I hope this being the top comment doesn't discourage people. It really is not that difficult. I'm sure most people know much more complicated things they use every day - NFL rules, traffic laws, whatever job they have. It's like anything else, use it often and you'll remember it!
@@somethingbl I got kicked out of my flutophone classes in grade school because they told me I was hopeless...It is beyond hopeless if you cannot find the aptitude or teacher to open it up...
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"if I were to tell you this is actually an argumented six, you say ..." I say nothing. I have no idea what you are talking about and this is my 4th playthrough :-)
Exactly, this is not basic information because it expects a foundation that beginners do not possess, and can't possibly get from watching this video a hundred times.
He is talking about intervals...how far one tone is from another, actually how one interval can be named in two ways, just that......and he plays it as well.. don't know, how he could have explained it differently..these are theoretical basics, that can't be more deconstructed..remember what an interval is and which ones exist, than you will understand this particular point.
@@rackopacko Possibly the only way to go deeper is to show waveforms of the frequencies as the notes are played, but that isn't how musicians work (in general - disregarding music editing software). However, even as a tone-deaf non-player I do see what Rick is getting at. There are whole semester-long courses that teach this stuff but he's aiming for a ten minute precis here which is fair enough. I understand more from this than 2 years with my crap music teachers at school who had no time for anyone who wasn't already several years into home-schooled lessons or church choirs.
This is more of a summary for someone who is in the know than it is a lesson for a beginner. If you don't know these things you could probably watch this 10 times and still barely understand half of it.
That's certainly true for me. I love listening to music but can't play anything so was very quick to hit play on this clip. I stopped after only 2 minutes. I was already completely overwhelmed with concepts. I also have new found awe for anyone who's a musician.
@@ThatGuy-bp4gz I agree, but then remember that Hendrix, Clapton, Beatles, EVH, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson etc could NOT read a lick of music, it was all feel.
@@juanelfuango5250 All of those people you mentioned do/did have a great feel for music, but they also 'have/had highly trained ears, and would probably easily understand everything in this video. I live in Nashville, and have known bunches of musicians who didn't read, but in the studio, they could write down a chord chart while they listen to a song for the first time. Some of the great jazz musicians didn't learn to read, either. One of those is Errol Garner, who composed the song "Misty." It's possible to know how it all works but just not be able to read the notation.
This is more like a teaser for the other courses that Rick offers. It's a good summary for someone like me who knows a little bit but not a lot...I can understand what he's saying, and it's clear that if I want to learn more and like what he's doing I can go pay to get more. I wouldn't call this a "learn music theory" video. More of a "Would you like to learn music theory?" video
@@rw6616 So is Rick actually. He's one of those rare people who love the theory. And can use it too. He's almost the musical equivalant of the guy who learns bus schedules for fun. And his utterly honest video admitting his strange 'disabilities' is an insight. It's part of this 'talent'.
As someone who doesn't know much at all about music theory, listening through this video had me completely and utterly lost. There is so much terminology being used that I'm unfamiliar with and I can't see how this could be considered to be BASIC music theory knowledge. If I were to take a class on music theory and this was what came out of the teacher's mouth on the first day, I wouldn't even know where to begin to be able to process the information. I just feel like Rick is at such an incredibly high level of knowledge that to him, this is basic, but to a true beginner, this is incredibly advanced information, and even repeatedly listening to this video won't start to make sense unless all of the underlying concepts and terminology are explored clearly and individually.
Yeah, I teach a high school guitar class and the unfortunate truth is that "basic" music theory is actually really confusing to most people. There are musically-inclined kids who get it in my class. But the majority of my students haven't touched an instrument since the recorder in 3rd grade and it takes them an entire semester to learn the basics of the basics. I don't even touch any kind of theory for the first 10 weeks.
I think Rick was trying to do this within the restraints of a 10 minute video. It is more of an exercise for him to see if he can cover the basics of music theory within that time
Well, if you would take a class on music theory, this would probably be the first thing you will ever hear coming out of the teacher's mouth anyway. When I first started playing drums, this was exactly the stuff we learned over a first year of music theory. Honestly Rick explained it pretty clearly but you definitely need to listen and take note of every word he says. With that being said, my main issue with music theory in general is that I never had a teacher who could explain how to use it in practice. Music theory is indeed super confusing at first because they tell you about all the strange rules and interchanges; and yet all the great musicians constantly break them. For example when I want to write a melody, I usually start in a specific key because I find it easier to write within certain parameters. However then I constantly find myself adding notes I find cool sounding, probably changing the key or mode (or whatever it is called) and ending up with an interesting melody while having absolutely no idea how to add chord proggression to it. Maybe I do it completely backwards but nobody could ever explain this to me.
This is a great, dense summary of essential music theory, but make no mistake, for beginners this is no substitute for learning slowly and thoroughly either with a teacher or going through a course. All the concepts in this video take time, repetition and applied examples in order to learn thoroughly, and the fact that this video is condensed down to as little as 10 minutes says a lot more about Rick’s ability to condense it down that well, than the content being considered ‘easy’. Good job Rick!
Haven taken college and masters level music theory, I can understand this. As many have pointed out, it requires having a fluency in musical vocabulary such as notes, flats and sharps, chords, scale degrees and key signatures before this video would be digestible. As to the content, it is even confusing to me to think of intervals in terms of how many half steps, such as a major 6th being 9 half steps. I never think of it that way. The chord construction section had no audio examples, just jargon with sheet music, abbreviations, and animation clicks and pops which isn't helpful in a music theory video. I would have stopped before Lydian and Phrygian chords as this is college level music theory and not applicable to basics (i've never even used them). Throwing up a circle of fifths diagram while talking about relative minors and tonics is going to be pretty confusing without any other context. Maybe consider making a 10 minute "beginners" music theory video where you cover what is a note, what is a scale, what is a flat/sharp, solfege, solfege as it relates to scale degrees, whole and half steps and how to make a scale, what a chord is (just with major/minor), and find basic chord progressions; basically any terminology that's you assume the viewer understands to be able to digest this video.
I believe your secret is not being an amazing musician or a good communicator. I believe that your calling is to share your knowledge and do it in a way that catches the attention of everyone, from just a curious viewer, to music beginners, intermediate and pros. We are lucky to have such information available like this. Thank you Rick.
He's basically explaining the language of music 101. These are things you need to know in order to read sheet music or walk into a room and play with others or get your musical ideas across in an easy universally understood manner. It's how a group of people can come together who've never played a piece of music together before can sound reasonably professional the first read through. I regret not having learned music theory at a younger age and have now taken it upon myself to learn at least the basics so that I can play with others and understand what is going creatively on when I listen to music.
If you already have a good working knowledge of basic music theory then this is the basics. If you don’t even know what an interval is, what a semitone is, or even understand the concept of a scale or a chord this is way advanced. The Beato book is great as a reference but it is advanced. My students struggle with understanding what an interval is.
Its not your fault. Ed. 'Intervals'..derived from the '8 note scale' are incredibly important but equally hard to describe. You can't just say 'there are intervals' and leave it like that- Without quite some amount of explanation.
This is an excellent introduction, Rick. I am glad to see you defining chors as stacked intervals --THAT is how chords shold be taught rather then memorizing chord charts.
Bit tricky when you jump straight into talking about intervals as 3rds 4ths 5ths etc without just laying down the basic 12 note chromatic scale first. I found that the best approach when learning the basics because it gives a good visual foundation to build from.
The Rick Beato book is the best thing that happened to all of us who breath music day and night and have purchased the book. Theory knowledge is a must for any musician/vocalist out there. God bless you Rick.
People who understand music theoretically often love to explain the theoretical understanding they've gained. But this information isn't useful to help people understand music, *beyond what they already understand aurally.* Functionally, these kinds of theoretical descriptions are a lot more useful for teaching people that music is too complicated for them. Just look at the other comments comparing it to rocket science and saying they'll never understand all of it. These theoretical tidbits are not going to be understood by people until the sounds they're meant to represent are understood in the context of whatever work we're talking about. So if anybody's watching this and they don't get it...it DOES NOT MATTER. This stuff is completely unimportant until way, way late in the music learning process, and even then it's not necessary unless you need to communicate with other musicians who use this language. Music theory *should not be a barrier* to anyone who's interested in learning music, and nor should it be thought of as a starting point. It's not. It comes after a working listening and performance vocabulary of rhythm, tonal, and harmonic patterns has been developed. Good luck!
