Frank Zappa - How Melody Works in Music
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- Опубликовано: 2 фев 2017
- Ranging from rock and roll and do-wop music to jazz and experimental classical, Frank Zappa is certainly a talented, if eccentric musician. Here, Frank discusses the technical side of how a melody works on the mind of one listening to music, and also discusses how it relates to the role of chords in the structuring of a melody's meaning tot he ear.
Listening to Frank talk about music is it's own kind of poetry, plus his voice has it own kind of poetic/musical cadence,thank you!! Wowie Zowie!!
Wow. This is such a lucid explanation.
Thank you, Professor Zappa for this TED talk
Most musicians are open-minded. They like to follow the music path that they guide themselves down. They pick and choose what to play themselves, but they usually do not understand the nuances of what makes their choices work. It's just musical alphabet soup that they pour out of their brain. The Why's or How's of the choices they make when they play doesn't really matter to them.
There is a minority of musicians who are not open-minded, and instead are more conservative or critically minded, such as the classical conservatory student. They like to follow the musical path that they *are guided* down. They can tell you all about the nuances of the music they play, but they are playing within an already established framework designed not by them, but by older musical minds from time and place far away.
Then there is the small fraction of musicians that are like Frank Zappa, who are BOTH and can design their own musical path, and yet also interpret critically why everything is in its place or moves the way it does. It's like becoming the God of music, designing the shape of the universe, stepping through dimensions into different musical worlds, admiring the architecture. It's as if you were a conservatory student being rigorously trained at the School of Whatever You Like To Play.
Music is much like physics:
Open-minded musicians will show you what happens when you play *without* a set of rules.
Critically-minded musicians will show you what happens *within* a set of rules.
Frank Zappa will show you what happens when you figure out how to play *WITH* the rules themselves.
Well said.
I'm an intellectual like Frank. It took me about forty years to figure out that playing music is not an intellectual thing. Instead you build a music machine in your brain via practice, then turn it on and let it do whatever it does. If you think about it in more than a a very minimal way then your body will screw up. People who are naturally sensual non-thinkers have a big advantage with this. They also have a strong tendency to get lost in the drug world, which I never did.
Yep, Frank knew the esoteric function of music.
What does this even mean. He’s just talking theory
@@ranchsmith4892 Drink deep or touch not the Pierian Spring, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
I could listen to Franks music lectures all day. Brilliant composer
Once the solo begins -- it never ends. ;-)
Love Frank, what a great music lesson.
" I can do Amazing things, in that Context if you Understand What is Going on Musically ".. What A GENIUS!!!
Ruth also explains the 1, 2, and 5 if you look that up!
Yes it is true.
He's a friggin genius
Good old Frank. The mother of rhythmic and melodic invention. What a legacy he left the world of music.
What a great wee clip. Thank you!
For the adventuresome and outside-of-the-box that Frank Zappa rendered, this explanation/discourse is really COMMON SENSE.
I've been looking for this interview for a long time.
aroma of sound
Great clip~~~Thanks for posting!!
A real rarity, clear and straightforward talk about music theory, and the intersection of open - ended possibilities with love-of-music ~~~~
Just one thing, tho- he didn't even mention those augminished and dimented chords!!
James Puleo, you know he liked to keep things simple.
Genius
Omg this is gold.
He is the salvador dali of music
100% Excellent!!!
Amazing
I could listen to Frank Zappa talk all day. Him and Margaret Atwood.
When he mentions the bass player, I have a feeling he's talking about Arthur Barrow.
Paul Rose good guess.
This is from 1984, which would make it Scott Thunes
@@jamomo1371 Yeah. Zappa was wild about Scott Thunes.
@@Frisbieinstein Considering Scott is the reason Franks final touring band broke up ,the whole soap opera around Scott made FZ decide he was finished touring for life,id say Frank wasnt all too crazy about Scott Thunes .
