John Adams - Modes, Jazz Chords & Slonimsky

[@saam6768]

Glad I saved the money on music school and just subscribed to David Bruce.

[@valentino1870]

Saam You are lucky

[@AndyRoidEU]

Yep a very good channel

[@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226]

Astute comment!

[@Strezov]

as a working composer and conductor that tries to learn every single day - THANK you for making this channel!!! You rock.

[@ralitsa-ost]

Greetings from Bulgaria :D

[@greenman9123]

Finally! A not bedroom metal guitarist and an actual musician explaining this. Thank you 🙏🙏

[@NahreSol]

Amazing video !!! 7:20 overlayed hands was epic :))

[@DBruce]

planning to write a whole piece for that format some time!

[@WhydoIneedafuckinghandle]

@@DBruce get Nahre to record it! That'd be so damn wholesome I'd burst.

[@n.penston8341]

@@DBruce What is that video editing technique called?

[@EduNauta95]

Anyone else fell in love with John Adams thanks to the Civ 4 soundtrack? I had the destiny to have it play over my ears constantly when i was 13-14 years old. First, i understood nothing, then, it was like a revelation! I think this experience has been the best harmonic training i could have ever asked for!

[@fallingmasonry]

I still remember vividly the first time I heard John Adams... when "The Chairman Dances" played over the opening credits for the film "I Am Love". He's been one of my favorite composers ever since. Thanks as always for the great video!

[@TerryPullen]

I always thought that I didn't know shit about music and this video confirms it.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Great compositionsl tool for creating sonic landscapes, especially for ceratin scenes in films (travel, moving from place to place, visiting interiors of certain, sometimes scary looking buldings, and structures etc.). Great idea for all sorts of backgrounds - minimalistic approach to scoring cues...

[@spookypen]

Those John Adams pieces are amazing...

[@wingflanagan]

Yay! I love John Adams! I got to see him in person conduct the Seattle Symphony. The program included his violin concerto Scheherazade 2.0, with Leila Josefowicz as the soloist. Fantastic performance. I can't wait for the episode on Harmonielerhe, which is definitely my favorite Adams piece.

[@spacevspitch4028]

Gah, and that chord from Harmonielehre has always been one of my favorite moments in the whole thing.

[@mrtriffid]

YES! "Like some sea creature trying to break free!" I think we've all waited for a composer to express that universally perceived phenomena!!!!!!

[@chriscresswellcomposer]

I saw the NY premiere of 'Gospel According to the Other Mary'. It was one of the most powerful artistic experiences I've ever had in the concert hall. Thank you for taking the time to break down John Adams's music!

[@TariqKhan-np2wx]

I think naive and sentimental music is one of John Adams finest achievement and especially the first movement which build in 3 waves just to come back to the beginning again. He know how to build music in the most exhilarating. The climax of the movement always give me goosebumps and breathless, sheer genius. A very underrated piece.

[@Bigandrewm]

I dig John Adams' music. I saw the Detroit Symphony perform his Naive And Sentimental Music several years ago. Pattern manipulations in music has a long tradition in lots of cultures, and I find the various practices to be pretty fun. A historic example that comes easily to my mind is Bach's famous prelude from his first Cello Suite, where the pattern being manipulated is the particular form of the arpeggio.

[@BenjaminLimYi]

I did my thesis on John Adams’ Doctor Atomic (Opera and symphony), personally i find the work is quite a departure from his earlier works, and is less static. Adams’ breadth of emotion is staggering, as is his ability to adapt and absorb styles, and is quite apparent in this piece. truly a master!

[@bastianalvarez2425]

It's always fascinating to see how classical musicians and jazz musicians feedback each other through harmony and build new music. Thanks for the video!

[@Classic336]

What a great video! John Adams is one of my favorite composers of the 20th- and 21st-century classical music!

[@andrewlord3398]

I found this video incredibly inspiring and instantly went away to compose something. THANK YOU!!!

