@Robert Douglas Neutral density cuts light. It typically doesn't shift light color, or it shouldn't at least. You use ND's to bring the light coming into the camera so you can set your f stop to taste while keeping your shutter speed 180 degrees.
The reason for the "green screen illusion" is the lighting temperature mixture. Your key light is daylight ( over 5000 kelvin) while your practical lights are very warm. It's common and not that big of a deal. I am a videographer and do not find it distracting. I can help you blend the lighting in a more balanced way if you desire, but if I was you, I wouldn't worry about it. You are an inspiration for your passion and insight for music, not your skills with a camera. And that is okay!!!
+1000. LED can be horrible in terms of colour output, as can compact fluorescent, and it's a bad idea to use mismatched lighting fixtures. For bumping up a subject on location, just use a tungsten-halogen GU10 desk lamp. Or since you lot are from Hollywood, just get some old tungsten spotlight.
8:00 is the bane of my existence as a media/library composer. Then @ 8:56 Rick hits it on the nail for me. I haven't been able to complete a "song" in 30 years. Then again, if I had the playing skills of Rick I would probably have never gotten into media work :)
@Robert Douglas yep, I'm that guy. Without a doubt, the thousands of tracks that I've written for music libraries over the course of my career overall numbed My overall creativity.
The boomer bending comes from the blues influence of rock and roll. Stuff like Polyphia is less influenced by that and more electronica and modern prog rock.
The ability to bend notes is one reason, along with vibrato, I like playing guitar more than piano. It adds a whole dimension of expressivity, and the "in-between" notes it creates have been a part of music of many cultures for thousands of years.
I know a very good pianist who told me something similar, she basically said there are like 10 ways to play any given note on guitar, but the options on piano are basically limited to how hard you hit any note.
Completely agree. Bends and vibratos add extra spice to your playing. It took me 15 years to get my vibrato the way I want but now I'm extremely happy with it. It's also has to do with your pickups. The Seymour Duncan invader on my schecter omen 6 sounds amazing with bends it's extremely bold and solid. The custom pickup on my synyster gates custom ironically doesn't sound as solid and I spent over $1,300 on it.
I play both keyboard and guitar, and agree pretty much on that front. However, if ya' dig bending notes, and want to screw around with keyboard-style instruments with the ability to bend notes without manual tuning, I suggest getting a synthesizer keyboard with a pitch wheel. Recently, I got an old (1990's) Yamaha PSR-48 preset keyboard from some dude off of Craigslist, which I got it specifically for the pitch wheel, and I miss not being able to use a pitch wheel whenever I screw around with my PSR-36 preset-synthesizer. Using a pitch-wheel also gives a bunch of other options for experimenting and messing around. Whenever I improvise solos with my Yamaha PSR-48 for instance, I often use the pitch wheel for everything from simple blue note bends, to aggressive whammy-bar style flailing, to experimenting with moving the pitch-wheel between normally tuned notes and playing brief flurries of microtonal melodic playing alongside my more normal, but still often chromatic lines. TLDR: Oldschool pitch-wheels are f'in rad.
It looks like a green screen because of the cold lighting you shine on yourselves. It contrasts harshly with the warm lighting in the background and gives an odd impression. Plus it's an expensive stack of equipment most just dream of, it's borderline unbelievable.
Hello Rick: Rhett is completely correct when he said that if music is good people will still connect with it. A few weeks ago, I got Frank Sinatra's cd "In the Wee Small Hours", and it's incredibly good.
I agree, Ian. In the Wee Small Hours is excellent, along with a lot of the other Sinatra albums of the '50s. Just great jazz standards performed superbly.
@@ursula3438 Hello Ursula: Listening to Sinatra sing, I'm reminded of Fred Astaire's famous saying, "If you look like you are working hard, then you are not working hard enough." Sinatra makes it sound so effortless, when you know that it's incredibly hard to sing like that.
It’s true, he has been a music producer for so long, and he has mastered video production as well. ALWAYS great lighting, great sound quality, etc…Like any good recording, nothing ever gets lost in the mix!!
True it is well lit but I wonder if it could be better balanced somehow. Not that Rick should change anything - it's fine. But if the constant questions are annoying then I suppose I would recommend a change in the color of the lighting perhaps?
@@Chris-MusicTheoryAndFretboard Nah!!!! You can’t guide your life by other people’s questions! You can’t please everyone, so you gotta please yourself, (Ricky Nelson).
@@Geezer-yf8hv I agree. But sometimes it's good to be open to feedback. There's nothing wrong with changing something that's just aesthetic and small without giving up your core values.
It's because the lighting in the background is warm and the key lighting on their faces is cooler, closer to daylight. Both being well-lit creates a stark separation between foreground and background. Using a wider aperture or longer lens on the camera would help separate it.
Saw a documentary with an Egyptologist showing a tablet they’d found. Translating the hieroglyphs discovered it was a complaint letter to the Government in Egypt 4000 years ago saying: ”Things are all wrong, things were better in the olden days”.
my favourite thing about Remember That You Will Die is how they never bend a single note on ego death, and then just about every note in steve vai's part is bent
Andy Partridge called the blues lick where you bend a B string and pluck the corresponding fretted (high) E the "Ernie" sound. As in ERR-NIE, ERR-NIE, ERR-NIE..
Speaking of multi tracks, It's neat how hearing old multi tracks recorded with so much noise, hum, sloppy playing, abrupt cuts make up our favorite songs. like Space Oddity, with the stylophone and guitar on one track, it sounds so primitive, but the mix is incredible.
Really makes you think how much we overthink every small thing like slight fret buzzes or bass rattles when playing with headphones and how they wouldn't even be noticeable in a mix
I’m Gen X, but boomer bends hit a little too close to my A minor pentatonic home for comfort. I’ll fire back by saying I’m all set with these tiktok guitarists and their “headache arpeggios.” I kid, it’s all good. As Frank Zappa said, “Bestow Peace Upon One Another and Play Yer Guitar.”
Hello Rick: Thank you very much for mentioning Rory Gallagher. I saw him play in the mid-1970's and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Keep up the good work.
Keep doing videos with Dave and Rhett! I can't get together with my friends right now to bullshit about guitar and music so this is the next best thing. Keep it up!
He’s right about people today having an advantage when it comes to access of information but that can also be the most overwhelming and discouraging part of trying to learn when all you see is how much you still have to learn and many people have already done it so much incredibly well
"Boomer bends" were invented by pre-boomer blues guitarists as an imitation of blues singers. Some great post-boomer guitarists, like Chris Buck, have rejuvenated and developed boomer bends - and other classic riffs and techniques - to enhance and humanize their playing. Just another technique which can be used or abused depending on the musicality of the player.
I think you missed the joke/point. It's the kind of bend a player will do that misses the mark for the note they are aiming for. It's usually painful to listen to. I think some 'alternative' guitarists of the 90s brought them back in a deliberate 'ironic' or deliberately dissonant kind of way; I think that's different from the 'boomer bend', a humourous way of identifying folks who are trying to play like those who *can* bend (usually the Claptons etc of the Boomer era), but haven't put in the work to 'get there' in tune.
Rick, I've liked almost all of your videos, and I've watched a boatload of them now, but I very rarely laughed out loud through the whole thing. Until today. I really enjoy watching the 3 of you interact, and I appreciate the knowledge base that each of you brings to the table. Thank you for making this one.
great video. I've always felt that if someone says "there's no good music made today" that they are just lazy or not that interested in finding new music.
Took me years to have my son interested in the ''boomer bends'' and the likes (Trower,Knopfler,Gilmour,Beck etc..).He is a tech death metal lead guitarist.He gets it.
i’d love to hear Rick talk about the band Brainiac once. they’re like a lost gem, inspiration for Mars Volta and the Breeders, but they used such weird chords.
@@BobKissinger all amazing bands. I was pretty shocked to hear Rick mention Superchunk in a video the other day. He's got a vast knowledge of all music.
I can't truly express how much I LOVE the WMTSG series!!! I know that they are not ad-friendly, but they really help bring to light all the minute details that normally just go under the radar or are overlooked. Cheers!!!!
I really appreciate you Rick. You're an amazing person, musician, and teacher. You're an inspiration. I thank God that you're out here with a brain, a heart and a soul.
Since it came up I have to say that this room is beautiful. The floor, the lighting and of course the gear. I'm not a boomer but I love the old school wood aesthetic. I also think those rooms sound better.
As a boomer who isn't yet qualified to bend yet I'm particularly grateful for having access to the best and most diverse teachers around the world who can all come into my home via the internet and inform and instruct my playing. When I was in high school and thought about learning guitar there was the one teacher in the area that all my friends went to and inadvertently created a whole bunch of clones - thankfully for the area he was pretty good but as a 58 year old learning finally to play - I'm loving the diversity and tapping into the best of the world.
