mirror image: if i write C-E-G on paper and put it in the mirror, it will never give me what Nick is describing nor what Collier described. it will ONLY give me G-E-C everytime. Therefore true Negative harmony, has a huuuge degree of inelegance because its asking you to give equal prominence to it(N.H.) as you give to Harmony. Its always a "Bookends" battle. "HARMONY wants to call C-E-G C major and Negative Harmony wants to call that same exact chord G minor. But since our minds are so engrained with the influence of left to right syntactical bias, we can only refer to C-E-G read right to left as, "G minor right to left harmony, or "G minor Negative Harmony, or if you're from Alabama G ass-backards minor.
I paused and got a guitar out and mixed Ionian and Phrygian in a call and response making sure to resolve the Phrygian phrase to the Ionian mode. It’s a exotic sound. Thank you!
Your inclusion of the mirror image modes and the possibilities of their use with negative harmony options is excellent. All round very clear and concise explanation. My favourite out of the ten I've seen so far on TH-cam. Notes taken! Thank you.
I have heard this in my ear in music before, but I didn't recognize the inverted harmony. This is a major musical concept I didn't know. Definitely one of the best videos you have posted yet! Good luck with your new YT channel.
I think is the most interesting video you've done so far. Keep up the good work, Rick! Student composer and theory teacher here, been massively helped by your videos. Even with topics I already understand I'll always pick something up.
Thank you for the live update. It's a little ironic that I study jazz and rythems and blues in the tremé in new Orleans yet I'm pretty positive 75% of my studies lately come from your channel (pleural now! Grateful for the live) thanks a million man for not dumbing down lessons and making us keep up!
Great video! Wish I had this a few months ago lol. The thing I like about negative harmony is that its a relatively easy way to explore modes and song ideas without drastically altering the aesthetic and voice leading of the music.
Rick I'm really surprised how much I've learned just watching your videos. I use to know practically nothing about music theory but now I've been watching your work here, I actually feel confident I have a decent foundation. Now I just need to train my ears... Oh your working on that too. Thanks sir!
Wow! This lesson illuminated chord progressions that I have heard in movie and television soundtracks. Also, in Bartok, who has always mystified me. Great stuff, Rick!
What i am currently still figuring it out is why do we use the dominant of the tonic as an axis to form (or perhaps to "negatiate") the negative harmony? As you have stated in your video, you use the G phyrigian as the "negative" version of C ionian. My question is that why we have to start with that G instead of keep using C (which will resolve to C phyrigian). It seems more logical to me to construct the negative harmony from C ionian to C phyrigian, as their corresponding notes have the same intervals (WWHWWWH). By using that concept, we will end up to something like this C --> Fm Dm --> G Em --> A F --> Bbm G --> Cm Am --> D Bdim --> Fdim Edit: I have looked through some references on the internet and every articles i read doesnt quiet explain why a tonic-dominant axis is used to transform negative harmony. Why cant we use C-F or perhaps C-B axis?? I figured out what I had written above was the "mirror chords" with respect to C, which means the C act as an axis (a single note axis which reflects the adjacent intervals).
Certainly one of your best lessons Rick. I think people really need to play around with these chords on a piano to get the sound in their heads. All of this is wonderful, but unless people are hearing these particular sounds before they execute it out on their instruments, it's probably too abstract a concept for most people. However, that goes with everything dealing with language and ideas.
watched 4 youtube videos on negative harmony before this one. you are the first to explain that the concept is based on opposite or 'undertones" . this explaination is simple and the concept was immediatley understood. thx
Rick, at 10:57 when you are finishing how the circle of fifths can be used to find the negative harmony for the chords, why didn’t the Bo to Do follow the same logic? Curious. I see that note by note it is a Do but following the circle short cut it would give you a Db, no?
Absolutely fascinating. I’ve been a musician for decades and never come across these concepts before. I just tried to share this with my wife and she just about ran away screaming. I guess all this theory isn’t for everyone, but I’m loving this! Thanks Rick!
great work! Needed this video! I share all these videos with my son, as he is learning the theory now in high school that I have forgotten since college a billion years ago. Your videos help us both, as he is an aspiring Jazz trombonist, and an all county concert Euphonium player. APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK on this! Thanks again!
I was in the middle of watching another video on this subject and I saw the thumbnail for this one. I instantly ditched it for Rick's video, you know your going to get the truth. That's how good this channel is its soo obvious Rick really knows what he is talking about.
Thank you for the clearest explanation I have found on negative harmony. Concise, articulate and understandable. I appreciate your work and desire to share the knowledge.
Agreeing with Jamsville, best explanation of this concept I've come across thus far. It's after all not that hard, but there is tendency to clutter it up. Thanks for a great video Rick !
