“I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sounds exactly the same, Infact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same.”-- Angus Young, AC/DC
If you're at your best making damn good burgers and fries, just don't give molecular cuisine a try - you'll probably suck. Never try to be what you're not - Angus knew that well. In the late 70's and early 80's, KISS experimented with 2 top-40 disco-ish albums and 1 concept progrock album with mixed (read miserable) results. They learned the hard way what the Young brothers knew right from the start.
yes, beato is a bit unclear on this point. these four cycles are all arguably the same cadence, since it repeats, and these are what is usually meant by the "axis chords". but the other combinations are popular too, eg 1-6-4-5 sustained a decade of pop songs as the "doo-wop changes". the axis order is currently dominant, but these four chords are more popular than any other set (outside of 1-4-5) and it's not certain which over-use beato's complaining about. fwiw there are six distinct sequences if you don't care about starting point, and they all basically work
I suspected that, too, because otherwise it would be legit variety. I can't think that deeply right now though, so I didn't explore my suspicion further.
"The fourth, the fifth. The minor fall, the major lift." When I started learning guitar on my own and learned like all basic open chords and some bar chords - I played them randomly and found the same chords that just sounded really nice together. And kept playing them on and on, thinking how good I am discovering them =) Later on when I studied basic music theory, I realized not only that I wasn't the first discovering them, but also that the 95% of music hits use them =)
@@nurpeachmusic, Drew was the one who sounded more like he was saying that there wasn't much heartfelt music today, implied by his statement. But there's been a lot that wasn't heart-felt though all the time. No generation's music is just gonna be totally full of gems. It's not like there's anything special about music from old decades or centuries vs. that from now.
I’ve always been in awe of Steely Dan. Their chord progressions are so sophisticated and extremely challenging to play. And unlike some bands who do this for the sake of showing off, it is musical perfection.
Here's a future topic: comparing Beatles hits and, more generally, songs - from a compositional point of view - with contemporary "major recording artists".
Don L Yes, that was my inspiration for the topic suggestion as I happened to be reading his notes series #65 on "Ticket to Ride" when Rick uploaded this video.
gavin Reid You are absolutely right. A quick look at Billboard's top 100 between 1960 and 1965 will confirm that a lot of musical mush was around. Mainstream implies the lowest common denominator (no value judgment) and it takes very, very special talent to change an entire culture's sense of musical taste. So, all the more reason for a guy like Rick Beato (or Adam Neely, Aimee Knolte, Nahre, or all of them together) to break down their compositional skills. Also, Rick's channel is kind of a graduate class that has a lot of less musically conversant people - like myself-"auditing" his course and "picking up the scraps". That might be one way of bridging the gap between his intended audience and his real audience. 'Ya never know...
gavin Reid Most of that music has been forgotten ? Are you serious ? Most people I know still listen to Hendrix, The Beach boys, The Stones, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Phil Spector, Bert Bacharach, The Kinks, Janis Joplin, Frank Zappa, Motown (which on it's own could trump anything since), the whole canon of Psychedelia.....the list is virtually endless. I can't think of anything now that even comes close in terms of originality and brilliance.
No ones listens to Dylan for the musical technicality. They listen to him for the absolutely beautiful lyrics and general songwriting ability. He could conjure any emotion he desired in the listener. Oh and his harmonica skills were superb
Nothing killed anything. These are the 4 strongest chords in any key and "killed" is just click bait-y. Classical music uses these 4 chords constantly and most of the pop songs emphasizing these chords will have other chords thrown in other parts of the song.
@your boy blue I agree. I'd go further to say the basic drumbeat and 1 rhythm guitar, one lead guitar and one bass guitar is one of the most overused formulas in 75 years of pop music.
When I was 8, almost 30yrs ago, and took guitar lessons, my teacher insisted I learn G, Am, C, D and Em chords first and changing between them as good as possible cuz I'd "be able to play most songs with only those". And he was right.
I started taking lessons at age 67, two years ago, and my guitar teacher taught me those chords for the same reason. There are other chords that we work with, but those are a good place to start.
my dad taught me c in normal finger positioning, then f and g in barre chord finger position. then i learned a, d, and e in normal position, and figured out that i can play any major and minor and some other kinds of chords (i;m not big on chord theory) by playing it in a barre chord fingering position. i don't do leads, i sing along with my guitar chord playing.
@@GradyPhilpott Hey Grady he wasn't too wrong. BUT. unless you wanna play what's on the radio once you learn a few cords put them together in an order that suits you and throw in your own lyrics and feck the rest of the world. I'm 62 and started playing rock guitar at 13ish. Have fun and don't ever stop ! PS I bought a mandolin few years ago and wrote songs around the only 3 chords I knew on it.
and these are the type of teachers that I hate the most because they teach nonsense. I went through serious search to find a guitar teacher that taught me the guitar correctly. The first thing he did was teaching me how the instrument work and how to find the notes on the fretboard & this alone gave me almost a total understanding on the instrument. later I was able to make my own chords and melodies. also learning and memorizing chords was a lot easier.
@@superrookie-1 Almost a total understanding from finding the notes on the guitar? Get out of here... I've studied and played and teached the guitar for decades and I still can't say that I have a complete understanding of the guitar. The more you learn, the more you find out that there is a lot to explore. I feel that the guitar teacher that teaches you chords to actually play music is doing a good job. Its not nonsense to learn to play songs with common chords. For beginners it gives them a sense of achievement and they are able to play along with songs they like. Which is very important for beginners. Also there should be a logical order in which you learn things, and starting with easy chords is definitely a good starting point for many students. Starting with learning the notes on the guitar is more uncommon and won't give the student the pleasure of playing music from early on. Learning music theory should always be connected to making music and shouldn't be just an intellectual exercise.
For me, it's not only the music that I find to be derivative and uninteresting-- it's the singing styles too. Either it's the bloodless, soulless, male voices or the bubblegum female voices that are all over the place with vocal gymnastics. They're just so overused to the point of becoming muddled mayonnaise audio paste. I don't really like much rap/hip-hop either. The monotone rhyming does nothing for me. Much of it sound bored, angry, or bragging which is not what I want to hear when I want to feel good or inspired. It's the music from the 60's, 70's, and certain 80's tunes that does it for me. Bring me the Motown, R&B, and rock and I'm fine...
@Abubakr Mohammed Jamal Abubakr Mohammed Jamal Let me rephrase: I don't hate rap, it just doesn't do much for me. I have some De La Soul, Arrested Development, and a few others in my collection but rap is like country music to me-- I like some of it but I can't listen to it all the time. Part of why I may like or not like something is due to attitude and delivery. Also, I'm in my mid-50's so my musical tastes predate rap and hip-hop. I just prefer the older stuff.
The other part that adds to the poor quality of music is the introduction of auto-tune with the generic music just makes most any modern music unlistenable. As for Rap that all sounds the same musically as there are not any instruments used in its production now. Unlike the early days of rap where there were actual musical instruments.
Today's rap reminds me of poetry night at the local coffee house in the 80sand 90s. Dont hate it just not musical. Try Run DMC they had music or the Fat Boys Coolio. Pop music is in the same boat as all entertainment no originality. There is good music out there but it is coming from locals and isn't hitting the mainstream. But it is the sign of the times just look at everything going on in the world.
Greetings from Peru. Now a Texas transplant. Despacito is not an embarrassment......is a total disgrace, utter garbage, and don't start me talking about reggaeton.......
The Beatles meant for Aretha Franklin to have Let It Be originally, and was written in the gospel style. So that's the reason behind their 1 time use of the four chords.
I was in the dentist office the other day, and they played nothing but modern Pop over the office sound system. By the time I left the office -( maybe an hour or so) I actually felt physically ill ! It was just fucking awful !!!!!!
'Consumers' is the right word. They consume everything like caterpillars on a lettuce. Everything. They don't live their lives, they 'consume' their lives. Just an enormous mass of clueless NPCs. This is what 'pop culture' is (in all its forms). If you're gonna follow the crowd and not think for yourself, you might as wel lobotomise yourself. A great many already have.
@@MiG2880 So true......there is always a certain % of the population who follow whatever the pop culture is. These people have no ear for good music......its like they are tone deaf- mind controlled robots !
That's the reason why I've been listening to the so called classical music for more than 30 years. Everyday I come across amazing sounds that were totally new to my ears, although they may be hundreds of years old. I love it more each day.
anas amin They deserve all the hate that comes their way. If you want more reasons to hate record companies, listen to interviews with Trent Reznor or Billy Corgan.
Most record labels these days are just business. Think of the best record labels with a clear identity , they were started by music fans. Blue Note, Rough Trade, Factory, Island, Bella Union.Stax.ect.....
I play around with that same progression all the time because I can do so many things with it. Of course I play in my basement where I don’t annoy anyone.
John Denver's "Country Roads" (Yeah I know) is an epic use of the 4. Carly Simons "You're So Vain" is kinda interesting too along with Blue Suede "Hooked On A Feeling".
As a bass player this reminds me of the repetitive purgatory that is U2’s ‘With or Without you’. The same four fucking notes, played in the same un-dynamic eighth note pattern for 5 minutes.
It’s an interesting balance between simple yet effective and complex yet forgettable. Musicians songwriters and producers have a constant battle going on especially with themselves. The tendency to overplay and over arrange vs the “oh no not another one of these” That bass part is iconic an instantly recognisable on its own. If I were him I’d grab loop pedal when performing it live, loop the first 4 bars hit play and go grab a beer!
I'm 66 years old and when I was a teenager in the late 60's most of rock and popular music was criticized as being "three-chord" music, which a lot of it wasn't, but it was labeled such to disparage the people who listened to it. Glad to see that we've progressed over the years and critics like Rick have added one chord to the mix. I think the real question is whether people respond favorably to the music however it's created, meaning the instruments, technology, and so on. There's a reason that, in general, songs with simpler structures appeal more people. People want music to make them feel a certain way. It's not there to be admired. There's always been too many artists who are better than they sound.
mcdonalds appeals to more people than a steak house, but mcdonalds food will never be the quality of a steak house. basically the thing that appeals to most is sometimes the most watered down.
@@CursedInEternity92 that's a terrible analogy McDonald's is just cheaper, there are far more factors than just how many chords pretentious music theorists can enjoy. In lots of hip hop you have insanely emotive lyricism and poetry and the beat behind it is made to sound good, not look impressive when transcribed
"People want music to make them feel a certain way. It's not there to be admired." I must be weird then. When I experience music, I want to feel admiration.
Country music died in the 80s. You want to hear good country look up older Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, Tanya Tucker, Loretta Lynn, Bob Wills, Bobby Bare, Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner, Roger Miller, Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Chet Atkins, Ernest Tubb, Kenny Rogers, Ray Price, John Prine... I could go on, but I think you get the point, which is that country music used to be INFINITELY better than whatever that bullshit is they call country today.
"All this machinery Making modern music Can still be open hearted Not so coldly charted It's really just a question of your honesty, Yeah, your honesty."
For some reason, I never get tired of these chords… But you gotta mix it up, if the song goes into different directions and than these progressions, esp. the one startin in iv comes up - it always gets me
I think we've already ran that course in the 80's. Don't give anyone any ideas of trying to resurrect that. I'm still recovering from that one from thirty years ago.