I say that all the time. When I was a kid I couldn't find the resources to learn properly and gave it up after a few years in my teens. Decades later I picked it back up during quarantine, and with the help of RUclips teachers and backing tracks, I've progressed much farther in the last year, than five years of my youth. Plus, between Harley Benton, Monoprice, Donner, etc., decent guitars and gear have never been cheaper.
Rick, it’s the white hair….and how your hair is brightly lit, against the darkly lit background. That’s what makes you stand out so much from the background that it looks like a blue screen. At least I’m glad to finally know the background is real… :)
I love your deep dives, but I also love those top 10, contemporary music lists for the exact reason you listed. You’re going into the trenches for me, and I really appreciate it! I’ve actually found a few new artists that I now follow from those videos, so thank you.
I played guitar for about 7 years as a kid. I played in bands that actually earned money on stage. I was very mediocre and didn't really know how to improve. I put the guitar down after uni and it stayed in its case for nearly 20 years. Lockdown came and I popped it out of its case. Then I discovered the modern DAW, the power of digital pedal platforms like helix and a plethora of AMAZING content on youtube to show you every aspect of everything you could ever need and more (Adam Neely, Signals Studio, Rick Beato, Paul Davids and more). Even being able to watch a hi-def camera shot of how an expert holds their hand/pick is an underrated opportunity. There has NEVER been a better time for someone with a desire and the dedication to become an expert musician.
Not gonna lie, still feeling blue-balled about the “lost mode” upload that quickly went private. WHAT IS THE LOST MODE, FATHER? TEACH ME THE UNNATURAL WAYS OF THE SITH
...it makes you wonder whether or not he understands where "boomer-bends" come from or if he was just that unaware of who is around him. There is always the possibility that he just didn't care 🤷♂️😂
Many Guitar personas in the past used to make statements in the style " i represent the new and I don't give a dime for the rest". It's nothing new...the tradition continues . Guitarists are simply people that happens to know guitar. Some of them are gentle guys some are not...
@@DavidHBurkart Like younger generations throughout history, they think everything started new with them............they'll learn eventually, if they live long enough.
You can't really deny the ubiquitous nature bends played in the guitar zeitgeist in that "boomer" era. It was iconic of the time. What he is saying by boomer bends, imo, is not that they are bad but more that they feel cliche in the modern era because of how common they used to be. This happens in all forms of art that spans generations. You see transitions away from certain styles and toward new ones.
It's funny, whenever I'm writing music now a little voice will pop into my head telling me that Rick Beato wouldn't find that chord progression interesting!
*_When Rich actually walked back to his chair and sat down, it suddenly looked like they were all sitting in front of a green screen. I can’t unsee it now. 😂_*
I've been recording music for 20 years. I know how a song is put together, albeit, poorly...(but at least I know how to use a multiband comp) That being said. What I really enjoy about WMTSG is how enthusiastic Rick is about great parts, great playing/singing, and great mixing.... I love hearing (usually, sometimes seeing) him LIGHT UP. It's part validation part appreciation for me. Rick.... you should really get in touch with Pat Finnerty. I bet you two would have a blast.
RUclips and the internet in general have changed everything for everyone- I don't think anyone would argue with that. It's not just guitar playing or ppl who play music- it changed many aspects of my life. I learned to work leather and make knives via RUclips- began collecting knives- met ppl in the community- and eventually started making knives and doing leather work for a living. Then I picked up bass fishing- learned everything I know off RUclips- and ended up fishing tournaments. It's become a huge part of my life. Then I found all the guitar resources and picked my guitar back up- now I'm learning theory and technique instead of just learning songs to play. I figure if I can get to where I've already have just playing by ear and not knowing any theory or the first scale- just think of what I can do if I learn this stuff properly. RUclips has changed my life drastically. If I had of had a resource like this growing up- man, there's no telling what I would've gotten into. You can find anything you want on here- everything from how to work on my truck to how to play guitar to how to train a dog. And they're all taught by ppl who are truly passionate about the subject matter.
Of course these modern dudes don’t bend, you can’t step record or quantize bending 😂 I know these dudes are the big new names around, but I’m glad there are still young players out there that know how to hit the big 80s vibrato, even if they’re a bit more obscure. Check Brandon Ellis from The Black Dahlia Murder. Best metal guitarist around today IMO.
Haha agree. Bending for me has nothing to do with age. It depends on the style as well. Bending strings in Country, Gypsy Jazz, Metal and Blues all differ quite a lot. I enjoy playing all of those styles. It’s about what emotion you want to create . If you only bend notes in one way then, its time to practice different kinds of bends. But what I do not like is when people are flat all the time. Its a dead giveaway of bad intonation and not enough time spent bending strings.
They're creating new sounds and bringing music to new places. Just because they don't do the things you enjoy and are familiar with doesn't make them worse musicians. I'm 100% sure Tim Henson could pull off some classic emotional bends better than most of us, but he doesn't because he doesn't want to. He's focused on doing new things
Brandon Ellis has been the guitarist I envy the most. Fuckin awesome to know he’s being appreciated by anybody other than me!! He deserves it for sure what a damn disgusting guitar player.
@@OokisMcFlookis exactly. He is actively trying to sound new. And he is also well aware that most "older" players aren't trying to sound new or different and they (we) all play in the same typical boxes. The reaction of folks who get their panties in a bunch cause their feelings get hurt for talking about bends.. shows exactly, to his point, that people got used to play a certain way and never trying reinventing their playing. He actually does that. And of course he can bend like every other player, but he chooses not to include it as much in his music. And it's sad that I need to state the obvious, but his comment was in no way an attempt to disrespect anyone.
That old school les Paul Rhett has in his lap is absolutely ridiculously gorgeous. Also I agree with everything being said in this video. Killin it always.
@@ryanevans371 SG? Look again, no curved pointy horns...No body contours on surface...Dude it is a Double Cut Les Paul like the old school Les Paul Special 1959 ish.
@@gt-37guy6 Excuse me, you're right. Saw the double cut, and didn't look any closer. Also, today I learned a double-cutaway Les Paul existed. Had to look it up.
23 year old here who's played guitar since 2015, relatively new. Its a super steep learning curve at first but things seem to catalyze and come together the more I practice and play. It's like a language I find. The more I express, the more I can build on those expressions into more complex and nuanced expressions, as if I'm expanding upon a grand vocabulary. I find the more I play the more I'm able to get a better feel, more clarity and more muscle memory and it just becomes easier.
I don't think there's any hate for the bends. Just an interesting transition between generations. I'm sure the next gen of guitarists will make jokes about how all the old guys are obsessed with harmonics while they shred their fretless guitars and so on. I love bends but it really is indicative if an era at this point. And feels a bit stale and derivative in the guitar world today. It's good to have transitions in the culture like such.
It's cool to hear the viewpoints of Rhett, who comes from the millennial generation juxtaposed against Dave and Rick who are Generation X. All involved in the conversation bring a depth of experience
Your key light (+ fill light?) is a cooler temperature than your room lighting, which is why you stand out from the background and people think it's a green-screen.
Professional videographer here (about the beginning and people's claims of green screening lol) I don't know if it was intentional or not but what makes it look so good is that that ceiling light above your head is situated juuuust behind your head so it's actually creating an ever so slight rimlighting on your head, separating you from the background. (This is common in photography and videography - I do it all the time for band shoots). Well done!
Hi Rick, i'd like to propose a topic for discussion with your pals. It's a question I still have and can't understand why: Why is/was disco music so dispised? There is an enormous amount of talent behind disco songs and bands, so why was it so hugely hated? And why is that hatred still alive nowadays?
Ahhhh…..Disco!! The music we love to hate snd hate to love! And yes! I was on the dance floor to “Shake Your Booty”! Yes….saw KC and The Sunshine Band live!! 😎
I don’t remember it being really despised. It was the most successful from of pop in the late 70s. Rock fans may have disliked it, but that’s probably just because it didnt have loud guitars, solos, riffs and screaming vocalists. Music was kinda tribal back then, so most music fans were kinda snobbish about other genres, especially if they looked like too much fun ie perfomers smiled, danced and didnt have fixed frowns.
