Again, relates to Tom Lehrer: "Plagiarize! Let no one else's work evade your eyes! Remember why the Good Lord made your eyes, So don't shade your eyes, But plagiarize! Plagiarize! Plagiarize, but be sure always to call it, please, 'Research.'" the Lobachevsky Song
Look, Adam, we're onto you. It worked for a while, but by now everyone on the forums knows that the other guy is just you in a grey room wearing a black-and-white costume.
Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen trying to sing like Roy Orbison. To Love Somebody was the BeeGees trying to sound like Otis Redding. Shiny from Moana was Lin Manuel Miranda trying to sound like Bowie...
That's actually how I started writing music. When I was little I tried playing Cyndi Lauper's "Good Enough" (from The Goonies) on my older brother's cheap duophonic keyboard. I changed up the rhythm, started deviating from the actual notes, basically let my hands start wandering. Eventually my brother went from trying to interrupt me with "The Goonies suck" to "that's not the theme from The Goonies" to "what exactly are you trying to play now" to "how are you doing that?" When I got a fancier keyboard (four note polyphony instead of my brothers' two note) I tried playing the theme to Top Gun (the NES rendition, specifically, as at the time I didn't even know the game was based on a movie). Once again my hands started wandering until it was nothing like Top Gun. Or anything my brother and I had heard on the radio, but he seemed to like it. Now I'm the organist for my church and I have to concentrate to keep from taking the hymn I'm playing and using it as a jumping off point for improv. Every Sunday there's a very real danger of the hymns turning into that scene from The Simpsons where the band is playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" while Lisa is doing her own thing. Imagine the congregation singing Sweet Hour of Prayer while I'm doing some weird syncopated thing on the organ transitioning into another key signature.
I was whistling a melody, wondering if I should record it and if it's even original, right before I clicked on the notification for this video and got an immediate answer: 0:00
I'm going to ignore the great content of the video in order to ask, referring to 3:35, when was the last time you used that pull-up bar in your kitchen doorway? I've always had the feeling that people get them, use them for a couple weeks, then after a few months of inducing shame, they eventually become invisible until eventually find their way to the Goodwill.
fudgesauce I have one. It's really just something to do when you walk through the doorway. Takes a few seconds, then you go on about your day. Maybe you do it a few times a day.
I enjoyed the Clarity arrangement, and this look into your creative process makes me enjoy it even more! I especially appreciate how you have been bringing your extensive arrangement skills to bear on lots of pop music. Refreshing anti-snobbery.
For those who found the idea of "originality" being merely a conglomeration of stolen ideas interesting, there is a fantastic book that backs up everything Mr. Neely here said. "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon is a phenomenal little book that talks about the "genealogy of ideas" and lots of other cool stuff. It's from a visual art standpoint, but really applies to ANYONE that does ANYTHING creative. Great book. And, as always, fantastic video Adam. Love your work, man.
Hey Adam! Question for your next Q&A. I'm a puerto rican trumpet player and I've noticed that many latin american musicians that play jazz struggle to "sound" like jazz musicians even though they use jazz vocabulary. It's kind of like if you hear me speaking english. I might use the language correctly but you'll easily notice I have a weird accent. I wanted to know your take on this. What constitutes the "jazz sound"? What can you do to improve this aspect? Thanks in advance
Sounds that people grew up with mainly, but also non musical influences play a huge part in how people emote with not just music and language, but also body language, and even social inclinations. What may be something seen as refined by one culture, can often be interpreted as repressed by another culture, and vice versa. What people feel is influenced in large part by the attitudes they grow up around, and any form of art is an expression of feelings. Basically it is their musical-accent. In my personal opinion though, the greatest difference in this case lies in the timing much more than in the phrasing. And a lot in dynamics and other subtle inflections as well.
I don't know if he's ever answered this question, but I think this is the most interesting question I've seen posted on a video. I'd love to know his take!
Spongebob: bouncy, major, diatonic theme Squidward: angular, chromatic, maybe minor, to sound grumpy Have their themes "argue" in the development. Voila, you have a spongebob sonata (maybe make it a double concerto as well, with clarinet playing squidwards theme and something loud like trumpet or oboe playing spongebob's).
Adam, I really like how you've ended up building a style and approach to your channel. We end up having recurring characters (like the Jazz maniac), the transitions are consistent, and even some inside jokes for regular watchers (like the synth and vocals comment). I really do think that the channel feels the most consistent and cohesive its ever been. Keep up the good work, this channel is great.
Adam Neely: the RUclips-Jazz-Zen-Master. The thing you are looking for doesn't exist. It is only the illusion you get from balancing what is already there. That said, I like Zen, and I think I learned a lot from this video. Thanks, man.
Wow Adam, great video. Got me thinking about ways that I maybe have been boring, or not thinking of "story" when laying out my musical ideas. Maybe your best video yet.
I would argue that if you can easily discern a new song by an artist with almost complete confidence simply by listening to the music, they have created a style of music that is 'original' - simply by definition. They have an original style. It can be the melodic structure, the particular arrangements and more obvious tings like the vocals or guitar sound. All combined into a unique sonic identity. Original doesn't have to mean every aspect of your sound has never been attempted before, that's probably not possible anymore. Every author uses the same letters and words, but that doesn't mean they can't be creative. It's what you do with the letters and words - the order in which they appear - that really defines you as an artist. I think music is this and more, since the palette is so abstract and varied, with many phrases, so many words possible at any given time. Most sonic moments are in fact completely unique on a technical level. This is why programs like Shazam are so effective. Music is an exciting art form for this reason. So many "moments" in music as truly original. Also - just because someone does something that someone else has done before, doesn't mean it was stolen. I think this happens all of the time in music, especially areas of musical composition that are less 'learned'. People independently recreate musical ideas all of the time. Anyhow great topic and brilliant as always!
