A Classical Musician Is Introduced to Rock Synthesizer For The First Time
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- Опубліковано 11 лис 2022
- I had the opportunity to meet with Tyse, a keyboard/synthesizer player, a member of a metal band, and a music teacher, who gave me an introduction to the synthesizer. Being that I’m a pianist myself, the idea of playing on a keyboard is not a foreign concept, but my experience has been dedicated to acoustic pianos, rather than the electric/electronic synthesizers, and I was fascinated to learn more about their musical potential and capabilities as well as the history and roll of these instruments in Rock music. Join me Saturday, November 12 for a Premiere to see how it went!
Emerson Lake & Palmer !!!! Keith Emerson's synth chops are legendary...as are his piano and organ skills.
Lucky Man!
and sometimes playing upside down! 😄
Love to see your reaction to "From the Beginning" and their rendition of "Fanfare fir the Common Man" (look for the live version, outdoors in Montreal.)
Link: ua-cam.com/video/OgpnlLz7WR0/v-deo.html
and a SHOWMAN!
Introduce her to ELPs "Toccata"..... Will blow her mind!
Jon Lord's solo on "Highway Star" by Deep Purple is an iconic rock organ performance.
haha, John Lord, that's the name Tyse was looking for and I couldn't help him either, thanks...
About 12 years ago I stood behind Jon Lord in Waitrose, Henley-on-Thames, where he lived. I so much wanted to hum Smoke on the Water, but respectfully refrained.
@@Hundhammer I was yelling it at the screen😆
@@digibirder I would have done so too, was like him desperately searching for that name in my memory because I knew I knew it, but not right then... :)
Definitely this; also Tom Scholz’s blazing keyboard solo on “Smokin“ from Boston’s debut album and Rick Wright’s multiplicity of diversely flavoured synth solos on the latter sections of Pink Floyd “Shine on you crazy Diamond”.
Wendy Carlos (Walter at the time of her recordings) recorded 2 albums, "Switched on Bach" (1968), and "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer" (1969) in which these super early analog patch panel synthesizers are used to simulate actual orchestral instruments to perform popular pieces from classical composers. Those were milestone recordings that showed mimicking typical instruments was just the beginning of what these machines are capable of. Also, many of the more expensive keys today have tactile dynamics i.e., wiggling your finger on a note produces a vibrato etc.
I remember The Swithed on Bach recordings. I thought they were great.
After touch was in keyboards as early as the mid 80s, maybe earlier and not just on expensive models.
@@nyobunknown6983 yes they did have it. Some models would have the aftertouch switchable because of midi being unable transmit complex info without completely whacking out any semblance of timing.
As much as appreciate the breakthrough Carlos made with Switched On Bach, she came out with so much more interesting stuff over the years, including Sonic Seasonings (a predecessor to New Age music), and Beauty in the Beast, which experimented with micro-tonal tunings. Truly groundbreaking stuff!
As far as classic music on synths is concerned, I think Tomita was the best at it.
@@mournblade1066 Tomita was a big deal back then. “The Planets” and “Firebird Suite”. I honestly havnt listened to them in forty five years and I’m a little afraid to now, oh and Morton Subotnik “Four Butterflies” and the one before that were really psychedelic and way out there. I agree about Carlos.
You can't talk about synthesizers without bringing Vangelis into the discussion. He had at least four Yamaha CS-80's, two that were still in working order when he passed May 17th of this year. The soundtrack to "Blade Runner" is required listening, just the tip of the Vangelis iceberg. Check out his improvisation videos here on the 'Tube.
Example: Track one on the album "Direct," titled 'The Motion of Stars,' was recorded off-the-cuff, one single take. That was typical of his abilities despite not learning to read/write music.
Rest in peace, Maestro.
Vangelis was a genius.
I’d suggest Heaven & hell for a start - it’s very orchestral 😊
Cs-80 is an unique instrument btw. One of the oldest polyphonic analog synthesizers which also has polyphonic aftertouch - an uncommon feature even in modern synths.
Definitely listen to Emerson, Lake and Palmer's take on Pictures at an Exhibition. I'd like hear your view on their interpretation. The live performance is amazing. Toccata worth listening to. For Yes anything from Close to the Edge and Fragile.
another band to check out is Yes .
I recommend Close to the Edge.
Toccata also provides a first glimpse of synthesized percussion by Carl Palmer
What about the electronic keyboard sounds in the music of early 70s German groups like Kraftwerk, Neu, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultz, Faust etc?
Great Kraut Rock groups. It was a delight to obtain such relatively unknown imports like them back in the 70's.
Those bands and Krautrock are just fantastic.
