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There is a story about Jerome Kern. The day after the play opened for which he wrote 'All The Things You Are' he had lunch with a theater critic for the New York Times. The critic asked him if he thought the song would ever really become popular. Jerome answered "No, the melody is just too complicated for that. People just won't remember it." They finished their lunch and as they walked out of the restaurant a stranger walked by whistling the melody.
Sergio Mendes passed away today, September 6th, 2024. A great loss for Brazilian music, Bossa Nova, and the world. RIP Sergio. This video shows his brilliance.
Really? Come on man! You're definitely not seriously thinking there are no jazzers as well as world music and bossa nova fans in the old continent, are you? Lay it off!
"Gonna try and make up for all the times they bored ya so. Gon-na hold your ear close to mine. From this day on we're confused together. Oh I swear this time I'm never gonna change the key."
I think a simpler way to arrive at such a song is to start with humming a melody, pivoting it across keys whenever you feel like. Or, in other words, neglecting the key and just trying to make passages move somewhere - jumping to an off-key tone here and there, and seeing where it leads. I don't see the chord sequences having a structure of their own in this song, they're just short tension and release cycles made to fit the melody. Resolutions that occur every other measure lead to apparent "normalcy", no matter how harmonically distant the start of every following cadence is.
Yeah, I wonder if it started as a regular pop song, then someone decided to entertain themself by making the chords as complex as possible while still going with the melody.
Rick: The Wikipedia page for this song already mentions that you analyzed the song and called it the most complex pop song ever, just 4 hours after you posted this video. You've become a cultural icon!
The thing you can surely understand about it is that as one of the musicians, there is a certain divine comfort in knowing that no matter how badly you completely obliterate a tune, even in front of people, in 3 minutes it will be over and nobody is gonna have any broken bones or even flesh wounds. Yes, extremely awkward at the time. But it's like...you know *in advance* that you are automatically guaranteed forgiven for any sort of mistake you can make. All you have to do is to go on to the next tune which you know you are gonna do anyway. Which is why between Rick & the bass player it is/was so double-over hilarious.
Rick, I have been playing piano for 40 yrs. I put together a massive 80s playlist, found this song, downloaded the sheet music. I seriously had some wtf moments as I was sight reading. Took me 3 tries to get it down and after watching your video I was dying of laughter. I can’t imagine trying to memorize this song. Thx for the analysis!
difficult to play and sing at the same time, if you are accompanying a singer then a competent guitarist should be able to handle it. Happy Talk also sounds a simple song but wait till you see the chord changes!
Yep. Honestly if I wasn't told this is the original I would assume this is like a modern day Jazz band doing a reharmonization but then on those the singers themselves never modulate this much. It's like a Giant Steps lost track that was retrofitted with a nice, romantic melody and lyrics yet it still works as both.
@@IncredibleGoliath It feels like standard pop, because it is written as standard pop. Despite the modulations the song is written pretty generically and that is why it is not remembered, not because of the modulations. Modulations can actually help a song make it more memorable, you have Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the most memorable and recognizable songs ever and it has several modulations. So you can attribute that to the writing and not the modulations themselves.
The vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller are STUNNING! Don’t hear too many pop singers like those anymore in today’s music. Another great song sung by Pizzulo is Alibis from the Sérgio Mendes album Confetti - there’s a great live video of it here on RUclips
Brazilian harmony is otherworldly. Once I asked a Brazilian guitarist where he had learned all those cool chords and progressions. His response: "In the streets"
most musicians here in brazil actually did learn most things from the streets because it was where samba and pagode were presented, i think after the 90's that culture kinda ended tho
Funny thing is: A lot of Brazilian youngsters don't even know who Sérgio Mendes is, and half of those who kno, know him only as they guy that had his studio built by Harrison Ford (before he was famous).
You may know Sergio Mendes is brazilian and his major influence is "Bossa Nova" that has a lot of chords like those in its composition; even Mendes has done the arrangement, only. Names like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra, João Gilberto, among other have been used these kind of sequence since the 60s and 70s. I'm Dilermando Nassif, from Belo Horizonte, MG. Brazil. I like your videos. You are a great musician. Congratulations.
@@petedavis7970 I'm going to explain something you might not know about music production: music is divided into 2 distinct parts, lyrics and harmony. The objective of this video is not to analyze the lyrics of the song but rather the harmony, especially the chosen chords.
This song is legit genius. Coming up with all of those progressions is one thing, but making it into a coherent song with nice singing parts, that's skill, man.
@@neilslade Bro, it's a targeted pop song, what are you expecting? The cool thing about this channel is that Rick never turns down any genre of music merely based on the lyrics, vocals, or whatever.. I'd imagine very few of us here would actually listen to this song or album in our spare time.. doesn't stop us from analyzing it from a musical perspective, though. It's not a song I'd rock out to, but props where they are due: within the genre, for what it wants to do, it's masterfully crafted, and far more ambitious than just about anything else you could hear in the genre. That to me is what makes it worth the praise, not necessarily meaning that I'm in love with it :D
I am pretty sure the melody was not made to match those chords. It was the other way around. About all successful songwriters start with the melody. After that, there are a million ways to do the chords. It's called chord substitution. Guitarist Joe Pass did it with standards.
@@WorldWarThree I remember, "back in the day", reading "Guitar Player" mag, and almost every interviewee indicated this, "melody first/chords after" approach to songwriting....I was composing music, but always chord progs alone, I thought, "I will never be able to write songs!", or maybe just instrumental music; but, about a decade ago, I consciously decided to see if I could just compose a melody "cold turkey" and chord it, after, and I (thankfully!) found out that I can!
I don’t understand 95% of what you’re talking about but I find these videos so interesting, intriguing, even often humorous! Thank you for your hard work on these.
If it was no. 1 the kids wouldn't have batted an eyelid. People accept what they're exposed to. You hear something enough at that age, it'll probably grow on you. Edit: Bohemian Rhapsody is the ultimate example. I was 12 when that came out and at first it sounded like a mess. Two weeks later I was buying it. And of course I'm now sick and tired of it 😉
Mind blown. Although I have to disagree with one point. Even as a kid, I didn’t miss the chord changes. I was just too young to understand what was going on. The complex, nigh uncomfortable chord changes and progression create a lot of tension that emulates a feeling of passion. Even as a kid who didn’t know that kind of love yet, I felt it. Same feeling at 44, but now I know why. Absolutely brilliant.
Years ago I was talking with a friend about playing guitar and he mentioned me the brazilians samba players. He said that they didn't know about music theory but instead they where skillful players who try and invent new sounds on the instrument. So when studied musicians tried to analize that tipes of sounds they discovered that it where the most heterogeneous and extravagant bunch of chords ever played, just like you did in this song. Sergio Mendes is an eminence in Bossa Nova, a mix of samba and jazz. Rick, if you play that progression but with an spanish guitar and in a faster speed simply you will hear the sound of Brazil. Grettings from Uruguay.(and sorry for my english)
Your written English is above and beyond that of most English speakers found in youtube comments, please, no more apologies for that! I am looking forward to being able to learn more about the sound of Brasil, I have always had a fascination since I read Jorge Amado’s Tent of Miracles, what a fabulous meeting of cultures, especially mesmerising for the young white Australian girl I was, and guess I still am even though getting a little long in the tooth.
@@michaelsorchantte3857 Hola Michael, igual me pasó. Creo que al estar acostumbrados a escuchar la música producida por Sergio Mendes, damos por sentado estos acordes y recién viendo a Rick romperse la cabeza y detener la canción cada 10 segundos nos damos real cuenta de la genialidad de esta melodía . Saludos desde Perú.
Once again Rick takes a song that I've heard a few thousand times over the years without really listening to to it, and made me hear what I've been totally missing. Rick, you're amazing! Thank you!
That's sort of the goal of "music appreciation" classes. You don't necessarily break down every song you hear mathematically as you listen, but you get more out of it.
@@shanewoolsey940 the best part of going to or being in a wedding is drunken brides maids. Me and my buddies in college used to suit up and go down to the local Holiday Inn complex and wedding crash throughout the spring and summer months. Oh glorious times.
You reminded me of a video I saw some time ago. At the end, the fellow said "if you like this video give it a thumbs-up." And with a straight face he added, "If you didn't like it, tap the thumbs down ... twice." I had to try it, and sure enough, hitting it the second time removes the thumbs-down. Brilliant!
You’re right. I would never realise the complexity in this song. Ricks videos are brilliant as he shows the technical side of the songs. To me this sounded like many other songs, particularly Arthur’s Theme but clearly there is a lot more in it!
Pop is not always simple. This song is uninteresting, because it just sounds bad. The changes and melody don't produce a very pleasing response. The song may have been #1, but primarily for its sickening sweet lyrical content that resonated with sixteen-year-old girls. Compare with a pop song like Henry Mancini's theme from Pink panther. Its complexity comes not from chord changes and modulation per se but from orchestration and use of chromaticisn. No lyrics.
I’ve watched this video several times since it came out. Each time I think, “How come I loved that song and never noticed all those chord changes?” I still don’t quite get how hard it is musically and yet how natural it feels - it just keeps opening up. Amazing song.
For a classical musician, there is nothing particularly complicated about this, except that it's more that, say, two harmonies. I mean, try Shostakovich or Strawinski, for example....
