What It's Like Writing A Song With Sting

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  • Опубліковано 26 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 192

  • @rickbeato2
    @rickbeato2  Рік тому +14

    Full Interview Here: ua-cam.com/video/efRQh2vspVc/v-deo.htmlsi=z1MDJzL1FZfZdNyh

  • @misternoplease
    @misternoplease Рік тому +91

    I love how Sting actually listens attentively when Dominic speaks, displaying obvious respect for each other. Sting has always appreciated people who take care of their craft.

    • @richardrikkangelori7273
      @richardrikkangelori7273 Рік тому +4

      Because he's actually been one of the longest running guitar players he's used and incredibly versatile

    • @luzhizui
      @luzhizui 4 місяці тому

      People like Stewart Copeland?

    • @ignacioperandres
      @ignacioperandres 3 місяці тому

      ❤truth

  • @heyjameshurst
    @heyjameshurst Рік тому +44

    His explanation of how bridges work for songs (his in particular) is a revelation.

    • @oliverthedrummer
      @oliverthedrummer Рік тому +2

      Read this comment thinking about how great Sting is at bridges, specifically with EBYT, and low and behold its mentioned right at the end of the vid 😅. I think If I Ever Lose My Faith in You is a strong second place within Sting's best Bridges.... Gonna have to re-vist many of his/Police songs and create my own list...

    • @heyjameshurst
      @heyjameshurst Рік тому +3

      Agreed. He’s really a master of bridges

    • @alfiegaishauser4989
      @alfiegaishauser4989 Рік тому +1

      Let me know the list aha

    • @oliverthedrummer
      @oliverthedrummer Рік тому

      @@alfiegaishauser4989 Without going through the entire back catalogue, and based on Lyrical and/or Instrumental Composition, probably something like:
      1) Every Breath You Take
      2) If I Ever Lose My Faith In Your
      3) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
      4) King of Pain
      5) Englishman In New York
      6) If you love somebody set them free
      7) Cant Stand Losing You
      8) Voices Inside My Head
      9) When the World is Running Down (Lowkey instrumental banger)
      10) Don't Stand So Close To Me

    • @jaguarcarrera
      @jaguarcarrera Рік тому

      We should call him Pontifex Maximus.

  • @CFCMahomet
    @CFCMahomet Рік тому +19

    “The bridge is therapy”… this is brilliant.

    • @kipponi
      @kipponi Рік тому +1

      Yes and bridge is solution whatever problems are in songs.

  • @CaesarDarias
    @CaesarDarias Рік тому +19

    Sting has been a musician for more than 55 years. He has released 17 original studio albums, several other albums such as the winter themed project, the lute album and the Last Ship Broadway album. He has completed 20-plus full world tours. The man is a ridiculously experienced, focused, talented, prolific perfectionist and workaholic. Yet he doesn’t often sit down to talk about his master musical knowledge. It’s fun to listen to him talk shop. I hope he will return, perhaps for his next project.

  • @glennlavertu3644
    @glennlavertu3644 Рік тому +26

    I love the matter-of-fact responses Sting makes. It comes from a place where songwriting is as familiar and human as any other function in our lives.

  • @AnthonyWilliams-ot1yk
    @AnthonyWilliams-ot1yk 10 місяців тому +3

    Sting is a creative mastermind. And he has one of the most unique and recognizable voices in music.

  • @dulichion
    @dulichion 25 днів тому

    Sting is creating the ball, and that's what makes him great. Out of thin air, he is making this thing we love.

  • @drzlecuti
    @drzlecuti Рік тому +17

    A lot of great insights into musical mastery. I like his thoughts on practice. "You can play anything if you slow it down." This is how they tell piano students to learn pieces by Chopin, Bach, etc. There's the apocryphal saying: "Take what's difficult and make it a habit. Make the habit easy. Make what's easy beautiful." Step by step--this is how mastery comes.
    I also like his comments on structure, where the "break" is "therapy." This makes me think of 18th and 19th century opera, where the "recitative" moves the story while the aria is where the story stops for a minute while the character dwells on the emotional aspect of what's going on.
    Sting plays his right hand using apoyando--very cool! OK, now I need to hear the whole interview.--cuing it up for my trip to the far south side of Chicago for a property inspection.