[@gpeddino]

I once watched a performance of Adams' "Absolute Jest" here in Brazil and I was pretty blown away. It's like Beethoven, Stravinsky and Holst were blended together.

[@MarkWladika]

Adam's violin concerto was a piece that hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't know enough about theory to explain why, but I think it's a good example of the progressions you were referring to. To me it sounds more like a heavy metal violin concerto.

[@JulianHamlin]

David, this was so interesting. I've been a huge fan of John Adams and am always seeking to understand more. lately my ear has been drawn to Stravinsky... I'm a Jazz Musician and now (from your other video) understand why it might have caught my ear. To see a 'link' between Adams, Stravinsky and .. the Slonimsky book that EVERY jazz student has is a real eye opener. What a brilliant video. Thanks.

[@arsenicbeats197]

man your videos are great keep it up Bruce

[@CaptainPhen]

Great video! Thanks again for these kind of analysis. They are great for expanding the mental repertoire of compositional techniques. I appreciate how you bridge jazz with classical music and how they've been influencing each other, kind of tearing down the walls that some people may have built between the two genres as if they were opposing forces. I also really enjoy those small anecdotes in the video. Cheers!

[@arturoluisrodriguez5279]

John Adams has some very cool harmonies. These types of videos are great. Keep up the good work.

[@dario6253]

Brilliant

[@victorgrauer5834]

As a composer who happens to be a great John Adams fan, I must say how grateful I am for this extremely helpful analysis. I look forward to learning more from your other videos. Many thanks.

[@rfrancis9876]

Thank you David! This is very insightul. Im a painter , but i used to study the piano and sang in choirs early in life, so some of the terms i definitely recognize. I love minimalist composers, so to find out more about Adams' way of composing definitely helps me to understand his process more.

[@thromboid]

Now I'm listening to Harmonielehre while reading that Quincy Jones interview, and loving them both. Thank you!

[@BrunoFerreira17]

Hi David! I really liked when you talked about the continuous sensation of (non)stasis (around 3:50)! It really feels like having both macro and micro universes all-in-one. And what about that entry of the basses on the 3rd movement (meister eckhardt and quackie)... pure poetry! Being a composer, your videos and always interesting!

[@Phunkophil]

There are 2 kind of people in this world. 1) Those who extrapolate from incomplete data.

[@thromboid]

...abnod tuhiopste wxhio ijnotuefrspqoplmabtue. :)

[@passage2enBleu]

2) and Flat Earthers :)

[@daigreatcoat44]

@@thromboid Just what I was going to say.

[@BretNewtonComposer]

I had a hard time coming to grips with minimalism when I first encountered it having been ensconced in the world of Mahler, Strauss, and Wagner. However, I got the chance to play Adams' Gran Pianola Music in my college wind ensemble was it was one of the few works I've ever played that embodied pure joy throughout the piece and showed me what those techniques could do.

[@Eorzat]

Bret Newton - Composer Grand Pianola isn’t really minimalist in any meaningful way though. I love the piece, but it really doesn’t subject itself to many of the characteristics found in minimalist music.

[@chaag30]

Great video, the Slonimsky explanations were fun - great inspiration to get the horn out and do some practicing. I've always wanted to see a break down of how the rhythms work in short ride in a fast machine.

[@robinthomsoncomposer]

Just discovered Adams. Stunned I hadn't earlier. Your videos have been most enlightening. Thank you.

[@celestindupilon2773]

Thank you, Dave. Again, you opened a brand new musical cosmos for me. I appreciate that.....

[@brendanward2991]

I'm shamefully ignorant of Adams's music. This is as good a time as any to change that ... OK, I just listened to Harmonielehre. I'm blown away. What a masterpiece! How have I never heard of this piece before? I've even read Schoenberg's book of the same name. Thank you, David, for nudging me.

[@normanfreund]

Most enjoyable and educational. Love how one can experiment with these ideas in a DAW these days to listen if the idea is any good, versus back in the 1970’s when all you had was a piano and hoped the musicians could play your at times wacky ideas.