I was listening to 1985 Billboard top 100 on Spotify recently. I felt moved to play along on my guitar. Hardly any of the songs had a "common" progression like this. Maybe that's why the 80's were magic!
I feel like lots of 80s music sounds the same though. Lots of songs with similar if not the same exact drum loops and syths. Id say the 60s and 70s were more magical
Lol. Go listen to What I Like About You - The Romantics (1980) Then On The Darkside - Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) Then R.O.C.K. In The USA - John Mellencamp (1985) Then Desire - U2 (1988). And try and tell me these songs don’t have the same chord progression.
It really started around 1969. All through the 70’s music was original, every band sounded different, having more talent equaled more fame! This went straight into the 80’s, many big bands were still going strong, and several new bands joined in. But by the late 80’s, and all through the 90’s, rock music entered the copy cat phase, everyone looked alike, and everyone sounded alike. When a new song came on the radio, you didn’t know who it was, unless it was Chili Peppers or something, the Nickleback clones were everywhere, lots of bands were not writing their own music, and things deteriorated into what this guy in the video is talking about. The death of Rock and Roll, I never thought I’d see the day. Right now, country music is where rock was in 1990, except they sing with a southern drawl. I’m perfectly happy playing my old vinyl records from the 70’s and 80’s.
@@hwfq34fajw9foiffawdiufhuaiwfhw Actually he did talk about the Beatles. To sum up: of their 27 #1 songs exactly one of them used the common chord progression. The other 26 used different chords and different progressions. They were even more experimental (at least after 1965) with their B sides and album songs. It's not "modern music bad" it's modern music boring.
TheMasterfulcreator I like them too, but there are other great progressions, eg I III IV V, the major key II V I and its killer relative minor cousin that uses a inverted Tristan chord! Go All the Way by the Raspberries has that wonderful turn as does Make Me Smile by Chicago.
Yes and no. There are two parts of a copyright: the artist's rights, which are six copyrights and the rights of the master recording, which is owned (usually) by the record company. By doing a cover, you are not infringing on the rights of the holder of the master recording, and that is the one where you will get into trouble. Often times, as long as you give credit to the artist/musicians who wrote the song, you are allowed to cover it.
Hi copyright attorney here. Yes, you absolutely can get in trouble for covering a song without paying. Simply giving attribution isn't enough to avoid it. The reason the sound recordings are easier to pick up are the algorithms designed to catch them look for exact matches of the sound recordings. If you cover it, the algorithm doesn't pick it up unless you do an exact replica of it. Keep in mind also that people who own rights in the recordings (record labels predominantly) usually persecute offenders more aggressively than songwriters do. To make a video with a song requires a synch license. The good news is that UA-cam has agreements with a lot of publishers and agree to payout a portion of the ad dollars on a video with covers. Most songwriters don't mind that arrangement since it is free money and the "preferred version" of the song has already been recorded and released in 99.9% of cases. In the event the song isn't covered by a blanket license, you can be hit with a DMCA takedown and be sued. You are subject to the same damages assuming you are unable to assert any real defense at trial. Tl;dr yes, you still need license to do covers on UA-cam.
What you said is true, but to clarify, when I wrote "as long as you give credit to the artist/musicians who wrote the song, you are allowed to cover it" I mean actual written permission, or when the artist publicly says he wants to allow anyone to cover his music, i.e. NIN (Trent Reznor), it is a blanket permission for all covers. I am an expert in copyright law as well.
That is inaccurate as well though. You only need written permission in the case of audio/visual works which require a contract of some sort. E.g. agreement between the parties, blanket license with UA-cam. If you want to cover a song live (in a venue larger than those exempt from royalties) or record a cover on your album you require zero. Repeat ZERO permission if the song has been previously published. Songwriters must grant mechanical licenses once a song has been previously published. You are only obligated to send them notice that you are recording the song. They don't have to agree to allow it. NOTE: this is all based on US law as other countries do have so called "moral rights" which can muddy the waters.
Kyle Olin I'll fill you in on a little trick to map out the pentatonic scale on the guitar; all the notes in the pentatonic scale can be found in two chords... a natural (2 note chord) and a major or minor (3 note chord). The pentatonic scale is basically the major scale without the half-step notes, so there are 4 different possible pentatonic scales you can derive from a major scale (because there are two pairs of half step notes in a major scale. The best way to derive a pentatonic scale is by using two chords from the major scale without any overlapping notes (so if you use E minor as one of your chords, you would not use C major as the other). Let's say you go E minor and D major... What you would do is map out ascending or descending progressions between all the forms of those two chords all the way up and down the fretboard, this is going to give you a hexagonal scale which will be your map to creating a pentatonic. Just take a look at all the points where there is a pair of half step notes, then take away one of those notes and VOILA! Now you have derived a pentatonic scale. Then you can use the same hexagonal scale again but take away the other note and you have another different pentatonic scale. As for the harmonic minor scale... you would start with the major scale. We'll use G major as our example; first we go to the circle of fifths and find the corresponding minor (E minor in this case)... so the root note of E minor is E... now here is the trick; there is only a difference of one note between the major scale and the harmonic minor scale, and it is the one right before that E note. So in the major scale, the steps go like this: (descending) E-D-C-B-A-G-F#-E while the harmonic minor would look like this: (again descending) E-D#-C-B-A-G-F#-E The only difference is that D becomes D# instead... this of course is also going to change your chord progressions as well, so keep that in mind.
I once had a company in L.A. call and ask me if I'd be willing to listen to and rate new music and bands by listening to selections of their music. I said sure because it sounded exciting and interesting. A few weeks later I bailed out as I was bored nearly to death. They asked why I was no longer interested. I said it was because all the music sounded exactly the same as if the bands and the music were all just clones of each other. Absolutely nothing stood out, nothing new, nothing fresh, nothing unique at all.
It's kind of hard to find a 'fresh' sound though, A lot have already been created in the past. But sometimes you might find a song with rare chord progression. An example is Björk, plenty of her songs are unique imo
@@cateatinrat78 That's the thing: Björk is like 60yrs old now in a few years. Can you think of a musician back in the day, who was 60 yrs old? Tina Turner in the 80s, was in her mid-40s and in her prime. That was a really mature age back then. Today all the classic rock stars are almost 60-70. Let's be honest: you can play your hits with 60 years of age, but you will not come up with something new and groundbreaking - won't happen for sure!
The problem is in the consumer as well, as people want instant gratification wrapped up in the easily understandable and quickly resolving 4 chord progression.
Consumers don't give a crap about chord progressions. That totally goes over their heads. All they pay attention to is lyrics and maybe the melody. That's it.
I don't need to defend myself, but I'll do it anyway. I've had a problem with this stuff for years before I even knew about Rick Beato. What is it that made you think I know nothing about music? Because I sure can't see it.
poockoo Unfortunately this kind of response was expected. Rick criticizes labels for castrating artistic expression? SNOB. Criticizes the fact most pop songs objectively sound the same? Snob! Says the general public used to listen to a wider variety of music? Snob! By the way, if you like jazz or classical you're automatically a snob! Don't you dare criticize pop, only snobs do that! Where did all these people come from? Rick's videos used to have better discussion. It seems anything criticizing the industry automatically attracts this kind of viewer. The hour long livestreams that require a better attention span don't though, quite telling. Oh and you're also a snob fanboy if you agree with Rick, don't dare go against the mob!
poockoo ~ To name just two of the "lazy, derivative, and unoriginal" songs sharing the progression are _Stand By Me_ and _Every Breath You Take_ . Are you calling Ben E King, Lieber & Stoller, and Sting lazy songwriters? I'm _very_ curious to see what masterpieces _you_ have managed to churn out. Perhaps you'll indulge me by giving the world a link where we all can go hear/buy it. I, for one, will be waiting. Really...
David Harrell ~ Stand By Me is : I I vi vi IV V I I Every Breath You Take is : I I vi vi IV V vi vi then I I vi vi IV V I I ??? those are EXACTLY the chords cited in this vid
Peart did write the track but borrowed heavily from Simon & Garfunkel's 'Sound of Silence' (The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls" And whispered in the sounds of silence)
Is one the same as the other? Did Neil say he got his idea for the lyrics from S&G Sound of Silence? Or did actually come from Daniel 5? If you have anything further on what Neil has said I sure would like to read it.
1-6-4-5="Duke of Earl", "Stand By Me", "Runaround Sue", "D'Yer Maker", "Y.M.C.A", "Flowers On The Wall", "Every Breath You Take", "Hang Fire", "In The Doghouse", "The Winner Takes It All ( never, not even on a bet )", "Dream", etc. You can do a whole show with four chords. Don't knock 'em.
Thanks for reminding me of that classic!! Im doing a solo guitar gig tonight for the first time in a year and forgotten most of my set list. i did work out a tasty arrangement of that song though so ill blast it tonight.
You realize the majority of the Beatles catalog is only three to four chords per song. This is true of all rock and pop music back to the very beginning. You guys hear a little bit of progressive rock and think that the whole thing is supposed to be like that.
Basically I hate all people who dislike any video on UA-cam. So unintellingent. Nobody makes you watch a video here. If you don't like it, watch something else.
I find it interesting that we demonize the four chords when we have and celebrate a genre (blues) that has only 3 chords. And blues formed the basis for modern rock. Clearly the # of chords or their repetition isn't the only factor. In both cases, the limitation pushes us to explore the ways we can engage creatively with that limitation. That is actually a huge defining factor in the blues: the process and then celebration of doing/saying a lot with very little from some pretty severe limitations. But the eponymous four chords don't have that same cultural recognition and acceptance. Yet (perhaps...just playing devil's advocate!).
Alot of miles Davis is 1 chord but there is something about the 12 bar blues pattern that is very satisfying to the human ear that other 3 or 4 chord patterns lack. It's like the circle of 5ths, people just find it satisfying on some natural level it's not only popular here but also Europe
I wouldn't say that the blues formed the basis for rock. The most influential rock group of all time, The Beatles, were hardly influenced at all by the blues. It was more of a country sound and skiffle which influenced them and also Bach. Chuck Berry was COUNTRY, not blues. I like some of the blues but after about two hours it all begins sounding the same and I have to retire it for several years. It's just too narrow of a genre. What do highly accomplished blues guitarists like Joe Bonamassa do after years playing the same old same old? They just play faster and faster and faster to try to dazzle the fans. Joe could have been a great guitarist but the blues squelched him (he began at four years of age playing classical guitar - he should have stayed with that).
@@JimDeferio It was a major influence on the popular approach to taking leads with the pentatonic scale and dissonance of mixing minor and major 3rds and bending notes. But that's true, it didn't form the entire basis of rock or influence all rock music
Funny I'll be 47 years old on July the 15th and unfortunately I'm also a stroke and cardiac arrest survivor and feel old at times, never heard of Max Martin, but I grew up listening to the better stuff from the 50's-80"s take care and live long and prosper
It’s what you put in those four chords that make it interesting Every room has four walls but it either has a lot of junk in there or beautiful furniture
No risk. Or not willing to take a risk. The truth is, that most artists today are not artists - they are simply the package that the song writers/producers sell their materiel through.
