And here is the follow-up video: ua-cam.com/video/HlVYd6PQ42w/v-deo.htmlsi=Qr5XqSZhUBgVO93Q While it doesn't cover everything (the video was getting too long) there are a bunch of things in there that will hopefully inspire you to new ideas.
I dont care for click tracks. All my amps have their own mics. I use real drums, too. I have a midi keyboard and use it for some vst instruments for pads or chord tracks. Everything goes through the Mackie 24 8bus mixer before it goes to the audio interface. I don't want to sound like everybody else.
I would also go as far as to say it’s how we purchase music now. 500 years ago yes the radio could dump a program on you but we could walk into a record store see something strange pick it up and buy it. Tell our friends or adopt it into our playing style Now there is an algorithm to make sure we see nothing strange and only are exposed to what is in the program. Meaning we hear less variety.
true but to a point, i think every new aspiring producer is going to want to spend $10k minimum on vst plugins or whatever the modern day equivalent is, but in order to get that true professional sound they will have to get my personally crafted and curated plugin suite where i took open source code and reskinned the graphics to look all vintage maybe with glowing vacuum tubes, cause no artist will take you seriously if all your plugins don't look like they are all part of the same brand, luckily for beginners i am offering this very pro suite used by all pros for the low price that i am actually taking a huge loss but its all for the community and if my family starves well its a sacrifice i have to make: $75.00* 0 .00* contact me to take advantage of this opportunity before inflation forces the price to be unaffordable! ** Litigations and trademarks and copyright fine print type info you do not need to read Though price may appear to be $75 its actually $75,000, more legal jargon known to the every day man as "legalese"
@@KathyWhiplash This is categorically false. Beethoven's 5th doesn't stop being Beethoven's 5th just because you hear it through a pair of speakers. Music is literally defined as sound over time and no medium will ever change that definition.
This quote should be sung and framed and placed upon the walls of the internet so that everyone shall read it. Or, oh the irony, be sampled by AI and earn you a ton of money 😂
everyone said the same thing, upload 1 song every week. and hope your stale music will be able to fool some drunk dude, and hope that he'll save your mediocre song into his playlist and with AI, the problem become worse exponentially, now all the Normie and their mom can throw their junks into spotify and youtube, hoping to make some quick cash some AI Normies even pick a fight with a real producers on the internet, thinking that with AI now they're above everyone else
@@jensenraylight8011 instrument is instrument, when synths are born with all knobs than presets no one consinder it real instruments just like samplers.. Sampling generated sounds from stolen tracks, and now making new generated sound from not copyrighted samples with knowlage in sound design, music theory and producing is better than old sampling.. remember Korg M1!!? ; or Mellotron from 1963, which used loops of audio tape to play back the sounds... Every one can make something even in stone age.. Stay creative and be curious
@@StatetrooperBillyBill nah I'm gonna be real with you for every Aerosmith there was 200 Warrants and even Aerosmith flopped hard sometimes. music isn't necessarily better or worse now because every era has it's share of iconic records and shitbrick bargain bin nobodies
I completely agree with every point you’ve made, but it feels like we’re part of a dying breed. One critical aspect you didn’t mention is the decline of traditional bands. A group of musicians who play their own instruments, rehearse together, and then record-it’s becoming increasingly rare. I saw this coming when the indie scene took off, home studios became commonplace, and plugins began to dominate. There’s an art to every part of the process: writing music, producing, playing an instrument, and mastering. While there are a few rare talents, like Brian Wilson, who can excel in multiple areas, even he relied on the Wrecking Crew to bring his sessions to life. Collaboration and craftsmanship are what make music truly special, and we’re losing that.
Absolutely. When you put a bunch of people together who are all experts in (or at least lovers of) their own instruments, and who not only have individual tastes and preferences, but also who all understand what's good about their specific instrument, you start getting songs and music that become a lot more than the sum of their parts, and much better than what any band member could have come up with individually. Hired studio musicians can be fantastic talents, but the end result is not the same if they're there just to lay down some tracks, instead of being part of creative process from the start, like a band member.
@@ristoravela652You must be kidding yourself if you think studio musicians get that much flexibility when it comes to creativity. You were hired to play a part, not write it. Edit: I'm not saying that I want it to be that way, but that's usually how it goes. It's very rare for a band leader to give their session hires that amount of room to work.
@@DTfan43 That was actually the point I was trying to make :) Yeah, hiring studio musicians is not the same as having band members (but it's not because of the studio musicians).
i disagree, we're not losing it, you're just looking in the wrong places, you're not gonna get groundbreaking or authentic production from the radio or Spotify recommendations. there's tons of groundbreaking production in the underground and just on the edge of mainstream. A.g. cook Charli xcx's main producer has created mind-blowing synth/rock albums. oneohtrixpoint never has been leading the charge on underground music that breaks into mainstream for decades
@@elbownio5820 Oh, we sure are, aren’t we? If you want to find a band that actually plays their own instruments these days, you’ll need a miner’s helmet and a map, because the music scene has gone so far underground it might as well be hiding from the IRS. The decline? That kicked off in the late ’90s and has since turned music into a wheezing shadow of its former self. Live music with legends like Queen, ABBA, The Beatles, or Nirvana? Good luck. You’d have an easier time spotting Bigfoot playing a ukulele. What do we get instead? Oh, the “new” famous acts? Spoiler: they’re about as creative as a sandwich without bread. Meanwhile, Metallica’s still thrashing, the Stones are still rolling, and everyone else seems content with rehashing what worked 40 years ago because look, we’re so retro and eighties! Newsflash: It’s not cool. It’s cringe. And let’s talk about auto-tune-the little button that flushed the music industry down the toilet. Everything now is pitch-corrected, time-stretched, and polished to a soulless, beige perfection. The kind of sterile “artistry” that makes me want to claw my ears off when the radio’s on. Boring chord progressions? Check. Melodies that sound like AI wrote them? Double check. Add a production style that’s essentially a copy-paste of whatever was “safe” last year, and voilà, you’ve got the musical equivalent of boiled chicken. No, it’s not just me getting older. It’s not nostalgia goggles. It’s a decline, a race to the bottom where nothing important is being said and nothing new is being done. And the best anyone can muster is some embarrassing, faux-edgy “we’re-so-eighties” cosplay. Groundbreaking. Truly. What’s next, a MySpace revival? Don’t tempt them.
I do literally remember having to carry my amp, instrument, and sometimes other gear around, taking it on the bus, and huffing it sometimes quite a distance in the winter, no joke. Totally sucked not having a vehicle back then.
You "Hit the Nail on the Head", my heart lives in 20th century music full of dynamics, acoustics and lots of air, the art of air (mic placement). Ahhh the good ole dayz....
"24 old year producer" I wonder how you become a producer... Did you went to an actual college to become one? Or one day you downloaded some DAW and you become a "producer"?
your are so right, I'm 70 years old, everything is perfect today but real life is not, not just music, photography and all art forms i don't comment much on UA-cam but this deserves a comment as you have nail everything.
Absolutely spot on. Also the melody lines are all one note with a few minor note movements at the end of major sections - Just listen to Taylor Swift - why do people like the songs? because it is not singing up and down scales or a dynamic range of notes. Another reason why Hip Hop is so popular - same beat, one tempo, no vocal dynamics. Cheers, Kim Australia
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHumeLOL, back in my day in 84’/85’, I did literally carry my Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 combo in my arms with me to my high school (down the street about a quarter mile) many a day to play in our jazz band and pop band ensembles. Luckily I grew up in Vegas so flat and no snow involved lol. I must’ve had a good back because I’d laugh at trying that these days lol 😂
@@KimboH55 you saying hip-hop is same beat, one tempo, no vocal dynamics confirm that you really don't listen to rap. If you did, your opinion would be different. It's totally okay not to like something, but your reasoning is off.
@ i think you misunderstood him. He’s comparing over-processed homogenous beats to mcdonalds. Whereas live-room mic recorded instruments and stuff like that would be, idk, like, a home-cooked meal
Outstanding video. I've been recording my music since 1969 - Neumann U47/U67, 3M 8 track, mix through custom built Orban Mixer to Ampex R2R. I'm 80 now and still going... I'm happy to say that I just finished four albums (73 songs - Dec '23-Oct '24) with my friend David Rovics. He recorded the basic instrument vocal tracks in one take and sent them to me here in Hawai'i. Then I added all of the other instruments, often in 3 takes or less in my studio in a yurt. Bass and electric guitars were recorded through a wire to keep the noise down and Ukulele, banjo, vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded through a Rode K2 or Townsend modeling mic. (When my "neighbor's" employee wasn't mowing the 8 acre vanity lawn). I do remember the "bad old days" when we tuned using a tuning fork and when performing live were rarely in tune. I like using tuners on stage. Anyhoo - lots of folks ARE recording unique music. Ya probably won't hear it on the radio though.
I've often said that one thing you no longer get, is "player fatigue". Used to, in pop/rock, you could hear the musicians and singers fatigue slightly towards the end, and that affected their playing. The listener could feel that excitement. Think of a great record like, "Baby, It's You" by Smith (1969). Or anything by Janis Joplin. Now you don't get that natural expenditure of human energy.
Great observation and one I've not considered before. It's the life force that translates through the music, and new productions are missing much or all of that
Apparently Chino Moreno deliberately recorded vocals for the entire Deftones album Gore in one go so that he would get more and more fatigued through the record and that would come through in his performance. There's a lot of debate about the mixing of that record (so this might not have come off as good as it could have). But that dropped in 2016 so not old old. There are still people doing interesting things if you look hard enough. Especially in underground scenes.
I’ve recorded guitar tracks with mic’ed amps in open fields and on city rooftops in the summer sun. You can very much hear it, and it makes a huge difference.