[@wizard841]

I actually had to analyze Phrygian Gates for a final project during my college years. The piece is essentially made up of different tonal areas first played in Lydian, then in Phrygian. This contrast is highlighted by the fact that between the two modes, only the root and fifth stay the same (i.e. A Lydian and A Phrygian both contain the notes A and E, but all others are different). Additionally, each tonal area moves up by a perfect fifth, outlining a circle of fifths progression: A, E, B, F-sharp, C-sharp/D-flat, G-sharp/A-flat, and finally E-flat/D-sharp. What ties it all together is that this progression outlines all of notes found in the first tonality of the piece: A Lydian.

[@clarinet800149]

Thank you for including your research references in the video descriptions. This is a very engaging subject that I look forward to learning more about in the future.

[@InspectorCarl]

This video has given me a whole bunch of ideas for a piece that I have been stuck on for awhile now. Thanks!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

And one more thing : EVERY single musician who spent several years diligently and thoroughly studying Slonimsky's GOLD mine of ideas, became a world class improviser/composer/educator. Coltrane, M.Brecker, J.Goldsmith, C.Ogerman, K.Jarrett, Ch.Corea, A.Silvestri, J.Adams, Aydin Esen - and the list goes on and on... Slonimsky's book is ESSENTIAL. Period.

[@OGStazzy]

What if I can’t read but I’m desperate to learn these things

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@OGStazzyWell… Can you still make great music without reading music notation ? The answer is : absolutely yes ! All music is based on certain “feel”, and that’s something that can’t be notated on paper or on the screen. On the other hand : ability to read written sheet music notation opens up a completely new world to your imagination; it enriches you as an artist in many different ways. It speeds up the process of creation, it gives you immediate hints to new forms of putting notes together, creating new sonic landscapes that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. I would strongly recommend learning music notation, even if it is a pretty mundane process and a lot of people just give up because it doesn’t produce immediate results- it may take time to acquire it, not to mention mastering it… But once you do - the reward is immediate : all of the sudden the masterpieces of music become available to you and you can fully understand them and digest every single detail 😊 So, either find a course online or get a professional music teacher in your vicinity and devote your time and energy to study it. Even after several lessons and few months of practice things like Slonimsky’s theory book will become available for you. It’s NOT that hard… And one more, perhaps the most important thing : after you compose some music on your own : strive to notate it 😅 Even if it is hard at the beginning, it will produce immediate results ! Because you will be notating… yourself ! Your own music. I discovered that all my students learned and mastered music notation that way. Because all of a sudden it becomes personal to you. You understand your own music the best, better than anyone else. And after you notate your own creation suddenly this knowledge applies to everything else…

[@jeffreymclean3358]

This wars really informative for me. Awesome work putting together this video, it was a real joy to watch! I can’t wait to see more of them if you continue! Thank you 🙏

[@etlee3326]

around 8:20 I can smell some Mahler. My childhood-livingroom was filled with these kind of sounds. Thank you so much for making this vid. As far as the chromatic pattern poll, for me, I love it cause it takes me away. Out the headphone on and focus on instrument-sections. On the down-side, this is not the music you play while cooking or driving.

[@Lamadesbois]

Thank you very much for introducing Slonimsky and the components of Adams' style.

[@charlesboyle9223]

Read Slonimsky's autobiography, Perfect Pitch. A perfect accompaniment to his wonderful Thesaurus.

[@nocakewalk]

This was lovely, thanks for shedding your light on Adams' musical language! I found Adams' music in the computer game civilization 4, where his music plays in the background during the "modern era". I think the atmosphere in his music is so raw and full of gravity. I love harmonilehre, and also grand pianola music, chairman dances, and short ride in a fast machine to mention a few. I was a bit turned off both his earlier and later works, but scheherezade 2 really hit me, I guess it has the atmosphere, and it also sounds exciting with some unusual instruments. Again, thanks for this 🙂. Btw, his inspiration for harmonilehre is really strange and fun, hope you bring it up in the LSO video ☺️.

