NieR opens with the troubling image of a mid-Summer day’s snowfall upon a derelict city. Further compounding the sense that something is not quite right, a haunting duet weaves through harmonies that feel raw and barren, as if they are disparate and estranged from their origins. As the camera pans through the desolate city, we meet whom we presume to be the main character, Nier, and his daughter, Yonah. The accompanying music, Snow in Summer, hints at the game’s main theme and establishes the harrowing atmosphere of NieR ‘s setting and story.

        Note: If you are untrained in Music Theory, I strongly recommend that you read my analysis on Shadowlord first, as it explains some of the fundamental concepts that will be investigated here.

        The story of NieR is tragic, alienating, and in many ways futile, and it is only adequate that its introduction reflect these sentiments. Upon hearing the first chord, it is clear that Snow in Summer is not an optimistic nor traditionally functional piece. It opens in B♭ minor with a fourth sung by solo female singers: an F and a Bb above it. While this may seem relatively within the bounds of traditional harmony, the subsequent parallel movement to another fourth, C and F, distinguishes the piece from its traditional counterparts. These intervals are very raw sounding, and in juxtaposition do not offer much structural significance. It is for this reason that the roman numeral analysis does not reveal very useful information; the piece is more contrapuntal than harmonic. That said, the overarching structural harmonic functions are still present in the piece, and the sequence is very comparable to that of Shadowlord ‘s.
        While certainly not as strong (and ultimately reducible to an even deeper structural layer that renders most of the piece tonic in function), the first four bars are of Tonic function, moving to Sub-dominant function in the fifth bar, finally reaching Dominant function in the 9th bar to conclude the section. The soprano itself stays on a structural 1 the whole time, solidifying the dominant harmony in measure nine when it is suspended and resolves to #7. It is important to recognize that the movements it makes before this are a form of prolongation, its voice ebbing and flowing through different harmonies without impairing the structural significance of its root. The bass engages in a similar act, holding a structural 5 until eventually moving down to a 4 to support sub-dominant function in measure 5. One might equate this concept to the act of seeing a landmark while driving by; it’s not where you’re going, and it’s not where you actually are, but you get to see it nonetheless. Everything beyond the i ⁶  ₄  chord and the iv chord is simply sight-seeing.
        Before investigating the deeper levels of Snow in Summer, it is worth exploring these landmarks and identifying the roles they play on a superficial level. We begin at a home away from home; a tonic harmony that does not feel resolute: the i ⁶  ₄  chord. Fourths between the bass and upper voices are often perceived as dissonant, both due to their overtonal makeup and the brain’s propensity to interpret the upper note as 4-3 suspensions. Keep that last bit in mind — it will be pertinent later. In measure two, however, we meet a chord that makes the i ⁶  ₄  seem very consonant in comparison: a sort of diminished chord that seems to manifest as a ii° ⁴  ₃ . Though this chord could be labeled many things, the matter of importance is in its functional dissonance. This dissonance is resolved in measure three when the voices resolve to III, shining bright with that hint of relative major. The pattern continues however, moving to the dissonant vii°/iv in measure four.

These landmarks we see are alternating between places of resolution and places of tension. This surface layer provides a bit of accessible harmony one can latch onto.
         It is now time to approach the music at a deeper level. You’ll notice that each note traverses only a 4th: the 1 to 5 and the 5 to 2. It is then within these bounds that the voices decorate themselves, slipping in and out of consonance. We see the soprano move to 5, visiting its neighbor-tone 6 before returning to 5 in preparation for its step-wise motion of 5-6-7-1. This is an outlining of the first interval of 5-1. The bass is slower, but still utilizes the same contour in its 2-3-#3-(5)-4. It is the #3, leading tone of the secondary-diminished chord vii°/iv, that allows it to travel the same “length” and arrive at a different note — in this case, the root of Sub-dominant harmony. The 5 makes an appearance briefly in measure four, perhaps serving as reminder that we are indeed making a structural movement downward despite ostensibly arriving at it through what is physically upward motion.
        Upon arriving at measure four, the movements begin to feel very convicted, a product of the structural move to Sub-dominant. The bass’s step-wise motion of 4-3-2 outlines this function, finally moving to 5 for the first real dominant harmony we’ve seen in the piece. The 3-2 is simply an extension of the function and can be removed in reduction; the structural bassline is really just 5-4-5 through this entire section. The soprano holds the structural 1, as covered earlier, outlining Sub-dominant harmony with its superimposition of 4 and 6 (essentially another form of outlining that utilizes chord tone arpeggiation rather than step-wise motion) before reaching 5 and finally #7. Upon adding all this structural movement together, you get (and I understand this may be hard to believe) the following:

