You're right. He does know a lot more than simply how to play the guitar. Ron and I are actually good friends and yet I still am amazed at how good he is. The funny thing is he never acts as though he is doing something spectacular. He is a very humble guy. I consider myself lucky to have a friend like Ron, and it has nothing to do with his talent as a musician.
Technically, it shouldn't, but that's because the strict definition of a tone row has it that the sequence of notes must not establish any chords at all, so that if you take any three contiguous notes in the row, they will not form any of the major or minor chords. And of course, if you aren't spelling out any major or minor chords, you're not going to spell out any of the 7th chords with four contiguous notes either.
@@cattybound2011 I get that it shouldn't spell out major or minor chords (and their extensions) but what about diminished (or augmented) chords, which is what Ron is doing?
@@gurusuryan Twelve-tone technique can be used however the composer wants. Alban Berg (a pupil of Schoenberg and one of the big three in the second Viennese school) frequently outlined major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads as well as seventh chords in his rows. You cannot physically construct any row using the above definition because any group of three or more notes is a chord, so any row will construct a chord. There are marked ways that Ron's use of the 12-tone system differs from Schoenberg. However, there were also ways that Schoenberg and other prominent serialist composers differed on the use of this technique. Ron has brought his own spin to this technique and it is just as correct as any of the others. So all in all, outline whatever you want and it is still a 12-tone composition, especially in this instance where only the prime form and retrograde variants of the row are used.
Thomas, To hear more standard rock tunes, feel free to pull up any of my other 12 tone pieces on youtube including Ingesting Blattaria, Cretaceous Chasm, Vermicular Asphyxiation, A Sting Operation, Synaptic Plasticity, REM, Bleeding In The Brain, EEG Tracings, Adenosine Breakdown, Adenosine Buildup, Laser Lobotomy, and Brain Fingerprinting.
I think your music really speaks out to musicians mostly, just like Allan Holdsworth's approach to music, it stands out from other solo/shredder artists and can only be understood and fully appreciated by music theorists. I'm nothing lie that but I damn love your music.it speaks to my brain !
Speaking very, very technically: Real 12 tone music doesn't outline chords like this. The diminished chords are certainly very dissonant, but it isn't truly atonal. Schoenberg would not approve. That being said, this man is absolutely brilliant and I love Blotted Science.
Edward, I don't use Schoenberg's method/system of using all 12 tones. I devise my own systems which work well for me. I never claimed to use Schoenberg's methods. However, one of these days I may give the whole matrix, inversion retrograde, etc... system a shot, but haven't so far. Also, feel free to check out the video sets for 'Human Barbequed' and 'Cessation Sanitation'... at ronjarzombekmedia.com/store And thanks for listening... ;-) Ron
I saw him with Watchtower in Germany in the 80s. At that time he was already a genius. He played the very complex 'Control And Resistance' flawlessly with crazy stage acting. The whole Band kicked Ass. It's sad that they never got the credits they deserved. It was too early for complex Progressive metal.
Considering that there are a lot of Tech Death and Mathcore bands, I can't see for the life of me why Ron Jarzombek isn't more known today. I found out that Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater like Blotted Science.
Ron, Toni Abassi, Marty Friedman... All alien math.. Dissonant chords Weird time signatures Total mastery And pure metal whenever they want to... It's amazinggggg what their minds can do.... We can only comprehend a few concepts..... Before the head explodes... Ra5
You Sir are Goddamn Right.. But Friedman doesn't admit it himself... Just admit it bro, you use 12 tone oscillations extensively in Wall of sound and Inferno albums
@Forrester There is an unbelievable amount of music based off the 12-tone/serial composition method. The thing about this method is for one primary row, there is a 12x12 matrix of row forms based on the interval classes of the main row. There are lots of compositions though that only make use of maybe two or three of the row forms available to them.