I've been reading and playing around with my KB to learn more about music theory, nad this vid just made so many clicks on my brain, it helped put together and tie down a lot of isolated pieces I had already and well... It just helped me A TON!!! BEST 10 mins I've invested in learning music so far!
Hey Rick, thank you so much for this! I've been waiting for this for a long time! The timing was incredible - I was just sitting next to my piano when you uploaded this!
Here’s what I heard: When canoeing down a sidewalk it’s important to keep hot dogs warm. Otherwise your gravy box will have to wait for the leaves to get angry.
Only Rick could make a perfect new age-style meditation recording design for you to listen to while you go to sleep at night so you can wake up and say wow now I understand music theory LOL super cool Rick thank you for this
With my primary musical training on drums and percussion, I’ve spent many years since catching up with playing and reading music for guitar, bass, piano. I loved this video … but have to confess that my brain nearly exploded halfway through. :)
Same here! Rick is dropping a serious download here. I just stopped the video halfway and scrolled down here to the comments for some decompression. I'll go back for "part two" when I feel ready.
I dropped music theory in college to concentrate on drums while my sister graduated with a music degree... she doesn't do well with rhythms and I don't do well with chords despite reading music practically my whole life. She has perfect pitch and I definitely don't
@@rw6616 I started with drums too, field drums-everything but the tymps. Then I went to horns (I was in drum corps). Then someone gave me a cheap youth guitar and I stumbled on from there.
@@kingcopycat9945 Pick some hand writing one that pretty accurate and having that music (recording) so you will see what''s going on...but without knowing a few great examples from old recording and a little ability to analyze them... it's hard to just follow sheet music because those sheet music is not 100% correct. So it's basic direction and form of music.
Okay valiant effort. But you're absolutely nuts for doing this. If it promotes music education or even interest then I'm all for it. I can't imagine not knowing this information and watching this video. Wow! Brave? Fun?
Any suggestions where someone might start/look? There are so many tutorials online these days I actually find it all confusing (for me personally it has just turned into a muddy mess). Learn open chords first ? Learn all the notes on the fretboard first? Learn intervals first ? Learn the 5 pentatonic box shapes then the Major? What the heck.. Plus everyone wants to play a song or two for enjoyment. Is there a preferred method / approach to all of this? Cheers
Some people are complaining that this goes too fast, but I find that refreshing. There are tons of videos on the subject that are painfully slow. This is one of the few that actually challenges you.
Rick, have you thought about doing a video course on the 'theory' portion of the Beato Book? Some of us are visual learners, and its helpful to see someone explain topics.
I saw the title, thought, wow, I'll watch this and then be able understand what my family is talking about when they sit around and chat about music. Then, I got lost somewhere around "A minor seventh could also be an augmented sixth," and never really caught back up. That's just a personal limitation, not the fault of the video at all though! This video is really approachable compared to a lot of other theory videos on youtube, but for some reason it just doesn't click for me the way something simple like differential calculus does. I did really like when he admitted that some of the relationships make no logical sense and just have to be memorized. That really helps me, because it means I don't NEED to understand these things; they were never intended to be understood, just memorized. It is like rules of grammar - they don't have to make sense, that is just the way they are. I think I long ago accepted that I'll never be a musician, but at least with videos like this I can learn some of the vocabulary enough to not be completely lost.
What would really be nice is a video showing the most commonly used inversions shapes. Like going from common triad all they way up to & thru 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, & 13ths. That seems to be the biggest & most helpful thing to learn for any guitarist. Especially me lol
Luv u man.. How many people that are really interested don't have 10 Minutes to learn vital building block information! Thank you for your work, I know making videos all the time is not easy and can be basically Thankless at times. I'm thinking monetarily so God bless you for sharing so freely
I think he's hoping (I'm hoping too) that people who think they don't have time watch this video as an easy way to learn music theory, get interested and pursue deeper understanding subsequently watching his full length course
@@jcmartinez7527 of course but even the information offered here to a person that knows basically nothing is valuable in Itself. How about the ear training intervals I've been playing guitar for over fifty years and that Amazed me! I guess I need his book .
This is quite literally the best, most easy to understand video on this topic. And of course it’s done by Rick. You sir are in a whole different level. I have learned so much from Rick over the last few years. Every notification is an instant click. Well done as per usual Rick. You do the world an amazing service.
I just realized a few new things about my life. I needed Rick Beato 55 years ago when I started playing piano@five and was not taught what I needed to know by an untrained teacher who just wanted the money...but I think Rick was not born yet and definitely had not started teaching when I was five...so today, I need a Rick Beato t-shirt, if that exists, so I can wake up wearing it and be profoundly focused...this, to go with my Beato book when I buy it...because I just realized I need that too to go with my all around fascination with the brilliance that is Rick Beato. Gonna need all his stuff because we like all the same music and he made that book for me and I am learning what I always needed to know, now. I can read notes but I learned to play "by ear" because I did not learn music theory like my Mom paid for. Just realized this. Thank you, Rick. I do have perfect pitch though, so that helps.
Rick, this was one of the best videos I’ve seen over the past couple of years. Came at a perfect time for me and this cleared up a few points for me. Love your work and have been a fan since you had about 1 million followers here so congratulations on 2 1/2 million and growing.
I purchased the Beato Bundle 4.0 as well as the Ear Training Course a few days ago. 👍 As a musician, the ear training portion is much easier for me than the theory portion. I am Very Grateful for this 10 min intro to the theory portion. When I can see it, hear it, and read it at the same time it sinks in little by little. My mind is stretching in a delightfully challenging way. You are a well appreciated Teacher Rick. 🙏🤘👍
Thank you, Mr. Beato. I can't thank you enough. I have been sturggling to learn music on my own for decades not professionally or even as a hobby, but as a whole different realm to take my mind to when I need a break from focusing on writing or filmmaking or drawing or creating other visual art. When I get stuck or burnt out on one of my other interests, just wrapping my head around something completely different like music for a brief period exercises a different part in my brain and results in "aha!" or eureka moments of inspiration in the other arts. I will be ordering your book. You finally made the basics actually make complete sense to me for the first time. I've been watching all your content since the pandemic hit. I am constantly blown away by the amount of music knowledge you have and I love when you play classic songs and solo just the drum track or just the backing vocals etc with the mixing board. How do you get access to the individual tracks? Are those all songs you personally worked on? Also, I don't understand why today's pop songs are chordally uninteresting, especially with all the recent music software like Captain Plug Ins and many others that let you choose a Key/Scale and then lists all the chords you can start with, and then after you choose one it lists the chords that you can choose next (including inversions and variations). You would think that songs would be getting MORE complex and more interesting. Lastly, I saw that you are also a Taurus and thus it makes perfect sense that you are a master of music, because Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus- the goddess of art and music, and love and beauty. Stay mighty, Rick! You are truly inspiring.
I dig how you seemingly, 'show off' your training skills then encourage us on how we can achieve the same skills! This went a bit quick for me to digest all of it but illuminated some points I need to focus on. ....ear training skills.
Hmm...if your adressing people with very little or no musical knowledge, then this is not really working. E.g. the augmented/dimished part takes up way too much space, is not what I would call basic and just makes sure that beginners check out very early. On the other hand, more basic stuff like frequencies of harmonies (why does a perfect 5th sound so good -> 3:2 ratio) would help connecting those numbers to real physical events, making it more understandable for non-musicians. Otherwise those are just random numbers to them. Love your videos, Rick, but this one was...meh.
I agree. I really enjoy Rick's videos and his attention to music theory within those. But the disconnect here was presenting nomenclature without the corresponding sounds. That's where it resolved for me when I was learning this. That said, keep up the great work, Rick, your videos are really valuable.