@@4lssis468 The air plane reference is to Led Zeppelins Black Country Woman plus the engineers chatter that goes with it (the track was recorded outside), the telephones are in the "The Ocean" on Houses of the Holy at about 2.30 into the track, there is more engineers (or band) chatter in Out On the Tiles at about 1.30 ("Stop") there are probably more that i haven't picked up - there's also the notorious bass drum pedal squeak on a few of there tracks
Hey, I just realized that this might be a good spot to ask about "Troy" by Sinéad O'Connor. It's an iconic song on the album "the Lion and the Cobra" (1987) Now, it seems that 4:54 some piece of electronic equipment gets damaged by Sinéad's vocal assault, what else should it be called? After that things go "downhill" in terms of sound quality. BUT it fits perfectly with the artistic expression. Someone tried to make the argument that the distortion was made intentionaly. I think that after the take, the technicians and Sinéad decided to remix or made some sort of patch of the recording. Do any of you have any insight about this matter? In case you're wondering "Who is this guy"? First of all : "I AM A DANCER". I'm a music affecionado who still buys records and CD's. 🥺please call back🥹
@@Bristolcentaurus In The Beatles records the drum pedal squeak was a constant. Also, they had so limited time to record that often one of them sang the wrong lyrics and it's still there on the final records. If you listen to "i'll get you", there is a part where George Harrison sings different lyrics from the other two for the whole verse 😂
I've been out of the music biz for quite a while, but absolutely everything you're saying is on point. Everything. I remember that one of my engineers said that a label rejected one of his mixes because the vocals sounded like he ran them through a quantizer. Today it would not only be a plus, but something engineers/producers would actively pursue. Crazy. Anyway, *_SUBSCRIBED!_*
Your comment also reminds me that to make music nowadays, you don’t need to know anything about music…in fact AI can do it. However, to use microphones and instruments, you need to know how. Hopefully this will still be of value
@@evoltapI really haven't complained much about this issue, I went from US hits in the 50s, British invasion of the 60s. Motown, Disco of the 70s, electronic (Tangerine Dream, Schulze) of the 80s, Chicago house and techno 90s, Trance HipHop early 2000s, Club House before and after 2010 and now Afro house and ethnic dance sound today, I never sit around and think music is sounding the same. I love my music journey at 75 (and counting..knock on wood)
This is exactly how pianos work. Only the strings in the very lowest part of the soundboard are single strings; everything from about C3 upwards has at least two strings, each slightly out-of-tune with each other but centered on the perfect pitch, and everything from about C5 up uses 3 strings, with the middle string perfectly on-pitch, with the other two being slightly detuned or over-tuned, which gives pianos their rich tones. It's also why 12-string guitars were invented and why instruments like mandolins have doubled strings.
Yes, in fact the two defining aspects of choral, or even double tracking, is that the pitches vary against each other due to independent rate of vibrato in each. in a big choir, like gospel, you also hear the actual breathing sounds as a separate effect. You won't get this if you digitally duplicate vocal elements.
This is one the aspects I like the most of rock bands that are very piano-centered, like The Rolling Stones. I've always found it difficult to express in words, but the little pitch variations make it sound like the band is on the edge of a cliff, a little mistake and everything will fall, but, like a miracle, everything works.
Very happy to have accidentally come across this because it was super informative but I also couldn’t help but to feel a bit sad. I’m in my 30’s and wondered why music no longer feels the same and this answered a lot of questions about why that is. Hopefully, we’ll get back to our roots a bit more while creating music. Thanks so much for putting this out here!
I wondered for a long time why older music was so much brighter and just sounded different. Thanks for answering that question, I had no idea it was the tape speed.
Next time you hear Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen listen to how his vocal sounds a little higher and brighter than his other records. They thought the recording sounded too slow and Bruce's voice was to gruff so they decided to speed up the mix. Bob Clearmountain sped it up when he mixed it...Then Chuck Plotkin sped it up even more right before it was released... It became his biggest hit to date.
totally agree with this take, it's over saturated and it'll get worse sadly, people don't want to create art, they just want a easy way to a lot of money so they lose the passion in the process. I try my hardest to create unique music, I mix and master all my music and I also work with producers who escaped that generic trap/rap beatmaking loop. great video
Man I am so honored to have worked with you at Tree Sound in the late 90s. With so many sessions since, picking on panic stands out to this day. I know I was green but I noticed. Much love to you.
Ps. You are totally speaking my mind in this vidja. Also. Why do you care if folks who see this video of absolute truth don’t agree? This is confusing to me. You are a singular ear at the console. One day, very soon, the industry will switch to people who are artists humbly and boisterously making hand made crafted actual music. I understand acknowledging automation and stacking and cut and pasting. That’s All in an analytic app now. Just short of AI. Perfection is not perfect. The last record I did we drew in some vocal points. Other than that, it was pretty much exactly how I remember you doing things at Tree. You know there’s gonna come a day where people recognize six fingers on a hand musically and it’s not going to illicit the same emotional response as some people, standing on a tight rope. I firmly believe whether it’s retro progressive or old new stuff whatever you wanna call it. The human artist and the spirit conjured Will have no imitators.
Great info and insight on analog vs digital… as an old guy, I do love analog, but I also love the perfect clarity and basically unlimited tracks to work with. But I love analog acoustic music I grew up with! Thanks for a great video!
Awesome video! I've made it a habit for 15 years to record all of my own stuff from scratch, not use stock or bought presets, or sounds. My creativity and control of the complexity is through the roof! I push myself each day to not sound like everyone else.
@@SchweinchenHorst Does he need a golden record? Why do we have to turn everything ugly with materialism and capitalism, as a perversion of worth and value? All music is received by musicians, who then rework and turn it into their own expression. Where this music comes from nobody knows.
Thanks for a great video, I’m 71 and have been involved with music all my life, I try to explain to young musicians what you have just explained perfectly, now all I have to do is give them a link to this video 🍻
Bang on! I don't know how many times I've mentioned the word dynamics to artists; it feels so redundant on my behalf. And what about fermatas? Where have those gone? Listen to the fermata in the Pointer Sister's version of Fire. I love how after the bridge everything slows right down and gets quiet before they sing, "Romeo and Julliet" to come back into the last verse. I also love the dead air between the riffs in the intro of Fire. Ah... a moment of silence before each one gets played again, and not "let's fill it all up with some sound from some loop or keyboard pad". And what about bridges, why have those disappeared? And it's so rare that we hear great solos, too. Is it because they take up too much time and songs must be 3:00 minutes or less? Great video that I recommend people pay attention to.
I think your analysis isn't fair. You're basing your analysis on your subjective feelings..Just bc u like bridge doesn't mean every song should have a bridge. Or it doesn't mean a song without a bridge is less desirable. What I noticed, you like bridge, and a specific type of music bc thats what you grew up with. However, there's absolutely no written rule that every sine should have a bridge. In fact, the way I see it, bridges don't fit every song, and with the type of music nowadays, it becoming unnecessary to make a song 4min long just to add a bridge. Also, the style you describe is more common in certain genre than others. It is more common to hear bridges, or slow down in rnb, afro beats than hip-hop or trap. Since we're seeing more n more of trap n rap songs in general, hence why it feels bridges are becoming obsolete.
@@emmanuel.n8458 No one was saying that every song should have a bridge, or every song should have anything. It's the lack of variation and individuality which is the problem. A bridge is just one way of adding interest and variation to a song.
@@emmanuel.n8458obsolete ... there's really no such thing regarding sound, and song composure. Eb and flow is more like it (trends then doesn't then comes back again, etc.). Some teqniques are (due to advances/better techniques), and equipment. Otherwise the rest of it throwing stuff together, and see what works. Like vibrato. Used be everyone was taught it (singers/vocalists), now no one is. It isn't obsolete, but isn't old enough to be new again (though that might be hilarious with auto tune, and gives me an idea...).
One thing to also consider is that most people aren’t making money off music like they used to, especially thanks to streaming. So for a lot of people, especially younger artists, producers, engineers, etc. it’s getting harder and harder to justify investing in these analog pieces of gear they will likely see little to no return on any time soon.
cant afford the investment of time either...everything old school doesn't just take more money, it takes more time...people will prioritize efficiency and ease of use over feel and experience,..cause they cant afford to spend the same amount of time making music as before
It's a different grind for sure, I find as a producer in 2024 there's a lot of weird pressures to be a lot more than a producer, and I think for me where I struggle is with social media, that doesn't mean I roll over and accept my fate as a hobbyist, but I don't really feel the need or want to be like in the forefront of public consciousness. It's literally the only thing that keeps me tied to smart technology in general is the fact that there's this element of necessity to be this influencer, like bro I just wanna sell beats, do sessions. Y'know?
I think the main difference is with playing real/miked instruments, whole songs/jams, not correcting everything to death. This costs no extra cent and add a lot of individuality. I think it's hard for young artist with no band background to realize how much fun it is to work on stuff with other people even if it's not all perfect.
Not to mention the cost of hiring a studio to record in. Even the ”lower quality” ones where i live cost a hefty amount for half a day. I’ve instead invested in alot of modest equipment at home, and the digital stuff is updating and getting better every year. In the long term, its better for me and my band.
19y.o. analog enthusiast here, thanks alot for this masterpiece of a video! it objectively answers to some of my questions to what I didn't find answers before, instead of just shitting on modern music without being able to argument the point. I've also tried to understand my natural preference to the older music, to find more objective arguments for the "the music was better before" thesis from the audio engineering perspective (and not promotional/songwriting one). Highly appreciate the hard work and passion put into the creation of this video!
I too am 70. Started engineering in the early 70s on an old API. Ended in NYC through the 90s on an SSL. Burnt through thousands of 2” & 1/2” reels of 456! So many Studios & Music Stores bk around 42nd - 54th street & 7th.. It was a real community! Anyway, just wanted to give props on a master class look at the industry. The compressor / limiter demo was great! FYI: one of the better, higher tech studios in NYC circa 1980s was actually named “Unique Recording”.
In the mid 80's my band recorded at Unique on two occasions, always an overnight 8 hr session. One session we had to start 2hrs late as Chaka Kahn was tracking her vocal parts on Windwoods Higher Love. She came out and apologized. Good times!
I totally agree with everything you said! I recorded using Pro Tools and HDX plugins for years and enjoyed every bit of the convenience and sound. Then I tracked an album with an old school Americana artist who insisted I did everything using hardware(Neve, 1176, mic cabs, different rooms, external FX, etc.) and he didn't want me to do any corrections at all! Once we finished tracking and mixing I was blown away at how amazing the album sounded. I dig your vids (nice and clear and understandable for us bass players :) I would love to see more of your techniques.
Great Post, one of the best I've see about digital production. I said the very same thing to an engineer at quad audio in the UK about 5 years ago. Naah he said don't agree with that. It's mad that this has happened. No soul in the sound anymore.
Excellent from beginning to end. Your experience and expertise are evident. You are natural at this. I really enjoyed this presentation. The only thing I can compare it to is David Byrne's book, " How Music Works". Keep em coming!
