What is Polytonality? | Q+A

[@AdamNeely]

all licks in todays episode are in 17-tone equal temperament.

[@jackdesy2127]

What if next time you alternate between 7 tet and 11 tet

[@simonvanroij4182]

Mega spicy

[@Tabu11211]

Mind blown

[@keegandarrow9638]

As if there is any other way.

[@frankiemidnight4218]

actually though?

[@MathematicianDr]

I never sing out of key. My singing is polytonal with respect to the music.

[@MisterAppleEsq]

Reminds me of Adam's Elton John story.

[@paulvanmaldegem6315]

I never sing dissonant. I just sing microtonal

[@joemca7917]

Mister Apple oh yeah!

[@accipiterignitus5123]

The singing could be also polymicrotonal

[@swissarmyknight4306]

If you know enough music theory you never make mistakes. Its all just chromaticism and polyrhythms.

[@tonyhakston536]

People always ask, “what is jazz?” but never, “how is jazz?” How is jazz, Adam?

[@10mimu]

dying

[@tonyhakston536]

Human Effigy Maybe, but like. What isn’t dying?

[@jreynoldswrap]

@@10mimu "Jazz isn't dead. It just smells funny." - Frank Zappa

[@jamesha175]

jazz is doing just fine, thank you

[@Bushwhacker-so4yk]

Why is jazz?

[@dysonjb688]

“Two keys at once?!” My big brain: C# and Db

[@kent631420]

C# and Db are enharmonic, meaning they sound the same, so it's really just one key

[@andypantz8919]

@@kent631420 pretty sure that is the joke

[@kent631420]

@@andypantz8919 r/wooosh

[@beckst3r]

@@kent631420 dude you were the one who got r/wooshed

[@andypantz8919]

@@beckst3r for sure haha

[@quistyquistsounds]

Can we talk about how hard it is to purposefully sing in a different key than the accompaniment?? That might be the most impressive segment I've seen from you.

[@luukwoudstra8903]

Yeahh! I was also wondering how he does that.

[@蔡怡恆]

while he is also the one playing the accompaniment

[@EMan753]

Right!!!!

[@paulumoh7546]

Not quite difficult sir/madam.

[@AFN2750]

Be as tone deaf as I am

[@emotionalagliophilic8623]

The part about “Happy Birthday” always becoming polytonal is so true

[@edwardgivenscomposer]

didn't used to be. this is what happens when people are no longer encouraged to sing or play an instrument.

[@lonelittlejerry917]

@@edwardgivenscomposer lmao shut up

[@wolfetteplays8894]

@@edwardgivenscomposer truee

[@kreeperkiller4423]

polytonal AND the different keys they're singing in are microtonal as well!

[@YourAverageLink]

You often hear about the birthday paradox in terms of how likely two people share a birthday. The real birthday paradox is how many people do you think need to be in a room to have all twelve keys covered?

[@niamhoconnor8986]

Fun fact: ADAM NYLEE'S WORST TRAINWRECK WAS A POLYTONAL ELTON JOHN COVER AT A WEDDIN

[@AlasdairGR]

Niamh O'Connor Underrated comment

[@jjamesjams]

Polytonality DESTROYED

[@gilliangilliangillian]

i'm going to write out a quadritonal Elton John cover to be played at my wedding

[@niamhoconnor8986]

@@gilliangilliangillian that's the spirit!

[@niamhoconnor8986]

@@AlasdairGR thanks!

[@instinctbrosgaming9699]

I like how Ives also wrote "actual notes" in the trumpet for The Unanswered Question. Like, no we didn't write this wrong.

[@WhildTangeredCalymondrin]

Lmao I think the "actual notes" refers to notating in concert pitch, as opposed to traditional notation where a written C would sound as a concert B-flat on the trumpet. I dont think Ives was reassuring anyone that he didn't make a mistake when writing the melody.

[@seabassthegamer6644]

@@WhildTangeredCalymondrin But that interpretation isn't as funny

[@thepotatoportal69]

@@WhildTangeredCalymondrin But I believe he once did write "the wrong notes are right" in one score, because the conductor kept "correcting" his work

[@irmaakesson3421]

The fact that you can sing happy birthday in f# while accompanying yourself in c. You are truly incredible

[@gustavosperling]

The unanswered question from Charles Ives is a genius masterpiece.

[@CyanHour]

HOLY CRAP YES

[@rohiogerv22]

WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY MY FATHER TOOK ME INTO THE CITY TO SEE 2 MARCHING BANDS AT THE SAME TIME

[@tananansad]

bad

[@telexghoulie]

@@tananansad good

[@Jamie_kemp]

@faraz mediocre

[@telexghoulie]

@@Jamie_kemp alright

[@benjiusofficial]

wow, WHEN I WAS is still kicking around?

