Steven Wilson: Common Songwriting Mistake

Porcupine Tree songwriter/producer on how modern music gets stuck.
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ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the fast, easy and fun way to make music. Taught by multi-award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony, and his protégé wife Kate. Ray started teaching music theory in 1995, and has made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, and more!
CREDITS
© 2022 Revolution Harmony
Revolution Harmony is Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
Script & all music in video by Revolution Harmony
All stock footage courtesy of Pexels

[@HackMusicTheory]

►Watch all the Steven Wilson videos in this series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJquinV8oM5moas

[@TheSteveGainesRockBand]

That gets an up vote.

[@cameronmcmahon4002]

As a drummer who never used a metronome live this makes me feel good. I thought I might be doing something wrong by slightly speeding up and slowing down but it's nice to be told I'm not an idiot for doing so

[@CiroTricking]

as a drummer u need to learn both

[@cameronmcmahon4002]

@@CiroTricking I record to a metronome. I just don't play live to one

[@PorchBass]

Real grooves always look messy on a computer grid. I'd way rather hear you than a computer.

[@heartbeatsdrum]

Me too brother. I refuse to play to a click-track.

[@lebe220]

Oh, you are the one who let´s the band be at your will ;-)?

[@JasonKeisling]

Wow this is great. I remember seeing a rick beato video showing how an AC/DC song slows up and speeds down. Never considered injecting some variance into the daw. Thanks steven/Ray/Kate

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Jason, happy Thursday, hope your hand is recovering! We love that this provided some inspiration :) Wishing you a fantastic weekend! Kate

[@saracen567]

Rick Beato also did an analysis of Yes’s “Roundabout” and noted that the tempo of that song slows down at key points.

[@lebe220]

Animals: House of the Rising Sun.

[@petermanley7525]

Excellent point. Rhythm is equally as important as melody. As a bass player I have nothing but respect for talented drummers because they make it look so easy when it’s anything but.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Peter, thanks for stopping by and connecting :) What kind of music do you play/make? Wishing you a lovely weekend!

[@bluestringmusic]

Good advice. But applicable to experienced musicians. An intermediate musician trying this out may not have enough awareness or control over the tempo which just results in a messy track.

[@Zetsuke4]

Metal music are in phases, different phases have different tempo, obviously not a concept for beginners

[@casaroli]

Absolutely. If I play without a metronome, my stuff will sound even more like crap hahah

[@gustafsonest1306]

Still as an intermediate musician you can figure out in which parts you messed up the tempo and in which ones you sped up or slowed down naturally and get a better sense of the song feeling from it

[@romantrix]

It's like saying: Singing without autotune is applicabe to good singers. Well, of course, if you want to be a good singer you have to learn to sing without autotune. If you want to be a good musician you have to play without a click. Because tempo fluctuation is part of what good music is.

[@SynergoAltrocinema]

Interesting method. You actually use a tempo track (wich is handy for arpeggiators, loop tracks and recording purposes) but set on the real world playing speed. This is sooo smart!

[@ale14zoppi]

Top 10 persone che non mi aspettavo di trovare nei commenti di questo video

[@truepietro]

Synergo, sempre sul pezzo!

[@kevgamble]

That is some great and important advice from Wilson. There's so much taken for granted with DAW-based music, to the point where it's easy to devalue what we've lost.

[@charlesneuzilmusic7236]

Great observations here on tempo. I was reminded of many older jazz records where the tempo would speed and slow down. I never really thought about it, but a steady tempo really is "unnatural." When we talk, we don't speak at a steady rate, we speed up and slow down. When we walk somewhere, same thing, our pace varies. That is part of being human. I even thought of birds singing in trees, they are not using a metronome! Thank you for posting this, as it has definitely kindled some ideas in my brain on maybe how I should try approaching some of the music I create. Thanks again for the phenomenal content! 🙏🙏🙏

[@HackMusicTheory]

Love your thoughts on the tempo of walking, talking and birdsong, Charles! As always, we enjoy hearing from you and knowing that you'll take the ideas in our videos into consideration in your music making :) Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Kate :)

[@overdofiga]