I never thought of grouping my progressions into odd measures like that and building a lead around it. i love how he never broke the 3 groups of 4 notes (keys) and went into a whole frenzy of odd rhythms, all while chromatically ascending and descending. this is just scratching the surface too. i would love to write music with Ron one day
I always loves how Ron Jarzombek made unusual pattern with his guitar. From Watch Tower, Terrestrial Exiled, Spastic Ink, and his other solos, Blotted Science is his best album (imo) since it have more experiments in tempo, hiatus, and pattern.
I'm inclined to practice these chord movements with a tonic in mind...then I suppose you could assign a function to one of the chords to modulate if you'd like. Super interesting.
i just learnt this on the drums, i never knew this song had so much genius to it. they seem to play a lot of their tunes backwards. like adenosine buildup / breakdown.
My favourite thing about Ron Jarzombek is that he actually uses theory to created organized chaotic music unlike most Mathcore and Tech Death guitarists.
@chrismaxpayne not exactly. If i recall correctly, he invented this on a plane, because he was stuck and wanted to find a different way to write. its on his website, if you wanna go into details.
I wanna just be gone for a year, talk to no one of my friends and colleges, then just show up at our local rockfestival a year later and play like this, i cant play shit now, but imagine it, man am i smiling!:D Amazing dude, Ron!
I never thought I could love a man... I did think that if I ever heard his voice my head would explode like in dogma... huh.. today's full of surprises.
hey Ron, love your music, I was wondering have you ever used any of Messiaen's modes like the 3rd mode of limited transposition in any of your metal pieces? its whhwhhwhh and the composer Toru Takemitsu uses it some. Also have you ever taken a look at the All-interval tetrachords? 2 types of 4 note chords that each contain every type of interval? one of them is a minor chord with an added flat 2 or flat 9.
@@matthewjoshua1025 Olivier Messiaen was a composer of the 20th century who employed a system called the modes of limited transposition which he published in his book La technique de mon langage musical . There are 7 messiaen modes. The first one is the whole tone scale. The 2nd is the octatonic scale/half-whole diminished scale or whole-half diminished scale. I would suggest reading about it on wikipedia. Theres to much to type in 1 comment.
@SevenStringShredHead Regardless, if it is not using the system derived from Schoenberg, it is not 12-tone atonality, but is a different sort of atonality. To call it 12-tone is a misnomer. However, as I have said above, just because it isn't 12-tone doesn't mean it is in any way of lesser value.
Maybe, but bear in mind Jarzombek said this: "In any case, this ‘fragmented rows” system is MUCH simpler than the system(s) used by Schoenberg, Berg, Stravinsky, Bartok, or Schat, etc… All I’m doing here is sectioning off groups of notes into various set combinations, then I have the freedom to do whatever I want with the notes."
If you actually knew anything about his work and philosophy, you wouldn't write that shit. He specifically said that he hoped future composers would put forth their own take on serialism, which is exactly what Ron does here. He would wholeheartedly approve.
A complete beast, first song i heard from Blotted Science was synaptic plastcity, and something struck me, why the HELL haven't i heard of BS before? now i wreck both my speakers and my guitars with blotted science, at least trying on the guitar, but for some reason it's much easier play on my spotify, strange! Awesome video!
@SevenStringShredHead I was simply giving my honest opinion about his composition. In no way was I trying to cast aside the composition just because it isn't "true" 12-tone. Lots of compositions make successful use of atonality without being strictly 12-tone. I was simply asking some questions and making (what I feel) are legitimate remarks about his use of the original line throughout the composition.
@uwishuwerme14 In the 3rd lead (the smaller one, with the bend), Ron uses the high E once. So apart from that you're safe to go with a 6 string in drop A I think.
@thesilentcircus789 Spastic Ink has it all over the music. It's a fairly old concept. He didn't invent it, he just adapted it to modern guitar playing and composing.
@amjan seriously?! wow. i have always noticed that jazzy tinge in his songs for some reason, at least in blotted science, that is. for example, the solo in synaptic plasticity sounded pretty jazzy to me. i don't know if it's the "technically" right thing to call it, but the first time i heard blotted science, i was like , " well...this sounds like a mix of jazz and progressive doom metal" or something. i may be ABSOLUTELY wrong XD, but i have noticed that jazzy tinge in his songs.
