MJ’s “Beat It” Intro - Real Sound & Story

[@anthonymarinellimusic]

🚨 *UPDATE:* Check out the update on the "Beat It" Intro story (and more) in Anthony's interview of Quincy Jones arranger Tom Bähler here kzbin.info/www/bejne/goqon2uDmbOlfMU

[@mrcupcake5309]

I keep hearing the drumbeat in my head. One of the greatest songs ever

[@MKDumas1981]

Boom kick boom Kah boom kick...boomkah.

[@jefffan171]

Jeff Porcaro was an absolute legend

[@jonathanhowe7918]

Which is very similar to the let it whip intro by dazz band.

[@Darrihen]

I always heard covers of beat it. But after watch a video of sugarfoot Moffet playing the actual drums... EVERYBODY GOT IT WRONG with the kicks sequence.

[@MegaVern1]

@@MKDumas1981YES!!!

[@akeem2752]

Idc how old you are what culture you come from or what planet you're on. That's one of THE greatest sounds ever made.

[@Mauri.El.Creador]

That's what I love about sampling. That sound could've easily just died there on that record. And sampling gave it an entirely new existence.

[@iSirTaki]

Anthony immediately got the key to the sound... its changes drastically on how you press the key - no sustain, just a fast hit and that sound is there!.. thats FM!

[@Gazdatronik]

I loved that idea behind the Synclavier. 2 operators but you could stack as many as you liked

[@AldoKoskettimet]

Anthony hears the world very different from you and I

[@AllYouNeedIsLub]

I got that Synclavier II demo record in 1980, and used to listen to it fairly often. The first time I heard "Beat It" a few years later, my ears immediately perked up, recognizing it from the demo record.

[@XanderEwald]

Your remembering this 43 years later is quite astonishing. I don't even recall what music I listened to 10 years ago.

[@DebbieTomkoSUNSHINE]

Lol yeah right lol In case you didn't get the memo, I've gone public....I was the composer for Michael Jackson and wrote a few songs for Jackson 5, long ago. I wrote my music, over 99 songs, back in 1969 and 1970. I worked with many, many bands, some took 10 years or more to put my music out there. Surprise!!!!

[@jaygio]

​@@DebbieTomkoSUNSHINEabsolutely bizarre comment....

[@ivancorobcov]

incredible, this comment has my jaw dropped, the fact u got to hear this before it was even used is incredible.

[@samxday]

Imagine if MJ had liked the marimba more 😆

[@Spud_E_Buddy]

LMFAO 🤣🤣🤣

[@juandef4115]

Thriller may have sounded like Nokia ringtones😂

[@TheoDJ23]

😆😆😆👑

[@tommyaudio]

then we'd have Liberian Girl ;p

[@alessandrodecarli2462]

😂😂😂😂

[@deletebilderberg]

I’ll say it again these videos are absolute gold.

[@alexkx8599]

No kidding! I'm 45 and have waited a lifetime for these!!!

[@geoffwidmier3714]

@@alexkx8599Same. Can you imagine if we had these resources when we were getting started in music? Becoming a self-taught guitar player was quite a struggle in the early 90s.

[@johnnyeco280]

Incredible. Probably the biggest song from the 80s from the biggest selling album of all time, and the opening notes were taken from a sampler LP for the synclavier

[@albeckwall]

At the time, that was SOOO radical compared to what most synths could do. Still sounds incredible. Keep up the synclav love!

[@mrdali67]

It's a bit the same story as the Fairlight. They were such incredible astounding machines back then and today people that dont know the history will just be like "seriously .. my phone sound sounds better than that.." What I find amazing about FM synth's is that it kinda is the father or basics of virtual modelling. Add an advanced computer program to analyze an instrument sound and you can come up with an algorithm of operator's to recreate it

[@OneroomBeatz]

Absolute fun to watch as a Michael Jackson fan and producer. I remember during the early youtube days, I tried to find how they put songs together in studios back in the days and couldn't find anything. This just fuels up my hobby!

[@damo5791]

I LOVE these videos. Huge MJ fan and majorly into synths and music production, so this channel is perfect. Thank you Anthony Marinelli for all the insight.

[@KingMJForeverAndEver]

Beat It is my favorite song of all time so thank you with all of my heart for the backstory of my all time favorite 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[@itzamia]

You're welcome, now Beat It

[@gildaslefur2435]

Also my all time favorite!

[@lundsweden]

I think so. Years ago I saw someone making a pretty good argument that it was a sample off the Synclavier demo record. But then again, there were actual Synclaviers being used on the Thriller session, with access to all the Synclav presets.

