Interesting Chords - Ben Levin

[@nickboyd1661]

"Sometimes cleverness will just getchya killed" Bens the man

[@Schwa_Iska]

I couldn't resist. I had to use that line: soundcloud.com/schwa_iska/ben-levins-clever-chords-will-you-get-you-killed ^Made with Ben's permission

[@reececaldwell722]

Honestly i related to that so much. Sometimes trying to be too “aha! Bet you didn’t expect this” just junks up a song so bad I bail on it. But...SOMETIMES...it’s great.

[@NotRightMusic]

I dig your world man

[@BenLevin]

Glad to be in yours :)

[@dtrio3996]

Not Right Music exactly! He‘s so relatable

[@moshadj]

"you might get something that sounds bad like..." plays some dope spread voicings

[@irusu.]

"id ont know, everything sounds good to me today" I know right? As a musician, you get at that point of life where you just understand and appreciate everything

[@augusto7681]

peter wurst i think I have these days too. Some days everything sound nice and musical and other days everything I wrote sound like crap doesn't matter how hard I try do compose.

[@user-hq8mx7mn3u]

The day I realised that even the ugliest sounding chords can be made to sound beautiful was one of the most important musical points of my life.

[@TracksWithDax]

although admittedly he was playing a lot of pretty consonant stuff in my opinion

[@Hogboy345]

Sounds like hot trash to me

[@xyzyzx1253]

J the only thing that makes a note or chord wrong, is what comes before it and what goes after it. If you can take it to a resolution, it’s all good!

[@nathansorese1954]

"Am I gonna try to be clever or am I just gonna go with the flow? Sometimes cleverness will just get ya killed" Ben on his taoist shit, I dig it

[@sammiller9855]

I love your none-standardized approach to music! As Stokowski (1882 - 1977) would instruct his orchestra, "Each one of you must be a poet as well as a great player of your instrument, and through your poetic feeling, you can express every kind of music. Do not permit yourselves to become, as is the tendency in the world today, standardized, so that you all think and feel the same way. Do not be alike. Be different as you really are in nature. No two violins are alike. No two bows are alike. No two hands are alike. No two nervous systems are alike. No two minds are alike. No two emotional characters are alike. You are all different. Be different! Don’t standardize yourself. And put all those differences, all that richness of different coloring of personality into the music." This is what I appreciate about your musicianship. (I would add, know that we are the Sameness expressed as infinite differences and let that be the muse of our creations.)

[@vincentveilleux1035]

The relationship you have with music is enviable. Love the very down to earth and mellowness of your approach.

[@tumpperi3891]

You're teaching me how to be creative again, instead of relying on music theory :D

[@michaelbourguignon5857]

i hope you scheduled the doctor and got your plane tickets ben

[@BenLevin]

I still haven't done those things :(

[@crono303]

Oh my gosh, I definitely thought that was a calendar appointment I had given myself but I had no idea why...

[@drawntothefire]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that records myself singing gibberish to make up vocal melodies! Then I write the lyrics later. The random rhythm of the gibberish usually inspires the lyrics.

[@777fiddlekrazy]

Chris Edwards Absophukkinlutely!! Of course whatever works for the individual. I most often, though not every instance, will gibberish to assist an enticing melody line. There are times where a lyrical line already sparks and prompts me to build upon that with already a melodic influence is there. GIBBERISH=GOOD!! LOL!

[@BenLevin]

It's a tried and true method. Sia does it!

[@BibleStorm]

Haha that's how she ends up with such uninspired lyrics. She is no poet

[@daniels1293]

i actually learned how to sing by just humming chord progressions while im playing guitar, i still suck at singing but im getting better at the actual techniques used to sing, i can hum something while playing and itll sound pretty good, but once i start trying to sing actual lyrics it gets nasally and sounds like a cat dying.

[@maxsuciu]

That's how Steve Vai wrote "For The Love Of God"

[@tyh7529]

Ben managed to writ in like 45 seconds what is quite possibly my favorite melody/vocal line of all time.

[@TubeYouScreen]

What is that gamelan sounding patch? Holy cow!

[@spzzeit79]

4:43- "Any of this stuff could work, depending on how we arrange it." - Fact. That is all.

[@SilentAttackTV]

I love that you're so transparent about your process.

[@JonValtandtheEvilRobots]

Fantastic idea and very inspirational.

[@stefan1024]

Love how you give us this close look on your process.