Frumpy had a great keyboardist, french man Jean Jacques Kravetz.
Queen's "You are my best friend" actually uses Wurlitzer electric piano. It was written by John Deacon (bassist) while he was learning to play electric piano. During recording sessions for the album Freddie Mercury refused to play it, as he didn't like sound of electric piano at all. "I refused to play the damn thing [the Wurlitzer]. It's tinny and horrible and I don't like them. Why play those things when you've got a lovely superb grand piano?" As a result, John is playing electric piano on this song on the record.
It’s funny how something that sounds thin and tinny in the room can sound just perfect on the finished recording.
I had a friend once who was a concert pianist, and he flatly refused to play on digital and electric pianos. For him, it had to be a real, acoustic piano. I think he did have a digital piano at home for practice, but for a concert, it had to be the real thing.
Yes, Rick Wakeman | Emerson Lake and Palmer, Keith Emerson
I am really looking forward to you analyzing and reacting to Rick Wakeman - I'm a fan of him from way back. This was a fascinating video - thanks for sharing
At 29 minutes in Tyse was talking about keyboards filling in. An example of this is in Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. John Paul Jones plays the bass guitar and keyboards and in this track they do without the bass guitar and JPJ fills in with a keyboard that a lot of people believed was the string section of an orchestra when they first published the track. If you look at the version from Celebration Day you get a good view of him playing the keyboards near the beginning. I would think a lot of people have already suggested this as a piece of music you should listen to but if you just want to hear an example of keyboard fill in then it is right at the beginning and I think it will remind you of some classical pieces. John Paul Jones is another classically trained musician in a rock group.
Ray Manzarek also played bass on his keyboard.
This was excellent. Thanks to Tyse for his presentation and to Amy too. The dialogue initiated by Amy helped to clarify and deepen my understanding. I learned a lot!
That was AWESOME. Great work, Tyse, delineating it so clearly and hitting all the key points along the way. I loved the demos as well!
Great video. Thanks to you both.
A good start and introduction! Barely scratches the surface but Tyse does hint at the fact that it's mostly unlimited in how you can approach the keyboard. One place I feel he should have pushed a bit was where Amy said she felt that the performance aspects aren't the same as the acoustic pianos she is used to - Tyse is limited by the Gaia keyboard he has there, which isn't a really good expressive instrument because it lacks some of the more advanced performance controls. He should have demonstrated velocity sensitive keyboards and aftertouch and other performance features like modulation and pitch bend on the Nord. Maybe even MIDI to the Gaia. In the end, you actually have more performance control from a good keyboard, once you learn how to work with those aspects of course.
Those are all good points but Amy is still right about real pianos. The context of playing in a rock band with guitars and drums favors the synth and in the context of classical and traditional jazz the real piano is favored.
So now, hearing Tyse talk about Emerson and Wakeman, you have to go in prog-rock. Start with Yes (Wakeman) with Heart Of the Sunrise, and ELP (Emerson) with Tarkus, as a second. Now if you want to get in complex compositions and harmonies from the first prog period, try Gentle Giant with the song, for example, On Reflection.
Dont foirget Rudess.
If you want the complete opposite of prog, try punk rock on for size.
@@karlsloman5320 Rudess ?! Can you explain?
John Lord penned the iconic Concerto for Group and Orchestra Peep Purple performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I am sure Virgin Rock would enjoy it. Lord had that classical bone in him like many other great keyboard players.
The fact that this is not mentioned here is abysmal. John Lord "Fighting" with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar going back and forth, the level of performance is out of this world. Hard Rock in its essence.
@@markovasiljevic9478 exactly what I was thinking!
Jon Lord - Sarabande," Please Don't miss this Album
Amazing the brief history of synthesizer. I was fans of ELP, Genesis, Yes, Kansas, Chick Corea Elektric Band, Pat Matheny Group, The Flower KIngs, Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Karmakanic, Anglagard, Miriodor, Symphony X and Pain of Salvation.
Pitch bend(wheel) and aftertouch are expression tools worth demonstrating. I was shocked to learn on Queen's 'I Want To Break Free'...what I thought was guitar solo, through electronic processor, is actually a synth keyboard on the studio recording by a support musician. Of course Brian May had no problem replicating it on guitar for performance.
I would love to see a reaction to Rick Wakeman's solo of the 6th wives of Henry the VIII Where he displays a variety of keyboard styles and examples of early 70s synths.
Great demo and explanation of the keyboard’s role in rock!
Claudio Simonetti from the Italian progressive rock band Goblin really deserves a shout out. I remember seeing Goblin perform in London a couple of years ago and he really is a very talented keyboardist and composer of film scores.