@@UnicRatSo just listen to that classical music , then, and not this music, so disappointing to you. Don't forget, there are many multi- platinum selling music artists in this world who never took a music lesson. But their music connected with hearts and minds, worldwide. Just spent the previous half-hour with real tears as I listened to some Strauss songs. Soprano and orchestra. It was not my usual choice. I wonder if in 200 years in the future, what will be "Classical".
I had a huge grin on my face this entire video. Totally remember playing this tune with a couple wedding bands around the same time in Boston. Very deceptive. The melodic hooks and strait ahead pop-ballad drum approach make this song sound fairly strait forward. As the drummer, I always wondered why the keys, guitar and bass had their heads buried in the chart, brows furrowed. Now I understand. Brilliant writing.
I played this song in a wedding band i got hired to play in last minute when the normal guitarist was sick. I was reading it cold and must've said "what!?," with something close to the same surprise and tone as Rick does in this video, every third or fourth bar. It's this light-hearted, airy, little-bit-sappy, emotional thing that is covertly a labyrinth with a freakin-ravenous minotaur on the loose inside. The bass player and keyboard player were laughing at me thru most of it.
@@marktilley7222 nobody noticed. i made it thru it ok, and having the keys there helped a ton, but it was more just an earbending thing and me being shocked I had never noticed how weird the harmony was when i'd heard it on the radio so many times.
I watch this video over and over because I had the same experience with this same song. It was many many years later and I was playing for a woman who wanted to do it. I thought I've heard this song a hundred times. I can nail this right now. The guitar player didn't know it so we put the tape on. Suddenly I realised I didn't know it either. Same thing, wait go back, what? Glad someone like Rick had the same problem. This song is all over the place. I laugh so hard every time I watch this.
This video is so epic that it's mentioned in the Wikipedia entry for the song! In a June 2021 video posted on RUclips, record producer Rick Beato called "Never Gonna Let You Go" "the most complex pop song of all time", due to its use of frequent key changes, inverted chords and unusual chord progressions.[4] Beato's discussion includes a detailed harmonic analysis of the Sérgio Mendes arrangement.
The music was done more than a year ago. Since it's complicated, people assume it's a Brazilian thing. Not really. As you can see it in that Wikipedia article.
Goddamnit it’s pissing me off how peoples keep attributing this to Sergio Mendes. He obviously didn’t write this. It was written by married couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. None of his other works are remotely similar to this
I was today years old when I discovered that wasn't Sergio Mendes singing and was actually someone called Joe Pizzulo along with Leeza Miller. I know nothing about music, watching Rick talk about chord changes, progressions, even notes is like trying to decipher a foreign language but I love his knowledge and passion. This is a great channel!!
Same. And I’ll take that one step further. I see the last name Pizzulo and I think “there’s a lot of Pizzulos where I live (Youngstown, OH area). I look it up on Wikipedia and sure as hell, he’s from Youngstown.
I've been playing and writing for 45 years and it often sounds like a foreign language to me. Music theory is insanely complex, but most of us doing it this long PRACTICE it without knowing what we're doing, technically.
Me too, I just love to watch his face full of excitement, wonder, smiling with his eyes, enjoying himself. I don’t know much about the theory, but couldn’t live without music.
Likewise, I know nothing when it comes to playing music, but it's great watching Rick unwrap every last nuance. Tbh this song's not really my cup of tea, but I never would thought it was so technically difficult. Definitely brings on a newfound sense of respect for what I thought was throwaway pop
I used to wail this song. The complexity of the chords express the emotional investment of the singers. There’s real passion here- “some flicker of love that still shines through”….”let’s talk about second chances…”. The words are as invested as the music.
Sergio had nothing to do with the music of this song-nor the lyrics. He's barely playing the piano in the music video. He is strictly name only for this song.
@@jessieball6195thank you for calling this out. Sergio didn’t write the chords, the melody, the lyrics, or even sing, yet pasts his name and face on the cover of the song. Seems a bit of a weasel imo
Same here, lol. I couldn't stop watching, and i used to play a guitar a bit, and i still didn't get almost any of it yet I'm absolutely fascinated. Don't know if it's more the fact he can figure out and play all of this chords and chord changes with such ease or his facial expression and absolute enthusiasm about it - after already knowing it for 40 fricking years. 🙂
Fyi, this song was originally written for Earth Wind and Fire by Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann probably because of the similar difficulty in harmony and melody and success of "After The Love Has Gone" which was written by David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin which Maurice White and EWF produced and made famous on their 1979 album "I AM". Dionne Warwick was the first to accept" Never Gonna Let You Go" after the rejection by EWF in 1982. Jay Graydon produced and did all the rhythm arrangements and that was complemented by an elaborate string and horn arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock and Jerry Hey respectively. That said, it was the production of Sergio Mendez on percussion(not kbds) and arrangements by keyboardist Robbie Buchanan, that took this soon to no. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1983 for 4 weeks on the Adult Contemporary Charts.
I'm having a HUGE Deja Vu moment here. My sister got married when this song was a big hit, so naturally she asked my wife and I to play and sing it for her wedding. I listened to it a couple of weeks before and thought, "Yeah another syrupy pop love song, I'll write out a chart a few days ahead of the wedding and not worry about it." Three days before the wedding, I suddenly panic because this sucker starts to look like NASA's formula for moon orbit, and that's just the intro and first verse. So I run out and buy the sheet music. Then I woodshed like a mofo for the next two days to even get through it. Day of the wedding… we got through it, but I ain't claiming it was pretty!
"like NASA's formula for moon orbit, and that's just the intro and first verse" Hilarious. What a shame though that it's so complicated but that doesn't make it sound any better than a syrupy love song. All that effort just to produce a syrupy-sounding love song.
the entire purpose of music is the expression of emotion. This composition uses modulation perfectly to express the emotion of the lyrics. It may b =e syrupy but it's a superb composition. Syrupy love songs are much preferred to all the angst material out there. the question I have to ask is are you a mechanic or a musician?
Remembering Sergio Mendes, who just passed at the age of 83. I've been a fan of this song since it came out. Doesn't seem like it was 41 years ago at all.
The chord changes aren't noticed by the audience because the vocal melody is wonderfully well constructed around these. For instance, sometimes, between section or key changes, the last and first notes of the vocal melody are the same. This helps to eliminate the feeling of confusion produced by these harmonic changes. They're genius!
@@NewMusicWeekly when one is singing, if the harmony goes up more than half a step and the singer repeats the previous verse or a chorus a whole step higher you notice the key change.
@@NewMusicWeekly Very strongly if you want to play it right as opposed to the Ultimate Guitar version or fake book. It sounds to me like the 2 writers are both musicians who were playing keyboards together and sort of melded their ideas for the movements (wow, that sounds great together) while some of the chords that resulted were those quartal harmony/steely dan-sounding. It's certainly inventive and probably a challenge for all but the most seasoned wedding band player.
Honestly think there’s a higher chance the melody came first then they put chords around it. I can’t see how you could get to these chord decisions without the melody and knowing what chords tones they’d be before hand
This tune establishes keys with comforting II-V’s “just enough” to give the listener confidence (it’s accessible to a mass audience). Then it throws curious curves with tonic substitutions (chords containing most common tones with the tonic), and half-step, tritone, minor 3rd, and major 3rd modulations. The audience is confounded but in a good way; their attention is reacquired. It’s like the missing link between Tin Pan Alley, Coltrane, and Neo-Soul!
Up until today I just heard a bunch of circle-of-fifth progressions, if I even stopped to think of it. It just passes over you so effortlessly that you don't notice what's happening.
In 1984 when I was in college I was in a band that played a lot of weddings and I remember that this is the one song that my band dreaded to have requested because of the complexity of chord changes. I'm a drummer so it didn't bother me as much as it did the other guys. This video has unearthed a lot of great memories from my 20s. Thank you!
@@funkmike And you would be correct in that but mainly due to the packing and lugging around of a drum kit from gig to gig to gig. I did that throughout the early to mid 80s in a 1970 Mustang Mach1 which incidentally I still own, only now I don't dare pack drums or anything else in it.
Haha i understand all the terms cuz I’ve study music for years but the speed at which he understands is insane. Like I need to pause and work it through but he just does it lol.
RIP Sergio Mendes. As a brazillian I've really got to know your repertory through this video when it came out. God bless, heaven is having a really cool concert today.
Rick, this video was a masterpiece by you. I've never considered the complexity of this song, although I've heard it countless times. That's what is so unique and gifted about *your* talents, in that you call to light many things that many (most)? of us simply missed, and therefore didn't appreciate. Until you called our attention to them. You, sir, are very gifted in many ways. Please, keep it up!
that’s when you know they are doing it because it works and not because they are trying to show off their technical ability. I never would’ve suspected that song of even being complicated. Certainly not compared to something like Steely Dan -which almost always works- or the absurdities that you sometimes run into with other composers who pride themselves on inserting a measure of 15/18 timing rather randomly ina song.
Is that Sergio Mendez? That’s what his arrangements sounded like. He did the best version of Burt Bacharach’s The Look of Love kept modulating haha. I use to play that song haha when it was new I’m thinking early 80s? You play so nice. Check out Sergio Mendez Bridges there is some nice changes on that one too and while I’m at it check out Gino Vannelli’s Put the Weight on my Shoulders or Brother to Brother great changes in those.
