Hey RIck. I really love what your channel has become. There are so many channels out there that teach the really really easy stuff, and the people who are music theory nerds tend to have cheap software and the videos are not engaging or don't come regularly. Your channel has became a favorite. Keep up the great great work.
Thanks so much C33Four (It would be great to know peoples names)!! I'm trying to keep the bar high :) I have some longer videos in the works that I will be putting out soon. Thanks for watching! Rick
Great stuff! But notation is important. The slash character is used to indicate a chord played over a *bass note*, not a polychord. Polychords are notated traditionally with a *horizontal* line, but more recently the vertical separator character has become acceptable (e.g., A|C), perhaps because it's easy to type on modern keyboards. Finally, the caption for the polychord at 3:39 is incorrect. It's Eb|E (not Db|E). 😊
On your 5-year anniversary show today you played a snippet of the polychords video (maybe this one? not sure...), and I thought "Wow! I have to find that one!" I'm so glad I found it and watched it. Now, on to the other polychords videos!
Hi Rick, I really like the stuff you are presenting. And I can follow you since I have harmonic training. But I wanted to tell you that I would like rather to see your hands, have you thought of a split image for your face and hands... or switching back and forth? I also suggest a link to a pdf or a site where the examples of your explanation are laid out. Everything would make sense much quicker, specially for people that may be put off by the jargon. I thought the same of the videos about phrygian and lidian chords.
Thanks Fernando! The whole purpose is to learn through your ears not through your eyes. That is why I don't shoot the video of my hands. I'm explaining the sounds and the exact voicings. There's no need to see my hands. I would like to think that people that are watching a video on polychords know what notes are in F major chord :) I also have the PDFs available on Pateron for people that are really serious. Also, the "jargon" you speak of, everyone I know has been using for 30 years :) Thanks again! Rick
Hey, Rick. It's just that it's difficult to follow and memorize all the chords just from what you're saying in the video, making it difficult to implement polychords that sound good. I know that the whole purpose is to learn with your ears, but some of us want to use this in compositions, and it's just hard to understand everything without visual aid.
Hey Manuel- I realize that there is an interest in utilizing these techniques in your own compositions. I've said it in the post that I have PDFs available for people that are really serious about getting into this on my Patreon. This will include more in-depth analysis of the subjects as well.
This channel is fantastic. Really just a wealth of useful information. These polychords on synth strings remind me of the outro on the long version of "Purple Rain," (really more of a tag after the song ends.) I always wanted to transcribe that, but I have a hard time picking out individual notes in such dense harmonies. Guess I should head back to your ear training videos!
I'm very late for this but I have some help for the people who kinda didn't understand this video it's an idea I got from another video(I hope you don't mind Rick for me bringing other information from another video) the concept is actually more like a jazz concept but you can use it in any genre of music The concept is that you can take any scale and build a 13th chord with both hands you will see that you have in the right hand different chords combination for example in c major you will get chords like d minor chord b diminished chord and some 7th chords. If you play the root chord c major and add one of these chords in you left/right hand you get a different sound for every chord try to use different inversions, voicings try using cluster chords which sound amazing on strings and one more tip try using different chord tensions and you will get a lot of different chords. The possibilities of this concept is a lot try to find your own style in these chords have fun experimenting P. S: I hope you don't mind Rick but this is just to help people Another P. S: For the people who don't understand this comment I will recommend you to learn about chord extensions and chord tensions first than you know what I'm talking about Edit: I think why people don't really understand what Rick means when he is mixing chords together because I think Rick thinks of these chords in a modal way which is a pretty good way that I will recommend you to learn after using chord extensions and alterations which is more of a jazz approach but it's (in my opinion) much easier way for people to understand about poly chords but as Rick said if you like a chord mix voice you can use it even if it doesn't belong theoretically together it doesn't matter. Rick didn't specifically said that but I believe that's what he meant
So my question Is, when you play a polychord, what scale do you play in? For example, if I'm playing a c major in my left hand and bm in my right, would I play the bm scale or something else like the Lidian mode
Rick, these videos have been absolutely fantastic. What a wealth of experience and information! I'm relatively new to your videos. Is there any avenue through which one could make a request for something they wanted to be covered? Forgive me if this is not the appropriate forum, but I'd love to see/hear your analysis of various polychord uses in the post bop context (an analysis of Herbie's playing at the intro to Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum for instance).