@@michaelledford4751 I heard an interview with Frank about the matter. Frank respected Scott Thunes enough to make him the leader of the band during rehearsals when Frank wasn't there. The drummer got pissed off at Scott and organized a strike. Either Frank fired Scott or a number of the band members would quit. Frank refused to fire Scott. Instead he cancelled the whole tour and gave up on touring entirely.
Zappa went a little beyond three-chord rockin' roll
Writing this down.
Yep - Crash course delivered by the man himself.
Wow
Love your channel too.
I played suspended chords before even knowing what they were... Or that it was frank Zappa's favorite "tool". They're really great and it's super easy to improvise over them
It was also Pete Townshend's favorite tool long before I heard Frank's music and I've liked some of Frank's music long before many commenting here were born. I have no horse in the race.
2:11 to 2:17
I am currently at a point in my bass guitar journey from Geddy Lee and Billy Sheehan bass lines and styles to my own, I want to master the art of the pocket as a bass player. Very few bass players can utiltize the full spectrum of rhythm and I have been playing over a decade. This is what I want to master and I'm still figuring out the art of the pocket as a bass player. It's a science in and of itself.
In case you may not already know, the name of the bass player he's referring to in this interview is Scott Thunes. He was the bass player (and sort of assistant band leader, from most accounts) for Zappa's last international tour in 1988.
Sagatirus capacorn dragons..love em
Agreed
Unreal
The last music genius.
Very cool, I get it, but I couldn't tell you what he said. Hearing Frank speak is similar to hearing him play - mere words aren't enough for either.
What year is this from? Or what interview
ruclips.net/video/KAHY7jNGT9c/видео.html
when was this recorded?
the man's referring to 'last night show', and i'm thinking more info on the interview place, date, interviewer etc. may help figure what concert, or at least period/era he's referring to.
Also, i wonder if the bassist he's praising here is Tom Fowler. that would make my day if so, as i like him so much.
And he never had formal training 😳😎🙏♥️
No formal training but that's not to say without music theory knowledge, as he read a lot of books.
"If you want an education, go to the library." :)
@@diebydeath so you apparently aren’t familiar with FZ’s body of work. If you did you would see his musical theory knowledge probably dwarfs many professors. Certainly he knew theory but practice as well.
@@stonyhil what? No, I am agreeing with you
@@diebydeath sorry, I misread your comments, my bad 🙏😎
@@stonyhil all good!
Not to be picky but he said the 3rd dictates whether the chord is major, minor, augmented, or diminished. Hmmm, I'm pretty sure it's the 5th that determines augmented and diminished.
I think it is the fifth, but apart from that it's a good video.
no, its the third. the fifth of a chord is neutral and the same for major, minor, aug, sus versions of a chord.
@@memalley That doesn't make any sense.
No, Frank's right. The 3rd of the Chord is what usually signals the chord quality. Both major and minor chords have a perfect fifth -- and he discusses the "harmonic aromas" of the chord types. He also talks about "harmonic climate."
Hmm When you play power chords it is root and fifth and it has no major or minor quality to it.
The third of the chord, the part that usually gives the chord a major or minor quality, is left out of power chords.
An augmented chord is built from two major thirds, which adds up to an augmented fifth.
A diminished chord is built from two minor thirds, which add up to a diminished fifth.
anyone know which bass player Frank was referring to? ???
Scott Thunes
This explains why he liked what Allan Holdsworth did.
Sorry my last comment was poorly written, with grammatical errors, I was listening to Zappa speak while I wrote it,should have listened first, then make my comments...what I was trying to say was, It's pretty amazing to hear Zappa talk about his passion... "muZic."
Source?
Yoho
Dr doodah..was good friends of frank
Who is the bass player FZ mentions?
His name is Scott Thunes. He was the bass player for the last tour Zappa did in 1988.
What did Mr Baker think?
G E N I U S .
Wondering if he was talking about the Black Page?
well, the chords in Black Page are all that '2 chord', no third in favor of a major second.