Im not a musician and basically know nothing about music production, but oh boy can i relate to that mentality backfiring. Im in movie production, and holy, backfires EVERY time indeed!
@@donalmaguire6099 LOL. We used to joke that AC/DC named their band after the only chords they knew. Just joking of course - we loved their hard hitting, down-to-earth sound. I'm a firm believer that complicated harmony doesn't always equate to likeable, memorable, soul-stirring music.
"American musician and RUclips personality Rick Beato has analysed the chord structure of the song in a video titled "The Most COMPLEX Pop Song of All Time".'[4]" someone already edited the song's wiki page saying you've reviewed it
Now try getting Wikipedia to admit that the Warren Commission report was pure BS. Lesson for today: Never even consider using Wikipedia for information on anything remotely debatable.
The genius of Sergio Mendes. Saw him last year just before covid, and he, and his band are phenomenal. as I would expect from a 70 year veteran and pop Icon, and those he chooses to play with him. Top three concert for me
RIP Sergio. Today's news brought me here. Would have loved to've seen you interview him about this! Wondering if there was some hidden, 'meta' purpose behind the changes that mirrored the lyrics/meaning of the song.
Aside from that, vocalists in that era were pushing for vocals that require godly levels of vocal range. Some songs are literally unsingable unless you can sing beyond a normal person's range.
What I love the most about Rick is that he is honestly having so much fun with this music. He is telling a story that I guarantee he has told at least a hundred times before and it still cracks him up and he still has a love and awe of the song and where it goes. He truly loves the music for the music.
I used to play this song every night when I was a part of Sergio Mendes group. Just goes to show you music has become so left brain and left brain only and down to this level of deterioration. As depressing as it is I still believe there’s a way to bring the level of creativity and musicality back up again. Kudos to you. Young kids really need people like you.
Congrats on being part of such a fine band. He was/is the best. I can now honestly say I do not have all of his records. This song was from 84. My sincerest apologies, and all best to you.
What’s ironic is that the chords are constantly running away or chasing each other, yet the lyrics are “never gonna let you go….I swear this time, I’m never gonna let you go.” These chord progressions, through constant change, chasing, resolution and chasing again, really paint the appropriate musical picture for the song’s theme.
Rick, thank you for bringing this song to all of our attention. I can remember listening to it as a little kid but had no appreciation for how harmonically complex it is. Good stuff!
Rest in Power, Sergio Mendes. One of the greats among greats. ❤ Thank you, Rick, for opening the ears of understanding in so many so that extraordinary songs like this never get lost among the ordinary.
No wonder it was hard to remember. The chords don’t naturally progress one to the other, and it never lets up. But the writers had an absolutely incredible understanding of harmony to create this!
Look up Mann & Weil, who wrote this. Their songs climbed the charts for like 40 years, plenty of stuff you've probably heard without ever suspecting it was all the same songwriters. They're consummate pros.
@@PianoGesang: uh, where did I say that this was a jazz song? When Tina here said that the chords don’t naturally progress one to the other, I responded by essentially saying that it doesn't sound so "unnatural" to anyone who's played much jazz, especially jazz piano.
I can't get over the vocals in the song. That last chorus Joe Pizzulo is unreal and he sings most of the high harmonies throughout. Amazing performance.
I used to listen, and still do, to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66...he's a master technicians, perfect notes, perfect pitch, tight as you know what, and never a mistake, every note crystal....love listening to his stuff for this reason, just perfection. Every single not is perfection, every harmony perfect, in everything he did. And the female vocalists the same.
Jon Anderson in 1972: “if music has progressed this much since sgt pepper, imagine how amazing it will be in the future”. In the future: “it’s Friday, Friday...”
I love songs that sound simple and aren't. That's a thing Steely Dan does for me. You can hum it, but lord help you if you think it will be easy to learn.
Steely Dan is a great example of this "simple-sounding-but-actually-complex" style, but the difference is that Steely Dan wrote genuinely great songs, unlike this track.
As soon as I saw the title, I knew it was going to be "Never Gonna Let You Go." I could feel it in my bones. I still remember my prof in music theory going through this song. All the changes keep you feeling just a bit off balance so they all hit with the drama of an 80s/90s romance movie slo-mo couple-on-a-beach-at-sunset scene. You know exactly what I mean, too. Admit it. 🤣
The incredible thing is that after a few of those key changes you end up on a whole different planet than where you started off, and yet you're none the wiser
@@rickmacdonald5575 'He ripped off _Never Gonna Give You Up?!'_ Ha! That must be Rick MacDonald riffing on Rick Astley, while being riffed on by Rick Beato.
They put a lot of thought into the song, but in the end it's still a schmaltzy song that has no appeal for me. Interesting only from a theory nerd point of view. Good video.
@@RCAvhstape Agreed, despite all this chord and key complexity it still sounds like generic melodramatic '80s pop. Quantity of chords and modulations does not define quality of a song
They say: "If you want to play it you need to be able to sing it...". In this case, this is one of those things where being able to sing it really doesn't help you at all in playing it.
I think all that modulation is reflective of the feeling that the guy is trying to "open up", i.e., I" loved you then but now I intend to open up and love you even more. "It's a woman's ultimate fantasy - lol. The song is about upping the relationship, letting more light shine through, changing. So all those wonderful changes reflect that! movement But who knew, before your great explanation!!! This video is an amazing ear-training exercise. Thank you!
As a death metal guitarist, I can say with the utmost confidence that I will NEVER learn, let alone be able to play that many chords in succession. Syncopated single note runs? No problem. Borderline schizophrenic chord changes? Not a chance. Love your channel Mr. Beato
I've found that many metal songs are completely composed in an ''out of the box'' way, and sure, there's no academic.level arranging but, oh those unexpected nonsense changes! That's what I love from metal genre. It's a punk thing or something, I don't know but they're catchy. Just listen early albums of fear factory or Sepultura (among million bands) and they're plenty of WTH of melodic and rhytmic modulations.
@@VeronicaGorositoMusic Yep. In metal we do the filthiest modulations, just because they sound, well, filthy. Most of us have no idea what the theory behind it is : )
After being in the music biz for over 50 years, I found this video to be so entertaining, and enlightening! Rick is playing these knuckle buster chords so effortlessly, his touch is impeccable, the guitar is in perfect tune, it sounds amazing, and that wasn't even the point. The story behind the rehearsal and the performances is a riot. Been there so many times over the years. I remember learning a Badfinger tune one afternoon in rehearsal and trying to pull it off that night. Everybody lost it and our bass player just stopped playing and singing, walked back and stood motionless in front of his amp. I think eventually we all just stopped playing. So embarrassing. I'll never forget it!
Good point about how effortless his playing is. Didn't he say that he basically taught himself guitar again from scratch after not having played it for a long time? His mastery of the instrument is astonishing. I can only bash out about 4 chords on a guitar and I can't even do a barre (?) chord, my hand and fingers are too small. It actually looks like Rick is playing on a smallish guitar - or is it just that his hands are ginormous?
I took 4 years of ear training at Juilliard. I know everything you’re talking about but I really feel for you band guys. I play oboe - one note at a time. I never have to go through this delightful insanity in performance but I love listening to it and to you explaining it. You’re an internet treasure
I played violin for 10 years until I started playing guitar at 16. You are not mistaken. my brain ain't do complex chord theory so good lol. it can only handle so much theory. Trying to write a song like this would give me a seizure lol.
"ear training"? what the ....does playing the oboe pay the bills and all that school expense? lol if so then good for you but I can not image an oboe player is making a very good living not to mention why do you need to go to Julliard to train your ear in order to play music?
To @asthewheels: Elite level ear training has been a godsend. My career on stage and in commercials, soundtracks, video game music, and in Broadway pits has been a wonderful experience. It’s my life and I love it. I also own two retail music shops, which has nothing to do with anything other than that a life in music has been a fulfilling and soul inspiring journey. I wish you well.
@@briancharles6838 wow OK I stand fully corrected then! That sounds like an awesome life actually , far better than my path in a career I hate and wake up everyday not wanting to go to work. Good for you. I really just had never even heard of "ear training" it sounded silly sorry for my rude comment.
@@AndreMillerRocks After I posted that I saw others had posted similar things too. It's very noticeable. Check out Charles Cornell's analysis of that song and its chord changes, by the way, cause it's great.
Not my kind of music but the attraction is clear; a rich swoony arrangement and a melody that seems to build to an ecstatic moment. The power of pop music isn’t to be underestimated🙏🏾👍🌈😊
The best thing you can ever say about any complicated song is "it doesn't sound complicated". Phil Collins era Genesis, for example, sticks the landing on this a lot. Tool rarely sounds complicated to the casual listener. Etc. If you can write a theoretically-complex song and have a normal person just bob their head, you've threaded a tricky, but amazing, needle.
@@ChickenJoe-tq6xd Nice, you managed to say nothing substantive AND patronize at the same time. If you don’t think Kendrick Lamar’s music is complex then you don’t have ears. Either that or you let your subjective taste override objective facts.
There aren't, these nonsense chords are created by the government to sell you on phony music courses. All the funds secretly go to deep state military projects.
One of the admirable traits that Rick manifests is his passion as an educator. To take the time to write down and display the chord charts and illustrate graphically his points is so revealing of his interest in sharing knowledge with his viewers. Really wish he'd consider moving or at least cross-posting to some non-TY platform like nebula or something that still earns him some bucks but avoids 5 disruptive ads in just 15 minutes.