The guitar, the drums, and the keys. When are you gunna learn about the bass? That'd be funky!
Depends entirely on the player. How it fits in with the structure of the music is the most important part of the Bass guitar. Not all Bass players seem to fully realize that.
@@Gizzlefitz I know someone who does.
@@Gizzlefitz Leland Sklar does. It’s all about the song fir him.
@@Gizzlefitz MISA from Band-Maid...oh yeah, she elevates songs superbly. Incredible live.
Love watching this love your logic on music love your passion for music 🎶
ELP, Benny the bouncer and trilogy are a couple of there best songs. WhereKeith Emerson proves he is such a great pianist.
Amy, I will likely not be able to attend as I will be driving back from PASIC, but I am sure the video will be great. Tyse is such an great player, and in addition, an incredible drummer and composer.
OMG in heaven! You guys just hit 40K! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
I noticed that too,glad that someone mentioned it.
Rick Wakeman was mentioned as a standard, bearer for synthesised music. king Aryhur and Jurney to the centre of the earth, brilliant. Tomita is another, with his dancing with snow flake, brilliant and then there's Vangelis Chariots of fire another brilliant piece. Thanks Fiona for you brilliant show.👍👍
I would love you to do an analysis of Jeff Lynn with the Electric light Orchestra, truly brilliant🥂
Snowflakes are Dancing, had that on vinyl. Well worth a listen; early synth work but covering Debussy.
@@bobthebomb1596 Got all of Tomita's vinyls. What a fantastic composer that man was. RIP.
While the people you mentioned are or were all among my favourites (though I'm not as familiar with Rick Wakeman's work as I would like), Isao Tomita was in particular in some ways my introduction to classical music. Perhaps he would be useful as in introduction for Amy to synthesizer music? Using Debussy, Stravinsky, etc. as a basis.
Along the same lines it's worth mentioning Jean Michel Jarre, Phil Thornton, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream...
Oh yes! This is my spot, for both piano, and synthesizers. I'm so excited!
This was a real eye opening show. Loved the ending.
In recent years, I've been following Matt Johnson's UA-cam Channel. He's breathtakingly good, at how to incorporate a wide variety of synthesized approaches, into any mood, and includes a great deal of gems, little tricks of the trade. He's so generous, and you can tell, he loves it.
Nice overview Tyse, seeya at work on monday!
One unmentioned important role of the synthesizer is to mimic the sound of acoustic instruments, especially brass choirs and string choirs. Most of the brass and string parts we hear in rock and popular music are actually produced by synths.
or Samplers that are not Synths
Amy, a really good UA-cam video to watch in order to better experience what modern synthesizers are capable of is Marco Parisi and his performance of Purple Rain at NAMM in 2017. It's one of the most moving performances I've seen from one keyboardist.
I am not surprised to see Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson (even Joe Zawinul, the wizard of Weather Report) mentioned as expert proponents of keyboards and synthesizer. They are legendary. But not mentioning Tony Banks from Genesis is criminal! As far as utilizing the various types of synthesizers, organs and mellotron there is no one better. Technically brilliant, he had the ability to integrate their sounds with other rock instruments in an orchestral way. Unique. Not a showman, Tony Banks is a musician/composer genius within the rock genre.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR REACHING 40K in just three months!
It seems like few have noticed that. Maybe they're waiting for 50k.
The talk about progression made me think of a painter. Amy is used to using a wide selection of brushes applied different ways (hands). Tyse mixes the paint for colour and texture and selects the canvas properties, and uses a single brush. Both create great art, those who have the ability to combine them create magic.
The Rhoades piano deserves an episode all in itself. From a simple invention from a guy who took care of the wounded in the pacific during ww2 to Fender putting mics in it.
That was a lot of fun! And I learned a lot too. 😃
Thank you🥳
The organ has draw bars, aka "stops" in older, full function organs and when you really get going and want to let your hair down you "pull out all the stops" to get all the range you can. And that's where that phrase originated! 😀
As for influential players, don't forget T. Lavitz of the instrumental group "The Dixie Dregs" which is a phenomenal group with doctors and scientists and Steve Morse as lead man, rated best guitarist by guitar magazine 6 times running. T. Lavitz did more for the keyboard/synth than most any player of the modern era of rock, post ELP and Yes, Pink Floyd deserves much credit as well.