    • @jaguarcarrera
      @jaguarcarrera Рік тому

      The hardest part of playing strings slowly is that the fretting fingers hurt.

  • @robertbrown7408
    @robertbrown7408 Рік тому +23

    Sting was stuck with Every breath you take until Andy came up with the riff that is constant throughout most of the song.
    It's like the 4 note motif that George Harrison came up with for "And I love her". Paul only now acknowledges how that riff really enhanced the song.

  • @scally1969
    @scally1969 Рік тому +13

    What a great inspiration for young musicians. That guy's of Sting's age and experience still practice. That's how you become successful with your chosen instrument

  • @doubts
    @doubts Рік тому +12

    Sting seems constantly at war with himself. Even after everything he's accomplished as an musician/entertainer.
    Still a top bloke 🙏

    • @dumfriesspearhead7398
      @dumfriesspearhead7398 Місяць тому +1

      "I've spent too many years at war with myself,
      Doctor has told me it's no good for my health
      To search for perfection
      Is all very well
      But to look for heaven
      Is to live here in hell"
      "Consider Me Gone"

  • @daviddunn4269
    @daviddunn4269 Рік тому +14

    Sting's use of the word "release" to describe the bridge of a song is not random or accidental; old school composers and jazz musicians actually called that section of the tune "the release". Ever since I learned that from the mentors I had on the bandstand I've thought of it that way.

  • @andyashla
    @andyashla Рік тому +3

    The bridge is therapy. Very cool perspective.

  • @davidfleuchaus
    @davidfleuchaus Рік тому +5

    7:10 Modern songwriting:
    “The structure is simpler, it’s minimalist. The bridge is disappeared.” “The bridge is therapy.”
    “Structure is therapy.”
    “I’m looking for solutions… music can help.”

    • @dystopia2386
      @dystopia2386 9 місяців тому

      But there is no bridge in So Lonely.
      Loneliness forever...

  • @jonashormann5700
    @jonashormann5700 Рік тому +2

    My favourite interview of Rick probably

  • @richadambudgen7520
    @richadambudgen7520 Рік тому +10

    The fella is 71! He looks remarkably good.

  • @jbvart3974
    @jbvart3974 Рік тому +2

    The bridge in a song gives you another twist in emotional release

  • @marshac1479
    @marshac1479 Рік тому +66

    Dom would be a good bloke to go down the pub with.

    • @garethpepin6167
      @garethpepin6167 Рік тому +5

      He coached a friend of mine here in Kent a few years ago, very nice guy.

    • @AkuV1
      @AkuV1 Рік тому

      He’d be happy: “tell me why Everybody Laughed But You is actually January Stars…what do you play on these last 5 seconds of Lithium Sunset blah blah 😂

    • @sadetwizelve
      @sadetwizelve Рік тому +1

      Stop talking like that,you know damn well you don't talk like that lol

    • @Gilmourized
      @Gilmourized Рік тому

      “You know what I mean”

    • @jasonwarren3999
      @jasonwarren3999 Рік тому

      Dom DeLouis?

  • @JulesStoop
    @JulesStoop Рік тому +3

    Really nice to rewatch this, Rick!

  • @jsullivan2112
    @jsullivan2112 10 місяців тому +1

    "The bridge is therapy." Yes. There is no catharsis without it. Brilliant.

  • @tonyrapa-tonyrapa
    @tonyrapa-tonyrapa Рік тому +15

    I would love to hear And Summer's take on things.... how about that Rick?

    • @brownin329
      @brownin329 10 місяців тому

      He has an interview with Andy. Go look it up.

  • @marcelopez1248
    @marcelopez1248 Рік тому

    you shine in this talk with two very gentle men, Rick.......
    well well done...

  • @scottjanssens9978
    @scottjanssens9978 Рік тому +3

    This was such a great interview. I could've watched for hours.

