To what or not to what. 'How' is the whats' what. Without the how there is no why, it's only a what if. What is it? It's it. What is it? It's it. You what it all, but you can't have it.
Overheard at a Party City in New York: "Do you have any decorations for a farewell party?" "Nah, this is New York, if you're gonna leave, just get out."
I love how Adam has already listened to most pieces referenced in his Q&A's. It's like: "Hey Adam, I wonder how this progression from a 2011 song only on UA-cam with 3 views works." And Adam will go "Yeah man, that was actually me, I watched it three times cause I loved it that much" and then explain it. It's so awesome.
i subbed from a reddit post showing how you don't clickbait, you answer the title question thoroughly, and you give a short answer in the thumbnail in case we don't want to hear the full in-depth answer. Amazing design, very rare in this day and age.
That's crazy, I found him the same way at around the same time as you and was inspired to start playing guitar a few months later! Even though I still only understand about half of what's going on in some of these videos it's been tons of fun learning all about music theory
Adam--very late to the conversation. That musical director who hired you for the off-B'way gig? He was wrong. That's called lack of leadership and lack of integrity. You don't leave out crucial information like that when you hire someone. I know about the politics of the bandstand and the politics of whether someone is fired or they are asked to quit, as a union musician. That all being said, no one who is a contractor, a band leader, or a musical director should ever put someone in that situation. And if the guy says something like, "well, man, you gotta understand, it was a stressful, busy week!", well....too bad. It's not your job to be able to read his mind. If he needed special skills, it was his responsibility to communicate that from the first time he talked to you. And if he is that disorganized or stressed out as an MD, well, he shouldn't be doing that gig. Sorry you had to pay for someone else's incompetence. Respectfully, PMH
A note on this is that English -sucks- when talking about music and instruments. Seriously. How can you (with extra words for clarity, sometimes) use the same word for the classical standing instrument and the electric guitarr looking instrument?! It makes it really annoying when looking for instruments online or using youtube looking for instruments or sounds.
Im interested in the story of how he screwed that up? Guy: Hey I need bass Adam: BASS Guy: no screw your bass, go fire yourself cause youre too powerful for me to do it.
Exactly. Especially these days, egotistical attitudes in music is stupid. There are no gatekeepers anymore - I'm a hermit but even I make money from albums I've released online.
Hi Adam! I am a bassplayer and working Psychologist from Norway. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Your Mentalisation of music seems to me at a high level. Passion, knowledge and your humble attitude makes you a treasure for all that loves music!
Pretty much every MD I’ve ever experienced is really disorganized. I was called to do a show and the MD said it was tenor and bari sax, but when I got there it was like 70% clarinet, 15% bass clarinet, 10% flute and 5% bari.
need to agree with this. But, as mentioned below, some MDs and producers are a little disorganized, or too busy to answer basic/simple questions, or honestly don't KNOW what they are trying to communicate to the musicians....
I get embarrassed thinking about the few times a band rejected me. Because I would take it so personally. Even if I didn't like what the band was about. Like one cover band, I auditioned with them, and one of the songs was black magic woman, Santana's version. And as I usually do, I knew the basic intro solo, but I improvised the rest of the solo, because that is more interesting to me. And they felt I didn't know the song, because of that. And they were concerned about how long it would take to learn the songs. Back then, I was like 23. I didn't have a strong enough sense of self, to be like, I don't want to play in bands like this, or tell them before I even met them, that I wasn't into jukebox playing. But I got so upset, I was nearly crying, because my self-esteem was based on acceptance, though I didn't do anything to fit into their acceptance models.
12tone is awesome, but does he do what Adam said he does? I've only really seen him analyze things with normal harmony and rhythm, not any of this tuning/harmonics stuff
He covers a very wide variety of stuff. Here's two of the ones on microtonality/xenharmony. ua-cam.com/video/RuT6Y53LYH4/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/KwLeCO2w9H4/v-deo.html
See: "George Secor's Miracle Scale" ua-cam.com/video/DpKXQR2PtNg/v-deo.html "Harry Partch And The Genesis Scale" ua-cam.com/video/KwLeCO2w9H4/v-deo.html There maybe others, but those are the ones I've seen.
I love how the cat is sleeping through it all. It is not into detailed music theory. But I am learning so much in such a fun way from your videos. Thank you, Adam Neely!
Also if you want to hear some accessible microtonal music in a rock context, check out the Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (great fucking name), and their album the Flying Microtonal Banana. Great, low budget garage rock with microtonal instruments. Also check out some of Dolores Catherino's "polytonal" music on her channel dolomuse, it sounds like looking into the distant future of electronic music and harmony.
King Gizzard's album Gumboot Soup features some pretty heavy microtonalism too, and their collaboritive tape with MHC has a few tracks with some as well.
Music theory isn’t a theory because it’s used to describe patterns that exist? I guess I’ll tell that to the theory of gravity, or set theory or germ theory! Good to know they aren’t theories either.
Without the context of its use, it isn't meaningful to say that X-TET music is "limited". If you're playing music conceived in a 22-TET scheme, obviously 12 tones is insufficient. If you're only playing a pentatonic melody, it's more than sufficient. The claim that 12-TET is somehow inherently limited presupposes some really subjective and narrow ideas about the purpose of music.
@@teddydunn3513 I think you're misunderstanding the term "theory". Common mistake, most people don't know the actual definition of theory. You're thinking of hypothesis. Theory is an idea that has been proven, hypothesis is one that has not. This is the easiest way I can explain it. But there you go. Now you can laugh the next time you hear someone say, "Well, maybe that's true in theory..." 😉
This is the best question I've ever heard. But seriously, pop music is nearly all in 4/4 because marches were in 4/4. If we had three legs and marches in 3/4, it would be highly likely that pop music would be mostly in 3/4.
Well, until around 1300-1400 or so, most western music was related to the church, and a lot of it was im rhythmic groups of 3s, since that’s the divine number or something along these lines. Around the ars nova period, 2-rhythms became a lot more common while church music also took a step back.