A person who was a singer song writer and made his bones as a "piano fighter" as he called himself and had many of his own albums but also played on, produced and wrote most of the music coming out of LA in the 70s and 80, into the 90s and that's Warren Zevon. People know him foe some hit songs but don't realize that he didn't get a lot of radio play for many of his songs because he wrote with a poison pen but also had a lot of songs which were too long and/or "out of the box" of popular, hit radio songs. Listen to his music, the piano work and his song lyrics and you'll understand and appreciate someone who isn't a "top name" in reference, like Joel or John. But, he can play as well and in many people's opinions, better than those guys. Had the privilege of working a club he played regularly and he happened to be a good friend of our entire rugby team so, I've gotten to hear things that would blow your mind come out of a piano/synth when he's at the helm.
Anyone who knows "Poor, poor, pitiful me" by Linda Ronstadt should know that Zevon wrote that song and they need to hear his version.
As for response from a keyboard lacking the feel of a piano, they now have keyboards with "weighted" keys to give that feedback a lot of people want and need. They've come a long way.
Werewolves of London, My Shit's Fucked Up and Carmelita are the songs I know and love by Warren Zevon. I am always for comparing original songs to cover versions thereof, so I would recommend to listen to the GG Allin version of Carmelita as well. It sounds broken but beautiful for that, in a morbid way, really heartfelt and sincere.
@@elevenseven-yq4vu Thanks, Warren's last album (containing M.S.F.U.) was his tribute to his friends and family who had stuck by him and I get broken up everytime I hear it because, I'm one of those friends.
I played with a national league rugby team and we all became very close going back to his club days. In a newspaper interview he gave, he stated that at the time he was at his lowest point and everyone from his wife to his manager had abandoned him, we were the only ones who stuck by him and in fact, his infamous, "smoking skull" logo was taken from our team logo. I miss him and it often feels like yesterday when I was tending bar in a club he played frequently or we were backstage at a concert.
R.I.P. Warren
@@MtnBadger I feel sorry for your loss. Thanks for your reply. R. I. P. Warren Zevon.
@@elevenseven-yq4vu Thanks. It really did hit me harder than I thought it would, he was a terrific guy and a much greater talent than most people realize. He only had a hand full of popular, radio songs that people remember (6 or 8) but ,he wrote hundreds of songs other people did, wrote, played on and produced most everything that came out of LA for 30 yrs and has a dozen albums that don't get played because they're written with a "poison pen" or just not fit for the 3 minute, "short bus" listening audience that modern, corporate Tzars choose as our destiny. . If you have the time/opportunity, listen to all the stuff they never play. 😀 Thanks for the thoughts.
We had King Crimson and Yes and no Mellotron! This was the sampling part in progressive rock.
Besides that, yes he gave a very good overview from the early days of pianos to todays keyboards in popular music.
That was interesting. I really enjoyed it. The history lesson, the science lesson, and the insights into how musicians express themselves with acoustic vs electronic instruments. Thanks.
synthesizers are definitely a rabbit hole all on their own, again with the difference between analogue versus digital synthesizers as well... but so are keyboards or digital pianos versus their VST counterparts... In principle, you covered 3 separate topics with each their own intricacies in this video or rather Tyse did. Love that stache, slightly concerned about the big scar on your hand a little. But this was fun!
ELP did many types of wonderful music, from wild experimental prog to lovely ballads and everything in between. But of interest to you, perhaps, they did a lot of covers of classical music, done in their own special way (I listed many in my previous comments in one of your earliest videos). But to hear Keith Emerson's interest in classical music, first see his own orchestral "Piano Concerto No. 1", from Works Vol. 1. Also, note that many symphony orchestras have covered ELPs "Tarkus".
And, yes, Rick Wakeman of the band "Yes", gotta go there too!
16:00 Check out the recordings of Isao Tomita. He takes Classical pieces & plays/arranges them on analog synthesizers. Beautiful stuff!
Amy is now ready to grace us with a first listen of Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" ;)
This was informative for me as a rock/blues/jazz guitarist who has played with any number of keyboardists.
Excellent presentation, with lots of great info. But now we really need the bass demo. While the keyboard plays a role, and is even fundamental to the sound of some bands, the bass is a key part of all rock bands. It is both a part of the rhythm section, working with the drummer, along with providing the harmonic foundation underneath the guitar and keyboard players.
Exactly right. Some people just want to hear that funky pop and snap stuff with a whole big flurry of notes played,which completely misses the point of how the Bass guitar should fit within the structure of the music overall.
I very much agree! Perhaps one of the bassist with a UA-cam-channel would be willing to take this on. Someone like @AdamNeely or @LelandSklar or Luke from @Lukefrombecomeabassist or Scott from @Scott'sBassLessons for instance.
@@Gizzlefitz What is even more amazing is that a lot of music listeners don't even consciously pay that much attention to the bass, although subconsciously it is what is making them move to the sound. The bass often provides the hook to the song that people remember. Think 'Another One Bites the Dust' (Queen). There a loads of other examples. These are often doubled with the guitar, but often they stand on their own. Even when double, it is the bass that gets in peoples bones and sticks with them.