        While the music seems disjointed in its parallel leaps and unstable intervals of focus, it is actually operating very smoothly on a structural level. This structure provides a very satisfying and strong musicality that is then decorated with lugubrious excursions. This is why the music is pleasurable to listen to, but you sense that there’s just something that’s not quite right. The movements really don’t make much sense on a superficial layer, and the brain picks this up when listening chord to chord in real-time. Soon enough, however, the piece falls into alignment as the brain makes sense of the background structure.

        Another female soloist joins the duet in the second section, a reiteration of the first with the harmony a little more distinguished. The bottom voices remain exactly the same while the new soprano offers a downward descant. If you were unconvinced of the harmony outlinings investigated in the previous section, those created by the soprano line may convince you. The soprano begins on the third of the tonic, D. It then moves step-wise to 1, visiting the neighbor-tone #7 along the way. The 3-2-1 movement outlines tonic harmony, again travelling only within the interval of a 4th. In the second phrase of the section, it begins on 6, the 3rd of iv, moving step-wise to 1, the 5th of iv, in a contribution to the outlining of Sub-dominant harmony. Upon arrival at next chord, previously declared dominant harmony in section 1, it moves to the 3rd of V, #7, finally jumping to the fifth of V, 2. The soprano’s sequence in section 2 falls perfectly in line with the harmonic functions mapped out earlier. It reinforces the functions, offering more support through its convicted outlining.
        Even still, the soprano line is subject to the same deeper structural scrutiny as the other voices; It starts by filling out the last functional note of the tonic, its 3rd, and ends by filling one more functional note of V, its 5th. On its way, it reaffirms reaffirms iv through its realization of its 3rd:

It all comes together in the the form of music’s oldest cadence in the book. The soprano cements the structure of the sections by filling in the missing pieces, producing a progression of great cogency. When reduced, the piece’s harmony is clear and simple. Its decorations are what give it the guise of a foreign piece — don’t worry, we will examine these decorations after we have established the full structure in Section 3. If you listen closely for the structural notes rather than the more forward ornaments, you may be able to pick up the weight they carry. Your brain subconsciously interprets this no matter what, but perceiving them on a conscious level is something that takes training.

        Section three offers the most colorful harmony of the music, evident from the onset with its opening chord VI. It is in this section that we first hear fragments of NieR ‘s main theme, the circle-of-fifths progression that can be heard most apparent in Ashes of Dreams. It is because of this thematic feature, that upon listening to this piece after completing the game, you may have felt this section resonate deeply with you. NieR ‘s main theme begins on the “Hidden so deep” lyric of Ashes of Dreams (New), forming a vi-ii-V-I-IV-bII/vi-V/vi in major. In minor, this progression would be i-iv-VII-III-VI-bII-V. You may choose to analyze it in major or minor (I would even determine a modulation point between the relative keys), but for the sake of clarity and relation to Snow in Summer we will keep it in minor.
        Looking at the bassline for the game’s main theme, we see the repeating downward fifths (or upward fourths, depending on how you look at it) movement: 1-4-7-3-6-♭2-5. Semantic note: Remember that scale degrees are written in base 8 (there is no scale degree 8 or above) and that the initial scale degree itself is included in calculation of intervalic movement; it might not look like 5ths on paper, but they are indeed 5ths. Now looking at Snow in Summer ‘s third section here, we see the bass movement of: 3-6-5-2. 3-6 is a 5th movement in the bass and 5-2 is as well, but the 6-5 seems irrelevant to the main theme. Looking at the music, however, we see a palindromic contour between the chords built on said scale degrees:

        ABBA, where A is a second inversion voicing and B is a root position voicing. Rather than repeating the sequence, it mirrors itself. Now what if we removed the mirror?