Sound engineer playing the room... This is what I spent decades learning about as a pipe organ technician and sometime church musician, and I found it immediately applicable when I signed on as volunteer techie for a community musical production. I'd just like to add that if you start by creating a comfortable, well-balanced acoustical environment for the musicians onstage, they can then use their own musical sensibilities to fine-tune their performance and reduce your workload, in adjusting the house mix, to a fraction of what it otherwise would be.
You and Rick Beato and have become my 2 favourite UA-cam channels for music education and appreciation, I love your content, keep it up! Best wishes from North Wales, UK!
Regarding Sir Duke: There is another possibility that you are missing but one linked to playing ability not theory. I was played professionally with someone who produced a couple of Stevie Wonder tracks the following is a story he relayed. This person was a keyboard player and asked Stevie "how do you play X" he said, "like this" and started playing. The person telling the story realized he would never be able to play like Stevie because he held his hands differently so he could find the keys, due to his blindness. His fingering style is completely alien to a piano player, due to his compensation for lack of eyesight. So your third theory may actually be closer to the truth, but for an entirely different reason than you stated, he probably heard the G#7 (9,13) but played it as the Fm7 because that's how he could play it within the framework of his keyboarding style. This is conjecture of course, but based on some second hand knowledge I was fortunate enough to privy to. Cheers!
23:08 Thank you for this. I can't say I've never felt that sense of "betrayal" or whatever, but I eventually had to face how irrational and simply immature that line of thought ultimately is. You're obviously not the first person to express it, but I'm seriously impressed by how you were able to address it head-on without condescension or dismissiveness. Props!
Nicely done on the initial question. When I was studying jazz with Joe Diorio he taught me a few tools in terms of functional harmony when improvising (how to find a way to survive thru any complex harmony) : 1. Chord "pluralities" - any jazz chord can be perceived of as one of (at least) 4 chords depending on which chord tone you use as the root. Ex. A13, Gmaj7b5 (or #11), C#m7b5, Em6 2. Almost any chord progression can be somehow broken down into a standard one like I, VI, II, V etc. 3. Any chord that doesn't fit the bill can be seen as either a standalone I, IV or V Can't even count how many times that saved my ass. Love you Joe, you will always be my mentor, my friend, and a true inspiration.
You do if they really are good. I saw a band called Purson play in a local pub. I was kind of dreading it as the venue is very small and usually that means that excessive volume drowns any possible dynamics. Purson have a great sound on their albums but the singers voice really benefits from clarity in the mix which I was worried would be lost in the aural melange that is the usual pub gig sound. My fears were unwarranted however as the band sounded absolutely amazing. So much so that I made a point of finding the sound engineer and thanking him personally for making the gig such a success. He was really pleased that someone had noticed his efforts and left with a massive smile on his face.
No way! The bad ones contrast the good ones, so you notice them more! A big thanks to all those sound dudes out there that are considerate and try to do their job well.
as a listener to the music, a sound man is doing his job right if it's like he was never there, same with roadies. i thank Brutal Legend for that randomly profound nugget of philosophy.
RE: "out of tune" music. I remember watching an interview with an aged British prog musician several years ago, where he talked about how much he loved punk bands that wouldn't or couldn't keep their instruments in tune because "they were playing the music in between the music."
The amount of interesting, valuable and straight-up mind blowing information presented in this video is absolutely ridiculous! Keep it up! Pristine content!
as a classical bassist, I do _not_ envy your experience. I've slowly started learning more and more on electric bass and I still struggle a lot, so I can't imagine what it's like having to switch to a completely different style of bass practically overnight and try not to look bothered by it. it's hard to bridge that gap (regardless of which direction you're going) and pit orchestra scores are extremely demanding. massive amount of respect for your effort, man.
Oh my! I didn’t like the last comment at all. It unsettled me before bedtime. I can’t imagine life without you now Adam. I stay up late on a Monday eagerly waiting for your upload (UK time here). I appreciate people might not like everything, all of the time, but surely everyone can enjoy something in every video it’s so so good what you do.
I like the 3rd explanation. It fits better within the context of the lyrics as the song is a tribute to big band music and Duke Ellington. Stevie was probably thinking how he could bring Ellington's flavor and practical application of dense music theory back to popular music. It's like an inside joke hiding in plain sight. There's all this crazy harmonic complexity going on but to the average person it just feels good. "you can feel it all over...people"
I actually like all UA-camrs because I learn so much from each of your perspectives and find myself improving as a composer as a result. Thanks a million!
Do you know of the Turkish mictrotonal guitarist and UA-camr Tolgahan Çoğulu? He has a lot of interesting videos about Turkish and Arabic Microtonal music. Sevish and 12 Tone are good outlets, but I find Tolgahan Çoğulu to be a very interesting artist and performer of Turkish classical guitar. Both you and him have inspired me in the realms of non-western and non-standard musics. Thanks!
Excellent mention! I quite enjoy Tolgahan's approach to the guitar as well (as a matter of fact, I'm planning to convert my spare classical into a fretless nylon, let's see how that goes...) Edit: Oops, forgot to mention, Tigran Hamasyan is absolutely fantastic as well.
The Maqaams (please forgive my spelling) in Arabic music are extremely interesting. I once saw a man playing the violin in an ensemble of various Arabic instruments and it was really interesting to see how he used the 'maqaams' in the same manner that in western harmony, musicians use modal interchange. I know that it seems like a very simple concept, but to hear it is something completely different.
make sure you leave the marks of the frets , that's where is the correct note will be & start with Maqam Rast , its a C major with lowered E and B ( quarter notes ) i also advice buying an Oud you'll get the whole idea faster with that .
Literally everything that Adam recommends I listen to it. I'm hooked on Sevish now. It's outer-worldly but also conventional... Amazing. It's tonal music but with microtones... I can't explain it, you have to just go listen to it.
It is based off of logical truths of the universe, such as the circle of fifths and harmonics, etc. So only part of it is fake (equal temperament). It is built to be pleasant and harmonious.
@@bananalimemusic-yourlifesb7420 The circle of fifth isn't a "logical truth", that phrase doesn't even make sense. That's like saying graprefruits are a logical truth. Tuning traditions vary wildly across cultures, and the particular one we have in the west isn't some cosmological gift--just a fun mixture of biology and culture.