Most instructional guitarists have their own thing going on. I forget what they call it but they usually start out on RUclips then go to this "pay for lessons" deal where you can get more in depth lessons.
He's charismatic, charming, knowledgeable, uber talented, and sooooo good on the eyes!!! (Just keep that beard OFF- it takes away from his gorgeous eyes)!!! Best of all, he makes music theory accessible to us all--rich and poor alike. Rock on, Ricky B, your fans adore you!!!
For those non-musicians that have written to me you can donate to my channel through this link on my website rickbeato.com/pages/donate
Or you can become a member of the Beato Club. My Beato Club is exactly like Patreon.
Hey Rick, is the beato book good for learning this kind of stuff? I would like to learn this stuff, as a musician.
I always thought that "Cherish" by The Association was pretty complex for it's era
Rick can you please make a video explaining all those weird chord shapes you had in this video.. or at least principles on how we can construct it
There is a story about Jerome Kern. The day after the play opened for which he wrote 'All The Things You Are' he had lunch with a theater critic for the New York Times. The critic asked him if he thought the song would ever really become popular. Jerome answered "No, the melody is just too complicated for that. People just won't remember it." They finished their lunch and as they walked out of the restaurant a stranger walked by whistling the melody.
Rick, for all of us non musicians, could you play what could be the vanilla version of this song, without over modulation, please? 🙂👍
Sergio Mendes passed away today, September 6th, 2024. A great loss for Brazilian music, Bossa Nova, and the world. RIP Sergio. This video shows his brilliance.
yes, a great guy. But as Rick stated, the merit of composing goes to Weil & Mann. May they all rest in peace.
Rest in Peace for Sergio Mendes, an examplar Brazilian musician that inspired generations from the hole world...
Why didn’t I know that until today! Oh no? 😢😢😢rip!
anyone in europe heard about sergio mendes?
Really? Come on man! You're definitely not seriously thinking there are no jazzers as well as world music and bossa nova fans in the old continent, are you? Lay it off!
Back in the day, in our wedding band, we prayed that the bride and groom NEVER requested this to be the song for their first dance!
Ahaha
Im going to request this at every wedding I attend that has a band, then stand where the band can see me laugh.
@@harrysachs2274 Absolute madlad
It could have been their last dance. 🤣🤣🤣
Maybe play it later, after everyones had a couple drinks they wont notice if youve made it simpler
"Never gonna pick a key...I'm gonna modulate the song forever"
Underrated comment
thats funny
Nailed it! Lmao
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"Gonna try and make up for all the times they bored ya so. Gon-na hold your ear close to mine. From this day on we're confused together. Oh I swear this time I'm never gonna change the key."
Rest in peace, dear Sérgio Mendes. Not only for this song but for all your contribution to music around the world.
Mendes was not the composer, nor was he the first to record this song (this was Dionne Warwick).
@@mattmobile7882 Umm so? :) Making a cover your own is an art in and of itself
The genius of this song isn’t even the chords, it’s that they wrote a singable, hummable, memorable vocal melody over that!!!
I bet they wrote the melody first and got as tricky as they could with the chords after
I think a simpler way to arrive at such a song is to start with humming a melody, pivoting it across keys whenever you feel like. Or, in other words, neglecting the key and just trying to make passages move somewhere - jumping to an off-key tone here and there, and seeing where it leads. I don't see the chord sequences having a structure of their own in this song, they're just short tension and release cycles made to fit the melody. Resolutions that occur every other measure lead to apparent "normalcy", no matter how harmonically distant the start of every following cadence is.
Yeah, I wonder if it started as a regular pop song, then someone decided to entertain themself by making the chords as complex as possible while still going with the melody.
@@BellXllebMusic My thoughts exactly.
@@george474747 Not really, the chords follow the modulations of the melody in this song. A "jazzified" chord scheme looks very different!
Rick: The Wikipedia page for this song already mentions that you analyzed the song and called it the most complex pop song ever, just 4 hours after you posted this video. You've become a cultural icon!
Deservedly so. Kudos, Rick!!!
Rick has become a “star music teacher” and rightly so.
Lol that’s awesome!
I subscribed to this channel after seeing this video!
Wow
Am I the only non-musician here understanding like 10% of the technobabble but still enjoying this guy's enthusiasm tremendously?
I tried self-learning guitar in the late 80s and early 90s. I didn't even understand 1% of what Rick was talking about.
The thing you can surely understand about it is that as one of the musicians, there is a certain divine comfort in knowing that no matter how badly you completely obliterate a tune, even in front of people, in 3 minutes it will be over and nobody is gonna have any broken bones or even flesh wounds. Yes, extremely awkward at the time. But it's like...you know *in advance* that you are automatically guaranteed forgiven for any sort of mistake you can make. All you have to do is to go on to the next tune which you know you are gonna do anyway. Which is why between Rick & the bass player it is/was so double-over hilarious.
No I love this and I’m not a musician. I am a regular.
Count me in. I love this channel even though I understand almost none of the technical aspects of music.
Sign Up for His Courses. Learn How to Play.
Rick, I have been playing piano for 40 yrs. I put together a massive 80s playlist, found this song, downloaded the sheet music. I seriously had some wtf moments as I was sight reading. Took me 3 tries to get it down and after watching your video I was dying of laughter. I can’t imagine trying to memorize this song. Thx for the analysis!
difficult to play and sing at the same time, if you are accompanying a singer then a competent guitarist should be able to handle it. Happy Talk also sounds a simple song but wait till you see the chord changes!
You still have that playlist? I'm always happy to expand my 80s horizon :)
I’m cool with the new series…What makes the song weird.
yes yes yes!!!
😂
Yesss
Great idea 😂
As complicated as these progressions are, it never SOUNDS crazy. Just flows. Weird!
Yep. Honestly if I wasn't told this is the original I would assume this is like a modern day Jazz band doing a reharmonization but then on those the singers themselves never modulate this much.
It's like a Giant Steps lost track that was retrofitted with a nice, romantic melody and lyrics yet it still works as both.
@@IncredibleGoliath It feels like standard pop, because it is written as standard pop. Despite the modulations the song is written pretty generically and that is why it is not remembered, not because of the modulations. Modulations can actually help a song make it more memorable, you have Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the most memorable and recognizable songs ever and it has several modulations. So you can attribute that to the writing and not the modulations themselves.
Genius level melody writing.
@@IncredibleGoliath Oh ok, I thought you were making a point as to how the modulations in itself were a detriment to the composition, my bad.
The vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller are STUNNING! Don’t hear too many pop singers like those anymore in today’s music. Another great song sung by Pizzulo is Alibis from the Sérgio Mendes album Confetti - there’s a great live video of it here on RUclips
Brazilian harmony is otherworldly.
Once I asked a Brazilian guitarist where he had learned all those cool chords and progressions. His response: "In the streets"
I had a Brazilian keyboardist play an amazing passage once. When I asked him what it was, he said, "I don't know"
He was serious
most musicians here in brazil actually did learn most things from the streets because it was where samba and pagode were presented, i think after the 90's that culture kinda ended tho
That's so badass
Try a song called ""Corsario" from the singer "João Bosco".
Funny thing is: A lot of Brazilian youngsters don't even know who Sérgio Mendes is, and half of those who kno, know him only as they guy that had his studio built by Harrison Ford (before he was famous).
You may know Sergio Mendes is brazilian and his major influence is "Bossa Nova" that has a lot of chords like those in its composition; even Mendes has done the arrangement, only. Names like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra, João Gilberto, among other have been used these kind of sequence since the 60s and 70s. I'm Dilermando Nassif, from Belo Horizonte, MG. Brazil. I like your videos. You are a great musician. Congratulations.
But it wasn't written by Mendes. It was written by Barry Mann and his wife Cynthia Weil. Both born and raised in New York City.
listen in at 8:35. although i get your point
Did you know Sergio Mendes also has a cult following? Can't even walk down the street in South America.
@@petedavis7970 I'm going to explain something you might not know about music production: music is divided into 2 distinct parts, lyrics and harmony. The objective of this video is not to analyze the lyrics of the song but rather the harmony, especially the chosen chords.
@@petedavis7970 You're talking about the lyrics, not the song itself.
This song is legit genius. Coming up with all of those progressions is one thing, but making it into a coherent song with nice singing parts, that's skill, man.
A friend of mine once said a winning pop song is the most difficult to write.
@@neilslade Bro, it's a targeted pop song, what are you expecting? The cool thing about this channel is that Rick never turns down any genre of music merely based on the lyrics, vocals, or whatever.. I'd imagine very few of us here would actually listen to this song or album in our spare time.. doesn't stop us from analyzing it from a musical perspective, though. It's not a song I'd rock out to, but props where they are due: within the genre, for what it wants to do, it's masterfully crafted, and far more ambitious than just about anything else you could hear in the genre. That to me is what makes it worth the praise, not necessarily meaning that I'm in love with it :D
I am pretty sure the melody was not made to match those chords. It was the other way around. About all successful songwriters start with the melody. After that, there are a million ways to do the chords. It's called chord substitution. Guitarist Joe Pass did it with standards.
