The Worst Area of Music

[@DBruce]

Very proud of my son's hilarious outro music which he made for me as a comedy birthday song. Do you think it should become a permanent feature?

[@ftumschk]

Definitely, provided he gets the appropriate royalties ;)

[@Alan_Stinchcombe]

Yes, until he surpasses it. 😊

[@subjectline]

Keep it, I lol'd

[@leiferickson3183]

YES!

[@Richard_Nickerson]

My son loves it

[@HerewardTheW]

One of your best videos yet, David, in content and in editing!

[@DBruce]

Thank you!

Fun to unexpectedly see myself on the screen at 11:46 😄Great video with very good points as always, keep up the good work! Cheers

[@SethIsDavid]

Using a MIDI piano roll instead of a score made my brain tickle. Not sure if I like it...but definitely made me feel something. Great vid

[@japphan]

I actually think there is a hypnotic quality in staying in that beige register, and I find it to be a very interesting minimalist idea, and have written a couple of pieces that remain there. I am convinced you can make it sparkly bright beige.

[@HighKingTurgon]

In C

[@DBruce]

I think this expresses a thought I had but didn't manage to articulate, thank you!

[@elleboman8465]

@@HighKingTurgon _In C_ has a pretty broad register if performed on a varied set of instruments. Reich's _Piano Phase_ , on the other hand! Now there's an example of sparkly bright beige music if I ever heard one!

[@alexlewis5365]

As somebody who has watched a lot of tng recently, I can confirm I hear the soft hum of a starship constantly. Even when I'm eating, or sleeping. It's haunting, yes, but wonderful.

[@mymo_in_Bb]

When the rite of spring part came, I thought to myself "oh dear oh no this is the video I submitted those recordings to" and when I found out I wasn't featured in the end, I was so relieved! (Anyway, thanks so much for making this video, it's incredible how much there is for me to learn!)

[@notaguy4289]

I started writing music around a year ago, and I really have to thank you for all the work that you've put out, it is by far one of the best resources here on youtube about how to make music that's not just functional, but interesting and more emotive, a lot of the choices I make when writing are inspired by you, despite academic music not being really my thing, thank you very much!!!

[@Nooticus]

so true!! Hes an absolute legend

[@Hudson_Holland]

The editing in this video is legendary!!! Very great concept, thank you!

[@syroyid]

Educational, creative, accurate, humourous and exquisitely produced. World-class material

[@jamiebsn5589]

Thanks for having me (and my continuously more strained tenor register) on this David! I'm now off to start practicing Kristian's treble C's... I've got a ways to go..

[@ivanmoren3643]

Yes!!! This is why a lot of bass lines in old reggae and dub are SO good.

[@danielkeller6610]

Definitely one of the best David Bruce videos of all time... probably my new favorite

[@brianyule1289]

These videos are incredibly clear & incredibly clarifying. Great stuff!

[@danpowell3953]

As a Star Trek and music fan, I found this very entertaining. Your editing was out of this world. My only issue was trying to hear the musical examples while you were still talking, but I get it…

[@KeithGroover]

That's really interesting about how the beginning of Rite of Spring has "gotten easier" over time. I think something similar has happened with the beginning of the 3rd movement of Mahler 1. It's way up high in the double bass' range, and I'm sure it was meant to sound weak and small, but we've all grown up listening to Edgar Meyer and are a LOT more comfortable up there these days, so you have to kind of "tone it down" and make it a little more weak and small-sounding. It's like an arms race of musicianship.

[@isaiahmumaw]

I think much of this is fueled by the growing interconnectedness of our world. As musicians with incredible skill become more well-known, more people try to copy them, often refining it in the process. I see it all the time in the world of marching band. Things which were considered borderline unplayable less than ten years ago are considered baseline requirements for members in the top competitive groups today, and the pace is rapidly increasing as kids try to copy what they’re seeing online.

[@bret6484]

I have been struggling with this without realizing. I think this fresh take on register is about to transform my composition. Thank you so much David!

[@LouisEmery]

1:30 I had just played some bagatelles this week. And I was about to respond on how Beethoven avoided "beige" in his bagatelles. Right before you brought it up!!!

[@petrzakrzewski]

What a cool way to teach music, good job David!

[@michaelhunter2136]

The Star Trek metaphore was hilarious, and I don't generally like such things because they are often distracting from the actual content. On top of the humor, what you were talking about and the examples you gave were amazing. I'd give you a thumbs up without the Star Trek thing but now I'm sad that I can only give you one thumbs up. Great stuff!

[@SilvermainMusic]

Fantastic delivery. Bravo for your Star Trek compositing!