I think I immediately saw the Fm7 chord in Sir Duke as the reharmonized stand-in for G# major, which adds this mysterious, colorful VI sound to it. Very blues-y to me. One of my favorite things about the song. Stevie never fails to deliver.
I remember seeing that childish comment and wondering if the guy was serious. I knew it would wind up in the next Adam vid getting destroyed, but I had no idea how awesome Adam's destruction of it would be.
I suppose "Leon Herperger" thinks that reply was a weak and slow burn on him, and not the neutron bomb it actually was, assuming he even figures it out.
I'm always the sound engineer trying to make a concert perfect. I know a lot of fellow sound engineers that simply say "Okay play me XYZ and I'll cue you in" but don't do a lot of things during a concert. What I like about sound engineering is that you actually become a part of the band, because you, as a sound engineer, have the job of bringing the music to the people and therefore also use methods like pulling the lead guitar up during a solo, and use reverb and delay according to the needs. While you brought it up I had to think of an ambient band I've mixed about a year ago that had a lot of tunes that were written precisely for reverb and it was magically standing behind the desk and pulling up the reverb just in the moment where the vocals had this one last tone of a chorus or so and, using reverb, I froze these sounds for some time afterwards. It was just beautiful and I think that sound engineering is about that: Feeling the music, reacting to it and mixing it so that all dynamics and tension comes to full fruition! Problem is that most engineers simply don't have the resources to always completely feel the music because they have to mix like 20 bands per week and through this you're emotionally blunting to sound, which is sad. (That's why I'm happy that I'm not a full time engineer. And this is why a sound engineer is either break it or make it, because it depends on how his/her week has been so far :/)
"This is not an airport: You do not need to announce your departure." DAMN ADAM. Coming at him with straight heat! Great video by the way. Loved that ending haha
The second example of Fm7 11 is definitely how stevie was thinking. Its a very gospel movement to go flirt with chord b5 before chord 4 and is pretty much the most common gospel trick when playing any song. i recommend trying it on Amazing grace. you will go ahh that sound
Love this post, (even the complicated stuff), but especially for reiterating that FEIST wrote "Limit To Your Love." All respect to James Blake and his production of the cover, but that lady is amazing!
Back in the late eighties with the rise of personal computers I had the idea maybe someone could program a synth so that the tuning was chord dependent. The algorithm would calculate each note's frequency based on the other notes being played and attempt to make intervals as close to their theoretical ideals as possible. I would love to hear how that sounds. Of course, back then I was thinking that such an instrument could only play by itself. But these days there's no reason you couldn't link several synths via some kind of master pitch controller. So, I've been sitting on this idea for over 20 years. I checked out some books on tuning theory when I first had the idea and one look at the maths involved made me realise that I didn't have the education to pull it off. I hear-by beg, plead, cajole, and politely request that someone do this so I can satisfy this long held curiosity. Cheers.
I was thinking about this the other week. I worry that it might need some human help tuning chords that are enharmonic to one another in 12TET, or at least some clever rules that must be manipulated by the performer.
Probably something you can build with Reaktor - I'd have to check the voice functions to see if it's feasible. The question is how to approach the "theoretical ideals" part. After all, music just doesn't work out (you go up by perfect 5ths and get a term in the form (3/2)^n, which at some point should equal octaves 2^m. But there is no solution for (3/2)^n=2^m where both m and n are integers).
Simon Gunkel Yup, that’s one thing that was pretty clear, compromises always have to be made. Deciding how to go about that is key. I took a quick look at hermode tuning, mentioned above, and the way they seem to solve this problem is by having different settings that allow you to choose which intervals get priority.
Adam - fascinating. My experience - as an engineer/producer - with black gospel musicians (in particular) is that they hear these crazy, far out harmonizations and within seconds express them and communicate them to each other with little to no human speech.
Man, I'm pushed by your great videos to go deeper into the theory. Truth is I don't put the time in to fully grasp it all. I love your stuff, discovered it a couple of weeks back.
Hey Adam, Just wanted to let you know that my computer blue-screened as soon as you played the G vs G# harmonic. I suppose that is what happens when you tempt the Electronica Gods.
@Nonsense-Mediated Decay its just a tritone sub. nIts F7#9, and then delete the major third and put the sus in the melody. If the melody was not being played, like for instance a solo section on the chords, it would F7alt to Emaj......super common. not a mystery
Adam! I love all your videos. They are SUPER informative and are so well done. Love how articulate you are at explaining things. The bit about you getting fired might be my favorite clip so far. Most of the time all we see in videos are successes. It's sobering and refreshing to see someone go: 'yep, I screwed that one up!'. Kudos to you and please keep the amazing videos coming!
I studied music harmony in a private music school in my teens but now study something else. Your videos and your analysis make me wanna drop out and go for music studies full-time. And you know what they say, "If you love what you do for a living, you won't work a day in your life.."
Zara Lindholm Brandt I love Death Grips already, but from someone who loves experimental music as well as electronic, but has never spoken much on hip-hop, and doesn't appear to have much to say for "angry" music, I would be greatly interested in his opinion.
Kraig Adkins It would be interesting yes. but tbh the death grips meme has come and its gone, theyre good but i feel like asking him about it is more of a generic novelty internet music nerd question. itd be interesting, yeah, but maybe we should leave space for other topics hey adam btw do you like tech n9ne?
I really appreciate you sharing that you encountered a situation where you could not play the music. I felt guilty saying to one of the bands I am a drummer in that I don't have the ability right now to go in a certain direction, I felt like a failure. That's not to say I don't want to, I certainly want to develop. But I have always felt like a failure, but then again as of writing this I have only been playing for 2 & 3/4 years and even my drum instructor keep suggesting I learn to forgive myself!
That last answer was really good. I hadn't really thought about how I or anyone else might build a part of my sense of self on an outside source that doesn't owe me reinforcement of my identity. It explains a certain intensity of the negative reaction, because to have one's self-image challenged is very stressful ... but it's still, as you implied, not a just reaction.
Adam, thank you for sharing your "theatre experience." :) Your humility and honesty are shockingly refreshing, and instructive! You're a good man, and have blazing potential as an arranger/producer/performer and teacher. Best wishes! sf
Great video. Loved your answer to the last question. It takes wisdom (as you said) to give such a respectful (maybe undeserved), honest and focused answer to that guy. Respects from rainy Costa Rica!