[@gcoudert]

When I heard the Synclavier demo record, I did wonder...

[@MacXpert74]

With how clean the sound is on the Thriller recording, I figured they didn't just sample the vinyl demo record, as it would not likely have sounded that clean, so I always figured they just replayed it on the Synclavier they had in the studio.

[@lundsweden]

@@MacXpert74 Yeah it looks like that's what they did, an early example of sample recreation.

[@AttilaSVK]

Now, that's an interesting story. The sound is still amazing 40 years later and it's my favourite patch from Thriller.

[@alexkx8599]

Well, that and, "Human Nature". 😁

[@martijn_nl]

I wonder how many Synclavier patches are involved! I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of stacked sounds on the bass of Billy Jean!

[@hinky7729]

Me too - It would be very interesting to know how those were mixed later on. Those mixes were really great!

[@BrokenManLA]

Easily one of the best up and coming KZbin music related channels. I feel like I’m watching early days Rick beato and Justin Hawkins which is to say we are lucky to have you and appreciate you Anthony!

[@BrokenManLA]

And I want to say I was here before you became Uber massive!

[@ArsenialBeats]

Thank you for these wonderful, in-depth videos, Anthony! It's so cool that someone who's worked with some amazing artists (let alone the King of Pop) is so willing to share their experiences and knowledge.

[@fuccasound3897]

Hey guys, as a vinyl junkie can i just say that placing your deck directly on top of your amp is not recommended, the heat could warp that nice blue record. Also if the turntable is belt driven it may promote a softening of the belt allowing it to stretch and cause problems with the playback speed. I know that this video is about MJ and 'Beat it' so my comment is not really relevant but hey i can't say nothing having looked after my own vinyl carefully for 50 years. Appreciate all you do to demystify keyboard sounds and synth patches. Thanks Anthony

[@yellowecho]

this is priceless content. absolute music legends

[@unclemick-synths]

The video is barely started and I've already clicked Like because it's nice to see a record not being pinched between thumb and fingers 👍

[@rsolsjo]

Michael: that goes hard! I want that sound from the demo disc! *Beat It starts with playful marimba*

[@Gerald_Daniel]

That Beat It-intro most likely will always be my fave synclavier tone. That sound is incomparably aesthetic but still some kind of brutal. Unimaginable that it's basically a mix of 4 relatively simple 2OP-FM tones thickened by Unison. Fortunately synclavier 1 & 2 demo records are fully audible on yt.

[@matthewlawton9241]

It sounds like a cross between a tone you'd hear in an old school kung fu movie, and a church clock tower. It's probably just me projecting onto the song, but I always thought it had a similar vibe to if you ever heard the church bell ringing the hour in the middle of the night, but then some shit goes down.

[@ArruVision]

Fun fact: that same preset is used for the intro to (at least) two other songs from the same era: Depeche Mode’s Love in itself and Tangerine Dream’s Kiew mission.

[@mattdawg83686]

Once again, my mind is blown! So many layers to the making of Thriller, and even more layers to come I’m sure.

[@23Hashshashin]

So happy to be seeing this. It's such a great window into the history of production.

[@derekstocker6661]

One of the greatest hits was a copy from a demo disc! Wow, love this thanks guys for the chat about it and the keyboard demo, brilliant, who would have thought it!

[@depositiveone2677]

I own a Yamaha MODX7 which has that patch called "Beaten Gong". Think about it, "Beaten", "Beat It". Coincidence. It's amazing to find how that patch became the intro of one of his greatest songs ever.

[@vlad2838]

Anthony, I’ve been a fan of yours since seeing an interview of Brian and you by David Hartman once upon a time. Thanks for keeping alive these memories of a ‘thrilling’ time in culture!

[@DX5]

Excellent (one more time) to hear the real sound from the machine itself. You cannot imagine (well, sure you can) how vaulable these videos are for synthesist/keyboard players / public in general. Thanks!

[@georgesidmusic524]

Fascinating video Anthony. That sound is immediately recognizable. Those 7 notes are music to my ears. The Synclavier, along with the Fairlight were instruments that we could only dream about. The huge price tag meant that only superstars could afford them. Great channel from someone who knows what they are talking about. Subscribed.

[@TWFydGlu]

And Benny Andersson bought two, one for the studio and one to have at home.

[@alceenolasco]

I’m really happy you had Kevin on here

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

This was so much fun to watch. Great ear for Michael to have caught that and brought it into the Beat It process!