Another great advice from Steven. To be honest, I already thought about it and I intentionally changed the tempo in a couple of songs in Reaper. But from Steven it sounds like a blessing. Thank you for continuing!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Andrey, great to see you again! That's fantastic to hear you've already thought about this and put it into practice :) And that's super cool you're also a reaper user! By the way, what are some of your favourite bands? Have a fabulous weekend :)

[@overdofiga]

@@HackMusicTheory Porcupine Tree, Fates Warning, etc. *)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Cool, thanks for sharing, Andrey! PT of course :)

[@brianbergmusic5288]

I remember "automating" the tempo of a symphonic track like a conductor would. No, I did not do it with the same skill of a conductor, but it did add a level of dimension to the piece that it otherwise would not have had. Try it once.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Brian, thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience! We're wishing you a fantastic weekend :)

[@nikkothegoblin]

Further cements my decision to start learning bass guitar. I've been making music in software for a while now and used to play clarinet/sax, but what I'm missing is an instrument I can really feel and jam to. Analog songwriting is far more natural and keeps a strong piece of that soul

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Eggbert of the Lamp, thanks for watching! That's awesome that you've taken up the bass, we totally agree that playing an instrument as part of the songwriting process is a beautiful thing :) What kind of music do you make?

[@joriankell1983]

It's a great instrument for writing root melodies to turn into chord progressions as well as building the core emotional tone of a song.

[@corporalpunishment924]

He’s absolutely right, some wise words right there if I ever heard any. Next time I write something I’m going to really keep this in mind.

[@KimStennabbCaesar]

I totally get the idea, and I can see it being useful for singer/songwriters, and music with a lot of recorded live instruments. However, for club oriented electronic music, messing with the tempo throughout the song might discourage DJs to play your song, due to it becoming harder to beat (tempo) match with other songs. You can of course set up a manual beat grid in Rekordbox or similar softwares, but if you don't, most DJ hardware and software would struggle to find the BPM, since it's not steady.

[@ProfoundSinging]

Absolutely. In classical music, there is sometimes a tempo shift in every bar. (Rubato) Very good video.

[@SomeOfTheJuice]

This makes me think of the song Common People by Pulp. That song is a perfect example of using both in increase of instrumentation to build up the song, but the tempo also naturally speeding up to the point that by the end, it's significantly faster but you don't even realize just how much it does so unless you go back to the beginning of the song because it just feels right to speed up.

[@76isthenumberofeverything76]

I feel like metallica - one is a good exemple too, but you actually notice the song speeding up, that song is a good exemple of starting slow and then getting faster and heavier.

[@gregthejones]

I've been doing this on my new material for a while but was doing it after the fact. I've been mostly composing orchestral pieces and it feels so much different. I'm working on a trip-hop project now and have been doing it as I write, instead of after the fact and I'm loving how it feels.

[@HackMusicTheory]

That's awesome to hear, Greg, thanks for sharing! It's cool that you've been working on orchestral pieces too :) Thanks for being here in the HMT community, we wish you a wonderful weekend!

[@lumpcrittergravy]

I listen to Jazz Fusion. Still fresh to this day.

[@MEGAMIGA]

This is so true! It echoes one of Rick Beato's explanation using a Led Zeppelin track to demonstrate tempo fluctuation

[@Gregorovitch144]

This is very important observation. It is well documented that many classic tracks by bands such as AC/DC and Led Zep slow down and speed up. One suspects that although this was sometimes consciously sometimes it was unconscious, a matter of feel. I sometimes try out a riff at various tempos using Cubase's time stretch capability before settling on a tempo for the song - it makes a surprising difference, even two or three BPM's worth. A lot of, frankly, bollocks is talked about analogue good/digital bad these days but this might be a big exception - the DAW is definitely a barrier to the kind of organic and natural musical expression via subtle variations in tempo found in many classic albums of the 60's and 70's. Premeditated tempo changes are of course easy in any DAW but that's not what's going on in these old records. An ingredient of musical expression is indeed lost her and aside from recording live together as a group (which is exactly what the great bands of old did) it's not immediately obvious how to get it back.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Gregor, how wonderful to see you again! How's your music making going these days? Are you still in Leeds? As always, thank you for being here in the HMT community, you're a true blessing to us :) Cheers

[@MikeSquiresUK]

Great tip! I record midi to the grid then map in the tempo changes before I lay down audio - really helps bring a track to life

[@StratsRUs]

It's something that was done without the need to analyse it.Because the band interactions happen naturally. Nobody turned round after recording and said, " Oh I'd love to see a tempo map of what we just performed " I now play the whole song as one take, on an acoustic guitar, playing a strong, grooving rhythm strum and Beat Map that in Logic X , then add drums.Everything else follows that tempo map. It also tests my ability to play my song in one go on the guitar ! But I then mute it once the tempo track has been generated. Drummers do love playing with a rhythm guitar. Thanks for a reassuring video. !