[@milosminion]

Music has always been a meme. Mozart wrote a song called "lick my ass" that he liked so much that he even wrote a sequal.

[@TAP7a]

Mozart was a massive scatophile. And one of the greatest composers who ever lived. And also died young. What a dude

[@ingwerschorle_]

@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 he also wrote lyrics like: "sleep well and stretch your ass to the mouth" :D ps. It's actually leck mich im arsch pps. mozart karaoke is a BASSing great idea😂

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@ingwerschorle_ Dammit, I was so close!

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@ingwerschorle_ I'd edit my comment, but it's KZbin isn't letting me edit my comment. Argh, what is happening with this platform?

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@ingwerschorle_ Okay, thanks for the correction! I can finally fix it (edit is now working again).

[@yuvalne]

Mozart had a lot of memes in his music (a musical joke, and of course, the classic leck mich im arsch). Haydn in his 6th symphony gives the horn a two-bar solo, most likely as an inside joke with his horn player. Bach inserted folk songs into his Goldberg Variations. Bold of you to assume musicians ever did treat music seriously, Jeff T.

[@gypsytabor1675]

Yep. And sometimes they even added easter eggs and references in their pieces. Like tristan chord in Debussy's opera before phrase 'je suis triste'.

[@RobertMilesAI]

Right! And in fact A Musical Joke was one of the first big examples of polytonality too

[@dishwasherdetergent3366]

@@gypsytabor1675 wasn't the Tristan chord Wagner?

[@Choinkus]

The more you learn about mozart, the more you realize he was pretty much a living meme

[@gypsytabor1675]

Yes, that's the point. Debussy used it right before phrase "je suis triste" which sounds a bit like Tristan. So he cleverly referenced Wagner in his piece. Kind of inner joke. These nerds ))

[@KuraSourTakanHour]

Music can be a joke if it wants, we dont progress at anything if we're stifled over convention

[@zacharybennett3249]

Underrated comment 10/10

[@nightmareTomek]

Noise can be music! And so can polytonality.

[@ragingchimera8021]

Too bad the joke is on the listeners.

[@sya8002]

Hey Adam, question for your next Q+A: Musical storytelling is heavily influenced by the notions of tension and release, which in academical music are realized by harmonic tools (chords, progressions, etc). But as you mentioned in some of your videos, other styles of music use other devices: EDM has buildups and drops, extreme metal has breakdowns and so on. If harmony creates tensions/releases because of dissonant and consonant sounds, what is explanation behind drops and breakdowns? Does our ear prefer slower parts, or is it because of passing from dense parts to more saturated ones? As usual, great content!

[@georgealbert6562]

"Q+A" to "New Horizons in Music" is the same as how "Michaels Toys" is to "Vsauce"

[@odraheim]

r/unexpectedshowerthought

[@niklaspilot]

😂

[@alexshih3747]

8:17 For real tho, Mozart and Haydn are the two memelords of the classical music canon. After listening to their music you get the feeling that neither of them took life that seriously. No wonder they were best friends.

[@DrLenardChurch]

With all this spice you'll need to start your own version of Hot Ones where you expose people to denser and denser polytonality until they cry.

[@conundrumofesoterica6417]

King Pleb Pure genius

[@jonathan_sadler]

hot (T)ones

[@ieatgarbage8771]

Jonathan Sadler wow

[@danzgalliwag]

Sheer brilliance

[@MarianoGabrielConti]

I would love to see this.

[@earlleonard]

I used the picardy third ending in a thrash mental song about a wizard (written with a bunch of elementary school grade 4 kids for an engagement program I ran), because the suddenly happy ending sounded medieval to me. They dug it

[@TavinhoPowers]

man, that interpretation of the trumpet asking the question gave me the chills! Thank you opening my mind to this beautiful and intriguing kind of music

[@jkb1O5]

Same. Awesomely Inspired

[@DBruce]

I'm actually taking a certain musical meme very seriously in my next musical composition. I must be the future (-:

[@patty.rick6]

The lick!!!!!!!!

[@patty.rick6]

Or Rickroll!!!!!!

[@MattLeGroulx]

An interesting theory about the Picardy third is that because the major 3rd occurs so strongly in the overtone series that when choral music was sung in a cathedral, say the Amiens cathedral in Picardy, France, that when you ended a piece on a minor chord the minor third would clash with the overtone major 3rd of the fundamental. The Picardy 3rd was the solution to that and it kind of stuck.