@LichKingSkullWart as far as i know. and i hope i am not wrong. but i believe it is just all of the notes in music. from A to G (A, Bb, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#)
The craziest thing about all this, is how simple this song is musically compared to the rest of the songs off of The Machinations of Dementia. Must take at least half an hour to explain all of the different musical elements of say, Brain Fingerprinting.
Hey Ron, I have to think that no matter how well you can explain yourself with music theory, all this comes from the composer right? I mean if you just sit down and start jamming and trip on some crazy sounding stuff that was not really the knowledge of theory in motion that was you tapping into a deeper creative side right?
![Oscar Maydon x Fuerza Regida - Tu Boda [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_ymicn0_GYc/mqdefault.jpg)
You're right. He does know a lot more than simply how to play the guitar. Ron and I are actually good friends and yet I still am amazed at how good he is. The funny thing is he never acts as though he is doing something spectacular. He is a very humble guy. I consider myself lucky to have a friend like Ron, and it has nothing to do with his talent as a musician.
I never realized a 12 tone row could be reduced to 3 fully diminished 7th chords built from the notes of a quartal/quintal trichord
Yeah, totally. Chords and stuff.
Technically, it shouldn't, but that's because the strict definition of a tone row has it that the sequence of notes must not establish any chords at all, so that if you take any three contiguous notes in the row, they will not form any of the major or minor chords. And of course, if you aren't spelling out any major or minor chords, you're not going to spell out any of the 7th chords with four contiguous notes either.
@@cattybound2011 I get that it shouldn't spell out major or minor chords (and their extensions) but what about diminished (or augmented) chords, which is what Ron is doing?
@@gurusuryan Twelve-tone technique can be used however the composer wants. Alban Berg (a pupil of Schoenberg and one of the big three in the second Viennese school) frequently outlined major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads as well as seventh chords in his rows. You cannot physically construct any row using the above definition because any group of three or more notes is a chord, so any row will construct a chord.
There are marked ways that Ron's use of the 12-tone system differs from Schoenberg. However, there were also ways that Schoenberg and other prominent serialist composers differed on the use of this technique. Ron has brought his own spin to this technique and it is just as correct as any of the others.
So all in all, outline whatever you want and it is still a 12-tone composition, especially in this instance where only the prime form and retrograde variants of the row are used.
Like a wizard casting a spell using a guitar. I am left dazed, confused and possibly in toad form.
This makes me feel like I know nothing on guitar
Was it even English?
Thomas,
To hear more standard rock tunes, feel free to pull up any of my other 12 tone pieces on youtube including Ingesting Blattaria, Cretaceous Chasm, Vermicular Asphyxiation, A Sting Operation, Synaptic Plasticity, REM, Bleeding In The Brain, EEG Tracings, Adenosine Breakdown, Adenosine Buildup, Laser Lobotomy, and Brain Fingerprinting.
I think your music really speaks out to musicians mostly, just like Allan Holdsworth's approach to music, it stands out from other solo/shredder artists and can only be understood and fully appreciated by music theorists. I'm nothing lie that but I damn love your music.it speaks to my brain !
i really dont know why you people bash on this guy, hes giving free lessons, be grateful and shut up.
This song is the best example of 12 tone I've ever heard. I hope you release another Blotted Science record soon.
Thanks. If you want to hear a LOT more examples... www.ronjarzombek.com/dissectingbugs.html
Speaking very, very technically: Real 12 tone music doesn't outline chords like this. The diminished chords are certainly very dissonant, but it isn't truly atonal. Schoenberg would not approve.
That being said, this man is absolutely brilliant and I love Blotted Science.
Edward,
I don't use Schoenberg's method/system of using all 12 tones. I devise my own systems which work well for me. I never claimed to use Schoenberg's methods. However, one of these days I may give the whole matrix, inversion retrograde, etc... system a shot, but haven't so far.