Also, if you write out a major scale, one octave on the guitar, and then flip it upside you get the Phrygian scale. This is a very easy way to keep track of which scales invert to each other.
Thanks a lot God of music theory, I watched 3 videos before seeing yours to fully comprehend how negative harmony is applied, when you referenced using the circle of fifths to find the negative harmony of each note, my mind fully understood in that second. You're a brilliant teacher and your ways of teaching are so pleasing to hear and watch, thanks for being my auto corrector when it comes to music ❤️
Awesome vídeo, Rick. Please, do anoter videos, maybe a serie, teaching and giving exemples of negative harmony being used in a pratical way. I love your channel
As a fiddle player, I have always favored the double minor scale. I love playing music that really evokes the character of my fiddle. You have probably noticed that a string group of players that isn’t working with a tempered instrument (such as a piano or keyboard) plays their sharps a little sharper than the same flat (D# is a little sharper than Eb). Tempered instruments are always a little out of tune somewhere. They make a few small compromises to make the keyboard a reasonable size and easier to play. Nothing wrong with that, I love my piano too. But, that’s part of why some keys sound better on the piano than others. Btw, I don’t have perfect pitch, I am only hearing relatively. Thanks Rick for bringing this up. I don’t think that I even learned about this in school.
My friend has never heard of this and says it sounds like a weird, cool concept. Says they like your videos a lot and wish you did more in depth videos like this. Keep up the good work!
Wow, this lesson is awesome! I'm researching on orchestral composition and I didn't even know this video would be so informative on the matter. I usually put some of your videos on my watch list and this one just happened to be exactly what I needed at the moment! Thanks! And greetings from Brazil!
Mirror modal equivalents. I discovered this on my own. This is the first time I have ever heard of this anywhere outside of my own discovery. I use this idea, coupled with some others, to teach modes.
I love this channel and I'm this much closer to order your theory book. The harmonic series as described is very useful for pretty much most situations... then clarinets come around and throw it all off with their harmonic series built around the 12th instead of the octave. This niche topic may actually be a topic worth exploring at some point -- compare and contrast a clarinet choir and a saxophone choir playing the same piece. I daresay that the saxophone choir will 'blend' better with itself than the clarinets will, to say nothing of how much 'presence' the low clarinets contribute (and, being a bass and contraalto/bass clarinetist, strong presence can make a huge difference in a clarinet ensemble or wind orchestra; most low clarinets players are too... timid). For the most part, composers and arrangers need only worry about the mainstream harmonic series, but special consideration does need to be taken once clarinets come in; for the most part, it's negligible, particularly orchestrally (Eb, 2 Bb, Bass at most), but it does need mentioning.
The interesting thing is, the "negative harmony" version of any diatonic chord in a major key is a chord borrowed from the parallel minor key. In other words, the concepts of negative harmony and modal interchange are very closely related!
Mr. Z No it's because Rick assumed that Cm is the "negative" (😷😖😷) of C, which is an arbitrary assumption with no acoustical/mathematical basis whatsoever.
Excellent explanation! This is so far the best video I have seen on explaining negative harmony, thanks so much for sharing ! One thing: minute 7:22, the video says D- /Ab, but it is actually D- over Eb.
Hey Rick! Have you ever seen anyone go nuts with the overtone series (and undertone series too, why not) and turn it into a "scale" and use it in a practical and musical way? Maybe using the overtone series of the key of the song and use it in a solo or of a particular chord and play the "scale" over the chord. Love your stuff! Cheers from Brazil!
Luiz Pires Johnny Reinhard uses the 7th octave of the overtone series as a 128 note (!!) super chromatic scale. Most impressively, he uses this for improvisation!
As soon as you mentioned modes I better understood what you were on about. I had looked into modes and intervals many years but had all but forgotten about it. Thanks. I have some ideas I can work on now.
Hands down, the best explanation of this concept. I get it! Thank you. Would you please do a series on this subject, and give real-world chord-progression advice based on these principles?
Im making notes, really enjoy watching you explain with the white board. i believe i should re -watch the vid and re-write notes in reverse. Thank you, your lessons are brill!
Thank you for this Rick!! I've enjoyed other videos of yours but this one made me a fan for life-liked, subscribed, all in. Excellent explanation with just the right level of detail-clarified but not oversimplified, comprehensive but not over explained, and many open avenues to explore. Did the Beatles come up with those great color chords at random? Maybe, but now I know why they work and where they breed. Roll over Thelonius Monk!
I am lost at 7:43, E mixolydian with C aolian and mirror chords? Why are you blending E mix with C aolian? E mix is a mirror of E aolian, correct? And the mirror chord of E major is A minor, correct? What logic is used to blend E mix with C aolian and getting a E/F min chord? Anybody? Help me out.