Yeah, there's no way a beginner could follow this. His very first sentence is, "Intervals are the building blocks of polyphonic music." Great! How many beginners know what the word 'polyphonic' means. And then his explanation of intervals would leave any beginner's head spinning and don't seem to prioritize what's important conceptually. He starts with explaining the difference between melodic and harmonic intervals. Is that really the place to start? Isn't it more important to explain what an interval IS? Help the listener understand that intervals measure musical distance just like a yardstick measures physical distance. He just goes straight into throwing terms like 'major', 'minor', 'diminished', and 'augmented' around. Then he talks about unisons, 2nds, etc. Congrats, dude. it took you less than a minute to leave your audience of beginners in the dust. Here's the truth. There are no shortcuts with music theory. You can't teach all of this in 10 minutes.
This video is a really great pocket tool that encapsule the basics of music theory in a really tight space. If you think you'll get it all after one watch, forget it, as Rick imply at the beginning Learning music theory and to play music with it is a difficult and complex task that can't be grasp on the fly. It takes interest, dedication, effort and time. I get your point that you don't like the video, but to me, it deliver exactly want it meant to be.
I am grateful my Mom gave me Music Appreciation as a child and then five years of classic piano from a highly trained concert pianist married to a butcher, no longer living in her native Italy where she was on stage at 18, but giving children lessons now. I was 7 to 12, and could not hear the beat at all. She played that metronome so patiently but it was to no avail. I only got connected in the 1960's at the Fillmore (yes, the original) when my new black brother-in-law said, along with the Motown beat, can't you hear that? And it was definite. Thank you, Jesus. I have never been the same since. And am so grateful for all my musical adventures which included my good buddy, Ramona, who was a close pal of Dizzy, so we were at the Hearst Theatre in Berkeley when Miles and Gil Evans premiered Spain. It was awesome. So much more. I love music more now that I am already 80!! All types. Thank you so much, Mr. Beato. I can go out happy now.
Dear Rick. I am not a professional musician but I find a great deal of joy and comfort when I play. I have learned a lot about music over the years but your videos have greatly increased my understanding of the underlying structure of music and really improved my ear. Thank you so much for these videos.
Have to agree with what many are saying: this video is for those with a solid foundation of music STRUCTURE to understand THEORY. It’s like teaching someone who knows how to operate a home thermostat (turn it up to get warm, turn it down to cool off) to actually build one: you’d have to better understand thermodynamics. Just the same, Rick, you’re a great music appreciation teacher, with fascinating insight… thank you!
This is stupendous. I'm not a musician but an appreciator, and still this is so interesting and useful. Also you are wonderful ly clear. A born tacher.
Reading the comments made me realize and remember something, ok this can seem scary at first. But when you learn an instrument (my experience) you first learn how it technically works, and then you start playing music Learn to play ode to joy on a piano, seven nation army on a guitar, whatever, learn some music first. THEN, after some experience you can come to theory to understand how it works. I remember wanting to write songs after maybe a year or 2, but, where to start from ? I didn''t know sh*t And then one day I discovered scales and WAOW, I was like "oooooh ok so if I stay in this scale it will work?" yes it will ! You discover the major scale and then you discover that A minor = C major You discover pentatonics, the blue note, and then suddenly you're able to play rock and blues ! I didn't train my ear by just playing intervals, 90% of pop/rock music is major/rel minor scale Seven nation army is E minor, you just find the key and then you know which note to play then you remember E to G sounds like this, G to A like this, and then while practicing over and over you're will know how intervals sound. You'll also pick up the gimmicks that are often used on your instrument and you'll use it too. Once you're fine with this, you can restart and try to learn Jazz, which the step above in kind of music theory.
After 35 years of playing music (guitar, bass, drums, keys) I'm pretty music theorized but now I can finally sing a C note (and C scale) out of thin air and then play it on piano and it's CORRECT! Thank you Rick!!
Man your videos have helped me understand music so much deeper than I ever had. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. Bless you brother.
Good work, Rick--I liked this. The comments by some of the less-musically-trained viewers are worthwhile, though. It's really several weeks of materials compressed into 10 minutes. You could send a whole session on melodic intervals and practice going over these for a week; and so on. It's really a matter of spending a lot of time with each piece of information until it becomes second nature. I learned this as a teen (50 years ago), then after BA and MA in music had it all pretty well drilled in, as all of you other experienced music people have done too. It's like learning a language, because once you're fluent, you should be able to hear a tune and transcribe it/play it; be able to see written music or chord symbols and play it at sight; understand the tonal relationships; hear the arrangements, etc. You don't get to this point by being brilliant, but by just doing it a lot. There's an old saying, from whom I don't know (someone told me it was Larry Coryell): take what's hard, and make it a habit; take what's a habit, and make it easy; and then take what's easy and make it beautiful. Practice can eventually give you the kind of wonderful and magical instrumental fluency that Rick displays in his videos. From the way Rick describes these things I'm sure his instructional materials would be very helpful to anybody.
Rick, I love your channel, I love your videos. I really don't like how this particular video is presented. Unless you intend this for someone who has taken a few music classes already, perhaps a late-beginner stage, I really feel like you've skipped several steps here. One of these days (years), I would like to produce my own version of this, but for an absolute beginner to music to quickly teach & show fundamentals that one could apply to any instrument, relating it to spoken language. Anyway, this video has some great reference information for a mid/late beginner, but I wouldn't present this to an absolute beginner.
Not even twenty seconds in and he dropped the word “polyphonic” into the mix… plus talking about augmented and diminished intervals. Beginner me would be so lost. Sooo yeah I feel like this isn’t quite there yet. But nothing but respect for you Rick ✌️
One thing that is often missing from these kinds of tutorials is the application and good examples. Suggestions on how to go from a standard I Vi V IV progression to something really interesting. And scale choices over chord changes. A bit like learning engineering fundamentals and then be expected to build an aeroplane.
Go to his other videos on utube and instagram and there are tons of demos for us just FYI …the focus for the video was a theory basics in 10 mins not a lot of time for demos…watch alot, practice a lot, and you will learn a lot 🙏🏽💯🕊 stay hungry
You're the best! Just a couple of months ago I knew NOTHING about music theory nor did I care about it even thoug I've been playing the guitar for over 6 years. Your videos gave me the motivation and the tools to learn this stuff!! You made me understand how important music theory and ear training are to be a good musician - before I always had the feeling it was some kind of magic that I just wasn't born with. I hope many people see this video, because you did a great job at it! You're amazing!
Oh my dear Lord!!! This so completely validates my decision not to pursue music anymore academically when I was younger. Just listening to the first 30 seconds of this video make me want to bang my head against a wall. Thank God for tablature, that's all I need. Anything more and it's no longer fun, it's the worst type of school. The type that makes you hate something that should be enjoyed.
It’s all about enjoying it, most importantly.. But the more you study these things, the more they come to you. In my experiences, at least, (as a lifelong musician), things like music theory come more like plateaus.. You are stuck with no progress for awhile, but if you keep grinding, soon it will be like, “wow, I really get it now”.. Just depends on how much you want to push forward..
Being a COMPLETELY self taught musician and starting out about the same time you did Rick, i am amazed at your wealth of knowledge! I can never understand all of what you just explained here. I played my first "paid" gig in '77 for a school dance on my brand new '77 LP Gold top deluxe, I think we each got $20 bucks and thought we were the $hit! LOL I soon after switched over to bass, as there weren't many bassists around back then, and BOOM!, I worked constantly! Many THOUSANDS of gigs later and the millions of notes played, I still don't grasp "theory" much. I understand keys and how to get around them, but the theory just knocks me off the stump! Love your vids!
No, you're not. You just need to have things clearly explained to you. And although Rick's video is highly informative, I don't feel that it is as explanatory for beginners as it aims to be. I think that a more simplistic breakdown of some of the core concepts would have been more helpful. And I can't help but notice that a very important topic was ommitted......RHYTHM. .