[@JackTheRabbitMusic]

My songs are 100% organic, as I use zero technology to write. It’s just me and my guitar. I hate recording, or even plugging in an electric, so I will never write anything but organic songs. Modern music means what, exactly? I wrote all the songs on my KZbin channel a few years back...that means I am a modern songwriter. I’m not on the radio, because I don’t have the money for bribes, or the drive to play shows. I simply write songs, and share here on KZbin. Peace. 🐰💙🇺🇸🎸🎶🤝✌️

[@samuraiowlmusic]

It makes me laugh how many times in this video Ray tried unsuccessfully to say something in between sentences🤣

[@mrbungle3310]

Great video,i recently was making a song that i kinda wrote the verse live/pure...but then when i started putting the song together something felt like its dragging, especially the vocal spacing,so i actually jammed the riff without a click track,and realised the song would sound better 6bpm faster...i had to re record everything but still worth the change

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, Mr Bungle, that's dedication to your art! Thanks for stopping by and sharing, we really appreciate it :) Wishing you a fantastic weekend!

[@caryheuchert]

Computers often get in the way nowadays. There’s nothing more liberating than playing with other musicians live. I love the unpredictability of the inspired moment.

[@Fredo_Viola]

Steven Wilson… just discovering Gentle Giants fabulous albums based on your equally fabulous remixes. Thank you for the seriously beautiful work!

[@danielhresko4900]

I saw a video on Terry Bozzio a few years ago that discussed this. He was trying to program a song, and realized it just seemed sluggish without that slight change in the chorus.

[@btRU_funQsta]

Steven, you have just described the workflow associated with Music Memos, the most neglected, yet useful free app on an iPhone. I found over a period of years using the app as a starting point for songs, that driving the drummer's AI interpretation of tempo as well as time signature, lead me to be more conscious of my own consistency with the guitar, bass or keyboard that was hosting the nascent idea.

[@jameswhitley4101]

This reminds me of the first time I started to notice how in Classical music, especially solo performances, the tempo wasn't always perfectly steady but was guided by the soloist or the conductor's internal pulse. Messing around with tempo is something you have to be careful about because a bad rhythm is much more jarring to an audience than any wrong note, but if you can play well at a consistent tempo, you can have much more freedom in changing the tempo.

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

Easy to forget that in the olden days the songs got faster as they went along, or chorus was faster than the verse.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Indeed, Geoff! Lovely to see you again, hope all's great your side! Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you :)

[@Theactivepsychos]

I’ve just done exactly this with my latest track. I programmed the drums and then upped the tempo so the chorus gets faster and the whole song gets faster. Then bounced the drums and recorded the rest of the song over those changing tempo drums.

[@chasinglatitudes1424]

I just convinced my friend to start using a daw to work with me on making songs. That was the first thing he asked me, when showing him how to use the daw. Really wild, because I have been using a daw for 3 years, made like 20 songs, and never changed the tempo in a song. Great video !!

[@TonyJuanPailos]

Once, I was hired to make an instrumental for "Black N 1" by Type O Negative. It was impossible to make it sound good on a constant tempo, I had to reproduce all the push and pull. It was a lotta work, but the result was so Great, I started applying that to my songs too.

[@elcooljay1821]

For daw users like Fl Studio, setup an automation clip on the tempo then adjust accordingly to the arrangement of your song,

[@acmebeatco]

Great Tip!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for watching and connecting, El Cooljay :) What kind of music do you make? Wishing you a fantastic weekend!

