The Rhythms of Tigran Hamasyan

[@AdamNeely]

TIGRAN IS SO DAMN GOOD. thanks man for this video! mockroot was a revelation when I first heard that album. so good

[@bazdesh]

hi adam

[@decaftundra]

I couldn't stop thinking about you watching the video wondering what would be your thoughts. And there you are. Damn Magical.

[@yukievans9506]

His style sounds a lot like your band.

[@huomusic8515]

I think the world could benefit from an "Adam Neely analyzing Tigran" video

[@DoodlezMusic]

For the love of god adam, I've been waiting for a video of you analyzing Tigran's album "Mockroot"! Please, please, please!

[@julianpischler9378]

How Tigran writes an album: 1) Sits at the piano, press record and beatbox while he composes 2) Send the recording to a bassist and drummer telling them to copy his left hand and his mouth respectively 3) Wait a year for them to be able to transcribe what he played 4) Record in a studio together

[@alihijazi4451]

Pretty much 😂😂

[@anthonydelise316]

What's mind-boggling about this is that the music is actually enjoyable

[@ledumpsterfire6474]

Exactly. Complexity for the sake of complexity makes for pretty mediocre music to listen to, but complexity in service of a greater aural experience like Tigran Hamasyan seems to aim for.. that's the good stuff.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you for this!!!! YESS!!! 🙌🙏🙌 Amazing as always.

[@AlanKey86]

40% Joy, 40% Confusion, 20% Awe

[@jackwilliamsopenyourmouth]

Until halfway through, where your feelings became 70% Joy, 70% Confusion and 35% Awe.

[@dontnodm6281]

@@jackwilliamsopenyourmouth (squints) I see what you did there

[@nieogarniamjutuba]

And a 100% reason to remember the name

[@MostachoExperiment]

Long joy, long joy, short confusion! repeat

[@piggyfly00]

Standard music notation makes it confusing. If I see it in grid format, it would be much easier for me to process.

[@mmmbetter55]

Tigran is one of those artists that came out of nowhere and blew me away. It's not just the mind blowing complexity he can navigate, or even that he can do so while retaining his style and the emotion of he melodies, but also that he can do all this, and then switch to a tune like 'Holy' or 'Lilac' or 'Kars 1'

[@seanbeadles7421]

I'm not sure Kars 1 is that simple

[@Myriam-nk2fw]

​@@seanbeadles7421the beginning yes kinda, of course not the end, but I see what commenter wants to say with lilac etc.

[@kageyamatobio-h4q]

I discovered Tigran this yearr and I've fallen in love with his style of music. Guy is a beast

[@JamesHunterRoss]

Tigran's live Vardavar performance playing the Hello Kitty toy piano made my head explode, which lead to more listening and joy. This video really helped me understand what I was hearing in Vardavar rhythmically, in several rhythmic ways actually. After this video I now understand a framework that Tigran has used, and I feel I am a better listener now. And, all words aside, Tigran does so much rhythmically, melodically, harmonically, and culturally it is beyond... beyond...

[@semtexwiller]

I've literally never clicked on a video this quick

[@HB-ve4wi]

As opposed to metaphorically? ;)

[@kevinstewart8120]

same my boner is touching my forehead, and i'm bending over backwards

[@simonragnarson22]

Tigran hamasyan is my all time favourite pianist and composer and i have analysed his work in depth the last 3 years. To expreience the care and professionalism that you put into your content is humbling. This kind of research and respect for artists and music in general is quite rare on youtube, and you are really a great inspiration. Thanks for a great video!

[@pascalschmidt9457]

Dear Simon Can I get in contact with you? I would like to play many tunes of Tigran. I play bass. I would also pay for transcriptions. Many thanks Pascal

[@a_wild_Kirillian]

I'm now realizing that Tigran is my favourite modern composer. Because those rhythms give me life. Good that I still have much more his pieces to listen to.