A min maj. 7th, is a maj. 7th with a mi. 3rd... so is a mi. maj. 9 is a maj. 9 with a mi. 3rd a 7th and 9th? is it like an 11th chord where you have to sharp the 11th so it is not dissonant? is there an enharmonic name for it?
Hi Rick, I really love this lesson but I'm a bit lost and I wanted to ask you if the pdf about polychords is still available. Btw I bought your book and it was one of the best things I've done in my life. I've started getting into polychords recently.. Thanks Rick for sharing all your knowledges.!
Define spread triad . Do you mean inversion's ? or do you mean that the left and right hand are spread out from each other ? The farther the triad's are away from each other the more the dissonance seems to blend . Thank's Rick .
Hi Kevin- I'm going to do my next episode on spead but the concept is that you take any close position triad in any inversion and move the middle note up or down the octave. I have a great episode almost finished on it.
Hey Rick, How do we create such harmonic resemblance? Like , you used D flat major / F major and E major/ C major? How do we come up with such pair of chords on your left and right hand? Thanks in advance....
Any music recommendations for getting familiar with polychords? I'm having a really hard time making sense of it with my ear, if you know what I mean. Thanks
Yes, but not music that's readily available to the public. I'm thinking about putting together a collage of polytonal sections of certain pieces. John Williams is one of the only film composers that uses it and he doesn't use it that much. Let me think about it.
Hey Rick, A long time ago I commented on that famous video of your Dylan using his Absolute Pitch and left a useless comment, saying absolute pitch would demystify music. If I haven't already, I would like to fully retract that statement as it was merely a manifestation of my frustration with my own lack of similar ability. I am currently in my sophomore year of earning a bachelor's degree in music with a concentration in sound recording technology. I would like to thank you for your videos as they have been a great resource. While I appreciate and understand the service of your various PDFs and Patreon resources, I have to agree with Fernando Rosende's request for a shot that shows your voicings and performance (although I'm okay with the "jargon"). Leaving that out definitely does help people with their recognition of chord qualities and intuitive/internal understanding and clear recognition of the music, but I'm not sure people will be making large strides in that area through smaller moments of exposure like youtube videos (if that makes any sense). Yes, if people want to understand this video they should obviously be at least be at the level where they can spell any major or minor triad off the top of their head, but there are always eager learners who knowingly step outside their personal learning trajectory. You have every right not to add a hand-cam to your video despite whether or not it would be inconvenient, I just personally believe that it would greatly increase your audience and overall range of effectiveness. Personally, the net gain of a wider potential audience seems greater than the net loss of giving them the crutch of spelling it out for them visually. Also, At 9:13 you cut yourself off in the video; you seem to have accidentally cut one clip over another in your video editor. I believe youtube has a built-in video editor in which you can make simple cuts to easily edit that out if you'd like. If you read the whole thing, thanks for putting up with me.
prosthesis_ I'm not sure what you're referring to as jargon? Do you mean when I spell the chords out from bottom to top with the exact notes I'm playing? If people can't figure out what I'm doing they should use the ear training videos that I have provided. When I make simple videos people complain about that. "Keep the bar high" or "that's why I love your videos" I can't please everyone. By the way, I have since cancelled my Patreon page because of their lack of customer support. I do remember your comment by the way. It wasn't a long time ago unless you call 10 months a long time. Thanks for the tip about my bad edit. That was in the early days of my video making.