Rick beato knows a stunning amount of Music Theory. Every time he digs into it I learn something new I find it very exciting. as far as the comments about not needing to know this, if you just want to have somebody tell you the chords to a song and you figure out some way to strum it that is correct if you want to figure out a song by yourself you already know it if you can identify the first chord and then use music theory that is what his point was anybody watching this whole thing to understand music theory completely underestimates and disregards the immense time needed to comprehend music theory I don't believe he intended this to teach anybody it ran from one end to another quickly to give you the idea of what music theory does. He counted out intervals just like you might to an elementary school student I don't understand how it is being said he failed to explain what an interval was. thank you Rick for sharing all of your knowledge everytime I listen to you I get excited because it feels like peeking behind the curtain and understanding something I didn't yesterday keep it up. As far as comparing it to rocket science I have to say is a kid I launch model rockets could I ever get them back to the same location no could I do exactly the same thing again no he described it once in the same way that you might be able to play a song and stumbled across some great stuff but without music theory you won't understand how you got there
I love how Rick brings music theory to a simplistic and structured approach that just makes sense only the way Rick could do with-in 10 minutes; Rick your a blessing bro! This viewer will speak for all those who watch you regularly and love all you do... Sincerely: David Paul Rivera of Doktah 77
I have a bone to pick with the term sus chords. Yes, I know what you mean, and I know a lot of people refer to sus chords, and folks know what you mean. But - a suspension (that's what sus means) is a non-chord tone. The rules for suspension are pretty simple - the non chord (dissonant) note needs to be prepared (held from the previous chord), and resolved - delayed movement to the actual chord tone. eg. 4-3, or 2-1, 9-8. A 6-5 might also be considered a suspension. If you're simply replacing the 3rd with the 4th (or 3rd with the 2nd), but not preparing or resolving, you're just making a substitution, and/or adding a color note to the chord. That's why you see add9 or add2. I would say add4 would be more appropriate than sus4 if you're simply adding a 4. These non-chord tones could be used as passing or neighboring as well. Gpass4 or Gneigh4 - might be just as accurate as Gsus4.
I love this, but wouldn't it be easier to explain intervals not by the number of half steps, but their role in a scale? For example, in the key of C Major, C to F is a fourth. F is the 4th tone of the scale. An augmented 4th is C to F#. Thus, it is a 4th plus a half tone. As a keyboardist who learned all major and minor scales, that is how I see them.
You might identify with this. First, a student learns how the flats are added to the major scale as it is moved up by fourths starting on C. Then they learn how sharps are added when moving up by fifths again starting on C. Second, they learn to say every other letter starting at any letter. Then, all triads may be thought of as every other letter, and knowing the key one is playing, one knows which of those letters are sharp or flat. For example when one asks what notes are in Db-major, one would immediately say D, F, A (every other letter), but they know they are referring to Db, F, Ab since they already know Db-major has the five known flats.
@@RickBeato I think of intervals in terms of semi tones (half steps in the USA too) but Donna has a point. Their key influence is in the major scale and C major on a keyboard is a good starting point.
@@RickBeato I can work in my mind what every interval is in each key. My first piano teacher in 3rd grade taught me how to find the tonic, 4th, and 5th in many different, but not all, keys. I learned to play as a child from cheat sheets and from printed music in both clefs. She taught chords and inversions right from the start.
I am also a nerd who wrote a paper in college on the mathematic ratio of the 12 intervals in a major scale and why some are more dissonant than others and why we hear some intervals as harmonic and "at rest". Then I did the same thing for minor scales, pentatonic, etc. My ear sucks, but my mathematical understanding of harmonics is spot on. I think I could really use Rick's ear training class.
Not saying these aren't the basics ('cause they are) more that the way of explaining the topic is a one that most likely won't speak to anybody that doesn't already know about it (could maybe work as a checklist I guess??)
This is the only 'Theory' public schools should be teaching children. This is greatly appreciated and even on my 1000th viewing, I will still enjoy it.
i was just trying to explain this to a non music homie a few weeks ago, intervals were mentioned in the middle of our talk, and i realized i should have mentioned that concept first, would have helped a lot. beato pops out with this video and starts with intervals. what a boss.
I'm a "musician", and I always put that in quotes or air quotes because I don't feel like a musician because I don't understand theory. I sing, play guitar, and dabble a little with drums, but I can really describe what I'm doing when doing any of it. I bought your book (need to set aside time to read it), and I feel that if I at least understand the basics of music theory it will really help me as a musician, especially when collaborating with my band mates and jamming randomly with other musicians. These videos are helpful too, thank you Rick.
"Theory" serves two main uses: to allow one musician to explain to another what they're doing and thinking. Also, to give a musician options to come up with idea for "what to do next" if they get stuck. Naturally gifted musicians sometimes can't explain a bit of theory to anyone; they just know it when they hear it, and they know how to hear it in their mind. Does that make sense?
I want to hear Rick's answer to this and think it would make an interesting video. I only knew the surface answer, but I googled your question and it is quite the rabbit hole. The surface answer is It has to do with the way the intervals sound together (degree of consonance/dissonance--how harmonious). This is rooted in mathematics and goes back to Pythagoras(has been modified since him but not in a way incompatible with the following). Pythagoras derived the western intervals from octaves and 5ths(4th was not always considered perfect). The reason certain notes sound more harmonious, to most western ears, has to do with ratios: unison 1/1, octave 2/1, perfect 5th 3/2, perfect 4th 4/3. These are superparticular ratios, which means their waveforms contain greater commonality.
I believe that you'd have to go back to when polyphonic music was first accepted into western music. Only perfect intervals were acceptable at first. The "perfect intervals" are also found in the lowest overtones of the harmonic series.
As a musician, to me it makes perfect sense, thank you Rick for sharing these 🖖 I’ve been trained in Roumania based on French/ Russian methodology available in the 90’ after the fall of the communism. Graduated music university later.
Music teacher: don’t worry, it’s not rocket science!
Rocket scientist: don’t worry, it’s not music theory!
exactly
- Brian May
As a rocket scientist, can confirm
I hope this being the top comment doesn't discourage people. It really is not that difficult. I'm sure most people know much more complicated things they use every day - NFL rules, traffic laws, whatever job they have. It's like anything else, use it often and you'll remember it!
@@somethingbl I got kicked out of my flutophone classes in grade school because they told me I was hopeless...It is beyond hopeless if you cannot find the aptitude or teacher to open it up...
"if I were to tell you this is actually an argumented six, you say ..."
I say nothing. I have no idea what you are talking about and this is my 4th playthrough :-)
Exactly, this is not basic information because it expects a foundation that beginners do not possess, and can't possibly get from watching this video a hundred times.
Exactly!
4th augmented or diminished?
He is talking about intervals...how far one tone is from another, actually how one interval can be named in two ways, just that......and he plays it as well.. don't know, how he could have explained it differently..these are theoretical basics, that can't be more deconstructed..remember what an interval is and which ones exist, than you will understand this particular point.
@@rackopacko Possibly the only way to go deeper is to show waveforms of the frequencies as the notes are played, but that isn't how musicians work (in general - disregarding music editing software). However, even as a tone-deaf non-player I do see what Rick is getting at. There are whole semester-long courses that teach this stuff but he's aiming for a ten minute precis here which is fair enough. I understand more from this than 2 years with my crap music teachers at school who had no time for anyone who wasn't already several years into home-schooled lessons or church choirs.
This is more of a summary for someone who is in the know than it is a lesson for a beginner. If you don't know these things you could probably watch this 10 times and still barely understand half of it.
Agree. I even watched it at 75% speed and still was way too much.
That's certainly true for me. I love listening to music but can't play anything so was very quick to hit play on this clip. I stopped after only 2 minutes. I was already completely overwhelmed with concepts. I also have new found awe for anyone who's a musician.
@@ThatGuy-bp4gz I agree, but then remember that Hendrix, Clapton, Beatles, EVH, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson etc could NOT read a lick of music, it was all feel.
@@juanelfuango5250 All of those people you mentioned do/did have a great feel for music, but they also 'have/had highly trained ears, and would probably easily understand everything in this video. I live in Nashville, and have known bunches of musicians who didn't read, but in the studio, they could write down a chord chart while they listen to a song for the first time. Some of the great jazz musicians didn't learn to read, either. One of those is Errol Garner, who composed the song "Misty." It's possible to know how it all works but just not be able to read the notation.
This is more like a teaser for the other courses that Rick offers. It's a good summary for someone like me who knows a little bit but not a lot...I can understand what he's saying, and it's clear that if I want to learn more and like what he's doing I can go pay to get more. I wouldn't call this a "learn music theory" video. More of a "Would you like to learn music theory?" video
Here is all music theory in a sentence according to Mozart: "I choose such notes that love one another."
@@rw6616 So is Rick actually. He's one of those rare people who love the theory. And can use it too. He's almost the musical equivalant of the guy who learns bus schedules for fun. And his utterly honest video admitting his strange 'disabilities' is an insight. It's part of this 'talent'.