[@kadourimdou43]

Q. How the hell did you sing in a different key?

[@clintmclintock]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3vYaYquoteeadU

[@rmullhaupt]

Same question here

[@larrymm1963]

Practice vocal lessons to get familiar with he scale and notes

[@rmullhaupt]

@@larrymm1963 I've actually just tried it and it definitely sounds a lot harder than it is. As long as you can listen to the whole thing out in both keys ahead of time it's easy to not get mixed up.

[@larrymm1963]

@@rmullhaupt What if you have headphones on and go directly into the board with the instrument as to be able to lower either volume also read the instrument lines

[@CGGeary]

During worship rehearsals, I've gotten pretty good at throwing off the lead vocalist by harmonizing the melody a half step below. I'm now better at that than actually singing a melody

[@SmokeyG69]

I do this in school band ensembles to see if the director notices

[@shorty-music-123]

absolute madlad

[@LJMadrigalMusic]

Compose a piece with polytonality. The treble clef will play in F# major scale while the bass cle will play in the key of Gb major. Let's see if that'll annoy the pianist. 🤣🤣

[@shorty-music-123]

Composer: *hands pianist sheet music* Here's the new piece for the concert. Pianist: *starts visibly shaking at seeing that its in Gb and F# at the same time* C: What's wrong? P: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@emmetharrigan5234]

Prokofiev kind of did that with the third piece of Sarcasms (1912). Right hand starts in f# and left hand in f. Three sharps on the top staff and five flats on the bottom

[@merrybeans3029]

@@emmetharrigan5234 don't know that piece,, but f#/f is *actual* polytonality, as opposed to F#/Gb which is the same thing just written differently, not two entirely different keys, and wouldn't throw a professional much because both hands have the same muscle memory of that sound (F#/Gb)...it's more just a visual irritation that you can get around by knowing the sound that's supposed to happen.

[@samdenomme5431]

“We get the woodwinds coming at you with… some more weird stuff” sounds like my highschool concert band lol😂

[@ahnafibrahim1677]

Crunchy weird stuff* haha

[@kyrla]

Alright, which tuning system are you doing the lick on today

[@stefan1024]

Yes.

[@ingwerschorle_]

A= 420 BLAZE IT

[@Almanildo]

I'm guessing the timbres are messed up, warping the overtones to be off the harmonic series

[@AdamNeely]

17-tet

[@GigglebunsUV]

a = 378

[@harrisonglenn6204]

Nobody: 14-year olds who know more than one Nirvana song: 6:47

[@abcrx32j]

Even if Nirvana is a meme

[@theknifesedge57]

@@abcrx32j ur a meme

[@abcrx32j]

@@theknifesedge57 Yeah, maybe memes are too relevant to compare them to Nirvana, my bad. The are more like an old shitty movie that a lot of people make references of

[@theknifesedge57]

@@abcrx32j i kinda like them but i see where you're coming from

[@dead_kennedys7870]

Ricardo Rodríguez Edgy CONTRARIAN 14 year old who knows one Nirvana song.

[@BarryPiper]

What is lost in translation is often regained through interpretation.

[@nathankulp4275]

“ A trumpet playing some weird stuff.” Welcome to 4th grade trumpet lessons

[@merrybeans3029]

Beats the hell outta 3rd grade recorder class. Lol

[@PBrrtrn]

I just want to say the thumbnail is not clickbaity enough. May I recommend something more along the lines of "TWO keys at ONCE? Experiment gone WRONG (I DIED)"

[@Theraot]

Add "Red hot spicy, hydraulic press"

[@bigweld4328]

PROTIP make sure the synth and the vocals are in the SAME KEY

[@perplexingpantheon]

I love that meme

[@safwannizam2932]

Diego Rodriguez that comment was from 7 years ago lol

[@gabethebabe8187]

Holy shit this comment is so funny oh my fucking god nice one dude!

[@dr.jekyllproject7172]

Close enough for jazz

[@musicdev]

This is the comment we all knew was somewhere around here 😉

[@DavidMcCoul]

Polytonality: “A musical joke” - W.A. Mozart

[@ajarofnutella]

not nearly as good as "lick my ass", also by mozart

[@YoutubePizzer]

you could’ve used a song that isn’t happy birthday one’s ears are trained to accept happy birthday being sung in all 12 keys Edit: nevermind he made fun of it in the video

[@trigon7015]

And Warner Chappell have probably claimed him now

[@notsogreatsword1607]

This is why you watch the whole video before commenting. A rule which I'm breaking right now.