  • @richardjames1946
    @richardjames1946 Рік тому +9

    Sting is happy. Sting makes Sting happy.

  • @mcolville
    @mcolville Рік тому +3

    I was LITERALLY thinking "It's like tennis, and Sting is serving. But Dom is also a player!"

  • @paulinecrystalline6125
    @paulinecrystalline6125 Рік тому +3

    Something I've been waiting for my whole life... a musician interviewing musicians! 🎊 I just learned like 10 things... and none of them had to do with who Sting is dating 😉 if you catch my drift. I'd love to see one of those silly morning shows have a discussion about the role of the bridge in songwriting structure! 😂

  • @markhillethan215
    @markhillethan215 Рік тому +1

    Mr Beato, a new level of your already fantastic videos 🙏🏻 Wow! (may be stuck watching and listening instead of practicing)

  • @ralphmackay6635
    @ralphmackay6635 Рік тому +1

    Nice to revisit this segment. Sting's breadth and depth of musical expression is extraordinary. An inspiration to seek out the subtleties of song. I sense he was born with a special gift, and he opened it, and explored it to share with the world.

  • @julianbaldwin6992
    @julianbaldwin6992 Рік тому +7

    I’d be interested to see a top 20 greatest bridges video

  • @SergioSabinoMusicOfficial
    @SergioSabinoMusicOfficial Рік тому +4

    It's always great listeng to this musical genious talking about his work.

  • @mygicshow
    @mygicshow Рік тому +3

    Hounds Of Winter is just fantastic! I still believe Ghost In The Machine is Sting’s masterpiece… I always say check out Dominic‘s work on Mark Hollis’ his solo album, stunning work!

  • @jeffprokes8990
    @jeffprokes8990 Рік тому +2

    Great interview.. Brilliant musician and song writer...

  • @gregb91401
    @gregb91401 Рік тому +11

    Sting's key changes are so interesting. I'd love to hear your analysis of his key changes in a future video.

  • @davidhoxit4274
    @davidhoxit4274 Рік тому +2

    Profound perspective in the surprise....you were expecting to hear that again. I heard this in the music of The Police back in the day...and I yearn for that still today...

  • @rayofsunshine5539
    @rayofsunshine5539 Рік тому +1

    As a Songwriter myself i agree the bridge in a song is very important as it brings the listener a refreshing change in sound and direction. Pre choruses pretty much do a similar thing though not to the same extent.

  • @NikilyMusic
    @NikilyMusic Рік тому +7

    Sting is a good songwriter

  • @cdub10071
    @cdub10071 Рік тому +4

    This great content. Listening to the artists discuss their roll in the band. I’d like to put a request in for getting Nigel Pulsford on the show. He never wrote the songs but was incredible at elevating simple foundation work to platinum selling material. Gavin was the home builder and Nigel was the interior designer.

  • @subbbass
    @subbbass Рік тому

    "walking in your footsteps" is the most relevant song today in the 2020 ies. what a masterpiece.

  • @NesconProductions
    @NesconProductions Рік тому +3

    Wise words from a fantastic composer, writer, singer and player! Lack of a bridge these days would make the 'Godfather' of Soul / R&R JB quite sad. Met the Police as a child not knowing at all who they were (giving away ticket at a local mall on their first trip to the US). One of my biggest regrets not understanding what was Sting's & the Police musical legacy would become. Glad to see him later in life on solo tour & when Sting reunited with the Police but missed the opportunity to shake their hands when I was standing next to them 😕.

  • @henrycaruana3145
    @henrycaruana3145 Рік тому

    Mr Gordon & Dominic, together, they're great, especially the shape of my heart 😊❤
    Kiku malta 🇲🇹

  • @j.k.4584
    @j.k.4584 Рік тому

    This is sooo cool. Man, you've built a great channel.

  • @anatol1204
    @anatol1204 Рік тому

    Hounds of winter is in my fav Spotify list.Amazing piece

  • @joshcoxmusic
    @joshcoxmusic Рік тому +3

    Super cool. Both guys knowledgeable and down to earth. Love this channel 🤘

  • @alexmbrenner
    @alexmbrenner Рік тому +6

    I saw the Soul Cages tour. Dom is a monster player!