[@semanticsamuel936]

Never heard of this guy, but absolutely going to check him out now. I'm a big Meshuggah fan, love my jazz and happened to train as a classical sitar player in Varanasi. I'm really glad I found this channel - it started off with mostly discussions about classical pieces, which is great because I like composing pieces for the local church choir in my spare time and it's really helped me become more ambitious in my attempts, but it's gradually branched out to more and more unusual topics. Never thought we'd be talking about Meshuggah here, which is about as extreme as you can get. I'm learning a lot and discovering lots of great music. It's nice to be in company of people who just like music - doesn't whether it's metal, opera, (d)jazz, choral, carnatic, whatever.

[@lethal0304]

check "Drip Berklee Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble: it's an incredible mash up of Tigran's music

[@hanneshaatainen4994]

Congratulations, you're in for a ride

[@ErebosGR]

I think the album Shadow Theater is the best starting point.

[@qwertyTRiG]

@Caleb Why be so rude to one of today's lucky 10,000?

[@carboluka]

Weird subtle flex but ok. Also check out levitation 21, cool piece of his.

[@MusicIan423]

Damn that rhythmic concept of keeping shapes of beats based on their own tempos is something I've experimented with. I didn't think it was actually usable in modern music. This musician Hamasyan is brilliant.

[@MusicIan423]

Actually, thinking about it more, this is how I originally interpreted odd time signatures. The song "Satellite" by Dave Matthews is a song I remember feeling the beat that way with. I would explain it as "x number of down beats with y 'time' (which is arbitrary and entirely based on intuitive sense) between the first 3 beats then z time between the 3rd and 4th beats then a time between the last 3 beats (I don't know if that makes a sensible rhythm, I'm just describing the basic organization in my brain)." Or to explain 6/8 "3 down beats with x time between the three beats and y (shorter) time between the last beat and the next measure". I've written a few songs on piano and bass (and at least one in guitar) that used this concept as the basis for the rhythm. So I was wrong, I could easily tell the musical usability of this rhythmic concept, because it is how I naturally interpreted rhythm as a kid. Also, I'm self-taught, which means I didn't have another stricter method of tracking rhythm forced into my head.

[@s90210h]

The re-ordering of shorter sections like a pattern of 5/16th notes within 4/4 brackets is what Drum & Bass and more specifically Jungle rhythms are all about. It being dance music it rarely goes too far beyond reaffirming the 'one' every few bars. It goes back to the function on samplers where you can slice a sample into chunks and then play each chunk via MIDI. If you chop a 2 bar breakbeat loop (with all the inherent shuffle and swing) into 8 parts, you can then rearrange them in whatever fashion you like. The rhythmic effect of having the 5/16ths repeat before a silence and then a drop is not unheard of in these genres of music. Another area where these kind of rhythms are common is Modular Synthesizer patches which use clock divers at various ratios as clocks, resets or other functions. All kinds of complex relations between fractional parts and 'bars' can be achieved this way, and more often by ear and feel on the actual instrument rather than calculation and notation.

[@Filip-sp2vk]

Like!! Do you have any links of some jungle tracks with that concept?

[@drumkidstu]

2 years late, but quite agree. Meshuggah is actually very influenced by the music of Autechre and Squarepusher (they mention this in just about any interview when asked what they like to listen too) so it makes sense that this kind of all comes together

[@michielvansteenhoven7255]

dude, listen to Shwesmo! Check out Digital Elephants or anything of his last EP. He makes electronic music but on a similar musical level as Tigran (obviously not THAT insane but close)

[@ThrenMusic]

thank you so much for introducing me to this fantastic artist, and great breakdown of the sound world as usual :) but more importantly - PIANO DJENT

[@ryock01]

Logan Busch Djazz*

[@juffinhally5943]

And now I'm searching all over youtube for other piano djentists. Any pointers?

[@jamesclawson9243]

​@@juffinhally59432 years late but check out Immortal Onion

[@SeanStephensen]

Nice, the "big, big, small" idea reminds me of how balkan dancers digest the "complex" rhythm of dance pieces in 9/8 or 7/8, etc (long steps and short steps)

[@VinniPuh316]

Aksak rhythm is a feature of balkan-anatolian music in general and Armenian music historically is a part of eastern anatolian music. I think Hamasyan might be very familiar with this type of rhythmic thinking.