@@MrSlygui It is always worth asking, both of these would be great, of course Leland also happens to span rock history being on 100s of well known records with the top musicians out there. That makes it sound like he is un-gettable, but I bet Amy would have a better chance of getting him that Adam. Leland is such a nice and generous guy, provided he has the time available. Adam is also a great guy too, so more of a gut feeling on this. I sent Amy a private message suggesting my bass teacher Mark J Smith at TalkingBass. He is excellent and very knowledgeable. He has 356K subscribers, but the only one mentioned that actually knows who I am, so maybe I could talk to him about it.
@@MrSlygui Although I do know somebody on this channel who claims to have met Leland in person, and he even gave this person a big friendly bear hug. We shall see if this mystery person want to reveal themselves,😄perhaps they can score Leland for us.
Not one mention (In this feature) of the Mellotron which became the primary keyboard instrument circa 1960s until the Synth took over in 1970s - pity!
Yes,whenever someone mentions the Mellotron,I think of Mike Pinder, The Moody Blues. And then also,Robert Fripp, King Crimson.
Hi Amy. Greetings from New Zealand. Love your channel. For all of human history, music has been created by percussion, string, wind or a combination of, i.e. piano is percussion on string. The synthesiser is the first 'new' way of making sound. It is still in it's development, wonderful instrument. Appreciate that you will have had so many suggestions to listen to, but may I please add Credit in the Straight World by Young Marble Giants (studio version). I would be fascinated at your interpretation of this song. It is totally unique and strangely accessible for something so different. Keep up the good work.
Lucky Man by Emerson Lake and Palmer is a must to watch. You can see the Moog Synth in their older live videos of Lucky Man. He had to plug in wires to program it. It’s pretty interesting.
Nice conversation. Portability was really the driving force in rock keyboards and in rock in general. It all had to fit in the old station wagon or van along with the band.
Hey if you have portability of keyboards in mind you gotta mention the keytar, as cringe as it may be 😆
@@casachezdoom2588 I loved those. A tad heavy weight wise. You didn’t see them much in the wild. But watching someone wailing away on their red keytar was quite the sight indeed.
The first view of an early synthesiser being played can be found in the clip "Daily Nightly" late 1967, by the Monkees with Mickey Dolenz operating it. I believe that is the first time it was filmed.
Oh my god, the world of analog synthesizers is amazing! They really are the natural and technical evolution of the grand Pipe Organ. With the right synthesizer, you are able to do literally anything you can think of. However, you almost need to be some sort of Audio Wizard, where knowledge of signal processing becomes as important as knowledge about music theory. In fact, you can literally wrap music theory around your finger, wiggle it, and have the circuits spit out otherworldly beautiful music.
Somebody should introduce you to a room full of Moog modules and a person capable of using them. Even the visual result, the glorious mess of cables running everywhere, is a sight to behold.
The use of synthesizers by Townshend on Who’s Next is worth your time.
Glad your getting educated on instruments outside of your island.
It’s hard to believe and maybe even a bit sad to know there are so many people out there who are missing out on so much great music.
It’s hard to imagine finding someone who has not even heard of this stuff.
We’re you brought here from the distant past? That’s what it seems like to me.
There are so many ideas out there to suggest you try listening to.
I can think of (3) to try that I think have a lot of variety within them that you might find interesting.
1. I’d Love To Change The World, by 10 Years After.
Alvin Lee on guitar
Features Acoustic & Electric guitars, great drums, timeless meaning in the lyrics.
2. Year Of The Cat, by Al Stewart.
Transitions seamlessly between a variety different instrument features.
3. Dixi Chicken, by Little Feat.
New Orleans Flavor
Wild piano, horns and who knows, just plain crazy.
Maybe suggest to us to try listening to what you like to play. Show us what you can do.
It keeps getting interesting.
The synthesizer works of Isao Tomita are just wonderful as well. The most famous album is KOSMOS with his synth interpretation of the Hora Staccato. Thank you for a great channel.
That comparison of a synth nerd with a chef made me giggle, i like synths and i like cooking ... got tons of spices from all over the world :D
Related to hopping back & forth between synthesizer and piano consider Inca Roads, KCET, and George Duke. Also, thank you for wandering out of the well-established and for some muscle memory (yes, beautiful) classical music - kind of what George Duke talks about in the "george duke first time zappa" video.
The modern synthesiser, initially known as the `Moog Synthesiser` was devised by Dr Robert Moog. The prototype was played by Paul Beaver and its first appearance on Record was on the album `The Zodiac` by Cosmic Sounds circa April/May 1967. Dr Moog displayed his early prototype at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 67, where it caught the eye of Monkees member Mickey Dolenz who ordered one.