  • @DarthCalculus
    @DarthCalculus Рік тому +6

    The bridge of "Every Breath You Take" *IS* the best part of the song, and yet if the rest of the song wasn't there, the bridge wouldn't be so special

    • @realRainz
      @realRainz Рік тому

      you put that bridge in a different song and it still works, let's say, try Soul Cages song then put that bridge in there, works

    • @DarthCalculus
      @DarthCalculus Рік тому

      @@realRainz sure, but then there be a different "the rest of the song there." I meant the context makes the bridge excellent
      Also, the line "since you've gone, I've been lost without a trace" would be so weird in The Soul Cages lol

  • @bennytudor5313
    @bennytudor5313 Рік тому +1

    2 legends, and gentlemen.

  • @70sladyalways25
    @70sladyalways25 Рік тому

    Great interview! I’m looking forward to seeing Sting this month. Greatly appreciate your channel, Rick!

  • @Matt-ng9xv
    @Matt-ng9xv Рік тому +1

    Broooo lol thank you for asking him this. Damn it’s so cool watching you get here from the first videos I saw of yours.

  • @thewebstylist
    @thewebstylist Рік тому +1

    Amazing take by The Man on todays modern music

  • @adityapadode
    @adityapadode 7 місяців тому

    7:28 - Sting puts down one of the easiest way to visualise a song structure and arrangement

  • @frankscutari9516
    @frankscutari9516 Рік тому

    LOL, now I have this vision of a overhead drone shot of each individual band member walking aimlessly by themselves throughout the garden digging deeper into chord progressions!

  • @bragee
    @bragee Рік тому +4

    Sting is still fit. Even at 71...

  • @kushking420
    @kushking420 Рік тому

    Sting has some of the most classic basslines, and some are quiet simple but stand out

  • @mitchweiner
    @mitchweiner Рік тому +18

    It really is a shame Dominic Miller isn’t more of a household name!

    • @alfiegaishauser4989
      @alfiegaishauser4989 Рік тому +1

      True but real fans know and the man’s got his millions😌

    • @majortom4543
      @majortom4543 Рік тому

      He has the best of both worlds. I suppose he can still have his privacy while in public. Unlike Sting and other top rock stars.

  • @rastAsia
    @rastAsia Рік тому +1

    No bridge no song. Bridges for Therapy off from this crisis. It's what the world needs today. So damn right!

  • @JaykleMusic
    @JaykleMusic Рік тому +1

    Great video one of my very favourites of all time 🎸🎸🎼🎤👌👏👏👏👏👏

  • @paulsawers4342
    @paulsawers4342 Рік тому

    Holy molly rick your interviewing rock legends. Awesome 🤩from nz.

  • @andrewashdown3541
    @andrewashdown3541 Рік тому

    To hear Bach improvise - on cembalo or organ - would be top of my bucket list

  •  Рік тому +2

    Super cool questions, one that you miss is the fact that Sting uses fretless almost always in the early police years and that'll be contemporary to jaco!!!

  • @oullahtakanbghikhbibadialiawil

    sting is a goat !!! "shape of my heart", "every breathe you take " , "fragile", "desert rose" etc etc he s awesome composer

  • @leoniea138
    @leoniea138 Рік тому

    Sting is simply a legend

  • @pcoleman1971
    @pcoleman1971 Рік тому +9

    Various people have noted that The Police didn’t become what they were until Andy Summers joined the group. It freed up Sting to write more complicated songs because he then had musicians who could play it. Sting is a great composer, and it's great that he continually surrounds himself with great musicians who can bring his vision to life.

    • @augustusbetucius2931
      @augustusbetucius2931 Рік тому +5

      Listening to Andy Summer's solo work, from XYZ, all the way through to his recent bands, it's obvious that Andy summers has a deep compositional sense, and an advanced sense of harmony. He practiced his but off as a kid, learning solos and songs from records. The work it takes to do that can't be underestimated. I was in the last generation to do that, and it makes you a far better player than you would be without it. All that to say, Andy Summers is and was a far better musician than most give him credit for. If you ever hear the demos the Police did prior to Andy's arrival, it is inarguable, they wouldn't have been the same band without him.