Incomudro To be fair, a lot of artist’s music are more controlled by the industry and the Record Labels nowadays, not from the artists them selves, besides the fact that they perform the song. From what I’ve seen, good music can only be sprouted out by a record label who allows their artists to take risks. A good example of this would be Kendrick Lamar’s relationship with Top Dawg Entertainment, and how each release from him comes from a place of creative freedom that his label has granted him (TPAB, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, DAMN, etc.).
This is not a new effect. Pop music has always had its marionettes, these people who are making the show in front of the mic, but have nothing to do with the writing or producing of the song. Think of e.g. the several show acts for "StockAitkenWaterman" tracks (British pop music producers). During the 80s I watched a lot of them on MTV Europe. Really spooky ones among them!And no wonder, I don't remember the names of these "singers" or "bands". They just weren't worth remembering. The producers, however, made a lot of money even through these no-names. The sales to the teenage public were alright. That's how it has always worked, with or without autotune.
Yep, and when you hear a musician such as Pink squawk in interviews that she "wrote" her newest sing/album, you now know that it's mostly B.S. What also happens is that an exclusive bunch of electronic music producers will show up with their latest canned efforts, to which they apply the singers' over-processed vocals.
he certainly has an amazing hitmaking record, but most of his hit songs are notable to me by how awful they are even compared to other chart pop (speaking as someone who does like some of it eg I like the songs he did for Ariana Grande ). What that says about me vs the people I dunno....
There will always be artists/genres more popular than others. Therefore pop music never dies. There will always be money involved with music, man's gotta eat...
It was the same even back then. It's just that at the time they haven't found a way to rip their customers off the way companies do nowadays. For example, records used to come in a rough paper that'll scratch your records as you slide them in and out on a daily basis. But that's exactly the point since they wanted you to buy another copy very soon.
RIP. I live near a racetrack and every time I go in there something good is playing like Guess Who and Allman Brothers. Wish I knew what station it is.
I'm 22, listen to hip-hop and rap. But can only listen for shorter periods of time...always go back to 70s/80s. It's soo annoying because I want to enjoy newer music
Nobody mentioned the 4 / 4 beat? It's the thing that started the whole rock pop song thing just the last century. Songs and music were around for millions of years since the dawn of mankind.
4/4 is a lot broader of a 'constraint' than 1 4 5. even complex sounding bebop with a bunch of cords was usually in 4/4. the vast majority of people in the west only listen to songs in 4/4. i actually understand odd time signatures and odd rhythms like quintuplets and septuplets. if you started trying to make pop music in odd time signatures (other than 3/4) things would really get flipped on their head.
@@groalerable I see your point. On hindsight I guess 4/4 IS pop music.Technically I am wrong to imply that 4/4 killed pop music cuz .. heck it sorta defines modern pop music.
No. The 4/4 beat... specifically the 4/4 back beat was a staple of blues music long before rock. Rock and roll actually owes a ton to blues... the 4/4 backbeat, the pentatonic minor scale, and quite consistently throughout its history the three chord 12 bar blues progression.
Damn. You got the Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Ac/Dc, The Doors, The Monkees, Individual Beatles members, Live Aid, The Animals, bunch of iconic songs, concerts, Jimi Hendrix, MJ, Eddie Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac. And I am stuck here with cardi B, Justin Bieber, BTS and One Direction
Yep, there was so much good music in the 60s-early 80s that I got spoiled by it all and took it for granted it’d always be that way. SMH. No, sadly it DID go away...Nowadays I go back and listen to the music that would’ve been on my B or C list back then, and I’m mesmerized by what I was missing. There’s always been some repetitive crap that I don’t even wanna hear now. But the bulk of it is just amazing. So much talent it was indeed a renaissance period! What went wrong? I went to concerts in my teens for pennies compared with what it’d cost for the same tickets for the same bands. Before all the greed made it another status symbol only to be had by the rich. It lost its soul. But I got the memories and the music is still just as inspiring, moving and relevant as it ever was! I thank God I was there to experience it all
@@foreverbooked2964 uhm stuck? You're just lazy to explore music. There are a lot of inspiring artists that makes unique and wonderful music, you just don't know because they're out of the radar. So find them!! The internet exist for a reason...
Yeah these are very basic chords and fukitol is right they're the basis of blues and pop but INNOVATIVE musicians build on them. There is a thing called chord substitution where the progression kind of sounds the same, only cooler because it sounds different, wakes you up just a little bit. IMO there's too many people out there who only KNOW those 4 chords, they can't wrap their heads around anything any more interesting and don't want to. Pop music goes for the LOWEST COMMON denominator. So if pop/country/jam blues bores you, listen to jazz.
Great vid . It's not just the chords today that contribute to this though. Many vocals could be interchangeable between artists. They all sound very generic. Consider Sting and The Police, a fabulous band. So Lonely is I believe C G Am F, with unique vocals from Sting and the arrangement and feel is anything but boring. Compare that song using that sequence with current songs, it's like night and day.
Of course all the current pop "singers" sound the same; they've all been through the autotune treatment which negates any individual character the "singer" might have had originally.
To me casual listening to this kind of pop song on the radio while driving or maybe on a cafe or restaurant is quite nice, I kinda like it, but at home when I put my headphone on, turn on my DAC/AMP and seriously listen to music, a casual pop song is a big no no I cannot stand to listen to them more than once every few days, the music that I love to listen to last for years, and I listen to them daily for hundreds if not thousands of time, so a casual pop music that gets really tiring and boring after a dozen time of listening doesn't have space in my music library To be fair, I understand that casual pop music is popular for a reason, they are quite pleasant and easy to get into, but that's that
にゃあエイリアンMeowAlien I don’t find it pleasant at all, every pop song sounds the same now and it sounds like a robot is singing instead of a person. I liked pop music from the 80s a lot, nowadays it’s crap.
The pop music industries are targetting the "musical normies", the ones that don't even bother to explore the other kinds of music. People that are not that into music. There are a lot of these guys, of course. And since then, the industries never change. If people actually care about music, develop their own taste of original music, and getting tired of the same repetitive pop songs, the industries would change for the benefits. Talking about this reminds me about pop culture in general (animes, gadgets, etc), and the quote "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The pop music industries are targetting the "musical normies", the ones that don't even bother to explore the other kinds of music. People that are not that into music. There are a lot of these guys, of course. And since then, the industries never change. If people actually care about music, develop their own taste of original music, and getting tired of the same repetitive pop songs, the industries would change for the benefits. Talking about this reminds me about pop culture in general (animes, gadgets, etc), and the quote "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
When your video started, and you played those four chords, i was immediately thinking "Boston - Peace of Mind". Remember the late 80's, when The Georgia Satellites came out with "Keep Your Hands To Yourself"? Well, a few years later, we hear country artists Tim McGraw and Toby Keith come out with "Down on the Farm" and "A Little Less Talk", respectively. All three of those songs sound VERY similar. The same thing occured in the 80's, when Richard Marx came out with "It Don't Mean Nothin'", and of course, The Eagles came out with "The Long Run". Both songs sound eerily the same. Someone should do mash-ups of those similar-sounding songs.
Yep -- me, too. Eagles came first, though ("The Long Run" was from 1979 -- "Don't Mean Nothing" was 7 years later. To me, they sound different enough to be legit. Good stuff!)
So far, the most chords I've heard in a rock song was Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street", which has 15 chords - five majors, two minors, 2 majors in fourth suspension, two majors in second suspension, one minor seventh, and kicking off the song three major sevenths in fourth suspension. Released in 1978 and a phenomenal song.
to be fair, there also is interesting pop music / pop artists that use a lot of other chords and also 'less mainstream pop' chords too. (meaning, please stop hating on everyone who makes pop music, there are some REALLY talented people too)
I'm 62 now and realized that All modern music sounded the same to me! I thought it was just me but I was right! Thank You for educating me on this. My brain was right!
Yeah... you had 12 bar blues out the friggen ying yang. Three chords... same order... over and over and over again. From Dizzy Miss Lizzy to the Red House over yonder.
@@yetivanmarshall1473 but the main riff is F/Bb/C#/Ab. Grunge bands actually broke the typical pop paradigm for most of their hit singles. But Kurt would sing a vocal melody that would create a pop like uplifting verse/chorus/verse over the slightly dissonant and distorted chords. There was actually an element of thrash metal meets hardcore punk in the roots of grunge, that really have it that energy and edge. The dissonance really went well about his lyrics about social issues (rape me) and depression (lithium). They're quite sad lyrics. But they have such catchy bubble gum vocal lines that stick in your head. Kurt was definitely very talented.
I was shocked when he said the Beatles only used it once. In my head I think of I-V-vi-IV as the "Let it Be" progression lol. It shows how much more variety there was back in the day.
The masses are hooked on junk food and junk music. It is all easily accessible and convenient. Something that delights and inspires takes risk and effort.....
When Rick played the 4 chords on the guitar I immediately heard the band Boston: "Piece of Mind" Just goes to show, that chord progression has always been around and will probably never go away.
@@SaiRam-nz9sy and self awareness "I'm sick of people saying we've made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. We've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same" - Angus Young.
Exactly! I don't even listen to the radio anymore, because most of the music sounds generic. But my mom listens to Christian radio. And whenever I borrow her car, the radio is playing Christian music. But it seems like every song sounds the same. Like they're even using the same instruments and sounds.
My cousin recently converted to Christianity. She likes to listen to Christian radio. I took a little road trip with her. It was torture having to listen to her radio station. All the songs sounded the same, and I couldn't even distinguish between artists. It was like a blur of hipster sounding songs.
I'd say "killed" is a bit of overstatement, though the point is well taken. When I was a teenager (back in the mists of prehistory) I thought songs with simple harmony were "boring", which was why I gravitated to prog rock. Since then I've come to appreciate simplicity a lot more. (I even enjoyed recently revisiting Status Quo's greatest hits for nostalgia's sake: non-Brits won't have heard of them, but Status Quo are the archetypal three-chord merchants). If songs were measured solely by how many different chords were in 'em, then Horse With No Name (only two chords from start to finish) ought to be a dud, but for many it's a classic. I'd say the problem with a lot of contemporary pop isn't just the chords, it's a wider disease: lack of imagination, creativity and risk-taking, which extends to every facet of the music, but most especially to rhythm. If any one thing KILLED pop, it's the unholy alliance of drum machine and click track. Just my 2c.
The implication is, whatever the A/R guys decide is a hit, becomes a hit automatically. This is pretty much true. What a song needs to be popular is to be forced down the throats of a billion people. A couple million will just happen to like it enough that they'll buy it. Wash rinse repeat.
I think this is your best video ever. After seeing this I could not stop thinking about it. Actually it’s not the majority of songs uses this chords progression, but ALL THE POP SONGS! It’s unbearable. Every comercial vídeo or tutorials on UA-cam use those chords as background sounds. Every music my teenager daughter listens follows that rule. It’s like a curse. This video should be delivered as a alert for preventing the music dying. You are a warrior! Thank you for all your lessons!
I have the same thoughts about all of those blues music with that C, F, G chords.. Going indie as better for creation, and today its much easier to do it.
Toto did use them for the chorus, but they both shifted tonal focus and chord progression on the verses. Whereas a lot of the pop-songs mentioned there don't shift at all, they just use one of those 12 possible arrangements of I-IV-V-vi over and over and over and over again.
l believe the mighty QUO based most of their songs on 3 of those chords and they did OK? They started getting a little flak for it so how did they respond? they released an album entitled "IN SEARCH OF THE 4th CHORD!" genius!