[@SvintMvrcus]

love your channel man

[@royschwaben9646]

Slonimsky totally rocked my brain the first time I glanced through it. The whole idea of a basic group of notes then adding more in different ways was extremely new to me. Very different than how I thought about scales and chords beforehand. And I love it. Glad to see it mentioned. Patterns sometimes get a bit much for me. Not my cup of tea. I still listen, seeking tips and tricks and novelty, gems of technique I can steal. But what moves me deep inside usually leans towards more traditional tonal / voice leading stuff more often than not. Outstanding content, as always.

[@MarkOates2]

Literally just ordered this book. It's one I had forgotten about for a long time and I'm really grateful I stumbled upon this video. Thanks for mentioning it!! 🙏

[@yoverale]

Amazing video David! I'm truly thanked, now I've like 4 books to check :D

[@oceancheung6139]

Recently I am exploring about minimalism and this video helps me a lot!😁 And yes I enjoy their music a lot!😀

[@e.v.martinez5083]

Love your channel. Thanks a million for your inspiration and information.

[@pierrefontenelle9271]

Yeeees ! I love Adam's and his music- thanks for these next videos!

[@vitorpassosnicolodi9108]

Thank you for the good content. It feels nice to have the impression that, although you are a composer and your viewers aren't necessarily, we are both learning.

[@andyokus4930]

I felt inspired when you showed the Reich technique. I always felt drawn into his work. Somewhat hypnotic?!

[@xencage]

That’s quite the revelation regarding Giant Steps! Wow!

[@clivewhitworth4755]

I just stumbled upon something amazing!!! Thank you. Pitched perfectly for my time and tide.

[@arsenedubois4408]

Thank you very much for your videos, David!

[@ZeroesandOnes]

I was introduced to John Adams through The Death of Klinghoffer, this video is making me want to go deeper.

[@Belfreyite]

I think the first Adams piece I heard was The Chairman dances.Wonderful piece and a joy to hear.

[@artfullboutique2768]

OutStanding!!!!!!!!!!👏👍👏👍👏

[@sergestanley3393]

Thanks this is bloody amazing information

[@solyarisoftware]

Hi David, thanks for all your interesting deepening! My preferred John Adams's piece is "Common tones in simple time". Maybe that's a topic for one of your future videos. Thanks

[@cornicello]

Thanks for posting this. Adams has been interested in Slonimsky for quite some time, from what I know. I do think that Quincy Jones may have been exaggerating when he claimed that "Giant Steps" is literally found in the Thesaurus. The major third relations, sure, but he could have gotten that from many sources. I think Coltrane himself said it was from Ravel.

[@danmcgirr4210]

Thanks for the excellent video.

[@buddhabillybob]

Another fantastic video!

[@kiplukewhitehead8522]

Great Video. Brilliant, inspiring. Cheers.

[@MarcasLancaster]

Again - amazing.

[@bentleycharles779]

Brilliant.

[@alexmwesa]

Thank you so much

[@MePeterNicholls]

Just bought the thesaurus of scales book. It really got me started with some fascinating ideas

[@AmandaKaymusic]

Thank you David. A beautifully explained clip.

[@IvanGoremykin]

Thank you very much!

[@composer7325]

Excellent video.Thank you for upload.

[@tacos1337]

I've heard of so many composers/performers who used that Slominsky book. I think it's time I get a copy of my own!

[@thormusique]

Excellent analysis, thanks so much! Slonimsky's Thesaurus was a revelation to me when I first came across it while studying music at university. I should say, though, that I didn't come across it at school, but while studying jazz on my own. Adams is a very fine composer, but I must say that I much prefer his later works over the earlier, more minimalist material, which didn't much move me when I first heard it. Much like the music of Phillip Glass, which I find quite tedious.

[@BrunoWiebelt]

thank you very much I will try this in electronic music

[@leonardaspilkauskas]

Minor chord with 13 is very first chord from Blue in Green (song from Miles Davis ‘Kind of Blue’ album).