I'd love to hear you talk more about orchestration, especially because of the way you use the video medium; it just makes me see the possibilities in ways that other books and videos on the subject haven't (except for your buddy, the dr.)
Narration happens a lot in electronic music. At least I think lol I wrote a dubstep song and used an anime fight as a structure for how the energy flows. I never knew it was a legitimately recognized musical technique. Thank you again for all your amazing knowledge and all that sweet luscious jazz
This was a great video Adam would you ever consider doing a video where you compose a small orchestral piece ? I know you've done videos where you compose for particular instruments and stuff but composing a small piece for a orchestra would be amazing cause a lot of my friends (and me) have wondered how composers give specific parts to particular instruments and stuff Thanks Great video!!
Yes, @Adam Neely, many composers and performers are looking for a font of inspiration, trying to innovate. That juicy, sweet lusciousness that is jazz is what a lot of us are here for. Thank you for the light hearted explanations :))
Once again, I came into this video thinking, "Whatever, another basic music production video." and once again I learned a lot and feel I ha e changed as a writer and producer. Thank you.
Thank you for poking a little fun at chord geeks. It is very tedious to listen to and doesn't really talk about writing actual songs that people want to listen to. The video here does a good job.
It’s 4am and I’m binge watching your vids, I just found your channel today. And I wanna skip laughing and go straight to tears every single time I hear the meme of jazz in your videos. Keep up the good work man
Amazing! We need more educators like you: great knowledge of theory and capacity to explain that in a logical/comprehensible way! I love you Adam (no homo)
I found this channel recently and binge-watching older videos. I recognized the lick and All Star right away, but what's Elaine? I'll be disappointed if Adam doesn't explain it in a later Q&A.
I've read quite a few pieces on this idea outside of music, and I didn't realize that my 'style' derives mainly from older rock with some influences from Strawberry girls, alt-j, and Iron and Wine, three of my favorite groups that are completely different. Thank you for bringing up how we naturally combine things we hear, even if we don't think that we do!
You really have no idea (or, maybe you do) how insanely great it is that you are giving us your entire education for free (I know, you're not, but you know what I'm saying). And you are a great teacher btw.
Adam Neely: teaching me stuff i barly understand about music so i can show of to people who don't understand a thing about music. Great work dude, keep it up!
I much enjoy your work Adam. I also have a benevolent and tentative yet thoughtful resistance to 2 of your suppositions. And they might be completely unrelated to the video, but it just got me thinking, and what better place to bring it up? 1)One example of music that has neither tension nor resolution (unless you manufacture it) but is perfectly wonderful is that of nature sounds. Although on a macro level, most people who pay attention to this music use it deliberately as a resolution to the tension inherent to life itself. But that proves that those 2 elements don't have to be contained in the music itself, and it is still debatable that either of the two is absolutely necessary to a good story. It may supply a certain type of satisfaction, but satisfaction doesn't have to be the purpose of music. Communication can be the purpose of music. I'm actually a bit tired of drama and story. I'd rather have something that just is, and stands alone. I could listen to just one chord, like looking at a lake glistening in the sun. What story is there? A cluster of sparkles, a wave, another wave. It hits the rocks. Whoa, conflict? lol No, it's just an event. Perceived in the right way? Beauty. Awe-inspiring. 2) I do think that there is "nothing new under the sun." However, I think there are original people walking around. Yes, it may all be elemental arranging that they do, but I believe the way that one arranges ideas and materials is a creative process which, if done for the first time in a new way, constitutes originality as best we can accomplish it. Your position seems to be similar to someone telling the inventor of the wheel that it's really not that impressive that they found something to make the transportation of objects much easier, simply because they used materials found in the natural world to make the wheel. And then I think Henry Ford and many others built on the ideas of the past with their added value of originality, and now we view cars as a necessity, filled with all the elements thought of by those who wanted to make them more functional in our lives. Same with music. I'd say Beethoven was original. With your reasoning, one cannot. After all, he used sonatas, he used pianofortes, heck, he used musical notation. He used notes, after all those people before him used notes! Unoriginal! haha Nah, I think if you have a hitherto undiscovered perspective on that which already exists, you are still being create-ive with what you have. Create means you originate something. Innovation is originality, even if it's built upon former originality. And that opens the door to paving your own road more than saying you have to rely on that which is already established. Yet, I tend to dislike covers. Much better to do something completely new, which means it's more authentic to the person communicating through the music. I guess it's hard to maintain the logic of a position that appreciates both authenticity and originality, but yet I tend to feel appreciation for both. I hope none of this sounds rude. I just enjoy thinking about these things with people who may understand them and say either yay or nay. I tend to enjoy having a different (hopefully original) opinion than most people. Feedback welcome.
IMO to add to what you said, extremes in composition are only justified if the mix can paint a very enthralling, emotional image. That cannot be done unless the 'tension and release' is taking form somehow. Otherwise they are just a proof of concept that not many is looking forward to when listening to music, much like the "fastest guitar player in the world" or the like. By the way I'm getting hooked real hard on that Charles Mingus recording. Never heard about the guy before (I'm not very familiar with jazz, rather when it's mixed into metal or rock). Great stuff, thanks for including it.