@@LillyMarz777 Saturation is an interesting topic by itself. You can also argue there was saturation in rock and metal, there's always amazing and below average bands in all genres, but disco music seem to get the most hate. I believe maybe the "subculture" attached to disco music and dancing was very antagonistic with the rockers
I am 49 years of age. When I was in elementary school and even into High School the other kids used to make fun of me for my tastes in music, and even a couple of the music teachers even made fun of me for my taste in music! Why? Because no one could understand why I liked pretty much anything and everything from Classical Music including Opera, Big Band/Swing Jazz, Jazz Blues, Rhythm and Blues/R&B, Country, County & Western, Western Swing Oldies, Classic Rock, Folk, Disco, Metal, 1980's Punk, Funk, 1980's Rap, music from around the world and yes even Polka! LOL Heck I corrected my one music teacher when he said: " Elvis Presley NEVER used an Electric guitar!" Yeah Right! The previous night I saw the one TV special Elvis did called "One Night With You - Live in 1968" What made so memorable to me was at one moment during the one song while Elvis was singing and playing guitar all of a sudden his guitar got unplugged! He stopped singing and says: "Okay, Who unplugged my guitar?" and that is when a lady in the audience must have said that she had tripped over the cord and said she was sorry. He laughed and asked for someone to plug back in the guitar and then continued right where he left off in the song. LOL The guys in the "band" and the whole audience even laughed. That is how I knew Elvis used an Electric guitar! lol Everyone made fun of me for liking Elvis Presley, including the music teacher. People still think I am crazy for liking the older Country/Western and Country artists such as: Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Roy Clark, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, The Statler Brothers, Oakridge Boys, Loretta Lynn, and many many others.
One of my favourite things is to see a number of rock covers bands we have around where I live. There are rock covers bands everywhere, of course, and they are invariably great fun to hear, watch, sing and dance to. One of the really great things about them is that they are playing a lot of ‘old’ music (as in, not brand new) and there are always loads of young people really enjoying it! Live music speaks to everyone. ‘Rock’ is the best, obviously, but it’s all rock and roll to me 🤘
Literally laughed out loud at Rhett's perfectly timed "excruciating" quip. Actually I laughed quite a lot during this particular video. Thank you gentlemen.
I have to say that I knew every one of the 1971 Top Ten songs. When I say "knew them" I mean that with just the title I knew the melodies, the beat, the harmonies and the way they felt to me back then. Also, I played at least half of them in bands that I was in.
It only sounds like 80s Nintendo music if you're tone deaf. For starters, Nintendo music has none of thr production value or sonic depth, and has plenty of atonal stuff and Polyphia deliberately does not. But you don't even know what atonal means do you lemming?
All good points on the accessibility of new stuff. Being a Dad and full time nurse, I do miss the days of rock radio. We had folks whose job was to find the good stuff for me and they promoted bands the thought were cool. That’s a time saver for me and my free time is precious. Don’t hear this point very often. I’m a gen Xer and I miss the days of going to the record store to pick up The Smashing Pumkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Call me old fashioned but the Streaming Services require me to be my own personal DJ. Back in the day folks got paid to do that for me and it costs me the price of a radio.
100% agree with you about how there is lots of great new music happening now! And I'm glad to hear someone prominent say it. Because it's an incredibly commonly trotted out cliche for people of all ages to say how bad modern music is. If you think modern music is bad, you're really just saying "I'm too lazy to bother looking properly". Looking on the top ten chart and on Tik Tok to find good music is like searching a McDonald's dollar menu for fine dining options.
But using a search engine, even a voice activated search engine is so hard. I just want to push a button and my favorite new song just automatically appear.--The majority of music listeners. They miss their American Bandstand and MTV.
If finding good music is so hard, it also implies that most of the music IS bad. And if the top 10 stuff is bad, it also implies that most people are listening to crappy music and are okay with it. I mean, come on, if music today really was as good as people are making it out to be, it would've been easier to find, right?
@@module79l28 theyre friends so they're just joking around. And calling Tim a muppet when he's actually one of the more creative guitar players of today's generation? Now you're the real muppet here lol. Why are we even using muppet as an insult term lmao
I haven't heard a good song from the Millennials nor GenZ yet. The closest person to them that is making anything worth listening to is Jack White and he's GenX.
@@stricknine8623 The term is definitely negative, like we are all shouting "get off my lawn" metaphorically meaning " our music was great, yours sucks!"
@@smkh2890 So it's a dismissive term by young people to their elders. Makes sense. When I was young, the people that my friends and I admired and respected the most were almost always people 20, 30 years older than us.
I think something that is lost in the conversation is that Tim NEVER said "Boomer Bends". He said "Boomerish sound" and then he played a short lick that included a bend. His lick was the classic bending of a seventh note to the root and then rapidly playing the third note and returning back to the bended 7th note. This is a classic boomerish lick that has been replayed to death from the 60s forward. I don't think he ever associated bends with boomers in general, just the old pentatonic licks that we have heard a million times. It just happened that the lick he used had a bend in it. There is certainly ways to do bends while avoiding the old pentatonic 60s style. That's what Tim does, that's why we love him
Rhett touched on this but what I think is so great about being a musician right now is the fact that I get access to so many people to learn from. Instead of having one book, or one music teacher to take lessons from I get to gain perspective about all things music from so many different wonderfully talented people with a click on a mouse or tap of a phone. I might see a video on the minor scales from one person one day, then a couple days later I see a similar video from Rick with a slightly different way of presenting it that makes everything click. And it's not that one was necessarily better than the other but that slightly different presentation or one little additional word might be the final puzzle piece that my brain needed for it all to finally make sense. We are simply spoiled with the amount of readily available resources today. If you want to learn to play an instrument or music in general right now there is absolutely no excuse not to.
Other than some regional hits, I have pretty good recall of the stuff that was played on AM radio (as sweeping generalization) back in the 70's into the 80's - it's probably occupying more gray cells than I can truly afford to devote to music, but I guess (short of a focused lobotomy), it's my burden to carry...
Rick isn't officially a Boomer he was born after the baby boomer era. It actually happened from 1950 - 1953. In the aftermath of the Korean War after the solders returned home there was huge amount of children born. It was the largest amount of children born in the USA in that short of a time period. I was born during the highest peak of that time.
What I love about it is that weirdly Rick looks like he is on green screen when he comes and sits down. It’s just the lighting doing that I think. It made me chuckle.
As for that 1971 list: I remember, and can still recite the lyrics, from every single one. I can't remember my kids or grandkids birthdates, but I remember those songs...And many, many, many more...
When I watch and listen to Tim Henson and company, first I say, WOW, that's technically brilliant. Then I say, WOW, I feel nothing. When I listen to Plini I say "THIS IS IT"!!!!! Possibly because Plini seems to be beyond cultural normatives; he's chasing the dharma. And Plini has the bends, too.
That's crazy Rick, that you have such amazing editing skills that you could CG that whole studio in and make it look like you can interact with it. Impressive.
I do a ton of licensing music myself, and you're so right. When you're used to tight constraints it's very difficult to let an idea develop in a much longer song. A fantastic example of a modern long form song is bury the light by Casey edwards and Victor Borba.
Am I The One by Beth Hart at Paradiso is a wild ride that lasts 11 minutes. She wrote that song when she was 15 in 15 minutes. She first performed the song as a singing contestant in 1993 and it's still being sung by TV singing contestants.
I'd like to hear your take on Mick Ronson. Guitarrist, arranger, producer, Without him Bowie wouldn't ever made it. Lou Reeds Transformer was baslicaly his doing. Such a lovely guy. And certainly one of the really greats. And he couldn't make it by himself. Great, influetial and kinda tragic. But maybe he's not on your radar?
Absolutely correct. The only thing I might add is phrasing. I've been playing 39 years and gigging for 26. I had to abandon the slick and fast virtuoso ideas I had in my head that I wanted to be because I just didn't have enough skill or talent it seemed. I started focusing hard on all bending scenarios, vibrato, pitch and more deliberate phrasing. I seemed at home with this and I believe it has made me a much better guitarist than I would have been otherwise.
The way I’ve always thought of as a voice coming out of your guitar . The bending , vibrato, phrasing, and pick attack make up a player’s accent ( think speaking voice ) . Every one has a unique voice, tone , and rhythm when speaking . All of the great guitarists have a unique timbre and it’s unmistakable . Marty Friedman’s phrasing is to me what makes him impossible to imitate . He doesn’t sweep and you can play the same notes but his feel for timing is incredible he always stops a little bit early leaving you wanting more . He holds on to certain notes a little bit longer than most would be comfortable with , and you wonder how he’s going to make it to the last note in time . He always lands on his feet every single time .
Rick, whats the chance of you doing a 'What makes this song great?' for Gary Moore 'Still got the Blues'. It would be great to hear you disecting the song....
Have Tim Henson Listen to Because We Have Ended as Lovers by Jeff Beck especially live. Sorry but I don't think Tim Henson has the skills to play Bends well. Maybe that's why he doesn't like him
He said boomerish sound, more so talking about a standard over done blues pentatonic lick that has that same old bend in it. Bends themselves Tim is just fine at.