Q and A question! Have you ever thought about making a video relating to Barbershop harmony (quartet or otherwise)? It seems relatively simple from the outside but has a lot of nuance that makes it a fascinating deep dive.
You have a magnificent breadth and depth of musical understanding! I have been watching/listening to your stuff for a few years and I so appreciate your spot-on clarity, brevity, and insane depth of knowledge. I recently wrote up Sir Duke and I just chalked that F-7 up as a passing chord and moved on but you unearthed some very cool shit on that dirty little chord. I loved the story about getting fired. Every working musician has been there and it fucking stings! Great stuff Adam!
The function of the Fm7 chord is that you can feel it all over.
huehuehuehue
Huehue brbr?
@@dinifabio kkkkkk brbrbbr
this comment wins
I see what you did there and I love it
Everyone always asks “what’s the chord progression” not “hows the chord progression” :(
:'(
I'll do you one better: why is Gamora?"
"why's the chord progression"
actually why IS chord progression.... why is anything...
To what or not to what. 'How' is the whats' what. Without the how there is no why, it's only a what if. What is it? It's it. What is it? It's it. You what it all, but you can't have it.
@@sideoutside Thanks, you made me lose my brain
"This is not an airport; you do not need to announce your departure."
10/10
Definitely can't be, because he would never have been able to fire those shots there.
Overheard at a Party City in New York: "Do you have any decorations for a farewell party?" "Nah, this is New York, if you're gonna leave, just get out."
Boom!
Laetitian Madhatter NOOO LMAO
As an airport worker, I fricking loved it hahahaahahah
"Skip to 8:20 if you don't want to hear a lot of convoluted music theory." What do you think we watch your channel for?
the analysis of sir duke was amazing, and the shadow progression is an amazing thought
🤣🤣
Like duh! Lol totally agreed
The liiiiiccccckkkk
@toph Jrmartin WHOMS'T
I love how Adam has already listened to most pieces referenced in his Q&A's. It's like: "Hey Adam, I wonder how this progression from a 2011 song only on UA-cam with 3 views works." And Adam will go "Yeah man, that was actually me, I watched it three times cause I loved it that much" and then explain it. It's so awesome.
literally he knows everything, everytime a song is published he can sense it
Sir duke is a bonafide classic
Referring to limit to your love, george.
adam:
double bass music: i’m about to end this man’s whole career
nowledge no one: I want to hear nowlege’s retarded asinine joke
Nowlege: ReDiToRS
@nowledge This joke originated on Twitter.
Lmao I play Double Bass
i subbed from a reddit post showing how you don't clickbait, you answer the title question thoroughly, and you give a short answer in the thumbnail in case we don't want to hear the full in-depth answer.
Amazing design, very rare in this day and age.
"Anti-clickbait"
And he still gets crazy views
That's crazy, I found him the same way at around the same time as you and was inspired to start playing guitar a few months later! Even though I still only understand about half of what's going on in some of these videos it's been tons of fun learning all about music theory
That Stevie Wonder section was like an entire episode in itself.
And an AWESOME one at that!
It's a Shadow Episode
Music is a world within itself
Yungblut Winning!
Adam--very late to the conversation. That musical director who hired you for the off-B'way gig? He was wrong. That's called lack of leadership and lack of integrity. You don't leave out crucial information like that when you hire someone. I know about the politics of the bandstand and the politics of whether someone is fired or they are asked to quit, as a union musician. That all being said, no one who is a contractor, a band leader, or a musical director should ever put someone in that situation. And if the guy says something like, "well, man, you gotta understand, it was a stressful, busy week!", well....too bad. It's not your job to be able to read his mind. If he needed special skills, it was his responsibility to communicate that from the first time he talked to you. And if he is that disorganized or stressed out as an MD, well, he shouldn't be doing that gig.
Sorry you had to pay for someone else's incompetence.
Respectfully,
PMH
Ya. Wouldn't you put Contrabass / Strings for the listing?
A note on this is that English -sucks- when talking about music and instruments. Seriously. How can you (with extra words for clarity, sometimes) use the same word for the classical standing instrument and the electric guitarr looking instrument?! It makes it really annoying when looking for instruments online or using youtube looking for instruments or sounds.
Maybe he had someone else on mind for the gig, that's why didnt specified.
Im interested in the story of how he screwed that up?
Guy: Hey I need bass
Adam: BASS
Guy: no screw your bass, go fire yourself cause youre too powerful for me to do it.
Exactly. Especially these days, egotistical attitudes in music is stupid. There are no gatekeepers anymore - I'm a hermit but even I make money from albums I've released online.
"This isn't an airport, you do not need to announce your departure..."
Love that line!
The fragile ego needs to be missed.
“How Stevie Wonder probably... thought about it”
I see, I mean, I hear what you did there!
Moses Pippenger ha! 😅😎 I get it!!
7:47 sounds like the part of one summer's day by Joe hisaishi when the melody first starts
I dont get it
Ayush Aripirala Stevie Wonder is blind
Stevie Wonder jokes about his 'vision' himself, even at a funeral... ua-cam.com/video/-dpkGnkvmgI/v-deo.html
(1min39)
how stevie wonder probably -saw- thought about it
how stevie wonder probably wondered about it
How did you do that line? Never saw that in youtube comments
I saw that coming miles away
Juan Zavala Stevie didnt
the words he avoided was "visualized it" makes more sense in the context. just trying to be fun at the party over here
Adam growing back that 2011 hair
Great Mallard ha! 😂
It was one of his new year resolutions!
Great Mallard why he shaved for so many years ? Just styles ?
Right now his hair looks more like his 2012 hat.
Augusto I know, I think he looks better this way
normal brain: 8 minutes of theory can explain stevie wonders interesting choice of chords on sir duke
high iq: he played it by accident cuz he blind
Lame.
Hahahahahaha
Bruh
@@martinsohnlein5591 Steves not going to see it don't worry.
@@BenJamin-eh7rq 😂
Hi Adam! I am a bassplayer and working Psychologist from Norway. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Your Mentalisation of music seems to me at a high level. Passion, knowledge and your humble attitude makes you a treasure for all that loves music!