As a 22 year old producer/engineer, I can agree with all of this. I think your videos are hitting really close to home for me, especially with how I see the industry moving. I personally feel that a lot of engineers/producers from my generation are quite misinformed about a lot of these things, as well as under the impression that these things are necessary for success. In hip hop producers are producing directly into not 1, but 2 clippers, and sending that to the artist/mixer. I feel that a lot of younger musicians are not only scared to step outside of “perfection”, but under the impression that it’s necessary to be “perfect” to succeed. I have told plenty of people that we don’t have to master to -5LuFS (yes, that loud) and they still do it, purely because they’re scared that the audience won’t listen to a dynamic master. Anyways. I’m grateful you are making these videos so that I can send them to my friends and beg them to step outside of “perfect.”
Throw away Ableton.Throw away the grid. Do linear tape. Play all parts. For the entire track. Add emphasis and dynamics all through, the entire track. Be a human.
A lot of "type beats" here on YT are unlistenable, and I think it's just for the reason you said about mixing into 2 clipper. It's all kick hi hat and snare smacked in your face. They have a really unnatural image and balance...
I feel the same way over here. I was just telling my wife that the comments on my videos have been so motivating and inspiring because it makes me feel like I'm not alone and the only one who cares. So thank YOU!
The other reason you did not mention is that many of those kids just want to be famous and earn money by copying what’s been successful in the past. Those kids are not artist but just clouT chasers. Edit: and don’t forget the publishers and record labels; they are pushing only the sound that is (in their eyes) ‘current’ and solely dictated by money. And let’s not forget many of the audiences don’t care about ‘good’ music.
They don’t copy the the successful people from back then, cause then mainstream music would be good. What happens is the music industry finds people with talent and personality and signs them to a label that forces them to copy what else is popular today making all the music super boring and sound the same
Yep. This is why "artists" like JoJo Siwa cop so much hate. It's clear that she's not actually interested in being a musician. She isn't creating music because it's her passion. She is just aware that she can sing, and that she already has PR connections.
I was trapped in my bad productions. You've saved me and think this is the most important lesson for me in the last 10 years. You're a master in analyzing stuff. Thanks from the bottom of my heart man 🙏🏼✌🏼
taking notes from this to help myself with my music much needed video ive been working all year trying to mix and mash any sound i find to create something new but i found that my music can keep the same flow im currently working on adding extra variations within the music itself
8:15 as a musician growing up with African(ised) music, I find notes that are exactly on the beat are not perfect but primitive, musically without flavour. Listen to authentic Gnawa, Ethiopian Music, Sidney Bechet or Miles Davis: how many notes are actually flat on the beat, and where exactly are they if not? Those microrhythms are exactly where groove happens.
As an in the box musician (a side from vocals and simple percussion) I am always trying to get some distance and air that is quite different from what most reverb plugins -- I do use reverb for a bit of sparkle, stereo enhancement and 3Dness but even with it I always feel like my ITB software instrument based compositions feel right on top of you. Best thing I've found to approximate the "air" described in this vid is a plugin from Airwindows called Distance ("Distance is specifically set up to mimic through-air high frequency attenuation"). You might like it and find it useful. I put one instance on my mix bus to set a basic depth for the whole composition and then use it here and there on individual instruments, pushing and pulling them until it sounds pretty close to a real band playing. Airwindows ToTape8 and his CreamCoat reverb are pretty mind blowingly good and useful as well. Let me know if the Distance plugin helps you out as I am curious what you think
A side note to aligning the drums to the grid. I am a drummer that has been in a professional studio for recording sessions. When I listen back to the track I can tell they have already done it. This is because in the software you can choose the note time value. Once that is done the software will push or pull the note to the closest grid line. The result is sometimes cool sounding and sometimes not. It depends on where the note was intended to be. Basically I will hear things moved because that isn't how I played the piece of music and how it was intended to be. So I am also in favor of ignoring the grid and let the notes fall where they are supposed to be.
To be fair, that has been the case since the dawn of humanity. Most music is a remix of what has become before. The tiny minority of music that actually is completely new, is very hard to listen to. Those are the avant-garde artists who make music that barely sounds like music to most people, including musicians and music snobs. 🤷
As a young music producer and artist, I definitely agree with everything on this list. There is a lot of “humanity” that is lost upon using plugins and digital instruments for everything in your music and can definitely take the soul out of it and make it sound robotic. That’s why I think it’s important to try to incorporate naturally played sounds as much as you can in your music. Play in your midi drums. Play in your chord progression. Maybe you might need to tweak the timing or how one or two notes sound, but you can definitely hear the difference and it adds character and your own personal touch to what you’re making. But also do remember that music is ultimately an art form, and there’s just as much merit to a robotic sound as there is to a natural one. The beauty of it is in the ear of the beholder
Listening to BH is like a breath of fresh air. Not only does all modern pop music sound the same, all young UA-camrs use the same droning voice (usually with a so-called Vocal Fry end to each sentence). BH's voice has character and reminds me of my childhood!
As a UA-camr, I completely agree with you. Most of the channels I come across are just copies of copies of copies of someone who stood out by not copying anything or anyone.
I really appreciate your take on this topic. I’m a 70s baby born in the 80s, so I love the arrangements, musicianship and sound of music that was recorded the Old School way. I use those skills and techniques in my recordings today, and try my best to channel what would have been done in those classic eras of recordings.
I recognized this inevitability years ago. Many did. The difference between me and many of my cohorts though, is that MANY have taken all of the shortcuts anyway, and prioritized time and money and relieving themselves of their own inhibitions. “Make everything perfect” is something that virtually no listeners ever asked for. Only producers and musicians.
Its interesting that its the evolution of youtube channels, like on a lot of car channels I watch as they get big with bigger budgets they become more boring as they chase bigger projects. I then go back to a newer channels a the early struggle is more real and details. this channel is like getting a Rick Beato3. its back to a fresher start.
But he's still confusing music with music industry, two separate things. Obviously the record industry started its descent from the end of the 80s, with machines replacing real musicians. And the final blow was later coming from Napster.
Oh yes. That - and, man, it's the saddest thing going to live gigs and even there they'll all sound the same. That's most refreshing video I've seen in a while, helps me save hundreds on therapy - thank you!
You forgot to say that today anything that doesn't sound EXACTLY the same (literally) like 'top10' of a matching genre playlist/record label, your song will be rejected. I'm talking about things like "this hihat has more reverb than tracks in our playlist" - real life example. We really reached this level of nonsense. There's no point to even release music these days, especially when we want to do something different. It's better to make music for ourselves, eventually some friends. As making music is a type of self-therapy, it's beneficial to us, even when not released. Much better than dealing with money-hungry, music-hating leeches that took over the music industry. Nice video by the way. I can't listen to modern music anymore myself. It makes me feel tired because everything is pushed 'in your face' and there's no dynamics anymore. But my friends love it and they cannot imagine making music without brickwalling everything.
Yep, although that has sort of always been the case, there was possibly a bit more variety from mainstream labels in the 60s and early 70s as there were more labels, and independents as well, and as nobody knew where 'contemporary' music was going labels took more risks, rather than risk being left behind/missing out on the next big thing. The best and well known example of this (not knowing where the market was going) was Decca turning down the Beatles as "guitar groups are on the way out." I would also suggest that back then the people working for the labels were genuinely interested in the music rather than being run by 'accountants' and the bottom line being the 'be all and end all'.
@@zvonimirsarcevic7928 I released music in the past and these are the reasons why I gave up on releasing music: - record labels are not doing proper marketing and they don't invest in artists anymore, instead they're starting to ask artists to pay for it, which renders record labels completely useless - dealing with playlist curators etc. is nothing than horrible experience - hundreds of thousands tracks is published every day - to get listeners you have to spend tons of your time and money on marketing and promotion and: - to do that today you must put yourself and your image above your music I wrote it with the most nice words I could find because if I wrote what I really think about the current music industry my post would be removed by YT ;) I'm not gonna waste any more of my lifetime on any of that c**p. I have better things to do.
@@ralphhathaway-coley5460 these days, labels are asking artists to fund marketing & PR :D So it's literally paying labels so they can take copyrights of your music. This industry is becoming more and more ridiculous with each year. Recently I read about touring and even this is apparently becoming a bigger and bigger scam (I'm not talking about the classic "play a gig for free in our pub and be thankful for the exposure" ;)
The heart or feeling is just not there...I try to correct it when making music not perfect vocals. Changing dynamics to not being overly loud sounding. Whatever works if it's recognised or not what can I do but be myself.
AMAZING video. I am 22 years old, this was super informative. I used to watch a lot of Rick Beato and I never knew a lot of the points and info stated in this video! 10/10.
Its also the sources of information we share. Pre-internet days how did you find things out? Hopefully a magizine or a published book. If you're really lucky...knowing like minds that like passing the info. Even the forum days you still had to read, but you can completely interpret what you read differently. Now we have UA-cam. We're shown, we can hear, we can download the same files, influenced to grab the same gear, theres algorithms. There was a time where most people swore to keep lots of knowledge to themselves or amongst the crew they were working with.
Music sounds the same because most music stars can't write a song. Beyond this, true talent is neither recognized nor rewarded, further deteriorating the mudic "industry. "
“Perfection is the enemy of beauty“. You have captured the essence of much of what is wrong with much of modern music. I would love to see another video that digs deeper into your thoughts about how to reclaim the character and uniqueness that musicians once prized and sought after.
I think music is more diverse than it was in the 60's, and the 70's and the 80's... we live in Avery diverse musical world now. the thing that makes everything sound the same is the discovery/the way music is consumed. Go try find the strangest music you can! It's out there. There's loads of interesting crossover Classical electronic, Jazz and Hiphop. We've never had such a diverse musical landscape, just be careful which big label is paying to narrow your musical discovery journey toward there artists
Whole genres of music were created in the 60s and 70s. That's not happening now. Electric blues, psychedelic, folk, acid rock, heavy metal, R&B, Soul, Disco, Progressive Rock were all pretty much INVENTED in the 60s and 70s. They are not inventing much that's new now.
I agree there’s some wild stuff being made. I think it’s never in the mainstream you find experimentation and innovation. However, there is a lot of generic sounding stuff being created and it’s because it’s never been easier to make music using a laptop and very simple set up to produce a proficient professional sounding track. Unfortunately this can make production lazy and by numbers like building a Lego model. The key when making music is to find the heart of the song and build an aesthetic for that.