I’m 53 and I remember eight of those ten 1971 songs. Of course, my entire childhood was spent listening to the radio in the car. I didn’t choose to hear them from a streaming service.
I downloaded a collection of hits from the 1920's. To put this in perspective, the 1920's were as far away from the 1970s as the 1970s are from today. These were songs and groups that were, at the time, superstars. I'm not talking about the CA Ramblers, Helen Kane, The Georgians. Sure, some might remember Eubie Blake or Bessie Smith (because of movies about them) or Ma Rainey, but that's about it. Not only did the groups disappear from the public memory, but even the songs did. It is the nature of music. Each generation finds their own music, the previous generation says it sucks, eventually it all gets lost with a few specific exceptions. Hell, many people don't remember songs from ten years ago! I just started listening to some Sirius station with "alternative" music. At least it's all new, it's pretty honest, and it isn't Top 20 stuff. What I would LOVE to hear from Rick is a comparison of the arrangements from, say, 1960s, 1970s, 80s, 90s, then the aughts, 2010s to now. How the drums and bass got featured (or not), how the stacking of instruments may have changed, how certain sounds became prominent and then faded, etc. It's easy to say "this all sounds like 70's music!", but my Millennial kids can easily recognize when a song was done, just as I can recognize when a song is from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. After that, I'm afraid, I'm unable to make the distinction - but THEY can, so it must be something I'm missing, and not the music.
5:00 I challenge every person who says “today’s music sucks” to go through a random stack of 78s at any thrift store. You want crap? 95% of them are foxtrots that nobody has listened to in 80 years.
@@dclucky2477 Another benefit of computers! All the crap being released today will just disappear without clogging the record bins like so many Mantovani records. (To be clear, I’m not saying there isn’t a LOT of crap released nowadays; I’m saying the ratio of crap to good stuff probably has not changed in the last hundred years.)
Very accurate Angelino. Everyone remembers The Beatles, Zeppelin, etc. and imagines all the music from that era was so great. Nope. They were the finest 0.0001%. A huge percentage of the rest was forgettable rubbish.
@@stephenc.4319 Bless you! I was beginning to feel like a voice in the wilderness. And none of this diminishes the greatness of the stuff we love. It’s just vital to not turn into the grumpy old men yelling at the “kids today.”
Talking about the whole "state of new music" thing, I really feel like we've re-invented everything except for the discovery pipeline. There's so much good music out there but people aren't hearing it because they don't know how to find it. You just have to sort of gradually creep your way through the Spotify algorithms and hope for the best or something.
This is true which is people like Rick (and even myself) do shows like this to expose people. Radio DJs USED TO BE the educators and curators but corporate has watered everything down and has all the money. I don't know how these local acts even with touring are going to make it.
@@popoff7808 Yeah! I was in my senior year of highschool in 92, and everything that's going on right now really reminds me a LOT of all the stuff that was going on just underground in the two or three years leading up to all the amazing stuff that broke through in the early nineties, but I just can't shake off the feeling that the ecosystem is so fractured that we can never have a huge moment like that again. But I really appreciate all the people out there trying to build those bridges.
It's cause your film lights are daylight temperature and rest of studio is warm tone. So there's a visual separation due to the depth of the room.
This is precisely it. The room is too big for the light sets to affect eachother.
He could put gels over his lights, or maybe they're LEDs where you can directly change the light temperature. Not a big deal. :)
@Robert Douglas Neutral density cuts light. It typically doesn't shift light color, or it shouldn't at least. You use ND's to bring the light coming into the camera so you can set your f stop to taste while keeping your shutter speed 180 degrees.
@@ChainsawChristmas SHFU
Perhaps mic the back of the room and mix in for some ambiance?
Please come out with a shirt that says Bend It Like A Boomer.
Lol,..That shirt would take my money.
Love it
Me too
I instantly thought of you Robert. Love your style
I need it
The reason for the "green screen illusion" is the lighting temperature mixture. Your key light is daylight ( over 5000 kelvin) while your practical lights are very warm. It's common and not that big of a deal. I am a videographer and do not find it distracting. I can help you blend the lighting in a more balanced way if you desire, but if I was you, I wouldn't worry about it. You are an inspiration for your passion and insight for music, not your skills with a camera. And that is okay!!!
+1000. LED can be horrible in terms of colour output, as can compact fluorescent, and it's a bad idea to use mismatched lighting fixtures. For bumping up a subject on location, just use a tungsten-halogen GU10 desk lamp. Or since you lot are from Hollywood, just get some old tungsten spotlight.
I think it's a cool aesthetic. Background is a vibe and the foreground is very true to life. Love it.
i just think it needs a little more foreground/background separation
@@c0veredinash It literally looks completely fine
Studio lights are typically 5500k. I typically throw a 1/4 CTO gel on to balance with 3200k. But you are right, seems fine to me.
8:00 is the bane of my existence as a media/library composer. Then @ 8:56 Rick hits it on the nail for me. I haven't been able to complete a "song" in 30 years. Then again, if I had the playing skills of Rick I would probably have never gotten into media work :)
@Robert Douglas yep, I'm that guy. Without a doubt, the thousands of tracks that I've written for music libraries over the course of my career overall numbed My overall creativity.
What's up Geebz! Love the channel
AWWWWRIGHT a geebz comment on a beato vid! lovin thiz boomer brotherhood im zeein
The boomer bending comes from the blues influence of rock and roll. Stuff like Polyphia is less influenced by that and more electronica and modern prog rock.
The ability to bend notes is one reason, along with vibrato, I like playing guitar more than piano. It adds a whole dimension of expressivity, and the "in-between" notes it creates have been a part of music of many cultures for thousands of years.
Or aftertouch
chord glissandos, strum and dead notes too to me.
I know a very good pianist who told me something similar, she basically said there are like 10 ways to play any given note on guitar, but the options on piano are basically limited to how hard you hit any note.
Completely agree. Bends and vibratos add extra spice to your playing. It took me 15 years to get my vibrato the way I want but now I'm extremely happy with it. It's also has to do with your pickups. The Seymour Duncan invader on my schecter omen 6 sounds amazing with bends it's extremely bold and solid. The custom pickup on my synyster gates custom ironically doesn't sound as solid and I spent over $1,300 on it.
I play both keyboard and guitar, and agree pretty much on that front. However, if ya' dig bending notes, and want to screw around with keyboard-style instruments with the ability to bend notes without manual tuning, I suggest getting a synthesizer keyboard with a pitch wheel.
Recently, I got an old (1990's) Yamaha PSR-48 preset keyboard from some dude off of Craigslist, which I got it specifically for the pitch wheel, and I miss not being able to use a pitch wheel whenever I screw around with my PSR-36 preset-synthesizer.
Using a pitch-wheel also gives a bunch of other options for experimenting and messing around. Whenever I improvise solos with my Yamaha PSR-48 for instance, I often use the pitch wheel for everything from simple blue note bends, to aggressive whammy-bar style flailing, to experimenting with moving the pitch-wheel between normally tuned notes and playing brief flurries of microtonal melodic playing alongside my more normal, but still often chromatic lines.
TLDR: Oldschool pitch-wheels are f'in rad.
It looks like a green screen because of the cold lighting you shine on yourselves. It contrasts harshly with the warm lighting in the background and gives an odd impression. Plus it's an expensive stack of equipment most just dream of, it's borderline unbelievable.
Haha, imagine if his "studio" has been a green screen the whole time.
The deep focus figures into it too. It’s not a natural way of seeing.
Hello Rick: Rhett is completely correct when he said that if music is good people will still connect with it. A few weeks ago, I got Frank Sinatra's cd "In the Wee Small Hours", and it's incredibly good.
The records Sinatra and Nelson Riddle made for Capitol in the 50s are still absolute benchmarks and among the best albums ever made.
I agree, Ian. In the Wee Small Hours is excellent, along with a lot of the other Sinatra albums of the '50s. Just great jazz standards performed superbly.
@@ursula3438 Yes, you're right, Ursula.
It's even better on vinyl
@@ursula3438 Hello Ursula: Listening to Sinatra sing, I'm reminded of Fred Astaire's famous saying, "If you look like you are working hard, then you are not working hard enough." Sinatra makes it sound so effortless, when you know that it's incredibly hard to sing like that.
People think its a green screen only because your studio is SO well lit. Like look how well your shirt is lit, its...its...its beautiful
It’s true, he has been a music producer for so long, and he has mastered video production as well. ALWAYS great lighting, great sound quality, etc…Like any good recording, nothing ever gets lost in the mix!!