[@johnwiese6760]

You act like its only sung in 12 keys, not counting microtonal music

[@plexquared1877]

@@johnwiese6760 Yeah I was singing it this one time in class and I swear that one guy was singing in some sort of e half sharp key or something

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@plexquared1877 X e n h a r m o n i c

[@brennam5596]

No, I'm not tone deaf! I just sing with ✨ *P o l y t o n a l i t y* ✨

[@picolete]

House of cards, holding A minor on your left hand feels kind of wrong, hmmmmm

[@fjrjdjjjcdjjdj7282]

😂😂😂

[@LotharLive]

"but I thought, that's just Frank"

[@mihajlostojanov7311]

It's the best comment, You made me laugh so hard. Thank you !!! :))))

[@brij4174]

You win the internet for today.

[@j_freed]

(Implicitly saying) *...I mean yeah, she's a hot piece of ass, but it's just agonist the law!*

[@nibblrrr7124]

6:42 > transhumanism avatar > disgusted at playful experimentation with weird ideas to achieve new sensations pshhhhhh

[@luigivercotti6410]

Trans-what? That looks more like the hewlett packard logo to me

[@areadenial2343]

@@luigivercotti6410 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism It's a philosophical movement which believes humans will reach the next stage in evolution through technology and exploring new ideas. The h+ logo is one of its symbols, as I recall.

[@forbiddenfursona]

fakie lol

[@zaynemaddox2508]

Gets copyrighted for happy bday*

[@wiseausrs]

Should have came in with the claps and the sparklers!

[@JackTheGamingGuy4REALZ]

Can't, it entered the public domain recently

[@PaulSharrock]

@@JackTheGamingGuy4REALZ Happy Birthday has always being in the public domain, it just took a bit of money to prove that in court.. The original copyright was for one piano arrangement of the song, nothing more.

[@benhawkes7503]

@@JackTheGamingGuy4REALZ and its just a joke

[@A_29886]

@@benhawkes7503 yes and the joke wasn't logical

[@Riurelia]

Yesterday, I converted one of my melodies into a polytonal one. Originally, it was in E major, but I made a version in F major and C sharp major. When I first heard it, I thought "This sounds ugly but I like it". Since then, I've listened to it several times and I've gotten desensitized to it so it doesn't actually sound bad anymore.

[@jamestreanor4361]

Sounds like how you would sing Happy Birthday at a funeral.

[@taeojohnston]

Question for your next Q&A; Hello Adam, What do you think about playing chords on bass as a 'flavor enhancer"? As someone who plays prog-rock and alternative, I like to throw chords in sometimes, but these are genres were this is more acceptable. I know that bass "is not supposed to do that", but, I feel that they could have some really nice effects on traditional pop and or Jazz music. Thoughts :)

[@tcampbell1314]

Not Adam, but might have a bit of an answer! I think one of the reasons bass chords are frowned upon is more a scientific thing than a genre thing.Because the notes on a bass all have a fairly low frequency, when chords on the bass are played those frequencies are a lot closer together then if you played a chord on a guitar. As harmonies begin to have smaller distance between frequencies, the overall quality of the harmony starts to get a lot muddier and less distinct. A major triad on a guitar for example, sounds much cleaner and richer than a bass as well due to this, while a triad at the high end of a piano sounds overly bright and empty. The clashy, muddy sound of a bass chord struggles to find a place in very 'clean' genres like pop music, while genres like metal and prog embrace the clash a lot more. Hope this brings some light to things.

[@jasper24601]

Taeo Life yes

[@XENOGOD]

i love bringing in major thirds on the A and D string while slapping, it's super spicy and funky and works fairly well, fifths and minor thirds too, whole chords are problematic though

[@wingracer1614]

@@XENOGOD Yeah I'm not a fan of full triads on bass but man 5ths and octaves can be KILLER when used well.

[@XENOGOD]

@@wingracer1614 they can be used in a mellow setting, like cliff burton in "Orion", I really recommend you try it out because it's soooo fun

[@TheStuF]

question for q and a - "is 1/1 the best time signature?" Thanks for great videos, adam :)

[@andersridder1125]

Hi Adam! I keep hearing the question: "does it djent?", but I have yet to discover HOW something djents. Could you elucidate how a monotonic, syncopated, percussive guitar riff can be so intriguing? Here, I am not referring to the origin of the term, which is, as far as I know, essentially just an onomatopoeia misheard by an interviewer of Fredrik Thordendal. Thank you!

[@eliasmg9144]

Can't tell if you're fucking around, you are making a sincere question or both

[@TheStuF]

@@eliasmg9144 can you tell if does he djent?