Brilliant.. love it!
That is the best musical theory iv'e ever heard 😍
@@GizzyDillespee yea and i enjoy listenin to bhojpuri music
Or as Kurt Cobain would say: "We play what we want."
As someone who doesn't know much at all about music theory, listening through this video had me completely and utterly lost. There is so much terminology being used that I'm unfamiliar with and I can't see how this could be considered to be BASIC music theory knowledge.
If I were to take a class on music theory and this was what came out of the teacher's mouth on the first day, I wouldn't even know where to begin to be able to process the information.
I just feel like Rick is at such an incredibly high level of knowledge that to him, this is basic, but to a true beginner, this is incredibly advanced information, and even repeatedly listening to this video won't start to make sense unless all of the underlying concepts and terminology are explored clearly and individually.
Yeah, I teach a high school guitar class and the unfortunate truth is that "basic" music theory is actually really confusing to most people. There are musically-inclined kids who get it in my class. But the majority of my students haven't touched an instrument since the recorder in 3rd grade and it takes them an entire semester to learn the basics of the basics. I don't even touch any kind of theory for the first 10 weeks.
My thoughts exactly. Not basic at all.
Don't let this video discourage you. There are far easier examples to follow out there.
I think Rick was trying to do this within the restraints of a 10 minute video. It is more of an exercise for him to see if he can cover the basics of music theory within that time
Well, if you would take a class on music theory, this would probably be the first thing you will ever hear coming out of the teacher's mouth anyway. When I first started playing drums, this was exactly the stuff we learned over a first year of music theory.
Honestly Rick explained it pretty clearly but you definitely need to listen and take note of every word he says. With that being said, my main issue with music theory in general is that I never had a teacher who could explain how to use it in practice. Music theory is indeed super confusing at first because they tell you about all the strange rules and interchanges; and yet all the great musicians constantly break them.
For example when I want to write a melody, I usually start in a specific key because I find it easier to write within certain parameters. However then I constantly find myself adding notes I find cool sounding, probably changing the key or mode (or whatever it is called) and ending up with an interesting melody while having absolutely no idea how to add chord proggression to it. Maybe I do it completely backwards but nobody could ever explain this to me.
This is a great, dense summary of essential music theory, but make no mistake, for beginners this is no substitute for learning slowly and thoroughly either with a teacher or going through a course. All the concepts in this video take time, repetition and applied examples in order to learn thoroughly, and the fact that this video is condensed down to as little as 10 minutes says a lot more about Rick’s ability to condense it down that well, than the content being considered ‘easy’.
Good job Rick!
I realized after watching this 10 min video that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. Amazing. Thank you.
Haven taken college and masters level music theory, I can understand this. As many have pointed out, it requires having a fluency in musical vocabulary such as notes, flats and sharps, chords, scale degrees and key signatures before this video would be digestible. As to the content, it is even confusing to me to think of intervals in terms of how many half steps, such as a major 6th being 9 half steps. I never think of it that way. The chord construction section had no audio examples, just jargon with sheet music, abbreviations, and animation clicks and pops which isn't helpful in a music theory video. I would have stopped before Lydian and Phrygian chords as this is college level music theory and not applicable to basics (i've never even used them). Throwing up a circle of fifths diagram while talking about relative minors and tonics is going to be pretty confusing without any other context. Maybe consider making a 10 minute "beginners" music theory video where you cover what is a note, what is a scale, what is a flat/sharp, solfege, solfege as it relates to scale degrees, whole and half steps and how to make a scale, what a chord is (just with major/minor), and find basic chord progressions; basically any terminology that's you assume the viewer understands to be able to digest this video.
I believe your secret is not being an amazing musician or a good communicator. I believe that your calling is to share your knowledge and do it in a way that catches the attention of everyone, from just a curious viewer, to music beginners, intermediate and pros. We are lucky to have such information available like this. Thank you Rick.
He is an amazing musician and communicator. Wtf are you talking about?
@@damone70 You misunderstood him. He was saying Rick is good at all of the above, but being able to share the knowledge the way he does is special.
He's basically explaining the language of music 101. These are things you need to know in order to read sheet music or walk into a room and play with others or get your musical ideas across in an easy universally understood manner. It's how a group of people can come together who've never played a piece of music together before can sound reasonably professional the first read through. I regret not having learned music theory at a younger age and have now taken it upon myself to learn at least the basics so that I can play with others and understand what is going creatively on when I listen to music.
If you already have a good working knowledge of basic music theory then this is the basics. If you don’t even know what an interval is, what a semitone is, or even understand the concept of a scale or a chord this is way advanced. The Beato book is great as a reference but it is advanced. My students struggle with understanding what an interval is.
Well said. He lost me at semitone
Its not your fault. Ed. 'Intervals'..derived from the '8 note scale' are incredibly important but equally hard to describe. You can't just say 'there are intervals' and leave it like that- Without quite some amount of explanation.
@@andyharpist2938 the funny thing is my son was a music major and is a working musician. Must have come from his mother.
@@edd2771 he describes what a semitone is at 1:17
An interval is the distance between two notes. Easiest thing to describe
This is an excellent introduction, Rick. I am glad to see you defining chors as stacked intervals --THAT is how chords shold be taught rather then memorizing chord charts.
Bit tricky when you jump straight into talking about intervals as 3rds 4ths 5ths etc without just laying down the basic 12 note chromatic scale first. I found that the best approach when learning the basics because it gives a good visual foundation to build from.
I hear you. I think Rick's idea of "basics" and mine are pretty different
@@ClaudetteMiss basics for people with intermediate and advanced music theory understanding.
You are correct
Absolutely correct .
The Rick Beato book is the best thing that happened to all of us who breath music day and night and have purchased the book. Theory knowledge is a must for any musician/vocalist out there. God bless you Rick.
People who understand music theoretically often love to explain the theoretical understanding they've gained. But this information isn't useful to help people understand music, *beyond what they already understand aurally.* Functionally, these kinds of theoretical descriptions are a lot more useful for teaching people that music is too complicated for them. Just look at the other comments comparing it to rocket science and saying they'll never understand all of it.
These theoretical tidbits are not going to be understood by people until the sounds they're meant to represent are understood in the context of whatever work we're talking about.
So if anybody's watching this and they don't get it...it DOES NOT MATTER. This stuff is completely unimportant until way, way late in the music learning process, and even then it's not necessary unless you need to communicate with other musicians who use this language.
Music theory *should not be a barrier* to anyone who's interested in learning music, and nor should it be thought of as a starting point. It's not. It comes after a working listening and performance vocabulary of rhythm, tonal, and harmonic patterns has been developed. Good luck!
I've been reading and playing around with my KB to learn more about music theory, nad this vid just made so many clicks on my brain, it helped put together and tie down a lot of isolated pieces I had already and well... It just helped me A TON!!! BEST 10 mins I've invested in learning music so far!
Hey Rick, thank you so much for this! I've been waiting for this for a long time! The timing was incredible - I was just sitting next to my piano when you uploaded this!
The real message of the video is consistent ear training on a daily basis, even for a seasoned veteran like Rick.
Here’s what I heard:
When canoeing down a sidewalk it’s important to keep hot dogs warm. Otherwise your gravy box will have to wait for the leaves to get angry.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Only Rick could make a perfect new age-style meditation recording design for you to listen to while you go to sleep at night so you can wake up and say wow now I understand music theory LOL super cool Rick thank you for this
"I know music kung fu"
- Neo(Soul)
I’m not even thinking about learning how to play and I keep watching his videos, dude is good 🍎🍏
With my primary musical training on drums and percussion, I’ve spent many years since catching up with playing and reading music for guitar, bass, piano. I loved this video … but have to confess that my brain nearly exploded halfway through. :)
That’s encouraging because my brain hurt after 3 minutes…
Same here! Rick is dropping a serious download here. I just stopped the video halfway and scrolled down here to the comments for some decompression. I'll go back for "part two" when I feel ready.