Indeed. the Monkees were the first popular group to employ the Synthesiser on the late 67 album `Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd` On tracks `Daily Nightly` and ``Star Collector` Also in late 1967 the Doors used one sparingly on their `Strange Days` album and the Byrds on album Notorious Byrd Bros on tracks `Natural Harmony` and `Space Oddity`, The Beatles did not use on on album until they recorded `Abbey Road` in late summer 1969. This one was owned by George Harrison who had used it earlier on his 1968 solo album `Electronic Sounds`. On `Abbey Road` it was utilised on four tracks = `Maxwell's Silver Hammer`, `I Want you (She's so Heavy), `Here Comes the Sun` and `Because` By the early 1970s it took over from the Mellotron as the preferred keyboard instrument for groups such as `Yes` `Genesis` `Pink Floyd` etc. Even Led Zeppelin employed one to good effect on the track `No Quarter` on their 1973 album `Houses of the Holy`.
ok, good explanation; btw. the Beatles used a mellotron in 1966 on Strawberry Fields Forever
@@textundidee Indeed they did!
You could add the relatively unknown band Syrinx to that list. You can see some of the monstrous Moog in this video : ua-cam.com/video/MtwBQqnAJ9w/v-deo.html
@@flyingintheface6139 Many, many artists used it- Stevie Wonder in particular (Listen to the start of "Higher Ground") and so on. I just wanted to give a brief summary of the Moogs early use in the late 60s. I would guess not many folk would have realised among the very first to use it were `The Monkees`!
Young Rascals' "Groovin" was released around the same time with bit of synth as well, on the bridge of the song.
Got to get a Keytar, if you want portability, or use a strap, like Edgar Winter.
If you haven't, please check out the "Frankenstein" Live video.
love how him and his group touched on Jazz and Blues a little. wondering if yall are going to explore any of that. it does have huge influence on rock and there are plenty of times they have crossed over. would love to hear what Amy already knows and thinks about Jazz as a classical musician. like the Jazz or Blues Scale?
The best musicians, ever? Brecker Brothers live,
ua-cam.com/video/UIGsSLCoIhM/v-deo.html
I'm very curious of what you might think of Boston.. the history you might learn. And your review of Third stage as an Album.. as a whole!
Really interesting overview of keyboard history. Loved it! Are you at all interested in getting an electronic keyboard of some sort and experimenting with it on your own now? Or will you stay only with traditional acoustic instruments?
Piano rock is my favorite sound. I like it when songs chug, as with the Beatles "Hey Bulldog," Paul McCartney's "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five."
It's worth checking out the lead piece in the house of the rising sun on the Vox Continental- big fan as a keyboard player. A good review for you would be from the 80's would be Vienna Ultravox. He mentioned a couple of things about synths however some artists did more atmospheric compositions and are famous like Vangelis and Jean Michael Jarre all worth a look.
Lol synthesizers also have after touch and velocity + pitchbend + modulation, so there is also lots of dynamic range. So it can be more expressive then a piano. I voted for the synthesizer because I like keys, but the drums explaining video was much more fun.
See: Jordan Rudess
And you can have a hammer action keybed on a synth, if you want to work it harder like an acoustic piano. That should've been mentioned.
Many keyboards synths/electric pianos have an option to have weighted keys to give the acoustic piano touch. Synths can produce a wider range of frequencies than a piano - Sub-bass tones and pitches beyond 10KHz. 😎
Marta demos bass part over Paul Young’s version of Daryl Hall’s of “Every Time you go Away” beautiful demo.
Here
ua-cam.com/video/HnnewhuLuj8/v-deo.html
If you want to hear a combinaton of familiar classical piano music and surprising synth sounds listen to the groundbreaking album "Switched on Bach" by Wendy Carlos. You can find the full album here on YT.
The Doors - Ray Manzarik, the keyboard is the lead instrument. Manzarik was trained in classical music
The synthesizer is definitely not a lesser instrument to the piano if we are talking about the serious synthesizers. It actually can go further in some ways and respects.
And piano is great in what it does.
Many of the great progressive rock keyboardists of the 1970's had a background in classical music. Jon Lord of Deep Purple started learning classical piano when he was five years old, but it's his way of playing Hammond organ in Deep Purple that got him really famous. Hugh Banton of Van der Graaf Generator comes from a family of church organists, and he has chosen to focus on electric organs. Kerry Minnear of Gentle Giant graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a major in musical composition. Rick Wakeman of Yes had the intention to be a concert pianist, but got work as session musician so he left the Royal Collage of Music.