[@hoangkimviet8545]

Now we have David Bruce Star-trekker.

[@singlesideman]

Thank you for making yet another solid, well made video that isn't filled with errors and self aggrandizement, a real rarity.

[@hisham_hm]

Amazing video, and it gives me vocabulary to describe an issue I've felt with many songs but couldn't put my finger on - case in point, how so many songs in George Harrison's later solo catalogue feel "samey" from start to finish. (I think you see that a lot in the latter career of established artists because they get a pass at releasing whatever they want and don't get editorialized by producers as much, while up-and-coming artists either get dragged out of the Beige Belt by producers, or don't get a chance to release music in the first place if their songs are too beige (of course everyone can release independently nowadays but you know what I mean)).

[@Fempath]

Live long and prosper captain David Bruce 🖖

[@xxManscapexx]

This was fantastic. I hope you keep the new outro music 🤣

[@johnberkley6942]

A great example of register as a musical effect is 'Mood Indigo' by Duke Ellington. It was so far out of their comfort zone that the musicians struggled to get an unfluffed 'take' when recording it for the first time. But the effect was worth the effort, and hearing the arrangement played on the 'wrong' instruments is an almost mystical experience.

[@Hypnotic0range]

Another video like this touching on rythmic beigeness could be nice, I've played more than a few band pieces that are harmonically very pretty, but have almost nothing going for them rythmically and they end up all sounding like the same harmony soup.

[@theKobus]

On the topic of band pieces, I find oversaturation a really serious problem in a lot of band music. Because the composer feels like they have this job to make an interesting part for everybody and then there’s just too much going on and the overall effect is slushy

[@johngrigsby8021]

David, I am a musician who loves composing but couldn't exactly put my fingers on why my music didn't excite me and I could tell that other people don't get very excited about my music either and I think this video informed me that I need to be experimenting much more with register, spacing, saturation, etc. Basically everything you covered in this video. Thank you.

[@qazwerspoil]

That Ligeti piece is very similar to the 7th movement of his Musica Ricercata. Love it!

[@NicleT]

That was very insightful. BTW, the shot where you're relaxing on captain's bed is hilarious!!

[@mrkv4k]

Greetings from the Czech Republic, it always warms my heart when someone mentions Czech composers.

[@nandoflorestan]

Dvorak.

[@LisztyLiszt]

Some interesting ideas here. I've always found that music which frequently changes direction in unexpected ways really adds colour, character, and life to the work. Among my favourites in this regard are the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's Octet, Liszt's Feux Follets, and the masterpiece of them all, the first movement of Eroica. Not a single boring bar between them while every note oozes with intention.

[@huntarius-geraldo-giffarius]

Wow, I’ve always subconsciously known this and have always struggled with how to explain it when I’m helping someone write a song. Now I can just refer them to this video, thank you!

[@EllisThings]

I listened to all the examples with my left ear, my right ear, and then my final frontier. 🌌

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Maestro Bruce as Captain Kirk! Don't know how you managed it, but your potrayle was as restrained as your advice was masterful. Thanks for making a powerful, sometimes forgotten strategy such a pleasure when you are in command.

[@TigerRichards]

That was ... illuminating. And interesting. And fun. And a very clever video format. Nice!

[@GeoffLiMusic]

This video looks like it would've taken a long time to make. Super informative and love the editing!

[@bobmoorecomposer]

OK, I about spewed my coffee at 00:58. Well played.

[@skiesengine1836]

There are some peak moments there xD

[@TheDumplingOrc]

This clears up quite a lot for me! I'm glad I have actually been doing a fair few of these tricks innately, but I understand it better so will improve, thank you!

[@Ryousake]

This is a very interesting video! I'm very sensitive to the beige belt when I'm composing. I know I could write music that's more ambient but that ends up being boring for people who aren't me so I started making sure to not let things get too "same-y" with texture and tone. Sometimes, it is the goal because a lot of my music is telling a story and if i need something that sounds mundane, i let the beige belt in just a little bit!

[@thevalarauka101]

I like the letting it in idea, might try that myself sometime!

[@diegofloor]

This is the first time I learn about this. I am amazed. I think in notes and harmony and rarely pay attention to the impact of register choice. And when the video started I had no idea where it was going, but I expected something like you have to change the melody, harmony, scale, whatever, to move through registers. But just voicing things properly makes so much difference. By the way I started writing this about halfway through the video, and then you started talking about saturation, which blew my mind again. So anyway, I'll just shut up and feel baffled by my musical ignorance.