Hi Rick, at the beginning you say C Ionion is the mirror image from C Phrygian but at the end you write all the chords comming from C Ionion and his mirror G Phrygian (not C Phrygian anymore)!? I´m confused, what do you mean exactly?
Hey, to my understanding, the C Ionion and C phrygian example is an example of "mirror modals", whereas the G phrygian C Ionion pair is an example of negative harmony. try playing the ionion intervals backward starting from G (perfect 5th of C) and you will get G phrygian (C minor).
Kairyu, at the end Rick says that if we rewind we can see that we don´t have to use the same pairs of modes! I think that means that both concepts should be somehow related, but something is missing here...Come on Rick, help us on this one!
I think you´re right! The key is that they have different axis of reflection. The "mirror harmony " has its axis on the tonic and the negative harmony has its axis between the tonic and the dominant. So, to keep the same relation as C Ionian/ G Phrygian pair, I supose the eg you gave should be C Lydian and D phygian or C Dorian (instead of C phrygian)
Why in some videos they explain, when in key of C, the negative starting on G... and the semitons equivalency also from G? like: C becomes G D becomes F E becomes Eb F becomes Db G becomes C ... and the chord C becomes Cm... but sometimes they say C chord becomes Fm... is there two different concepts with the same name?
Because either they are not referring to the negative harmony but just the inversion. There are multiple inversions you can do, negative harmony is one of them, where you invert on the axis between E and Eb if in key of C. In this case C becomes Cm, G becomes Fm. Now, where C becomes Fm is the inversion based on the axis of centered on the note C (not between E and Eb). So C stays C, E becomes Ab and G becomes F. Short answer: the C becomes Fm in the key of C is NOT negative harmony.
I know it's stupid to say "Oh, so descending is the opposite of ascending" but that's what I realized upon being reminded of mirror modes like, emotionally, it's easier to make descending lines on brighter scales to sound sad or intense because you're moving on an inversion
At 10:58, when he says "now if you go back and rewind", I frankly thought he would say that the video was also palindrome and that you could watch it from the end to the begining.
This is very helpful and concise. It's like drinking from a firehose, but now the information is accessible and repeatable. Thank you for bringing the power of the internet to bear on these subjects.
That's a great video on negative harmony. Never thought about it that way. How about a video on reharmonizing an actual song with negative harmony. Maybe one that it not just diatonic and a little more complex. That would be a treat! Thanks for all the work and effort you put in your videos giving so much precious knowledge away for free. Love it.
Is there any more repertoire out there that you can point to that uses this besides the Bartók and Copland’s pieces??? Would love to get this in my ear more and figure out the contexts in which this is employed. This past summer, I utilized the mirror harmony on all other “pressing scales” and have gotten verrrry interesting results. As a music theorist/young scholar, I guess the next step is to find more evidence/primary sources that utilize this.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video Rick. So many similarities... I too ran the gambit of Music scenes, and bands, 25 years of playing 5-6 nights a week and getting good traction, to just have it go poof... Numerous times. Back in Austin, myself for the second time...same as it ever was. I need to find my "Atlanta". Hell I'm 60 years old already. Damn... not giving up.
Why B° reflected version is D°? I think it should be Db°. Like in your theory class, B is in 5 position positive, so 5 positions in negative we reach Db. So negative version scale would be G Locrian or C Phrigian. Am i missing anything? Thanks Rick for your increible knowledge, experience, dedication, motivation.....!!!!
Because of the construction of the scale, the G phrygian scale is the mirror equivalent of the C Ionian one so you're going WS WS HS WS WS WS HS but downwards
Nice explanation. It could be added that, just as every chord and note have their mirror negative images, you can play the negative version of a song by substituting both the chords and the melody by their negative equivalents. Steve Cruickshank has done many songs in this way (they're on YT), and the results are often quite nice.
Is it possible that negative harmony is reflected along the axis of the tonic and the dominant to allow for the fact that we perceive music with a singular tonic rather than a positive and a negative equivalent tonic? If the two tonics of a piece were c and f at the same time, a logical brightening of it would be to c and g. What the midpoint does is it nullifies the g and the f ignoring that one is a reverse tonic and that the other is a brightening of a 5th, creating a single tonic of c. Has anyone discussed this that you know of?
Another question: At 8:29 you are basing the negative harmony of the C ionian scale on the G phrygian. Why? The negative of C ionian is C phrygian. G phrygian is negative of G ionian, not C ionian. Since G would be mixolydian mode of C ionian, why not use the negative of G myxolydian, G aolian, for the negative harmony? Or why are we even bothering with G at all? I know there is a logic here that I am missing.
Around the 9:00 minute point, I started thinking I want a bag of cheetos, or doritos, or maybe a bag of party mix, but in any event, my brain was going in a flat direction.