[@VladaSamardzic]

I am from Serbia and I thought the same. We have a lot of dances in 7/8 and 9/8. :-)

[@OM-md6ki]

Easy

[@alexeyshestov7294]

This is JUST THE SAME with the way which I always thought about complex rhythms

[@MichaelWashingtonAE]

The same in north African folk dances/rhythms (bellydance) and the Turkish style of the same

[@merttalay9702]

I love Tigran Hamasyan s music he is a genius.Greetings from Turkey.

[@LeonThomasian]

To know a Turk loves Tigran’s music makes me so happy. Im Armenian and grew up listening to Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. With all stupid conflicts going on between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, I pray more people of these regions come together and at least enjoy the music. Peace to you brother. 🙏🏼

[@merttalay9702]

@@LeonThomasian 🙏 fuck all politicians war and etc.Peace to all thank you my friend.

[@fkknsikk]

I love your shirt! Wintergatan is brilliant

[@wojtekwieczorek6397]

"I realize that for some people this will just come across as confusion" Hello there But I got to say, confusion has never sounded that awesome!

[@louismoench3554]

‘it doesn’t feel like it’s in 4/4, but it is.” ‘there’s no sense of 4/4, because the bar is split into all these little subgroups.” From where I’m standing, these mean the compositions are not actually in 4/4, but a compound meter whose total beats add to an even number.

[@JoshuaNichollsMusic]

That would definitely be a more intuitive analysis of Tigran's music for sure. However, Tigran himself has said in an interview that The Grid, a composition written in a similar style, is in 4/4: "It's based around a grid-like rhythmic pattern, which is two bars of 4/4 that is grouped in 5,5,7,5,5,5/16 notes." (Daunt, R., ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2519&context=theses_hons)

[@drumkidstu]

Meshuggah does the same thing. Dumbed down, there music is pretty straight forward 4/4 dance music, but the polymeter present makes it difficult to find.

[@brynbstn]

It boggles my mind that someone can feel music rhythm to that degree of complexity. He Must be a genius

[@darkcnotion]

Because he's a prodigy

[@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out]

@@darkcnotion could play, probably before he was breathing. that helps. a lot sigh. ------older beginner. prodigy, not.

[@qsafex]

You can simply call him a genius or you might understand the amount of practice that led to this level.

[@jakobgunnarsson1235]

The dude is ridiculous. My friend went to New School at the same time as him, he was so good when he showed up that nobody wanted to teach him. He also had a paper of his practice schedule which was 7 hours a day, divided into different things he was working on. He was practicing on a 61 key M-audio midi keyboard and staring at the paper all day which was on the wall in front of him. The walls in his apartment were covered with subdivions like in this video.

[@danielalexander2367]

@@jakobgunnarsson1235 Yeah, I went to school with him at USC. He was there for two years, and then he left to tour. I imagine the teachers there were also at a loss as to what they could teach him.

[@toasttghost]

"Joy or confusion?" Yes

[@mokachu8300]

That was just facinating. I'm thinking Frank Zappa would have thoroughly enjoyed this. Thnx David

[@stethoscanomaly]

One of my favorite musicians of recent years, and you're my favorite youtube music channel for sure! Good to know that the things he's doing are confusing even to a composer with a bunch of experience and I'm not just missing something simple.

[@nthSonata]

I love Tigran! He's one of my top three pianists!

[@rackjice2952]

His music/rhythms still bring me tears of joy when I return to them, I don't know why. I am a drummer but come on why is it so emotional hahaa :)

[@mattslazik]

Awesome video. Love the Marble Machine X the shirt as well!

[@nathanielsaxe3049]

So glad somebody put this into words. I've had a feeling this was going on in these songs, but was unsure how to articulate it. Stellar job, David and Yogev (and Tigran)!

[@YotamIshay]

I was lucky enough to be in the crowd when Tigran played this, I remember being mesmerized. As for the last question, I remain confused by the rhythms, but that's a type of confuse that I enjoy.

[@eoinmulvany860]

Wonderful! Saw Tigran three times in Dublin over the past few years.... stunning every time! Soulful and mindful! Great video David.