[@eliasmg9144]

@@TheStuF no

[@xxXthekevXxx]

If it makes your head bob, it djents

[@mikislives]

Question for your next Q & A: Is there a way of accurately transcribing ambient and glitch music? The artists like William Basinski or Tim Hecker are amongst my favorites and it makes me curious about the theory behind it all.

[@wolfetteplays8894]

Yes, it is, but you would certainly need software more advanced than MuseScore

[@landmo6481]

I didn't know my life was missing a Djent form of the lick but now I do. Stevie T, where you at?

[@jessecrans]

The solo in periphery's graveless, check it out

[@gijsclement1496]

I quite like the fact that today is my birthday and Adam just played this amazingly spicy 'happy birthday'🌶😂

[@benbisaillon7488]

Question for the next QnA: Im curious, because your band makes EDM, what are some interesting bits of music theory that appear in the genre?

[@arielyemini4221]

Sounds interesting!

[@red13emerald]

I can immediately think of the 3:4 polyrhythms, ratchets, frequency modulation, non-diatonic basslines. There’s probably more.

[@nuberiffic]

@@red13emerald but all of those things happen outside EDM...

[@ace-smith]

and?

[@nuberiffic]

@@ace-smith so it wouldn't be a video about music theory in EDM, it would just be a video about theory. Which is all of his videos

[@Codeaholic1]

I truly learn a lot from your videos. I love cramming all the musical brain food in to my face holes. Thanks for being a crazy awesome human being.

[@CatFish107]

Hahahaha! JUST LOVELY oops sorry bout yelling. The multi Adam polychoir singing happybd was spot on! You've replicated every time I've attempted singing.

[@timbretimbre1442]

Diaghilev: How much longer will it go on like that? Stravisnky: Till the end, my dear fellow

[@forbiddenfursona]

*out comes the Rite of Spring*

[@sebstins]

Multiple Adam Neely's singing Happy Birthday polytonically is one of my favourite clips now.

[@davidgustavsson4000]

You might mention it, but I might forget to write, so. I'm thinking about "F sharp" by Tim Minchin.

[@sicko_the_ew]

Going on a state funded "hearts and minds ops" doesn't ipso facto make you Agents of the Empire. What you do there depends on you, not your government. (It doesn't sound like they made any direct or strong attempt to pull your strings, so the diplomatic aspect would simply boil down the great idea of showing people: "Look, we're just human, too". And don't pretend this is an obvious fact. Yes it ought to be, but history is full of human behaviour based on imagined differences, added to the generally small real differences that make us interesting and not-yet-homogenized.) I can't see how that could be a bad thing. You guys were clearly not patronizing (or painfully over-aware of the possibility that you might do something patronizing etc., which is possibly worse - it's a minefield, this ... perfectness ... people sometimes get all Exigent about.) You guys went and did good, honest, necessary diplomacy. Without your real flesh and blood presence, all that people encounter is stories about you. Hollywood? (And that gets ugly at times. So there's some self-inflicted diplomatic damage in need of repair.) There. Said it without swearing or insulting anyone. I have a question (and the only video of this is a fan animation, so it might be a bit distracting) in the Cardiacs song *Mares Nest* the rhythm/s "run at cross purposes" in two places (maybe others, but these are the ones where what I'm talking about should be obvious) from 1:03 to 1:16, and then from about 1:30 to 1:50 . I just wondered whether there's a name for it? I think I've heard it before, but you don't often have clashing rhythms in a song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGrIhZRqqpefi5Y It's like a musical version of a non-lethal clash. Three groups meet at some crossroads, all doing different things, they jumble a bit there, and then sort themselves out into some kind of combined lockstep, and off they go again. Conflict without war. It sounds like quite a polite clash of rhythms to me. All the different bands saying sorry to each other as they navigate the awkwardness. I think Cardiacs is quite a good example of a musical joke that is worth paying attention to - with a smile. Sometimes its silly, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's chaotic and a bit ridiculous, and very rarely is it a bit dark and gloomed over. But that's just my opinion.

[@sicko_the_ew]

oh duh ... I just saw the term "Rubato" on a score somewhere else, and realised how this song emerged from my cognitive swamp down there, somewhere ... It's rubato, isn't it? The answer to my question is just one word (which one could ask professor google about, to fill in more details) ... marching bands going past each other. Pretty much exactly what you were describing. Oh well, I glad that at least it didn't just surface completely randomly. (I think I forgot to say thanks as usual. It's implied. I just forget, while trying to think of what it is I've just become confused about - or whaddever.)