[@Lorenzo-fw3gx]

Watching you guys talk about this stuff is pure musician nerdom gold and I find it so fascinating! I can't wait to watch your other videos on this stuff!! Thank you for sharing this 😊

[@TR-707]

yeah this is awesome. To hear the background about how something was made but then name drop the guys who are responsible for even the preset..whew love it

[@gcoudert]

Keep those videos coming! I have finally found something worth watching on KZbin!

[@etpslick100]

Wow! The Synclavier II! The Rolls Royce of synthesizers! I heard MJ had one in his home studio. Love this video Anthony! Keep ‘em coming!😌🎶🎹❤️👍🏾

[@sl3102]

Rolls

[@jeshkam]

​@@sl3102He/she probably confused it with the band lol.

[@etpslick100]

@@sl3102 Thanks! Rolls. I was thinking of the ‘band’ Rose Royce.🤣🎶👍🏾

[@merlinoner]

That's great ! Michael found the best use anybody could do of this preset and of those 7 notes. Bravo !

[@ScubaSteveCanada]

MJ also "borrowed" the bass line from Hall &Oates. He met them years after the fact and apologized to them but they were cool with him using their bass line in this song. No writing credits either.

[@customsongmaker]

I don't think abusing little boys was the "best use" for his wealth and fame

[@TRPost]

I took electronic music classes at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota during the early 1980s. The studio had a copy of that record. I remembered hearing the "Beat It" sound on there and correctly figured that's where Michael Jackson got it.

[@osvaldodomingos9041]

I am on a marathon of this channel and i am loving it.

[@jami.m7074]

I knew the story already, but it's really cool to hear it from that 1$ lp. Great video as always.

[@shookmusic]

Absolutely Crazy that he didnt get any writing credits or royalties. This intro really made the song. 😶‍🌫️

[@antonmk1244]

The whole tune made the intro mate.

[@CHlEFFIN]

Yikes…

[@MichaelSouhoka]

They may not given credit because it is a part of Synclavier's factory preset. But... Quincy Jones and team licensed the sound after it is used on "Beat It", so no other artists or records can use that sound since then.

[@subg8858]

The sound may be a factory preset but the seven note composition was not

[@kosherwinespiritreview7772]

bingo... how did that not infringe@@subg8858

[@SapphireAdizes]

Dude when Anthony just intuitively knows you need to hold the note longer @ 3:10 without even touching the keyboard. That is some F**ked up level skills man. The man knows exactly how to make the sound sound like the record before he even touched the keys. 🙀

[@Steambull1]

This always makes me think of the 1990 TMNT movie because it reminds me of the "The Shredder's Suite" by John Du Prez, and also just conjures up nightly images of wet streets with fog and steam.

[@TooManyCables]

DOPE!!! It's Music Trivia Night tonight!

[@torstenreil404]

This is gold, I never knew. Thank you!

[@warrenchisholm7530]

Pure class!! Wonderful insight !! Thanks ❤

[@RobTube1963]

Super, I tried it with my Volca FM +compressor+plate hall (effect pedals) and it goes exactly in that "FM" direction, good inspiration, thanks Anthony and Kevin !

[@TRTSMTT]

I noticed, I'm doing something right :) around 3:22 Anthony hits the keys and instantly raises his arm, as if it bounced off the keys. That's the way I play synth parts with extremely short notes. Anyway, this youtube channel is pure gold. It's actual music production history.

[@andrewblackburn1426]

Like the callout to Don Dorsey, famous for his work on the "Main Street Electrical Parade." There's a video about the MSEP from the 80's showing Don editing the music for part of the parade using a Synclavier II.

[@187onasimp]

It's crazy how they redid the sound because they didn't want to use the pre-recording. When todays producers would have just sampled the record and threw some effects on it and called it a day.

[@АнтонСавичев-й3р]

All this is priceless. Pure history.

[@benjaminvlz]

Wow! All these years of being a Michael Jackson fan, and I never knew the "Beat It" intro was a sample from another album. Albeit, a replayed sample. I wonder how Denny Jaeger felt about his composition being used in "Beat It." He must not have cared, since he never filed suit.

[@dilloinitaliano]

It’s not a sample. They recreated the exact same sound

[@benjaminvlz]

@@dilloinitaliano Hence why I said "replayed."

[@TrueToTheCraft]

Regardless of replaying the sound, the melody was jacked

[@msoileau83]

Denny Jaeger contributed to Bad. And it was credited so I'm sure it was fine.

[@jimbotron70]

Amazing insight straight from the source!

[@jooei2810]

This is now my favourite channel par none!

[@jooei2810]

Thank you for being you!