True it is well lit but I wonder if it could be better balanced somehow. Not that Rick should change anything - it's fine. But if the constant questions are annoying then I suppose I would recommend a change in the color of the lighting perhaps?
@@Chris-MusicTheoryAndFretboard Nah!!!! You can’t guide your life by other people’s questions! You can’t please everyone, so you gotta please yourself, (Ricky Nelson).
@@Geezer-yf8hv I agree. But sometimes it's good to be open to feedback. There's nothing wrong with changing something that's just aesthetic and small without giving up your core values.
It's because the lighting in the background is warm and the key lighting on their faces is cooler, closer to daylight. Both being well-lit creates a stark separation between foreground and background. Using a wider aperture or longer lens on the camera would help separate it.
As a Gen-Xer, I'm old enough to remember the post-punk years when "bending" basically meant you were playing "metal"
As a fellow Gen-Xer, I agree. I remember that well.
Saw a documentary with an Egyptologist showing a tablet they’d found. Translating the hieroglyphs discovered it was a complaint letter to the Government in Egypt 4000 years ago saying: ”Things are all wrong, things were better in the olden days”.
😂🤣😂🤣 If this is true, IT's GREAT!
The very first boomer
lol
Well if they wrote that when the sea people invaded, they would have had a point.
Sometimes the times get worse.
I hope that Tim takes this as a challenge and his next album is full of trap beats, boomer bends, and cow bell.
Yes, cowbell...
my favourite thing about Remember That You Will Die is how they never bend a single note on ego death, and then just about every note in steve vai's part is bent
Andy Partridge called the blues lick where you bend a B string and pluck the corresponding fretted (high) E the "Ernie" sound. As in ERR-NIE, ERR-NIE, ERR-NIE..
He still around?
@@jasonlieberman4606 Yes, Andy Partridge is still around
@@jasonlieberman4606 He put out a short EP this year that's really good.
I love hearing Andy talk. …
Just tried this, it really does sound like that lol!
"Boomer Bends" will be the name of my new Prog-Rockabilly band
...thats a good one..hiliarious😁..but it sounds like something you would take "pepto bismal" .for.
@@camwinston5248 That's it, you're not getting signed copy of our first album
I was thinking of calling my act "Bob Boomer and the Mild Guys"
Prog-abilly... sounds explosive....
"Hayseed Dixie covers Yes, ELP and Renaissance" That'l be one big Hoedown.
Metal Dad is amazing. I follow him since some years 😊 The continuity of dad leaning in his chair is timeless.
Your What Makes This Song Great series is amazing. Listening to parts in isolation and in context is incredibly instructive, like a masterclass.
Speaking of multi tracks, It's neat how hearing old multi tracks recorded with so much noise, hum, sloppy playing, abrupt cuts make up our favorite songs. like Space Oddity, with the stylophone and guitar on one track, it sounds so primitive, but the mix is incredible.
Years ago musicians' imaginations outstripped the technology; now the technology outstrips the musicians' imaginations.
Really makes you think how much we overthink every small thing like slight fret buzzes or bass rattles when playing with headphones and how they wouldn't even be noticeable in a mix
@@maplesyrup4881 🙄 Sure...like Bach, Mozart, Gershwin or Donald Fagan, Charlie Parker, Quincy Jones...
I’m Gen X, but boomer bends hit a little too close to my A minor pentatonic home for comfort.
I’ll fire back by saying I’m all set with these tiktok guitarists and their “headache arpeggios.”
I kid, it’s all good. As Frank Zappa said, “Bestow Peace Upon One Another and Play Yer Guitar.”
Hello Rick: Thank you very much for mentioning Rory Gallagher. I saw him play in the mid-1970's and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Keep up the good work.
Keep doing videos with Dave and Rhett! I can't get together with my friends right now to bullshit about guitar and music so this is the next best thing. Keep it up!
He’s right about people today having an advantage when it comes to access of information but that can also be the most overwhelming and discouraging part of trying to learn when all you see is how much you still have to learn and many people have already done it so much incredibly well
"Boomer bends" were invented by pre-boomer blues guitarists as an imitation of blues singers. Some great post-boomer guitarists, like Chris Buck, have rejuvenated and developed boomer bends - and other classic riffs and techniques - to enhance and humanize their playing. Just another technique which can be used or abused depending on the musicality of the player.
I dont understand what the fuck a boomer bend is
I think you missed the joke/point. It's the kind of bend a player will do that misses the mark for the note they are aiming for. It's usually painful to listen to. I think some 'alternative' guitarists of the 90s brought them back in a deliberate 'ironic' or deliberately dissonant kind of way; I think that's different from the 'boomer bend', a humourous way of identifying folks who are trying to play like those who *can* bend (usually the Claptons etc of the Boomer era), but haven't put in the work to 'get there' in tune.
@Tyler Harshbarger Ohh i see. ACDC Angus Young does that a lot. But if done right it always sounds badass.
Joe Walsh is my favorite Bender.
@@NeilBolandGuitaristWriter it’s a bend that highlights a major chord
Suggestion: Please add links to Dave & Rhett’s channels when they are guests
yep
Rick, I've liked almost all of your videos, and I've watched a boatload of them now, but I very rarely laughed out loud through the whole thing. Until today. I really enjoy watching the 3 of you interact, and I appreciate the knowledge base that each of you brings to the table. Thank you for making this one.
Agreed
great video. I've always felt that if someone says "there's no good music made today" that they are just lazy or not that interested in finding new music.
Took me years to have my son interested in the ''boomer bends'' and the likes (Trower,Knopfler,Gilmour,Beck etc..).He is a tech death metal lead guitarist.He gets it.
Just imagine that 18 yr old country guy thinking he was about to go viral….and…….no. Rhett forgot his name.
Lmao you have a creative brain
If you get jeans without holes, how are you supposed to get your legs in them?
Ancient Chinese wisdom!
@@jamescaldwell2357 Calgon is the ancient Chinese secret.
Preach
LMAO!
Well how many holes do jeans actually have?
Is it 3, is it 2, is it a single hole?
Does it even qualify as a hole?
i’d love to hear Rick talk about the band Brainiac once. they’re like a lost gem, inspiration for Mars Volta and the Breeders, but they used such weird chords.
It would be awesome to hear Rick's take on really weird/awesome guitar bands like US Maple, Don Caballero, Polvo etc
@@BobKissinger all amazing bands. I was pretty shocked to hear Rick mention Superchunk in a video the other day. He's got a vast knowledge of all music.
@@BobKissinger YES
I can't truly express how much I LOVE the WMTSG series!!!
I know that they are not ad-friendly, but they really help bring to light all the minute details that normally just go under the radar or are overlooked.
Cheers!!!!
I really appreciate you Rick. You're an amazing person, musician, and teacher. You're an inspiration. I thank God that you're out here with a brain, a heart and a soul.
I've been in the visual FX industry for nearly 30 years. That's the best damn blue screen I've even seen.
Since it came up I have to say that this room is beautiful. The floor, the lighting and of course the gear. I'm not a boomer but I love the old school wood aesthetic. I also think those rooms sound better.
I appreciate what y'all do and these conversations and lessons. I've been learning guitar for 3 yrs and I'm over 40.
As a boomer who isn't yet qualified to bend yet I'm particularly grateful for having access to the best and most diverse teachers around the world who can all come into my home via the internet and inform and instruct my playing. When I was in high school and thought about learning guitar there was the one teacher in the area that all my friends went to and inadvertently created a whole bunch of clones - thankfully for the area he was pretty good but as a 58 year old learning finally to play - I'm loving the diversity and tapping into the best of the world.
I say that all the time. When I was a kid I couldn't find the resources to learn properly and gave it up after a few years in my teens.
Decades later I picked it back up during quarantine, and with the help of RUclips teachers and backing tracks, I've progressed much farther in the last year, than five years of my youth.
Plus, between Harley Benton, Monoprice, Donner, etc., decent guitars and gear have never been cheaper.
I love it. The kids an anarchist. Its exactly that sort of thing that keeps rock and roll fresh. And we *sorely* need that.
Rick, it’s the white hair….and how your hair is brightly lit, against the darkly lit background. That’s what makes you stand out so much from the background that it looks like a blue screen. At least I’m glad to finally know the background is real… :)
The background is coherent and smooth, never any confusion for me.
Rick’s guitar is so beautiful. As A Perfect Circle once said “ turning blue such a lovely color for you”
I love your deep dives, but I also love those top 10, contemporary music lists for the exact reason you listed. You’re going into the trenches for me, and I really appreciate it! I’ve actually found a few new artists that I now follow from those videos, so thank you.