[@HowardHoMusic]

The Twilight Zone theme was actually composed by Marius Constant. Herrmann wrote an earlier theme for Twilight Zone that was replaced.

[@hpatss4966]

I love the example of everyone singing happy birthday, yes that is polytonality

[@ionwyns]

I was hoping you’d say Happy Birthday, Canada on the happy birthday song!

[@sashalyubashevsky]

for your next Q&A: what makes good free jazz?

[@BenjaminStaern]

Bartok uses a lot of polytonality in many of his seminal works like Dance Suite, Wooden Prince, The Miraculous Mandarin, Concerto for Orchestra and some of his chamber music.

[@thejellyfish206]

This video is pure gold with the Amadeus edit and the fact that the lick transitions are all polytonal

[@werepuffin]

Thank you so much for these videos, Adam. My school background in (English) composition and teaching, not music-But the pandemic has me spending a lot of time with my guitar now, trying to understand music from the building-blocks up. I’ve had trouble finding references that do this-but you are always willing to go deep and explain things to the root. I’ve so much appreciation for your knowledge, experience, perspective, humor and morals. Thank you for continuing to share

[@gpeddino]

"The Unanswered Question" is one of the eeriest things I've ever heard.

[@thejrfanclub628]

"a djent version of the lick" Now that needs to happen like rn

[@timothygilman3010]

Adam Excellent content again. Thanks for highlighting "The Unanswered Question" from Charles Ives. I had never heard it. I like haunting music and the dissonance from the trumpets and woodwinds in this piece definitely invoke a strong emotional response. Pure gold thanks...

[@moradan81]

Wow, Picardy third, that thing Sui Generis did at the end of "Cuando comenzamos a nacer", a very grounded raw dramatic representation of life's darkest aspects, which uses a minor scale to acompany the sadness and depression of the themes it describes only to finish in a major version of the tonic chord. I always ended the song on the minor chord and never adhered to the original composer's use of Picardy. Never knew it had a name, either.

[@markdm1125]

Question for QnA: Have you ever accompanied a harp, and if so, how well suited do you think the harp is for jazz performances?

[@victoriaj2129]

Yes this! (For anyone who has never heard a harpist play jazz, check out Alice Coltrane and Deborah Henson-Conant)

[@Rob-pq1bk]

All dislikes are people who got their favorite song ruined by a meme.

[@jakegearhart]

Bernard Herrmann's theme for the Twilight Zone was only used in season one; the theme you played in the video was composed by Marius Constant and was used for the rest of the series.

[@ffaudio5520]

That explains a lot, was looking it up now... that sounds more like him. Even though the Bernard Hermann one is also using polytonality, maybe even better than the later one.

[@restlessboar5863]

Question for your next Q&A: How familiar are you with the music theory behind Ska as a genre, and more specifically behind Streetlight Manifesto? I haven't been able to find a lot of in depth conversation about their music that really gets into the theory, and I'm still very much beginning so I don't know exactly what to be looking for. Thanks for all the great content!

[@rickkeam]

A simple fan comment. Adam your stuff is great. Keep up the good work!

[@KreaTiefpunkt]

1:15 Ah, so Polytonality is like the Stacey at every wedding who is like "I WANNA SING THIS SONG FOR MY BEST FRIEND" and proceeds to trash the given song? Got it.

[@rich1051414]

It is also used to voice things unnatural. 'Creepy' sound tracks are almost always polytonal.

[@peteranon8455]

I did chorus in elementary school, and I think the Stacey was named Tabitha. She stood over my left ear.

[@headintheclouds675]

KreaTiefpunkt that sounded very personal

[@seanmclaughlin4055]

Hey Adam, so I’ve noticed while listening to instrumental arrangements of songs that vocal melodies can often sound kinda lame when played on an instrument. A particularly good example of this is on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s arrangement of 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson. The song starts with a loud and powerful intro and leads to an almost comically underwhelming clarinet solo of the vocal melody. I found this strange because on the original track the vocals are so powerful. I assume it has something to do with the vocal inflections that an instrument can’t reproduce, but maybe you can shed some more light on it. TL;DR why do certain vocal melodies sound lame when played on instruments?

[@certifiedpossum8655]

I think I've got an explanation on that. Vocal melodies (at least in contemporary music) tend to have less intervals between notes and some words are sang in unison. This isn't a problem with vocals as you sing different words per note. However all acoustic instruments can only produce one sound per note. So it sounds quite and very boring.

[@evan-moore22]

I blame them for soloing a clarinet to do vocals. In my experience, an instrumental version of vocals (for most male singers) is best on violas or French horns.