What kind of harmony would you call this? Would it be functional or non-functional? Would you mind doing a video on digestible Reharmonization or better alternatives than these four at some point? Love your videos!
Raghav Rao I would say non-functional unless the V is at the end of the phrase. Often a non-functional order like I V vi IV implies tonal ambiguity between I and its relative minor, iv.
That's the name of one of one of their songs! The band's name was SODA STEREO, huge rock band from Argentina 🇦🇷 (our Fab Three) huge hits from early 80s to about 2010, when the lead vocal/composer/guitar had a stroke after a concert in Venezuela or Colombia (I don't remember) and died after 4 yrs in coma here in Argentina. His name was GUSTAVO CERATI. Spectacular musician. Cheers from Buenos Aires 🤘🏼
I believe "Piece of Mind" by Boston is what you are playing in the intro. Most of us old folks know but some young viewers may not. Not trying to micromanage I just thought I would add it to the comments because it took me a minute to remember the song title I knew it was Boston but like you were showing its easy to get stumped because so many of the songs use those same chords. Wow that's powerful can't believe I had to go to Boston's album to jog my memory for a sec. I was glad I got to see them in Glens Falls, NY a few years ago. A stage float fell but no one got hurt. It was of a factory smoke stack. These chords were some of the first I learned on guitar at 12 yrs old. Thank you for this video.
There’s bands better than the Beatles today. They will never become a phenomenon because the record labels aren’t telling you what to buy anymore.. so no common ground. And it wasn’t always a good thing. You boomers probably have your Bay City Rollers and Village People LPs well hidden... but record sales don’t lie... lol.
“I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sounds exactly the same, Infact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same.”-- Angus Young, AC/DC
TheKaffeeKlatsch The Ramones too.
Did he actually say this? In what interview?
@@OfficialBARM I remember this quote too. I think I saw it in some late 90´s / early 2000's Guitar World magazine.
At least it's a little different
If you're at your best making damn good burgers and fries, just don't give molecular cuisine a try - you'll probably suck. Never try to be what you're not - Angus knew that well. In the late 70's and early 80's, KISS experimented with 2 top-40 disco-ish albums and 1 concept progrock album with mixed (read miserable) results. They learned the hard way what the Young brothers knew right from the start.
"It goes like this (I), the fourth (IV) the fifth (V)
The minor fall (vi)
The Major lift (IV)
The baffled king composing
Hallelujah"
-- Leonard Cohen
The secret chord Cohen talks about that pleased the Lord, is on the word “composing”, and it’s the dissonance of the inversion that stirs the spirit.
@JRG2733 That's right, the Hallelujah is sung on the cadence to the key of the relative minor.
Beautiful song. I shed a tear on the inside everytime I hear it. Lol
It's All Crap!
Yep i know one day i sat down at the piano and figured out the whole song right away
The four chords of the apocalypse
This be funny.
Wow
There's a song by Julian Casablancas, the frontman of The Strokes, called "Four chords of Apocalypse." I like it.
LOLOLOLOL
Status Quo's 28th album was called "In Search Of The Fourth Chord"
Actually, in all the examples given, the chords are actually in the same order (vi IV I V) but starting at a different spot in the cycle.
John Paquette well spotted!
yes, beato is a bit unclear on this point. these four cycles are all arguably the same cadence, since it repeats, and these are what is usually meant by the "axis chords". but the other combinations are popular too, eg 1-6-4-5 sustained a decade of pop songs as the "doo-wop changes". the axis order is currently dominant, but these four chords are more popular than any other set (outside of 1-4-5) and it's not certain which over-use beato's complaining about. fwiw there are six distinct sequences if you don't care about starting point, and they all basically work
I suspected that, too, because otherwise it would be legit variety. I can't think that deeply right now though, so I didn't explore my suspicion further.
Absolutely
The bridge outro of Akatsuki by Syu ft. HARUKA also uses that chord
@@5naxalotl Doo wop changes are actually 1 6 2 5 although 2 and 4 can substitute for one another.
The worst part of this video is when it ended and I could hear the same progression being played very loudly from my neighbour's apartment
yeah - well I'm sitting at my work station, in a radio station with RnB Friday pumping over my head ... You think YOU got it bad ...
😂😂😂
Hilarious!
Nice one.
Why do I not believe you.
"The fourth, the fifth. The minor fall, the major lift."
When I started learning guitar on my own and learned like all basic open chords and some bar chords - I played them randomly and found the same chords that just sounded really nice together. And kept playing them on and on, thinking how good I am discovering them =) Later on when I studied basic music theory, I realized not only that I wasn't the first discovering them, but also that the 95% of music hits use them =)
Relatable as fuck
Halleluuuuujaaah!
Also, that song is just plain brilliant. RIP Leonard Cohen.
Ditto.
Oh... and great Leonard Cohen reference. Such a great songwriter
Chords didnt kill the music, empty hearts and minds killed the music
No they didn't. You're probably just saying that because you're stuck in your old parents' generation from about 3 decades ago.
I completely agree! If music isn't heartfelt, it's worthless.
But let's not just assume that most or all music being made today is "not heartfelt," because that's not true.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. I'm not assuming that. There is definitely heartfelt music being made today, but there's also a lot that isn't.
@@nurpeachmusic, Drew was the one who sounded more like he was saying that there wasn't much heartfelt music today, implied by his statement. But there's been a lot that wasn't heart-felt though all the time. No generation's music is just gonna be totally full of gems. It's not like there's anything special about music from old decades or centuries vs. that from now.
I’ve always been in awe of Steely Dan. Their chord progressions are so sophisticated and extremely challenging to play. And unlike some bands who do this for the sake of showing off, it is musical perfection.
Great name, and I concur.
True that. One of my five trapped on a desert island bands. Sooo fine!!
For me Becker & Fagen are as good as The Beatles they really are.They never wrote a bad song.
A drummer playing 4/4 can play a million songs.🥁🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵
🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵
🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵
🎼🎵🎵🎵🎵
And playing 3/4 can play quite a few more.
That is what I tell my drum students all the time:
If you can play the Four to the floor standard beat, you can accompany 500.000 songs...
Irrelevant.
It's 2020. There are no drummers.
Scott Scotsman facts lmao
Pop music died when it stopped being art and became a product.
Balance between Money and Art
Stefan Baars now it’s not about the love of music it’s about the love of money and showing off
@Beau Lijah that's true as well. But their music wasn't "massproduced" like most pop music today is.
Sooo...since the 50s?
It's still art to the artist. Now the corporations? Different story. But hey, we all have to eat and the music is still getting out there.
Here's a future topic: comparing Beatles hits and, more generally, songs - from a compositional point of view - with contemporary "major recording artists".
Alan Pollack's internet series on the Beatles is an eye opener.
Don L Yes, that was my inspiration for the topic suggestion as I happened to be reading his notes series #65 on "Ticket to Ride" when Rick uploaded this video.
The Beatles were an exception. Most pop from that era has been forgotten.
gavin Reid You are absolutely right. A quick look at Billboard's top 100 between 1960 and 1965 will confirm that a lot of musical mush was around. Mainstream implies the lowest common denominator (no value judgment) and it takes very, very special talent to change an entire culture's sense of musical taste. So, all the more reason for a guy like Rick Beato (or Adam Neely, Aimee Knolte, Nahre, or all of them together) to break down their compositional skills. Also, Rick's channel is kind of a graduate class that has a lot of less musically conversant people - like myself-"auditing" his course and "picking up the scraps". That might be one way of bridging the gap between his intended audience and his real audience. 'Ya never know...
gavin Reid Most of that music has been forgotten ? Are you serious ? Most people I know still listen to Hendrix, The Beach boys, The Stones, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Phil Spector, Bert Bacharach, The Kinks, Janis Joplin, Frank Zappa, Motown (which on it's own could trump anything since), the whole canon of Psychedelia.....the list is virtually endless. I can't think of anything now that even comes close in terms of originality and brilliance.
But Bob Dylan has had a whole career strumming A , E and D while singing A flat, E flat and D flat out of time.
That's a lot of jazz dissonance right there...you have to hand it to Bob
But he win nobel prize.
No ones listens to Dylan for the musical technicality. They listen to him for the absolutely beautiful lyrics and general songwriting ability. He could conjure any emotion he desired in the listener.
Oh and his harmonica skills were superb
Johhny Cash basically used the same chords, just with his signature boom-chucka rhythm. And it was great =)
I personally can't stand Dylan's voice. But his lyrics, man... He's a songwriter above all, a bard, and only then the musician and singer.
You mean I got to learn 4 More chords? Dammit!
No, you need to learn twelve sets of four, so you pretty much need to learn 48 chords
loloschool maybe learn a few more. Just for good measure
@@loloschool when do I use the capo ?
@@loloschool to much work any way heres wonderwall
@@joshpalaro9098 Wonderwall unfortunately needs more than 4 chords
I think pop music killed the chords, not the other way around.
I think it's mutual.
I think with the right amount of chords I could kill pop music.
Nothing killed anything. These are the 4 strongest chords in any key and "killed" is just click bait-y. Classical music uses these 4 chords constantly and most of the pop songs emphasizing these chords will have other chords thrown in other parts of the song.
So if I take a sledgehammer to an autotuner will I kill hip hop?
@your boy blue I agree. I'd go further to say the basic drumbeat and 1 rhythm guitar, one lead guitar and one bass guitar is one of the most overused formulas in 75 years of pop music.
This is so sad, Alexa play... oh wait
Casey Mather 😂😂😂
What's even sadder is people allowing Alexa in their house
this is so sad... alexa play "The Four Chords That Killed POP Music!" by Rick Beato !
@@montanaplease totally agree, but it was an awesome joke though.
Remember back in the day when there'd be more hits on one album than the entire industry does in a year?
Dire Straits!!
Song 1 side 1 ...
Carole King's "Tapestry".
@@rawshou136 I agree and add Supertramp to that.
Hunky Dory
When I was 8, almost 30yrs ago, and took guitar lessons, my teacher insisted I learn G, Am, C, D and Em chords first and changing between them as good as possible cuz I'd "be able to play most songs with only those". And he was right.
I started taking lessons at age 67, two years ago, and my guitar teacher taught me those chords for the same reason. There are other chords that we work with, but those are a good place to start.
my dad taught me c in normal finger positioning, then f and g in barre chord finger position. then i learned a, d, and e in normal position, and figured out that i can play any major and minor and some other kinds of chords (i;m not big on chord theory) by playing it in a barre chord fingering position. i don't do leads, i sing along with my guitar chord playing.
@@GradyPhilpott Hey Grady he wasn't too wrong. BUT. unless you wanna play what's on the radio once you learn a few cords put them together in an order that suits you and throw in your own lyrics and feck the rest of the world. I'm 62 and started playing rock guitar at 13ish. Have fun and don't ever stop ! PS I bought a mandolin few years ago and wrote songs around the only 3 chords I knew on it.
and these are the type of teachers that I hate the most because they teach nonsense.