[@HackMusicTheory]

@The Acme Beat Company great to see you again! How's your music making going these days? Hope all is well, and we're wishing you a wonderful weekend :)

[@acmebeatco]

@@HackMusicTheory Thanks for the warm welcome. Your content has been a great help to me musically. Things are going well. I'm focused on making great beats (drill, hip hop, pop), growing my KZbin channel, and networking with artists. Have a great weekend!

[@HackMusicTheory]

@The Acme Beat Company We're thrilled that we've been able to help you out with your music, it's a privilege to be a part of your journey :) We wish you all the best with your music, channel and networking, and look forward to seeing you again in the future! Cheers

[@MisterMunkki]

Yup this is what we've done with my band Altesia, for every part we asked ourselves what tempo would be better and mapped that. You can even have free time sections within a song, or have a progressive acceleration over a few bars

[@Coryiodine]

This is genius and very true. The best success I had with music was when I first started. I never used a metronome and like playing with dynamics. Then I had alot of people tell me I needed to start using a metronome to clean up some mistakes in timing. So I began to use it more and after a couple years I noticed my music becoming more stale and 2 dimensional. Never even really considered this even though its seemingly so obvious. Great advice.

[@GimmeJimmy23]

Hells yeah, this is a great idea!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, happy you think so, Dan! Thanks for stopping by, we'd love to know what kind of music you make? Take care and have a great rest of your weekend! Cheers

[@GimmeJimmy23]

@@HackMusicTheory The stuff I play tends to be rock/hard rock/ metal. However, I consider myself an audio engineer first, and I love to record music, whether mine, or a friend/customers. Can't wait to watch more of your videos!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, Dan, thanks for sharing! We love your enthusiasm for engineering :) What are some of your favourite bands?

[@ChasingRainbows1979]

I completely agree. Quantise tools and flex editors are brilliant, useful bits of tech but I would suggest using them sparingly. If every track is timed perfectly, I feel like you lose a lot of the character of a song. I recently mixed a project for someone and they had quantised the drums and spent an insane amount of time in flex editor getting every guitar note and bass pick snapped in and it just sounded mechanical and a little uninspiring. They had gone for a “perfect recording environment” recording everything individually and isolated and then edited the life out of it. I got the back in, recorded them in the room together in one take and it sounded so much better

[@IsaiahStewartJazz]

Computers were awesome when they came out in the 1980s but are now making music today sound uninteresting because it's all we get from the 8,000 albums released daily

[@HackMusicTheory]

Nice to see you again John, hope you're having a lovely weekend :)

[@Re-bl5sr]

Completely agree.

[@Marxlrose]

So true! Great share!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for stopping by Mark, always lovely to see you! We've been drinking a daily cup of Rooibos in the afternoons and loving it :) Hope you are well, many blessings to you! Kate

[@ogretattoo]

Not everyone has the luxury of a drummer and a recording studio and an engineer to mic those drums. But I will say, I like to use the touch-screen drums so my slight imperfections make it feel more natural.

[@magicspiral3323]

My latest album Anomaly Me has 7 songs cut live to tape without a metronome. My favorite being a song called Mind Machine. The drums were tracked using a mono mic through the Roland Space Echo recorded to a four track. I played to the timing of the repeat echo. The rest of the instruments were built around the drum track.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, thanks for sharing, Magic Spiral! Really appreciate you stopping by and we hope you have a great rest of your weekend :)

[@paramourcat]

This is all well and good for anyone with the ability to live track drums. If you can't record a full kit, it's a real pain to try and program drums without a solid tempo.

[@CShell-ht2fp]

I love that advice. I also feel more robotic playing to a click. So, I’ll have to try this.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi C. Shell, thanks for stopping by, we're happy to hear this inspired you! What do you play/what kind of music do you make? Take care and have a great weekend!

[@CShell-ht2fp]

@@HackMusicTheory Well, friend, originally I play bass guitar. Rock and metal are my main genres, but I play acoustic stuff as well. And yes, your channel always has something to take in. Thank you and cheers.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Cool, thanks for sharing, friend :) We're happy to have you here in the Hack Music Theory community :)

[@bohdandanylchenko7806]

What a wonderful tool!

[@rocco036]

It's almost criminal how many reviewers couldn't wait to rush out their reviews of closure/ continuation after a first listen on the day of the release just for views & to be first. It's grown & grown on me, there's so much to hear on every listen. They're all at the top of their game. It's so well recorded too. Travesty they though Love In the Past Tense was an extra track!