[@MartinaHussmann]

This is so brilliant and entertaining🤩👌🎶, clarifying and inspiring❗️A thousand thanks, Bruce 🙏🏻You entered my life just in the perfect time ✨

[@AvielMannBallo]

David Bruce + Star Trek = GOLD

[@braynjohnson4302]

The editing on this one is hilarious

[@themanupdtairs]

Hilarious theme continuity. Kudos David!

[@davidpickar7614]

Bravo! As an avid musician, I see this video brilliantly engaging musicians and non-musicians alike!

[@BudgeChem]

Great content! And lots of great comments that I also agree with!

[@Nooticus]

Excellent video as always! Great examples used and engaging from start to finish! The floating head made me chuckle a few times too!

[@lizziesmusicmaking]

Entertaining, educational, and very understandable. Thank you and well done.

[@jayashrishobna]

I gasped at the Ravel low chord. Brilliant demonstration.

[@omegacanon]

Great analogy. For guitarists Beige Belt is the pentatonic box around 5-7 fret

[@jayducharme]

Great piece, and your most impressive visual tour de force yet!

[@GalenWill]

Force? Wrong franchise!

[@petergivenbless900]

The 'Star Trek' imagery used in your exploration of the Beige Belt should've used clips from 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' where the colourful uniforms of the TV series were actually replaced with beige ones! I quite like "beige" music; it allows the patterns within the music to "speak for themselves" rather than getting lost in, or overshadowed by, the different registers used. I find music that has its structure spread too broadly across registers somehow sounds "simpler" than the same material confined to a few octaves which, to my ears, sounds desnser and more ambiguous.

[@ProuvaireJean]

To be fair, the editor desaturated the colours so that the Command gold (technically green) shirts did look more beige. So beige in fact that for a moment I thought the uniform he was pasted on to was the beige version from The Cage / Where No Man Has Gone Before.

[@stefke5862]

Thank you! I’m not writing classical music but heard right away that I should be more aware of the beige nebula in my songs

[@nolyspe]

It's obvious to see you had a lot of fun recording and editing this video. 🖖 Love to see the guest appearance from Team Recorder too :P One of the most striking example that came to my mind of "holding the bass then pouring it in" is in drum & bass tracks where the sub-bass kicks in only after a bit. Check "Fracture & Neptune - Ventura" where the sub kicks in around 1:10 into the track. If you have a beefy subwoofer or even good studio monitors that go into the low range, the effect is very cool. The track is already full of little details before that, and the sub kicking in gives it that form of satisfying completion. Later it just intermittently empties the mid range (save for the drums) and bring it back again.

[@halflearned2190]

Oh my god what an amazing editing!!!

[@gabrielkolim]

The editing is on fire 💥🔥

[@DannySwanson-z7h]

Now we have David Bruce Star-trekker.. your videos are always so engaging david.

[@Beatsbasteln]

i'll keep this in mind when i explore the vastness of space again

[@dlollard]

This is cracking me up, and, I learned a lot, and, the outro music is great!

[@russkalen2337]

I was delighted by your Star Trek setting. I was most interested in the concept of saturation of a register and how that can fatigue the listener into Beige. Something to be wary of in my composing. Thanks. Oh and the outro music was cool, but I don't think I want to hear it every time, lest it become beige.

[@DuderDudre]

When you got to the music production stuff I thought you might mention something like how in EDM, when building up to a bass drop, often you'll hear a high pass filter sweep through with a like riser even. Serves to clear the way for the bass and make sure the dance floor knows the beat will be dropping momentarily

[@liamatherton6759]

David, you’re awesome, I’m not a composer myself (in fact I’m quite crap at it, I’ll stick to the piano and singing) but thoroughly enjoy these videos. Keep up the great work!

[@DeflatingAtheism]

4:00 - Did anyone else immediately think “62/84!?! What kind of crazy time signature is this!”

[@phyzygy]

Pipe organ, where Enterprise enters the vast Expanse! This video was an artistic tour de force, thanks, David, et al.

[@AllanGildea]

Fabulous. Thank you.

[@Sannahmusic]

Thank you for this useful advice. 🙏

[@siemonblidener652]

One inspiring example of the use of different registers in my opinion are the arpeggios in the opening theme of the last movement Beethoven's op.28.

[@tbastdgagitw]

Excellent. Wonderful visuals.

[@leiferickson3183]

Amazing production! This must have taken a lot of work.

[@txsphere]

David talks about the sound of The bassoon in the Rite of Spring. Stravinsky was writing the piece to be premiered in Paris and consequently a French orchestra would be playing the piece. The French bassoonist would have been playing a French bassoon which has a smaller, sweeter sound. So did Stravinsky have the sound of the French bassoon in mind or the German bassoon which is most commonly heard today? Search "German and French bassoon comparison" to hear it. Personally I like the German sound, but I don't know if that is because it is more familiar.