A boomer, a gen x and a millenial walk into a recording studio, you're in for and interesting 20 minutes. Really enjoy these Beato talks!
dont forget the zoomer with a polyphia hoodie on
I played guitar for about 7 years as a kid. I played in bands that actually earned money on stage. I was very mediocre and didn't really know how to improve. I put the guitar down after uni and it stayed in its case for nearly 20 years. Lockdown came and I popped it out of its case. Then I discovered the modern DAW, the power of digital pedal platforms like helix and a plethora of AMAZING content on youtube to show you every aspect of everything you could ever need and more (Adam Neely, Signals Studio, Rick Beato, Paul Davids and more). Even being able to watch a hi-def camera shot of how an expert holds their hand/pick is an underrated opportunity. There has NEVER been a better time for someone with a desire and the dedication to become an expert musician.
Not gonna lie, still feeling blue-balled about the “lost mode” upload that quickly went private. WHAT IS THE LOST MODE, FATHER? TEACH ME THE UNNATURAL WAYS OF THE SITH
I think he said mixolydian flat 6.
Okay, glad I wasn't hallucinating. What happened to that video?
If anyone knows what the forgotten mode is, it’s Rick
@@backpaincure Seriously? Huh...lost to me. Might try it. Will look for that video.
Now that's fucking funny! LOL
As a 38 year-old millennial, I am a proud boomer-bender 😁
I love how nonchalantly Tim said “Boomer Sound” to everyone in the room with no awareness, that’s genuinely amusing
...it makes you wonder whether or not he understands where "boomer-bends" come from or if he was just that unaware of who is around him. There is always the possibility that he just didn't care 🤷♂️😂
Many Guitar personas in the past used to make statements in the style " i represent the new and I don't give a dime for the rest". It's nothing new...the tradition continues . Guitarists are simply people that happens to know guitar. Some of them are gentle guys some are not...
@@EVEROSFP1 Yep... nothing truly new under the sun
@@DavidHBurkart Like younger generations throughout history, they think everything started new with them............they'll learn eventually, if they live long enough.
You can't really deny the ubiquitous nature bends played in the guitar zeitgeist in that "boomer" era. It was iconic of the time. What he is saying by boomer bends, imo, is not that they are bad but more that they feel cliche in the modern era because of how common they used to be.
This happens in all forms of art that spans generations. You see transitions away from certain styles and toward new ones.
The background lights in your videos is a major part of what makes them so relaxing to watch, please never change it.
10:19 - that melodic minor line followed by the harmonic sounded like the last chords of a progression, and it was beautiful.
It's funny, whenever I'm writing music now a little voice will pop into my head telling me that Rick Beato wouldn't find that chord progression interesting!
*_When Rich actually walked back to his chair and sat down, it suddenly looked like they were all sitting in front of a green screen. I can’t unsee it now. 😂_*
I couldn't see it until you said it
same! I never thought it looked like a green screen until i started looking at it this way just now
I dont know why but I started seeing "RB in a green screen" just 1 minute before this video ends.
I've been recording music for 20 years. I know how a song is put together, albeit, poorly...(but at least I know how to use a multiband comp) That being said. What I really enjoy about WMTSG is how enthusiastic Rick is about great parts, great playing/singing, and great mixing.... I love hearing (usually, sometimes seeing) him LIGHT UP. It's part validation part appreciation for me.
Rick.... you should really get in touch with Pat Finnerty. I bet you two would have a blast.
Yeah, Pat Finnety would be a a great interview … search “ what makes this song suck?“ if you aren’t familiar with him
Something so refreshing about Rick cracking one open with the boys.
RUclips and the internet in general have changed everything for everyone- I don't think anyone would argue with that. It's not just guitar playing or ppl who play music- it changed many aspects of my life. I learned to work leather and make knives via RUclips- began collecting knives- met ppl in the community- and eventually started making knives and doing leather work for a living. Then I picked up bass fishing- learned everything I know off RUclips- and ended up fishing tournaments. It's become a huge part of my life. Then I found all the guitar resources and picked my guitar back up- now I'm learning theory and technique instead of just learning songs to play. I figure if I can get to where I've already have just playing by ear and not knowing any theory or the first scale- just think of what I can do if I learn this stuff properly. RUclips has changed my life drastically. If I had of had a resource like this growing up- man, there's no telling what I would've gotten into. You can find anything you want on here- everything from how to work on my truck to how to play guitar to how to train a dog. And they're all taught by ppl who are truly passionate about the subject matter.
The thing is people dont really hear those viral songs as songs, they`re associated to a trend or dance and that`s how they become popular
Good point. It's called a viral video, not a viral song. If the screen was just blank they wouldn't be viral at all.
Also they only hear 10 seconds of the song. Many songs become better if on only hears 8 to 10 seconds of it.
Of course these modern dudes don’t bend, you can’t step record or quantize bending 😂
I know these dudes are the big new names around, but I’m glad there are still young players out there that know how to hit the big 80s vibrato, even if they’re a bit more obscure. Check Brandon Ellis from The Black Dahlia Murder. Best metal guitarist around today IMO.
Haha agree.
Bending for me has nothing to do with age. It depends on the style as well. Bending strings in Country, Gypsy Jazz, Metal and Blues all differ quite a lot.
I enjoy playing all of those styles. It’s about what emotion you want to create . If you only bend notes in one way then, its time to practice different kinds of bends.
But what I do not like is when people are flat all the time. Its a dead giveaway of bad intonation and not enough time spent bending strings.
And their music is entirely based on gimmicky guitar tricks, like wtf? You're gonna make fun on bends now?
They're creating new sounds and bringing music to new places. Just because they don't do the things you enjoy and are familiar with doesn't make them worse musicians. I'm 100% sure Tim Henson could pull off some classic emotional bends better than most of us, but he doesn't because he doesn't want to. He's focused on doing new things
Brandon Ellis has been the guitarist I envy the most. Fuckin awesome to know he’s being appreciated by anybody other than me!! He deserves it for sure what a damn disgusting guitar player.
@@OokisMcFlookis exactly. He is actively trying to sound new. And he is also well aware that most "older" players aren't trying to sound new or different and they (we) all play in the same typical boxes.
The reaction of folks who get their panties in a bunch cause their feelings get hurt for talking about bends.. shows exactly, to his point, that people got used to play a certain way and never trying reinventing their playing. He actually does that. And of course he can bend like every other player, but he chooses not to include it as much in his music. And it's sad that I need to state the obvious, but his comment was in no way an attempt to disrespect anyone.
That old school les Paul Rhett has in his lap is absolutely ridiculously gorgeous. Also I agree with everything being said in this video. Killin it always.
Ha, ha, That's Rick Beato's signature guitar - yet to be commercially released!
@@Hardiarm no wayyyy lmfao that guitar is gorgeous
It's an SG, not a Les Paul. But it IS gorgeous.
@@ryanevans371 SG? Look again, no curved pointy horns...No body contours on surface...Dude it is a Double Cut Les Paul like the old school Les Paul Special 1959 ish.
@@gt-37guy6 Excuse me, you're right. Saw the double cut, and didn't look any closer.
Also, today I learned a double-cutaway Les Paul existed. Had to look it up.
Well, my favorite guitarist is David Gilmour!! So yeah, I’m ALL into Bending like a Boomer!!
23 year old here who's played guitar since 2015, relatively new. Its a super steep learning curve at first but things seem to catalyze and come together the more I practice and play. It's like a language I find. The more I express, the more I can build on those expressions into more complex and nuanced expressions, as if I'm expanding upon a grand vocabulary. I find the more I play the more I'm able to get a better feel, more clarity and more muscle memory and it just becomes easier.
Yeah, as much as I love Tim Henson’s sound I’ll never get over the bends! Or… “boomer sound”
I don't think there's any hate for the bends. Just an interesting transition between generations. I'm sure the next gen of guitarists will make jokes about how all the old guys are obsessed with harmonics while they shred their fretless guitars and so on. I love bends but it really is indicative if an era at this point. And feels a bit stale and derivative in the guitar world today. It's good to have transitions in the culture like such.
Instead of bending , do an ultra non-musical annoying tapping lick instead
@@juanvaldez5422 exactly
@@juanvaldez5422 how are Tim Henson's tapping licks not musical?
Nah, I could listen to David Gilmour’s bendy solos all day.
It's cool to hear the viewpoints of Rhett, who comes from the millennial generation juxtaposed against Dave and Rick who are Generation X. All involved in the conversation bring a depth of experience
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"...2 chords, beast song
Your key light (+ fill light?) is a cooler temperature than your room lighting, which is why you stand out from the background and people think it's a green-screen.