@@WorldWarThree I remember, "back in the day", reading "Guitar Player" mag, and almost every interviewee indicated this, "melody first/chords after" approach to songwriting....I was composing music, but always chord progs alone, I thought, "I will never be able to write songs!", or maybe just instrumental music; but, about a decade ago, I consciously decided to see if I could just compose a melody "cold turkey" and chord it, after, and I (thankfully!) found out that I can!
Hmmm, (deep sigh) not convinced.
Even if our 'Guru on high' vouches for it! 😫
I don’t understand 95% of what you’re talking about but I find these videos so interesting, intriguing, even often humorous! Thank you for your hard work on these.
96% for me lol
The case when it's no matter if you speak English or Russian - you still don't understand 95% of what is said 😃
Same lmao
I know nothing except you are great
And I thought I was the only "non initiated" having fun with those videos. They are awesome!
The craziest part of the story isn't them butchering the song. Its doing an emotional love song for kids ages 8-10.
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Dude!!!!!!!
If it was no. 1 the kids wouldn't have batted an eyelid. People accept what they're exposed to. You hear something enough at that age, it'll probably grow on you.
Edit: Bohemian Rhapsody is the ultimate example. I was 12 when that came out and at first it sounded like a mess. Two weeks later I was buying it. And of course I'm now sick and tired of it 😉
Hahaha! :D I was like; "Wait . . . What? 8-10-12 year olds"? :P
@@mvunit3 I was four or five when this song came out and 100% remember hearing it on the radio.
Mind blown. Although I have to disagree with one point. Even as a kid, I didn’t miss the chord changes. I was just too young to understand what was going on. The complex, nigh uncomfortable chord changes and progression create a lot of tension that emulates a feeling of passion. Even as a kid who didn’t know that kind of love yet, I felt it. Same feeling at 44, but now I know why. Absolutely brilliant.
I love that you write out the chord symbols by hand and then import them in
Years ago I was talking with a friend about playing guitar and he mentioned me the brazilians samba players. He said that they didn't know about music theory but instead they where skillful players who try and invent new sounds on the instrument. So when studied musicians tried to analize that tipes of sounds they discovered that it where the most heterogeneous and extravagant bunch of chords ever played, just like you did in this song. Sergio Mendes is an eminence in Bossa Nova, a mix of samba and jazz. Rick, if you play that progression but with an spanish guitar and in a faster speed simply you will hear the sound of Brazil. Grettings from Uruguay.(and sorry for my english)
You have nothing to apologize for my friend. Nothing at all.
Your written English is above and beyond that of most English speakers found in youtube comments, please, no more apologies for that! I am looking forward to being able to learn more about the sound of Brasil, I have always had a fascination since I read Jorge Amado’s Tent of Miracles, what a fabulous meeting of cultures, especially mesmerising for the young white Australian girl I was, and guess I still am even though getting a little long in the tooth.
Hola hermano Charrua!Esta cancion es una de mis favoritas nunca pense que era tan dificil para tocar.Saludos desde Australia
Interesting 💜🎶 Makes sense tho
@@michaelsorchantte3857 Hola Michael, igual me pasó. Creo que al estar acostumbrados a escuchar la música producida por Sergio Mendes, damos por sentado estos acordes y recién viendo a Rick romperse la cabeza y detener la canción cada 10 segundos nos damos real cuenta de la genialidad de esta melodía . Saludos desde Perú.
Once again Rick takes a song that I've heard a few thousand times over the years without really listening to to it, and made me hear what I've been totally missing.
Rick, you're amazing!
Thank you!
100% I've always loved the vocal melody but never really noticed how complex the chords were.
That's sort of the goal of "music appreciation" classes. You don't necessarily break down every song you hear mathematically as you listen, but you get more out of it.
No doubt. Never did I look at it like this, like at all whatsoever... Cool beans!
Absolutely god-level jazz composition. So complex yet sounds so natural and so beautiful,
especially with the male / female duet.
Quincy Jones can do that when he has access to many gifted musicians and arrangers all over the world.
Are you sure? Natural? Beautiful? What is that bar, then?
Laughing throughout this . . . Must have played this song a hundred times with varying success in different wedding bands in the 80s . . .
wait. "varying" success?
The only good part of wedding gigs is drunken brides maids. LOL
A F*** it lets just do it in C major guys…
@@shanewoolsey940 the best part of going to or being in a wedding is drunken brides maids. Me and my buddies in college used to suit up and go down to the local Holiday Inn complex and wedding crash throughout the spring and summer months. Oh glorious times.
Simple bloody chords... D# E7b5 F E 2-6 aFb#6 C.... That's it... Not so complicated
It's for songs like this that the drummer is happy he's the drummer.
Right. Back there like "Good luck with that, y'all" 😂
And the singer is like... what’s wrong with you guys 😂😂😂😂
Until the singer wants to play a rush song…
Agrees in 4/4
@@davidboyer7706 that's when the drummer sez "yaaay" let's wake these people up!
Frustrated not to be able to press “thumbs up” more than once. Fascinating, as non-musicians don’t realize how much goes on in a song.
And even some so-called "musicians."
You reminded me of a video I saw some time ago. At the end, the fellow said "if you like this video give it a thumbs-up." And with a straight face he added, "If you didn't like it, tap the thumbs down ... twice."
I had to try it, and sure enough, hitting it the second time removes the thumbs-down. Brilliant!
You’re right. I would never realise the complexity in this song. Ricks videos are brilliant as he shows the technical side of the songs. To me this sounded like many other songs, particularly Arthur’s Theme but clearly there is a lot more in it!
Pop is not always simple. This song is uninteresting, because it just sounds bad. The changes and melody don't produce a very pleasing response. The song may have been #1, but primarily for its sickening sweet lyrical content that resonated with sixteen-year-old girls. Compare with a pop song like Henry Mancini's theme from Pink panther. Its complexity comes not from chord changes and modulation per se but from orchestration and use of chromaticisn. No lyrics.
@@isohumulone pink panther is pop???? How do we define "pop"
I’ve watched this video several times since it came out. Each time I think, “How come I loved that song and never noticed all those chord changes?” I still don’t quite get how hard it is musically and yet how natural it feels - it just keeps opening up. Amazing song.
For a classical musician, there is nothing particularly complicated about this, except that it's more that, say, two harmonies. I mean, try Shostakovich or Strawinski, for example....
@@UnicRatSo just listen to that classical music , then, and not this music, so disappointing to you.
Don't forget, there are many multi- platinum selling music
artists in this world who never took a music lesson.
But their music connected with hearts and minds, worldwide.
Just spent the previous half-hour with real tears as I listened to some Strauss songs. Soprano and orchestra. It was not my usual choice. I wonder if in 200 years in the future, what will be "Classical".
Kinda sorta. Has nothing to do with this. .
This song can only be played by Guitar George, cause he knows all the chords.
He's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing!
They said an old guitar is all, he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing
And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene.
He’s got a daytime job, he’s doing alright
I had a huge grin on my face this entire video. Totally remember playing this tune with a couple wedding bands around the same time in Boston. Very deceptive. The melodic hooks and strait ahead pop-ballad drum approach make this song sound fairly strait forward. As the drummer, I always wondered why the keys, guitar and bass had their heads buried in the chart, brows furrowed. Now I understand. Brilliant writing.
Not too tough for us drummers!
I grew up in The Bean.
They LOOOVED this song back in the day!
As a child/teen of the 80s I’ve heard this song a thousand times....I never realized how intricate it was!
Me neither, cause I always changed the station immediately.
I love this song, it is one of my favorites. I brings to mind the difficulty of Earth, Wind, and Fire's "After the love is gone."
“Ok let’s play this new song tonight”
“What are the chords”
“All of them”
No lie there!!!
"Just hit the fretboard, something will fit"
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
"how many chords?"
"YES"
This needs 'Guitar George' to play it! :D
I played this song in a wedding band i got hired to play in last minute when the normal guitarist was sick. I was reading it cold and must've said "what!?," with something close to the same surprise and tone as Rick does in this video, every third or fourth bar. It's this light-hearted, airy, little-bit-sappy, emotional thing that is covertly a labyrinth with a freakin-ravenous minotaur on the loose inside. The bass player and keyboard player were laughing at me thru most of it.
@@marktilley7222 nobody noticed. i made it thru it ok, and having the keys there helped a ton, but it was more just an earbending thing and me being shocked I had never noticed how weird the harmony was when i'd heard it on the radio so many times.
the « normal guitarist » fled the country
To me the craziest part is how natural these changes sound!
Yes. It’s insane that is shifting keys and modulations as much as it is but it flows.
I watch this video over and over because I had the same experience with this same song. It was many many years later and I was playing for a woman who wanted to do it. I thought I've heard this song a hundred times. I can nail this right now. The guitar player didn't know it so we put the tape on. Suddenly I realised I didn't know it either. Same thing, wait go back, what? Glad someone like Rick had the same problem. This song is all over the place. I laugh so hard every time I watch this.
The secret What Makes This Song Great episode nobody asked for, but everyone appreciates.
This video is so epic that it's mentioned in the Wikipedia entry for the song!
In a June 2021 video posted on RUclips, record producer Rick Beato called "Never Gonna Let You Go" "the most complex pop song of all time", due to its use of frequent key changes, inverted chords and unusual chord progressions.[4] Beato's discussion includes a detailed harmonic analysis of the Sérgio Mendes arrangement.
Love that!