[@mathiasdeschamps1637]

Cant wait !!

[@SynthAddict]

cool history on the Beat It intro I had a nice chat and demo with/from Kevin Maloney at the Synclavier Regen launch at SynthPlex 2022 (Burbank) 🙂 I have that rare blue vinyl of the Synclavier II sounds as well - my only clean samples of one until the many recent VSTs came out including UVI's The Beast. Love the Synclavier line...

[@Rzn8B58]

I have to double check to be 100%, but I'm 90% sure that patch is on the Arturia CMI soft for some reason. Weird that it came from the synclavier, which is also in the v collection, but it ended up on the CMI. Sounds a little different on the synclavier, the analog has way more high fuzz.

[@MePeterNicholls]

It is. But I keep losing / forgetting where it is 😂😂

[@mudi2000a]

The synclavier V also has the sound, it is a bit thinner than the one on the demo record. I forgot the name though.

[@DavidKay]

I had taken a course from Jon Appleton that used the Synclavier the year before Beat It came out. I laughed out loud realizing it was bank 1, patch 2 (iirc). I was like, couldn't you have tried more patches than the second?!

[@justinb9387]

legend

[@robertsaca3512]

No credit for a guy who created one of the most iconic introductions in music is a travesty that requires an immediate solution.

[@Gazdatronik]

Technics SL-1900 Turntable Through a Marantz and some Vandersteens? What a cool walking around stereo

[@stereoroid]

I got this sound on the Korg opsix by literally reading the numbers from the Synclavier Go app and entering them as is. I couldn’t copy the 4th Partial, though, since the opsix has only 6 operators and it would take 8 (4 carrier/modulator pairs).

[@MaxFury_Official]

Hee hee! Another iconic sound. And not to forget the greatest guitar solo of all time(!). Did the speaker caught fire? Was the final guitar solo a comp job of Bruce Swedien's wildest imagination or did Quincy and Michael sit with the teacher's stylus? :O

[@DVincentW]

You don't know who played the guitar solo? Please look it up.

[@HugoMouliot]

Loving those insights on production!

[@Meteotrance]

The additive FM engine on this keyboard is trully a beast, i love what Arturia made with the rebuild version software emulation , the original creator was involved , synclavier was trully a beast , Sting made amazing song with that .

[@MapleSonics]

I remember seeing the video and hearing this sound for the first time. It was on the program called CountDown, in the Netherlands. Nothing was the same after that.

[@mdmn8160]

Thanks for bringing such great content. ❤ from Burundi 🇧🇮

[@KingMJForeverAndEver]

Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@bricaaron3978]

I had no idea what they were talking about until I found it in print: The 'Synclavier', which I have heard of. I had always pronounced 'clavier' /claw-vee-ay/.

[@bleedingpopcorn6]

I always thought it came from the Fairlight CMR for some reason. No idea why

[@npdtprocess]

Michael Jackson’s THRILLER ~ PROCESSED USING NPDT PROCESS ~ now available for purchase

[@thaiboxing67]

Great history lesson

[@Gainn]

There's a short echo with almost no feedback added to it, and a subharmonic (or heavy EQ) on the downbeats. The Synclavier demo record and the patch itself don't have as much low end punch as the MJ record did.

[@simonlawrence1234]

Great to see stuff like this.

[@effyiew7318]

Crazy how things still come out all these years later. Denny Jaeger is one of the writers of Beat It but not credited - or at least he wrote the intro. Which is just as important because I remember when Beat It came out, that Intro was a huge part of the song.

[@AnthonyFlack]

That intro is super distinctive, which makes it a very clever way to start the song. But if it wasn't used on Beat It, it wouldn't be anything. If the marimba bit was used on a hit song we'd all recognise it too, but it wasn't so it's just another demo track. The intro to Beat It is not going to get big on its own. Considering he was just playing a few improvised notes to demonstrate the sound, I'm not shocked if it wasn't enough to earn him full co-writer credit and points on a MJ single.

[@spurv]

@@AnthonyFlack I agree with your first statement, but not the last. In my opnion, the fact that it probably was "just" a few improvised notes, doesn't matter. Whether an artist improvises for a few minutes, or spends months laboring over it, either way he/she should get credit if someone uses it in their production. Maybe not full co-writer credit, but at least something, and not nothing. I suspect the decisison to leave him out, might've been based more off of monetary concerns, than anything else.