Ship a hoy
Does anyone know the bassist he's referring to ?
only god
Yes. He's referring to Scott Thunes, the bass player for Zappa's last tour in 1988.
@@devinphillips9704 thanks Devin, when I went back to Frank talking, there was another bassist, from way earlier that I thought supported Zappa when he soloed,, you could hear the symbiosis between there styles and that was a guy named Erroneous. So for Frank to say Scott Tunes did the same thing, high praise indeed. Also, I worked in a band in 1987 with David Logeman and,on Venice beach befriended Tommy Mars and Zappas secretary Jerry Fealka, both whom are friends today. So thanks for answering that question 6 months after it posited, were a small minority of diehard Zappa aficionados, luckily to have been alive to enjoy his mastery, and considering today's " music"....
Who would Lada like to see as an American ambassador to the Czech republic?
If only he had been more concerned about the needs of the disco music consumer, then maybe today everyone would look like Peter Wyngarde.
there's also a hell of a lot of skill creating a great song within limits and without unnecessary noodling
Depends. Most pop music of today doesn't take much skill from a composer's perspective. Sure producing it takes some but that's not what we're talking about here.
Zappa didn't play over changes. Maybe a two-chord vamp.
He'd play over his own changes, eg., Blessed Relief or Sleep Dirt, but he didn't like the ii-V-I of jazz for improvisation at all and preferred something totally static.
"When there's no 3rd in the chord, you can play major 3rds, minor 3rds, and everything in between". Haha. And we actually know what he means.
There'll be a test.
You can do business with Caroline Kennedy or YOU can do business with the United States
Wow! He sounds just like every rapper and pop star today.
Balls ! With and without bells ! !
Lol..ohhh just shut up and play yer gituar...lol
Then came jungle and drum and bass in electronic music
I love Frank Zappa and he is a musical genius, but these are rather commonplace observations. They’re not wrong...but all these comments from people who are saying they’re incredibly clever and lucid remarks are embarrassing. Some people are too ready to hero worship.
so commonplace (in your assessment) means it isn't that lucid really. It looks like your actual point is you're hipper than people that said 'lucid'. I have an apprehension of the theory of harmony I'd put against anybody and in my training I never encountered talk about 'the 2 chord' and the only thing resembling it I've even seen talked about since is Steely Dan's Mu chord. Which has both a major second and a major third, a whole tone apart (as opposed to "add 9").
@@Civilizashum I can’t really remember what I meant. I absolutely love Frank Zappa and his music. Sorry if I came across as a smart arse; don’t think I was trying to be. Certainly I am no ‘hipper’ than anyone else.
You are all very easily impressed. He’s explaining clearly and succinctly; but the observations he’s making about relationships of melodies to chords - and the different ‘moods’ of certain chords - are extremely commonplace and basic.
I played in an orchestra for many years and have a Bachelor's Degree in Music studying classical, jazz, and pop. Nobody ever remotely explained anything about how to analyze melodies in this way. The best explanation I got is "nobody knows what makes a good melody, you just have to use your ear."
With that in mind, I think Frank and this uploader are doing a great service to music education.
@@diebydeath Well I agree to the extent that he’s doing a great service to people who need it explaining to them that major chords are associated with happiness and minor chords with sadness and diminished with suspense etc.
@@op-xv3ui That part isn't the most important part. What I'm referring to is the observation that melodies are perceived a certain way due to the ratio and timing of tension notes and resolutions. Most music teachers do not deconstruct and analyze melodies this way.
@@diebydeath I agree that that is an unusual and interesting observation.
@@op-xv3ui FZ is over-simplifying as he understands that getting much intp the weeds is going to go over the heads of many and he's not trying to form a dissertation or be terrifically subtle. IE: Watermelon in Easter Hay has two major triads, A and E and the theme is E Ionian, a major mode. is it a happy tune? But he's giving a thumbnail sketch in an interview.