@MattsCrazyArt niceee
The music was done more than a year ago. Since it's complicated, people assume it's a Brazilian thing. Not really. As you can see it in that Wikipedia article.
Goddamnit it’s pissing me off how peoples keep attributing this to Sergio Mendes. He obviously didn’t write this. It was written by married couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
None of his other works are remotely similar to this
I was today years old when I discovered that wasn't Sergio Mendes singing and was actually someone called Joe Pizzulo along with Leeza Miller. I know nothing about music, watching Rick talk about chord changes, progressions, even notes is like trying to decipher a foreign language but I love his knowledge and passion. This is a great channel!!
Keep watching his videos and learning, one day you'll wake up and realize you do know something about music. You'll surprise yourself.
Same. And I’ll take that one step further. I see the last name Pizzulo and I think “there’s a lot of Pizzulos where I live (Youngstown, OH area). I look it up on Wikipedia and sure as hell, he’s from Youngstown.
I've been playing and writing for 45 years and it often sounds like a foreign language to me. Music theory is insanely complex, but most of us doing it this long PRACTICE it without knowing what we're doing, technically.
Me too, I just love to watch his face full of excitement, wonder, smiling with his eyes, enjoying himself. I don’t know much about the theory, but couldn’t live without music.
Likewise, I know nothing when it comes to playing music, but it's great watching Rick unwrap every last nuance. Tbh this song's not really my cup of tea, but I never would thought it was so technically difficult. Definitely brings on a newfound sense of respect for what I thought was throwaway pop
I used to wail this song. The complexity of the chords express the emotional investment of the singers. There’s real passion here- “some flicker of love that still shines through”….”let’s talk about second chances…”. The words are as invested as the music.
So what you're telling me is, Sergio Mendes enforced copy protection on this song by encrypting the chord progression.
and Rick hacked it... sort of 😅
Just about sums it up! ^_^
Actually people used to do stunts like that all the time.
@@redrick8900: Actually it's funnier if you don't explain it.
@@deusexaethera It wasn't funny to begin with.
That's why there's no chords left in contemporary pop music. Sérgio stole them all
^ Underated comment right here! 😄😄😄
Yep. He just left 4.
To people with a musical ear it sounds perfectly natural. Even logical.
Sergio had nothing to do with the music of this song-nor the lyrics. He's barely playing the piano in the music video. He is strictly name only for this song.
@@jessieball6195thank you for calling this out.
Sergio didn’t write the chords, the melody, the lyrics, or even sing, yet pasts his name and face on the cover of the song.
Seems a bit of a weasel imo
I found this absolutely fascinating, even though I didn't understood a single thing
😂 😂 Ikr?
That is so on the money - Rick is so watchable, so enthusiastic, he just carries you away on a tide of delightful ignorance
What Oniguma said.
Same here, lol. I couldn't stop watching, and i used to play a guitar a bit, and i still didn't get almost any of it yet I'm absolutely fascinated. Don't know if it's more the fact he can figure out and play all of this chords and chord changes with such ease or his facial expression and absolute enthusiasm about it - after already knowing it for 40 fricking years. 🙂
Exactly the same for me. I don't know why I look that video, I did not understand a single thing, but it has been a pleasant moment.
Fyi, this song was originally written for Earth Wind and Fire by Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann probably because of the similar difficulty in harmony and melody and
success of "After The Love Has Gone" which was written by David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin which Maurice White and EWF produced and made
famous on their 1979 album "I AM". Dionne Warwick was the first to accept" Never Gonna Let You Go" after the rejection by EWF in 1982. Jay Graydon produced
and did all the rhythm arrangements and that was complemented by an elaborate string and horn arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock and Jerry Hey respectively.
That said, it was the production of Sergio Mendez on percussion(not kbds) and arrangements by keyboardist Robbie Buchanan, that took this soon to no. 1 on the
Billboard charts in 1983 for 4 weeks on the Adult Contemporary Charts.
I'm having a HUGE Deja Vu moment here. My sister got married when this song was a big hit, so naturally she asked my wife and I to play and sing it for her wedding. I listened to it a couple of weeks before and thought, "Yeah another syrupy pop love song, I'll write out a chart a few days ahead of the wedding and not worry about it."
Three days before the wedding, I suddenly panic because this sucker starts to look like NASA's formula for moon orbit, and that's just the intro and first verse. So I run out and buy the sheet music. Then I woodshed like a mofo for the next two days to even get through it.
Day of the wedding… we got through it, but I ain't claiming it was pretty!
"like NASA's formula for moon orbit, and that's just the intro and first verse"
Hilarious. What a shame though that it's so complicated but that doesn't make it sound any better than a syrupy love song. All that effort just to produce a syrupy-sounding love song.
@@100pcRenewables whats so bad about a syrupy love song? I love 80s syrupy love songs!
the entire purpose of music is the expression of emotion. This composition uses modulation perfectly to express the emotion of the lyrics. It may b =e syrupy but it's a superb composition.
Syrupy love songs are much preferred to all the angst material out there. the question I have to ask is are you a mechanic or a musician?
@@pattunes1 exactly
Roll the VCR! 😍
This is how you write a song without getting sued for plagiarism lol.
Good one
@ape kaspank lol
Best comment of the night
Can't copyright chord changes anyway. Although melodies on the other hand... Sounds not unlike The Greatest Love of All..
Actually bits of it remind me of Could it be Magic which in turn rips off Chopin
He looks so overwhelmingly happy with the complexity of this song. Love it.
Like a cat with a laser pointer dot he can't quite catch!
I think this is standard Rick Beato. I wish I loved anything as much as Rick loves music. :)
Remembering Sergio Mendes, who just passed at the age of 83. I've been a fan of this song since it came out. Doesn't seem like it was 41 years ago at all.
The chord changes aren't noticed by the audience because the vocal melody is wonderfully well constructed around these. For instance, sometimes, between section or key changes, the last and first notes of the vocal melody are the same. This helps to eliminate the feeling of confusion produced by these harmonic changes. They're genius!
How strongly does a melody imply its harmony?
@@NewMusicWeekly when one is singing, if the harmony goes up more than half a step and the singer repeats the previous verse or a chorus a whole step higher you notice the key change.
@@NewMusicWeekly Very strongly if you want to play it right as opposed to the Ultimate Guitar version or fake book. It sounds to me like the 2 writers are both musicians who were playing keyboards together and sort of melded their ideas for the movements (wow, that sounds great together) while some of the chords that resulted were those quartal harmony/steely dan-sounding.
It's certainly inventive and probably a challenge for all but the most seasoned wedding band player.
Those sorts of changes are called Enharmonic key changes.
Honestly think there’s a higher chance the melody came first then they put chords around it. I can’t see how you could get to these chord decisions without the melody and knowing what chords tones they’d be before hand
Producer: So which chords are you thinking for this song?
Artist: All of them
Producer: How many chords are there in your song?
Composer: Yes
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
"We'll just tell you the chords that AREN'T in the song. It's easier that way."
Artist: All of them
Producer: Okay so we're going to add a few tritone substituations...
Artist: ALL OF THEM!
This tune establishes keys with comforting II-V’s “just enough” to give the listener confidence (it’s accessible to a mass audience). Then it throws curious curves with tonic substitutions (chords containing most common tones with the tonic), and half-step, tritone, minor 3rd, and major 3rd modulations.
The audience is confounded but in a good way; their attention is reacquired.
It’s like the missing link between Tin Pan Alley, Coltrane, and Neo-Soul!
Up until today I just heard a bunch of circle-of-fifth progressions, if I even stopped to think of it. It just passes over you so effortlessly that you don't notice what's happening.
Nerd
Sergio Mendes' Love Came Between Us is also complex but truly beautiful. Would love to hear your take on this.
In 1984 when I was in college I was in a band that played a lot of weddings and I remember that this is the one song that my band dreaded to have requested because of the complexity of chord changes. I'm a drummer so it didn't bother me as much as it did the other guys. This video has unearthed a lot of great memories from my 20s. Thank you!
That's funny. I've always thought the drummer had the hardest job in every band I've been in, but song would contradict that.
@@funkmike And you would be correct in that but mainly due to the packing and lugging around of a drum kit from gig to gig to gig. I did that throughout the early to mid 80s in a 1970 Mustang Mach1 which incidentally I still own, only now I don't dare pack drums or anything else in it.
I’m not the only one who has no freaking clue what Rick’s talking about but thoroughly enjoys watching his videos, right? 🎸✌️
Yes indeed. I play the piano and I can hear it all but don't know my way round a guitar. Love these videos. You hear the songs with new ears.
Right there with you 😁
I’m a drummer so I just smile and bop along 😆.
Haha i understand all the terms cuz I’ve study music for years but the speed at which he understands is insane. Like I need to pause and work it through but he just does it lol.
Like that.
A bit of trivia: The (first) studio for Sergio Mendes was built by a then young carpenter that would later become known as Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
10:46
@@GiacomodellaSvezia lol
@@GiacomodellaSvezia This is the best comment in a comment of the year.
@@GiacomodellaSvezia youre genius man LOL
Jesus?
RIP Sergio Mendes. As a brazillian I've really got to know your repertory through this video when it came out. God bless, heaven is having a really cool concert today.
Rick, this video was a masterpiece by you. I've never considered the complexity of this song, although I've heard it countless times. That's what is so unique and gifted about *your* talents, in that you call to light many things that many (most)? of us simply missed, and therefore didn't appreciate. Until you called our attention to them. You, sir, are very gifted in many ways. Please, keep it up!