I'm not very good at music theory. In fact, I bought your book recently and have just begun going through it. So I have probably misunderstood negative harmony, but I have a question. Jacob Collier says that you should think about the notes as if they revolve around an axis. The middle point in your analysis would be the tonic. So if the tonic is C then the positive vs negative will revolve around the C. This is not the middle point for Collier though (unless I misunderstood, which is likely). For him it's the exact middle between the tonic and the dominant. So if the key is C (tonic C, dominant G) then the exact middle is between E flat and E. So the positive side would be from E and then ascending, while the negative side would be from E flat and then descending. Have I completely misunderstood this? If not, is this not different from what you explained?
+BeerPanda That's a simple way of thinking of it. What I presented is what composers like Bartok, Copland, Dallapiccola, Persichetti etc would use it for which is more involved than basic chord substitutions like Fmin6 for G7.
Forgive me for the note, but the seventh chord in the Ionian mode is a half diminish. The correct seventh chord of C Ionian mode is B half dimished. G# is not in the key of C Ionian, right?
Yes, but still, would the seventh triad not be half diminished? I see the Ab as non harmonic with the C Ionian mode. I'm sure you've had this argument with a student. The G# note is not in the triad? My major seventh triad using the tonic as a root would be the notes, B, D, and G, not G# as per your triad.
A triad does not dictate a seventh chord. It can, but only two notes are needed to dictate a seventh chord when heard that way. I've read much debate about the seventh note of the Ionian mode, and it sounds perfecdtly harmonious to me as a half diminished triad. The key of C Ionian would read B, D, and G as the perfect notes, not B diminished which would read B, D, and F in order.
B, D and G make a G chord in first inversion. The triad B - D - F is called "B diminished". The seventh chord B - D - F - A is "half-dinimished" and the chord B - D - F - Ab is called "diminished seventh". G# is not in Ionian, nor in any other of the major modes. It's an augmented fifth, only found in more exotic scales.
Rick, I hope you get to see this, even though this video is quite old. Your videos are helping me A LOT with learning music. Your channel is like a FAQ section. Any doubt that I might have is already solved in a video, broken down, analyzed and put in a didactic way. I just wanted to thank you for giving out all this priceless content for free. To put it simple, it's fantastic.
You're really the best teacher in everything music...
I agree. There's no one like Rick out there, with such a level of knowledge in so many aspects of music, throughout so many genres and styles.
I agree @Nahre Sol!!
Rick, this is hands down the best explanation of this concept I've seen. Thank you so much!
Ditto!
I agree
Yes. Because you place it in context, with clear diagrams.
mirror image:
if i write C-E-G on paper and put it in the mirror, it will never give me what Nick is describing nor what Collier described. it will ONLY give me G-E-C everytime.
Therefore true Negative harmony, has a huuuge degree of inelegance because its asking you to give equal prominence to it(N.H.) as you give to Harmony.
Its always a "Bookends" battle.
"HARMONY wants to call C-E-G
C major and Negative Harmony wants to call that same exact chord G minor.
But since our minds are so engrained with the influence of left to right syntactical bias,
we can only refer to C-E-G read right to left as,
"G minor right to left harmony,
or "G minor Negative Harmony,
or if you're from Alabama
G ass-backards minor.
that's not how it works guudii 😂
This is a great video. My only question that doesn't seem to be addressed anywhere is why we are using G Phrygian rather than C Phrygian?
i have the same question, rewatched the video several times so far :)
If you watch this backwards its exactly the same
If I watch this video backwards will my head miraculously reassemble itself?
ʇɥƃıɹ ǝɹɐ noʎ 'sǝʎ
.lliw ti sey
hahaha
Bravo!
Yes but it will only be a reflective mirror image and you'll have to change your name to palindrome
This makes more sense re negative harmony than anything else I've seen....as always Rick, you're a great teacher, Cheers!
I paused and got a guitar out and mixed Ionian and Phrygian in a call and response making sure to resolve the Phrygian phrase to the Ionian mode. It’s a exotic sound. Thank you!
Rick Beato is the best teacher I have known.
Your inclusion of the mirror image modes and the possibilities of their use with negative harmony options is excellent. All round very clear and concise explanation. My favourite out of the ten I've seen so far on TH-cam. Notes taken! Thank you.
I have heard this in my ear in music before, but I didn't recognize the inverted harmony. This is a major musical concept I didn't know. Definitely one of the best videos you have posted yet! Good luck with your new YT channel.
I think is the most interesting video you've done so far. Keep up the good work, Rick!
Student composer and theory teacher here, been massively helped by your videos. Even with topics I already understand I'll always pick something up.
Thank you for the live update. It's a little ironic that I study jazz and rythems and blues in the tremé in new Orleans yet I'm pretty positive 75% of my studies lately come from your channel (pleural now! Grateful for the live) thanks a million man for not dumbing down lessons and making us keep up!
