I had an experience with frogs in the boundary waters in MN. I paddled out in the middle of a perfectly calm, cloudless night. I had come to rest in my canoe and was leaning back in awe of the stars. Then a frog did a glissando and held a single note. Other frogs did the same, all sliding up to the same note. I didn’t notice any rhythmic pattern to their entrances but the pace of new voices coming increased until the last one was on the held note. It was intense! Then, as if they had a conductor, they all stopped. A couple of minutes later it began again. Not exactly a phase shift phenomenon but definitely a natural choir experience!
I enjoy your channel. I play guitar. I want to begin composing. I play a lot of neoclassical but I liked your talk on Phillip glass. Your advice to write your own etude was like a leap in understanding. I don't want to be a guitarist that plays a thousand notes. I'd rather be one that gets emotion out of simple things like glass' music.
Fun fact, periodicity can be used to accurately determine how pleasant a harmony is relative to a root! The junction between harmony and rhthym really fascinates me....
Hey, Chris, I have been enjoying your videos. You always seem to have a sense of wonder and discovery about the topics you’re exploring, and it comes off as a shared experience of venturing into undiscovered territory. I am also happy that you use Apple Logic, as I do as well. Since I have been falling in love with compound rhythms and polymeric timing structures, I have found that Logic is absolutely indispensable. Without it, I could not divide things up into unusual time containers/divisions in an accurate way. It’s all mathematics, really. Logic is what gives me the level of certainty that I am on point when exploring something multi-layered and complex. At the present time, Logic ONLY allows you to change the time signature- as well as the beats per minute- for the entire composition. I dearly, dearly wish that Logic would let you do this independently, per track. I’ve been waiting for this feature for about 20 years. It would be great to be able to layer 3/4 over 4/4, for instance. And the math would lineup so that you could create passages that had predictable entry and conclusion points where the phrases would meet up together. But I don’t know how to do this at the present time, except to open up more than one instance of Logic. Set it up in 3/4, then port over one of the phrases to a separate Logic project set up in 4/4. This is less than ideal. My question to you is this: do you know of a way to get around this? Is there a plug-in or some other app that is capable of doing this kind of thing? Also on my wish list--- Computers are good at math. I wish Logic did more heavy-lifting like Scaler 2, giving you control over modes, scales, harmonic relationships, chord alternates, and modulation potentials. I find I just can’t do it without a guide to the mathematics. Thanks again for your fantastic videos.
yes, there's few DAWs that have that ability. notation programs will do that, but that's another barrel of frogs. i usually set a default meter and tempo and just do the metrical division work in my head as i'm tracking. i've seen people create audio tracks with different metronomes/divisions to help with that. i know for instance that when Adam Neely's band goes out on stage the in-ear monitors have different clicks for separate parts... i think it's overcome-able with planning, basically.
Balinese Kecak is the best similarity to your frog pond. Learned that and Piano Phase the same summer at age 18. I'm a pond owner now, so I totally understand your experience. Really great video all around.
I'm working on a musical about Mary Magdalene right now, and I've been mulling at how to manage two related scenes in one song. This is the key to unlocking that door. Thanks for the inspiration! Two melodic lines, by two different singers, in syncopated polymetric relationship. How cool is that?
In the woods with the dawn chorus as the sun rises, in a valley as the thunder rolls off the hills. That is exactly how I think of Reich. Inspiring video - and with that fresh breath, I'll sit down to play: thank you very much.
Perfect, very nice educational demonstration, clear and precise, the parallel with the sounds of nature is magical, ideally if possible putting these examples in midifile would be a plus, thank you again and well done chris
We have lots of coyotes here…….it begins at 3am with the mother calling her children and you can hear them responding from far away …….they approach the group and they have all arrived they go in to a frenzy, crying out in a chaotic way that I can’t understand….I usually imagine them dancing around a fire in a pagan ritual…..it’s spooky and I hope to be woken up by them every night ……I wish I could hide in the bushes and see what was going on
I like the last example. Is it a reference to something well known? Speaking of polymeters I like when there’s just one note (a percussion hit, a chord stab, an effect send) which happens with a period different from the main meter. I suppose it’s technically a polymeter, isn’t it?
I had an experience with frogs in the boundary waters in MN. I paddled out in the middle of a perfectly calm, cloudless night. I had come to rest in my canoe and was leaning back in awe of the stars. Then a frog did a glissando and held a single note. Other frogs did the same, all sliding up to the same note. I didn’t notice any rhythmic pattern to their entrances but the pace of new voices coming increased until the last one was on the held note. It was intense! Then, as if they had a conductor, they all stopped. A couple of minutes later it began again. Not exactly a phase shift phenomenon but definitely a natural choir experience!