I went through serious search to find a guitar teacher that taught me the guitar correctly. The first thing he did was teaching me how the instrument work and how to find the notes on the fretboard & this alone gave me almost a total understanding on the instrument. later I was able to make my own chords and melodies. also learning and memorizing chords was a lot easier.
@@superrookie-1 Almost a total understanding from finding the notes on the guitar? Get out of here... I've studied and played and teached the guitar for decades and I still can't say that I have a complete understanding of the guitar. The more you learn, the more you find out that there is a lot to explore. I feel that the guitar teacher that teaches you chords to actually play music is doing a good job. Its not nonsense to learn to play songs with common chords. For beginners it gives them a sense of achievement and they are able to play along with songs they like. Which is very important for beginners. Also there should be a logical order in which you learn things, and starting with easy chords is definitely a good starting point for many students. Starting with learning the notes on the guitar is more uncommon and won't give the student the pleasure of playing music from early on. Learning music theory should always be connected to making music and shouldn't be just an intellectual exercise.
“welcome my son, welcome tooooo the machine”
“By the way, which one’s Pink?”
It’s alright Tom we know where you’ve been
Is that the same four chords?
Jason Abbott no, its p i n k
@@theawesomeguy5754 I feel stupid I don't get it?
Jason Abbott its just a refrence to a pink floyd song, «have a cigar»
For me, it's not only the music that I find to be derivative and uninteresting-- it's the singing styles too. Either it's the bloodless, soulless, male voices or the bubblegum female voices that are all over the place with vocal gymnastics. They're just so overused to the point of becoming muddled mayonnaise audio paste. I don't really like much rap/hip-hop either. The monotone rhyming does nothing for me. Much of it sound bored, angry, or bragging which is not what I want to hear when I want to feel good or inspired.
It's the music from the 60's, 70's, and certain 80's tunes that does it for me. Bring me the Motown, R&B, and rock and I'm fine...
"Muddled mayonnaise audio paste." Best description ever!
@Abubakr Mohammed Jamal Abubakr Mohammed Jamal Let me rephrase: I don't hate rap, it just doesn't do much for me. I have some De La Soul, Arrested Development, and a few others in my collection but rap is like country music to me-- I like some of it but I can't listen to it all the time. Part of why I may like or not like something is due to attitude and delivery.
Also, I'm in my mid-50's so my musical tastes predate rap and hip-hop. I just prefer the older stuff.
How to judge an entire era of music by only a tiny selection of what's really out there, part 1
The other part that adds to the poor quality of music is the introduction of auto-tune with the generic music just makes most any modern music unlistenable. As for Rap that all sounds the same musically as there are not any instruments used in its production now. Unlike the early days of rap where there were actual musical instruments.
Today's rap reminds me of poetry night at the local coffee house in the 80sand 90s. Dont hate it just not musical. Try Run DMC they had music or the Fat Boys Coolio. Pop music is in the same boat as all entertainment no originality. There is good music out there but it is coming from locals and isn't hitting the mainstream. But it is the sign of the times just look at everything going on in the world.
As a Latino, I am profoundly sorry to the world for that embarrassment called Despacito. Sincere apologies.
De que parte?
Greetings from Peru. Now a Texas transplant. Despacito is not an embarrassment......is a total disgrace, utter garbage, and don't start me talking about reggaeton.......
@@alanbrito5239Mexico
It's not Macarena, though, so there's that.
And I'll trade you Achy Breaky Heart for Macarena....
I like real musica latina, but I like despacito too. The lyrics are a freaking hoot.
The Beatles meant for Aretha Franklin to have Let It Be originally, and was written in the gospel style. So that's the reason behind their 1 time use of the four chords.
Rick, you've pinned a simple but elegant definition on the source of the problem felt by many many music fans. Thanks!
You also need to blame the people who keep listening to this stuff. They are unadventurous consumers of music.
I was in the dentist office the other day, and they played nothing but modern Pop over the office sound system. By the time I left the office -( maybe an hour or so) I actually felt physically ill ! It was just fucking awful !!!!!!
'Consumers' is the right word. They consume everything like caterpillars on a lettuce. Everything. They don't live their lives, they 'consume' their lives. Just an enormous mass of clueless NPCs. This is what 'pop culture' is (in all its forms). If you're gonna follow the crowd and not think for yourself, you might as wel lobotomise yourself. A great many already have.
Or maybe they just like what they like...
@@MiG2880 So true......there is always a certain % of the population who follow whatever the pop culture is. These people have no ear for good music......its like they are tone deaf- mind controlled robots !
@@mastiel1 unfortunately that % is quite high
That's the reason why I've been listening to the so called classical music for more than 30 years. Everyday I come across amazing sounds that were totally new to my ears, although they may be hundreds of years old. I love it more each day.
(Or the reason is you've been listening to music for more than 30 years. OLD!!!!!)
the amount of hate that rick has to record labels is hilarious!
(love you rick)
anas amin They deserve all the hate that comes their way. If you want more reasons to hate record companies, listen to interviews with Trent Reznor or Billy Corgan.
heyNebraska 👍
I totally agree!
Most record labels these days are just business. Think of the best record labels with a clear identity , they were started by music fans. Blue Note, Rough Trade, Factory, Island, Bella Union.Stax.ect.....
anas amin A fan of Floyd should have plenty of disdain for record companies too
"Welcome To The Machine"
"Have A Cigar"
It is just a killer chord combo, the genius is doing something great with this combo
I play around with that same progression all the time because I can do so many things with it.
Of course I play in my basement where I don’t annoy anyone.
thank you.
Maybe 4 is too many? Blues players seem to be able to say a lot with just 3 chords.
John Denver's "Country Roads" (Yeah I know) is an epic use of the 4. Carly Simons "You're So Vain" is kinda interesting too along with Blue Suede "Hooked On A Feeling".
As a bass player this reminds me of the repetitive purgatory that is U2’s ‘With or Without you’. The same four fucking notes, played in the same un-dynamic eighth note pattern for 5 minutes.
Wonder if Dave Navarro feels the same about the guitar part in "Jane Says"
As a record it works, it really does have a great arrangement.But I've always wondered how Clayton didn't lose the plot playing that.
It’s an interesting balance between simple yet effective and complex yet forgettable. Musicians songwriters and producers have a constant battle going on especially with themselves. The tendency to overplay and over arrange vs the “oh no not another one of these” That bass part is iconic an instantly recognisable on its own. If I were him I’d grab loop pedal when performing it live, loop the first 4 bars hit play and go grab a beer!
Or the Faster version, Anyway You Want it by Journey
Sir Blue Footed Booby Once I had to play a Coldplay song on bass for a school presentation. Hot damn was it boring!
I'm 66 years old and when I was a teenager in the late 60's most of rock and popular music was criticized as being "three-chord" music, which a lot of it wasn't, but it was labeled such to disparage the people who listened to it. Glad to see that we've progressed over the years and critics like Rick have added one chord to the mix. I think the real question is whether people respond favorably to the music however it's created, meaning the instruments, technology, and so on. There's a reason that, in general, songs with simpler structures appeal more people. People want music to make them feel a certain way. It's not there to be admired. There's always been too many artists who are better than they sound.
Well said, friend
Speaking words of wisdom, let it beeeeee
mcdonalds appeals to more people than a steak house, but mcdonalds food will never be the quality of a steak house. basically the thing that appeals to most is sometimes the most watered down.
@@CursedInEternity92 that's a terrible analogy McDonald's is just cheaper, there are far more factors than just how many chords pretentious music theorists can enjoy. In lots of hip hop you have insanely emotive lyricism and poetry and the beat behind it is made to sound good, not look impressive when transcribed
"People want music to make them feel a certain way. It's not there to be admired." I must be weird then. When I experience music, I want to feel admiration.
SO THIS WHY COUNTRY MUSIC ALL SOUNDS THE SAME TO ME
Well, this and steel guitar.
Not to mention the really bad iyrics.
That isn't even country music, that's just pop that tries to sound country
Pop Country/ Bro Country is like this. Genuine good Country exists but isn't popular, you have to search for it. It's not in Nashville.
Country music died in the 80s. You want to hear good country look up older Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, Tanya Tucker, Loretta Lynn, Bob Wills, Bobby Bare, Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner, Roger Miller, Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Chet Atkins, Ernest Tubb, Kenny Rogers, Ray Price, John Prine... I could go on, but I think you get the point, which is that country music used to be INFINITELY better than whatever that bullshit is they call country today.
the reason I have not listened to radio in years
David Summerville I drive constantly with radio turned off, so boring that I could get asleep easily.
I drive with Classic FM. That's a UK station.
Yea unless there's like a jazz station I just hit up Spotify
David Summerville change stations. Something for everyone.
@David Summerville - you ain't missin' a thing either my friend
"All this machinery Making modern music Can still be open hearted Not so coldly charted It's really just a question of your honesty, Yeah, your honesty."
What's this quote from? :)
@@elizabethdesruisseau7826 It's from the song "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush.
@@timothyissler3815 thanks dude!
One likes to believe in the freedom of music, but glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah!
Ironically coming from one of their "pop" albums
For some reason, I never get tired of these chords… But you gotta mix it up, if the song goes into different directions and than these progressions, esp. the one startin in iv comes up - it always gets me
The next music genre. Root, octave, repeat until dead. (Lyrics: One of us, one of us..)
Sideoutside Root-perfect fourth seems more likely. An octave is too hard to sing.
I think we've already ran that course in the 80's. Don't give anyone any ideas of trying to resurrect that. I'm still recovering from that one from thirty years ago.
Sideoutside 😂😂😂😂
we will, we will, rock you
I was listening to 1985 Billboard top 100 on Spotify recently. I felt moved to play along on my guitar. Hardly any of the songs had a "common" progression like this. Maybe that's why the 80's were magic!
I feel like lots of 80s music sounds the same though. Lots of songs with similar if not the same exact drum loops and syths. Id say the 60s and 70s were more magical
@@jerrysmith2354 I agree 80s and 90s sound the same to me especially rock.
Lol.
Go listen to What I Like About You - The Romantics (1980)
Then On The Darkside - Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
Then R.O.C.K. In The USA - John Mellencamp (1985)
Then Desire - U2 (1988).
And try and tell me these songs don’t have the same chord progression.
It really started around 1969. All through the 70’s music was original, every band sounded different, having more talent equaled more fame! This went straight into the 80’s, many big bands were still going strong, and several new bands joined in. But by the late 80’s, and all through the 90’s, rock music entered the copy cat phase, everyone looked alike, and everyone sounded alike. When a new song came on the radio, you didn’t know who it was, unless it was Chili Peppers or something, the Nickleback clones were everywhere, lots of bands were not writing their own music, and things deteriorated into what this guy in the video is talking about. The death of Rock and Roll, I never thought I’d see the day. Right now, country music is where rock was in 1990, except they sing with a southern drawl. I’m perfectly happy playing my old vinyl records from the 70’s and 80’s.
@@hwfq34fajw9foiffawdiufhuaiwfhw Actually he did talk about the Beatles. To sum up: of their 27 #1 songs exactly one of them used the common chord progression. The other 26 used different chords and different progressions. They were even more experimental (at least after 1965) with their B sides and album songs. It's not "modern music bad" it's modern music boring.
I mean...I love my lydian dominant modes and tri-tones and all that fun stuff but I also love those four chords!