Dude, I'm 18 and just getting into jazz, but I've already dipped my toes into some more complex harmony and theory (nothing super special, your knowledge dwarfs it) and I wanted to tell you that your videos have me hooked on learning as much as possible. Hopefully I can learn as much as I can before (hopefully) going to college for this, so thanks for the videos!
Hi Adam! I'm watching this for the first time in 2020 so this may be buried and you may not see this unless you check the comments of your videos every once in a while when you eat ice cream on the sofa-- I've played guitar for a long time and studied pretty far into music theory and picked apart many songs and have written pretty rad original songs too! I've suffered from a kind of "one-hit-wonder" syndrome where one of my original songs got a pretty impressive (to me) amount of streams on a music platform. Since that success, I've had this weird anxiety, when creating, to "one-up" myself and make things within the /same realm/ as that little hit song of mine. Long story short- it's made songwriting an extremely difficult thing for me to wrap my head around naturally and calmly. I always feel like I'm scrambling to gather up all these elements and make some equation out of my many influences when I sit down to write... it's like I'm drowning in nebulous possibility and pressure to make things just as good or better than my /best/ song! In all, I just want to thank you for making so many of these informational and composer-validating videos. I'm glad I found your channel, there's bits of Clarity in every video I watch. Cheers mate!
I've been watching your show for a while now, and I'm loving that you're at the point where you can be self referential, and the jokes still land perfectly. ("pro tip", "black and white luscious jazz chords guy", etc.)
I listened to clarity on your spotify this morning, and that bass vocoder bit stuck with me all day. so glad I watched this video tonight, really really enjoyed those tracks
that was great adam. I personally always thought about that way in a sense. trying to get things from the songs you hear and like, applying them in different contexts in a subtle way can lead to 'new paths' to others, but only yourself will know from where you stole that idea.
Nice video, and even though I'm not saying anything new, from experience I can say that what you show in the video is very, very true, no matter what music you write. I wish the "young, arrogant me" would have seen this years ago when I started studying composition. I'd also add that in "contemporary classical music" many composers (famous or not) should revisit the concept of tension and release, that today is sometimes lost.
Hey Adam, I have a question for your Q&A: What are your thoughts on listening to podcasts/non-musical/verbal Audio (like your Q&As) while practicing repetitive musical exercises on your instruments that do not demand a lot of conscious efforts, but are rather there to "program" the fingerings/scale sounds/chords sounds into your fingers and "subconscious musical-haptic memory". Have you tried that yourself or do you have good reasoning why it would be bad to do? Regarding those exercises, I sometimes find it beneficiary to consciously distract your "first level of attention" away from what you play to get it faster into your musical memory. It is the effect where you realize you drifted away with your conscience from what you are playing for a couple of seconds (any amount of time, actually) but then afterwards you realize, you played everything very correct along the way and it didn't require any conscious effort. You produced it just out of the "expectation" to hear it. I myself think of that as the highest level of performance possible. Creating music on your instrument purely out of the almost incidental, casual expectation to perceive it, requiring no conscious effort. What is your take on this? Have you experienced what I described? Do you consider this while practicing yourself? I wonder if you could stretch that effect and with enough training get so intimate with your instrument that you can play whole solos, pieces or even concerts without conscious control in it, completely "letting go". Do you think, it is a rather common thing among high level musicians, especially in genres with improvisation? (If you wanted me to give an example, I would choose certain, repetitive, riff-based parts of Keith Jarretts famous Köln concert from 1975, where it is easy to imagine that he literally played himself (and sometimes the listener) into a kind of trance, not consciously controlling his play anymore, merely listening himself to what music his low level subconsciousness produces out of his current state of emotion. But I certainly don't want to reduce it to jazz or repetitive-motion based musical articulation, I think this effect can occur in any performance situation, improvisation or not improvisation, repetitive or non-repetitive.)
Hey, Adam (or anyone else reading this), I don't have a lot of formal training in music and I would like to get into music theory but I don't really know where to start. I'm not completely new to the subject: I mean I'm familiar with the major scale and it's different modes; I know how to construct the chords that fit a certain scale; and a couple other things here and there, mostly self taught. But honestly I don't exactly know how to apply these things to composition effectively. When I come up with melodies or progressions I mainly rely on improvising around chords and notes that are supposed to work well together (although I don't always stick to those). I think that part of the problem may be that I don't practice audiation very often and my relative ear is quite underdeveloped (not terrible, but not enough to figure out songs by ear effectively, for example). So, in a nutshell I really want to improve my understanding of music theory for compositional purposes mainly. Are there any intermediate books on the subject that I should check out?
I feel like this point (at 2:36) deserves more emphasis (I still believe in originality): "The specific elements that we might steal from our influences are meaningless on their own. It's the context that you give them, with something (like narrative structure) that gives them their meaning. This gives you the means to hopefully achieve that elusive originality."
The 2:11 chord is a Collier chord! That's his super-mega-Lydian whatever concept with all the color tones! Is that where you got the inspiration for that chord or just felt like playing something super out there?
I actually took the vocoded section differently after listening to it a few times - it's like your version of Clarity is a conversation between a couple on the verge of breakup or getting back together and he's on the telephone far away and the woman in right here at the point of narration. I think this concept fits even better now than I did than when I first saw it. If you listen to the lyrics it really fits. Anyway, cool video.
The example of your arrangement of "Clarity" is about CONSCIOUS, deliberate, stealing. When we compose music -- at least when I do -- the stealing is generally unconscious. And that's the fascinating part. All those things that are there, somewhere, in our musical baggage and come out unbeknownst to us. That strenghtens your point that nobody is original.