This is rapidly becoming one of my very favourite channels. I always learn something new… and I always enjoy being in your company. Bravo.
Wow, thank you!
Last example is beautiful!
Thanks. I love that piece too.
Great lesson
So great. Your Philip Glass inspiration is amazing.
thanks!
already my favorite channel for inspiration! i just wish i could download the midi file exemples! please consider just that...
Great vid, always interesting. 👍🙏😎
I enjoy your channel. I play guitar. I want to begin composing. I play a lot of neoclassical but I liked your talk on Phillip glass. Your advice to write your own etude was like a leap in understanding. I don't want to be a guitarist that plays a thousand notes. I'd rather be one that gets emotion out of simple things like glass' music.
Fun fact, periodicity can be used to accurately determine how pleasant a harmony is relative to a root! The junction between harmony and rhthym really fascinates me....
Hey, Chris, I have been enjoying your videos. You always seem to have a sense of wonder and discovery about the topics you’re exploring, and it comes off as a shared experience of venturing into undiscovered territory. I am also happy that you use Apple Logic, as I do as well. Since I have been falling in love with compound rhythms and polymeric timing structures, I have found that Logic is absolutely indispensable. Without it, I could not divide things up into unusual time containers/divisions in an accurate way. It’s all mathematics, really. Logic is what gives me the level of certainty that I am on point when exploring something multi-layered and complex.
At the present time, Logic ONLY allows you to change the time signature- as well as the beats per minute- for the entire composition. I dearly, dearly wish that Logic would let you do this independently, per track. I’ve been waiting for this feature for about 20 years. It would be great to be able to layer 3/4 over 4/4, for instance. And the math would lineup so that you could create passages that had predictable entry and conclusion points where the phrases would meet up together. But I don’t know how to do this at the present time, except to open up more than one instance of Logic. Set it up in 3/4, then port over one of the phrases to a separate Logic project set up in 4/4. This is less than ideal.
My question to you is this: do you know of a way to get around this? Is there a plug-in or some other app that is capable of doing this kind of thing?
Also on my wish list--- Computers are good at math. I wish Logic did more heavy-lifting like Scaler 2, giving you control over modes, scales, harmonic relationships, chord alternates, and modulation potentials. I find I just can’t do it without a guide to the mathematics.
Thanks again for your fantastic videos.
yes, there's few DAWs that have that ability. notation programs will do that, but that's another barrel of frogs. i usually set a default meter and tempo and just do the metrical division work in my head as i'm tracking. i've seen people create audio tracks with different metronomes/divisions to help with that. i know for instance that when Adam Neely's band goes out on stage the in-ear monitors have different clicks for separate parts... i think it's overcome-able with planning, basically.
I like your videos ❤
Balinese Kecak is the best similarity to your frog pond. Learned that and Piano Phase the same summer at age 18. I'm a pond owner now, so I totally understand your experience. Really great video all around.
I'm working on a musical about Mary Magdalene right now, and I've been mulling at how to manage two related scenes in one song. This is the key to unlocking that door. Thanks for the inspiration! Two melodic lines, by two different singers, in syncopated polymetric relationship. How cool is that?
In the woods with the dawn chorus as the sun rises, in a valley as the thunder rolls off the hills. That is exactly how I think of Reich. Inspiring video - and with that fresh breath, I'll sit down to play: thank you very much.
Perfect, very nice educational demonstration, clear and precise, the parallel with the sounds of nature is magical, ideally if possible putting these examples in midifile would be a plus, thank you again and well done chris
Well put! Your videos are wonderful. I always walk away with a little something new.
thank you!
We have lots of coyotes here…….it begins at 3am with the mother calling her children and you can hear them responding from far away …….they approach the group and they have all arrived they go in to a frenzy, crying out in a chaotic way that I can’t understand….I usually imagine them dancing around a fire in a pagan ritual…..it’s spooky and I hope to be woken up by them every night ……I wish I could hide in the bushes and see what was going on
I like the last example. Is it a reference to something well known?
Speaking of polymeters I like when there’s just one note (a percussion hit, a chord stab, an effect send) which happens with a period different from the main meter. I suppose it’s technically a polymeter, isn’t it?
I that’s one of my own pieces. I’ve done a long video about it linked within this one. Thanks!