TheMasterfulcreator I like them too, but there are other great progressions, eg I III IV V, the major key II V I and its killer relative minor cousin that uses a inverted Tristan chord! Go All the Way by the Raspberries has that wonderful turn as does Make Me Smile by Chicago.
GREAT VIDEO!!! I kind of figured it was something like that but you put it into the exact situation
Great to hear that you overcame the copyright issue with covers!
But isn't covering a song that is not yours still copyright?
Yes and no. There are two parts of a copyright: the artist's rights, which are six copyrights and the rights of the master recording, which is owned (usually) by the record company. By doing a cover, you are not infringing on the rights of the holder of the master recording, and that is the one where you will get into trouble. Often times, as long as you give credit to the artist/musicians who wrote the song, you are allowed to cover it.
Hi copyright attorney here. Yes, you absolutely can get in trouble for covering a song without paying. Simply giving attribution isn't enough to avoid it.
The reason the sound recordings are easier to pick up are the algorithms designed to catch them look for exact matches of the sound recordings.
If you cover it, the algorithm doesn't pick it up unless you do an exact replica of it.
Keep in mind also that people who own rights in the recordings (record labels predominantly) usually persecute offenders more aggressively than songwriters do.
To make a video with a song requires a synch license. The good news is that UA-cam has agreements with a lot of publishers and agree to payout a portion of the ad dollars on a video with covers. Most songwriters don't mind that arrangement since it is free money and the "preferred version" of the song has already been recorded and released in 99.9% of cases.
In the event the song isn't covered by a blanket license, you can be hit with a DMCA takedown and be sued. You are subject to the same damages assuming you are unable to assert any real defense at trial.
Tl;dr yes, you still need license to do covers on UA-cam.
What you said is true, but to clarify, when I wrote "as long as you give credit to the artist/musicians who wrote the song, you are allowed to cover it" I mean actual written permission, or when the artist publicly says he wants to allow anyone to cover his music, i.e. NIN (Trent Reznor), it is a blanket permission for all covers. I am an expert in copyright law as well.
That is inaccurate as well though. You only need written permission in the case of audio/visual works which require a contract of some sort. E.g. agreement between the parties, blanket license with UA-cam.
If you want to cover a song live (in a venue larger than those exempt from royalties) or record a cover on your album you require zero. Repeat ZERO permission if the song has been previously published. Songwriters must grant mechanical licenses once a song has been previously published. You are only obligated to send them notice that you are recording the song. They don't have to agree to allow it.
NOTE: this is all based on US law as other countries do have so called "moral rights" which can muddy the waters.
I hate generic chord progressions. That's why I play pentatonic scales
shoshinzero I love pentatonic too. I was trying to be funny, by being contradictory
I'm more of a harmonic minor guy myself... gives a little more culture to the song. I use pentatonics for transitioning from one scale to another.
Matt Son Hing After I have my pentatonic scale down solid, I am going to learn the harmonic minor scale. I love the sound of that scale
Kyle Olin I'll fill you in on a little trick to map out the pentatonic scale on the guitar; all the notes in the pentatonic scale can be found in two chords... a natural (2 note chord) and a major or minor (3 note chord). The pentatonic scale is basically the major scale without the half-step notes, so there are 4 different possible pentatonic scales you can derive from a major scale (because there are two pairs of half step notes in a major scale. The best way to derive a pentatonic scale is by using two chords from the major scale without any overlapping notes (so if you use E minor as one of your chords, you would not use C major as the other). Let's say you go E minor and D major... What you would do is map out ascending or descending progressions between all the forms of those two chords all the way up and down the fretboard, this is going to give you a hexagonal scale which will be your map to creating a pentatonic. Just take a look at all the points where there is a pair of half step notes, then take away one of those notes and VOILA! Now you have derived a pentatonic scale. Then you can use the same hexagonal scale again but take away the other note and you have another different pentatonic scale.
As for the harmonic minor scale... you would start with the major scale. We'll use G major as our example; first we go to the circle of fifths and find the corresponding minor (E minor in this case)... so the root note of E minor is E... now here is the trick; there is only a difference of one note between the major scale and the harmonic minor scale, and it is the one right before that E note. So in the major scale, the steps go like this: (descending) E-D-C-B-A-G-F#-E while the harmonic minor would look like this: (again descending) E-D#-C-B-A-G-F#-E
The only difference is that D becomes D# instead... this of course is also going to change your chord progressions as well, so keep that in mind.
Kyle Olin Same here bruv!!
Pachalbel killed pop music with a canon!
Haha! Nice!!
Camila cabello did Bad things to it.
Peter Gabriel took a sledgehammer to it
Green Day - Basket Case has the same chord progression. Try to listen to the Canon in D and sing along with these lyrics :D
Well put
I once had a company in L.A. call and ask me if I'd be willing to listen to and rate new music and bands by listening to selections of their music. I said sure because it sounded exciting and interesting. A few weeks later I bailed out as I was bored nearly to death. They asked why I was no longer interested. I said it was because all the music sounded exactly the same as if the bands and the music were all just clones of each other. Absolutely nothing stood out, nothing new, nothing fresh, nothing unique at all.
It's kind of hard to find a 'fresh' sound though, A lot have already been created in the past. But sometimes you might find a song with rare chord progression. An example is Björk, plenty of her songs are unique imo
@@cateatinrat78 That's the thing: Björk is like 60yrs old now in a few years. Can you think of a musician back in the day, who was 60 yrs old? Tina Turner in the 80s, was in her mid-40s and in her prime. That was a really mature age back then. Today all the classic rock stars are almost 60-70. Let's be honest: you can play your hits with 60 years of age, but you will not come up with something new and groundbreaking - won't happen for sure!
The problem is in the consumer as well, as people want instant gratification wrapped up in the easily understandable and quickly resolving 4 chord progression.
It seems like anything that requires the brain to take in new information is an instant no-no, and is labeled as "hipster crap" or "snob music".
Same as it ever was. Previously it was I - vi - IV - V.
Consumers don't give a crap about chord progressions. That totally goes over their heads. All they pay attention to is lyrics and maybe the melody. That's it.
Yep. I hate the VI IV I V chord progression more than anything. I cringe everytime, especially in film music when they're going for the "epic" crap.
J Guy I don’t think you know what that means.
I don't need to defend myself, but I'll do it anyway. I've had a problem with this stuff for years before I even knew about Rick Beato. What is it that made you think I know nothing about music? Because I sure can't see it.
poockoo Unfortunately this kind of response was expected. Rick criticizes labels for castrating artistic expression? SNOB. Criticizes the fact most pop songs objectively sound the same? Snob! Says the general public used to listen to a wider variety of music? Snob! By the way, if you like jazz or classical you're automatically a snob! Don't you dare criticize pop, only snobs do that!
Where did all these people come from? Rick's videos used to have better discussion. It seems anything criticizing the industry automatically attracts this kind of viewer. The hour long livestreams that require a better attention span don't though, quite telling. Oh and you're also a snob fanboy if you agree with Rick, don't dare go against the mob!
poockoo ~ To name just two of the "lazy, derivative, and unoriginal" songs sharing the progression are _Stand By Me_ and _Every Breath You Take_ . Are you calling Ben E King, Lieber & Stoller, and Sting lazy songwriters?
I'm _very_ curious to see what masterpieces _you_ have managed to churn out. Perhaps you'll indulge me by giving the world a link where we all can go hear/buy it. I, for one, will be waiting. Really...
David Harrell ~ Stand By Me is : I I vi vi IV V I I
Every Breath You Take is : I I vi vi IV V vi vi then I I vi vi IV V I I
??? those are EXACTLY the chords cited in this vid
“For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall, Concert halls...echo with the sounds of salesmen...” Geddy Lee “Spirit of Radio”
Actually Neil Peart wrote the lyrics for "The Spirit of Radio".
Yep Neil wrote the words. Getty gave them power. :)
Peart did write the track but borrowed heavily from Simon & Garfunkel's 'Sound of Silence' (The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence)
Is one the same as the other? Did Neil say he got his idea for the lyrics from S&G Sound of Silence? Or did actually come from Daniel 5? If you have anything further on what Neil has said I sure would like to read it.
"Oooooooh of SALESMEN!!!"
1-6-4-5="Duke of Earl", "Stand By Me", "Runaround Sue", "D'Yer Maker", "Y.M.C.A", "Flowers On The Wall", "Every Breath You Take", "Hang Fire", "In The Doghouse", "The Winner Takes It All ( never, not even on a bet )", "Dream", etc. You can do a whole show with four chords. Don't knock 'em.
OK...now its time to listen some ZAPPA!
amen to that
I love artists and bands doing their own stuff , in their own way. Like Zappa , Hendrix , Floyd , Sabbath , Pistols , Nirvana , RATM.
For me its Dream Theater & Blind Guardian
Aw fuck I think I'm gonna need a Truss.
Was listening yesterday to the Beatle's "She's Leaving Home". A masterpiece, especially compared to most pop music today.
Thanks for reminding me of that classic!! Im doing a solo guitar gig tonight for the first time in a year and forgotten most of my set list. i did work out a tasty arrangement of that song though so ill blast it tonight.
Great choice. And what are most famous pop artists doing now at 25-26 years of age? Monotonous crap.
You realize the majority of the Beatles catalog is only three to four chords per song. This is true of all rock and pop music back to the very beginning. You guys hear a little bit of progressive rock and think that the whole thing is supposed to be like that.
Kenneth Raymond Moore
Leonard Bernstein would disagree.
ktpinnacle you speak for Leonard? I implied compared to pop tunes coming out today.
592 people didn't appreciate Rick pointing out that the Emperor's new clothes are non-existent.
Basically I hate all people who dislike any video on UA-cam. So unintellingent. Nobody makes you watch a video here. If you don't like it, watch something else.
"If you're playing more than four chords, then you're just showing off." - Woodie Guthrie
He didn't say the SAME four chords forever.
He said 2 chords
Jack Dingler
And that’s why he and Dylan are only known for their good lyrics. LOL
"One chord is fine, two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz." - Lou Reed
Plays Am7
I find it interesting that we demonize the four chords when we have and celebrate a genre (blues) that has only 3 chords. And blues formed the basis for modern rock. Clearly the # of chords or their repetition isn't the only factor. In both cases, the limitation pushes us to explore the ways we can engage creatively with that limitation. That is actually a huge defining factor in the blues: the process and then celebration of doing/saying a lot with very little from some pretty severe limitations. But the eponymous four chords don't have that same cultural recognition and acceptance. Yet (perhaps...just playing devil's advocate!).
I do get ya, I love the blues too
Alot of miles Davis is 1 chord but there is something about the 12 bar blues pattern that is very satisfying to the human ear that other 3 or 4 chord patterns lack. It's like the circle of 5ths, people just find it satisfying on some natural level it's not only popular here but also Europe
I wouldn't say that the blues formed the basis for rock. The most influential rock group of all time, The Beatles, were hardly influenced at all by the blues. It was more of a country sound and skiffle which influenced them and also Bach. Chuck Berry was COUNTRY, not blues.
I like some of the blues but after about two hours it all begins sounding the same and I have to retire it for several years. It's just too narrow of a genre. What do highly accomplished blues guitarists like Joe Bonamassa do after years playing the same old same old? They just play faster and faster and faster to try to dazzle the fans. Joe could have been a great guitarist but the blues squelched him (he began at four years of age playing classical guitar - he should have stayed with that).