[@kryme]

This is gold! It's so simple, yet I never had the idea, to completely re-record a song without the click track and then see how that would take me. As always...the simple ideas and approaches are often the best! Thanks!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Manuel, thanks for stopping by, we're happy to hear this resonated with you! What kind of music do you make? Happy music making and we wish you a wonderful weekend :)

[@kryme]

@@HackMusicTheory I'm mainly into Progressive Rock and Metal, but I try to cover a broad spectrum as possible (Jazz, Funk and electronic music)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Nice, thanks for sharing Manuel :) We love that you're into all genres (like us!), as it certainly helps with creativity! What are some of your favourite bands?

[@kryme]

@@HackMusicTheory Haha that's hard to answer without doing a list here with thousands of entries :D. I'll pick one band per (sub)genre: Dream Theater, Steven Wilson, Soilwork, Sonata Arctica, Iron Maiden, Strangeways, Joe Hisaishi, Helios, Mitch Murder, ...you name it :) Btw, in the meantime I watched more of your videos, great content, keep uf the good work!

[@haIfindy]

Or just play the whole album together live after composing and arranging in whatever way you like like we did with my band An Cat Dubh’s last album What the Folk? We wanted to re-record the singer‘s parts but ended up leaving everything live except for a couple of overdubs.

[@rtdude1]

Wow this is something I've thought of but have been afraid to act on. I guess because I'm older and have no real music background, I'm always afraid I'm going to do something "wrong". I know I shouldn't think that way and this series has been very helpful in breaking that mindset.

[@MrGamelover23]

There's no such thing as wrong when it comes to music. Embrace your wrongness.

[@rtdude1]

@@MrGamelover23 Thank you

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey rtdude1, happy to hear this is giving you the thumbs up to follow your inspiration, to experiment and try different things! Wishing you a fantastic weekend rtdude1 :) Kate

[@HackMusicTheory]

@Tech Freak Thanks for stopping by! Really appreciate you being here in the HMT community :) We wish you a wonderful weekend!

[@rtdude1]

@@HackMusicTheory 🤦‍♂🤣👍 Same to the two of you!

[@aishikchakraborty6816]

Amazing advices!! Thank you so much for uploading, do make more such content please ❤️

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Aishik, we're so happy to hear you enjoyed our new video! What kind of music are you making these days? Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you, and we hope to see you again soon for more theory hacks!

[@Nick-gx4oc]

This is why I love that new feature in Ableton that allows the tempo to follow an instrument. You can do exactly whats described here in 1 shot without extra steps!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Nick! That's awesome that you can do that in Ableton :) What kind of music do you make? Thanks for stopping by and we wish you a lovely rest of your weekend!

[@Nick-gx4oc]

@@HackMusicTheory Yea I think its one of the best new features in a long time! I make Jazz and Neo Soul music. Thanks for the great video and have a great day as well :)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Cool, thanks for sharing, Nick! Happy you enjoyed the video, and we hope to see you around again sometime :) Cheers!

[@bukkaratsuppa6414]

I once tried to cover a Muse's song in midi, with a basic vst, just for getting used to the midi layout. I put in the wav file from cd, then started to allign it with the grid. And guess what i found: Bellamy did just that, what he's saying. The song was building up tempo gradually, very slowly one bpm at a time. The increments became more frequent at the end, with the ourto chorus.

[@ale14zoppi]

What song is that?

[@Companion__]

Oh which song was it?

[@erakattack]

I recently realized that Queensryche did this on Silent Lucidity. Same method, put the track into DAW and then started to map the tempo so I could learn it and stuff and it picks up and slows down several times throughout. only by a bpm or so

[@HyperNova137]

One of the most basic methods for creating extra excitement during builds and drops in EDM tracks and sometimes other genres is to simply bump up the tempo by 1 or 2 beats per minute, and automate the volume just a bit to create that contrast between a verse and chorus section, etc... I mostly dabble with making my own meditation music and almost never even bother with a tempo or metronome because it just doesn't feel as organic, and I try to avoid doing anything that creates a noticeable pattern that the mind will try to latch on to (getting analytical kind of ruins the whole point of meditation). But on a completely different level: I tried making an orchestral cover of a Tool song one day (the live Salival version of Pushit) and realized that Danny Carrey's drumming sped up and slowed down so often that I actually couldn't find an exact BPM for it. It's fascinating to think how swaying in and out of a certain tempo can actually create its own kind of "subliminal groove," if you will.