There're more chords in this song than in the whole Billboard hot 100.
hahahhahah
Niiiice, LOL!
key Metallica clip: "Sad but true!!!!"
Sadly, YES
trueeeeeeeee
It's incredible how they managed to make a song so complex which probably appears quite normal to non-musicians ears.
It sounds completely logical until Rick dissects it...
that’s when you know they are doing it because it works and not because they are trying to show off their technical ability. I never would’ve suspected that song of even being complicated. Certainly not compared to something like Steely Dan -which almost always works- or the absurdities that you sometimes run into with other composers who pride themselves on inserting a measure of 15/18 timing rather randomly ina song.
Exactly
Is that Sergio Mendez? That’s what his arrangements sounded like. He did the best version of Burt Bacharach’s The Look of Love kept modulating haha. I use to play that song haha when it was new I’m thinking early 80s? You play so nice. Check out Sergio Mendez Bridges there is some nice changes on that one too and while I’m at it check out Gino Vannelli’s Put the Weight on my Shoulders or Brother to Brother great changes in those.
"Should we write a chart for this?"
"Naw, we can figure this out."
Backfires EVERY time.
"... no need for chart.."
Then comes first line
"I was as wrong as i could be..."
No truer word ever said! Lol
Im not a musician and basically know nothing about music production, but oh boy can i relate to that mentality backfiring. Im in movie production, and holy, backfires EVERY time indeed!
"Now we're in uncharted territory." Literally.
This Song has more chords than the entire AC/DC catalogue
I know to which one I’d rather listen, tho.
not too hard tbh
I was hoping it had the two chords A/C and D/C but unfortunately the closest is Ab/c and D/C
@@donalmaguire6099 LOL. We used to joke that AC/DC named their band after the only chords they knew. Just joking of course - we loved their hard hitting, down-to-earth sound. I'm a firm believer that complicated harmony doesn't always equate to likeable, memorable, soul-stirring music.
The intro itself does.
"American musician and RUclips personality Rick Beato has analysed the chord structure of the song in a video titled "The Most COMPLEX Pop Song of All Time".'[4]" someone already edited the song's wiki page saying you've reviewed it
wow that was fast!
Now try getting Wikipedia to admit that the Warren Commission report was pure BS.
Lesson for today: Never even consider using Wikipedia for information on anything remotely debatable.
@@ole555 unless you agree with them... ha
Well, at least the CIA let something on Wikipedia that matters.
That is Krazy! Now, just in... Trump *may have* lost the election🙄
RIP Sergio. I fucking love this music piece. makes me eargasm
Be careful, progressions like this can open up a portal.
Why do I feel like Kenny G would be on the other side smiling at me, creepily?
It's like Beetlejuice
Try and interview the people who wrote this song Rick. Id be intrigued to hear what was on there minds when writing it
Cocaine
@@nickwodka8080 🤣
The genius of Sergio Mendes. Saw him last year just before covid, and he, and his band are phenomenal. as I would expect from a 70 year veteran and pop Icon, and those he chooses to play with him. Top three concert for me
It was written by Barry Mann though
@@Steffschenko A lot of Mendes' songs were covers, but his arrangements were perfection.
RIP Sergio. Today's news brought me here. Would have loved to've seen you interview him about this! Wondering if there was some hidden, 'meta' purpose behind the changes that mirrored the lyrics/meaning of the song.
I feel like many artists/bands in 82/83 were trying to out-modulate each other 😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Aside from that, vocalists in that era were pushing for vocals that require godly levels of vocal range. Some songs are literally unsingable unless you can sing beyond a normal person's range.
80s. Bigger, more, larger......
Well said
I remember figuring out Eternal Flame for a wedding and being pretty blown away by the chord changes!
What I love the most about Rick is that he is honestly having so much fun with this music. He is telling a story that I guarantee he has told at least a hundred times before and it still cracks him up and he still has a love and awe of the song and where it goes. He truly loves the music for the music.
It's the Italian sense of humor, their laughter is so contagious and their energy lifts the mood.
I have zero understanding of any of this, but MASSIVE RESPECT for the analysis and your brilliant playing!!! 🥺
Same
same here
I just saw this and agree. The music is brilliant. Made me realize how little about music I know.Awesome vid.
and yet so watchable.
I could not put it better myself.
This is one of your best videos - I love the fun you are having with it and the way you show us the chords.
As someone who loves music but is NOT a musician, listening to you speak music like its a native language is just so cool.
I love this. I’m the same way. My wife and I love watching these with our jaws dropped.
its just like knowing what lol means ... my grandma doesnt understand lol but she uses it .. i have 2 choices ... accept or attack
discuss
I used to play this song every night when I was a part of Sergio Mendes group. Just goes to show you music has become so left brain and left brain only and down to this level of deterioration. As depressing as it is I still believe there’s a way to bring the level of creativity and musicality back up again. Kudos to you. Young kids really need people like you.
From what record??? I have all of Sergio's records !!!
Congrats on being part of such a fine band. He was/is the best. I can now honestly say I do not have all of his records. This song was from 84. My sincerest apologies, and all best to you.
TBH I guess the complexity shifted into electronic realm. Sound engineering, mastering, sampling, effects, synthesizing, etc etc
Musical interludes are all but history now, too.
❤️
What’s ironic is that the chords are constantly running away or chasing each other, yet the lyrics are “never gonna let you go….I swear this time, I’m never gonna let you go.” These chord progressions, through constant change, chasing, resolution and chasing again, really paint the appropriate musical picture for the song’s theme.
Interesting point. I'd also add that this song is beautiful and endures.
Right on point!!!
Cool commentary. Well done.
Very nice point! As a philosopher, I enjoy sharp observations like this!
Great observation!
I am not a musician but love the breakdown Rick does for this song, then you had me laughing too. Great video!
Rick, thank you for bringing this song to all of our attention. I can remember listening to it as a little kid but had no appreciation for how harmonically complex it is. Good stuff!
Mash up incoming?
Ahhh! The Master of Mashups is in the house!
Very interesting. Not a musician, but really enjoyed this.
Theory🤯
me too... tnx to Sir Rick didn't know this song was this complex omg
Pulling out a song with an impossible to memorise chord progression is such a singer move.
😂
Musicians that are getting married from now on will request this song just to witness the pain.
And will sadistically relish in it. 😎
Rest in Power, Sergio Mendes. One of the greats among greats. ❤ Thank you, Rick, for opening the ears of understanding in so many so that extraordinary songs like this never get lost among the ordinary.
No wonder it was hard to remember. The chords don’t naturally progress one to the other, and it never lets up. But the writers had an absolutely incredible understanding of harmony to create this!
Look up Mann & Weil, who wrote this. Their songs climbed the charts for like 40 years, plenty of stuff you've probably heard without ever suspecting it was all the same songwriters. They're consummate pros.
@@GuitaristInProgress they were very powerful indeed
I don't know, it's pretty typical of jazz music--maybe Rick needs to bone up on his jazz chord progressions. It's never too late.
@@PianoGesang: uh, where did I say that this was a jazz song? When Tina here said that the chords don’t naturally progress one to the other, I responded by essentially saying that it doesn't sound so "unnatural" to anyone who's played much jazz, especially jazz piano.
Friend: Dude, I just mastered Holy Wars.. by Megadeth!!
Me: Cool man, but can you play "Never gonna let you go" by Sergio Mendes?....
Yeah dude, never thought a song like this would make me wanna throw my guitar down in frustration. Grocery store music of all things!
I can't get over the vocals in the song. That last chorus Joe Pizzulo is unreal and he sings most of the high harmonies throughout. Amazing performance.
@@themadmattster9647 grocery music is so accurate 😂
@@ProducedByMERC I mean to be fair, smooth jazz is also common grocery store music.
@@herecomesaregular8418 yeah :|
"Which chords should we use for this song?"
"All of them!"
Remove a few notes, Mozart!
Thats my favourite kind of song!!!
Or none of them which would make 4 better listening
I used to listen, and still do, to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66...he's a master technicians, perfect notes, perfect pitch, tight as you know what, and never a mistake, every note crystal....love listening to his stuff for this reason, just perfection. Every single not is perfection, every harmony perfect, in everything he did. And the female vocalists the same.
I love that his introduction is simply, "Hi, I'm Rick Beato." No wordy preamble, no lengthy intro animation, just straight to the goods.
Jon Anderson in 1972: “if music has progressed this much since sgt pepper, imagine how amazing it will be in the future”.
In the future: “it’s Friday, Friday...”
"Gucci Gang Gucci Gang"
Fucking WAP
@@ogmakefirefiregood Blurred Lines
@@chcknpie04 sorry, I don’t get it. What’s is “wap”?
@@souldreamer9056 heh-heh…don’t ask. If you really want to know, look up Cardi B. It will make you sad, I think.
I love songs that sound simple and aren't. That's a thing Steely Dan does for me. You can hum it, but lord help you if you think it will be easy to learn.
Steely Dan is a great example of this "simple-sounding-but-actually-complex" style, but the difference is that Steely Dan wrote genuinely great songs, unlike this track.
I feel like a lot of jazz is like that.
Retrovertigo by Mr Bungle. Not the most complicated song. But certainly stranger than it sounds.