[@diafenix]

I think it is amazing that you are giving some exposure to Tigran. I don't think he has enough already for the level of genius he is. I have been listening a lot to "Mockroot" (album and live version) and the rhythm trickery is just insane, astonishing, clever. Some times, even though he is playing in these very oddly split note sections, it sounds very square and rhythmically pleasant even for someone without musical and/or rhythm orientation. His music is ridiculously alive and lush. It makes you feel grateful to be alive and being able to listen to that beautiful musical madness. PS. look up his live performance of "What The Waves Brought" for more rhythmic beatboxing insanity.

[@nowiecoche]

“What The Waves Brought Us” radio performance was what solidified me in Tigran Hamasyan’s greatness. He jazzes but also rocks super hard.

[@diafenix]

@@nowiecoche yep, he's a boss.

[@kadoen]

Hamasyan in general and Vardavar in particular have been blowing my mind for years now. I clicked on this video the instant I saw it, your analysis is fantastic and very insightful. It's still unbelievable to me how someone can ideate and maintain these crazy rhythms live... Hamasyan's performance in the Montreaux Jazz Festival is otherwordly to me. Thanks a lot for the video!

[@soaprincee]

If one is trying to perceive and fit the rhythm in a classical way, yes it is bit confusing. But mathmatically, we know that the systems are compatible. One can then just pick the konnakol perspective of thinking and feel the groove without bothering too much of the bottom layer timing signature, then it won't feel that confusing.

[@AmandaKaymusic]

I met Tigran at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. My pick for amazing out of all the headlining acts that year. Thanks for a clip looking at someone who I hold in very high regard. Talking about his beautiful space phrasing in compositions was a lovely side. Isn't it wonderful how this master can make 4/4 sound jarring and 'odd'. I appreciate your clips David. I always learn things I am interested in even if I didn't know I was interested in them before I watch. You open my ears and eyes.

[@AmandaKaymusic]

Joy. Much joy.

[@TLSWalters]

I definitely fall on the JOY side of the fence! How Yogev woodshed that... damn, that is dedication.

[@sixmonthssleep3057]

Yes David! I've been waiting for something like this, cheers!

[@OysterWallace]