[@arthurmee]

Love your approaches Ben. You've influenced me a lot in my own writing. Thank you

[@dtrio3996]

Youre so relatable! „Be clever or go with the flow?“ this is so me.

[@felixdawson8497]

This has me subbed. If the rest of your content is half as groovy as this, you've got a fan for life

[@irusu.]

Bro. I doreally love your mindset with music, you have a veeery nice touch. When I say that music nowadays is very advanced and we should experiment with it a lot more, I think a lot of you because Iknow that you understand what it means, music is just bunch of infinite possibilities and im glad that people like you is just nailing it! cheers from Venezuela, pal

[@Ana_crusis]

very interesting. Fascinating watching the creative process at work

[@StompL7]

I like your way of doing that kind of things. Not thibking too Much, just throwin ideas, without worrying too write the perfect chord progression.

[@BenLevin]

Yeah, the thinking comes in, but not until I'm on a roll.

[@jacobfarriester2536]

With the percussion, it reminded me of Kaada/Patton's stuff! I seriously love your videos, Ben! I'm inspired to try and stasrt learning music theory, and these videos have been a magnetic north to head for. Keep up the great work!

[@boerhae]

I haven't slept in about a day. I dozed off while watching and Ben's singing scared me half to death

[@adancein]

Awsome stuff

[@darcator]

looove the vibe of this song

[@BenLevin]

Thanks!

[@melasonos6132]

I'm a really sad person and this makes me happy. Hope you feel good about that. THanks.

[@AmandaKaymusic]

Love watching the right brain at work. Letting go of conscious control from the left and jumping in. That's where I find my favourite chordal voicings on the guitar when I'm searching for a new song. Have you read the book 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain'?

[@dewinmoonl]

7:34 Take that adam neely xD xD

[@elliotportner8020]

Ben you are a solid and beautiful musician with all the bases covered

[@chrismurrayguitar]

Watching your process is always interesting and helpful for me.

[@BenLevin]

Excellent, thanks for telling me!

[@SoundSeeker2024]

Fantastic. Inspiring.

[@Pkblazer099]

The 1st chord reminds me of that little thing from the ps1 startup screen.

[@BenLevin]

Nice, I hope that brings back good memories.

[@bealtown]

I like the nonidiom he made up just like that. Very freeing! Thank you.

[@Skvm]

I love watching you write cause it’s very similar to how I write and I was able to predict the direction you was going. Except the drum line. You got me there lol

[@patbreacadh]

This is has something special. Did that musical idea make it to an album? I like the feel of it, and the instrumentation works too, especially the initial keyboard part, vocal and sax. It has depth.

[@1UniqueThinker]

sweet concept

[@The.RavenTV]

Must make a full track out of that !

[@TheHappyLeperBeaver]

"Cmajor and Cminor world" how can you not dig that

[@caronava2629]

what did he mean by that?

[@p.as.in.pterodactyl1024]

@@caronava2629 The chord has both the major and minor 3rd of C in it depending on how you analyze it (E and Eb). The chord has a chromatic cluster in it aside from not being voiced as such (D-Eb-E-F), so I don't think conventional analysis will be of much use. I'd like to think of it as a #9 chord (E natural and D#), but there's already a D natural as well so uh-oh. Not to mention voicing a #9 with the #9 in the bass makes it sound as though that same bass note is actually the tonic - that is, if you voice a C7#9 chord well and then play the same upper part over the "Eb" (D# when regarded from C7#9's point of view), then it sounds a lot like an Eb7b9 (the "E natural" functioning as an Fb). Things get weird.

[@ViewtifulSam]

So so cool, thanks for sharing

[@BenLevin]

You're welcome!

[@Fire-Toolz]

i looooove this progression

[@trapOrdoom]

Dawg the minute you started singing WTF . It was GAME OVER. HOW are you so fucking good.

[@BibleStorm]

Have you heard Dhafer Youseff? He's an awesome Jazz oud player/singer. The chords and vocals reminded me of him.

[@petermarkoli5244]

continue this song it sounds so good

[@mattkaz9604]

Very interesting - nice work.

[@shannonlandre4442]

That second chord and its accompaniment are freaking awesome! Cmaj Cmin stuff!

[@pedrohernandez6618]

that was really interesting, great trigger for ideas. thanks!

[@BenLevin]

Excellent, may you write and be happy!

[@gordo64ful]

Amazing method. Love your content.