Keep watching, brother, you're halfway there... :-D
I dropped music theory in college to concentrate on drums while my sister graduated with a music degree... she doesn't do well with rhythms and I don't do well with chords despite reading music practically my whole life. She has perfect pitch and I definitely don't
Looking forward to ordering the entire beato library for $89 today! 🚪🗝️😊
There is not a wasted sentence or word in this video. Rick has packed music theory into 10 minutes eloquently.
Thank you Rick!
Great video Rick!! This normally, most people only understand knowledge part with the words without recognizing those real sound!!
@@rw6616 For guitar? Ear Training is so important for guitar playing! No need to see the guitar neck. Learn some Major triads all over the neck!
@@rw6616 I started with drums too, field drums-everything but the tymps. Then I went to horns (I was in drum corps). Then someone gave me a cheap youth guitar and I stumbled on from there.
Hay tomo I’m kinda having trouble reading sheet music do you have any advice
@@kingcopycat9945 Pick some hand writing one that pretty accurate and having that music (recording) so you will see what''s going on...but without knowing a few great examples from old recording and a little ability to analyze them... it's hard to just follow sheet music because those sheet music is not 100% correct. So it's basic direction and form of music.
As a musician that was just thinking about needing a refresh this was so helpful. Thank you Rick.
Okay valiant effort. But you're absolutely nuts for doing this. If it promotes music education or even interest then I'm all for it. I can't imagine not knowing this information and watching this video. Wow! Brave? Fun?
I think there are more digestible basic music theory videos out there
Any suggestions where someone might start/look? There are so many tutorials online these days I actually find it all confusing (for me personally it has just turned into a muddy mess). Learn open chords first ? Learn all the notes on the fretboard first? Learn intervals first ? Learn the 5 pentatonic box shapes then the Major? What the heck.. Plus everyone wants to play a song or two for enjoyment. Is there a preferred method / approach to all of this? Cheers
Some people are complaining that this goes too fast, but I find that refreshing. There are tons of videos on the subject that are painfully slow. This is one of the few that actually challenges you.
Rick, have you thought about doing a video course on the 'theory' portion of the Beato Book? Some of us are visual learners, and its helpful to see someone explain topics.
1:52 explained a major gap of understanding that I was missing, genuine Thank You Rick. You're the greatest!
sooo, as someone who is a complete beginner with absolutely no knowledge about music I can safely state that I understood absolutely none of that.
I saw the title, thought, wow, I'll watch this and then be able understand what my family is talking about when they sit around and chat about music. Then, I got lost somewhere around "A minor seventh could also be an augmented sixth," and never really caught back up. That's just a personal limitation, not the fault of the video at all though!
This video is really approachable compared to a lot of other theory videos on youtube, but for some reason it just doesn't click for me the way something simple like differential calculus does. I did really like when he admitted that some of the relationships make no logical sense and just have to be memorized. That really helps me, because it means I don't NEED to understand these things; they were never intended to be understood, just memorized. It is like rules of grammar - they don't have to make sense, that is just the way they are.
I think I long ago accepted that I'll never be a musician, but at least with videos like this I can learn some of the vocabulary enough to not be completely lost.
_...something simple like differential calculus..._
I see what you did there... 🤣
What would really be nice is a video showing the most commonly used inversions shapes. Like going from common triad all they way up to & thru 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, & 13ths. That seems to be the biggest & most helpful thing to learn for any guitarist. Especially me lol
He has a video where he talks about jazz chord voicings.
Luv u man..
How many people that are really interested don't have 10 Minutes to learn vital building block information!
Thank you for your work, I know making videos all the time is not easy and can be basically Thankless at times. I'm thinking monetarily so God bless you for sharing so freely
I think he's hoping (I'm hoping too) that people who think they don't have time watch this video as an easy way to learn music theory, get interested and pursue deeper understanding subsequently watching his full length course
@@jcmartinez7527 of course but even the information offered here to a person that knows basically nothing is valuable in Itself.
How about the ear training intervals I've been playing guitar for over fifty years and that Amazed me! I guess I need his book .
This is quite literally the best, most easy to understand video on this topic. And of course it’s done by Rick. You sir are in a whole different level. I have learned so much from Rick over the last few years. Every notification is an instant click.
Well done as per usual Rick. You do the world an amazing service.
I just realized a few new things about my life. I needed Rick Beato 55 years ago when I started playing piano@five and was not taught what I needed to know by an untrained teacher who just wanted the money...but I think Rick was not born yet and definitely had not started teaching when I was five...so today, I need a Rick Beato t-shirt, if that exists, so I can wake up wearing it and be profoundly focused...this, to go with my Beato book when I buy it...because I just realized I need that too to go with my all around fascination with the brilliance that is Rick Beato. Gonna need all his stuff because we like all the same music and he made that book for me and I am learning what I always needed to know, now. I can read notes but I learned to play "by ear" because I did not learn music theory like my Mom paid for. Just realized this. Thank you, Rick. I do have perfect pitch though, so that helps.
Rick, this was one of the best videos I’ve seen over the past couple of years. Came at a perfect time for me and this cleared up a few points for me. Love your work and have been a fan since you had about 1 million followers here so congratulations on 2 1/2 million and growing.
I purchased the Beato Bundle 4.0 as well as the Ear Training Course a few days ago. 👍
As a musician, the ear training portion is much easier for me than the theory portion. I am Very Grateful for this 10 min intro to the theory portion. When I can see it, hear it, and read it at the same time it sinks in little by little. My mind is stretching in a delightfully challenging way. You are a well appreciated Teacher Rick. 🙏🤘👍
Thank you, Mr. Beato. I can't thank you enough. I have been sturggling to learn music on my own for decades not professionally or even as a hobby, but as a whole different realm to take my mind to when I need a break from focusing on writing or filmmaking or drawing or creating other visual art. When I get stuck or burnt out on one of my other interests, just wrapping my head around something completely different like music for a brief period exercises a different part in my brain and results in "aha!" or eureka moments of inspiration in the other arts. I will be ordering your book. You finally made the basics actually make complete sense to me for the first time. I've been watching all your content since the pandemic hit. I am constantly blown away by the amount of music knowledge you have and I love when you play classic songs and solo just the drum track or just the backing vocals etc with the mixing board. How do you get access to the individual tracks? Are those all songs you personally worked on? Also, I don't understand why today's pop songs are chordally uninteresting, especially with all the recent music software like Captain Plug Ins and many others that let you choose a Key/Scale and then lists all the chords you can start with, and then after you choose one it lists the chords that you can choose next (including inversions and variations). You would think that songs would be getting MORE complex and more interesting. Lastly, I saw that you are also a Taurus and thus it makes perfect sense that you are a master of music, because Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus- the goddess of art and music, and love and beauty. Stay mighty, Rick! You are truly inspiring.
I dig how you seemingly, 'show off' your training skills then encourage us on how we can achieve the same skills!
This went a bit quick for me to digest all of it but illuminated some points I need to focus on.
....ear training skills.
Hmm...if your adressing people with very little or no musical knowledge, then this is not really working. E.g. the augmented/dimished part takes up way too much space, is not what I would call basic and just makes sure that beginners check out very early. On the other hand, more basic stuff like frequencies of harmonies (why does a perfect 5th sound so good -> 3:2 ratio) would help connecting those numbers to real physical events, making it more understandable for non-musicians. Otherwise those are just random numbers to them.
Love your videos, Rick, but this one was...meh.
I agree. I really enjoy Rick's videos and his attention to music theory within those. But the disconnect here was presenting nomenclature without the corresponding sounds. That's where it resolved for me when I was learning this. That said, keep up the great work, Rick, your videos are really valuable.
yer too stuffy
let’s be honest… this was just a promotional for his book and ear training course
Yeah, there's no way a beginner could follow this. His very first sentence is, "Intervals are the building blocks of polyphonic music." Great! How many beginners know what the word 'polyphonic' means. And then his explanation of intervals would leave any beginner's head spinning and don't seem to prioritize what's important conceptually. He starts with explaining the difference between melodic and harmonic intervals. Is that really the place to start? Isn't it more important to explain what an interval IS? Help the listener understand that intervals measure musical distance just like a yardstick measures physical distance. He just goes straight into throwing terms like 'major', 'minor', 'diminished', and 'augmented' around. Then he talks about unisons, 2nds, etc. Congrats, dude. it took you less than a minute to leave your audience of beginners in the dust. Here's the truth. There are no shortcuts with music theory. You can't teach all of this in 10 minutes.