"I've my cup of Joe here, and I've got my G#7-13-9 here"
You should make that into a shirt.
I still had that Fm7 stuck in my head during that bit.
No joke, I would buy this
I lived for that very moment. XD
I unsubbed the second you started letting your hair grow out.
LOL Have you got a wee "flutter" in yer heart for Adam? Love your channel as well Aimee, been a sub of yours for quite a while
Straight out of the ball park.
Lee Sanderson whoa i didn't even notice till you pointed it out 😂
Really? I arrived for the music, stayed for the hair!
Nah he looks better with longer hair
The concept of Shadow Progressions has me more S H O O K
than that mounted cam.
Adam: [7 min tirade on music theory]
Me: Hmm yes I see so that's how it is (actually does't get it at all)
Nice pop team epic reference
I love how you almost said that Stevie Wonder "saw" a song in a certain way. XD
🤣🤣🤣🤣
“This is not an airport. You don’t need to announce your departure.” 😂😂😂 brilliant! This was a really good Q&A!
I think anyone who rolls their eyes at long explanations of theory left this channel years ago.
They were VERY unprofessional! They should have given you a heads up about it being a double bass.
Yngsatchvai yea
Pretty much every MD I’ve ever experienced is really disorganized. I was called to do a show and the MD said it was tenor and bari sax, but when I got there it was like 70% clarinet, 15% bass clarinet, 10% flute and 5% bari.
need to agree with this. But, as mentioned below, some MDs and producers are a little disorganized, or too busy to answer basic/simple questions, or honestly don't KNOW what they are trying to communicate to the musicians....
I get embarrassed thinking about the few times a band rejected me. Because I would take it so personally. Even if I didn't like what the band was about. Like one cover band, I auditioned with them, and one of the songs was black magic woman, Santana's version. And as I usually do, I knew the basic intro solo, but I improvised the rest of the solo, because that is more interesting to me. And they felt I didn't know the song, because of that. And they were concerned about how long it would take to learn the songs. Back then, I was like 23. I didn't have a strong enough sense of self, to be like, I don't want to play in bands like this, or tell them before I even met them, that I wasn't into jukebox playing. But I got so upset, I was nearly crying, because my self-esteem was based on acceptance, though I didn't do anything to fit into their acceptance models.
:(
Crngw
Cringe
at this point I’m not even watching for information I’m just watching to hear the occasional crunchy chord with some words in between
The best kind of music
the words "crunchy chord" revived my soul, thank you for that
This is one of the best Q&A videos I've seen in a long time. Lots to digest and discover. Thanks for opening the envelope.
yessssss
12tone is THE thing
jerckï72
i literally scrolled down to say exactly the same thing. exactly lol
ya! 12tone!
12tone is awesome, but does he do what Adam said he does? I've only really seen him analyze things with normal harmony and rhythm, not any of this tuning/harmonics stuff
Joshua Anderson He has some videos about tuning
He covers a very wide variety of stuff. Here's two of the ones on microtonality/xenharmony. ua-cam.com/video/RuT6Y53LYH4/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/KwLeCO2w9H4/v-deo.html
See:
"George Secor's Miracle Scale" ua-cam.com/video/DpKXQR2PtNg/v-deo.html
"Harry Partch And The Genesis Scale" ua-cam.com/video/KwLeCO2w9H4/v-deo.html
There maybe others, but those are the ones I've seen.
"This is not an airport, you do not have to announce your departure"
Gold.
I'm SO stealing this line for when I mod on Twitch!
I'm falling back in love with music theory thanks to you Adam, it's just so fascinating !
JAZZ
I love how the cat is sleeping through it all. It is not into detailed music theory. But I am learning so much in such a fun way from your videos. Thank you, Adam Neely!
Also if you want to hear some accessible microtonal music in a rock context, check out the Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (great fucking name), and their album the Flying Microtonal Banana. Great, low budget garage rock with microtonal instruments.
Also check out some of Dolores Catherino's "polytonal" music on her channel dolomuse, it sounds like looking into the distant future of electronic music and harmony.
King Gizzard's album Gumboot Soup features some pretty heavy microtonalism too, and their collaboritive tape with MHC has a few tracks with some as well.
Never heard of them but that name has sold me. I'm off to find their stuff.
My fav King Gizzard album for sure
Joshua Connor As soon as I heard this, I downloaded the album. Thanks for the heads up.
Yep, came here to comment this!
Wait, the lion king had microtones?
ua-cam.com/video/KwOdsHc4h7s/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/_VxN4rnOpho/v-deo.html
Music theory isn’t a theory because it’s used to describe patterns that exist? I guess I’ll tell that to the theory of gravity, or set theory or germ theory! Good to know they aren’t theories either.
Adam Neely Oh my god you responded to my comment I’m so happy aaaaaaa
Without the context of its use, it isn't meaningful to say that X-TET music is "limited". If you're playing music conceived in a 22-TET scheme, obviously 12 tones is insufficient. If you're only playing a pentatonic melody, it's more than sufficient. The claim that 12-TET is somehow inherently limited presupposes some really subjective and narrow ideas about the purpose of music.
@@teddydunn3513 I think you're misunderstanding the term "theory". Common mistake, most people don't know the actual definition of theory. You're thinking of hypothesis. Theory is an idea that has been proven, hypothesis is one that has not. This is the easiest way I can explain it. But there you go. Now you can laugh the next time you hear someone say, "Well, maybe that's true in theory..." 😉
Question for your next Q&A. If humans had 3 legs would marches be in 3/4?
Thanks!
This is the best question I've ever heard.
But seriously, pop music is nearly all in 4/4 because marches were in 4/4. If we had three legs and marches in 3/4, it would be highly likely that pop music would be mostly in 3/4.
Wouldn't it be 6/4, as the 4/4 was two walk cycles?
Well, until around 1300-1400 or so, most western music was related to the church, and a lot of it was im rhythmic groups of 3s, since that’s the divine number or something along these lines. Around the ars nova period, 2-rhythms became a lot more common while church music also took a step back.
Rather, I think the result would be that waltzes would turn into marches.