Amazing, clear explanation and examples!
Great video! Wish I had this a few months ago lol. The thing I like about negative harmony is that its a relatively easy way to explore modes and song ideas without drastically altering the aesthetic and voice leading of the music.
7:22 - The reflection of D minor chord of the Ionian mode should be the Eb major chord of the Phrygian mode, not Ab major chord.
Excellent video btw.
And 7:39 the correct combination is Gm/ Bb, not G major.
And at 11:00 the Dº should be a Dbº (then it matches the Circle of 5ths logic as well).
Very informative, Rick!
Rick I'm really surprised how much I've learned just watching your videos. I use to know practically nothing about music theory but now I've been watching your work here, I actually feel confident I have a decent foundation. Now I just need to train my ears... Oh your working on that too. Thanks sir!
Great lesson Mr. Rick.
This is the best harmony lesson i've seen on youtube.
Much love & respect from srilanka
❤🙏
Wow! This lesson illuminated chord progressions that I have heard in movie and television soundtracks. Also, in Bartok, who has always mystified me. Great stuff, Rick!
Really interesting and inspiring! You gave me some new composing idea!
What i am currently still figuring it out is why do we use the dominant of the tonic as an axis to form (or perhaps to "negatiate") the negative harmony? As you have stated in your video, you use the G phyrigian as the "negative" version of C ionian. My question is that why we have to start with that G instead of keep using C (which will resolve to C phyrigian). It seems more logical to me to construct the negative harmony from C ionian to C phyrigian, as their corresponding notes have the same intervals (WWHWWWH).
By using that concept, we will end up to something like this
C --> Fm
Dm --> G
Em --> A
F --> Bbm
G --> Cm
Am --> D
Bdim --> Fdim
Edit: I have looked through some references on the internet and every articles i read doesnt quiet explain why a tonic-dominant axis is used to transform negative harmony. Why cant we use C-F or perhaps C-B axis?? I figured out what I had written above was the "mirror chords" with respect to C, which means the C act as an axis (a single note axis which reflects the adjacent intervals).
so why do we use G phrygian instead of C phrygian? Rick lost me at this moment 😢
Certainly one of your best lessons Rick. I think people really need to play around with these chords on a piano to get the sound in their heads. All of this is wonderful, but unless people are hearing these particular sounds before they execute it out on their instruments, it's probably too abstract a concept for most people. However, that goes with everything dealing with language and ideas.
watched 4 youtube videos on negative harmony before this one. you are the first to explain that the concept is based on opposite or 'undertones" . this explaination is simple and the concept was immediatley understood. thx
This is brilliant, Rick, thanks! I've never seen all this presented so succinctly in one place.
Rick, at 10:57 when you are finishing how the circle of fifths can be used to find the negative harmony for the chords, why didn’t the Bo to Do follow the same logic? Curious. I see that note by note it is a Do but following the circle short cut it would give you a Db, no?
It should be Bb, the rule still works.
Absolutely fascinating. I’ve been a musician for decades and never come across these concepts before. I just tried to share this with my wife and she just about ran away screaming. I guess all this theory isn’t for everyone, but I’m loving this! Thanks Rick!
great work! Needed this video! I share all these videos with my son, as he is learning the theory now in high school that I have forgotten since college a billion years ago. Your videos help us both, as he is an aspiring Jazz trombonist, and an all county concert Euphonium player. APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK on this! Thanks again!
When you drew the circle of fifths made it so clear to me how to find the negative equivalent. Thank you Rick
I was in the middle of watching another video on this subject and I saw the thumbnail for this one. I instantly ditched it for Rick's video, you know your going to get the truth. That's how good this channel is its soo obvious Rick really knows what he is talking about.
This is absolutely fascinating. "Mirror Modal equivalents" is covered in the Beato book (I've 4.0), pages 100-102, the last 3 pages of ch.1
Rick, this is by far my favorite video lesson of yours so far! Really got me thinking.
i had ended music school yrs ago, im so happy to hear aliquotes again, great work, please dont stop.
Thank you for the clearest explanation I have found on negative harmony. Concise, articulate and understandable. I appreciate your work and desire to share the knowledge.
Watching your videos, along with Neely's and Levin's made me start studying music theory with much excitement. Thanks a lot!
Agreeing with Jamsville, best explanation of this concept I've come across thus far. It's after all not that hard, but there is tendency to clutter it up. Thanks for a great video Rick !
Okay, your live video got me to watch this! I'm 47 and always learning and always will be! I learn from you bro, you are a great teacher, my friend!
Also, if you write out a major scale, one octave on the guitar, and then flip it upside you get the Phrygian scale. This is a very easy way to keep track of which scales invert to each other.