Also, feel free to check out the video sets for 'Human Barbequed' and 'Cessation Sanitation'... at ronjarzombekmedia.com/store
And thanks for listening... ;-)
Ron
shit just got complicated
***** True dat.
Edward Bottle ruclips.net/video/QpJAnT9loiI/видео.html
Schoenberg wouldn't approve but Berg probably would.
I saw him with Watchtower in Germany in the 80s. At that time he was already a genius. He played the very complex 'Control And Resistance' flawlessly with crazy stage acting. The whole Band kicked Ass. It's sad that they never got the credits they deserved. It was too early for complex Progressive metal.
Considering that there are a lot of Tech Death and Mathcore bands, I can't see for the life of me why Ron Jarzombek isn't more known today. I found out that Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater like Blotted Science.
Ron, Toni Abassi, Marty Friedman... All alien math..
Dissonant chords
Weird time signatures
Total mastery
And pure metal whenever they want to...
It's amazinggggg what their minds can do....
We can only comprehend a few concepts..... Before the head explodes...
Ra5
You Sir are Goddamn Right..
But Friedman doesn't admit it himself...
Just admit it bro, you use 12 tone oscillations extensively in Wall of sound and Inferno albums
He stares at us in between exercises with a face that's like: "give up, you'll never be able to play this" haha
"slow"
hhahahahhahaha totally
@Forrester There is an unbelievable amount of music based off the 12-tone/serial composition method. The thing about this method is for one primary row, there is a 12x12 matrix of row forms based on the interval classes of the main row. There are lots of compositions though that only make use of maybe two or three of the row forms available to them.
Fucking sick. This guy's approach to theory is both genius and completely insane.
I would never have imagined using a 12-tone row in metal, but this really works! Thank you for a great lesson video, Ron!
+Fred Chapman yes!!!! Thank you!! this video is amazing!!
a personal thank you years later for providing ample visuals to help me teach people to understand concepts like gridding and such
I never thought of grouping my progressions into odd measures like that and building a lead around it. i love how he never broke the 3 groups of 4 notes (keys) and went into a whole frenzy of odd rhythms, all while chromatically ascending and descending. this is just scratching the surface too. i would love to write music with Ron one day
this guy is a true guitar nerd. love his music, I love how seriously technical his music is
When I pick up a professorship I'm totally using this for teaching atonality. I've already turned one private student onto you. Awesome work, mang.
Ron Jarzombek..
one of the most underrated composers\guitar players of all time!!!
Thank you for everything you do.
Cheers from Israel
Ron Jarzombek the Mad Scientist! Beware run before his Mad psychosis makes you one of his psycho clones. God bless Ron ! Your to cool for school.
Ron, we beg you!, please release the DVDs!!!!!!!! PLEASE!
You're an incredible player and teacher Ron. I cant wait to see the whole dvd!
I always loves how Ron Jarzombek made unusual pattern with his guitar. From Watch Tower, Terrestrial Exiled, Spastic Ink, and his other solos, Blotted Science is his best album (imo) since it have more experiments in tempo, hiatus, and pattern.
Here's to adding a new comment. Ron, "A Wild Hare" is probably one of the cooler things I've heard done with a guitar. Thank you for that.
I'm inclined to practice these chord movements with a tonic in mind...then I suppose you could assign a function to one of the chords to modulate if you'd like. Super interesting.
i just learnt this on the drums, i never knew this song had so much genius to it. they seem to play a lot of their tunes backwards. like adenosine buildup / breakdown.
Finally something on RUclips that is useful for learning some tech death
I can't believe Ron builds his own guitars! the guy is just amazing!
He just explained an entire chapter of my Chromatic Harmony textbook in less than a minute. Enharmonically equivalent chords ftw!
I love Blotted Science, and I'll certainly be buying this DVD.
My favourite thing about Ron Jarzombek is that he actually uses theory to created organized chaotic music unlike most Mathcore and Tech Death guitarists.
@chrismaxpayne
not exactly.