Ridiculous comment. There has never been a LESS diverse time for music in my lifetime, and I’m 45. But unlike yourself (I’m presuming based on your comment) and younger generations now, my cohorts and I were obsessed with tracking down and consuming music that preceded our generation, so we were buying CD’s, tapes, and vinyl of music from 60’s, 70’s, and early 80’s that we missed, especially the funk and blue note jazz-funk-fusion stuff from the 70’s that formed the basis of our favorite hip hop by people like Wu-tang, Boot Camp, Tribe, and Outkast. I was also big on using the library to hear old vinyl, cassettes and CD’s, which you could check out (still can, actually). The amount of pure genius and creativity that existed from that time period is virtually endless. I’m still discovering new favorite artists, bands, and songs from fertile period all the time. The modern music scene … is a wasteland. Everything does, in fact, sound the same as everything else, or is completely derivative in the most obvious and lazy ways. I still have a hunger for discovering music. If there were modern artists worth discovering, I would find them and and listen (the Louis Cole’s of the world are few and far between). There simply isn’t anything going on. The only people who could possibly think differently, and sorry if this is insulting … are VERY limited (nicer way of saying ignorant) in their musical knowledge, probably a product of the modern generations reliance on steaming services? Whereas we would discover an artist we like-James Brown, Otis Redding, Bill Evans, Prince, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, etc.-and proceed to find and devour everything they’ve ever recorded, including lost demos, side projects, solo careers, live concert albums and VHS tapes … kids today simply hear the one or two songs an artist has on steaming services rotation or playlists, or whatever songs happens to be floating around tik tok. It’s a very different culture in terms of music enthusiasm, which also probably explains the lack of innovation or unique sounds? Everyone is just in a general malaise and apathy about music because it’s so readily available to you whenever you want; there’s nothing exciting about music anymore; there’s no hunger for discovery on the part of the consumer, or conversely, a hunger to do something no one has ever done before in terms of the artists. This video nails a lot of points that Rock Beato left out of some of his recent criticisms, or had different angle on some of the points he typically makes as well. Good stuff.
@@79Glitch So I am slightly younger than you and a musician and am more than a casual music listener so here's my input to your input. First I am curious what are the newest bands you listen to since you mentioned some 90's hip hop so I wonder if that's around the period you stopped searching for new music. Around the 90's is when there was a wide divergence in musical genres and if you were still waiting for the next great rock band you were robbing yourself of the best new music because rock just wasn't where music was heading by then, save for maybe red hot chili peppers or Oasis but as popular as they were there was better stuff to be found. Radiohead has been the most critically acclaimed band since around 2000 which proves that music was heading in a different direction by the 90's/2000s. Indie music became huge around this time, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse then later Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes and one of my personal favorites Fleet Foxes. Metal became huge in the 90's with bands like Faith No More, Death, Immortal. Evolving into newer bands like Necrophagist, Mastodon, and one of my favorites Between the Buried and Me. The only caveat is you have to like screaming vocals but you can't say that all the metal that's come out isn't good music just because you don't like screaming, or at least you can't say it's repetitive and derivative, I guess taste is subjective. Hip hop and rap, I admit I only listen to 90's stuff like the bands you mentioned and can't stand the newer stuff. Rap took off more than any other genre and is the new rock and roll. If I were to say any new genre is unoriginal and derivative I'd pick rap(outside of radio pop music), I think the 90's hip hop was the peak and since Lil Wayne onwards it's all awful but hey that's just me. Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West are both popular and critically acclaimed and I wouldn't say there's not something to their popularity because of my own taste. Post hardcore and punk became bigger even though the 80's had a lot of great hardcore and punk as well. Fugazi, Lagwagon, NOFX, Rancid, The Descendants. Some of my favorite music was the earlier emo/screamo stuff like Alexisonfire, Coheed and Cambria, At the Drive-In, and one of my personal favorites mewithoutYou. Post-Rock and math-rock. Slint, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, Mogwai. Hella, Don Caballero, Tera Melos, Minus the Bear. There's been a lot of amazing music but the tastes have changed. Even my musical tastes are slightly outdated because a lot of the music I've listed was 90's-2010's bands. There is an oversaturation of music these days because of home recording being more accessible and there is a lot of copycat bands as well because of that but I just don't think you can say in all fairness that there's no good music anymore. If you look around you can find pretty much anything under the sun but a lot of it isn't stuff the casual music fan would stumble upon.
Too many UA-cam experts telling people what to do with DAWs and post-production. Nobody records in to a 4 track and everyone thinks they’re a producer. This is my new favourite channel, it’s like watching someone from the Lone Gunman
UA-cam is part of the problem with modern “music”! All they have to do is get a couple things too hook up to their laptop & they can “record music” & put it on UA-cam or any streaming service!
And here is the follow-up video: ua-cam.com/video/HlVYd6PQ42w/v-deo.htmlsi=Qr5XqSZhUBgVO93Q
While it doesn't cover everything (the video was getting too long) there are a bunch of things in there that will hopefully inspire you to new ideas.
Stumbled on this video, Billy & Rick kids, LOL. Love your assessment.
I dont care for click tracks. All my amps have their own mics. I use real drums, too. I have a midi keyboard and use it for some vst instruments for pads or chord tracks. Everything goes through the Mackie 24 8bus mixer before it goes to the audio interface. I don't want to sound like everybody else.
I would also go as far as to say it’s how we purchase music now. 500 years ago yes the radio could dump a program on you but we could walk into a record store see something strange pick it up and buy it. Tell our friends or adopt it into our playing style
Now there is an algorithm to make sure we see nothing strange and only are exposed to what is in the program.
Meaning we hear less variety.
true but to a point, i think every new aspiring producer is going to want to spend $10k minimum on vst plugins or whatever the modern day equivalent is, but in order to get that true professional sound they will have to get my personally crafted and curated plugin suite where i took open source code and reskinned the graphics to look all vintage maybe with glowing vacuum tubes, cause no artist will take you seriously if all your plugins don't look like they are all part of the same brand, luckily for beginners i am offering this very pro suite used by all pros for the low price that i am actually taking a huge loss but its all for the community and if my family starves well its a sacrifice i have to make: $75.00* 0 .00*
contact me to take advantage of this opportunity before inflation forces the price to be unaffordable!
** Litigations and trademarks and copyright fine print type info you do not need to read Though price may appear to be $75 its actually $75,000, more legal jargon known to the every day man as "legalese"
@@generationalgamers8925 😆 🤣 well stated.
None of the things you mentioned actually teach people how to write good songs.
This is why everyone must support live music at the local clubs
As long as they have a tenor sax or b3 organ.
@scottrichards3587 gonna need a moving company for the B3 lol
@Tm-vp9kx Or hire the winner from the World's Strongest Man competition lolol I had no idea those things weighed nearly 500 lbs.
If it isn't live, it isn't music, it's just a recording.
@@KathyWhiplash This is categorically false. Beethoven's 5th doesn't stop being Beethoven's 5th just because you hear it through a pair of speakers. Music is literally defined as sound over time and no medium will ever change that definition.
Long ago, artists focussed on making music and hoped that they made money. Today artists focus on making money and hope that they make music.
except there is no money in music anymore...
oh damn.... never thought of it quite like that.
This quote should be sung and framed and placed upon the walls of the internet so that everyone shall read it. Or, oh the irony, be sampled by AI and earn you a ton of money 😂
everyone said the same thing, upload 1 song every week.
and hope your stale music will be able to fool some drunk dude, and hope that he'll save your mediocre song into his playlist
and with AI, the problem become worse exponentially,
now all the Normie and their mom can throw their junks into spotify and youtube,
hoping to make some quick cash
some AI Normies even pick a fight with a real producers on the internet, thinking that with AI now they're above everyone else
@@jensenraylight8011 instrument is instrument, when synths are born with all knobs than presets no one consinder it real instruments just like samplers.. Sampling generated sounds from stolen tracks, and now making new generated sound from not copyrighted samples with knowlage in sound design, music theory and producing is better than old sampling.. remember Korg M1!!? ; or Mellotron from 1963, which used loops of audio tape to play back the sounds... Every one can make something even in stone age.. Stay creative and be curious
I like that you base your presentation on facts and not just “analog/hardware is better” or “things were better back in the day” attitudes. Great job.
@@StatetrooperBillyBill nah I'm gonna be real with you for every Aerosmith there was 200 Warrants and even Aerosmith flopped hard sometimes. music isn't necessarily better or worse now because every era has it's share of iconic records and shitbrick bargain bin nobodies
@@erin4nowsince the 30’s writers at Tin Pan Alley were churning out “my baby loves me” type songs, the industry has always been a cash grab
Totally agree!
But it had nothing to do with analog. The producers were just better@@StatetrooperBillyBill
@@erin4nowyou're delusional
You have broken this down so so well! It’s time to go back to the olden golden ways of making timeless music 🙌🏿
You know what ? You've got nothing to sell, no books, no formation, no t-shirt and it's the reason why your channel is so different. Thanks!
oh damn.... I need Merch! But seriously I have been getting requests for courses and such but had not thought much about it.
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume😂 yeah asap.
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHume May I suggest T-shirts with "Watch the video until the end" on them?
Amen to that! The big sales pitching of books and whatnot can be very irritating and off putting, but I guess everyone needs to make a buck
I guess you and I are the product 🤔 !
I completely agree with every point you’ve made, but it feels like we’re part of a dying breed. One critical aspect you didn’t mention is the decline of traditional bands. A group of musicians who play their own instruments, rehearse together, and then record-it’s becoming increasingly rare. I saw this coming when the indie scene took off, home studios became commonplace, and plugins began to dominate.
There’s an art to every part of the process: writing music, producing, playing an instrument, and mastering. While there are a few rare talents, like Brian Wilson, who can excel in multiple areas, even he relied on the Wrecking Crew to bring his sessions to life. Collaboration and craftsmanship are what make music truly special, and we’re losing that.
Absolutely. When you put a bunch of people together who are all experts in (or at least lovers of) their own instruments, and who not only have individual tastes and preferences, but also who all understand what's good about their specific instrument, you start getting songs and music that become a lot more than the sum of their parts, and much better than what any band member could have come up with individually.
Hired studio musicians can be fantastic talents, but the end result is not the same if they're there just to lay down some tracks, instead of being part of creative process from the start, like a band member.