"This is not an airport"
OH MY GOD PEOPLE, CAN YOU FEEL THAT CLASSY BURN?!
Gotta love Adam Neely.
Sound engineer playing the room...
This is what I spent decades learning about as a pipe organ technician and sometime church musician, and I found it immediately applicable when I signed on as volunteer techie for a community musical production. I'd just like to add that if you start by creating a comfortable, well-balanced acoustical environment for the musicians onstage, they can then use their own musical sensibilities to fine-tune their performance and reduce your workload, in adjusting the house mix, to a fraction of what it otherwise would be.
You and Rick Beato and have become my 2 favourite UA-cam channels for music education and appreciation, I love your content, keep it up! Best wishes from North Wales, UK!
More and more I believe that the cat is actually the one running this channel.
Eoin Hayes 😂 I died
That cat conjecturally used to belong to Shrodinger; it's controversially colored past furthered by a spell of cryogenic incarceration.
Regarding Sir Duke: There is another possibility that you are missing but one linked to playing ability not theory. I was played professionally with someone who produced a couple of Stevie Wonder tracks the following is a story he relayed. This person was a keyboard player and asked Stevie "how do you play X" he said, "like this" and started playing. The person telling the story realized he would never be able to play like Stevie because he held his hands differently so he could find the keys, due to his blindness. His fingering style is completely alien to a piano player, due to his compensation for lack of eyesight.
So your third theory may actually be closer to the truth, but for an entirely different reason than you stated, he probably heard the G#7 (9,13) but played it as the Fm7 because that's how he could play it within the framework of his keyboarding style. This is conjecture of course, but based on some second hand knowledge I was fortunate enough to privy to. Cheers!
I wonder if somebody could upload a video to demonstrate that “blind style” of Stevie. That would be cool to see his mindset on piano
+++++ I'm loving this analysis the deeper it goes.
I'd say your explanation is to why he chose it and Adam's is to why it works. I like your analysis.
thunderfoot11 I'm curious to see if Adam replies to this thread.
23:08 Thank you for this. I can't say I've never felt that sense of "betrayal" or whatever, but I eventually had to face how irrational and simply immature that line of thought ultimately is. You're obviously not the first person to express it, but I'm seriously impressed by how you were able to address it head-on without condescension or dismissiveness. Props!
Nicely done on the initial question. When I was studying jazz with Joe Diorio he taught me a few tools in terms of functional harmony when improvising (how to find a way to survive thru any complex harmony) :
1. Chord "pluralities" - any jazz chord can be perceived of as one of (at least) 4 chords depending on which chord tone you use as the root.
Ex. A13, Gmaj7b5 (or #11), C#m7b5, Em6
2. Almost any chord progression can be somehow broken down into a standard one like I, VI, II, V etc.
3. Any chord that doesn't fit the bill can be seen as either a standalone I, IV or V
Can't even count how many times that saved my ass.
Love you Joe, you will always be my mentor, my friend, and a true inspiration.
You never notice a good sound engineer, only the bad ones :)
I notice and thank them after spending a bit of time on the other side of the desk. It is worth noticing. Magic ones are a rare and precious gift.
You do if they really are good. I saw a band called Purson play in a local pub. I was kind of dreading it as the venue is very small and usually that means that excessive volume drowns any possible dynamics. Purson have a great sound on their albums but the singers voice really benefits from clarity in the mix which I was worried would be lost in the aural melange that is the usual pub gig sound. My fears were unwarranted however as the band sounded absolutely amazing. So much so that I made a point of finding the sound engineer and thanking him personally for making the gig such a success. He was really pleased that someone had noticed his efforts and left with a massive smile on his face.
No way! The bad ones contrast the good ones, so you notice them more! A big thanks to all those sound dudes out there that are considerate and try to do their job well.
as a listener to the music, a sound man is doing his job right if it's like he was never there, same with roadies. i thank Brutal Legend for that randomly profound nugget of philosophy.
Underrated comment.
RE: "out of tune" music. I remember watching an interview with an aged British prog musician several years ago, where he talked about how much he loved punk bands that wouldn't or couldn't keep their instruments in tune because "they were playing the music in between the music."
Stevonicus The great Robert Wyatt. He was making a comment on the surge of punk and their practices, not necessarily professing admiration for it.
The amount of interesting, valuable and straight-up mind blowing information presented in this video is absolutely ridiculous! Keep it up! Pristine content!
Hey Adam,
I whitlisted your page and now youtube wants me to buy a mattress, do you own a comfortable mattress? and if so, what kind?
as a classical bassist, I do _not_ envy your experience. I've slowly started learning more and more on electric bass and I still struggle a lot, so I can't imagine what it's like having to switch to a completely different style of bass practically overnight and try not to look bothered by it. it's hard to bridge that gap (regardless of which direction you're going) and pit orchestra scores are extremely demanding. massive amount of respect for your effort, man.
Oh my! I didn’t like the last comment at all. It unsettled me before bedtime. I can’t imagine life without you now Adam. I stay up late on a Monday eagerly waiting for your upload (UK time here). I appreciate people might not like everything, all of the time, but surely everyone can enjoy something in every video it’s so so good what you do.
YES so great to see Sevish getting attention! His stuff really underappreciated so thanks for shouting him out!
Regarding the Stevie Wonder song, in layman's terms I think he just put it there because it sounds cool. 😉
That's essentially what Adam said
i like to think that his blind ness had a bit to do with it. he had a different way of playing the keys because of his lack of sight.
Indignant Wellington yeah that definitely influenced it
I like the 3rd explanation. It fits better within the context of the lyrics as the song is a tribute to big band music and Duke Ellington. Stevie was probably thinking how he could bring Ellington's flavor and practical application of dense music theory back to popular music. It's like an inside joke hiding in plain sight. There's all this crazy harmonic complexity going on but to the average person it just feels good. "you can feel it all over...people"
"crazy harmonic complexity".. :/
Last answer was the best answer on this subject I ever heard. Bravo. Keep on keeping on Adam!
I actually like all UA-camrs because I learn so much from each of your perspectives and find myself improving as a composer as a result. Thanks a million!