I think a good example of a band that uses tension with almost no resolution is The Paper Chase especially on the album Now You Are One Of Us. My opinion is the harmonic discordance of the music perfectly coexists with the narrative of schizophrenia, the supernatural, body horror and control that the album puts forth.
Creativity and "originality" is what it is...It is what you say and much much more. Generally speaking, originality in any endeavor is "as a consequence" of something actually unique about the person's physique or intellect. Artists tend to like art before they begin creating it and this tends to create goal posts and guidelines for the artist....What to paint and how to paint it, etc. But, mimicry is a clown's art form. To learn from an artist and then use that knowledge to create a new work is not stealing....unless you've learned nothing and used everything.
Good stuff Adam. Thanks for "clarifying" polytonals for me. I am sure that others have punned in a similar way... I am borrowing the pun to be original. But seriously, awesome input! Love your videos.
fantastic video, thank you so much for exploring/explaining this concept. This gives me a lot to chew on as I consider what to produce and how to produce it.
Hey Adam, just want to say, you have a new subscriber and patreon. I know you'll probably never read this, but I really appreciate the way you can take music and portray it in a very rational way. This really is an awesome way to approach it, so keep it up!
I really need to make a notebook of associations with how I see music... From the 'atonal and polyrhythmic' Stuff and stream of consciousness moments of negative space and seeming chaos to things more intentional than 'Get this out of my effing head.' Cause, I don't necessarily have synesthesia note per note as strongly, but with the CONTEXT of what those notes or, really, just, pitches/rhythms etc ... To the point of getting mental scenes and visuals which inspired stories and... Very vivid scenes have still survived synaptic pruning as far as I can tell. Depression is the worst enemy, it seems, of my synesthesia and sense of character and theme in relation to riff or lick or moment or counter moment or etc. Good vid. Needed more motivation to keep following theory despite my music rising out of that subconscious stream of its own version of music... Well... Resolving these things is the dream in mastering my craft. And that's the story of why I want an additive, Buchla inspired oscillator for my synth and am a chiptune and pedal dork hahaha
"If you steal from one source, it's theft. If you steal from many sources, it's research" -Guthrie Govan
Again, relates to Tom Lehrer:
"Plagiarize!
Let no one else's work evade your eyes!
Remember why the Good Lord made your eyes,
So don't shade your eyes,
But plagiarize! Plagiarize! Plagiarize, but be sure always to call it, please,
'Research.'"
the Lobachevsky Song
link ?
@@shadowx2750 ruclips.net/video/9-0GCL3VpjQ/видео.html
Look, Adam, we're onto you. It worked for a while, but by now everyone on the forums knows that the other guy is just you in a grey room wearing a black-and-white costume.
These crazy conspiracy theorists.
"The forums" thats so zach hadel lmao
fake news
Adam Neely SAD.
But the other guy has a beard and asks questions!
As Stravinsky said, "Lesser Artists Borrow, Greater Artists Steal"
Which apparently he stole from Picasso. Who probably didn't originate it either.
T.S. Eliot said it, too, didn't he? Huh. Proves his point, doesn't it?
I'm going to steal that saying, which will make me great.
You might be stoned, but you'll never be 'Adam Neely at 17 with fries in his nose stoned'.
Or be so bad at trying to copy other people's music that your own music actually comes out sounding fantastically original.
+Not Right Music always a possibility!
This is my life.
Mac Demarco says that's how he started out in music. It's about 7:15 in this vid v=s3YjvtjozCk
Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen trying to sing like Roy Orbison. To Love Somebody was the BeeGees trying to sound like Otis Redding. Shiny from Moana was Lin Manuel Miranda trying to sound like Bowie...
That's actually how I started writing music. When I was little I tried playing Cyndi Lauper's "Good Enough" (from The Goonies) on my older brother's cheap duophonic keyboard. I changed up the rhythm, started deviating from the actual notes, basically let my hands start wandering. Eventually my brother went from trying to interrupt me with "The Goonies suck" to "that's not the theme from The Goonies" to "what exactly are you trying to play now" to "how are you doing that?"
When I got a fancier keyboard (four note polyphony instead of my brothers' two note) I tried playing the theme to Top Gun (the NES rendition, specifically, as at the time I didn't even know the game was based on a movie). Once again my hands started wandering until it was nothing like Top Gun. Or anything my brother and I had heard on the radio, but he seemed to like it.
Now I'm the organist for my church and I have to concentrate to keep from taking the hymn I'm playing and using it as a jumping off point for improv. Every Sunday there's a very real danger of the hymns turning into that scene from The Simpsons where the band is playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" while Lisa is doing her own thing. Imagine the congregation singing Sweet Hour of Prayer while I'm doing some weird syncopated thing on the organ transitioning into another key signature.
That Clarity with all those triple poly chords was actually pretty awesome.
People in the comments see stuff like a pull up bar in the kitchen, or a C clef actually being used. I saw fries up Adam's nose. Today was a good day.
I'm with you, pull-up bars and C-clefs are used all the time, putting fries up your nose is a little bit more special.
alto clef fan here /sheepishly walks away/
Ew, C clefs
(This is a joke... coming from a violinist, so not really...)
I was whistling a melody, wondering if I should record it and if it's even original, right before I clicked on the notification for this video and got an immediate answer: 0:00
I actually love the version with only triple polychords unironically.
I'm going to ignore the great content of the video in order to ask, referring to 3:35, when was the last time you used that pull-up bar in your kitchen doorway? I've always had the feeling that people get them, use them for a couple weeks, then after a few months of inducing shame, they eventually become invisible until eventually find their way to the Goodwill.