[@oldvlognewtricks]

Sean McLaughlin I always understood this in terms of how vocal lines are designed to work with lyrical information. If a melody is complete in itself it can be syrupy and over-the-top when you add words. On the other hand, an excellent vocal line can seem trite and incomplete when you take away the words. (The words are also often pretty trite when you take away the music) That’s how it makes sense to me, anyhow.

[@solidgroundmusic]

I used to use the piccardy third to end "breaking the girl" in a band I had back in the day. fun way to spice up a song that had a minor fade out

[@lesly9101]

Fantastic Teacher guides his students literally thru the entire Cosmos of Music. This Dude is an extremely talented high performing VJ and content creator blessed with a beautiful, perfectly modulating maskulin kind of voice, which but only to listen to is a already a perfect treat….!

[@r0mmm]

I want to acknowledge Bela Bartok here: he wrote a bagatelle in 1924 (I think) where the right hand plays a melody in csharp-minor and the left hand in f-minor Go check it out

[@ronanmcintyre]

Does the happy birthday polytonality example have anything to do with Nahre Sol's wired video that was uploaded like 3 hours before this video?

[@Octambulism]

My birthday is tomorrow. Missed the Neely Polytonal Happy Birthday by one day :c

[@khalidalzouma9656]

this coincedence is literally insane

[@stefan1024]

Happy Birthday has been public domain for a few years now. Before that you had to pay royalities to use it in media. That's why in movies and tv shows published before the 2010s every birthday scene just has the last two words "... tooo youuuuu!!". It might be one of the best known musical pieces on earth and has a very easy to understand musical structure, so it's perfect for musical examples. Almost everybody can (kind of sing it). It's like a children song or a folk song, but not just for just one language/region/country but all of them.

[@alvaro.2c]

Adam going straight to level 14!

[@francoisrd]

Rónán McIntyre my question exactly

[@TheSecondNature]

Question for the next Q+A: Does the straight wrist thing work on electric (or acoustic) guitar too? I noticed I naturally keep my wrist pretty straight when playing guitar and I'm wondering whether it's a good thing or not. Thanks!

[@Superphilipp]

I think avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome is smart no matter what instrument you want to keep playing.

[@leeroth4645]

Guitar players are advised to keep a straight wrist, it helps avoid tendonitis and other injuries that may occur out of rapid movement.

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

This principle applies to virtually every string instrument.

[@Fannywikstrom95]

July 1st is Sufjan Stevens’ birthday and I take the fact that you didn’t mention him personally

[@CugnoBrasso]

Come on, the fourth of July is only three days away and I'm already crying!

[@o.steinman3855]

Fanny Evelina Poor Subaru’s probably gonna write a song about it now

[@ivyssauro123]

He's shit anyway

[@scottabroughton]

Great video! I live in rural Honduras where often at church services the person leading the singing starts in one key and the accompanying keyboardist has to play the song in several keys until he finds the vocalist's key (who may or may not have modulated to another key) or just settles into whatever key he's most comfortable with. The rest of us get to pick whether we want to follow the vocalist with the microphone or the keyboard. Also muy picante.

[@ERNesbitt]

My wife is a music teacher; we are both musicians, but she taught me about the Picardy Third. Now, I can't unhear it. We laugh whenever it comes up. We've noticed that quite a few church pianists/organists will throw it in whether or not the song calls for it.

[@javixo1997]

Adam: "muy picante!" Me: *cries in spanish*

[@ingridayarza]

Jajajaja

[@jo_nm9484]

Lol

[@n-determineyoutube4981]

It actually amazes me how you can sing in another key. I would just now physically be able to :D

[@spencerostrowsky6603]

You should analyze a black midi song. The band not the genre

[@patchsawyer7960]

That band is too good

[@MathAndComputers]

I searched for "white midi", "blue midi", "pink midi", and "brown midi", but was disappointed that I only found dresses, instead of more band names.

[@KennethWestervelt]

The genre is fine too. There's a lot of copy-paste patterns for the sake of it, yes. But because the medium is so often played out as a KZbin piano roll, there is an added level of visual complexity composers can indulge in. And I would go so far to say that watching the roll play is nearly as important as hearing the music itself. Your mileage, of course, will vary.

[@flaherty5090]

Love black midi! Saw that Adam commented on their KEXP performance a couple months back. Remember when I first saw them in April 2018 I didn't know who they were and googled them but didn't find anything. They had no online presence at all and this made them even more interesting to me.

[@marioi.carrillo6264]

black midi is like eating 200 houndred habaneros at the same time. It's amazing.

[@adhdasf8281]

When you said polytonality adds spice at first I was incredibly skeptical. But then you brought in the overspicing analogy and that’s honestly the greatest explanation I’ve ever heard.