[@BenLevin]

Than you!

[@gordo64ful]

Ben Levin wow, you're also very humble! Thank you for replying!

[@yothatswacks]

What a bass.

[@luizfernandohauck4000]

man that video is gold, i really like composing this way

[@gordonfrancisblaneyjr.4805]

First chord is a C-11. Chord scale is C Dorian. Second chord is a D- (omit 5) over Cmaj (omit 5) with a pedal Eb. [a hybrid polychord]. E Phrygian with a Eb pedal. Third chord is a Gsus4 (b9). Chord scale is the 4th mode of the Pentatonic with a b9 (it's a real Japanese feel) Forth chord is a Bbmaj over Abmaj (omit 5). [a polychord] Chord scale is Ab Mixolydian. Other chord scales are available, but those are my picks.

[@forgetful9845]

Huh, I was viewing the third chord as some sort of Ab maj/lydian tonality

[@patbreacadh]

Really cool singing!

[@Schwa_Iska]

That sounded like it could have turned into a trap beat for some reason. That light snare roll thing I think was part of it, the use of ascending arpeggios, and the sparseness/the gap between the very low end and high end of the frequency spectrum. It was fun to think about even if that wasn't where it was going. Very cool chords.

[@BenLevin]

Thanks! Feel free to sample the audio and make your trap beat come to life if you'd like.

[@Schwa_Iska]

Yooooo... I might have to now :)

[@Schwa_Iska]

Just pledged on your Patreon :)

[@BenLevin]

Thank you so much! I messaged you on Patreon about something, you rule!

[@Schwa_Iska]

The trap remix happened. Check my reply on Patreon.

[@ShortMan_123]

The middle 'mushy' one at 2:56 was awesome

[@jaredboutland9227]

Thanks Ben!

[@OglenStillafano]

When you come to Oregon for your next big tour my family and I will be buying tickets.

[@SamChaneyProductions]

The second chord sounds a good bit like Pelog from gamelan music, expecially since the music box sort of sound you're using sounds like a saron. I really like where this is going!

[@Ehzah8]

love this. love you ben

[@nicholasmackelprang8385]

Interesting idea. Another idea. Put the numbers 1-88 into a random list generator. (1-88 referring to the keys on a piano) use the first 5 numbers to make a chord (could be any number just arbitrarily going with 5). Keep regenerating lists and making the first 5 numbers of each list a chord. So if you did the list say ten times you would have ten 5 note chords. Solves the problem of hand shape and hand size determining the chord you pick. You could do any amount of numbers depending on the register you Want to use. Could be 20-50 if you wanted. Register could change between chords. Your video gave me this idea.

[@nicholasmackelprang8385]

List could just be 0-11 and you could decide yourself what octave each note should be in.

[@nicholasmackelprang8385]

With 0-11 there's more potential for smooth voice leading I think if you want voiceleading.

[@ccshredder9506]

Yes, dude. This is what I needed. Thank you

[@makingnoises2327]

seems like everyone has an artist this reminds them of. i thought it was very evocative of Arca's self titled LP, with maybe a bit of a James Blake structure to it. that chord construction method is basically how i would always improvise on the piano, since my training with it stopped so young and i never could really do much more than that.

[@iosephantonivs4262]

Great video!

[@goncalomarques2711]

I would love to see you do this for an hip hop song Just an idea

[@BenLevin]

I'm going to make another hip hop album one of these days.

[@goncalomarques2711]

What's the name of the one you got? It's Grown Up in there?!

[@BenLevin]

Gonçalo Marques yes! It’s called Life and Back and it’s on Bandcamp and Spotify Hope you enjoy!

[@punksterbass]

great video as always, ben!

[@BenLevin]

Thank you Pedro!

[@davidharrison5873]

Super cool! I'm doin' it!

[@BenLevin]

Do it!!

[@guitarbassist95]

Writing with a plan was a great series, but I'm definitely happy that we're back to your usual content for a change. Cool and inspiring video, I should try this out on my keyboard as well. But what exactly did you use for percussion?

[@BenLevin]

Yeah, I'm glad to be back too. The thing about Let's Write is that it can take an unlimited amount of time for me to actually finish the piece, so it ends up being an epically long series. It's probably the most useful thing I do on this channel though because I'm not aware of anyone else doing it. Anyway, thanks for watching! I used Battery 3 small percussion kit for the sounds on this one.