He's a musician, I'm guessing it belongs to a room mate ;)
You miss the entire point of the pull up bar. Its aim is not physical exertion. Rather, the pull up bar balances the abstract musical bar.
fudgesauce I have one. It's really just something to do when you walk through the doorway. Takes a few seconds, then you go on about your day. Maybe you do it a few times a day.
It's actually just a pickup bar.
A musician walks into a bar...
I enjoyed the Clarity arrangement, and this look into your creative process makes me enjoy it even more! I especially appreciate how you have been bringing your extensive arrangement skills to bear on lots of pop music. Refreshing anti-snobbery.
For those who found the idea of "originality" being merely a conglomeration of stolen ideas interesting, there is a fantastic book that backs up everything Mr. Neely here said. "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon is a phenomenal little book that talks about the "genealogy of ideas" and lots of other cool stuff. It's from a visual art standpoint, but really applies to ANYONE that does ANYTHING creative. Great book. And, as always, fantastic video Adam. Love your work, man.
I WANT 5:47 TO BE A FULL VERSION! SOUNDS SO DENSE AND ALIENATING!
Hey Adam! Question for your next Q&A.
I'm a puerto rican trumpet player and I've noticed that many latin american musicians that play jazz struggle to "sound" like jazz musicians even though they use jazz vocabulary. It's kind of like if you hear me speaking english. I might use the language correctly but you'll easily notice I have a weird accent. I wanted to know your take on this. What constitutes the "jazz sound"? What can you do to improve this aspect?
Thanks in advance
Yess!! I have the same question. Please Adam answer us! Thanks..!!!
+Antonio Rivera Torres I'll be damned, this question is on point! That was a thing I was wondering too! Would be great if he could answer it.
Sounds that people grew up with mainly, but also non musical influences play a huge part in how people emote with not just music and language, but also body language, and even social inclinations. What may be something seen as refined by one culture, can often be interpreted as repressed by another culture, and vice versa. What people feel is influenced in large part by the attitudes they grow up around, and any form of art is an expression of feelings.
Basically it is their musical-accent. In my personal opinion though, the greatest difference in this case lies in the timing much more than in the phrasing. And a lot in dynamics and other subtle inflections as well.
I don't know if he's ever answered this question, but I think this is the most interesting question I've seen posted on a video. I'd love to know his take!
Omfg I really need "The Drop" at 6:20, you cruel piece of bass.
That video opened my eyes again.
Please never stop.
But Adam, how does Elemental Arranging work with 432hz?
no
Cool profile pic
It doesn't.
terrorblades is that A at that or Ab? Or G#? Mean tone tuning? Or just intonation?
SHUT UP WITH THAT POLYTHEORY CRAP. I WANT TO KNOW HOW MUSIC CAN BE SQUIDWARD!
Spongebob: bouncy, major, diatonic theme
Squidward: angular, chromatic, maybe minor, to sound grumpy
Have their themes "argue" in the development.
Voila, you have a spongebob sonata (maybe make it a double concerto as well, with clarinet playing squidwards theme and something loud like trumpet or oboe playing spongebob's).
Mike Simpson please make this
Mike Simpson SpongeBobs instrument should be a piccolo or a musette (piccolo oboe) because of SpongeBob's nose whistle in the title sequence
what about Patrick though? C Major on a tuba, because it's happy, simple and lazy.
Mike Simpson .This is amazing! Somebody needs to bring this idea to fruition!
Adam, I really like how you've ended up building a style and approach to your channel. We end up having recurring characters (like the Jazz maniac), the transitions are consistent, and even some inside jokes for regular watchers (like the synth and vocals comment). I really do think that the channel feels the most consistent and cohesive its ever been. Keep up the good work, this channel is great.
Oh man, the fact that you reused that PROTIP comment at 5:30 gave me life
Oddly enough, i discovered your channel and this video when i was 17 and i been kept hooked whit harmony ever since.
"chords can be spongebob"
-adam neely of adam neely's bass lessons
Adam Neely: the RUclips-Jazz-Zen-Master.
The thing you are looking for doesn't exist. It is only the illusion you get from balancing what is already there.
That said, I like Zen, and I think I learned a lot from this video. Thanks, man.
For someone often struggling with composition and ideas, like myself, this is such a great insightful post.
Wow Adam, great video. Got me thinking about ways that I maybe have been boring, or not thinking of "story" when laying out my musical ideas. Maybe your best video yet.
I've had the Twentieth Century Harmony Book 40 years and I still haven't scratched the surface of it's intriguing information...
This video is pure gold!
Sometimes, I feel like you're talking directly to/about me and I love that. Thank you so much for this channel, and for teaching me music theory.
Adam, could you do a video talking the music theory behind pirate sea shanties?
He did it
I would argue that if you can easily discern a new song by an artist with almost complete confidence simply by listening to the music, they have created a style of music that is 'original' - simply by definition. They have an original style. It can be the melodic structure, the particular arrangements and more obvious tings like the vocals or guitar sound. All combined into a unique sonic identity.
Original doesn't have to mean every aspect of your sound has never been attempted before, that's probably not possible anymore. Every author uses the same letters and words, but that doesn't mean they can't be creative. It's what you do with the letters and words - the order in which they appear - that really defines you as an artist. I think music is this and more, since the palette is so abstract and varied, with many phrases, so many words possible at any given time. Most sonic moments are in fact completely unique on a technical level. This is why programs like Shazam are so effective. Music is an exciting art form for this reason. So many "moments" in music as truly original.
