Demystifying Complex Music

In this video I demystify complex chords and progressions.

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[JH-evwn]

What makes this channel great?

THIS!!!

Keep the whiteboard videos coming!
Thanks for all your great work, Rick.

[VictorDiGiovanni]

Wow. First time in my entire life (just turned 50) that I've had even the tiniest understanding of music. I've been watching the "What Makes This Song Great" videos for several months and while I absolutely LOVE them, it's pretty much been like when I talk to my dog. My dog's expression is so hopeful and he wants so desperately to be able to understand what I'm saying, but he maybe only recognizes one word out of 500. That's me with music. I recognize the words Rick's saying, but all I hear is I still don't understand what any of it means, but I feel like I can now understand maybe 25 words out of 500. So exciting!

[exofurian]

When you tuned to drop D and talked about 'the old days' and then proceeded play Everlong... I felt about 300 years old lol. Great video as always!

[briankeegan]

Hey Rick, thanks so much for listening to your viewers' comments and arriving at this topic.
You have created so much invaluable instructional material. Honestly, you're a hero to me for doing that. And this video shows that you care about doing it even better . . . figuring out your audiences' needs and addressing them. I'm a teacher myself, and I know we always have to meet students where they are. There's no substitute.

I could not agree more that music is "simpler" than it seems. IMO it's far more accessible to most than they believe. You clearly care a LOT about making musical ideas accessible, so you care about helping folks connect the dots. You know so much about music, that sometimes you leave out big chunks that are necessary for the less informed while being 2nd nature to more skilled. We all do this when we teach, by the way, it isn't a criticism, just a description. (It's why some of us need a 15 minute explanation of how to play a song, and for others it is excruciating to sit through "put your 3rd finger on the 5th string at the 7th fret, " etc.).

If you ever want to brainstorm more ideas about "filling in the blanks" I would be delighted to help. As an adult music learner myself (started at 21, 54 now) who is serious about it, I may make a useful canary in the coal mine. Lately, I've been going through the experience of beginning to make true sense of modes, and I have had to wade through a lot of material so far that is either so rudimentary as to repeat what I already get, or it skips forward to stuff that's beyond me. Just now starting to fill in the blanks. I have a lot of thoughts about how to help people fill in the blanks. (By the way, don't forget that when your viewers are struggling to keep up, that's an opportunity to refer them to your book as a primary reference. I was a textbook editor for a long time, too. We have textbooks for good reasons. Like comprehensive reference tables relating ideas. I use tables to make sense of new musical info all the time)

If you have time, you might want to go back and watch that old lengthy video by your hero, Poe Pass. He offers a pretty useful model for folks to use in starting to wrap their heads around chord construction by breaking them into only 3 categories really. I had to grind my way slowly through that one when it was way over my head if watched at full speed without pausing.

(By the way, I disagree that the notation and naming of chords "isn't math." It's math, and it shouldn't scare anyone, because the math isn't a bug here, clearly it's a feature. I happen to teach math, and many folks are math-phobic, and so the following is lost on them: math is actually a language).

You might also want to think about using your audience as a resource. You could ask folks to choose one excellent short resource that helped open an idea up for them so that the dots started to come together . . . resources that acted as a rosetta stone or missing puzzle piece, or one useful building block that folks find themselves coming back to over and over as a firm reference point.

Sorry to go on for so long.

[keyblok]

Hey Rick, I would just like to do something I have never done in YouTube. I've been getting a lot of your videos recommended to me (the first being the Ed Sheeran vs Marvin Gaye one). I never pay attention to the poster when I click the video, but I found myself clicking on a lot of your videos for the simple fact that I found the topic interesting for me. "So, get to the point already" I hear you say. I just watched your Apple rant video and no, you are not some old dude talking bullshit, you're quite an intelligent, interesting, (that has lived longer than most of your subscribers) man, and you are currently my favorite channel. The way you talk about high-level musical knowledge in such an easy way, is appealing to many and probably the reason why your channel has been doing well. Cheers from a Brazilian in Ireland, and keep up the good work.

[dentoncrimescene]

When I first started watching you way back I had almost no understanding of what you were talking about. Today I understood it all. Thanks.

[sixstringswl]

Absolutely love how you played your lines midway through this video with the tensions that resolve into the next chord. THATS what I'm talking about right there!!! This video takes the cake!!! Man alive; great job Rick!!!

[Mephisto]

Its sloooowly coming togther. Thank you.

[jimm]

I've had no real musical schooling since grade school, but I hear all those tones. Thanks for the great videos!

[bassofspades]

What you said about jazz at the end there is absolute gold.

[stilllifeu]

I teach this all day long . Every day . It is hard for some folks to get it . But just stay with it . Your learning a language, art, science, and MATH .Learning to express your self .It heals . And much more . Music is the most man . Always good Rick .

[afronprime]

Wish I had a writing partner like you Rick. Always nice to co-create complex and unique pieces. Always a great job brother, keep up the awesome work. You are helping to make the world a better place. Much appreciation.

[MikeStylesProduction]

Also. Which chord you are using is a reflection of a feeling you want to express. Triads are more direct emotionally. Black and White if you like. Sad or happy while a 7-9 chord describes a more gentel approach as the same way we use smileys when we try to express emotions when we type.

[RCSmiths]

This was a really big eye opener to tune into! Great information to absorb! And of course thank you for answering my question, was truly helpful!

[The_Original_Default_Username]

It's very charitable for you to go through this and explain it!

[carlosdurancomposer]

Thank you Rick, please keep doing this videos, you know what would be great?
I just keep remembering how Chef's go around the world and try to see how they cook. It would be awesome that you can actually go inside musicians places, and ask them about everything you do here in your channel, and being able to see you not only talking about it but playing and showing how you do with your guitar and your board.

Best wishes Rick!

[Gregorypeckory]

Fantastic lesson Rick! The insights on how to practice arpeggios, all the way from basic triads to melodic minor 7th chords, to adding in various color tones and altered tones was inspired/inspiring!

[mjbne]

I had a great teacher who told me you can break every rhythm down to 3s and twos; 5/4 is either 3+2 or 2+3.. 11/8 is 3+3+3+2. Try it at home.

[dylanbuckle]

I love you Rick, you’re an inspiration!

[UndecimeBeatitudo]

Hey, Rick! I have a composition for a breakdown to suggest. Maybe for the Film Scoring series.
It's a really intense piece by the Soviet composer Georgy Sciridov called "Время, вперёд!", or "Time, forward!". It's a suite to be more clear and I suppose it's been in an ost to the movie of the same name.
In general, it'd be really nice to hear your thoughts and breakdowns of some of the Soviet music. It's just so unconventional.
Really like your content even if most of it flies over my head