  • @Wilycher
    @Wilycher 4 місяці тому

    Stings was thinking in Paul Simon songs when made so.e of his songs, very, very similar songs. Simon made thus beautifull songs in the 70's.

  • @mickeykeymoaw
    @mickeykeymoaw Рік тому +2

    Intelligent Music Conversation.

  • @rollingtroll
    @rollingtroll Рік тому +4

    Maybe a little less compression on stings heavy breathing? 😁

  • @earthpart3
    @earthpart3 Рік тому +3

    that one guy was fallin asleep

  • @bassbyrdtx
    @bassbyrdtx Рік тому +1

    Give us this day our daily Bach…

  • @thezenhodler1620
    @thezenhodler1620 Рік тому +1

    Sting said it like it is regarding most of modern music.

  • @byjoveshow
    @byjoveshow Рік тому

    If u listen to if i ever lose my faith after the little bass variant u pointed out u will find another different more subtle variant the second time thru. Listen carefully! to see if u can hear it

  • @Greedygoblingames
    @Greedygoblingames Рік тому +1

    To me, Sting's approach to song writing is story-led... a lot of modern music on the other hand, is motivated predominantly by the hook line. I think it shows a change in how the brain is consuming music; people now want their instant dopamine hits (probably due to Tik-tok/Twitter etc) and is less able to appreciate complexity in a song. It's only my opinion of course and I'm sure many would disagree, but that's how I see it.

  • @markgiles313
    @markgiles313 Рік тому +3

    I love all the music Sting has produced, but I have these reoccurring dreams where he is just so mean to me.
    I think it has a little to do with the fact that I'm a couple of years younger and in the 80's, as a musician myself, every new band wanted to sound like them.
    Anyway, Sting, please hit me up if you're ever in Portland, Oregon, so that I can solve the dream.

    • @DanielBoonelight
      @DanielBoonelight Рік тому +1

      dreams don't really have much to do with the real live agents so much as they have to do with the dreamer. everything you have to work out with that particular issue is of yourself and within your power to explore and interject upon. i daresay that meeting up with sting himself would have little utility with what your brain is using him for symbolically. i hope that makes sense.

  • @rabukan5842
    @rabukan5842 Рік тому +1

    "I'm looking for solutions... I want to see how to get out of it." And he still keeps finding them.

  • @judegraham463
    @judegraham463 Рік тому

    Yes Sting..

  • @joemontalbo8071
    @joemontalbo8071 10 місяців тому

    RIck, There are SO MANY great artists that don't get the exposure they deserve PLEASE do something like "What Makes This Song Great" for undiscovered artists. You'd have an unlimited source of material! Start with Janet's Jukebox (Janet Montalbo) !
    And what about more coverage of Lyrics. An aspect of songs you.don't cover much..

  • @live2shredguy
    @live2shredguy Рік тому +1

    Please interview Slash and Axl, John Mayer, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, David Gilmour and Roger Waters (separately)

  • @Sebastian-lo3hn
    @Sebastian-lo3hn 21 день тому

    I totally understand what he means about 'Western' Music going around and around. I wonder if this is to do with understanding music as a theory and European structure.

  • @andrewjohnston9115
    @andrewjohnston9115 9 місяців тому

    I love how they tip their hats to Bach, real muscians who understand music and the power of the classical composers.

  • @BeatSyncBytes
    @BeatSyncBytes Рік тому +2

    More I look into Sting, more gifted I find him. He is actually underrated artist

    • @iliafigueroa4820
      @iliafigueroa4820 Рік тому +4

      Underrated to who?
      😂
      He is one music’s GODS.
      Whoever likes the fact or not.
      He is history alive.

  • @johnnyxmusic
    @johnnyxmusic Рік тому +1

    I’ve hear Sting saying this thing the bass player he determines what chord is being played. Now who am I to argue with Sting?… But any given note in the bass could be part of an inversion or an extension, or simply a slash chord.… It probably takes more than one note on one chord to determine what is happening in the harmonization.