This video is a really great pocket tool that encapsule the basics of music theory in a really tight space. If you think you'll get it all after one watch, forget it, as Rick imply at the beginning Learning music theory and to play music with it is a difficult and complex task that can't be grasp on the fly. It takes interest, dedication, effort and time. I get your point that you don't like the video, but to me, it deliver exactly want it meant to be.
I am grateful my Mom gave me Music Appreciation as a child and then five years of classic piano from a highly trained concert pianist married to a butcher, no longer living in her native Italy where she was on stage at 18, but giving children lessons now. I was 7 to 12, and could not hear the beat at all. She played that metronome so patiently but it was to no avail. I only got connected in the 1960's at the Fillmore (yes, the original) when my new black brother-in-law said, along with the Motown beat, can't you hear that? And it was definite. Thank you, Jesus. I have never been the same since. And am so grateful for all my musical adventures which included my good buddy, Ramona, who was a close pal of Dizzy, so we were at the Hearst Theatre in Berkeley when Miles and Gil Evans premiered Spain. It was awesome. So much more. I love music more now that I am already 80!! All types. Thank you so much, Mr. Beato. I can go out happy now.
I made it 49 seconds before my head exploded. I think I’ll stick to What Makes This Song great videos ;p
Dear Rick.
I am not a professional musician but I find a great deal of joy and comfort when I play. I have learned a lot about music over the years but your videos have greatly increased my understanding of the underlying structure of music and really improved my ear.
Thank you so much for these videos.
Complex, Even for a Wizard
Have to agree with what many are saying: this video is for those with a solid foundation of music STRUCTURE to understand THEORY. It’s like teaching someone who knows how to operate a home thermostat (turn it up to get warm, turn it down to cool off) to actually build one: you’d have to better understand thermodynamics. Just the same, Rick, you’re a great music appreciation teacher, with fascinating insight… thank you!
This is stupendous. I'm not a musician but an appreciator, and still this is so interesting and useful. Also you are wonderful ly clear. A born tacher.
Reading the comments made me realize and remember something, ok this can seem scary at first.
But when you learn an instrument (my experience) you first learn how it technically works, and then you start playing music
Learn to play ode to joy on a piano, seven nation army on a guitar, whatever, learn some music first.
THEN, after some experience you can come to theory to understand how it works.
I remember wanting to write songs after maybe a year or 2, but, where to start from ? I didn''t know sh*t
And then one day I discovered scales and WAOW, I was like "oooooh ok so if I stay in this scale it will work?" yes it will !
You discover the major scale and then you discover that A minor = C major
You discover pentatonics, the blue note, and then suddenly you're able to play rock and blues !
I didn't train my ear by just playing intervals, 90% of pop/rock music is major/rel minor scale
Seven nation army is E minor, you just find the key and then you know which note to play
then you remember E to G sounds like this, G to A like this, and then while practicing over and over you're will know how intervals sound. You'll also pick up the gimmicks that are often used on your instrument and you'll use it too.
Once you're fine with this, you can restart and try to learn Jazz, which the step above in kind of music theory.
Afraid I was lost by 2:12. If this is basics, I hate to know what advanced is.
I'd guess advanced is learning how to play.
After 35 years of playing music (guitar, bass, drums, keys) I'm pretty music theorized but now I can finally sing a C note (and C scale) out of thin air and then play it on piano and it's CORRECT!
Thank you Rick!!
No idea what you are talking about
You lack discipline
@@Vexxlinyou lack humor
Haha, could someone just answer the question why do we need music theory? Don’t start out so technical.
@@Vexxlinyou lack play with women
@@janetteroberts3463
I'm sorry, "Why do we need music theory?"...how else do you intend to understand music?😂
Man your videos have helped me understand music so much deeper than I ever had. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. Bless you brother.
I feel like I just graduated from Berklee in 10 mins lol. Thank u for this, Rick!
Good work, Rick--I liked this. The comments by some of the less-musically-trained viewers are worthwhile, though. It's really several weeks of materials compressed into 10 minutes. You could send a whole session on melodic intervals and practice going over these for a week; and so on. It's really a matter of spending a lot of time with each piece of information until it becomes second nature. I learned this as a teen (50 years ago), then after BA and MA in music had it all pretty well drilled in, as all of you other experienced music people have done too.
It's like learning a language, because once you're fluent, you should be able to hear a tune and transcribe it/play it; be able to see written music or chord symbols and play it at sight; understand the tonal relationships; hear the arrangements, etc. You don't get to this point by being brilliant, but by just doing it a lot. There's an old saying, from whom I don't know (someone told me it was Larry Coryell): take what's hard, and make it a habit; take what's a habit, and make it easy; and then take what's easy and make it beautiful. Practice can eventually give you the kind of wonderful and magical instrumental fluency that Rick displays in his videos.
From the way Rick describes these things I'm sure his instructional materials would be very helpful to anybody.
Rick, I love your channel, I love your videos. I really don't like how this particular video is presented. Unless you intend this for someone who has taken a few music classes already, perhaps a late-beginner stage, I really feel like you've skipped several steps here. One of these days (years), I would like to produce my own version of this, but for an absolute beginner to music to quickly teach & show fundamentals that one could apply to any instrument, relating it to spoken language.
Anyway, this video has some great reference information for a mid/late beginner, but I wouldn't present this to an absolute beginner.
He made it only to explain the concepts, not teach the concepts. He refers to his course(s) for teaching
I got As in a three semester college calculus series and then on through differential equations & linear algebra, and this video was way over my head.
I really enjoy your videos, even though many are far above my understanding, but this cascade of dry musical facts was like eating sand.
Nothing better than watching a comprehensive summary of a subject which I had a tenuous grasp of in junior college!
"i explain the basics in 10 minutes" 3 minutes later "buy my book"
Not even twenty seconds in and he dropped the word “polyphonic” into the mix… plus talking about augmented and diminished intervals. Beginner me would be so lost. Sooo yeah I feel like this isn’t quite there yet. But nothing but respect for you Rick ✌️
One thing that is often missing from these kinds of tutorials is the application and good examples. Suggestions on how to go from a standard I Vi V IV progression to something really interesting. And scale choices over chord changes. A bit like learning engineering fundamentals and then be expected to build an aeroplane.
David Bennett has a lot insights on this
@@archiebunkerr9723 Exactly. His channel is equally awesome.
Go to his other videos on utube and instagram and there are tons of demos for us just FYI …the focus for the video was a theory basics in 10 mins not a lot of time for demos…watch alot, practice a lot, and you will learn a lot 🙏🏽💯🕊 stay hungry
You're the best! Just a couple of months ago I knew NOTHING about music theory nor did I care about it even thoug I've been playing the guitar for over 6 years. Your videos gave me the motivation and the tools to learn this stuff!! You made me understand how important music theory and ear training are to be a good musician - before I always had the feeling it was some kind of magic that I just wasn't born with. I hope many people see this video, because you did a great job at it! You're amazing!
There has GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY.
Lost after @60 seconds…! 😆
Appreciate your knowledge!!
Oh my dear Lord!!! This so completely validates my decision not to pursue music anymore academically when I was younger. Just listening to the first 30 seconds of this video make me want to bang my head against a wall. Thank God for tablature, that's all I need. Anything more and it's no longer fun, it's the worst type of school. The type that makes you hate something that should be enjoyed.
If you find a way to enjoy music, then good for you I think!!
It’s all about enjoying it, most importantly.. But the more you study these things, the more they come to you. In my experiences, at least, (as a lifelong musician), things like music theory come more like plateaus..
You are stuck with no progress for awhile, but if you keep grinding, soon it will be like, “wow, I really get it now”.. Just depends on how much you want to push forward..
Being a COMPLETELY self taught musician and starting out about the same time you did Rick, i am amazed at your wealth of knowledge! I can never understand all of what you just explained here. I played my first "paid" gig in '77 for a school dance on my brand new '77 LP Gold top deluxe, I think we each got $20 bucks and thought we were the $hit! LOL
I soon after switched over to bass, as there weren't many bassists around back then, and BOOM!, I worked constantly! Many THOUSANDS of gigs later and the millions of notes played, I still don't grasp "theory" much. I understand keys and how to get around them, but the theory just knocks me off the stump! Love your vids!