@@ristoravela652You must be kidding yourself if you think studio musicians get that much flexibility when it comes to creativity. You were hired to play a part, not write it.
Edit: I'm not saying that I want it to be that way, but that's usually how it goes. It's very rare for a band leader to give their session hires that amount of room to work.
@@DTfan43 That was actually the point I was trying to make :)
Yeah, hiring studio musicians is not the same as having band members (but it's not because of the studio musicians).
i disagree, we're not losing it, you're just looking in the wrong places, you're not gonna get groundbreaking or authentic production from the radio or Spotify recommendations.
there's tons of groundbreaking production in the underground and just on the edge of mainstream.
A.g. cook Charli xcx's main producer has created mind-blowing synth/rock albums.
oneohtrixpoint never has been leading the charge on underground music that breaks into mainstream for decades
@@elbownio5820 Oh, we sure are, aren’t we? If you want to find a band that actually plays their own instruments these days, you’ll need a miner’s helmet and a map, because the music scene has gone so far underground it might as well be hiding from the IRS. The decline? That kicked off in the late ’90s and has since turned music into a wheezing shadow of its former self. Live music with legends like Queen, ABBA, The Beatles, or Nirvana? Good luck. You’d have an easier time spotting Bigfoot playing a ukulele.
What do we get instead? Oh, the “new” famous acts? Spoiler: they’re about as creative as a sandwich without bread. Meanwhile, Metallica’s still thrashing, the Stones are still rolling, and everyone else seems content with rehashing what worked 40 years ago because look, we’re so retro and eighties! Newsflash: It’s not cool. It’s cringe.
And let’s talk about auto-tune-the little button that flushed the music industry down the toilet. Everything now is pitch-corrected, time-stretched, and polished to a soulless, beige perfection. The kind of sterile “artistry” that makes me want to claw my ears off when the radio’s on. Boring chord progressions? Check. Melodies that sound like AI wrote them? Double check. Add a production style that’s essentially a copy-paste of whatever was “safe” last year, and voilà, you’ve got the musical equivalent of boiled chicken.
No, it’s not just me getting older. It’s not nostalgia goggles. It’s a decline, a race to the bottom where nothing important is being said and nothing new is being done. And the best anyone can muster is some embarrassing, faux-edgy “we’re-so-eighties” cosplay. Groundbreaking. Truly. What’s next, a MySpace revival? Don’t tempt them.
2:20 I remember carrying my amplifier on my back barefoot through the snow. I also remember it was uphill both ways.
And, into the wind both ways.
I was going to ask if it was uphill both ways. I wasn’t expecting the barefoot. 😂
I do literally remember having to carry my amp, instrument, and sometimes other gear around, taking it on the bus, and huffing it sometimes quite a distance in the winter, no joke. Totally sucked not having a vehicle back then.
Hilarious !! Love it !!
You "Hit the Nail on the Head", my heart lives in 20th century music full of dynamics, acoustics and lots of air, the art of air (mic placement). Ahhh the good ole dayz....
You are just lazy.
Thanks! I'm a 24 old year producer from Spain and I really appreciate content coming from experienced people like you!
Same but from Argentina
Same from Dominican Republic. Hello Hispanohablantes!
A las buenas buenas!! No creéis que deberíamos hacer piña internacional para poder hacer trabajos conjuntos??
@ estoy de acuerdo.
"24 old year producer"
I wonder how you become a producer... Did you went to an actual college to become one? Or one day you downloaded some DAW and you become a "producer"?
your are so right, I'm 70 years old, everything is perfect today but real life is not, not just music, photography and all art forms i don't comment much on UA-cam but this deserves a comment as you have nail everything.
Thanks so much!
Absolutely spot on. Also the melody lines are all one note with a few minor note movements at the end of major sections - Just listen to Taylor Swift - why do people like the songs? because it is not singing up and down scales or a dynamic range of notes. Another reason why Hip Hop is so popular - same beat, one tempo, no vocal dynamics. Cheers, Kim Australia
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHumeLOL, back in my day in 84’/85’,
I did literally carry my Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 combo in my arms with me to my high school (down the street about a quarter mile) many a day to play in our jazz band and pop band ensembles. Luckily I grew up in Vegas so flat and no snow involved lol.
I must’ve had a good back because I’d laugh at trying that these days lol 😂
@@KimboH55 you saying hip-hop is same beat, one tempo, no vocal dynamics confirm that you really don't listen to rap.
If you did, your opinion would be different. It's totally okay not to like something, but your reasoning is off.
@ yeah matey I help produce hip hop tracks. Compared to the older music as was the topic here it is as flat as it comes
It's like food... It is not fresh, but completely over processed and flat.
yes youre right, mcpop , mcpunk , mcrocknroll 😬
Very good analogy. I agree
no it's not "like food"... there're huge variations with what is called food
@ i think you misunderstood him. He’s comparing over-processed homogenous beats to mcdonalds. Whereas live-room mic recorded instruments and stuff like that would be, idk, like, a home-cooked meal
@@jesusislukeskywalker4294i think mcrocknroll went bankrupt in the 2000s
Outstanding video.
I've been recording my music since 1969 - Neumann U47/U67, 3M 8 track, mix through custom built Orban Mixer to Ampex R2R. I'm 80 now and still going...
I'm happy to say that I just finished four albums (73 songs - Dec '23-Oct '24) with my friend David Rovics. He recorded the basic instrument vocal tracks in one take and sent them to me here in Hawai'i.
Then I added all of the other instruments, often in 3 takes or less in my studio in a yurt.
Bass and electric guitars were recorded through a wire to keep the noise down and Ukulele, banjo, vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded through a Rode K2 or Townsend modeling mic. (When my "neighbor's" employee wasn't mowing the 8 acre vanity lawn).
I do remember the "bad old days" when we tuned using a tuning fork and when performing live were rarely in tune. I like using tuners on stage.
Anyhoo - lots of folks ARE recording unique music. Ya probably won't hear it on the radio though.
I've often said that one thing you no longer get, is "player fatigue". Used to, in pop/rock, you could hear the musicians and singers fatigue slightly towards the end, and that affected their playing. The listener could feel that excitement. Think of a great record like, "Baby, It's You" by Smith (1969). Or anything by Janis Joplin. Now you don't get that natural expenditure of human energy.
Great observation and one I've not considered before. It's the life force that translates through the music, and new productions are missing much or all of that
Apparently Chino Moreno deliberately recorded vocals for the entire Deftones album Gore in one go so that he would get more and more fatigued through the record and that would come through in his performance. There's a lot of debate about the mixing of that record (so this might not have come off as good as it could have). But that dropped in 2016 so not old old.
There are still people doing interesting things if you look hard enough. Especially in underground scenes.
Some virtual instruments emulate this. For example, ML Sound Lab's drum plugins has various adjustments for player fatigue/tiredness.
@@RevisionSeventeen thats pretty sick
Yea! John Lennon recording Twist and Shout at 10.30pm after a full day recording and a totally hoarse voice.....and it sounded great!
I’ve recorded guitar tracks with mic’ed amps in open fields and on city rooftops in the summer sun. You can very much hear it, and it makes a huge difference.
not to mention the airplane flying overhead or the phone ringing or the back chatter in the park all of which adds texture
@@Bristolcentaurus wanna hear your music
@@4lssis468 The air plane reference is to Led Zeppelins Black Country Woman plus the engineers chatter that goes with it (the track was recorded outside), the telephones are in the "The Ocean" on Houses of the Holy at about 2.30 into the track, there is more engineers (or band) chatter in Out On the Tiles at about 1.30 ("Stop") there are probably more that i haven't picked up - there's also the notorious bass drum pedal squeak on a few of there tracks
Hey, I just realized that this might be a good spot to ask about "Troy" by Sinéad O'Connor. It's an iconic song on the album "the Lion and the Cobra" (1987)
Now, it seems that 4:54 some piece of electronic equipment gets damaged by Sinéad's vocal assault, what else should it be called? After that things go "downhill" in terms of sound quality. BUT it fits perfectly with the artistic expression.
Someone tried to make the argument that the distortion was made intentionaly. I think that after the take, the technicians and Sinéad decided to remix or made some sort of patch of the recording.
Do any of you have any insight about this matter?
In case you're wondering "Who is this guy"?
First of all : "I AM A DANCER". I'm a music affecionado who still buys records and CD's.
🥺please call back🥹
@@Bristolcentaurus In The Beatles records the drum pedal squeak was a constant.
Also, they had so limited time to record that often one of them sang the wrong lyrics and it's still there on the final records.
If you listen to "i'll get you", there is a part where George Harrison sings different lyrics from the other two for the whole verse 😂
I've been out of the music biz for quite a while, but absolutely everything you're saying is on point. Everything. I remember that one of my engineers said that a label rejected one of his mixes because the vocals sounded like he ran them through a quantizer. Today it would not only be a plus, but something engineers/producers would actively pursue. Crazy. Anyway, *_SUBSCRIBED!_*
I am 71 years old, so I truly appreciated your views and stories ;;grin;; it was fun freaking-out with you Billy.
I can't be the only one who doesn't know much about music but understands exactly what you're talking about 🧐
That just means he's very good at explaining.
Your comment also reminds me that to make music nowadays, you don’t need to know anything about music…in fact AI can do it. However, to use microphones and instruments, you need to know how. Hopefully this will still be of value
@@evoltapI really haven't complained much about this issue, I went from US hits in the 50s, British invasion of the 60s. Motown, Disco of the 70s, electronic (Tangerine Dream, Schulze) of the 80s, Chicago house and techno 90s, Trance HipHop early 2000s, Club House before and after 2010 and now Afro house and ethnic dance sound today, I never sit around and think music is sounding the same. I love my music journey at 75 (and counting..knock on wood)
we live in a pre packaged world as we zoom towards Wall-E
@@evoltapso AI makes your music? Or are you and your friends somehow the one shining exception?
Really like the tuning notes part how being slightly off actually made it bigger
This is exactly how pianos work. Only the strings in the very lowest part of the soundboard are single strings; everything from about C3 upwards has at least two strings, each slightly out-of-tune with each other but centered on the perfect pitch, and everything from about C5 up uses 3 strings, with the middle string perfectly on-pitch, with the other two being slightly detuned or over-tuned, which gives pianos their rich tones.