If i recall correctly,
he invented this on a plane,
because he was stuck and wanted to find a different way to write.
its on his website, if you wanna go into details.
I simply can't wait for this to be released - it looks absolutely awesome and the production is totally first rate based on that snippet.
how you compose ? ron you are out of this earth !
You are a genius, a love the disminish 7th, but the rhytmic way you use them is awesom and it sounds much more complex of what it really is.
You just incorporated my two favorite people on youtube in one comment. If that doesn't deserve a thumbs up, then I don't know what does.
Wowwwwwwwww !!! I've been a fan for over 10 years and still can't have enough...Respect and Love from INDIA
God, I love this guy's work over the years
Ron's ability is astonishing.
Hey! You used to be my guitar teacher back in 2012 at lackland afb! Hope youre doing well
Ron-stoppable!
Ron is, to me, probably one of the most interesting and innovative guitarists today.
Keep up the incomparable work, Ron!
I didn't know this song used serial structure, i thought it was jut purely a-tonal! Brilliant!
ron, your style is awesome.
he is just AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!
I wanna just be gone for a year, talk to no one of my friends and colleges, then just show up at our local rockfestival a year later and play like this, i cant play shit now, but imagine it, man am i smiling!:D Amazing dude, Ron!
found my comment from 8 years ago
Absolutely wicked! I can't wait for this to come out!
I follow your music before Watchtower´s time and I love your style and capacity. Congratulations for your contribution and labor.
Wow, that's a lot of free content!
Thanks Ron!
thanks master
AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! release it already, can't f****** wait!
Ron you are just blowing my mind!
Thank you
I never thought I could love a man... I did think that if I ever heard his voice my head would explode like in dogma... huh.. today's full of surprises.
Amazing.
Thank you for posting this (musos celebrate!)
Thank you also for Blotted Science, a CD that gets constant rotation in my collection.
I never imagined this song was so brilliantly written.
Ron you are awesome man :)
Thanks for sharing this cool concept!
This looks amazing can't wait to get it.
Thanks for this, it really helped me grasp this idea to a much greater degree
One word: WHAT *head explodes*
Congratulations
hey Ron,
love your music, I was wondering have you ever used any of Messiaen's modes like the 3rd mode of limited transposition in any of your metal pieces? its whhwhhwhh and the composer Toru Takemitsu uses it some. Also have you ever taken a look at the All-interval tetrachords? 2 types of 4 note chords that each contain every type of interval? one of them is a minor chord with an added flat 2 or flat 9.
This sounds interesting. Could you explain in more detail?
@@matthewjoshua1025 Olivier Messiaen was a composer of the 20th century who employed a system called the modes of limited transposition which he published in his book La technique de mon langage musical . There are 7 messiaen modes. The first one is the whole tone scale. The 2nd is the octatonic scale/half-whole diminished scale or whole-half diminished scale. I would suggest reading about it on wikipedia. Theres to much to type in 1 comment.
@@oakenguitar3 thanks man, I will. I listen to stuff like Pathology, Dying Fetus, Maggot Colony, Visceral Disgorge, and Meditation music 🧘♂️🤷♂️🎸
love videos like this that actually make me think & also have cool licks 👍
opened up a new perspective to 12 tone riffing, thanks.
brilliant! ...and both thumbs up as well!
8 strings kick ass because of the harmonies and octaves available. also i learned this technique a whiler ago and use it in over half my songs/solos.
we get it ron... you're not human xD
Fucking awesome video. Its great to see an artist deconstruct his own song. Very educational.
Great lesson
you should do a studio tour mr jarz...its amazing how your recordings sound even with the johnson j station..
How in the heck can anyone get so freaken great at guitar? Wow!
@SevenStringShredHead
Regardless, if it is not using the system derived from Schoenberg, it is not 12-tone atonality, but is a different sort of atonality. To call it 12-tone is a misnomer. However, as I have said above, just because it isn't 12-tone doesn't mean it is in any way of lesser value.
No, the DVD will be released after the new Watchtower album, Mathematics. I don't know which one I'll be more excited for!