@@JimDeferio It was a major influence on the popular approach to taking leads with the pentatonic scale and dissonance of mixing minor and major 3rds and bending notes. But that's true, it didn't form the entire basis of rock or influence all rock music
@@peldonmarsh6191 Agreed.
When New Order came up on screen I thought I was about to hear Blue Monday or something lol
I thought the same!!!
Funny I'll be 47 years old on July the 15th and unfortunately I'm also a stroke and cardiac arrest survivor and feel old at times, never heard of Max Martin, but I grew up listening to the better stuff from the 50's-80"s take care and live long and prosper
I just turned 40 and I hope to God that I do not identify with you in a short seven years
It’s what you put in those four chords that make it interesting
Every room has four walls but it either has a lot of junk in there or beautiful furniture
That's why people don't pay attention to the walls
Have you heard "the sound of muzak" by porcupine tree? The lyrics talk about this issue
S Gs Yes!
You literally stole my comment.
Couldn't agree more.
Feels good to find another Porcupine Tree fan in this sea of 4 chord pop songs.:)
Fucking love that song.
4 chords that made a million
Wow..just listened to the song..not bad..not bad at all 👍
No risk.
Or not willing to take a risk.
The truth is, that most artists today are not artists - they are simply the package that the song writers/producers sell their materiel through.
Incomudro To be fair, a lot of artist’s music are more controlled by the industry and the Record Labels nowadays, not from the artists them selves, besides the fact that they perform the song. From what I’ve seen, good music can only be sprouted out by a record label who allows their artists to take risks. A good example of this would be Kendrick Lamar’s relationship with Top Dawg Entertainment, and how each release from him comes from a place of creative freedom that his label has granted him (TPAB, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, DAMN, etc.).
This is not a new effect. Pop music has always had its marionettes, these people who are making the show in front of the mic, but have nothing to do with the writing or producing of the song. Think of e.g. the several show acts for "StockAitkenWaterman" tracks (British pop music producers). During the 80s I watched a lot of them on MTV Europe. Really spooky ones among them!And no wonder, I don't remember the names of these "singers" or "bands". They just weren't worth remembering. The producers, however, made a lot of money even through these no-names. The sales to the teenage public were alright. That's how it has always worked, with or without autotune.
Never heard of Max Martin. Had to google him. Jaw dropping cred
Yep, and when you hear a musician such as Pink squawk in interviews that she "wrote" her newest sing/album, you now know that it's mostly B.S. What also happens is that an exclusive bunch of electronic music producers will show up with their latest canned efforts, to which they apply the singers' over-processed vocals.
Cred? Not really, most of the songs are just syrupy pop songs for teeny boppers. Simple and repetitive with out any soul or any real meaning.
he certainly has an amazing hitmaking record, but most of his hit songs are notable to me by how awful they are even compared to other chart pop (speaking as someone who does like some of it eg I like the songs he did for Ariana Grande ). What that says about me vs the people I dunno....
Max Martin writes bubble gum crap for idiots. He hasn't accomplished jack sh*t.
Never heard of Max either.
In a pop music world, it’s all about the money. That’s all there is.
Michael Brown not always, but a lot of the time
That's long been the case but it wasn't always a die-cast factory as it is now. Hand crafted things can be about making money too.
There will always be artists/genres more popular than others. Therefore pop music never dies. There will always be money involved with music, man's gotta eat...
It just worrrrks
It was the same even back then. It's just that at the time they haven't found a way to rip their customers off the way companies do nowadays.
For example, records used to come in a rough paper that'll scratch your records as you slide them in and out on a daily basis. But that's exactly the point since they wanted you to buy another copy very soon.
I hear the same four chords for 4-8 hours a day at work.
Promiscuous Dope Fiends Official I assume you work in a clothing store lmao
I work 10-12 hour shifts and yeah, same
RIP. I live near a racetrack and every time I go in there something good is playing like Guess Who and Allman Brothers. Wish I knew what station it is.
Get help.
That is total ear torture.
I really hate the current pop stations. I only listen to what is now considered to be the oldies. The early 80s and earlier.
John Hazlett good for you
good for you
Many people on utube say that's why they are here better picking and more choices for the ears and Spirit.
Dd
I'm 22, listen to hip-hop and rap. But can only listen for shorter periods of time...always go back to 70s/80s. It's soo annoying because I want to enjoy newer music
@Jeff T I know. But being a poor minimum wage schlep, I'm not able to afford that route.
Nobody mentioned the 4 / 4 beat? It's the thing that started the whole rock pop song thing just the last century. Songs and music were around for millions of years since the dawn of mankind.
JJ Samuel Gunn like color my world by Chicago
4/4 is a lot broader of a 'constraint' than 1 4 5. even complex sounding bebop with a bunch of cords was usually in 4/4. the vast majority of people in the west only listen to songs in 4/4. i actually understand odd time signatures and odd rhythms like quintuplets and septuplets. if you started trying to make pop music in odd time signatures (other than 3/4) things would really get flipped on their head.
@@groalerable I see your point. On hindsight I guess 4/4 IS pop music.Technically I am wrong to imply that 4/4 killed pop music cuz .. heck it sorta defines modern pop music.
No. The 4/4 beat... specifically the 4/4 back beat was a staple of blues music long before rock.
Rock and roll actually owes a ton to blues... the 4/4 backbeat, the pentatonic minor scale, and quite consistently throughout its history the three chord 12 bar blues progression.
There are quite a few hits in 12/8 (waltz). But yeah, 4/4 is more than predominant.
Gawd, I’m glad I grew up listening to music in the late 60’s to mid 80’s! Not everything was great, but at least there was more variety.
Damn. You got the Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Ac/Dc, The Doors, The Monkees, Individual Beatles members, Live Aid, The Animals, bunch of iconic songs, concerts, Jimi Hendrix, MJ, Eddie Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac.
And I am stuck here with cardi B, Justin Bieber, BTS and One Direction
Yep, there was so much good music in the 60s-early 80s that I got spoiled by it all and took it for granted it’d always be that way. SMH. No, sadly it DID go away...Nowadays I go back and listen to the music that would’ve been on my B or C list back then, and I’m mesmerized by what I was missing. There’s always been some repetitive crap that I don’t even wanna hear now. But the bulk of it is just amazing. So much talent it was indeed a renaissance period! What went wrong? I went to concerts in my teens for pennies compared with what it’d cost for the same tickets for the same bands. Before all the greed made it another status symbol only to be had by the rich. It lost its soul. But I got the memories and the music is still just as inspiring, moving and relevant as it ever was! I thank God I was there to experience it all
@@foreverbooked2964 I wAs BoRn In ThE wRoNg GeNeRaTiOn
Tejas Sabnis, at least some of them are still alive like Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, people like that
@@foreverbooked2964 uhm stuck? You're just lazy to explore music. There are a lot of inspiring artists that makes unique and wonderful music, you just don't know because they're out of the radar. So find them!! The internet exist for a reason...
This brought to mind a Porcupine Tree's song called 'Four Chords That Made A Million'.
Exactly, in fact SW has a quite a number of songs about music being killed, Piano Lessons, The Sound of Musak, Luminol, etc.
Ozimov Band Buying new soul is also about going mainstream
+Jan Lukasik absolutely, forgot about that one for a sec.
Yeah these are very basic chords and fukitol is right they're the basis of blues and pop but INNOVATIVE musicians build on them. There is a thing called chord substitution where the progression kind of sounds the same, only cooler because it sounds different, wakes you up just a little bit. IMO there's too many people out there who only KNOW those 4 chords, they can't wrap their heads around anything any more interesting and don't want to. Pop music goes for the LOWEST COMMON denominator. So if pop/country/jam blues bores you, listen to jazz.
cue up Porcupine Tree's "Four Chords That Made A Million"
I was about to make this comment, glad somebody already did it. Cheers \m/
Yessss
Great vid . It's not just the chords today that contribute to this though. Many vocals could be interchangeable between artists. They all sound very generic. Consider Sting and The Police, a fabulous band. So Lonely is I believe C G Am F, with unique vocals from Sting and the arrangement and feel is anything but boring. Compare that song using that sequence with current songs, it's like night and day.
Of course all the current pop "singers" sound the same; they've all been through the autotune treatment which negates any individual character the "singer" might have had originally.
BertyFromDK yeah lol I didn't mention that because we all know it's either autotune or melodyne .
albatrossus albatrossus Ever hear of grunge?
Thats why you listen to creative musicians who all happen to play Metal music
To me casual listening to this kind of pop song on the radio while driving or maybe on a cafe or restaurant is quite nice, I kinda like it, but at home when I put my headphone on, turn on my DAC/AMP and seriously listen to music, a casual pop song is a big no no
I cannot stand to listen to them more than once every few days, the music that I love to listen to last for years, and I listen to them daily for hundreds if not thousands of time, so a casual pop music that gets really tiring and boring after a dozen time of listening doesn't have space in my music library
To be fair, I understand that casual pop music is popular for a reason, they are quite pleasant and easy to get into, but that's that
にゃあエイリアンMeowAlien
Yes.It's also actually really sad how it's harder for artist with unique songs to get popular. ;-;
にゃあエイリアンMeowAlien I don’t find it pleasant at all, every pop song sounds the same now and it sounds like a robot is singing instead of a person. I liked pop music from the 80s a lot, nowadays it’s crap.
The pop music industries are targetting the "musical normies", the ones that don't even bother to explore the other kinds of music. People that are not that into music. There are a lot of these guys, of course. And since then, the industries never change.
If people actually care about music, develop their own taste of original music, and getting tired of the same repetitive pop songs, the industries would change for the benefits.
Talking about this reminds me about pop culture in general (animes, gadgets, etc), and the quote "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The pop music industries are targetting the "musical normies", the ones that don't even bother to explore the other kinds of music. People that are not that into music. There are a lot of these guys, of course. And since then, the industries never change.
If people actually care about music, develop their own taste of original music, and getting tired of the same repetitive pop songs, the industries would change for the benefits.
Talking about this reminds me about pop culture in general (animes, gadgets, etc), and the quote "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
にゃあエイリアンMeowAlien I don't find them pleasant and easy to get into at all - I find them annoying and simply poor quality.
"...hide behind a wall of nothing, nothing said, and nothing new- 4 chords that made a million..." Steve Wilson
TwoandaHater That song is the reason this video title caught my eye
Ditto ^
AngeloIppis42 Steven Wilson = a legend
Well when people like Guthrie Govan and Gavin Harrison agree to play with you...Nuff said
AngeloIppis42 agreed
When your video started, and you played those four chords, i was immediately thinking "Boston - Peace of Mind".
Remember the late 80's, when The Georgia Satellites came out with "Keep Your Hands To Yourself"? Well, a few years later, we hear country artists Tim McGraw and Toby Keith come out with "Down on the Farm" and "A Little Less Talk", respectively. All three of those songs sound VERY similar.
The same thing occured in the 80's, when Richard Marx came out with "It Don't Mean Nothin'", and of course, The Eagles came out with "The Long Run". Both songs sound eerily the same. Someone should do mash-ups of those similar-sounding songs.