[@marcotrosi]

we always write with our instruments, not on the computer. and so often when we record songs we notice that we speed up/down in certain sections, and if we would stick to one tempo only then the songs looses a lot. I think one time we tried to find a tempo in-between that worked for verse and chorus - was a bad decision.

[@Allthewrongkeys821]

Mhmm mhmm mhmm :P love you, Hack and Steven. Keep up the uploads from this interview. SW / PT are some of my main sources of inspiration for my writing.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey Braden, lovely to see you again! We're so happy to hear you're enjoying our SW interview :0 How's your music making going these days? Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you. Wishing you a great rest of your weekend :)

[@Allthewrongkeys821]

@@HackMusicTheory Always improving. I hope you are well.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, Braden! We are well, thank you for asking :)

[@DaP84]

I wish DAWs had a tap function that could generate your fluctuating bpm structure/grid, or simply analyze the rhythm of your playing on a track, and create it. Def should be possible with todays algorithms

[@MildredStain]

100% into this right now!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, James!! Thanks for watching and connecting :) What kind of music do you make/what are your favourite artists? Take care and have a great weekend :)

[@HAZARDOUS88]

That's a really great thing to point out. Very helpful, thank you!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Happy to hear it, HAZARDOUS88! Hey, I'm curious, do you play any instruments? Wishing you a lovely weekend, Kate :)

[@HAZARDOUS88]

@@HackMusicTheory I just play keyboard, but I've played a bit of Drums too.

[@HAZARDOUS88]

@@HackMusicTheory Oh and hope you have a great weekend too! lol.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Cool! Thanks for sharing and for the good wishes :)

[@derekspitz9225]

Varying tempo is not the same as feel. It's feel that's missing from much contemporary music, largely because of the DAW 'grid' editing process (we used to call it mixing). Tempo should be fixed throughout a song. But that doesn't (and shouldn't) mean that if a drummer is using a click to record they should follow the click rigidly. Far from it. A good drummer, with feel, will play around the click, in and out of the click, and on the front or back of the click, all the while never changing tempo.

[@religionoffreedom]

I always wondered why Live and Rockets’ “So Alive” speeds up 1 bpm in the chorus.

[@Dan-TylerMusic]

I write lyrics without a bpm or music, it's kinda internal rhythm I use and I've been told by a couple of ppl that it needs to be the same bpm through the whole song, I always felt a single tempo wasn't the only way it could be done. Atleast know I know my ways not wrong its just not commercial.

[@gagenyman3482]

Check out some widespread panic, they are masters of changing tempo

[@andresfernandezmtl]

So great. Thanks for sharing this!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Andrès, thanks so much for watching and connecting, we really appreciate it! What kind of music do you make? Take care and have a lovely weekend :)

[@vulgartrendkill]

This is so insightful!!! Thank you!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Happy to hear this resonated with you, Mat, and a warm welcome to the Hack Music Theory community! What kind of music do you make? Take care, and we wish you a great rest of your weekend :)

[@xenos0176]

Interesting idea, but there is an issue with this. If you try to play to a click live just using a metronome, this becomes infinitely harder to replicate. You either need to not use a metronome at all and risk playing all wrong tempos because of adrenaline or play along to a track that changes tempo EXACTLY when you need to which makes things even more complicated. Either way this becomes more difficult.

[@joechapman8208]

Cardiacs played for years like this, not only with speed changes on a digital metronome but also extremely complicated, ever-switching time-signatures. The drummer had the click track and the band played to him. But in theory, you could now have the drummer lead the computer's metronome and have the computer system pinch or stretch any automated extra musical parts in the live set according to their playing in real time. Ableton Live has been capable of doing this in the last couple of versions (Tempo Follow): kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqSqiHujpt-ZqJI

[@arminfatol]

You cand use a programmed tempo click for live. We use Cubase with some samples and backing track, sending tempo click to the drummers headphones. It is rendered in a wave on audio track, so we can make it however we want it to be - changing tempo, changing time signatures, whatever. I'm not saying its easy.. but its doable ).