Rick Beato Yeah, I was just jokingly referring to Fernando's use of the word "jargon" in his comment a little further down the page. You're right about those who want to cut the fat out of the videos' explanations; I hadn't thought of that form of effectiveness and that part of the audience. 10 months feels like a long time for a naive young person such as myself. Everyone has moments they're not proud of.
I remember your exact quote "Wait until this child grows up and becomes completely passionless about music as it has been distilled to a science for them and they've come to know it as a just another thing to study like their schoolwork" That's what it was right? I am not surprised it's from a college sophomore. I was new to TH-cam then but happen to have a great memory for comments like that. What's your real name? Someone once told me to only respond to people that use their name when they leave a comment. Maybe they are right? Best, Rick
Hey Rick- when you pick these chords out are they random based on containing the notes your harmonizing (f, g, ab) or is there some system your using that you derive the chords from? Thanks!
I’ve even messing with huge amounts of chromatic movement. The best things I write don’t have any of that distinctive chromatic strange sound even if I have that chromaticism but in the bass note or the highest note and not just blended into the chord. I know how, but not why.
Awesome video, thx! What theory are you using to choose which chords to combine for your polychords, or are you just trying different chords to see what works? What's the method to that beautiful madness! P. S. My real name is Alfredo Tryferis. 😎
About 75% of the time if I look up a music theory subject that I want to learn about you have a video on it nicely done rick.
Oh my lord... E Major over C Major sounds so grand!
Hey RIck. I really love what your channel has become. There are so many channels out there that teach the really really easy stuff, and the people who are music theory nerds tend to have cheap software and the videos are not engaging or don't come regularly. Your channel has became a favorite. Keep up the great great work.
Thanks so much C33Four (It would be great to know peoples names)!! I'm trying to keep the bar high :) I have some longer videos in the works that I will be putting out soon. Thanks for watching! Rick
This video is pure gold
Great stuff! But notation is important. The slash character is used to indicate a chord played over a *bass note*, not a polychord. Polychords are notated traditionally with a *horizontal* line, but more recently the vertical separator character has become acceptable (e.g., A|C), perhaps because it's easy to type on modern keyboards. Finally, the caption for the polychord at 3:39 is incorrect. It's Eb|E (not Db|E). 😊
being able to see the keyboard would be very helpful
interesting video though
Thank you so mucho for that amazing episode!
Your channel is fantastic Rick, so many precious information. Thanks for sharing all these great things with us!
On your 5-year anniversary show today you played a snippet of the polychords video (maybe this one? not sure...), and I thought "Wow! I have to find that one!" I'm so glad I found it and watched it. Now, on to the other polychords videos!
Realizing that William Schuman’s symphonies are 80% just super dense polychords
Hi Rick, I really like the stuff you are presenting. And I can follow you since I have harmonic training. But I wanted to tell you that I would like rather to see your hands, have you thought of a split image for your face and hands... or switching back and forth? I also suggest a link to a pdf or a site where the examples of your explanation are laid out. Everything would make sense much quicker, specially for people that may be put off by the jargon. I thought the same of the videos about phrygian and lidian chords.
Thanks Fernando! The whole purpose is to learn through your ears not through your eyes. That is why I don't shoot the video of my hands. I'm explaining the sounds and the exact voicings. There's no need to see my hands. I would like to think that people that are watching a video on polychords know what notes are in F major chord :) I also have the PDFs available on Pateron for people that are really serious. Also, the "jargon" you speak of, everyone I know has been using for 30 years :) Thanks again! Rick
Hey, Rick. It's just that it's difficult to follow and memorize all the chords just from what you're saying in the video, making it difficult to implement polychords that sound good. I know that the whole purpose is to learn with your ears, but some of us want to use this in compositions, and it's just hard to understand everything without visual aid.
Hey Manuel- I realize that there is an interest in utilizing these techniques in your own compositions. I've said it in the post that I have PDFs available for people that are really serious about getting into this on my Patreon. This will include more in-depth analysis of the subjects as well.
Rick Beato Oh, ok. Thanks, Rick!
