Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Thanks to my good friend Kerry Devine from rockstarroadshow.com for coming by and screaming insane notes for our benefit. This video is a lesson how to write music using the “Mario cadence”, aka the double backdoor cadence. It is thus called due its appearance in Super Mario Bros, upon completing the level and reaching the castle you are greeted to a I – bVI – bVII – I in the key of C.

These three chords can not fit into a major or minor key without the use of accidentals, so this video explores what can be done with those chords. They show up in a surprising amount of places, including the following songs that were not mentioned:
“I am the Walrus” – The Beatles
“Breath Your Name” – Sixpence None the Richer
“Losing Time” – Dream Theater
We also go over the modal mixture opportunities, perpetual Picardy thirds, and other composition techniques.

A few things to mention-

The name “Mario cadence” is not going to be found in theory text books but has been heard before – I did NOT invent it. Jazz players may refer to this progression as a “double backdoor resolution”, since a Backdoor Resolution is the movement to the tonic from the degree a whole step below (Bb to C). This resolution moves us up a whole step to that tone, Bb, from the note below, Ab, hence the "double backdoor". .

There are MORE ways to think about this progression than I mentioned in the video, another common one would be to consider the C and the Bb to be both diatonic to C Mixolydian while just the Ab comes from C minor. The b7 is quite tasty over the C major tonic.

At 05:04 I mention that the sequence _ is NOT A SCALE*. In this case I mean that it is not a major scale or minor scale- certainly, any grouping of notes can be called a scale. Whether it is a recognizable or usable one is our concern for this video though.

At 08:24 I am playing the C Blues scale but using other notes as well, including the major 2nd and 7th as passing tones. It mainly focuses on the notes of C Pentatonic Minor though, until the Picardy third.

Please check out GUIM’s video on these chords here!
youtu.be/UJ_Y8EQqerM

My friend Moog Lee, who always helps when I need/want synths: bit.ly/32YnAlZ

And seriously, listen to this song, learn the chords by ear (it's all mario except the modulation and the "key reveal")
youtube.com/watch?v=3-Yh6rnOchs

This video, like all of mine, are sponsored by the amazing folks who have subscribed to my Patreon. We owe them a huge thanks, especially the following folks!
Linas Orentas
Joe Buote
Nick White
Patrick Ryan
Christopher Swanson
John Arnold
Jon Reddish
Brandon Combs
Sebastian
Morgan M.
Lord of the Chords
Billyshes
Phillip Sharp
Don Watters
Bradley Bower
Marek Pawlowski
BuzzWasHere
Kip Ingram

They're the reason you don't see ads or sponsorships in the middle of my videos. You can join them here: patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio

Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Song Examples
03:08 Using And Abusing The Mario Cadence
04:52 Analyzing The Mario Cadence
06:55 A Different Approach
08:44 Seal - "Kissed By A Rose"
10:36 Soloing With Pentatonic Minor
11:33 Wrapping Up