It's also why 12-string guitars were invented and why instruments like mandolins have doubled strings.
Yes, in fact the two defining aspects of choral, or even double tracking, is that the pitches vary against each other due to independent rate of vibrato in each. in a big choir, like gospel, you also hear the actual breathing sounds as a separate effect.
You won't get this if you digitally duplicate vocal elements.
This is one the aspects I like the most of rock bands that are very piano-centered, like The Rolling Stones. I've always found it difficult to express in words, but the little pitch variations make it sound like the band is on the edge of a cliff, a little mistake and everything will fall, but, like a miracle, everything works.
literally how pianos work lol
It's called the 'chorus effect' for a good reason. You can buy a pedal to fake it.
Very happy to have accidentally come across this because it was super informative but I also couldn’t help but to feel a bit sad. I’m in my 30’s and wondered why music no longer feels the same and this answered a lot of questions about why that is. Hopefully, we’ll get back to our roots a bit more while creating music. Thanks so much for putting this out here!
I wondered for a long time why older music was so much brighter and just sounded different. Thanks for answering that question, I had no idea it was the tape speed.
Its also the fact that corporations don't have balls to invent anything new, they just copy and paste all songs and artists.
Next time you hear Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen listen to how his vocal sounds a little higher and brighter than his other records. They thought the recording sounded too slow and Bruce's voice was to gruff so they decided to speed up the mix. Bob Clearmountain sped it up when he mixed it...Then Chuck Plotkin sped it up even more right before it was released... It became his biggest hit to date.
Just read where Steve Van Zant days he was the one who sped it up...Who knows? But you can definitely hear it.
This is the best breakdown ever. I always tell people “get your own toolbox, dont use what everyone else uses”.
THIS MAN BROKE IT DOWN BETTER THAN ANYONE POSSIBLY EVER iM 8 MINUTES IN AND BRO IS SPITTIN NOTHING BUT FACTS.
dont talk you make trap beats
Right where i felt I needed to say this vid is fire!
@@rebinu The guy in the vid isn't discriminating why are you 👀?
Bro is not “spitting” out facts!
@@GNewcomb-q9v well... opinions vary but he kindve is.
totally agree with this take, it's over saturated and it'll get worse sadly, people don't want to create art, they just want a easy way to a lot of money so they lose the passion in the process. I try my hardest to create unique music, I mix and master all my music and I also work with producers who escaped that generic trap/rap beatmaking loop. great video
Great points Billy! That is why I do what I do. My songs are not necessarily great, but they do sound different!! Happy Holidays.
Man I am so honored to have worked with you at Tree Sound in the late 90s. With so many sessions since, picking on panic stands out to this day. I know I was green but I noticed. Much love to you.
Ps. You are totally speaking my mind in this vidja. Also. Why do you care if folks who see this video of absolute truth don’t agree? This is confusing to me. You are a singular ear at the console. One day, very soon, the industry will switch to people who are artists humbly and boisterously making hand made crafted actual music. I understand acknowledging automation and stacking and cut and pasting. That’s All in an analytic app now. Just short of AI. Perfection is not perfect. The last record I did we drew in some vocal points. Other than that, it was pretty much exactly how I remember you doing things at Tree. You know there’s gonna come a day where people recognize six fingers on a hand musically and it’s not going to illicit the same emotional response as some people, standing on a tight rope. I firmly believe whether it’s retro progressive or old new stuff whatever you wanna call it. The human artist and the spirit conjured Will have no imitators.
Hey! That was a good record!
Who are you responding to?@@Mandoslicer
@@jessiehermit9503 Most likely to "Freaking Out With Billy Hume"
For this insanely educational and insightful music video! We all needed this.
Thank you so much!!
I knew I was out of the loop when someone said they didn't need to hire a drummer because they've got samples of Neal Peart.
You've a new subscriber!
Great info and insight on analog vs digital… as an old guy, I do love analog, but I also love the perfect clarity and basically unlimited tracks to work with. But I love analog acoustic music I grew up with! Thanks for a great video!
Awesome video! I've made it a habit for 15 years to record all of my own stuff from scratch, not use stock or bought presets, or sounds. My creativity and control of the complexity is through the roof! I push myself each day to not sound like everyone else.
You rock! Go hard!
And? Do you have a golden Record?
That's how we rocked in the old days. Music sounds to robotic with no soul today.
@@karlsmith2451 Because making it in music is basically just marketing. You don't earn money from streams, it's from everything else around it.
@@SchweinchenHorst Does he need a golden record? Why do we have to turn everything ugly with materialism and capitalism, as a perversion of worth and value? All music is received by musicians, who then rework and turn it into their own expression. Where this music comes from nobody knows.
Thanks for a great video, I’m 71 and have been involved with music all my life, I try to explain to young musicians what you have just explained perfectly, now all I have to do is give them a link to this video 🍻
Congrats on your first viral video. Solid content, keep it up!
Thanks!
Enjoyed this video. Thanks for putting it together.
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but I loved it. Very interesting.
Bang on! I don't know how many times I've mentioned the word dynamics to artists; it feels so redundant on my behalf. And what about fermatas? Where have those gone? Listen to the fermata in the Pointer Sister's version of Fire. I love how after the bridge everything slows right down and gets quiet before they sing, "Romeo and Julliet" to come back into the last verse. I also love the dead air between the riffs in the intro of Fire. Ah... a moment of silence before each one gets played again, and not "let's fill it all up with some sound from some loop or keyboard pad". And what about bridges, why have those disappeared? And it's so rare that we hear great solos, too. Is it because they take up too much time and songs must be 3:00 minutes or less? Great video that I recommend people pay attention to.
Thanks! I shouldv'e mention the disappearance of bridges. Also, "Fire" is FIRE!
I think your analysis isn't fair. You're basing your analysis on your subjective feelings..Just bc u like bridge doesn't mean every song should have a bridge. Or it doesn't mean a song without a bridge is less desirable. What I noticed, you like bridge, and a specific type of music bc thats what you grew up with. However, there's absolutely no written rule that every sine should have a bridge. In fact, the way I see it, bridges don't fit every song, and with the type of music nowadays, it becoming unnecessary to make a song 4min long just to add a bridge. Also, the style you describe is more common in certain genre than others. It is more common to hear bridges, or slow down in rnb, afro beats than hip-hop or trap. Since we're seeing more n more of trap n rap songs in general, hence why it feels bridges are becoming obsolete.
@@emmanuel.n8458 No one was saying that every song should have a bridge, or every song should have anything. It's the lack of variation and individuality which is the problem. A bridge is just one way of adding interest and variation to a song.
@@emmanuel.n8458obsolete ... there's really no such thing regarding sound, and song composure. Eb and flow is more like it (trends then doesn't then comes back again, etc.).
Some teqniques are (due to advances/better techniques), and equipment. Otherwise the rest of it throwing stuff together, and see what works.
Like vibrato. Used be everyone was taught it (singers/vocalists), now no one is.
It isn't obsolete, but isn't old enough to be new again (though that might be hilarious with auto tune, and gives me an idea...).
One thing to also consider is that most people aren’t making money off music like they used to, especially thanks to streaming. So for a lot of people, especially younger artists, producers, engineers, etc. it’s getting harder and harder to justify investing in these analog pieces of gear they will likely see little to no return on any time soon.
cant afford the investment of time either...everything old school doesn't just take more money, it takes more time...people will prioritize efficiency and ease of use over feel and experience,..cause they cant afford to spend the same amount of time making music as before
It's a different grind for sure, I find as a producer in 2024 there's a lot of weird pressures to be a lot more than a producer, and I think for me where I struggle is with social media, that doesn't mean I roll over and accept my fate as a hobbyist, but I don't really feel the need or want to be like in the forefront of public consciousness. It's literally the only thing that keeps me tied to smart technology in general is the fact that there's this element of necessity to be this influencer, like bro I just wanna sell beats, do sessions. Y'know?
I think the main difference is with playing real/miked instruments, whole songs/jams, not correcting everything to death. This costs no extra cent and add a lot of individuality. I think it's hard for young artist with no band background to realize how much fun it is to work on stuff with other people even if it's not all perfect.
Not to mention the cost of hiring a studio to record in. Even the ”lower quality” ones where i live cost a hefty amount for half a day. I’ve instead invested in alot of modest equipment at home, and the digital stuff is updating and getting better every year. In the long term, its better for me and my band.
you dont have to go broke getting equipment. there's plenty of options of gear. its what you do with it .
What is most fascinating to me is you were witness to music technology evolution. I am always in awe with, "lived to tell the tale" things like this.😊
19y.o. analog enthusiast here, thanks alot for this masterpiece of a video! it objectively answers to some of my questions to what I didn't find answers before, instead of just shitting on modern music without being able to argument the point. I've also tried to understand my natural preference to the older music, to find more objective arguments for the "the music was better before" thesis from the audio engineering perspective (and not promotional/songwriting one). Highly appreciate the hard work and passion put into the creation of this video!
This was a dope informative video.Its crazy because UA-cam videos are starting to all seem the same too.Yours was different and eye opening!
The sameness is coming for us all!
I too am 70. Started engineering in the early 70s on an old API. Ended in NYC through the 90s on an SSL. Burnt through thousands of 2” & 1/2” reels of 456! So many Studios & Music Stores bk around 42nd - 54th street & 7th.. It was a real community!
Anyway, just wanted to give props on a master class look at the industry. The compressor / limiter demo was great!
FYI: one of the better, higher tech studios in NYC circa 1980s was actually named “Unique Recording”.
Duke Bootee invited to a session at Unique studios. Chris Lord -Agee was one of the engineers on his session. The good old days
In the mid 80's my band recorded at Unique on two occasions, always an overnight 8 hr session. One session we had to start 2hrs late as Chaka Kahn was tracking her vocal parts on Windwoods Higher Love. She came out and apologized. Good times!
Absolutely terrific video.....really informative!
Totally agree with everything you say. Technology squeezing the life out of music.
Technology squeezing the life out of EVERYTHING! 😢😢😢
I think the testament to this was Boston's self-titled album.
You can literally hear how Tom Scholz carefully crafted that dream-like sounding album.
That was a 7 year endeavor, by one man.