This channel is fantastic. Really just a wealth of useful information. These polychords on synth strings remind me of the outro on the long version of "Purple Rain," (really more of a tag after the song ends.) I always wanted to transcribe that, but I have a hard time picking out individual notes in such dense harmonies. Guess I should head back to your ear training videos!
I'm very late for this but I have some help for the people who kinda didn't understand this video it's an idea I got from another video(I hope you don't mind Rick for me bringing other information from another video) the concept is actually more like a jazz concept but you can use it in any genre of music
The concept is that you can take any scale and build a 13th chord with both hands you will see that you have in the right hand different chords combination for example in c major you will get chords like d minor chord b diminished chord and some 7th chords. If you play the root chord c major and add one of these chords in you left/right hand you get a different sound for every chord try to use different inversions, voicings try using cluster chords which sound amazing on strings and one more tip try using different chord tensions and you will get a lot of different chords. The possibilities of this concept is a lot try to find your own style in these chords have fun experimenting
P. S: I hope you don't mind Rick but this is just to help people
Another P. S: For the people who don't understand this comment I will recommend you to learn about chord extensions and chord tensions first than you know what I'm talking about
Edit: I think why people don't really understand what Rick means when he is mixing chords together because I think Rick thinks of these chords in a modal way which is a pretty good way that I will recommend you to learn after using chord extensions and alterations which is more of a jazz approach but it's (in my opinion) much easier way for people to understand about poly chords but as Rick said if you like a chord mix voice you can use it even if it doesn't belong theoretically together it doesn't matter. Rick didn't specifically said that but I believe that's what he meant
great stuff Rick, thanks man...those poly chords kinda reminded me of Aaron Copeland's Apalachean Spring for some reason...
Really likes his E Major/C Major
Wonderfull, here I really kick off somehow ! Beside the other great things this man has show me !
3:08, third one was the best
So my question Is, when you play a polychord, what scale do you play in? For example, if I'm playing a c major in my left hand and bm in my right, would I play the bm scale or something else like the Lidian mode
Rick, these videos have been absolutely fantastic. What a wealth of experience and information! I'm relatively new to your videos. Is there any avenue through which one could make a request for something they wanted to be covered? Forgive me if this is not the appropriate forum, but I'd love to see/hear your analysis of various polychord uses in the post bop context (an analysis of Herbie's playing at the intro to Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum for instance).
+Alexander Meadow Great idea! I'll get on that. Thanks!
Rick in some sites says what polytonality it´s use of two or more different keys, so sometimes polytonality and bitonality are related ?
A min maj. 7th, is a maj. 7th with a mi. 3rd... so is a mi. maj. 9 is a maj. 9 with a mi. 3rd a 7th and 9th? is it like an 11th chord where you have to sharp the 11th so it is not dissonant? is there an enharmonic name for it?
Hi Rick, I really love this lesson but I'm a bit lost and I wanted to ask you if the pdf about polychords is still available. Btw I bought your book and it was one of the best things I've done in my life. I've started getting into polychords recently.. Thanks Rick for sharing all your knowledges.!
Define spread triad . Do you mean inversion's ? or do you mean that the left and right hand are spread out from each other ? The farther the triad's are away from each other the more the dissonance seems to blend . Thank's Rick .
Hi Kevin- I'm going to do my next episode on spead but the concept is that you take any close position triad in any inversion and move the middle note up or down the octave. I have a great episode almost finished on it.
Is anpity you dońt show the keyboard to follow easier, great video
Hey Rick,
How do we create such harmonic resemblance? Like , you used D flat major / F major and E major/ C major? How do we come up with such pair of chords on your left and right hand? Thanks in advance....
Any music recommendations for getting familiar with polychords? I'm having a really hard time making sense of it with my ear, if you know what I mean. Thanks
Yes, but not music that's readily available to the public. I'm thinking about putting together a collage of polytonal sections of certain pieces. John Williams is one of the only film composers that uses it and he doesn't use it that much. Let me think about it.
How about polychromes in jazz? Same thing or other "rules" or traditions?