Great video! I'm so happy to see people showing genuine curiosity and research toward my all-time favorite musical artist. I have some comments and related examples. --- About Double Faced: The '5-based poly-syncopated groove' comes in at 0:10, and the drums properly accent the backbeats with snare hits. When continuing to count along, the "pause" lines up to actually be the downbeat (or "kick drum space") of the 1st measure of that whole phrase. Your transcription placed the pause at the end of the last measure, rather than the beginning of the first measure. Tigran is loyal to the rock trope of respectively using Kick & Snare as forward-beat and back-beat when establishing the foundations of his more complex structures. --- About Vardavar: I refer to the concept Yogev is explaining as "Pattern Redivision", which I think Tigran actually invented. I created a graphic to illustrate it here: tinyurl.com/pattern-redivision He explained it perfectly, but when you were introducing that groove from the end of Vardavar, you called it 4/4. The pattern with the chords over the new hi-hat beats is actually 5/4, but with the Kick & Snare continually alternating so every second measure happens to start with a snare. You're correct when you say there's an effort to keep the "rough shape" through warping, because these 'beat length ratio changes' Tigran does are *technically* impossible without altering the real-time lengths of some of the beats. The ratio of lengths from 5 to 3 is not mathematically equal to the ratio of lengths from 3 to 2. 5/3 =/= 3/2. This shows Tigran is subtly finagling the lengths of things (usually whichever beat lengths aren't played first in the pattern) to maintain the illusion. Pattern Redivision is illusionary and Tigran exploits the subtle human errors and microrhythms in peoples' sense of rhythm to glue it all together. === Other Tigran events of interest [which can be found here: music.gisher.org/artists/449/ ] --- In "Sibylla" from Aratta Rebirth: There's a polymeter that's not particularly eyebrow raising, but grandiosely ballsy, and has a cleverly mischievous moment at the end. The majority of the song plays in 5 groups of 3, or a 15-subdivision framework. There's a recurring riff that guitars, the bassline, and kick drum play throughout these measures of 15 subs. At 5:05, the drummer begins to play recurring groups of 4 subs on the cymbal, adding a snare backbeat to every other one. Based on the 15:4 polymeter that is then established, it takes 15 cymbal hits for the pattern to realign itself, but the drummer still keeps playing snares as backbeats. So, the 15:4 polymeter sequence is then repeated, so the backbeat in the drummer's hands realigns with the pattern. Usually with big poly-structures like this, musicians enjoy triumphantly emphasizing the following downbeat as proof that they stayed together and conquered the passage they just played. Here, Tigran is cheeky and follows up that big poly structure with a repeat of a previous phrase that remains silent for the first subdivision, instead emphasizing the second one. It seems like there was a gap between measures/phrases. That gap could potentially throw off a lot of listeners who are following with the poly-framework and wanted the satisfaction of hitting the commonly following downbeat. --- In "The Court Jester" from Shadow Theater: The second half of the song has a fantastic high-energy pattern in 4 bars of 6/4 at quarter note=131 BPM. There are a lot of slippery, ornate flourishes to its composition and performance. The drums start indicating a stable meter through it at 4:12. There are two different groove interpretations (6/8 on the hi-hat then later 3/4 on the ride cymbal) and the first downbeat is displaced forward by 1 eighth note (2 subdivisions). That's maintained through the two different aforementioned groove interpretations. The real head-scratcher here is how the whole band slows down in sync from 131 to ~110 BPM to finish out the last couple bars, before the drummer then quickly counts 2 rim shots in the original tempo to get everyone onto that displaced downbeat and keep playing the phrase back in the original tempo. They even do it again at 5:13. When I first heard it, I thought there must have been some metric relationship between the new slower quarter notes (110bpm) and the old faster ones. Knowing Tigran, I thought it must a metric modulation rather than just a guided slow-down, but I couldn't feel any meaningful relationship. When I aligned the different grooves by their downbeats in my DAW, I saw no strong metric relationship. The new slower quarter notes are almost long enough to be quarter-note triplets in the previous tempo, but not quite. The BPM relation of 13/11 is so irregular, I don't think there's actually a metric relationship. I'm surprised, but intrigued, because this seems to be Tigran's only rhythmic trick that doesn't have particular metric thinking behind it. === The side of the fence I fall on is absolutely joy. He uses these complex structures narratively and purposefully, not just to bask in the awe of it but to use them to embolden his musical storytelling.

[@db1815]

Loved it, Vardavar is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. The first time I heard it I was bloooown away lol. I've had quite the struggle demystifying some of his work, but one can learn a lot from it!

[@WhiteOakAmps]

Your video introduced me to Mr. Hamasyan's music, the only analog I have is when I was introduced to Pat Metheny's music in 1986; there was a time in my life before exposure to genius and the time after. Even disregarding the rhythmic brilliance you blessedly teach here as a wonderful concept on which to practice, hearing Tigran for the first time is a blessing that rarely comes in a lifetime: there are too few artists where I scream "Eureka" (I have found it!). So I see this video BEFORE beginning to listen to his works. What a great service you and your friend have performed in breaking down the rhythm for we students. Thank you so much!

[@Heinzer210]

Word!! Big Thanks to you, David, for introducing me into his music AND sharing your analysis!!

[@ejb7969]

Pat Metheny's music in 1986 ... First Circle? (The title tune in 22/8?)

[@Nathan00at78Uuiu]

what i enjoy about Hamasyan, is that though there is a lot of complexity going on, on the surface level it is appealing and interesting. so on both levels it is fascinating. thanks for the analysis, super awesome.

[@terrancat]

So glad you made this video. So glad I got to discover Hamasyan.

[@sirtorchington]

my third time watching this video, thank you so much David 🙌 and Yogev!