I’m not even 30 seconds in and I’m completely lost. Haha oh well
A very loaded but extreamly informative 10 minutes, Rick. GREAT work.
I thought I was lousy at music theory, now I’m certain I am.
yeah this was down right repulsive!lol
No, you're not. You just need to have things clearly explained to you. And although Rick's video is highly informative, I don't feel that it is as explanatory for beginners as it aims to be. I think that a more simplistic breakdown of some of the core concepts would have been more helpful. And I can't help but notice that a very important topic was ommitted......RHYTHM. .
Rick beato knows a stunning amount of Music Theory. Every time he digs into it I learn something new I find it very exciting. as far as the comments about not needing to know this, if you just want to have somebody tell you the chords to a song and you figure out some way to strum it that is correct if you want to figure out a song by yourself you already know it if you can identify the first chord and then use music theory that is what his point was anybody watching this whole thing to understand music theory completely underestimates and disregards the immense time needed to comprehend music theory I don't believe he intended this to teach anybody it ran from one end to another quickly to give you the idea of what music theory does. He counted out intervals just like you might to an elementary school student I don't understand how it is being said he failed to explain what an interval was. thank you Rick for sharing all of your knowledge everytime I listen to you I get excited because it feels like peeking behind the curtain and understanding something I didn't yesterday keep it up. As far as comparing it to rocket science I have to say is a kid I launch model rockets could I ever get them back to the same location no could I do exactly the same thing again no he described it once in the same way that you might be able to play a song and stumbled across some great stuff but without music theory you won't understand how you got there
It's almost as is this video was designed to discourage people from music.
I love how Rick brings music theory to a simplistic and structured approach that just makes sense only the way Rick could do with-in 10 minutes; Rick your a blessing bro! This viewer will speak for all those who watch you regularly and love all you do...
Sincerely:
David Paul Rivera of Doktah 77
Unfortunately you skip over way too many things and assume a level of knowledge that I don’t have. Not explaining enough.
I have a bone to pick with the term sus chords. Yes, I know what you mean, and I know a lot of people refer to sus chords, and folks know what you mean. But - a suspension (that's what sus means) is a non-chord tone. The rules for suspension are pretty simple - the non chord (dissonant) note needs to be prepared (held from the previous chord), and resolved - delayed movement to the actual chord tone. eg. 4-3, or 2-1, 9-8. A 6-5 might also be considered a suspension. If you're simply replacing the 3rd with the 4th (or 3rd with the 2nd), but not preparing or resolving, you're just making a substitution, and/or adding a color note to the chord. That's why you see add9 or add2. I would say add4 would be more appropriate than sus4 if you're simply adding a 4. These non-chord tones could be used as passing or neighboring as well. Gpass4 or Gneigh4 - might be just as accurate as Gsus4.
Clear as mud (for me) 🙃
We’re so lucky to have you here Rick, you’re a treasure and a fantastic educator! Much respect from the UK. I’ll be purchasing your Beato Book soon.
I love this, but wouldn't it be easier to explain intervals not by the number of half steps, but their role in a scale? For example, in the key of C Major, C to F is a fourth. F is the 4th tone of the scale. An augmented 4th is C to F#. Thus, it is a 4th plus a half tone. As a keyboardist who learned all major and minor scales, that is how I see them.
What about other keys than C? That’s the whole concept of relative pitch.
You might identify with this. First, a student learns how the flats are added to the major scale as it is moved up by fourths starting on C. Then they learn how sharps are added when moving up by fifths again starting on C. Second, they learn to say every other letter starting at any letter. Then, all triads may be thought of as every other letter, and knowing the key one is playing, one knows which of those letters are sharp or flat. For example when one asks what notes are in Db-major, one would immediately say D, F, A (every other letter), but they know they are referring to Db, F, Ab since they already know Db-major has the five known flats.
@@RickBeato I think of intervals in terms of semi tones (half steps in the USA too) but Donna has a point. Their key influence is in the major scale and C major on a keyboard is a good starting point.
@@RickBeato I can work in my mind what every interval is in each key. My first piano teacher in 3rd grade taught me how to find the tonic, 4th, and 5th in many different, but not all, keys. I learned to play as a child from cheat sheets and from printed music in both clefs. She taught chords and inversions right from the start.
I am also a nerd who wrote a paper in college on the mathematic ratio of the 12 intervals in a major scale and why some are more dissonant than others and why we hear some intervals as harmonic and "at rest". Then I did the same thing for minor scales, pentatonic, etc. My ear sucks, but my mathematical understanding of harmonics is spot on. I think I could really use Rick's ear training class.
Wish I had this video years ago! Not a second wasted. Like you said in the beginning, a few replays will be necessary but this is pure gold 👏
As someone that understands pretty much everything in the video, I'm pretty sure this ain't really beginner friendly of a tutorial
Not saying these aren't the basics ('cause they are)
more that the way of explaining the topic is a one that most likely won't speak to anybody that doesn't already know about it
(could maybe work as a checklist I guess??)
This blew my mind. The world needs more people like you! Thank you!
Not bad you just start dropping words in the beginning that most people won't understand so you kind of lose them in the whole thing
That was the whole point, so now you need to buy his book/course 😂😂
Love those 10 minute theory workouts
I think you explained it only to someone who already knew it.
This is the only 'Theory' public schools should be teaching children. This is greatly appreciated and even on my 1000th viewing, I will still enjoy it.
oh you're not one of those people who think the theory of evolution is fake, are you?
Sweet Lord...you're a savant when it comes to music. SMH realizing I will never understand this.
New personal record! Made it 8 full seconds before getting lost 🤔😄
Well that was confusing
i was just trying to explain this to a non music homie a few weeks ago, intervals were mentioned in the middle of our talk, and i realized i should have mentioned that concept first, would have helped a lot. beato pops out with this video and starts with intervals. what a boss.
Sorry Rick, made it 3mins. Baffles me how anyone on earth could ever understand music theory.
Glad you broke it down.
I remember this in early music training.
Intervals are so important
I'm lost.... :-(
Rick you should do a video on the hardest things in music
Started losing me out about the four minute mark
I'm a "musician", and I always put that in quotes or air quotes because I don't feel like a musician because I don't understand theory. I sing, play guitar, and dabble a little with drums, but I can really describe what I'm doing when doing any of it. I bought your book (need to set aside time to read it), and I feel that if I at least understand the basics of music theory it will really help me as a musician, especially when collaborating with my band mates and jamming randomly with other musicians. These videos are helpful too, thank you Rick.
"Theory" serves two main uses: to allow one musician to explain to another what they're doing and thinking. Also, to give a musician options to come up with idea for "what to do next" if they get stuck. Naturally gifted musicians sometimes can't explain a bit of theory to anyone; they just know it when they hear it, and they know how to hear it in their mind. Does that make sense?
Sorry, the only thing I got from this was a headache. lol
This is brilliant...thank you
Why is the word "Perfect" used?
Probably because music is the voice of the gods, IMO.
(no haters, please)
I want to hear Rick's answer to this and think it would make an interesting video. I only knew the surface answer, but I googled your question and it is quite the rabbit hole. The surface answer is It has to do with the way the intervals sound together (degree of consonance/dissonance--how harmonious). This is rooted in mathematics and goes back to Pythagoras(has been modified since him but not in a way incompatible with the following). Pythagoras derived the western intervals from octaves and 5ths(4th was not always considered perfect). The reason certain notes sound more harmonious, to most western ears, has to do with ratios: unison 1/1, octave 2/1, perfect 5th 3/2, perfect 4th 4/3. These are superparticular ratios, which means their waveforms contain greater commonality.
I believe that you'd have to go back to when polyphonic music was first accepted into western music. Only perfect intervals were acceptable at first. The "perfect intervals" are also found in the lowest overtones of the harmonic series.
You put this out on my birthday and its like the best present. I've been trying so hard to learn and I love your videos! Thank you so much.
As a musician, to me it makes perfect sense, thank you Rick for sharing these 🖖 I’ve been trained in Roumania based on French/ Russian methodology available in the 90’ after the fall of the communism. Graduated music university later.
One of the slightly horrifying things about music theory is that this could all have been explained differently and it would still have been true.