Also - just because someone does something that someone else has done before, doesn't mean it was stolen. I think this happens all of the time in music, especially areas of musical composition that are less 'learned'. People independently recreate musical ideas all of the time.
Anyhow great topic and brilliant as always!
I'd love to hear you talk more about orchestration, especially because of the way you use the video medium; it just makes me see the possibilities in ways that other books and videos on the subject haven't (except for your buddy, the dr.)
Those polychords are black metal as fuck. I think that sort of melody would work great on a guitar...
Dunno about guitar, but I can tell you on synth strings they can set a piece on fire ;D
"PROTIP: Make sure the synth and the vocals are in the SAME KEY!" Is my new favorite meme
Narration happens a lot in electronic music. At least I think lol I wrote a dubstep song and used an anime fight as a structure for how the energy flows. I never knew it was a legitimately recognized musical technique. Thank you again for all your amazing knowledge and all that sweet luscious jazz
Yeah. This actually might have been your best video yet. Or at least the most relevant for me. Thanks for doing this.
This was a great video
Adam would you ever consider doing a video where you compose a small orchestral piece ? I know you've done videos where you compose for particular instruments and stuff but composing a small piece for a orchestra would be amazing cause a lot of my friends (and me) have wondered how composers give specific parts to particular instruments and stuff
Thanks
Great video!!
vinayak sehgal Try the youtube channel Orchestration Online
Rimsky Korsakov has a great book on orchestration
Yes, @Adam Neely, many composers and performers are looking for a font of inspiration, trying to innovate. That juicy, sweet lusciousness that is jazz is what a lot of us are here for. Thank you for the light hearted explanations :))
Once again, I came into this video thinking, "Whatever, another basic music production video." and once again I learned a lot and feel I ha e changed as a writer and producer. Thank you.
Thank you for poking a little fun at chord geeks. It is very tedious to listen to and doesn't really talk about writing actual songs that people want to listen to. The video here does a good job.
The best video in the internet explaining the creative process and the art of composing/arranging!
I love the pro tip about the synths and vocals in the same key. The nod to Sister Rosetta was nice.
Here is an idea: Adam Neely is a postmodernist composer
It’s 4am and I’m binge watching your vids, I just found your channel today. And I wanna skip laughing and go straight to tears every single time I hear the meme of jazz in your videos. Keep up the good work man
Amazing! We need more educators like you: great knowledge of theory and capacity to explain that in a logical/comprehensible way! I love you Adam (no homo)
Pinn Panelle deserve so much more credit than they have, it's good to see their reach is so big!
You're videos get better with every upload. Great job mate
1:59 The character in the middle is the lick
Just thought you all wanted to know
the one on the right is all star
George is "The Lick" and Jerry Seinfeld is "All Star". What's Elaine supposed to be?
I found this channel recently and binge-watching older videos. I recognized the lick and All Star right away, but what's Elaine? I'll be disappointed if Adam doesn't explain it in a later Q&A.
This may be my favourite video of yours to date. There is so much in that to internalise and try to apply. Thank you Adam, love your work.
I've read quite a few pieces on this idea outside of music, and I didn't realize that my 'style' derives mainly from older rock with some influences from Strawberry girls, alt-j, and Iron and Wine, three of my favorite groups that are completely different. Thank you for bringing up how we naturally combine things we hear, even if we don't think that we do!
I learned about so many new artists just from this video alone
You really have no idea (or, maybe you do) how insanely great it is that you are giving us your entire education for free (I know, you're not, but you know what I'm saying). And you are a great teacher btw.
Adam Neely: teaching me stuff i barly understand about music so i can show of to people who don't understand a thing about music. Great work dude, keep it up!
I love your version of clarity man.
I much enjoy your work Adam. I also have a benevolent and tentative yet thoughtful resistance to 2 of your suppositions. And they might be completely unrelated to the video, but it just got me thinking, and what better place to bring it up?
1)One example of music that has neither tension nor resolution (unless you manufacture it) but is perfectly wonderful is that of nature sounds. Although on a macro level, most people who pay attention to this music use it deliberately as a resolution to the tension inherent to life itself. But that proves that those 2 elements don't have to be contained in the music itself, and it is still debatable that either of the two is absolutely necessary to a good story. It may supply a certain type of satisfaction, but satisfaction doesn't have to be the purpose of music. Communication can be the purpose of music. I'm actually a bit tired of drama and story. I'd rather have something that just is, and stands alone. I could listen to just one chord, like looking at a lake glistening in the sun. What story is there? A cluster of sparkles, a wave, another wave. It hits the rocks. Whoa, conflict? lol No, it's just an event. Perceived in the right way? Beauty. Awe-inspiring.
2) I do think that there is "nothing new under the sun." However, I think there are original people walking around. Yes, it may all be elemental arranging that they do, but I believe the way that one arranges ideas and materials is a creative process which, if done for the first time in a new way, constitutes originality as best we can accomplish it. Your position seems to be similar to someone telling the inventor of the wheel that it's really not that impressive that they found something to make the transportation of objects much easier, simply because they used materials found in the natural world to make the wheel. And then I think Henry Ford and many others built on the ideas of the past with their added value of originality, and now we view cars as a necessity, filled with all the elements thought of by those who wanted to make them more functional in our lives. Same with music. I'd say Beethoven was original. With your reasoning, one cannot. After all, he used sonatas, he used pianofortes, heck, he used musical notation. He used notes, after all those people before him used notes! Unoriginal! haha Nah, I think if you have a hitherto undiscovered perspective on that which already exists, you are still being create-ive with what you have. Create means you originate something. Innovation is originality, even if it's built upon former originality. And that opens the door to paving your own road more than saying you have to rely on that which is already established. Yet, I tend to dislike covers. Much better to do something completely new, which means it's more authentic to the person communicating through the music. I guess it's hard to maintain the logic of a position that appreciates both authenticity and originality, but yet I tend to feel appreciation for both. I hope none of this sounds rude. I just enjoy thinking about these things with people who may understand them and say either yay or nay. I tend to enjoy having a different (hopefully original) opinion than most people. Feedback welcome.