Rick, you simply are one of the best Music Educators out there!
Dude... Thank you for gifting us with life changing musical information on the regular.
Love being a sub here Rick! Your channel is killin man! Keep up the awesome content!
Thanks a lot God of music theory, I watched 3 videos before seeing yours to fully comprehend how negative harmony is applied, when you referenced using the circle of fifths to find the negative harmony of each note, my mind fully understood in that second. You're a brilliant teacher and your ways of teaching are so pleasing to hear and watch, thanks for being my auto corrector when it comes to music ❤️
Awesome vídeo, Rick. Please, do anoter videos, maybe a serie, teaching and giving exemples of negative harmony being used in a pratical way. I love your channel
Now I am really interested in hearing you apply it in your brilliant own style actually.
As a fiddle player, I have always favored the double minor scale. I love playing music that really evokes the character of my fiddle. You have probably noticed that a string group of players that isn’t working with a tempered instrument (such as a piano or keyboard) plays their sharps a little sharper than the same flat (D# is a little sharper than Eb). Tempered instruments are always a little out of tune somewhere. They make a few small compromises to make the keyboard a reasonable size and easier to play. Nothing wrong with that, I love my piano too. But, that’s part of why some keys sound better on the piano than others. Btw, I don’t have perfect pitch, I am only hearing relatively.
Thanks Rick for bringing this up. I don’t think that I even learned about this in school.
My friend has never heard of this and says it sounds like a weird, cool concept. Says they like your videos a lot and wish you did more in depth videos like this. Keep up the good work!
Wow, this lesson is awesome! I'm researching on orchestral composition and I didn't even know this video would be so informative on the matter. I usually put some of your videos on my watch list and this one just happened to be exactly what I needed at the moment! Thanks! And greetings from Brazil!
Touchè! You finally adressed this issue. One of the best videos! You have lot of ability to teach!
Thanks.
You blow my mind every time I watch one of your videos. Superb content Mr. Beato
Awesome as always Rick!
Rick. You are an amazing teacher providing the logic behind every aspect of music
This is the best explanation on negative harmony I’ve found so far. Congrats!
Mirror modal equivalents. I discovered this on my own. This is the first time I have ever heard of this anywhere outside of my own discovery. I use this idea, coupled with some others, to teach modes.
Rick you're moving up in the world, it's time to get a white board with a staff.
or a chalk board and dashed lines
Hahahahaha...
A white beard with a staff is what we need
*rickroll
I love this channel and I'm this much closer to order your theory book.
The harmonic series as described is very useful for pretty much most situations... then clarinets come around and throw it all off with their harmonic series built around the 12th instead of the octave. This niche topic may actually be a topic worth exploring at some point -- compare and contrast a clarinet choir and a saxophone choir playing the same piece. I daresay that the saxophone choir will 'blend' better with itself than the clarinets will, to say nothing of how much 'presence' the low clarinets contribute (and, being a bass and contraalto/bass clarinetist, strong presence can make a huge difference in a clarinet ensemble or wind orchestra; most low clarinets players are too... timid).
For the most part, composers and arrangers need only worry about the mainstream harmonic series, but special consideration does need to be taken once clarinets come in; for the most part, it's negligible, particularly orchestrally (Eb, 2 Bb, Bass at most), but it does need mentioning.
The interesting thing is, the "negative harmony" version of any diatonic chord in a major key is a chord borrowed from the parallel minor key.
In other words, the concepts of negative harmony and modal interchange are very closely related!
I know what you mean. The unique quality of negatove harmony is in the voicings you will discover, and therefore hopefully new melodic ideas
Hit the thumbs-down by accident. Sorry about that ..
Mr. Z No it's because Rick assumed that Cm is the "negative" (😷😖😷) of C, which is an arbitrary assumption with no acoustical/mathematical basis whatsoever.
Excellent explanation! This is so far the best video I have seen on explaining negative harmony, thanks so much for sharing ! One thing: minute 7:22, the video says D- /Ab, but it is actually D- over Eb.
You have a great way of breaking down complex topics succinctly. I hope Berklee and Juilliard get in a bidding war for you.
This video and Adam Neelys "Why is Major 'Happy' " along with Adam's unlisted bonus video included in that video are amazing.
Hey Rick!
Have you ever seen anyone go nuts with the overtone series (and undertone series too, why not) and turn it into a "scale" and use it in a practical and musical way? Maybe using the overtone series of the key of the song and use it in a solo or of a particular chord and play the "scale" over the chord.
Love your stuff! Cheers from Brazil!
Luiz Pires
Johnny Reinhard uses the 7th octave of the overtone series as a 128 note (!!) super chromatic scale. Most impressively, he uses this for improvisation!
As soon as you mentioned modes I better understood what you were on about. I had looked into modes and intervals many years but had all but forgotten about it. Thanks. I have some ideas I can work on now.