        The theme reveals itself. This bass movement is made of downward 5ths, just like the theme from Ashes of Dreams, only Okabe has twisted it upon itself. The bass movement in fourths is a feature of both pieces, though expectedly discombobulated in this more muted and darker piece. While the harmony is not the same, given that the style of this piece focuses on the re-voicing of chords rather than diatonic movement (which will be explained promptly), this segment is absolutely derivative of the main theme. This is a special moment in the piece if you’ve completed the game because your ears recognize this, and through theory and analysis we have demonstrated why.
         Moving back into its own world, the piece embellishes a distant cadence in the relative major in the third and fourth measures of the section. The cadence is subverted by an unexpected movement to the relative minor’s picardy third, however, subsequently returning to the diatonic i ⁶   before the piece engages in its most structural dominant cadence yet. This escapade to the relative major being squandered by the parallel major of the original minor key produces a puzzling feeling. The chordal makeup of the cadence is that of a dominant to the relative major, but the voice leading really leads us to believe that it is dominant to the relative minor; the Bb is encircled by C and Ab.

Both possibilities are certainly options, but we are instead met with the parallel major. It is a burst of displaced hope, a light shining in the wrong place. Whatever this light is, it is quickly extinguished by its i⁶   replacement. The piece concludes with the resolved re-voicing of a suspended V chord.

         Now that the structure and thematic development have been identified, it is time to examine the decorations, for these are what give the music its unique sound. The re-voicing of chords is a prominent technique used by Okabe within Snow in Summer. In the second downbeat of Section 2, the soprano has descended from 3 to 2 and the notes now resemble a suspended V. Rather than immediately moving to V, the soprano continues its descent to 1 and the lower voices are re-voiced to a suspended V ⁶  ₄ , with the soprano finally moving to #7 in what is anticipated to be be a V.

        Though no popular framework in music theory exists to analyze timbre, its signifiance must not be overlooked. A trio of solo female singers is a very intimate setting, something that is further compounded by the low extension of the altos. NieR is a game about what it means to be human (or simply alive, for that matter), and as such, Okabe’s decision to use humanity’s most natural instrument in its opening is most felicitous. Each voice is moving through the sonic spectrum in an effort to reach its resolution, just as Nier and the Shadowlord pursue their own conclusions. While voices of any instrument offer this conviction, it is with the human that we identify most, allowing this sense of destination to resonate within us. Though the camera seems to pan aimlessly through the city, we know that it is headed toward something important, just as we know the wandering voices we hear are ultimately seeking resolution. Knowing the destination, the various diversions of the voices evoke empathy from us, like watching a mouse enter a fruitless limb of a maze. The timbre of NieR ‘s opening piece primes the player for the humanistic tale of endeavor and suffering ahead of them.
         The re-voicing of chords allows for large intervalic movements that don’t completely defy voice-leading. It provides a sense of movement without actually going anywhere on a structural level, causing the voices to sound desultory, like a ghost wandering jadedly through its home. We see the same sort of re-voicing in the section’s final measure when the singers jump from a V ⁶  ₄  to a V. This technique is prevalent in the piece and is used to both open and conclude section 3.
         The soprano line is conservative with its melodic movements, using a select few contours throughout the piece. Its movement of a 2nd is identical in measures two and four, as well its movement of a 3rd in seven and eight. The downward descent at the beginning of section 2 is consistent with the descent in its second phrase, which then goes on to make yet another 3rd movement in the final measure. The final section’s first phrase is comprised of 3rd movements within the measures and 2nd movements between each measure. The seemingly endless cycles of thirds helps to create a sense of timelessness and ambulance, aptly reflecting the scene at hand.

         Snow in Summer effectively establishes the atmosphere of NieR, using enigmatic harmonies to evoke a sense of ambivalence and dread. The music’s path is unclear but the destination salient, aptly reflecting Nier’s own journey. With the game’s main theme twisted upon itself in a pained recitation, Snow in Summer forebodes the cruel reality that there is no victory to be found in the completion of NieR.