Do you know of the Turkish mictrotonal guitarist and UA-camr Tolgahan Çoğulu? He has a lot of interesting videos about Turkish and Arabic Microtonal music. Sevish and 12 Tone are good outlets, but I find Tolgahan Çoğulu to be a very interesting artist and performer of Turkish classical guitar. Both you and him have inspired me in the realms of non-western and non-standard musics. Thanks!
Excellent mention! I quite enjoy Tolgahan's approach to the guitar as well (as a matter of fact, I'm planning to convert my spare classical into a fretless nylon, let's see how that goes...)
Edit: Oops, forgot to mention, Tigran Hamasyan is absolutely fantastic as well.
The Maqaams (please forgive my spelling) in Arabic music are extremely interesting. I once saw a man playing the violin in an ensemble of various Arabic instruments and it was really interesting to see how he used the 'maqaams' in the same manner that in western harmony, musicians use modal interchange. I know that it seems like a very simple concept, but to hear it is something completely different.
make sure you leave the marks of the frets , that's where is the correct note will be & start with Maqam Rast , its a C major with lowered E and B ( quarter notes ) i also advice buying an Oud you'll get the whole idea faster with that .
Tolgahan and Tingram. gotta check them out now. thanks :)
Any advice on how to find a good Oud?
Literally everything that Adam recommends I listen to it.
I'm hooked on Sevish now. It's outer-worldly but also conventional... Amazing. It's tonal music but with microtones... I can't explain it, you have to just go listen to it.
agreed
*_T U N I N G I S A S O C I A L C O N S T U C T_*
School fucked us all over
I’ve thought about this a lot
It is based off of logical truths of the universe, such as the circle of fifths and harmonics, etc. So only part of it is fake (equal temperament). It is built to be pleasant and harmonious.
Constuct? XD
@@bananalimemusic-yourlifesb7420 The circle of fifth isn't a "logical truth", that phrase doesn't even make sense. That's like saying graprefruits are a logical truth. Tuning traditions vary wildly across cultures, and the particular one we have in the west isn't some cosmological gift--just a fun mixture of biology and culture.
I think I immediately saw the Fm7 chord in Sir Duke as the reharmonized stand-in for G# major, which adds this mysterious, colorful VI sound to it. Very blues-y to me. One of my favorite things about the song. Stevie never fails to deliver.
"I don't owe you your since of self" damn you dragged him to the moon!!
LMAO @ "This is not an airport....."
I remember seeing that childish comment and wondering if the guy was serious. I knew it would wind up in the next Adam vid getting destroyed, but I had no idea how awesome Adam's destruction of it would be.
I suppose "Leon Herperger" thinks that reply was a weak and slow burn on him, and not the neutron bomb it actually was, assuming he even figures it out.
DESTROYED
It's the name of a Facebook group. facebook.com/groups/221772305030316/about/
It's always a good day when I see a video from Mr Neely pop up!!
"I don't owe you your sense of self..." Consider me subscribed. Beautifully done.
I'm always the sound engineer trying to make a concert perfect. I know a lot of fellow sound engineers that simply say "Okay play me XYZ and I'll cue you in" but don't do a lot of things during a concert.
What I like about sound engineering is that you actually become a part of the band, because you, as a sound engineer, have the job of bringing the music to the people and therefore also use methods like pulling the lead guitar up during a solo, and use reverb and delay according to the needs.
While you brought it up I had to think of an ambient band I've mixed about a year ago that had a lot of tunes that were written precisely for reverb and it was magically standing behind the desk and pulling up the reverb just in the moment where the vocals had this one last tone of a chorus or so and, using reverb, I froze these sounds for some time afterwards. It was just beautiful and I think that sound engineering is about that: Feeling the music, reacting to it and mixing it so that all dynamics and tension comes to full fruition!
Problem is that most engineers simply don't have the resources to always completely feel the music because they have to mix like 20 bands per week and through this you're emotionally blunting to sound, which is sad. (That's why I'm happy that I'm not a full time engineer. And this is why a sound engineer is either break it or make it, because it depends on how his/her week has been so far :/)
"This is not an airport: You do not need to announce your departure." DAMN ADAM. Coming at him with straight heat! Great video by the way. Loved that ending haha
“Let’s first take a look at it the way that Stevie Wonder probably... thought about it.”
GENIUS
I'M HAIR BACK ANSWERING ALL YOUR QUESTIONS
UA-camIsGay thanks! I hate it
The second example of Fm7 11 is definitely how stevie was thinking. Its a very gospel movement to go flirt with chord b5 before chord 4 and is pretty much the most common gospel trick when playing any song. i recommend trying it on Amazing grace. you will go ahh that sound
Louis Pearson amen
Love this post, (even the complicated stuff), but especially for reiterating that FEIST wrote "Limit To Your Love." All respect to James Blake and his production of the cover, but that lady is amazing!
Sigh, if only Stevie were still alive to tell his side of the story....
Wait a minute!
*Hears Adam mention 32’ organ stop*
Me: Immediately perks head up.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Back in the late eighties with the rise of personal computers I had the idea maybe someone could program a synth so that the tuning was chord dependent. The algorithm would calculate each note's frequency based on the other notes being played and attempt to make intervals as close to their theoretical ideals as possible. I would love to hear how that sounds.
Of course, back then I was thinking that such an instrument could only play by itself. But these days there's no reason you couldn't link several synths via some kind of master pitch controller.
So, I've been sitting on this idea for over 20 years. I checked out some books on tuning theory when I first had the idea and one look at the maths involved made me realise that I didn't have the education to pull it off.
I hear-by beg, plead, cajole, and politely request that someone do this so I can satisfy this long held curiosity. Cheers.
Fossil Fishy That sounds pretty interesting. I'll have to look into that.
It exists. It's called hermode tuning.
I was thinking about this the other week. I worry that it might need some human help tuning chords that are enharmonic to one another in 12TET, or at least some clever rules that must be manipulated by the performer.
Probably something you can build with Reaktor - I'd have to check the voice functions to see if it's feasible. The question is how to approach the "theoretical ideals" part. After all, music just doesn't work out (you go up by perfect 5ths and get a term in the form (3/2)^n, which at some point should equal octaves 2^m. But there is no solution for (3/2)^n=2^m where both m and n are integers).