    • @davin6175
      @davin6175 Рік тому +1

      He was saying he also controls the top vocal melody line. So that vocal note could be a third , a seventh, an eleventh, a suspension... between those two notes he can totally change the character of the chord and the direction of the resolution. And he does! He uses this power pretty cautiously, but he does play and sing simple things that do add an unusual flavor.

  • @394pjo
    @394pjo Рік тому

    My favourite Sting part is where he sings I want my MTV on Dire Straights song Money for Nothing.

  • @t8br00k36
    @t8br00k36 10 місяців тому

    When he says “the bridge” does he means the “middle 8”?

  • @makimachawngthu
    @makimachawngthu Рік тому +1

    Who is that breathing? And we are here breathless

  • @bobbafet9377
    @bobbafet9377 Рік тому +1

    Sting is a vampire!!!! Ageless!!!!

  • @alfiegaishauser4989
    @alfiegaishauser4989 Рік тому

    Is the song with the change there talking about “if I ever lose my faith in you”. I can’t hear the Damn change

  • @papagaio1696
    @papagaio1696 Рік тому

    Fun tastic

  • @tvark75
    @tvark75 Рік тому

    In my opinion, it is not Sting who writes "his" songs. In many videos and concerts he can not even play the song on the guitar. I think he has a professional team who writes his songs (one member is D. Miller).

  • @Cuatroveintech
    @Cuatroveintech Рік тому

    soooooooooooooo good...

  • @rehakaranfil
    @rehakaranfil Рік тому +1

    this is a 9 minutes video lasts for about 30 minutes or more. i feel the need to go and listen to the songs and then come back here.

  • @TonyAguirreJazz
    @TonyAguirreJazz Рік тому +1

    Sting and Paul work the same in that it starts with them

  • @alephnull7410
    @alephnull7410 Рік тому +1

    Sting hit the nail on the head with the circular nature of modern music. It goes nowhere. It’s philosophically circular.

  • @frankjamesbonarrigo7162
    @frankjamesbonarrigo7162 Рік тому

    I practice Bach too,everyone does

  • @nicolasmateusiak3592
    @nicolasmateusiak3592 Рік тому +1

    0:18 Dom is literally sleeping

  • @evalonious
    @evalonious Рік тому

    Where's the full

  • @shyboy2112
    @shyboy2112 Рік тому

    Wait, he used to double all his bass parts on a strat??

    • @thewomble1509
      @thewomble1509 Рік тому +1

      Yes. He'd play parts on an electric bass, sometimes doubling with a fretless AND a Strat. It's well documented.

  • @creepingdeath9795
    @creepingdeath9795 Рік тому +1

    "There is a harkonan among you"

  • @ImpartiallySpeaking
    @ImpartiallySpeaking Рік тому

    On Demolition Man from Ghost in The Machine, it wasn’t even Sting playing bass with the irony that the person who plays on the track was never credited for his contribution. As for everything being pre-arranged, it would be disingenuous for anyone to take credit for Andy’s guitar riffs including his guitar part on Every Breath You Take which was 100% the creation of Andy Summers.

  • @romgtr
    @romgtr Рік тому +9

    Today's music lacks a hook and melody!😢

  • @billysuter
    @billysuter Рік тому +1

    Bach was a monster, its the right answer.

  • @dwells37
    @dwells37 Рік тому +1

    I'm kind of wondering why there's a fourth glass of water on the table

    • @johnnyxmusic
      @johnnyxmusic Рік тому

      Well, it seems to be three glasses of water that are all the same size on that fourth glass, which is so much smaller and seems to be filled with a kind of a yellowish liquid. The mystery continues.

    • @leinonibishop9480
      @leinonibishop9480 Рік тому +2

      Nothing wrong with one of them having a drink of something stronger, or some kind of tonic for sting’s throat.

    • @dwells37
      @dwells37 Рік тому +1

      @leinonibishop9480 good point!