[@raybergstrom]

Insightful lesson! Brilliant and hilarious editing!

[@LukePalmer]

Fantastic educational insightful video as always, David, thanks! I did want to say, I found it a bit frustrating just how much space you cleared for your voice when you are giving musical examples... I'm trying to listen closely to the music you're talking about to really feel your point, but it takes quite a bit of effort while you're talking, and besides I want to hear it because I'm enjoying it. I still want to hear what you have to say, but I don't think there would be anything lost if you lowered it by a bit less.... anyway thanks as always, I love your videos!

[@FilipSandecomposer]

Thank you for this educational and interesting video! And for including my very good friend Kristian Oma Rønnes!

[@bentaylor4705]

I now have a couple pieces I have to check out. Thanks!

[@WizardOfArc]

love the edits!

[@SamTahbou]

I'm loving the production in this one

[@alexchristodoulou]

Fantastic video, thank you so much!

[@EmptyZoo393]

I don't do any formal composition, but as an organist accompanying a congregation in church, I spend at least half my time each practice just trying to sort through registration and figuring out which stops work out well. There's a lot of reading the text, seeing what sort of emotional transitions I can create between or during verses. Like you mentioned, add some higher voices on happier transitions, remove voices for softer or more downcast sections. I also look at what needs to be added or removed to help the congregation follow the melody, especially on an unfamiliar song. While I've experimented with playing up or down an octave (16' bassoon and 8' gedakt played up an octave gets the proper fat reed sound I need for some prelude versus), I'll need to experiment with avoiding the beige belt a bit more. Playing things up an octave partway through might be a good way to clear out the crowded melody space. Also, I had a couple of folks cleaning the chapel during my last practice. It's funny how having a vacuum cleaner or two running gives you a closer approximation of how loud your voicing sounds with a hundred people in the room.

[@willwetherington]

You king of have a mixolydian scene there with Jean-Luc Picard and the TOS bridge! Lol

[@SuperOhdannyboy]

I really needed to hear this. Great lesson.

[@pianojay5146]

I think it would have been more clearer if you visualized velocity (dynamics) within MIDI representation for "saturation" explanation. I really liked the idea representation using MIDI. Thank you!!!

[@map-reduce]

I surprised myself in liking the Rite of Spring first notes on accordion. Could lead to an interesting reorchestration. Thanks for a thought provoking video!

[@abydosianchulac2]

Maybe it's because the accordion sound strained wherever in its register it plays a solo line.

[@quaver1239]

Marvellous - thank you! 💙💙

[@James-wf8nu]

your videos are always so engaging david

[@melguilb4508]

Love the Star Trek feel! So Fun! The bed scene had me laughing...

[@pcdm43145]

You used _Star Trek_ to teach me something about music theory. I like that. Keep doing that.

[@simondanielssonmusic]

Love your channel. Cheers from Sweden! :) Edit: also, your editing has really stepped up as of late! The production quality is really good considering the fact that music composition is kind of a niche topic, at least compared to Apex Legends tournaments.

[@graeme011]

Beige is beautiful!

[@sohamsengupta6470]

Fantastic video as always, but you've really taken it above and beyond with the editing this time, made for an excellent watch. That being said, I noticed that some sections of your voiceover have like a tinnitusy very high frequency pitch on the left channel for some reason I'm not sure I entirely understand, it's not a very big deal probably (hell it may be high enough for me to be unable to hear it in a few years time), but yeah might be interesting to find out what's caused that. The pitch appears to be a bit different between some sections, and in a fair few sections it just appeared to be absent, which is rather intriguing to me. Once again, probably not a big deal, it's just one of those things which if you can hear it it's violently hard to ignore haha. Also love the outro by the way, excellent stuff by your son!

[@VocalEdgeTV]

Dude this video is sick!

[@herrvierkoetter]

you beamed me up

[@XRaym]

The montage is so good and funny, well done !

[@montego2]

Fascinating. Useful. Boldly amusing.

[@tpgslmth4252]

Really nice video editing

[@aj.s...]

That octave bassoon joke was actually hilarious.

[@mr88cet]

Hey! Beige just happens to be my favorite color! Haha, just kidding! Great composing suggestions as usual. I especially liked your point about clearing out an area of the sound spectrum a little before you add a crucial part to if.

[@matthewbenedict5923]

Incredible!

[@daanbaas2962]

Thanks for the very informative and fun video Bruce 🖖