Original Lemmings Soundtrack

[Luis]

What level has the "How much is that doggie in the window" music? It doesn't say, in the description. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6vxY9p7yg" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6vxY9p7yg

[Proxima]

Level 8 in the Amiga/Mac ordering. Don't know about the PC.

[Prob Lem]

Another instance of the claim of Pachelbel's Canon being in Lemmings when it blatantly isn't! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/shocked.gif" alt=":o" title="Shocked" class="smiley" />

Where did this myth come from, and why oh why does it persist? There's not a single Lemmings game that has a tune that's even remotely like it...

[Proxima]

Pachelbel's Canon uses a ground bass, a repetitious chord sequence that persists throughout the piece. Lemmings' Level 2 music just happens to have a chord sequence that's similar enough to be mistaken for the Pachelbel's Canon sequence:

Pachelbel's Canon: I V vi iii IV I IV V
Lemmings Level 2: I vi iii V IV V I V

[Luis]

I'm liking the "How much is that doggie in the window" music a lot. I wish it was remade in the PSP, instead of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain".

[namida]

The SMS version rendition of "London Bridge", as well as the musics unique to that version, are pretty good.

[Clam]

Level 8 in the Amiga/Mac ordering. Don't know about the PC.

It's level 11 on the PC.^{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vebdmQvxanE&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL0F01D5A8BB856413" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">[1]}

[ccexplore]

Pachelbel's Canon: I V vi iii IV I IV V
Lemmings Level 2: I vi iii V IV V I V

Sorry for nitpick, but the Lemmings chord progression is actually I V vi iii IV V I V making it somewhat more similar to the one in Pachelbel's Canon.  Still, beyond that there is pretty much zero resemblance in terms of melody and rhythm (and the Lemmings music is most certainly not a canon either).  People can get away with myths like this because few people know their classical music. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/undecided.gif" alt=":-\" title="Undecided" class="smiley" />

[mobius]

Pachelbel's Canon: I V vi iii IV I IV V
Lemmings Level 2: I vi iii V IV V I V

Sorry for nitpick, but the Lemmings chord progression is actually I V vi iii IV V I V making it somewhat more similar to the one in Pachelbel's Canon.  Still, beyond that there is pretty much zero resemblance in terms of melody and rhythm (and the Lemmings music is most certainly not a canon either).  People can get away with myths like this because few people know their classical music. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/undecided.gif" alt=":-\" title="Undecided" class="smiley" />

I never read anything on the web from "Tim" or the DMA people, maybe you have, but how do you know they didn't simply base this song off of Pachelbel's Canon? I mean it is very similar. I would not say there's "zero resemblance in terms of melody and rhythm". To me, it basically sounds like a modern day jazzed up remake much like "The Fifth of Beethoven" is to Beethoven's fifth symphony.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFbn8EbB4k" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFbn8EbB4k in case you're curious.

Granted; if it is such, they certainty added enough to make it a whole new song, but Cannon is a very plain song and easy to do this with.

[ccexplore]

I never read anything on the web from "Tim" or the DMA people, maybe you have, but how do you know they didn't simply base this song off of Pachelbel's Canon?

But that's exactly the point.  No one from DMA ever said anything about any of the songs, so I think you should have more than just a mere "passing resemblance" to make the claim.  As far as I can tell right now the only thing there's a good resemblance for is the harmony/bassline, but it's such a basic elementary chord progression, you can probably find it in a number of unrelated pieces of music, and it would not be unreasonable to expect the progression to have been come up with independently by Tim.  By comparison, in other Lemmings music the connections were much stronger and unambiguous.

At the very least, with about 4-5 different variations in the melody throughout the progression in the original, they could've more clearly quoted at least one of them at some point before going off into something different.  I've looked at it and just can't find any such quotations.

The best I can say is that, if you must assign a relation between that music and something from classical, Pachelbel's Canon is probably as close as you can get, even though it's nowhere as close as the many other examples in the other lemmings music.  I'm also open to the possibility that Tim could've been inspired by Pachelbel's Canon to come up with the lemmings music, even though the only borrowed element is the chord progression (and even slightly altered at that), but again we lack an actual claim from anyone at DMA for this, and the musical evidence alone is much weaker than in the other music.