[@zourieve]

Amazing video!

[@douglasjensen8986]

What a helpful (too brief) tutorial, thank you !

[@kamatsu8]

I love most of John Adams' new music. Big fan of the Dharma at Big Sur, Gnarly Buttons and Century Rolls, but I bounced off all three pieces initially. Sometimes it takes a few listens for it to "click".

[@beautifulllife1234]

Nice video! How about doing some on Gunther Schuller and third stream, or George Russell and The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization? It's interesting to note that Slonimsky even had influence on Zappa's melodies. They were friends in real life, and Slonimsky even named his cat, "Grody to the max".

[@borbalbuddy]

Thanks for introducing me to Phrygian Gates.

[@brandonbulls2365]

Your best video yet!

[@carpenterhillstudios8327]

Adams along with Reich and Glass are indelibly printed on my mind's ear. I've always been kind of contemplative and it's very easy for me to enter their universes. The miniscule adjustments Adams in particular creates is beyond words. That he has iconic music in so many genres only makes him a larger figure. thank you for taking time with him.

[@garaughty]

Such brilliant insights !

[@maestrorafaelribeiro]

When I think about venturing myself into composition, I remember all elements shown in theses videos and give up immediately.

[@madbun1312]

Amazing, thank you

[@bucketofbarnacles]

Wonderful stuff.

[@seattlevkk]

Excellent video. I love Adams music and it’s great to see background to it. Thanks for sharing. You didn’t mention Eros piano which I remember reading was influenced by Takemitsu’s riverrun and I’m curious how that fits in since Takemitsu arguably had different influences?

[@aviramspies]

fascinating ! Thank you

[@jeancabon]

Brilliant more like that

[@zqa12swx]

11:25 Jackie McLean played alot of these patterns too. Very cool!

[@ronaldo.araujo]

Really cool, I have a feeling that those series are very promissing. I hope you can make something about Gil Evans someday, I talk about his arrangements with Miles Davis specifically, someday maybe, It doesn't hurt to dream

[@vharmi.]

10:00 This video has been copyright claimed by: "Holst, Gustav" for using material found in "The Planets, Mars - Bringer of War"

[@richardoteri356]

Wow

[@OrangeBallStudios]

Crazy I could totally hear that too. Then I saw this comment AI is taking over the world.

[@elmile824]

That's exactly what I thought of and immediately stopped the video - went and listened to Mars and then came back and finished it XD

[@Teddy-Cool]

indeed

[@ZsigmondKaraMusic]

I'm glad, I found this comment

[@jmm8476]

I’ve been writing a composition assistant (that sounds remarkably like what David described) in max msp for a few months now. I’m don’t qualify myself as a composer in any way, but I’m using Max as a way to make composition easier by using markov chains to run through permutations of melody and harmony modally. I broke out slonimsky’s thesaurus the other day to use as another source for markov choices. Much remains to be done, but if adams has worked in this track, it seems like a good direction.

[@ivyssauro123]

9:13 Possible way he influenced video game composers too, this descending line is almost exactly like a a theme present in the "Bell Gargoyle Theme" in the game Dark Souls, compose by Motoi Sakuraba. DS soundtrack is very orchestral but mostly very tonal and functional, it will occasionally throw atonal and chromatic lines at times of tension to spice things up and I don't doubt he probably read that book at a point in his life. (seen in this arrangement in Bar 16: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2Osk6x3eJeUga8 )

[@zacharydetrick7428]

You asked our thoughts on later Adams music, I personally love Son of Chamber Symphony

[@FREIMUZIC]

great video!!!

[@mikebrookfield]

Great Vid... I like Adams use of Slonimsky inspired lines... coming from a jazz angle I don't think it's too 'notey'... my studies with Charlie Banacos had similar approaches to the content in that Slonimsky book... i'm only just getting into it that book now after it being on the shelf for years... great resource & fun to practice..