In his basement… rumours vary but the only instrument re-recorded from his demo was the drums ;)
I totally agree with everything you said! I recorded using Pro Tools and HDX plugins for years and enjoyed every bit of the convenience and sound. Then I tracked an album with an old school Americana artist who insisted I did everything using hardware(Neve, 1176, mic cabs, different rooms, external FX, etc.) and he didn't want me to do any corrections at all! Once we finished tracking and mixing I was blown away at how amazing the album sounded. I dig your vids (nice and clear and understandable for us bass players :) I would love to see more of your techniques.
Fantastic video. Thanks for putting this together.
You're welcome!!!
Great Post, one of the best I've see about digital production. I said the very same thing to an engineer at quad audio in the UK about 5 years ago. Naah he said don't agree with that. It's mad that this has happened. No soul in the sound anymore.
Excellent from beginning to end. Your experience and expertise are evident. You are natural at this. I really enjoyed this presentation. The only thing I can compare it to is David Byrne's book, " How Music Works". Keep em coming!
So on point! I have sub consciously thought of many of these things you vocalize, well done!
As a 22 year old producer/engineer, I can agree with all of this. I think your videos are hitting really close to home for me, especially with how I see the industry moving. I personally feel that a lot of engineers/producers from my generation are quite misinformed about a lot of these things, as well as under the impression that these things are necessary for success. In hip hop producers are producing directly into not 1, but 2 clippers, and sending that to the artist/mixer. I feel that a lot of younger musicians are not only scared to step outside of “perfection”, but under the impression that it’s necessary to be “perfect” to succeed. I have told plenty of people that we don’t have to master to -5LuFS (yes, that loud) and they still do it, purely because they’re scared that the audience won’t listen to a dynamic master. Anyways. I’m grateful you are making these videos so that I can send them to my friends and beg them to step outside of “perfect.”
Thanks! When artists are not be scared of imperfections they discover real beauty.
What do you mean by 2 clippers?
-5LuFS! Integrated or short? Wowsers.
Throw away Ableton.Throw away the grid. Do linear tape. Play all parts. For the entire track. Add emphasis and dynamics all through, the entire track. Be a human.
A lot of "type beats" here on YT are unlistenable, and I think it's just for the reason you said about mixing into 2 clipper. It's all kick hi hat and snare smacked in your face. They have a really unnatural image and balance...
Thanks for sharing, didn't skip any part of the video😁. I enjoyed hearing your opinion!
THank you!!!!
This was such an amazing overview! Thank you for the video!
Dude you are amazing. I susbscribed immediately after this video.
Yep! Me, too!!
Oh, my God! I'm not alone in the world! Thanks for existing, Billy!
I feel the same way over here. I was just telling my wife that the comments on my videos have been so motivating and inspiring because it makes me feel like I'm not alone and the only one who cares. So thank YOU!
Makes sense why most songs sound the same. Well said Billy!
This all made a lot of sense and was very informative. Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.
sad but true. - be unique is a heartful reminder that YOU make something and not the THINGS are made of you.
// Thanks for that great video.
The other reason you did not mention is that many of those kids just want to be famous and earn money by copying what’s been successful in the past. Those kids are not artist but just clouT chasers. Edit: and don’t forget the publishers and record labels; they are pushing only the sound that is (in their eyes) ‘current’ and solely dictated by money. And let’s not forget many of the audiences don’t care about ‘good’ music.
They don’t copy the the successful people from back then, cause then mainstream music would be good. What happens is the music industry finds people with talent and personality and signs them to a label that forces them to copy what else is popular today making all the music super boring and sound the same
Yep. This is why "artists" like JoJo Siwa cop so much hate.
It's clear that she's not actually interested in being a musician.
She isn't creating music because it's her passion.
She is just aware that she can sing, and that she already has PR connections.
Clout not cloud.
@@Phil_529 what else would they be trying to say??? 💀💀💀💀
@@dtango3531 Uh, nothing? I was merely helping them. 💀💀💀💀
Awesome video!! The quality of your videos and knowledge of music in general is pleasing. Keep crushing it man, just subscribed!
Brilliant video, valuable information 👏🏿
I could live in that studio; seriously. I miss proper studio sessions.
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤
To get the feel, you have to track live.
"Blues is easy to play, hard to feel." Hendrix
1,342 Rick Beato videos in one! Amazing
Yes to getting out of the box! So many fun, easy and cheap ways to add a unique sonic signature to your sound. Yes, please do make that video.
Thanks! Will do!
People need this encouragement. If they would just try it, it would be so fulfilling that couldn't stop doing it. Great PSA once again, all facts.
Dude, for a young artist like me, you truly opened my eyes with this topic. Thank you man! ✌️
Thanks! I'm so glad you got something from this.
I was trapped in my bad productions. You've saved me and think this is the most important lesson for me in the last 10 years. You're a master in analyzing stuff. Thanks from the bottom of my heart man 🙏🏼✌🏼
SPOT ON! 😎😎💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥
taking notes from this to help myself with my music
much needed video
ive been working all year trying to mix and mash any sound i find to create something new
but i found that my music can keep the same flow
im currently working on adding extra variations within the music itself
Love it! Thanks for putting this information out there. I’m inspired! ❤️
8:15 as a musician growing up with African(ised) music, I find notes that are exactly on the beat are not perfect but primitive, musically without flavour. Listen to authentic Gnawa, Ethiopian Music, Sidney Bechet or Miles Davis: how many notes are actually flat on the beat, and where exactly are they if not? Those microrhythms are exactly where groove happens.
Absolutely 100% agree.
16:36 - This is absolutely insane 🤯
Excellent information and presentation!!! My man 👊
THIS is the info I’ve been looking for. Definitely earned a subscriber!!
Daaamn, what channel did I just found. Keep it up
" find" not found
As a live engineer I'm constantly trying to simulate the acoustic properties of air since I'm always close micing.
How so?
As an in the box musician (a side from vocals and simple percussion) I am always trying to get some distance and air that is quite different from what most reverb plugins -- I do use reverb for a bit of sparkle, stereo enhancement and 3Dness but even with it I always feel like my ITB software instrument based compositions feel right on top of you. Best thing I've found to approximate the "air" described in this vid is a plugin from Airwindows called Distance ("Distance is specifically set up to mimic through-air high frequency attenuation"). You might like it and find it useful. I put one instance on my mix bus to set a basic depth for the whole composition and then use it here and there on individual instruments, pushing and pulling them until it sounds pretty close to a real band playing. Airwindows ToTape8 and his CreamCoat reverb are pretty mind blowingly good and useful as well.
Let me know if the Distance plugin helps you out as I am curious what you think
Sometimes a "Sound reinforcement" approach works. Even if it's not 4 violins on stage but 4 heavy metal dudes.
@@FreakingOutWithBillyHumelive mixing is its own beast no isolation, PA coming back into the mics etc
I mixed live sound for a few months and ran away as fast as I could. it's sooo hard. Good live mixing engineers are heroes.
A side note to aligning the drums to the grid. I am a drummer that has been in a professional studio for recording sessions. When I listen back to the track I can tell they have already done it. This is because in the software you can choose the note time value. Once that is done the software will push or pull the note to the closest grid line. The result is sometimes cool sounding and sometimes not. It depends on where the note was intended to be. Basically I will hear things moved because that isn't how I played the piece of music and how it was intended to be. So I am also in favor of ignoring the grid and let the notes fall where they are supposed to be.
Very well put.
Which is why I don't prefer "remastered content".
Brian: You're all individuals.
Man in the crowd: I'm not.
Most ppl don't create, they just regurgitate the music that already exists.
To be fair, that has been the case since the dawn of humanity.
Most music is a remix of what has become before.
The tiny minority of music that actually is completely new, is very hard to listen to. Those are the avant-garde artists who make music that barely sounds like music to most people, including musicians and music snobs. 🤷
You have to first know what music is! Using fake sounds from machines & computers is not music making!
thats how its always been
@@GNewcomb-q9v why? I think can be. Depends on how you use some tools, not on tools themselves.
Nothing new
This! Currently writing music that is going baaaack. Also, bringing back 7th chords.
As a young music producer and artist, I definitely agree with everything on this list.
There is a lot of “humanity” that is lost upon using plugins and digital instruments for everything in your music and can definitely take the soul out of it and make it sound robotic.
That’s why I think it’s important to try to incorporate naturally played sounds as much as you can in your music. Play in your midi drums. Play in your chord progression. Maybe you might need to tweak the timing or how one or two notes sound, but you can definitely hear the difference and it adds character and your own personal touch to what you’re making.
But also do remember that music is ultimately an art form, and there’s just as much merit to a robotic sound as there is to a natural one. The beauty of it is in the ear of the beholder
You're right on point!!
Listening to BH is like a breath of fresh air. Not only does all modern pop music sound the same, all young UA-camrs use the same droning voice (usually with a so-called Vocal Fry end to each sentence). BH's voice has character and reminds me of my childhood!
Yes it is.....except he left the autotune on for a lot of the video apparently, the 'but' at 16:32 got me laughing.
As a UA-camr, I completely agree with you. Most of the channels I come across are just copies of copies of copies of someone who stood out by not copying anything or anyone.
The vocal fry is getting REAL annoying. A lot of people could stand some voice therapy.
@@demarsouthard3620 It's a disease that is taking over modern speech. I'd have a permanent sore throat if I attempted to copy it.
So a guy who has not produced actual musicians is a breath of fresh air?
I really appreciate your take on this topic. I’m a 70s baby born in the 80s, so I love the arrangements, musicianship and sound of music that was recorded the Old School way. I use those skills and techniques in my recordings today, and try my best to channel what would have been done in those classic eras of recordings.
Hi Billy, I love this video. Thanks and hope to see more!
Thank you!
I recognized this inevitability years ago. Many did. The difference between me and many of my cohorts though, is that MANY have taken all of the shortcuts anyway, and prioritized time and money and relieving themselves of their own inhibitions. “Make everything perfect” is something that virtually no listeners ever asked for. Only producers and musicians.
And it's based on fear that you're not professional and show some vulnerability. But that is what makes art interesting.
And not all types of musicians. I'm a classical musician and taking all this stuff away to me sounds kinda like taking away "music".
The "sensationalist" title belies the depth of this very comprehensive video. So stick with it kids, it's spot on.
I guess it is a bit of a sensationalist title..... but hopefully people will get my points. Thanks for watching and commenting!!!
Not compared to most UA-cam click bait titles. His is more forgiving
@@morbidmanmusic Yeah my thoughts exactly. That is not sensationalist at all. It's exactly what the video is about.