Steely Dan makes my teeth hurt! I commented my theory that people hate this song because they heard it in the dentist's waiting rooms.
Baltimore here also, Scott. I couldn't agree with you more on Steely Dan. Pick up guitar, 45 minutes later, walk away frustrated.
I've heard this song a ton of times and I never realized its complixity!!! What a genius the arrange writer!!!
As soon as I saw the title, I knew it was going to be "Never Gonna Let You Go." I could feel it in my bones. I still remember my prof in music theory going through this song. All the changes keep you feeling just a bit off balance so they all hit with the drama of an 80s/90s romance movie slo-mo couple-on-a-beach-at-sunset scene. You know exactly what I mean, too. Admit it. 🤣
Good prof u got there👍🏽
He ripped off never gonna give you up lol/a
The incredible thing is that after a few of those key changes you end up on a whole different planet than where you started off, and yet you're none the wiser
@@rickmacdonald5575 'He ripped off _Never Gonna Give You Up?!'_ Ha! That must be Rick MacDonald riffing on Rick Astley, while being riffed on by Rick Beato.
I can imagine all the babies conceived because of that song. I'm going to drag out my 12 string Martin and see what I can do with the song.
Before Beato: throw away pop song
After Beato: stunningly complex gem
Exactly
Quit being so judgmental
Ppl need to relax
If you know yourself you don’t need to worry so much
They put a lot of thought into the song, but in the end it's still a schmaltzy song that has no appeal for me. Interesting only from a theory nerd point of view. Good video.
@@RCAvhstape Agreed, despite all this chord and key complexity it still sounds like generic melodramatic '80s pop. Quantity of chords and modulations does not define quality of a song
Why not both? Stunningly complex throw away pop song gem. :D
@@RCAvhstape that’s the sentiment I’m going with too. Smaltzy: it has that in spades! 110%.
They say: "If you want to play it you need to be able to sing it...". In this case, this is one of those things where being able to sing it really doesn't help you at all in playing it.
I think all that modulation is reflective of the feeling that the guy is trying to "open up", i.e., I" loved you then but now I intend to open up and love you even more. "It's a woman's ultimate fantasy - lol. The song is about upping the relationship, letting more light shine through, changing. So all those wonderful changes reflect that! movement But who knew, before your great explanation!!! This video is an amazing ear-training exercise. Thank you!
As a death metal guitarist, I can say with the utmost confidence that I will NEVER learn, let alone be able to play that many chords in succession. Syncopated single note runs? No problem. Borderline schizophrenic chord changes? Not a chance. Love your channel Mr. Beato
Jesse Strobel , Come on now... you will have people thinking that musicians are RATIONAL PEOPLE! ? !
I've found that many metal songs are completely composed in an ''out of the box'' way, and sure, there's no academic.level arranging but, oh those unexpected nonsense changes!
That's what I love from metal genre. It's a punk thing or something, I don't know but they're catchy. Just listen early albums of fear factory or Sepultura (among million bands) and they're plenty of WTH of melodic and rhytmic modulations.
@@VeronicaGorositoMusic Yep. In metal we do the filthiest modulations, just because they sound, well, filthy. Most of us have no idea what the theory behind it is : )
Does metal die?
@@brahmburgers metal is dead shave your head oi oi oi oi oi
After being in the music biz for over 50 years, I found this video to be so entertaining, and enlightening! Rick is playing these knuckle buster chords so effortlessly, his touch is impeccable, the guitar is in perfect tune, it sounds amazing, and that wasn't even the point. The story behind the rehearsal and the performances is a riot. Been there so many times over the years. I remember learning a Badfinger tune one afternoon in rehearsal and trying to pull it off that night. Everybody lost it and our bass player just stopped playing and singing, walked back and stood motionless in front of his amp. I think eventually we all just stopped playing. So embarrassing. I'll never forget it!
+ 1 I totally agree with your words.
Been there, buddy.
Well said!
Good point about how effortless his playing is. Didn't he say that he basically taught himself guitar again from scratch after not having played it for a long time? His mastery of the instrument is astonishing.
I can only bash out about 4 chords on a guitar and I can't even do a barre (?) chord, my hand and fingers are too small. It actually looks like Rick is playing on a smallish guitar - or is it just that his hands are ginormous?
When the Sultans of Swing were asked to play this song, Guitar George quit the band.
But he knows all the chords! Shouldn’t be a problem for him
But Harry doesn't mind, if he doesn't, make the scene.
@@NE0MAS I know, he's strictly rhythm
why did I laugh so hard at this joke
This song made him cry and sing
Rest in Peace, Sergio Mendes. You left amazing, tremendous music for us to enjoy forever!
I took 4 years of ear training at Juilliard. I know everything you’re talking about but I really feel for you band guys. I play oboe - one note at a time. I never have to go through this delightful insanity in performance but I love listening to it and to you explaining it. You’re an internet treasure
I played violin for 10 years until I started playing guitar at 16. You are not mistaken. my brain ain't do complex chord theory so good lol. it can only handle so much theory. Trying to write a song like this would give me a seizure lol.
I LOVED listening to this, although it's making my head explode. My brother played one note at a time, too, @Brian Charles, and you knew him.
"ear training"? what the ....does playing the oboe pay the bills and all that school expense? lol if so then good for you but I can not image an oboe player is making a very good living not to mention why do you need to go to Julliard to train your ear in order to play music?
To @asthewheels: Elite level ear training has been a godsend. My career on stage and in commercials, soundtracks, video game music, and in Broadway pits has been a wonderful experience. It’s my life and I love it. I also own two retail music shops, which has nothing to do with anything other than that a life in music has been a fulfilling and soul inspiring journey. I wish you well.
@@briancharles6838 wow OK I stand fully corrected then! That sounds like an awesome life actually , far better than my path in a career I hate and wake up everyday not wanting to go to work. Good for you. I really just had never even heard of "ear training" it sounded silly sorry for my rude comment.
The key to the song’s success is the strong melody tying everything together. Very reminiscent of Earth Wind & Fire.
According to the wiki the songwriters offered it to EW&F first, who turned it down. It does sound a little like After the Love Has Gone.
@@jaapsch2 that's what I came to say! Every key change I just want to sing "whoah-ooowooah-ooowhooooah"
@@AndreMillerRocks After I posted that I saw others had posted similar things too. It's very noticeable. Check out Charles Cornell's analysis of that song and its chord changes, by the way, cause it's great.
I thought he (Rick) was going to make this about an EW&F song.
Not my kind of music but the attraction is clear; a rich swoony arrangement and a melody that seems to build to an ecstatic moment. The power of pop music isn’t to be underestimated🙏🏾👍🌈😊
The best thing you can ever say about any complicated song is "it doesn't sound complicated". Phil Collins era Genesis, for example, sticks the landing on this a lot. Tool rarely sounds complicated to the casual listener. Etc. If you can write a theoretically-complex song and have a normal person just bob their head, you've threaded a tricky, but amazing, needle.
Tool is not a great example to me. Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, and Beach Boys are examples I’d give.
I think about this a lot with Solsbury Hill. How do you write a song in 7/4 and nobody notices there's a "missing" beat in every measure.
@@ChickenJoe-tq6xd Nice, you managed to say nothing substantive AND patronize at the same time. If you don’t think Kendrick Lamar’s music is complex then you don’t have ears. Either that or you let your subjective taste override objective facts.
the opposite being Meshuggah, where Tomas plays a lot of 4/4 beats around complex guitar time signatures.
@@ChickenJoe-tq6xdShameful take on Kendrick. That's straight up embarrassing.
The genius of this song, brazillian composer Sergio Mendes left us today. RIP Sergio Mendes!
Although he did not compose this song.
I'm singing like.. "I'm never gonna learn the chords, I'm gonna struggle with these chords forever"
Haha, lol ^^
Just brilliant!
LMAO 🤣
Now I want a Weird Al parody of this song with those lyrics, just talking about how complex this song is, lol.
And the end frase on the chorus "I'm never gonna learn the choooooords"
I’ve been playing songs with C, D, G and F for 20 years. I didn’t know there were other chords
lmao
There aren't, these nonsense chords are created by the government to sell you on phony music courses. All the funds secretly go to deep state military projects.
Welcome to jazz
After 20 yrs... I think you might be ready for A... don't bother with B..it's overrated
E minor, there are 5. And its 2 fingers.
One of the admirable traits that Rick manifests is his passion as an educator. To take the time to write down and display the chord charts and illustrate graphically his points is so revealing of his interest in sharing knowledge with his viewers. Really wish he'd consider moving or at least cross-posting to some non-TY platform like nebula or something that still earns him some bucks but avoids 5 disruptive ads in just 15 minutes.
Hear! Hear! I wish I'd thought of saying (writing?) that!
Use a web browser with AdBlock Plus rather than the YT app. You'll not see any more adverts.
Most instructional guitarists have their own thing going on. I forget what they call it but they usually start out on RUclips then go to this "pay for lessons" deal where you can get more in depth lessons.
He's charismatic, charming, knowledgeable, uber talented, and sooooo good on the eyes!!! (Just keep that beard OFF- it takes away from his gorgeous eyes)!!! Best of all, he makes music theory accessible to us all--rich and poor alike. Rock on, Ricky B, your fans adore you!!!
@@raygunsforronnie847 - I would use uBlock Origin instead. ABP isn't what it used to be.