[@Bati_]

As always, an incredible insight/journey into the different horizons of music! 🙌👏 Your works are simply mind-expanding David and I really appreciate your effort and love which you put in every work of yours! As a jazzhead, I am a huge fan of Tigran Hamasyan ("What The Waves Brought" is killing me) and I think he is one of the most powerful responses (along with other magnificent ECM Records artists and one and only Kamasi Washington) to those who claim that "Jazz is dead!". This week, I've been very interested in the early, rare electronic instrument "ondes Martenot" and its other close relatives which Jonny Greenwood use frequently, and it blew my mind, so my request from you is to make a video about rare instruments and their use in scores, orchestral compositions etc. There are countless things in this life to discover and as Rachmaninoff said wonderfully: "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music." Thank you again David, we can't thank you enough!! I'll always support your insightful content and I think it's time to back your works up via Patreon, too! 🎶💥😊🙏 Greetings from Turkey! Peace!

[@Sam-hh3ry]

Do the rhythms of Avishai Cohen next!

[@alejandrocomes]

that would be amazing!

[@duncanjones7310]

please do! the pinzin kinzin, smash or albie

[@patrickwright8805]

And harmony!

[@PabloGnesutta]

There is a public thesis about Avishai's rhythmic devices (among others, Pinzin Kinzin is featured), it's really deep and comprehensive. If you want it, search for "AVISHAI Aspects-of-Rhythm-in-the-Music-and-Improvisation-in-Six-Pieces", I'll put the link below anyways. It's a free downloadable PDF and It's awesome. If you want to study and dive into Avishai's rhythm, this is the one. Cheers! ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1022&context=theses_hons

[@benyamin.shults]

Duncan Jones I think you meant Abie?

[@dp2.0official49]

Thank you for introducing PIANO DJENT to the world!

[@mcmire]

You might have sent me down a deep rabbit hole. And I think I'm okay with this.

[@jillian7084]

For a moment, when you showed the bars in 5/16 then 3/16 then 5/16 and so forth, I thought you were analyzing my music. Not because I dare say I am at the level of Tigran - because I obviously am not - but my sheets usually look like that kind of stuff. I discovered Tigran some months ago and his music speaks so much to me, to a very profound level. Whenever I composed something I was always kinda criticised (not always the good way) because I would always put seemingly random time signatures here and there, even though it just was what I feel, what's inside of me. Seeing artists like Tigran, and videos like yours really warm my heart and it motivates me to continue what I love. Thank you.

[@f52_yeevy]

Beautiful analysis video, it's thanks to you that I've discovered Tigran Hamasyan. Also, I really liked seeing you wear a Wintergatan t-shirt!

[@matthewzimmerman9218]

Brilliant! A thousand thanks for your insights....

[@ortep23]

I'm a huge fan of Tigran's music. His music is a very fresh voice in the musical landscape. Thank you for the video , it's very well explained !!!

[@willd.8040]

Just "discovered" Tigran's music, and I am fascinated. It's really like nothing I've ever heard before.

[@gregcoles9175]

I'm speechless!! This kind of rhythmic complexity, performed so musically is preternatural! Thank you David for this excellent exploration of Tigran's work

[@ofdrumsandchords]

What if we dance ? This is fascinating. Tigran shows new directions in music, we would need another lifetime to deal with that stuff but I'm glad to hear people searching and finding.

[@kageyamatobio-h4q]

This video has been so informative. Made everything easy to understand

[@NMIC374]

That wonky 2(1/3) ish bar destroyed my life and rebuilt my melted puddle of a brain into must count and practice polyrhythms 1000% of the time all day long mode. I will be annoying everyone around me because of my suck thank u rhythm king Tigran Great video!!! Loveeee!!!!!!

[@kylereilly3259]

Joy. Tigran is one of my favorite artists for sure and your investigations have brought a whole new meaning. The music is both aesthetically beautiful and intellectual. Art!

[@victorbitencourt9481]

I'm a simple man! I see Tigran, I hit like!