Its interesting that its the evolution of youtube channels, like on a lot of car channels I watch as they get big with bigger budgets they become more boring as they chase bigger projects. I then go back to a newer channels a the early struggle is more real and details. this channel is like getting a Rick Beato3. its back to a fresher start.
But he's still confusing music with music industry, two separate things. Obviously the record industry started its descent from the end of the 80s, with machines replacing real musicians. And the final blow was later coming from Napster.
This is a topic worth freaking out over. Really enjoy the expertise
Thank you. I really enjoyed this analysis; it was interesting and instructive.
Very well done, subscribing!
Oh yes. That - and, man, it's the saddest thing going to live gigs and even there they'll all sound the same. That's most refreshing video I've seen in a while, helps me save hundreds on therapy - thank you!
You forgot to say that today anything that doesn't sound EXACTLY the same (literally) like 'top10' of a matching genre playlist/record label, your song will be rejected. I'm talking about things like "this hihat has more reverb than tracks in our playlist" - real life example.
We really reached this level of nonsense.
There's no point to even release music these days, especially when we want to do something different. It's better to make music for ourselves, eventually some friends. As making music is a type of self-therapy, it's beneficial to us, even when not released. Much better than dealing with money-hungry, music-hating leeches that took over the music industry.
Nice video by the way. I can't listen to modern music anymore myself. It makes me feel tired because everything is pushed 'in your face' and there's no dynamics anymore. But my friends love it and they cannot imagine making music without brickwalling everything.
Yep, although that has sort of always been the case, there was possibly a bit more variety from mainstream labels in the 60s and early 70s as there were more labels, and independents as well, and as nobody knew where 'contemporary' music was going labels took more risks, rather than risk being left behind/missing out on the next big thing. The best and well known example of this (not knowing where the market was going) was Decca turning down the Beatles as "guitar groups are on the way out."
I would also suggest that back then the people working for the labels were genuinely interested in the music rather than being run by 'accountants' and the bottom line being the 'be all and end all'.
why wouldn't you release ?... You can have day job, and have music as a hobby. Frankly, not many friends will listen your song anyway :)
@@zvonimirsarcevic7928 I released music in the past and these are the reasons why I gave up on releasing music:
- record labels are not doing proper marketing and they don't invest in artists anymore, instead they're starting to ask artists to pay for it, which renders record labels completely useless
- dealing with playlist curators etc. is nothing than horrible experience
- hundreds of thousands tracks is published every day - to get listeners you have to spend tons of your time and money on marketing and promotion and:
- to do that today you must put yourself and your image above your music
I wrote it with the most nice words I could find because if I wrote what I really think about the current music industry my post would be removed by YT ;)
I'm not gonna waste any more of my lifetime on any of that c**p. I have better things to do.
@@ralphhathaway-coley5460 these days, labels are asking artists to fund marketing & PR :D So it's literally paying labels so they can take copyrights of your music. This industry is becoming more and more ridiculous with each year.
Recently I read about touring and even this is apparently becoming a bigger and bigger scam (I'm not talking about the classic "play a gig for free in our pub and be thankful for the exposure" ;)
The heart or feeling is just not there...I try to correct it when making music not perfect vocals. Changing dynamics to not being overly loud sounding. Whatever works if it's recognised or not what can I do but be myself.
AMAZING video. I am 22 years old, this was super informative. I used to watch a lot of Rick Beato and I never knew a lot of the points and info stated in this video! 10/10.
Glad it was helpful!!
Dynamics is dead in today’s music.
Yep. You can thank digital mastering and brickwall limiting for that.
Its also the sources of information we share. Pre-internet days how did you find things out? Hopefully a magizine or a published book. If you're really lucky...knowing like minds that like passing the info. Even the forum days you still had to read, but you can completely interpret what you read differently. Now we have UA-cam. We're shown, we can hear, we can download the same files, influenced to grab the same gear, theres algorithms. There was a time where most people swore to keep lots of knowledge to themselves or amongst the crew they were working with.
sound engineer here...i was born in the early 80's. i've been saying this kind of thing for years. spot on.
First Video I watched from you, and you got me. Subbed.
Just all around almost flawless.
Awesome, thank you!!
Music sounds the same because most music stars can't write a song. Beyond this, true talent is neither recognized nor rewarded, further deteriorating the mudic "industry. "
Many things have no feeling in them these days. Movies, TV, foods, people...
“Perfection is the enemy of beauty“. You have captured the essence of much of what is wrong with much of modern music. I would love to see another video that digs deeper into your thoughts about how to reclaim the character and uniqueness that musicians once prized and sought after.
I'm putting one out this week that goes into that a bit.
I think music is more diverse than it was in the 60's, and the 70's and the 80's... we live in Avery diverse musical world now. the thing that makes everything sound the same is the discovery/the way music is consumed. Go try find the strangest music you can! It's out there. There's loads of interesting crossover Classical electronic, Jazz and Hiphop. We've never had such a diverse musical landscape, just be careful which big label is paying to narrow your musical discovery journey toward there artists
I don't think you understand
Whole genres of music were created in the 60s and 70s. That's not happening now.
Electric blues, psychedelic, folk, acid rock, heavy metal, R&B, Soul, Disco, Progressive Rock were all pretty much INVENTED in the 60s and 70s.
They are not inventing much that's new now.
I agree there’s some wild stuff being made. I think it’s never in the mainstream you find experimentation and innovation. However, there is a lot of generic sounding stuff being created and it’s because it’s never been easier to make music using a laptop and very simple set up to produce a proficient professional sounding track. Unfortunately this can make production lazy and by numbers like building a Lego model. The key when making music is to find the heart of the song and build an aesthetic for that.
Ridiculous comment. There has never been a LESS diverse time for music in my lifetime, and I’m 45.
But unlike yourself (I’m presuming based on your comment) and younger generations now, my cohorts and I were obsessed with tracking down and consuming music that preceded our generation, so we were buying CD’s, tapes, and vinyl of music from 60’s, 70’s, and early 80’s that we missed, especially the funk and blue note jazz-funk-fusion stuff from the 70’s that formed the basis of our favorite hip hop by people like Wu-tang, Boot Camp, Tribe, and Outkast.
I was also big on using the library to hear old vinyl, cassettes and CD’s, which you could check out (still can, actually). The amount of pure genius and creativity that existed from that time period is virtually endless. I’m still discovering new favorite artists, bands, and songs from fertile period all the time.
The modern music scene … is a wasteland. Everything does, in fact, sound the same as everything else, or is completely derivative in the most obvious and lazy ways. I still have a hunger for discovering music. If there were modern artists worth discovering, I would find them and and listen (the Louis Cole’s of the world are few and far between). There simply isn’t anything going on. The only people who could possibly think differently, and sorry if this is insulting … are VERY limited (nicer way of saying ignorant) in their musical knowledge, probably a product of the modern generations reliance on steaming services?
Whereas we would discover an artist we like-James Brown, Otis Redding, Bill Evans, Prince, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, etc.-and proceed to find and devour everything they’ve ever recorded, including lost demos, side projects, solo careers, live concert albums and VHS tapes … kids today simply hear the one or two songs an artist has on steaming services rotation or playlists, or whatever songs happens to be floating around tik tok. It’s a very different culture in terms of music enthusiasm, which also probably explains the lack of innovation or unique sounds? Everyone is just in a general malaise and apathy about music because it’s so readily available to you whenever you want; there’s nothing exciting about music anymore; there’s no hunger for discovery on the part of the consumer, or conversely, a hunger to do something no one has ever done before in terms of the artists.
This video nails a lot of points that Rock Beato left out of some of his recent criticisms, or had different angle on some of the points he typically makes as well. Good stuff.
@@79Glitch So I am slightly younger than you and a musician and am more than a casual music listener so here's my input to your input.
First I am curious what are the newest bands you listen to since you mentioned some 90's hip hop so I wonder if that's around the period you stopped searching for new music. Around the 90's is when there was a wide divergence in musical genres and if you were still waiting for the next great rock band you were robbing yourself of the best new music because rock just wasn't where music was heading by then, save for maybe red hot chili peppers or Oasis but as popular as they were there was better stuff to be found. Radiohead has been the most critically acclaimed band since around 2000 which proves that music was heading in a different direction by the 90's/2000s.
Indie music became huge around this time, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse then later Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes and one of my personal favorites Fleet Foxes.
Metal became huge in the 90's with bands like Faith No More, Death, Immortal. Evolving into newer bands like Necrophagist, Mastodon, and one of my favorites Between the Buried and Me. The only caveat is you have to like screaming vocals but you can't say that all the metal that's come out isn't good music just because you don't like screaming, or at least you can't say it's repetitive and derivative, I guess taste is subjective.
Hip hop and rap, I admit I only listen to 90's stuff like the bands you mentioned and can't stand the newer stuff. Rap took off more than any other genre and is the new rock and roll. If I were to say any new genre is unoriginal and derivative I'd pick rap(outside of radio pop music), I think the 90's hip hop was the peak and since Lil Wayne onwards it's all awful but hey that's just me. Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West are both popular and critically acclaimed and I wouldn't say there's not something to their popularity because of my own taste.
Post hardcore and punk became bigger even though the 80's had a lot of great hardcore and punk as well. Fugazi, Lagwagon, NOFX, Rancid, The Descendants. Some of my favorite music was the earlier emo/screamo stuff like Alexisonfire, Coheed and Cambria, At the Drive-In, and one of my personal favorites mewithoutYou.
Post-Rock and math-rock. Slint, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, Mogwai. Hella, Don Caballero, Tera Melos, Minus the Bear.
There's been a lot of amazing music but the tastes have changed. Even my musical tastes are slightly outdated because a lot of the music I've listed was 90's-2010's bands. There is an oversaturation of music these days because of home recording being more accessible and there is a lot of copycat bands as well because of that but I just don't think you can say in all fairness that there's no good music anymore. If you look around you can find pretty much anything under the sun but a lot of it isn't stuff the casual music fan would stumble upon.
Excellent material mate! I sended this to my bandmates because I always discuss this with them
Too many UA-cam experts telling people what to do with DAWs and post-production. Nobody records in to a 4 track and everyone thinks they’re a producer. This is my new favourite channel, it’s like watching someone from the Lone Gunman
UA-cam is part of the problem with modern “music”! All they have to do is get a couple things too hook up to their laptop & they can “record music” & put it on UA-cam or any streaming service!