Arnold Schoenberg approved!
Maybe, but bear in mind Jarzombek said this:
"In any case, this ‘fragmented rows” system is MUCH simpler than the system(s) used by Schoenberg, Berg, Stravinsky, Bartok, or Schat, etc… All I’m doing here is sectioning off groups of notes into various set combinations, then I have the freedom to do whatever I want with the notes."
TheGrandBrand Dude just schooled STRAVINSKY and BARTOK. Dr. Geeky Guitar Badass strikes again.
Regis Chapman
What do you mean by 'school them'?
Actually, Schoenberg would not approve. The tone row is not supposed to outline full chords, even if they're dissonant diminished seventh chords.
If you actually knew anything about his work and philosophy, you wouldn't write that shit. He specifically said that he hoped future composers would put forth their own take on serialism, which is exactly what Ron does here. He would wholeheartedly approve.
If you want to see more ideas then get the album, it's frickin' insane!
Greatly inspiring and informative video. Thumbs up:)
A complete beast, first song i heard from Blotted Science was synaptic plastcity, and something struck me, why the HELL haven't i heard of BS before? now i wreck both my speakers and my guitars with blotted science, at least trying on the guitar, but for some reason it's much easier play on my spotify, strange! Awesome video!
Wow!! tHIS GUYS IS A GUITAR GENIUS!!! Im blowed up by all the music knowledge he has!! :O
@SevenStringShredHead
I was simply giving my honest opinion about his composition. In no way was I trying to cast aside the composition just because it isn't "true" 12-tone. Lots of compositions make successful use of atonality without being strictly 12-tone. I was simply asking some questions and making (what I feel) are legitimate remarks about his use of the original line throughout the composition.
Wow men!!! Very insane!!!
Good explanation!!
Ron your music inspired me alot!!!
You are a truly guitar master!!
all hail Professor Ron Jarzombek
spot on
He isa legend i can't imagine
the best guitarrist of the world!!shure no is the only
@uwishuwerme14 In the 3rd lead (the smaller one, with the bend), Ron uses the high E once. So apart from that you're safe to go with a 6 string in drop A I think.
What a goddamn genius. Teach me your ways, sir!
@thesilentcircus789 Spastic Ink has it all over the music. It's a fairly old concept. He didn't invent it, he just adapted it to modern guitar playing and composing.
@amjan seriously?! wow. i have always noticed that jazzy tinge in his songs for some reason, at least in blotted science, that is. for example, the solo in synaptic plasticity sounded pretty jazzy to me. i don't know if it's the "technically" right thing to call it, but the first time i heard blotted science, i was like , " well...this sounds like a mix of jazz and progressive doom metal" or something. i may be ABSOLUTELY wrong XD, but i have noticed that jazzy tinge in his songs.
we could also say it is part of serialism because he always plays all 12 tones in order before a tone is replayed.
Subbed. Blotted Science is The SHit.
This stuff is awesome !
@LichKingSkullWart as far as i know. and i hope i am not wrong. but i believe it is just all of the notes in music. from A to G (A, Bb, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#)
@SpartanSWJohn
actually, the sickest stuff is to listen on his both solo works, especially on the second.
Damn. That's really clever.
The craziest thing about all this, is how simple this song is musically compared to the rest of the songs off of The Machinations of Dementia. Must take at least half an hour to explain all of the different musical elements of say, Brain Fingerprinting.
Have Ron Jarzombek and Buckethead ever been seen in the same room at the same time?
This vid went over my head by about 30,000 ft, by the way.
I have no idea what the fuck you're doing or saying but man I enjoy listening to the guitar-work...
Best guitarist in the world, this guy is
a-fucking-mazing
Will this stuff be available for ordering through your website? Can't wait to get my hands on it :)
Hey Ron, I have to think that no matter how well you can explain yourself with music theory, all this comes from the composer right? I mean if you just sit down and start jamming and trip on some crazy sounding stuff that was not really the knowledge of theory in motion that was you tapping into a deeper creative side right?