[@Drummerr1771]

Thank you for this video! All the best

[@moritzulrich2168]

Fine video, Mr. Bruce! A couple of nerdy drummer comments, hoping to help clarify the issues: I'm fairly certain that the tihai in the part of Double Faced you discussed actually comes right before the big 1 of the 4/4 cycle, making it an actual, bonafide tihai. So the moment the patterns of 5 pick up again represents the 3 of the first beat of 4/4, or the 2 if you count it as a really slow beat as is suggested by the snare. When you said "those confusing drums are actually mapping out the real beat of the piece", that is spot on: The kick drum is on 1 and 3, though not always played, and the snare is on 2 and 4. And in Vardavar, two things: 1) The excerpt you show from 7:13 to 7:20 is actually the part with the straight drum beat, with the snare on 2 and 4. In the full piece, they really have their fun with this one for a while and it can be clearly heard. 2) I agree that the warped part begins with 3 - 3 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 2+1/3, but I believe it doesn't end in a 3. You can clearly hear a total of 5/4 in the underlying drum beat. For that to match, that last group needs to be 3+2/3, which is what it sounds like too. In musical notation, this means two dotted 8ths, one 8th, two dotted eights, one 8th tied to a 24th (that is, one third of an 8th note, or the first third of a 16th triplet) and finally a monstrosity consisting of two thirds of an 8th note (the other two notes of the split 16th triplet) tied to a whole 8th. It's less unsexy if you picture the last 4th of the 5/4 drum beat as a sextuplet and place the accent on the second of the 6 notes. I find this way of thinking about it more precise than the admittedly more conceptually appealing suggestion by Ryan Daunt (slow quintuplet beat superimposed on the established 5 - 5 - 3 - 5 - 5 - 4 - 5) that would lead the accents to not quite fit on the 3 - 3 - 2, which they do, and the final note to have an even odder sounding length, some weird quintuplet thing that I don't hear there. Well, I do hope this is useful to someone.

[@beethovenjunkie]

Well I find immense joy in being confused by music! My brain likes being pulled in several directions at once. So thank you for this video!

[@jeuxdeterre6205]

I finally understand Tigran Hamasyan! Thank you!

[@annamariasantopadreannulki600]

It’s just fantastic❤️ thank you for such an interesting video👍

[@Setri123]

Not only is he beatboxing and playing the piano at the same time, but I'm pretty sure he's improvising a lot of the beats. The live version of What The Waves Brought is also great to check that...he's unbelievable

[@bmprrr]

Very inspiring

[@kurtvega4871]

Fantastic! Thank you!

[@yoimer06]

Didn't expect to watch this and hear references to Meshuggah and Djent, but hell yeah! Tigran's Piano Djent is a modern godsend.

[@marcDEAL]

Great video, thanks so much!

[@PlayBetterJazz]

Thank you so much for this video, amazing!!

[@bobfamiliarmusic]

Thank you for introducing this artist to me. Enjoyed the deep analysis and breakdown. Awesome teamwork!!

[@oldcodger9388]

Thank you! Love it!

[@ricklazaroff]

Thank you Mr. Bruce. Loved the vid.

[@composer7325]

Fantastic ,thank you.

[@GeraldWilhelmBradenComposer]

Although I'm a classical music composer, my sound company (I am also a sound engineer) is what pays the bills, and allows me to compose. I often run sound for numerous bands from all around the world (India, Pakistan, Cuba, South America, Africa...etc), and all cultures, and these musicians never cease to amaze me. I'll be sitting behind the mixing console, tapping my foot, and then all of a sudden I will hear something that makes me say "what the heck did they just play?"...Ha! The thing that is amazing, is that much of these unusual rhythms are part of their culture, often very complex, and yet most of these musicians are not formally trained in any way. Though I always ask them to explain what they are playing, after the show, or when they take a break, and they are always happy to share music info with me....Peace!

[@highvibee]

As a drummer I find this extremely addictive. Warping

[@Jasat2]

Thank you so much for this video!!!

[@mariokbee]

Joy!

[@andreasvalkare559]

Absolute joy! When I found Tigran it was as if I for the first time in my life could hear the music in my head for Real! I listened two hours straight on a long bus ride and kept listening and shared it with my dad in law. Luckily he had a concert just days later and I got one lousy ticket, behind a pillar. I went there in big hurry after a really bad day at work, almost fell asleep in my chair. Then after a few songs I forced myself to move along and dig the music. After that I was lured into the music and out of my tiredness and stress. By the end of the show I could have fuel the entire city with my energy! The last song, excluding a very nice jazz standard encore, was Nairian desert (?), the one you referred to. It was twenty minutes long, and I wished it was thrice. Hands down the strongest music listening experiences of my life!