Don't forget about Tony Banks. GENESIS forever!!!!
Can not believe no one has. He is miles above everyone else in his nuanced use of every imaginable keyboard to create Genesis incredible moods. Orchestral.
@@rk41gator For Sure!!!!!! Agreed.
As a classical musician, I wonder if you'd like something more complex? Something like Dream Theater? They're a prog-rock band formed in the mid -1980s and the members were Berklee music students. They dropped out to work on the band. Lot of varying styles and time signatures with polyrhythms. All the members are great at what they do.
We e been trying to get her into prog since the beginning of the channel. Commissions have waylaid the timeline I think.
Instantly thinking of groups without guitarists like good old Rare Bird ('Sympathy') or the Japanese Ars Nova ('Android Domina'). Else any good prog band from the 70's used synthesizers (or the not mentioned mellotron) so there's a lot to go looking for.
When I think of pianos in rock music I instinctively think about Renaissance and 'Kind and Queens", where the whole song is carried forward by the piano as are, btw, many of the early songs by Renaissance (now and old settings).
Anyhow, this was interesting though I know a lot already (as a avid synth-DIYer).😎
Without intending to compare it with Mozart, a piece to take into account, composed for guitar and orchestra, is the Concierto de Aranjuez, by maestro Joquin Rodrigo. There are also versions played by the great flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, which deserve attention.
There is a video from Steve Porcaro out there how he creates sounds on an analog synth. (Porcaro synthesize analog brass). This shows very detailed how to create almost natural sounding instruments. It's most likely from the 80's.
Prefer electric guitar over keyboards, but voted for this because this is a much better presentation.
Someone else may have already mentioned it, but when you spoke of your frustration with lack of expression control with electronic keyboards, I'm surprised that he didn't mention weighted keyboards. They are designed, as much as possible, to give you the touch control provided by an actual piano.
Rick Wakemans solo in Montreux is a great demonstration of analogue, digital, mono and polyphonic synths. ua-cam.com/video/ZtJMSYRnr58/v-deo.html
I too was saddened that Jon Lord of Deep Purple didn't get enough recognition for his contribution to keyboards in rock music.
Interesting, I know I'm nit-picking and this was just an introduction but surprised there was no mention of Monophonic vs Polyphonic, Sequencing, Splitting and Layering, Vocoding, DAWs, Wavetables, Arpeggios, Portamento (Glide), Velocity and Aftertouch (the expressive control you were referring to), etc. (did I mention Splitting and Layering!) ie the things that make modern synths really beneficial. Fully expected to hear a little RUSH synth demo at the end, lol. Oh well. Still entertaining and I plan to check out more of your videos. 👍
Teşekkürler.
Popcorn sounds like an accordion. There’s some accordion used for rock hits. Not counting Weird Al. But his “My Balonia” is a hoot.
10:30 Hohner of Germany (known for Accordion) sold the patent for this type of organ (Gears in an oil bath electrically transformed into sound) to Hamond, after they had no commercial succes with in Europe.
Synth?
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Interesting.
One important point I felt was missed was the issue of polyphony. Until the mid-70s, programmable synths were monophonic, so their use in classic rock and prog of that era was often for lead lines/solos or basslines. You had to look elsewhere (organ, piano, electric piano, Mellotron etc) for polyphonic, chordal, harmonic pad sounds, until the advent of polyphonic synths in the mid-70s. Of course, monophony wasn't an issue in the studio where chords could be built up in the recording e.g. Switched On Bach.
A common sight in those days was a monosynth atop an organ or electric piano, the keyboard player playing a chord on the organ with the left hand and soloing on the synth with the right.
Excellent point!
I was expecting a mention of Ray Manzarek when talking about the 60s organ sound.
One composer I think about regarding electronic music and synth is Jean-Michel Jarre, especially Oxygen, and I think the most famous is Oxygen Part 4.
"Switched on Bach" by Walter Carlos was the general public's introduction to the Moog Synthesizer.
Very first use was on `Cosmic Sounds` "The Zodiac" L.P I have a copy (On Elektra records) it is `very` 1967!
@@alansmith1989 interesting
And not, only, the general public. I’d contend most of the public including hipsters, beatniks, and squares, alike.
After explaining his new instrument, the Moog Modular synthesizer, to a room full of audio engineers, Dr. Bob played early recordings by Walter Carlos that brought many in the audience to tears. Those pieces from Carlos’ Switched On Bach LP showed the scientists that there was beauty in the new technology that they were creating.