Inside//Outside is awesome!
IMO to add to what you said, extremes in composition are only justified if the mix can paint a very enthralling, emotional image. That cannot be done unless the 'tension and release' is taking form somehow. Otherwise they are just a proof of concept that not many is looking forward to when listening to music, much like the "fastest guitar player in the world" or the like.
By the way I'm getting hooked real hard on that Charles Mingus recording. Never heard about the guy before (I'm not very familiar with jazz, rather when it's mixed into metal or rock). Great stuff, thanks for including it.
Dude, I'm 18 and just getting into jazz, but I've already dipped my toes into some more complex harmony and theory (nothing super special, your knowledge dwarfs it) and I wanted to tell you that your videos have me hooked on learning as much as possible. Hopefully I can learn as much as I can before (hopefully) going to college for this, so thanks for the videos!
Thank you Adam, simply thank you!
Hi Adam! I'm watching this for the first time in 2020 so this may be buried and you may not see this unless you check the comments of your videos every once in a while when you eat ice cream on the sofa-- I've played guitar for a long time and studied pretty far into music theory and picked apart many songs and have written pretty rad original songs too! I've suffered from a kind of "one-hit-wonder" syndrome where one of my original songs got a pretty impressive (to me) amount of streams on a music platform. Since that success, I've had this weird anxiety, when creating, to "one-up" myself and make things within the /same realm/ as that little hit song of mine. Long story short- it's made songwriting an extremely difficult thing for me to wrap my head around naturally and calmly. I always feel like I'm scrambling to gather up all these elements and make some equation out of my many influences when I sit down to write... it's like I'm drowning in nebulous possibility and pressure to make things just as good or better than my /best/ song! In all, I just want to thank you for making so many of these informational and composer-validating videos. I'm glad I found your channel, there's bits of Clarity in every video I watch. Cheers mate!
Holy sh... that was like five books worth of information/inspiration in less than nine minutes. Thanks a lot for this great presentation!
5:08! Really loved that part. kappa
I've been watching your show for a while now, and I'm loving that you're at the point where you can be self referential, and the jokes still land perfectly. ("pro tip", "black and white luscious jazz chords guy", etc.)
i like to arrange my elements
hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen carbon carbon oxygen hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen
wait no that should be hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen carbon carbon hydrogen hydrogen oxygen hydrogen
nerd
sweet sweet ethanol (don't be too hard on me, I haven't studied chemistry in over 2 years)
Lol ethanol
Photon 666 b
I listened to clarity on your spotify this morning, and that bass vocoder bit stuck with me all day.
so glad I watched this video tonight, really really enjoyed those tracks
that was great adam. I personally always thought about that way in a sense. trying to get things from the songs you hear and like, applying them in different contexts in a subtle way can lead to 'new paths' to others, but only yourself will know from where you stole that idea.
So much great information. I feel like such a smarter musician after I watch your videos.
This is actually one of the most inspiring videos I've ever watched.
Logical and enjoyable follow up! Thanks for continuing to illuminate the process!
Dude, this is a great video. Goes down in the top five.
Thanks Adam, this is great not only for composing but also for improvising a solo!
I really appreciate your videos Adam. Thank you.
Nice video, and even though I'm not saying anything new, from experience I can say that what you show in the video is very, very true, no matter what music you write. I wish the "young, arrogant me" would have seen this years ago when I started studying composition. I'd also add that in "contemporary classical music" many composers (famous or not) should revisit the concept of tension and release, that today is sometimes lost.
Hey Adam, I have a question for your Q&A:
What are your thoughts on listening to podcasts/non-musical/verbal Audio (like your Q&As) while practicing repetitive musical exercises on your instruments that do not demand a lot of conscious efforts, but are rather there to "program" the fingerings/scale sounds/chords sounds into your fingers and "subconscious musical-haptic memory". Have you tried that yourself or do you have good reasoning why it would be bad to do?
Regarding those exercises, I sometimes find it beneficiary to consciously distract your "first level of attention" away from what you play to get it faster into your musical memory. It is the effect where you realize you drifted away with your conscience from what you are playing for a couple of seconds (any amount of time, actually) but then afterwards you realize, you played everything very correct along the way and it didn't require any conscious effort. You produced it just out of the "expectation" to hear it.
I myself think of that as the highest level of performance possible. Creating music on your instrument purely out of the almost incidental, casual expectation to perceive it, requiring no conscious effort.
What is your take on this? Have you experienced what I described? Do you consider this while practicing yourself? I wonder if you could stretch that effect and with enough training get so intimate with your instrument that you can play whole solos, pieces or even concerts without conscious control in it, completely "letting go". Do you think, it is a rather common thing among high level musicians, especially in genres with improvisation?