Professional videographer here (about the beginning and people's claims of green screening lol)
I don't know if it was intentional or not but what makes it look so good is that that ceiling light above your head is situated juuuust behind your head so it's actually creating an ever so slight rimlighting on your head, separating you from the background. (This is common in photography and videography - I do it all the time for band shoots).
Well done!
rick taking his phone and just ignoring rhett while he was talking is the most non-boomer/gen-z thing ever 😅
haha, true :)
I kinda thought he was looking for the Tic Toc that Rhett was talking about.
@@yinoveryang4246 bruh its literally the boomer of the group doing that? man yall hags are dense
Hi Rick, i'd like to propose a topic for discussion with your pals. It's a question I still have and can't understand why: Why is/was disco music so dispised? There is an enormous amount of talent behind disco songs and bands, so why was it so hugely hated? And why is that hatred still alive nowadays?
I think it was saturation. Some was great. Bee Gees for sure. Disco Duck and the like were horrendous
Ahhhh…..Disco!! The music we love to hate snd hate to love! And yes! I was on the dance floor to “Shake Your Booty”! Yes….saw KC and The Sunshine Band live!! 😎
3 universal constants. Death, taxes, and old people complaining about newer music.
I don’t remember it being really despised. It was the most successful from of pop in the late 70s. Rock fans may have disliked it, but that’s probably just because it didnt have loud guitars, solos, riffs and screaming vocalists. Music was kinda tribal back then, so most music fans were kinda snobbish about other genres, especially if they looked like too much fun ie perfomers smiled, danced and didnt have fixed frowns.
@@LillyMarz777 Saturation is an interesting topic by itself. You can also argue there was saturation in rock and metal, there's always amazing and below average bands in all genres, but disco music seem to get the most hate. I believe maybe the "subculture" attached to disco music and dancing was very antagonistic with the rockers
Boomer Bend- the slow groaning movement an elder gentleman makes while lifting himself from a Lazyboy chair after a nap. :-)
😂
🤣 I feel attacked
That's real emotion right there.
I am 49 years of age. When I was in elementary school and even into High School the other kids used to make fun of me for my tastes in music, and even a couple of the music teachers even made fun of me for my taste in music! Why? Because no one could understand why I liked pretty much anything and everything from Classical Music including Opera, Big Band/Swing Jazz, Jazz Blues, Rhythm and Blues/R&B, Country, County & Western, Western Swing Oldies, Classic Rock, Folk, Disco, Metal, 1980's Punk, Funk, 1980's Rap, music from around the world and yes even Polka! LOL Heck I corrected my one music teacher when he said: " Elvis Presley NEVER used an Electric guitar!" Yeah Right! The previous night I saw the one TV special Elvis did called "One Night With You - Live in 1968" What made so memorable to me was at one moment during the one song while Elvis was singing and playing guitar all of a sudden his guitar got unplugged! He stopped singing and says: "Okay, Who unplugged my guitar?" and that is when a lady in the audience must have said that she had tripped over the cord and said she was sorry. He laughed and asked for someone to plug back in the guitar and then continued right where he left off in the song. LOL The guys in the "band" and the whole audience even laughed. That is how I knew Elvis used an Electric guitar! lol Everyone made fun of me for liking Elvis Presley, including the music teacher. People still think I am crazy for liking the older Country/Western and Country artists such as: Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Roy Clark, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, The Statler Brothers, Oakridge Boys, Loretta Lynn, and many many others.
One of my favourite things is to see a number of rock covers bands we have around where I live. There are rock covers bands everywhere, of course, and they are invariably great fun to hear, watch, sing and dance to. One of the really great things about them is that they are playing a lot of ‘old’ music (as in, not brand new) and there are always loads of young people really enjoying it! Live music speaks to everyone. ‘Rock’ is the best, obviously, but it’s all rock and roll to me 🤘
I would love you to do a “what makes this song suck” series where you critique peoples songs that are learning the practice.
Pat Finnerty. Look him up. Stop the Train.
Boomer Bends I’m 27 and love rock and metal (70-90’s) I really wanna see a resurgence of those sounds in the mainstream
there already is, you’re just not searching enough
@@3badthebad do enlighten me friend lol
@@3badthebad note I also said “in the mainstream”
me too man!
@@3badthebad then list some.
I have found a number of lesser known bands like, but it's not like the algorithms are reliable in recommending stuff.
Literally laughed out loud at Rhett's perfectly timed "excruciating" quip. Actually I laughed quite a lot during this particular video. Thank you gentlemen.
He's right, though. I mean..who's supposed to pay attention for a WHOLE MINUTE??!! =D
I have to say that I knew every one of the 1971 Top Ten songs. When I say "knew them" I mean that with just the title I knew the melodies, the beat, the harmonies and the way they felt to me back then. Also, I played at least half of them in bands that I was in.
I picked up guitar for the first time last year to give me something to do during Covid. Probably the best thing I did in the past year and a half.
I think I'd really enjoy Rick making a video about Frank Zappa. Not sure what about, but yeah, do it man
I concur
Black Napkins or the Nanook Medely would be great
I like how people who make music that literally sounds like a late 80s nintendo game score, call out Boomer Bends.
LMAO!!! Good one! :)
Is the term "Boomer" a failed attempt at an insult or supposed to be derogatory in some way ?
It only sounds like 80s Nintendo music if you're tone deaf. For starters, Nintendo music has none of thr production value or sonic depth, and has plenty of atonal stuff and Polyphia deliberately does not. But you don't even know what atonal means do you lemming?
@@stricknine8623 That's what they think. It has never bothered me in the least.
@@morlun838 No excuse will change our minds.
The whole green screen thing is hilarious. No one understands focal values and lighting these days.
All good points on the accessibility of new stuff. Being a Dad and full time nurse, I do miss the days of rock radio. We had folks whose job was to find the good stuff for me and they promoted bands the thought were cool. That’s a time saver for me and my free time is precious. Don’t hear this point very often. I’m a gen Xer and I miss the days of going to the record store to pick up The Smashing Pumkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Call me old fashioned but the Streaming Services require me to be my own personal DJ. Back in the day folks got paid to do that for me and it costs me the price of a radio.
100% agree with you about how there is lots of great new music happening now! And I'm glad to hear someone prominent say it.
Because it's an incredibly commonly trotted out cliche for people of all ages to say how bad modern music is. If you think modern music is bad, you're really just saying "I'm too lazy to bother looking properly". Looking on the top ten chart and on Tik Tok to find good music is like searching a McDonald's dollar menu for fine dining options.
But using a search engine, even a voice activated search engine is so hard. I just want to push a button and my favorite new song just automatically appear.--The majority of music listeners. They miss their American Bandstand and MTV.
If finding good music is so hard, it also implies that most of the music IS bad. And if the top 10 stuff is bad, it also implies that most people are listening to crappy music and are okay with it. I mean, come on, if music today really was as good as people are making it out to be, it would've been easier to find, right?
I’m not even a boomer, but I thought Tim Henson was the Muppet guy.
Whoever says that a guitar player bends like a boomer just because they are older is the real muppet here.
@@module79l28 theyre friends so they're just joking around. And calling Tim a muppet when he's actually one of the more creative guitar players of today's generation? Now you're the real muppet here lol. Why are we even using muppet as an insult term lmao
@@jojohairee9987 saying someone is a muppet means they're being foolish in some English speaking countries, I think particularly in the UK.
@@razvanmazilu6284 ah I see didn't know that
Calling "Boomer Bends" something that exists since the beginning of blues (thus before the baby boom era) is the most Gen-Z thing ever!
I haven't heard a good song from the Millennials nor GenZ yet. The closest person to them that is making anything worth listening to is Jack White and he's GenX.
Isn't the term "boomer" atleast meant to be derogatory in some way ?
'Boomers' because the 1970s music we heard in our twenties became iconic blues-rock.
@@stricknine8623 The term is definitely negative, like we are all shouting "get off my lawn"
metaphorically meaning " our music was great, yours sucks!"
@@smkh2890
So it's a dismissive term by young people to their elders.
Makes sense.
When I was young, the people that my friends and I admired and respected the most were almost always people 20, 30 years older than us.
I think something that is lost in the conversation is that Tim NEVER said "Boomer Bends". He said "Boomerish sound" and then he played a short lick that included a bend. His lick was the classic bending of a seventh note to the root and then rapidly playing the third note and returning back to the bended 7th note. This is a classic boomerish lick that has been replayed to death from the 60s forward.