Yep -- me, too. Eagles came first, though ("The Long Run" was from 1979 -- "Don't Mean Nothing" was 7 years later. To me, they sound different enough to be legit. Good stuff!)
Excellent explanation as to what's going on, and great video too!
vi-IV-I-V progression should be outlawed at this point.
Your profile pic perfectly explains why. It's a sin! It's torture!
I think we need more
No!! Offspring forever!!
Then you be outlawing Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin, etc etc. it's not the notes it's how the composer uses them.
Ralph Detko Thank you!!! This comment is exactly what I was looking for. 1-4-5-6 chords can be very interesting if used CREATIVELY.
G, D, Em, C
G, Dsus4, Em7, Cadd9
C, G, Am, F
F, A, Dm, Bb
and many more....
You can play any song with these 4 chords in any order....
So far, the most chords I've heard in a rock song was Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street", which has 15 chords - five majors, two minors, 2 majors in fourth suspension, two majors in second suspension, one minor seventh, and kicking off the song three major sevenths in fourth suspension. Released in 1978 and a phenomenal song.
Pop song, not a "rock song" but Paul Simon's Still crazy after all these years must challenge that number I'd suspect
Awesome song!
to be fair, there also is interesting pop music / pop artists that use a lot of other chords and also 'less mainstream pop' chords too. (meaning, please stop hating on everyone who makes pop music, there are some REALLY talented people too)
Names. Bands. Songs. Which ones?
I'm 62 now and realized that All modern music sounded the same to me! I thought it was just me but I was right! Thank You for educating me on this. My brain was right!
'alL moDErN muSic is baD'
No you idiot, that's not true nor the point of this video
Yeah... you had 12 bar blues out the friggen ying yang. Three chords... same order... over and over and over again. From Dizzy Miss Lizzy to the Red House over yonder.
@@hwfq34fajw9foiffawdiufhuaiwfhw and many other amazing bands who each had a unique sound unlike current pop music.
A sentence that has never been spoken:
"That's the banjo players Porsche parked over there"
Tell it to Ralph Stanley, Steve Martin, The Osborne Brothers, etc , etc., etc.
@@timtherrien7843 ...who?
Tim Therrien took the letter right out of my keyboard.
Said Johnny Carson.
Earl Scruggs could have easily afforded 100 Porsches.
The Beatles were great. Kurt Cobain also had never used that progression and still managed to be kick-ass songwriter, that's talent
SLTS close with EAGC.
@@yetivanmarshall1473 but the main riff is F/Bb/C#/Ab. Grunge bands actually broke the typical pop paradigm for most of their hit singles.
But Kurt would sing a vocal melody that would create a pop like uplifting verse/chorus/verse over the slightly dissonant and distorted chords.
There was actually an element of thrash metal meets hardcore punk in the roots of grunge, that really have it that energy and edge.
The dissonance really went well about his lyrics about social issues (rape me) and depression (lithium).
They're quite sad lyrics. But they have such catchy bubble gum vocal lines that stick in your head.
Kurt was definitely very talented.
Kurt used the A-F-D chord progression countless times. Territorial Pissings, Heart Shaped Box, In Bloom, all use the same one.
@@jonasmaya941 I think In Bloom's a bit different, but yeah, Heart Shaped Box and Territorial Pissings are just a half-step apart.
I was shocked when he said the Beatles only used it once. In my head I think of I-V-vi-IV as the "Let it Be" progression lol. It shows how much more variety there was back in the day.
The outro music of his show was the same progression. I'm depressed.
Come on that was intentional
The masses are hooked on junk food and junk music. It is all easily accessible and convenient. Something that delights and inspires takes risk and effort.....
When Rick played the 4 chords on the guitar I immediately heard the band Boston: "Piece of Mind" Just goes to show, that chord progression has always been around and will probably never go away.
Cool
Lexington lab band rock..!!!!
I heard America's Sister Golden Hair 😅
I believe that AC/DC did it with 3 chords on every Gold record they have over and over again. God bless em
and status quo
They have cool solos tho
@@SaiRam-nz9sy and self awareness "I'm sick of people saying we've made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. We've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same" - Angus Young.
AC/DC loves the key of A, for sure.
70's and 80's were considered as the _Golden Era of Music_ and 90's was the Last Good Era of Music ☹️
Reminds me of a lot of contemporary Christian music.
Pete Smyth I haven't bought a new worship CD in about 10 years because of this stuff.
THIS. To boot, it's very, very difficult to find good, creative, out of the box Christian music that pushes the envelope...
Exactly! I don't even listen to the radio anymore, because most of the music sounds generic. But my mom listens to Christian radio. And whenever I borrow her car, the radio is playing Christian music. But it seems like every song sounds the same. Like they're even using the same instruments and sounds.
My cousin recently converted to Christianity. She likes to listen to Christian radio. I took a little road trip with her. It was torture having to listen to her radio station. All the songs sounded the same, and I couldn't even distinguish between artists. It was like a blur of hipster sounding songs.
As a Christian, I would definitely agree with you. Which is one reason why I truly prefer the old hymns
I'd say "killed" is a bit of overstatement, though the point is well taken. When I was a teenager (back in the mists of prehistory) I thought songs with simple harmony were "boring", which was why I gravitated to prog rock. Since then I've come to appreciate simplicity a lot more. (I even enjoyed recently revisiting Status Quo's greatest hits for nostalgia's sake: non-Brits won't have heard of them, but Status Quo are the archetypal three-chord merchants). If songs were measured solely by how many different chords were in 'em, then Horse With No Name (only two chords from start to finish) ought to be a dud, but for many it's a classic. I'd say the problem with a lot of contemporary pop isn't just the chords, it's a wider disease: lack of imagination, creativity and risk-taking, which extends to every facet of the music, but most especially to rhythm. If any one thing KILLED pop, it's the unholy alliance of drum machine and click track. Just my 2c.
(I) here's my story it's sad but true
(VI) it's about a girl that I once knew
(IV) she took my love then ran around
(V) with every single guy in town
Was her name "Sue", by any chance?
A typical doo-wop progression. The Beatles enjoyed parodying that in the chorus of "Happiness Is a Warm Gun."
Add some steel guitar, a little twang and you could have another pop country smash hit there.
A variation of I vi ii V which is known as the doo-wop progression.
Thanks for this! This is what makes your channel great!
"Peace of Mind" by Boston is the only one that matters.
Africa - Toto
The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
Numb - Linkin Park
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
Replay - Iyaz
Demons - Imagine Dragons
Hello - Adele
Hell, I have like 50 other examples of great songs with that progression
Peace of Mind is what I clicked into.
The implication is, whatever the A/R guys decide is a hit, becomes a hit automatically. This is pretty much true. What a song needs to be popular is to be forced down the throats of a billion people. A couple million will just happen to like it enough that they'll buy it. Wash rinse repeat.
Oh my God, a literal smoke filled back room conspiracy that's been driving me insane for years!
I think this is your best video ever. After seeing this I could not stop thinking about it. Actually it’s not the majority of songs uses this chords progression, but ALL THE POP SONGS! It’s unbearable.
Every comercial vídeo or tutorials on UA-cam use those chords as background sounds. Every music my teenager daughter listens follows that rule. It’s like a curse. This video should be delivered as a alert for preventing the music dying. You are a warrior! Thank you for all your lessons!
I have the same thoughts about all of those blues music with that C, F, G chords..
Going indie as better for creation, and today its much easier to do it.
goingtobe yep, blues is quite boring!
When you realize that ‘Africa’ uses the same progression in the chorus :o
Boston- Peace Of Mind....
Yeah but Toto and Boston actually have talented musicians and singers.
They've been around forever
Toto did use them for the chorus, but they both shifted tonal focus and chord progression on the verses. Whereas a lot of the pop-songs mentioned there don't shift at all, they just use one of those 12 possible arrangements of I-IV-V-vi over and over and over and over again.
Big deal, that song was written 35 years ago. AND it didn't flog them all the way through, only at the chorus.
l believe the mighty QUO based most of their songs on 3 of those chords
and they did OK? They started getting a little flak for it so how did they respond?
they released an album entitled "IN SEARCH OF THE 4th CHORD!"
genius!
OMG it just hit me ... when he played that progession at the end .. exactly the intro to a Boston song!!!!!!!!!!
What kind of harmony would you call this? Would it be functional or non-functional? Would you mind doing a video on digestible Reharmonization or better alternatives than these four at some point? Love your videos!
Yeah would love to see that!
Raghav Rao use chromatic changes add 9-7 and do some 2-5s between phrases
Erick Martiz would you mind giving an example with tasteful ii V's added to it? and I'm not entirely sure what a 9-7 chord is
VII (natural one) chord instead of V7 and IIm7 instead of IV.
Raghav Rao I would say non-functional unless the V is at the end of the phrase. Often a non-functional order like I V vi IV implies tonal ambiguity between I and its relative minor, iv.
There's a great song in spanish from an Argentinian band named "De Música Ligera" that uses the first progression
It's an anthem of spanish rock
That's the name of one of one of their songs!
The band's name was SODA STEREO, huge rock band from Argentina 🇦🇷 (our Fab Three) huge hits from early 80s to about 2010, when the lead vocal/composer/guitar had a stroke after a concert in Venezuela or Colombia (I don't remember) and died after 4 yrs in coma here in Argentina. His name was GUSTAVO CERATI. Spectacular musician.
Cheers from Buenos Aires 🤘🏼
His last live rendition of DE MÚSICA LIGERA, before his stroke, is mind blowing. It's on UA-cam of course (2010?)
Ive lived in Nashville for twenty years and Ive lived in LA too. And its the same damn crowd of people in both towns.
I believe "Piece of Mind" by Boston is what you are playing in the intro. Most of us old folks know but some young viewers may not. Not trying to micromanage I just thought I would add it to the comments because it took me a minute to remember the song title I knew it was Boston but like you were showing its easy to get stumped because so many of the songs use those same chords. Wow that's powerful can't believe I had to go to Boston's album to jog my memory for a sec. I was glad I got to see them in Glens Falls, NY a few years ago. A stage float fell but no one got hurt. It was of a factory smoke stack. These chords were some of the first I learned on guitar at 12 yrs old. Thank you for this video.
Some people call 'em the Imagine Dragon chords.
The Oasis chords
BTW I like your avatar & name
No wonder music all sounds the same nowadays.
…..And we haven't talked about the compression yet !
That’s just the pop charts
There are a lot of great bands out there now days! But, they aren’t being picked up by the big record producers, and you won’t hear them on pop radio.
There’s bands better than the Beatles today. They will never become a phenomenon because the record labels aren’t telling you what to buy anymore.. so no common ground.
And it wasn’t always a good thing. You boomers probably have your Bay City Rollers and Village People LPs well hidden... but record sales don’t lie... lol.
@@hwfq34fajw9foiffawdiufhuaiwfhw lmao 60s music is the best my friend dont even try to say anything else because everyone knows its true
Sounding off with Max Martin?
If I could get in touch with him I would do in a second
Out of 186K subscribers, one who knows Max Martin needs to read this comment and make the connection for Rick!
max doesnt like interviews so small chance but it would be awesome
Vincent Maybe he would do one with Rick because of both of them beign musicians and producers.
i'd pay for that
As always, a great video Rick. Thank you!