[@octatonicgardenmarcospi4978]

I'm into joy and confusion! Wonderful video.

[@ildonandja6287]

Really love this. It's a very valuable tool for the ones that have love for the rhythm.

[@elrondhubbard9127]

I'm going to see Tigran in Los Angeles next month and I'm so fucking excited.

[@andrearigonat4076]

The Joy Of Confusion!!Thanx once again David :)

[@Portia...]

Earing the TA's MUSIC.. .a really poetic and orgasmic experience!

[@Mundproductionfunkhaus]

Love it thank you

[@danina50]

Truly amazing! Yogev is a fantastic drummer and Tigran is just insane! For me rhythm is a very interesting topic and I like the straightforward way you explain such complex things.

[@faviolopez8536]

I've discovered Tigran when he was part of the tunisian oud player Dhafer Youssef. He was shining there already, then he moved to the US starting his solo career. As it for me is all joy, mainly because musically his complexity sounds "worthy" .

[@ThePianoFortePlayer]

I'd never thought you would make a video on Tigran Hamasyan, my favourite contemporary musician Thanks for this video

[@bobbydigital8111]

im on the joyfull and blissfull side...a friend of mine showed me Vardavar and I really tried my best to unlock what was going on...now seeing how the quintuplet rate is its own playground is super inspiring...i really appreciate you giving us a new key to unlock new rooms to explore...makes me wonder how many have explored the septuplet rate with the same intent...again thank you so much for the inspiration...you and Yogev are doing Gods work!!!

[@ericahata2162]

I admire your capacity to make such analysis, which i can hardly follow. Mind you, I've been studying music for quite a while. What I know for sure is that Tigran fascinates me profoundly!!

[@paulauxerre2450]

That was really really cool! This type of rythmic paradigm was opened up to me a few years back when I saw Avishai Cohen at a festival. I checked out some of his Albums after that and quickly fell in love. What I admire about Cohen is how he blends a couple of really old musical traditions with modern jazz, yet making it sound totally coherent and not forced and also the incredible quality of craft in many of his arrangements. Hamasyan operates at the same rhythmical level but I was never touched by his music, like I was by Avishai Cohens. However, I have to admit that I never really checked out some of his Albums properly. If some of you guys could tell me a good starting point, that'd be delightful

[@8020drummer]

You finally got me. Great analysis. The name I came up with for keeping two phrase lengths in your head at once was “counter rhythm”, though I think you explain it better than I. Most difficult tune on the record to play, imho, is entertain me

[@milimaximus1624]

So cool to get deeper into some of Tigrans music treats! I bought "An Ancient Observer" completely out of spontaneity and I really dig it. I am very much into Animals as Leaders , whos drummer also has some very neat treats of meta-time-feel.

[@DimitrijeBeljanski]

Best video so far!!! Please give us some more or this profound stuff :)

[@babar69110]

very good work !!! thanks

[@foxchannel5328]

Very much appreciated

[@robertpien8708]

The complexity and simplification of rhythm comes from the mind of the composer. When we take Rhythm to a different level we open up a new awareness within ourselves from tension and release we can create Magic thank you for explaining very complex way of looking and listening the Rhythm

[@carpenterhillstudios8327]

Thank you for delving in to this and being courageous at the same time. I'm very blown away! The large arches with the cycling within is so energetic. Lots of 20th cen "classical" music has pushed on this (Britten, Reich, Mellits, ...) but this feels like we're hearing this at the atomic level. Really exciting but beyond me to really understand or utilize. best I can do is 8/8 with 3,3,2 and a mess up at the cadence.

[@irvegriffiths8256]

Total joy!!

[@petertrotman7708]

Ahh!! The Joy of Confusion. Thanks for this.

[@skoto8219]

Had never heard of Tigran Hamasyan before this video. I've listened to Nairian Odyssey ten times in the past 36 hours. I can't remember the last time I was this excited over a new piece of music. Thank you, David.

[@musicallatte]

What an amazing explanation. My mind is blown with Hamasyan's brilliance and equally with your explanation. Thank you!