I don't think he ever associated bends with boomers in general, just the old pentatonic licks that we have heard a million times. It just happened that the lick he used had a bend in it. There is certainly ways to do bends while avoiding the old pentatonic 60s style. That's what Tim does, that's why we love him
Rhett touched on this but what I think is so great about being a musician right now is the fact that I get access to so many people to learn from. Instead of having one book, or one music teacher to take lessons from I get to gain perspective about all things music from so many different wonderfully talented people with a click on a mouse or tap of a phone. I might see a video on the minor scales from one person one day, then a couple days later I see a similar video from Rick with a slightly different way of presenting it that makes everything click. And it's not that one was necessarily better than the other but that slightly different presentation or one little additional word might be the final puzzle piece that my brain needed for it all to finally make sense.
We are simply spoiled with the amount of readily available resources today. If you want to learn to play an instrument or music in general right now there is absolutely no excuse not to.
It’s the key light that separates you from the background. It’s actually cool how it looks
Other than some regional hits, I have pretty good recall of the stuff that was played on AM radio (as sweeping generalization) back in the 70's into the 80's - it's probably occupying more gray cells than I can truly afford to devote to music, but I guess (short of a focused lobotomy), it's my burden to carry...
😆 🤣
Nice "problem" to have, though.
Rick is the coolest boomer ever
@ghost mall whatever he is , we can agree he is cool as hell
@ghost mall google says he was born in 62, which makes him a late boomer.
The boomer gen is normally considered 46-64
Rick isn't officially a Boomer he was born after the baby boomer era. It actually happened from 1950 - 1953. In the aftermath of the Korean War after the solders returned home there was huge amount of children born. It was the largest amount of children born in the USA in that short of a time period. I was born during the highest peak of that time.
@@BrianBrazilHarmonica
The baby boom was after the Second World War, wasn't it? That's why it applies to many places, not just America.
What I love about it is that weirdly Rick looks like he is on green screen when he comes and sits down. It’s just the lighting doing that I think. It made me chuckle.
As for that 1971 list:
I remember, and can still recite the lyrics, from every single one.
I can't remember my kids or grandkids birthdates, but I remember those songs...And many, many, many more...
When I watch and listen to Tim Henson and company, first I say, WOW, that's technically brilliant. Then I say, WOW, I feel nothing. When I listen to Plini I say "THIS IS IT"!!!!! Possibly because Plini seems to be beyond cultural normatives; he's chasing the dharma. And Plini has the bends, too.
That describes it pretty well - all technicality, no emotion.
I’m not sure if this is the boomers version of Tic Toc but I learned a lot of music from K-Tel !…and am also bent boomer bend Guilty !
That's crazy Rick, that you have such amazing editing skills that you could CG that whole studio in and make it look like you can interact with it.
Impressive.
I do a ton of licensing music myself, and you're so right. When you're used to tight constraints it's very difficult to let an idea develop in a much longer song. A fantastic example of a modern long form song is bury the light by Casey edwards and Victor Borba.
Am I The One by Beth Hart at Paradiso is a wild ride that lasts 11 minutes. She wrote that song when she was 15 in 15 minutes. She first performed the song as a singing contestant in 1993 and it's still being sung by TV singing contestants.
I'd like to hear your take on Mick Ronson. Guitarrist, arranger, producer, Without him Bowie wouldn't ever made it. Lou Reeds Transformer was baslicaly his doing. Such a lovely guy. And certainly one of the really greats. And he couldn't make it by himself. Great, influetial and kinda tragic. But maybe he's not on your radar?
bending and vibrato is your calling card, I don't care what generation your from. Any guitarist will do well to remember that
Absolutely correct. The only thing I might add is phrasing.
I've been playing 39 years and gigging for 26. I had to abandon the slick and fast virtuoso ideas I had in my head that I wanted to be because I just didn't have enough skill or talent it seemed. I started focusing hard on all bending scenarios, vibrato, pitch and more deliberate phrasing. I seemed at home with this and I believe it has made me a much better guitarist than I would have been otherwise.
How many instruments can even do vibrato(naturally) Probably only stringed.
@Manley156 I used to play Trumpet it has bends, well. More or less
The way I’ve always thought of as a voice coming out of your guitar . The bending , vibrato, phrasing, and pick attack make up a player’s accent ( think speaking voice ) . Every one has a unique voice, tone , and rhythm when speaking . All of the great guitarists have a unique timbre and it’s unmistakable . Marty Friedman’s phrasing is to me what makes him impossible to imitate . He doesn’t sweep and you can play the same notes but his feel for timing is incredible he always stops a little bit early leaving you wanting more . He holds on to certain notes a little bit longer than most would be comfortable with , and you wonder how he’s going to make it to the last note in time . He always lands on his feet every single time .
Rick, whats the chance of you doing a 'What makes this song great?' for Gary Moore 'Still got the Blues'. It would be great to hear you disecting the song....
Have Tim Henson Listen to Because We Have Ended as Lovers by Jeff Beck especially live. Sorry but I don't think Tim Henson has the skills to play Bends well. Maybe that's why he doesn't like him
He said boomerish sound, more so talking about a standard over done blues pentatonic lick that has that same old bend in it. Bends themselves Tim is just fine at.
@@guitarnerdjoey1192 Beck would demolish him
I’m 53 and I remember eight of those ten 1971 songs. Of course, my entire childhood was spent listening to the radio in the car. I didn’t choose to hear them from a streaming service.
I downloaded a collection of hits from the 1920's. To put this in perspective, the 1920's were as far away from the 1970s as the 1970s are from today.
These were songs and groups that were, at the time, superstars. I'm not talking about the CA Ramblers, Helen Kane, The Georgians. Sure, some might remember Eubie Blake or Bessie Smith (because of movies about them) or Ma Rainey, but that's about it. Not only did the groups disappear from the public memory, but even the songs did.
It is the nature of music. Each generation finds their own music, the previous generation says it sucks, eventually it all gets lost with a few specific exceptions. Hell, many people don't remember songs from ten years ago! I just started listening to some Sirius station with "alternative" music. At least it's all new, it's pretty honest, and it isn't Top 20 stuff.
What I would LOVE to hear from Rick is a comparison of the arrangements from, say, 1960s, 1970s, 80s, 90s, then the aughts, 2010s to now. How the drums and bass got featured (or not), how the stacking of instruments may have changed, how certain sounds became prominent and then faded, etc. It's easy to say "this all sounds like 70's music!", but my Millennial kids can easily recognize when a song was done, just as I can recognize when a song is from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. After that, I'm afraid, I'm unable to make the distinction - but THEY can, so it must be something I'm missing, and not the music.
5:00 I challenge every person who says “today’s music sucks” to go through a random stack of 78s at any thrift store. You want crap? 95% of them are foxtrots that nobody has listened to in 80 years.
That is true but of course those are what are being dumped or donated at the thrift store
@@dclucky2477 Another benefit of computers! All the crap being released today will just disappear without clogging the record bins like so many Mantovani records. (To be clear, I’m not saying there isn’t a LOT of crap released nowadays; I’m saying the ratio of crap to good stuff probably has not changed in the last hundred years.)
Very accurate Angelino. Everyone remembers The Beatles, Zeppelin, etc. and imagines all the music from that era was so great. Nope. They were the finest 0.0001%. A huge percentage of the rest was forgettable rubbish.
@@stephenc.4319 Bless you! I was beginning to feel like a voice in the wilderness. And none of this diminishes the greatness of the stuff we love. It’s just vital to not turn into the grumpy old men yelling at the “kids today.”
Take a note from Homer’s vid chops: “STAR WIPE!!!” for ALL your transitions!
Lisa - "I'm taking my name off this thing."
There's not a nice way to say this but Tim Henson's music sounds like the ring tone from a flip phone.
That's about as much meaning as it has. He's a wicked guitarist but it's all style and no substance.
Love listening to Rick's stories. Am same age, lived in Rochester, took a similar road of travel to find a home and professional accomplishment.
11:00 Boomer Benz sounds like a piece from 'All I need is the air that I breath and to love you'
Talking about the whole "state of new music" thing, I really feel like we've re-invented everything except for the discovery pipeline. There's so much good music out there but people aren't hearing it because they don't know how to find it. You just have to sort of gradually creep your way through the Spotify algorithms and hope for the best or something.
This is true which is people like Rick (and even myself) do shows like this to expose people. Radio DJs USED TO BE the educators and curators but corporate has watered everything down and has all the money. I don't know how these local acts even with touring are going to make it.
@@popoff7808 Yeah! I was in my senior year of highschool in 92, and everything that's going on right now really reminds me a LOT of all the stuff that was going on just underground in the two or three years leading up to all the amazing stuff that broke through in the early nineties, but I just can't shake off the feeling that the ecosystem is so fractured that we can never have a huge moment like that again. But I really appreciate all the people out there trying to build those bridges.