Hey Rick,
A long time ago I commented on that famous video of your Dylan using his Absolute Pitch and left a useless comment, saying absolute pitch would demystify music. If I haven't already, I would like to fully retract that statement as it was merely a manifestation of my frustration with my own lack of similar ability.
I am currently in my sophomore year of earning a bachelor's degree in music with a concentration in sound recording technology. I would like to thank you for your videos as they have been a great resource.
While I appreciate and understand the service of your various PDFs and Patreon resources, I have to agree with Fernando Rosende's request for a shot that shows your voicings and performance (although I'm okay with the "jargon"). Leaving that out definitely does help people with their recognition of chord qualities and intuitive/internal understanding and clear recognition of the music, but I'm not sure people will be making large strides in that area through smaller moments of exposure like youtube videos (if that makes any sense). Yes, if people want to understand this video they should obviously be at least be at the level where they can spell any major or minor triad off the top of their head, but there are always eager learners who knowingly step outside their personal learning trajectory. You have every right not to add a hand-cam to your video despite whether or not it would be inconvenient, I just personally believe that it would greatly increase your audience and overall range of effectiveness. Personally, the net gain of a wider potential audience seems greater than the net loss of giving them the crutch of spelling it out for them visually.
Also, At 9:13 you cut yourself off in the video; you seem to have accidentally cut one clip over another in your video editor. I believe youtube has a built-in video editor in which you can make simple cuts to easily edit that out if you'd like.
If you read the whole thing, thanks for putting up with me.
prosthesis_ I'm not sure what you're referring to as jargon? Do you mean when I spell the chords out from bottom to top with the exact notes I'm playing? If people can't figure out what I'm doing they should use the ear training videos that I have provided. When I make simple videos people complain about that. "Keep the bar high" or "that's why I love your videos" I can't please everyone. By the way, I have since cancelled my Patreon page because of their lack of customer support. I do remember your comment by the way. It wasn't a long time ago unless you call 10 months a long time. Thanks for the tip about my bad edit. That was in the early days of my video making.
Rick Beato Yeah, I was just jokingly referring to Fernando's use of the word "jargon" in his comment a little further down the page.
You're right about those who want to cut the fat out of the videos' explanations; I hadn't thought of that form of effectiveness and that part of the audience.
10 months feels like a long time for a naive young person such as myself. Everyone has moments they're not proud of.
I remember your exact quote "Wait until this child grows up and becomes completely passionless about music as it has been distilled to a science for them and they've come to know it as a just another thing to study like their schoolwork" That's what it was right? I am not surprised it's from a college sophomore. I was new to TH-cam then but happen to have a great memory for comments like that. What's your real name? Someone once told me to only respond to people that use their name when they leave a comment. Maybe they are right? Best, Rick
Those people are right.
Hey Rick- when you pick these chords out are they random based on containing the notes your harmonizing (f, g, ab) or is there some system your using that you derive the chords from? Thanks!
I’ve even messing with huge amounts of chromatic movement. The best things I write don’t have any of that distinctive chromatic strange sound even if I have that chromaticism but in the bass note or the highest note and not just blended into the chord. I know how, but not why.
whoaa... nice channel! really...!!!
E minor 7 over F minor sounds very spicy, very mysterious.
tell us more!!
Awesome video, thx! What theory are you using to choose which chords to combine for your polychords, or are you just trying different chords to see what works? What's the method to that beautiful madness! P. S. My real name is Alfredo Tryferis. 😎
What synth are you using in this video? sounds lovely
3:07 "really beautiful sound". Not for me tbh... It sounds like there is no resolution at all. Just tension.
At one point u said a man for both hands :)
I know that I'm musically gifted but I'm just too dumb to understand all of this theoretic stuff...
unacceptable.There is not a bloody Polychord Chord Chart on the world,with all of the exist combination.
Patrick O'Lowrey I'm actually trying to make my own chart
Ok I'll try
Rolando Gomez same!