[@NoName-dr8wt]

(At 2:58)🤣🤣🤣🤣That's how my huge family of 10 sings Happy Birthday---yes, 10 times a year!!! So now I can use that Polytonality or really, microtonality, as an excuse🤣👍. Thanks for your positive outlook!😂

[@BATTIS94]

Heinrich Biber

[@koschanothere]

Question for your next Q&A what can you say on music before the classical era? I was wondering what kind of music there was before classical

[@thomascattalani5845]

Future Q & A Question: How hard was it to play in C and sing in F#?

[@calebrobinson3144]

You are literally talking about really deep melodic music theory mostly in the context of classical music. I am a trap producer who only knows the real basics. Music is awesome, so diverse and different yet so similar at the same time. I love your stuff Adam :)

[@yitzharos]

I saw this headline 5 days ago. Attwmpted to write polytonal, had really exciting success, I made a beautiful polytonal chord proggression. Then I watched this video. I feel validated.

[@MetalicComplex]

Hey Adam, question for your next Q&A. What are some ways i can spice up my bass playing rhythms? I play alot of basic 4/4 rock music.

[@TheSquareOnes]

Syncopation and tuplets, both of which work infinitely better if you coordinate them with the drummer but you can honestly make any crazy rhythmic deviation groove if you just stay locked in with the main accents the rest of the time. That usually means nailing the backbeat, as long as you're keeping that groove consistently supported then it doesn't really matter where the other notes are landing (although obviously the crazier you get then the harder it will be for the listener to follow that main accent pattern). I'd recommend messing around with a drum machine, just keep the snare on 2 and 4 and then put kick drum hits absolutely anywhere while looping it. Some things will groove, others will feel pretty uncomfortable but you should be able to find some pretty wild rhythms that work surprisingly well much more quickly than if you tried to learn them all on your instrument first and without any melodic information to distract from the groove. Then you can just work those patterns into bass lines when you find stuff you like.

[@hugogosselin2183]

Play take five

[@CaliBrewed]

Not only did I learn Dan Akroyd, Missy Elliot and Liv Tylers birthday but I am now craving spicy food!

[@SpectraMakesMusic]

PROTIP make sure the key and the key are in the SAME KEY

[@potestoniko]

PROTIP make Shure the key And the synth are in the same vocals XD

[@tracik1277]

Those first examples of happy birthday sound like the usual renditions you get from your mates down the pub! But, Mr Neely, massive kudos to you for being able to sing and play like that on purpose! 👍👏

[@everythingelse2294]

i'm so impressed by your ability to play and sing in two different keys holy crap

[@MrDrumStikz]

Would you consider Twenty One Pilots' "Pet Cheetah" as polytonal, since it is a song that plays a G harmonic minor synth bass over an Eb lydian progression? While the key signature is the same, the chords and tonal centers are completely different. Also, do you think that a pop group using more advanced composition techniques might result in more theoretically dense popular music in the future?

[@willmatthews4708]

i'd say yes except if you think of it like that, almost any layered pop song does that. Bjork's "army of me" has a C Locrian bass line but a phyrgian vocal melody. not to mention, any note change is technically a mode change.

[@Flyght023]

*NEW FAVE TOON 2k19*: Happy Birthday in C/F# by Adam Neely #yay Melon review it already

[@oiman5733]

"Djent version of the lick" Where's @Kmac2021 when you need him?

[@ErebosGR]

_Misha Mansoor has entered the chat_

[@grb9330]

What was the piece at 10:07 named? Was it by Chopin? Thanks you for your great work, I really do appreciate your videos.

[@albertcarballo]

Prelude Op.28 No.20 in C Minor

[@Olifant0]

Adam Neely Hi, I’m an a level music student at the moment and I’m struggling quite a bit with essays and understanding terms (still struggling with essays they are so confusing and complicated). However, thanks to your videos I feel like I understand a bit better now. Which is really amazing because I would really like to be better at the subject I want to spend (and have spent) all my life on. Thanks a lot, Ethan

[@arroraseliant8482]

Hey Adam! I notice you quite often talk about music as it relates to language. In your juggling polyrhythms video you quickly explain the various polyrhythms uding english phrases and you've previously made a whole video on speech-rhythms in hip-hop. So I wonder, do you know of any writing on the relationship between prosodic/poetic metre and musical rhythms? Maybe as some sort of bridge between music theory and poetry theory. I'm thinking it might be of use in lyric writing and as a sort of rhythmic solfege akin to the takadimi-system, but closer to regular language.