beginning.
Sorry that I had gone off on a tangent. Moving on to the D section (as 2A to 2C is basically the same), we have a choir singing from A flat major to E flat major, then goes through F# major back to A flat major. These are keys that we have not yet modulated to before and suggests of the path continuing towards to reach where Kimi is currently at and the path needed to be taken to reach the horizon.
Next, we have a recapitulation of the C part, this time as 3C, which leads to the Ending1 in B major. There is yet another Ending2 which reestablishes B major more firmly as the final destination, as the horizon that is reached. Again, the whole-tone progression of G major to A major to B major is used extensively, given a sense of ascending up towards B major.
Ending in B major rather than returning back to E major of the beginning is definitely logical considering it in the context of the lyrics. Kimi has arrived at their fate, and being the destination that Kimi is destined to arrive at, going back to either E major or A flat major would be going against the lyrics.
Summing up, I believe that at the end, the singer tells of the importance for the listener to move forward towards our fate and that the only thing stopping us from going there is “our heart”. The radiance of the bright future is waiting, and we need to break out of this night in order to see it, and once we reach it, the singer tells the listener to ring their bell and sing out their voice for the world to remember – a beautiful message for a beautiful song.