Hands down, the best explanation of this concept. I get it! Thank you. Would you please do a series on this subject, and give real-world chord-progression advice based on these principles?
Im making notes, really enjoy watching you explain with the white board. i believe i should re -watch the vid and re-write notes in reverse. Thank you, your lessons are brill!
Great stuff. Makes you look at (and hear) music in a different way. Thanks for posting.
Thank you Rick! Amazing insight into negative harmony!
Your ability to simplify concepts is amazing.
Thank you for this Rick!! I've enjoyed other videos of yours but this one made me a fan for life-liked, subscribed, all in. Excellent explanation with just the right level of detail-clarified but not oversimplified, comprehensive but not over explained, and many open avenues to explore. Did the Beatles come up with those great color chords at random? Maybe, but now I know why they work and where they breed. Roll over Thelonius Monk!
I am lost at 7:43, E mixolydian with C aolian and mirror chords? Why are you blending E mix with C aolian? E mix is a mirror of E aolian, correct? And the mirror chord of E major is A minor, correct? What logic is used to blend E mix with C aolian and getting a E/F min chord?
Anybody? Help me out.
Hi Rick, at the beginning you say C Ionion is the mirror image from C Phrygian but at the end you write all the chords comming from C Ionion and his mirror G Phrygian (not C Phrygian anymore)!? I´m confused, what do you mean exactly?
Hey, to my understanding, the C Ionion and C phrygian example is an example of "mirror modals", whereas the G phrygian C Ionion pair is an example of negative harmony. try playing the ionion intervals backward starting from G (perfect 5th of C) and you will get G phrygian (C minor).
Kairyu, at the end Rick says that if we rewind we can see that we don´t have to use the same pairs of modes! I think that means that both concepts should be somehow related, but something is missing here...Come on Rick, help us on this one!
I think you´re right! The key is that they have different axis of reflection. The "mirror harmony " has its axis on the tonic and the negative harmony has its axis between the tonic and the dominant. So, to keep the same relation as C Ionian/ G Phrygian pair, I supose the eg you gave should be C Lydian and D phygian or C Dorian (instead of C phrygian)
Me too, same question; if C is the center of the perspective why than consider G???
Why in some videos they explain, when in key of C, the negative starting on G... and the semitons equivalency also from G?
like:
C becomes G
D becomes F
E becomes Eb
F becomes Db
G becomes C
...
and the chord C becomes Cm... but sometimes they say C chord becomes Fm... is there two different concepts with the same name?
Because either they are not referring to the negative harmony but just the inversion. There are multiple inversions you can do, negative harmony is one of them, where you invert on the axis between E and Eb if in key of C. In this case C becomes Cm, G becomes Fm.
Now, where C becomes Fm is the inversion based on the axis of centered on the note C (not between E and Eb). So C stays C, E becomes Ab and G becomes F.
Short answer: the C becomes Fm in the key of C is NOT negative harmony.
Best explanation on this topic so far! Thanks
Thank you Rick for this amazing explanation of a seemingly distant and far out concept! Loved the video
I know it's stupid to say "Oh, so descending is the opposite of ascending"
but that's what I realized upon being reminded of mirror modes
like, emotionally, it's easier to make descending lines on brighter scales to sound sad or intense because you're moving on an inversion
At 10:58, when he says "now if you go back and rewind", I frankly thought he would say that the video was also palindrome and that you could watch it from the end to the begining.
This is the best channel in the world
This is very helpful and concise. It's like drinking from a firehose, but now the information is accessible and repeatable. Thank you for bringing the power of the internet to bear on these subjects.
Absolutely Excellent explanation. You are a great Teacher, Rick!
Brilliant 👏. Most videos on negative harmony make it difficult to understand. Thank you for making things simple.
Question: It seems like C negative is the key signature of Eb major (The relative maj of C min). Is this just the wrong way to look at it?
Nothing wrong about it.
That's a great video on negative harmony. Never thought about it that way. How about a video on reharmonizing an actual song with negative harmony. Maybe one that it not just diatonic and a little more complex. That would be a treat! Thanks for all the work and effort you put in your videos giving so much precious knowledge away for free. Love it.
truly fascinating and unique sound.. definitely using this in my uni composition, thanks Rick!
Is there any more repertoire out there that you can point to that uses this besides the Bartók and Copland’s pieces??? Would love to get this in my ear more and figure out the contexts in which this is employed. This past summer, I utilized the mirror harmony on all other “pressing scales” and have gotten verrrry interesting results. As a music theorist/young scholar, I guess the next step is to find more evidence/primary sources that utilize this.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video Rick. So many similarities... I too ran the gambit of Music scenes, and bands, 25 years of playing 5-6 nights a week and getting good traction, to just have it go poof... Numerous times. Back in Austin, myself for the second time...same as it ever was. I need to find my "Atlanta". Hell I'm 60 years old already. Damn... not giving up.