[@65fhd4d6h5]

This is where I usually leave it. I say "alright, that's a start, I'll continue tomorrow", and that never happens again. 😂

[@C.D.J.Burton]

Finally, someone who speaks my language.

[@antoniosetola3622]

so damn good

[@thinkingape7655]

Ben, you’re so mellow... Brutal... 🤘

[@brandonallen4976]

Great channel, subbed!

[@leoamaral3026]

This reminded me of a music from Nomade Orquestra, called Venus.. don't know exactly why .. Pretty cool btw!!

[@gratefulpipeandcigar3239]

I was so hoping you were going to double or triple that saxophone part and make it nice harmony or cord with the sax sound. Might I suggest that for a future project?

[@TylerScottGameShowRadio]

I watched this at double speed and that was a good decision on my part.

[@wakingupfrom]

embrace failure shirt in background. as in lets paint tv?! as in john Kilduff?! Fuck yeah mate!!!!

[@BenLevin]

Yeah! Let's Paint TV is awesome!

[@ClassicBentobox]

Yeah, as you more or less pointed out, the 2nd chord should be reworked. You could possibly reinforce the 4th more, but the resolution sounds good enough that you don't need to go full harmonious.

[@abstrktvisuals]

Very cool. Would love to sample this lol

[@BenLevin]

Go for it!

[@abstrktvisuals]

Has the click track in it :/

[@Woolley_like_sheep]

Didn’t know Ben played sax, pretty cool

[@slimepossum374]

This is sick. Also the way you memorize each chord for going from the piano to the text document is something I do a lot, even the inflections are similar.

[@TheAndrzejjj]

this is great

[@NolanTecklenburg]

dope idea

[@notseekingconverts]

Confinement fsearched after 2112. Rock and roll

[@Ellotus13]

Interesting ways to approach chord progressions! Gotta try this out sometime. I have a question: how do you process your vocals? I don't know, might be the timbre of your voice but damn the vocal take sounds amazing on this one!

[@BenLevin]

I have been practicing singing a ton, so that helps. I'm using a good deal of reverb and am enhancing the stereo image using a preset in Phasemistress called Stereoizer 3. Microshift can do the same thing.

[@ylonmc2]

A lesson on singing would be amazing Ben. Whatever it is that you been practicing, it's working fantastic!! Please share it with us.

[@Ellotus13]

Ben Levin Thank you!

[@sealiondaydream]

I'm a little late to the video, but the finished song sounds like it could fit perfectly with the score of the anime Mushishi about Japanese folktales

[@stardustinmotion1671]

this is actually almost exactly how i do it already, that's really cool

[@frankystrings]

Man the chords were iffy until the baseline kicked in. I was like aww yea and the vocals move it along. The percussion were icing on the cake

[@davidzuercher]

i really hope this wonderful man scheduled his doctors appointment and got those plane tickets.

[@tupa_tupa161]

6:48

[@ruochenli1077]

Bb over Ab in the bass is more like Ab lydian imo, especially with the way it resolves (i.e. not to Eb/G)

[@indiegofr]

i CANNOT believe you just invented arca

[@rsspartanz]

HE'S BACK

[@BenLevin]

I never left you pal!

[@cooloutcoexist]

Nice approach. On the percussions I get a little bit of an xploding plastix vibe. :-)

[@A7XBT]

Nice!

[@BenLevin]

Thanks!

[@RCAvhstape]

Very cool, I love this kind of creative stuff. Can't say I much cared for the vocal part, but it's not done. But overall, this is an awesome way to kick start a song. BTW, Ben, you're in NYC right? Hope you and your friends are keeping safe with the stuff going on there today.

[@irvinsanpedro6825]

Awesome

[@BenLevin]

Thanks!

[@davidholland8994]

For some reason it's reminding me of SNES stuff. I'm getting major Chrono Trigger vibes.

[@BenLevin]

That's cool!

[@gloryholetoanotherdimension]

The bell sort of tone reminds me of the creepy music from Secret of Mana

[@davidkimball4772]

you need to schedule doctor and get plane tickets in 30 min dont forget

[@localsymbiosis]

Thank u for making the comment section worth my time

[@deefman123]

Cheers dude

[@jeromeswilly1668]

Björk is that you?

[@SketchyTigers]

This reminds me of some of the music Claudio makes

[@omukssbm]

i fucking blinked and he had a chord progression written down