(If you wanted me to give an example, I would choose certain, repetitive, riff-based parts of Keith Jarretts famous Köln concert from 1975, where it is easy to imagine that he literally played himself (and sometimes the listener) into a kind of trance, not consciously controlling his play anymore, merely listening himself to what music his low level subconsciousness produces out of his current state of emotion. But I certainly don't want to reduce it to jazz or repetitive-motion based musical articulation, I think this effect can occur in any performance situation, improvisation or not improvisation, repetitive or non-repetitive.)
Hey, Adam (or anyone else reading this), I don't have a lot of formal training in music and I would like to get into music theory but I don't really know where to start. I'm not completely new to the subject: I mean I'm familiar with the major scale and it's different modes; I know how to construct the chords that fit a certain scale; and a couple other things here and there, mostly self taught. But honestly I don't exactly know how to apply these things to composition effectively. When I come up with melodies or progressions I mainly rely on improvising around chords and notes that are supposed to work well together (although I don't always stick to those). I think that part of the problem may be that I don't practice audiation very often and my relative ear is quite underdeveloped (not terrible, but not enough to figure out songs by ear effectively, for example).
So, in a nutshell I really want to improve my understanding of music theory for compositional purposes mainly. Are there any intermediate books on the subject that I should check out?
How can i send you a musescore doc for your next "How to not suck at music"? (if you are making another)
Maybe screen capture the doc being played on your screen?
snowsurfer 251 you can convert your doc into midi
@@hallowedtwilight4571 Just use .musicxml
Can be opened in MuseScore, Sibelius, and Finale.
Yay, new Adam Neely video!
3:34 Mad cheeky transition into part 2 of the essay, much appreciated!
I don't think your compositions like this are going to stand the test of time.
I love the way you explain it with Star wars 👌
I feel like this point (at 2:36) deserves more emphasis (I still believe in originality): "The specific elements that we might steal from our influences are meaningless on their own. It's the context that you give them, with something (like narrative structure) that gives them their meaning. This gives you the means to hopefully achieve that elusive originality."
This is literally the greatest music channel on youtube. Holy shit.
The 2:11 chord is a Collier chord! That's his super-mega-Lydian whatever concept with all the color tones! Is that where you got the inspiration for that chord or just felt like playing something super out there?
Oh sorry didn't watch far enough to see your inspiration 😬
Not really. Adam's chord is actually a E13#11/D ( D E G# B F# A" C#) while Collier's chord is a Emaj7#11#15 (E G# B D# F# A# C# E#/F)
I actually took the vocoded section differently after listening to it a few times - it's like your version of Clarity is a conversation between a couple on the verge of breakup or getting back together and he's on the telephone far away and the woman in right here at the point of narration. I think this concept fits even better now than I did than when I first saw it. If you listen to the lyrics it really fits. Anyway, cool video.
I agree with you on the originality of things. I was amazed by Hallan Holdsworth on this.
The example of your arrangement of "Clarity" is about CONSCIOUS, deliberate, stealing. When we compose music -- at least when I do -- the stealing is generally unconscious. And that's the fascinating part. All those things that are there, somewhere, in our musical baggage and come out unbeknownst to us. That strenghtens your point that nobody is original.
Very useful, Adam! Love, love it!
Thanks for given me some clarity , about composing
Seriously, the intensity in the "noir student character" is spot fucking on haha
Awesome!
Thanks, Adam!
This is just so incredibly interesting
I think a good example of a band that uses tension with almost no resolution is The Paper Chase especially on the album Now You Are One Of Us. My opinion is the harmonic discordance of the music perfectly coexists with the narrative of schizophrenia, the supernatural, body horror and control that the album puts forth.
however i feels like that Sax solo at 2:35 before the drop is even more mind-blowing
Finally just subscribed after watching all of your bass lessons. SO GOOD
Creativity and "originality" is what it is...It is what you say and much much more. Generally speaking, originality in any endeavor is "as a consequence" of something actually unique about the person's physique or intellect.
Artists tend to like art before they begin creating it and this tends to create goal posts and guidelines for the artist....What to paint and how to paint it, etc. But, mimicry is a clown's art form. To learn from an artist and then use that knowledge to create a new work is not stealing....unless you've learned nothing and used everything.
Spoilers for star wars in this one guys.
It's like poetry, it rhymes
Good stuff Adam. Thanks for "clarifying" polytonals for me. I am sure that others have punned in a similar way... I am borrowing the pun to be original. But seriously, awesome input! Love your videos.
I really appreciate that the video follows kind of the same 3 acts as the music should do in McNeelys theory.
fantastic video, thank you so much for exploring/explaining this concept. This gives me a lot to chew on as I consider what to produce and how to produce it.
Hey Adam, just want to say, you have a new subscriber and patreon. I know you'll probably never read this, but I really appreciate the way you can take music and portray it in a very rational way. This really is an awesome way to approach it, so keep it up!
I really need to make a notebook of associations with how I see music... From the 'atonal and polyrhythmic' Stuff and stream of consciousness moments of negative space and seeming chaos to things more intentional than 'Get this out of my effing head.'
Cause, I don't necessarily have synesthesia note per note as strongly, but with the CONTEXT of what those notes or, really, just, pitches/rhythms etc ... To the point of getting mental scenes and visuals which inspired stories and... Very vivid scenes have still survived synaptic pruning as far as I can tell. Depression is the worst enemy, it seems, of my synesthesia and sense of character and theme in relation to riff or lick or moment or counter moment or etc.
Good vid. Needed more motivation to keep following theory despite my music rising out of that subconscious stream of its own version of music... Well... Resolving these things is the dream in mastering my craft.
And that's the story of why I want an additive, Buchla inspired oscillator for my synth and am a chiptune and pedal dork hahaha