Why B° reflected version is D°? I think it should be Db°. Like in your theory class, B is in 5 position positive, so 5 positions in negative we reach Db. So negative version scale would be G Locrian or C Phrigian. Am i missing anything?
Thanks Rick for your increible knowledge, experience, dedication, motivation.....!!!!
Because of the construction of the scale, the G phrygian scale is the mirror equivalent of the C Ionian one so you're going WS WS HS WS WS WS HS but downwards
This is the explanation I have been looking for. Thank you!
Nice explanation. It could be added that, just as every chord and note have their mirror negative images, you can play the negative version of a song by substituting both the chords and the melody by their negative equivalents. Steve Cruickshank has done many songs in this way (they're on YT), and the results are often quite nice.
Excellent, thanks! You make it easy to understand, and I appreciate that so much!
Is it possible that negative harmony is reflected along the axis of the tonic and the dominant to allow for the fact that we perceive music with a singular tonic rather than a positive and a negative equivalent tonic? If the two tonics of a piece were c and f at the same time, a logical brightening of it would be to c and g. What the midpoint does is it nullifies the g and the f ignoring that one is a reverse tonic and that the other is a brightening of a 5th, creating a single tonic of c. Has anyone discussed this that you know of?
Thanks Rick, I think I actually understand it! You are hands down, the best!
Fantastic video, straight to the point and you explained this interesting topic very well. Thank you
Another question: At 8:29 you are basing the negative harmony of the C ionian scale on the G phrygian. Why? The negative of C ionian is C phrygian. G phrygian is negative of G ionian, not C ionian. Since G would be mixolydian mode of C ionian, why not use the negative of G myxolydian, G aolian, for the negative harmony? Or why are we even bothering with G at all? I know there is a logic here that I am missing.
Around the 9:00 minute point, I started thinking I want a bag of cheetos, or doritos, or maybe a bag of party mix, but in any event, my brain was going in a flat direction.
I've been saving a couple of these for a quiet evening... good one!
GRACIAS DESDE ARGENTINA!!! Muy buena explicación. Saludos!!!
Really fascinating stuff -- would love to see a video going deeper into the concept.
Great info, great presentation - thanks Rick!
I'm not very good at music theory. In fact, I bought your book recently and have just begun going through it. So I have probably misunderstood negative harmony, but I have a question.
Jacob Collier says that you should think about the notes as if they revolve around an axis. The middle point in your analysis would be the tonic. So if the tonic is C then the positive vs negative will revolve around the C.
This is not the middle point for Collier though (unless I misunderstood, which is likely). For him it's the exact middle between the tonic and the dominant. So if the key is C (tonic C, dominant G) then the exact middle is between E flat and E. So the positive side would be from E and then ascending, while the negative side would be from E flat and then descending.
Have I completely misunderstood this? If not, is this not different from what you explained?
+BeerPanda That's a simple way of thinking of it. What I presented is what composers like Bartok, Copland, Dallapiccola, Persichetti etc would use it for which is more involved than basic chord substitutions like Fmin6 for G7.
Alright, fair enough. Thank you!
Thank you for the very interesting and informative short and concise video..!
Forgive me for the note, but the seventh chord in the Ionian mode is a half diminish. The correct seventh chord of C Ionian mode is B half dimished. G# is not in the key of C Ionian, right?
+Marshall They are triads not seventh chords
Yes, but still, would the seventh triad not be half diminished? I see the Ab as non harmonic with the C Ionian mode. I'm sure you've had this argument with a student. The G# note is not in the triad? My major seventh triad using the tonic as a root would be the notes, B, D, and G, not G# as per your triad.
A triad does not dictate a seventh chord. It can, but only two notes are needed to dictate a seventh chord when heard that way. I've read much debate about the seventh note of the Ionian mode, and it sounds perfecdtly harmonious to me as a half diminished triad. The key of C Ionian would read B, D, and G as the perfect notes, not B diminished which would read B, D, and F in order.
B, D and G make a G chord in first inversion. The triad B - D - F is called "B diminished". The seventh chord B - D - F - A is "half-dinimished" and the chord B - D - F - Ab is called "diminished seventh". G# is not in Ionian, nor in any other of the major modes. It's an augmented fifth, only found in more exotic scales.
Thanks for lesson... and the new Channel!
Rick, I hope you get to see this, even though this video is quite old. Your videos are helping me A LOT with learning music.
Your channel is like a FAQ section. Any doubt that I might have is already solved in a video, broken down, analyzed and put in a didactic way.
I just wanted to thank you for giving out all this priceless content for free. To put it simple, it's fantastic.