[@Station2Station-du2gh]

This answers the question that has had the internet abuzz for years. No thievery, no sampling, no drama. Thanks for the video! "good artists borrow, great artists steal." - Pablo Picasso

[@JuliusHowe]

Amazing story. Thanks for sharing

[@Drivethebeat-b2g]

That gong-like sound is a classic scratch sound of the Synclavier

[@lorenzbeaumacc1175]

Bro that's intro is the exact beat it intro. No doubt about it

[@karmaindustrie]

I shaped the different "phased gong"(?) notes (with Arturia Synclavier V Demo(?)) for the more authentic/organic Beat It intro by using those very short notes in certain different lengths (and probably added some lower frequencies in another way too... I don't remember now without checking) and turned it into the Westminster chimes melody with d'n'b beat and what not (happy rich church organ sequence as well). (Just playing around)

[@SunLogic1973]

I absolutely love hearing about the Synclavier history! I like to refer to it as a musical mainframe computer since it combined so many features into the refrigerator sized units! Thank you for producing these Anthony!!!

[@mickeythompson9537]

This demo record sound its way into "Kiew Mission" by Tangerine Dream.

[@AndyKing1963]

the first 30 seconds of Kiew Mission is all Synclavier

[@suitandtieguy]

DON DORSEY!!!! PLEASE TALK ABOUT HIM MORE I LOVED BACHBUSTERS!!!! thank you for the great content. i would love to get you at Knobcon sometime.

[@lamborghinimiura7625]

If you made a video specifically about combining different types of synthesis and live instruments, that would be interesting. And anything more about restrictions that help productions. Thanks.

[@bcoda]

the self-importance here is MASSIVE

[@raymond_lazer]

The way one can flip the sides of a vinyl ,just by using palms , barely moving them…. Only the chosen ones (elders) can achieve that . Peace guys !

[@jimbotron70]

Back then even kids could do that... the analog generation 😄

[@raymond_lazer]

@@jimbotron70 I m an Elder one , now its time for Kids (2) Return 🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️

[@Jaburu]

lol. it's just natural when you grew up with them. but nowadays they are probably expensive af, so you never get the "training" cause you are always too afraid to damage them

[@Manu-Official]

For those who own records, it's natural. You don't want to leave oil and grime on the precious groove.

[@SPAZZOID100]

That is the proper way to hold a record.

[@le-berry]

Not a short attack (the sound does not even have any attack time) it's the fast decay vs slow release what makes the sound ring out better when leaving the decay asap to jump to the release stage.

[@DopeBoyzMusiQ]

MJ Was A Genius💯

[@subg8858]

Plagiarism isn’t generally a hallmark of genius, but ok

[@Sttephy30]

@@subg8858 This isn't plagiarism. Michael Jackson wrote Beat It. The intro was something added on, and the composer of the intro didn't ask for credit. Just like Eddie Van didn't want credit for his solo. But Beat It the song was written and composed by Michael Jackson. The song doesn't exist without his brain. Regardless of an intro or guitar solo. Which were add ons.

[@In-SoulProMusic]

Good Ol "Phased Gong" Preset from the Synclavier! :)

[@ChromaticHarp]

I read in some Thriller personnel credits that Tom Bahler played those Opening notes on Beat It?!

[@evanmichael3153]

Those who sampled a Casio synth bank in the Eighties either in a Department Store or that a relative gifted them know exactly the memories this brings back... 🤘😂❤️

[@darrenlee1938]

Sound is also used on Tangerine Dream’s Kiew Mission

[@ZeconMusicUK]

Given you spent some time sat with Kevin, I suspect a Smooth Criminal video might soon be on the way? 😉

[@Twobarpsi]

A fascinating video!

[@Megatone230]

Fantastic, thanks guys. So fun

[@tomandre3023]

Thanks internet for bringing us closer to the guys behind the greatest album of all time. Any chance of showing us something of Got The Hots or eventually Dream Away?

[@BijouBakson]

Wow, my whole childhood was built from this album.

[@RollFoxRobloxMore]

Tangerine Dream had the exact preset off of the Synclavier demo album on their Kiew Mission track. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@donniecatalano]

Like a child, I started jumping around because this guy has the same turntable I have in my living room 🤣

[@tschak909]

Kevin Maloney was one of the product specialists at NED who came on board shortly before the PSMT was unveiled, and was one of its major demonstrators. We all get older, don't we? ;)

[@BenedictRoffMarsh]

What appears to be the same sound is on a Tangerine Dream album from around the same time.

[@AndyKing1963]

TD used it first - the first 30 seconds of their track Kiew Mission is all Synclavier

[@BenedictRoffMarsh]

@@AndyKing1963 That's the one, Was a bit to lazy/busy to look it up to be correct. :-)