48:50 popcorn on the piano sounds more correct to me. The particular synthesizer voices for Jump and Popcorn didn’t sound right to me. Coincidentally, I went to listen to Jump right before he started talking about it and then came back to watch the rest of this video. Amy, as a supplement, check out “Top 10 Synthesizer Riffs of All Time” by Doctor Mix on UA-cam. He shows how he sets up each sound as well. #10 and #9 are Popcorn and Jump!
Listen to Riders on the Storm by the Doors. Great electric piano.
I get it that the main purpose of this demo was to give a brief introduction to the role of keyboards in a rock band, and also discuss the basics of how sound synthesis works. But synthesizers, and the music created on them - and the different methods of sound synthesis, and sequencing in general - would be a vast topic to explore in their own right, outside the rock context... There’s lots of good introductory material on synthesizers and sound synthesis on UA-cam if you want to dig deeper.
Instead of going there, though, I would like suggest something else: a rather obscure but maybe interesting piece for Amy to listen. In her videos, Amy has mentioned a couple of times how rock songs maybe generally do not use so much ostinatos or develop variations of recurring themes. Here’s a video of a Dutch composer and multi-instrumentalist Reyn Ouwehand using a looper (see the Wikipedia article on "live looping" to get the idea) to construct an improvised live performance which is very much based on a single recurring theme or phrase:
ua-cam.com/video/v8UBY8Yj9c0/v-deo.html
The song is inspired by a riff and melody taken from a 1980s computer game called ”Green Beret” (originally published for the Commodore 64, containing music composed by Martin Galway). Reyn develops it into this rather fascinating alt/art-rock song by layering in multiple instruments and overdubbing different textures. (A Rhodes piano is an important part of this piece, although he also uses other instruments. This performance was recorded during a live Internet radio show where Reyn took requests from listeners, one of which wanted to hear Reyn’s take on the loading screen music of ”Green Beret”, the computer game.)
For me, if I come away learning something musically, I’m happy. Enjoy the reaction too.
Great use of keyboards and/or synthesizers you can find in the music of: Little Richard, Deep Purple, Van der Graaf Generator, The Doors, Ozric Tentacles, Jean Michel Jarre, Herbie Hancock.
Enjoyed this over view. Though certain aspects of the development were missed. I’m assuming for brevities sake. No mention of the Fairlight, with its embedded sampler, for example. Not sure what you have been given as an example to listen to as homework. I hope it is either Emerson Lake and Palmer’s interpretation of Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (recommend the performance in the Montreal Olympic Stadium). Or Rick Waksman’s performance , as part of Yes, of Roundabout
Or the Mellotron. Putting a name to that sound was quite instructive for me.
Or the synclavier.
I remember my mom being irritated when my dad played Ekseption. He was fond of the improvisation of 'Air' from Bach by a rock band centered around a synthesizer. She argued it took away the beauty of the classical music but my dad loved the improvisation. I remember thinking to myself that they were both right, classical music is beautiful. But Ekseption made my blood run faster! 🤔 I guess that set me on a path loving all kinds of music through whole my life :)
This is an excellent overview. However, I would point to the development of the keyboard in early heavy rock, and also the psychedelic rock that led to progressive rock in the 1970s. Jon Lord in Deep Purple and Uriah Heap's sound is so heavily based on the Hammond B3 organ.
In the 70s, bands like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk perfected the incorporation of the synth into rock music, the later heavily influencing British New Romantic music in the 1980s, when Depeche Mode, OMD, Ultravox, Japan, The Human League, Heaven 17 etc., really explored the development of relatively cheap mono and then polyphonic synths being made by Yamaha, Korg, and Roland. Also, that great early proponent of the Moog, Isao Tomita, transcribed many classical pieces to the synthesiser, notably with his recordings of Debussy, Snowflakes are Dancing.
Another important keyboard sound not mentioned, which pre-dated the development of sampling, was the Mellotron. An instrument designed for domestic use that soon became beloved of both pop/rock bands like the Beatles and then progressive bands (Rick Wakeman being a significant user of the instrument). The Mellotron was unique at the time for using a series of recorded (sampled) sounds on built-in audio tapes that could be accessed and played via a keyboard. Not as used as the Hammond or the Rhodes but still an important part of the keyboard soundscape of the 60s/70s and to the modern day (many contemporary progressive bands use that signature 'string' sound).
The Hammond Organ Is used in a few Rock Songs. Dire Straights used the Hammond Organ in Walk of Life, and It Never Rains.
That circus pipe organ sound on Walk of Life is the number one reason I never liked that song.
@@flyingintheface6139 Its not meant to be a circus organ. Its meant to be the type of organ you get at ice hockey rinks. its playing a celebratory refrain often heard when a goal is scored.
@@ianbotha9912 Yes..that's the sound.