Simon Gunkel Yup, that’s one thing that was pretty clear, compromises always have to be made. Deciding how to go about that is key.
I took a quick look at hermode tuning, mentioned above, and the way they seem to solve this problem is by having different settings that allow you to choose which intervals get priority.
Adam - fascinating. My experience - as an engineer/producer - with black gospel musicians (in particular) is that they hear these crazy, far out harmonizations and within seconds express them and communicate them to each other with little to no human speech.
I really appreciate you talking about what sounds like a devastating experience and how you came back from it.
Man, I'm pushed by your great videos to go deeper into the theory. Truth is I don't put the time in to fully grasp it all. I love your stuff, discovered it a couple of weeks back.
Thanks for the theory analysis Adam, its nice to listen to the science side of music.
I'm glad you mentioned Sevish. His stuff is amazing and pretty addictive.
Hey Adam,
Just wanted to let you know that my computer blue-screened as soon as you played the G vs G# harmonic. I suppose that is what happens when you tempt the Electronica Gods.
I really appreciate the time-stamps in the description, I just remember you showing an amazing chord in some video and I found it :)
Not sure why I'm back here, but I'm glad. Hope you're continuing to weather things well.
You're the smartest man on UA-cam - at least what I know and I really like your openness and honesty. All the best to you, Adam!
I absolutely love that painting on the wall behind you man.
quality content.
The Fm7 comes off more to me like a (alerted) tritone sub to the E, instead of using a B7
Thought the same!
Its funny how you think that Fm7 that DOES NOT HAVE A TRITONE is a Tritone sub.
@Nonsense-Mediated Decay its just a tritone sub. nIts F7#9, and then delete the major third and put the sus in the melody. If the melody was not being played, like for instance a solo section on the chords, it would F7alt to Emaj......super common. not a mystery
Adam! I love all your videos. They are SUPER informative and are so well done. Love how articulate you are at explaining things. The bit about you getting fired might be my favorite clip so far. Most of the time all we see in videos are successes. It's sobering and refreshing to see someone go: 'yep, I screwed that one up!'. Kudos to you and please keep the amazing videos coming!
the last one (question) was profound and delivered so well .
great episode!
I enjoyed the less-edited style on this one. Gave it a little more breathing room, made everything a bit more naturalistic. Keep up the good work!
When you read that "someone once told me" as *"somebody* once told me" - I was ready for a YTP meme incoming.
Don't do me like that bro.
"The notes you have at your disposal unless you're playing piano"
Me, a piano player: cries
it's ok.. there are microtonal pianos now.. ;9)
It's very rewarding to see Adam get excited about a question.
I studied music harmony in a private music school in my teens but now study something else. Your videos and your analysis make me wanna drop out and go for music studies full-time. And you know what they say, "If you love what you do for a living, you won't work a day in your life.."
Hey Adam, question here.
What do you think about Death Grips?
He thinks you don't need his opinion to feel valid in your musical taste.
Zara Lindholm Brandt I love Death Grips already, but from someone who loves experimental music as well as electronic, but has never spoken much on hip-hop, and doesn't appear to have much to say for "angry" music, I would be greatly interested in his opinion.
Kraig Adkins It would be interesting yes.
but tbh the death grips meme has come and its gone, theyre good but i feel like asking him about it is more of a generic novelty internet music nerd question.
itd be interesting, yeah, but maybe we should leave space for other topics
hey adam btw do you like tech n9ne?
He answered this in a live stream once. He didn't go into much detail but he does think they are interesting/good
Darkclops Thanks
(23:05)"I'm leaving, in a HUFF!"
Cool! Music theory, performance, professional advice, and psychological analysis.
I like it.
"This isn't an airport" I'm so gonna use that at some point 😂😂
Omega_Ronan Yeah. One could say "This isn't an airport, you don't have to announce your departure so bye Felicia!" 😂😂😂
"This isn't communism, you don't have to share. Keep it to yourself."
Onkel Pappkov yes!
Good news everyone!!!
I really appreciate you sharing that you encountered a situation where you could not play the music. I felt guilty saying to one of the bands I am a drummer in that I don't have the ability right now to go in a certain direction, I felt like a failure. That's not to say I don't want to, I certainly want to develop. But I have always felt like a failure, but then again as of writing this I have only been playing for 2 & 3/4 years and even my drum instructor keep suggesting I learn to forgive myself!
That last answer was really good. I hadn't really thought about how I or anyone else might build a part of my sense of self on an outside source that doesn't owe me reinforcement of my identity. It explains a certain intensity of the negative reaction, because to have one's self-image challenged is very stressful ... but it's still, as you implied, not a just reaction.
13:26
It sounds like he's singing the lick melody. :P
Adam, thank you for sharing your "theatre experience." :) Your humility and honesty are shockingly refreshing, and instructive! You're a good man, and have blazing potential
as an arranger/producer/performer and teacher. Best wishes! sf
There's actually an Ebm7 chord in between the Emaj7 and C#m7 chords in Sir Duke (it's played under the Ab and Gb, or G# and F# of the melody).
sebYB67 D#m7 would be the chord name if we are in B major.
The answer to that last question was perfect and more people need to hear it
Great video. Loved your answer to the last question. It takes wisdom (as you said) to give such a respectful (maybe undeserved), honest and focused answer to that guy. Respects from rainy Costa Rica!
Q and A question! Have you ever thought about making a video relating to Barbershop harmony (quartet or otherwise)? It seems relatively simple from the outside but has a lot of nuance that makes it a fascinating deep dive.
21:17 please dont subconsciously implant all star lyrics into my brain thanks lol
Hehe, got that too!
"I don't owe you your sense of self"
lovely
thanks for still preaching the good word! haven't been here in a second and you are rippin it better than ever! This isnt an airport!
You have a magnificent breadth and depth of musical understanding! I have been watching/listening to your stuff for a few years and I so appreciate your spot-on clarity, brevity, and insane depth of knowledge. I recently wrote up Sir Duke and I just chalked that F-7 up as a passing chord and moved on but you unearthed some very cool shit on that dirty little chord. I loved the story about getting fired. Every working musician has been there and it fucking stings! Great stuff Adam!