[@pranavphx]

I don't think he's talking about using this for your final recording. What Steven is saying is play the same track without the click track/metronome , turning it off using only your primary instrument be it guitar, keyboard, goals etc. And then comparing the two and see what you are naturally doing. Then go back and set the tempo of different sections differently in case you find something that you like in the way you played it without the metronome. Its entirely possible that your still keep the same tempo because you didn't see anything special/change that you want to keep. But what Steven is saying is, use this method to see if there is anything that you should change based on how you played the song naturally off the cuff. Of course this does not apply to people who do not play any instruments/or sing. If you are only using programming every single thing and never play/sing the song naturally with an instrument bare bones, then this song writing technique Diya not apply to you.

[@henriksalvesen1078]

Stop uting metronomeat gigs, voila problem Solved.

[@tullfan2560]

Playing these changing tempos and having musical instruments flipping in and out of the musical stream with suitably tapered fade-outs, etc must be incredibly challenging to play live. When I watch Dream Theater play, I wonder if they are human in the way they all masterfully weave their playing into their songs. It's like they have somehow synched their minds to their own particular music/tempo map.

[@szokematyas2562]

This is true, but I would say... under a certain level, it is still a good idea to stick with a metronome. Above that, yes, absolutely. You can let the song breathe a bit (rhytmicaly speaking). But if we are talking about ... let's call it... true tempo change (and not just "breathing of the BPM")... that case, true tempo change has to mean something, tempo change has to have a musical reason. If you only do it because one riff sounds great on the set tempo, but the next sounds better with +7BPM, that is not a valid enough reason. If the tempo change is set up properly therefore the song still flows, not jerked (if you know what I mean), than yes. In short, tempo change has to be written well, don't just do it. This may be limiting somewhat, but...

[@tullfan2560]

In other words, the natural human element is being supplanted when there is too much reliance on the computer. Unfortunately, it's kind of the way the world is heading with AI. As a listener, the push and pull is one of many things I like in prog music. It gives the music tension and a sense of being in constant flux.

[@bottlemanic]

Very true, earnest and good advice. I've just near enough finished a song I'm proud of but can easily see how this mindset would have aided the process for sure

[@HackMusicTheory]

Congrats on finishing you song, HpMinecraft! You'll be able to implement this on your next one :) What kind of music do you make? Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you, and hope you have a fantastic weekend! Kate

[@bottlemanic]

@@HackMusicTheory thanks! I'm new to it and have a whole range of styles I'm into so no particular personal niche yet. The last song was a 9 minute prog track though unsurprisingly haha. No problem I like your stuff and thanks for the kind words :)

[@HackMusicTheory]

@HpMinecraft Thanks for sharing! We love that you're into a range of genres, that's really the best for creativity :) What are some of your favourite bands?

[@bottlemanic]

@@HackMusicTheory off the top of my head things like Opeth, Aphex twin, Bjork, the mars volta, dillinger escape plan, Mr bungle/faith no more etc. Generally odd extreme things haha, lots of soundtracks too

[@HackMusicTheory]

Cool, good taste, HpMinecraft!

[@NoahHornberger]

ableton live has a programmable tempo but that does not simulate the way good players can push and pull on each other. In order to do that you need to slide individual parts early or late. I've been doing that for a while in Ableton but nothing beats a real band!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Amen to having a real band, Noah! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience, what kind of music do you make? Take care and blessings on your weekend :)

[@7riXter]

Watch this to experience Steven Wilson being Steven Wilson for 3 minutes straight.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for watching, V. H. :) What kind of music do you make? Take care and we hope you're having a great weekend!

[@kevkeisha]

This man was instrumental in ruining OPETH! Love Porcupine Tree!

[@JEZARIC]

I have this song called big steps that is at something like 60 or 70 bpm I can’t remember where I was headed with it but now it’s kinda like flight of the bumble bee but still set to 70 bpm

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey -V.! Thanks for watching, we're wishing you a fantastic weekend :)

[@heartbeatsdrum]

Love this. I never use a click-track. What kind of drummer can't keep a tempo by themselves?

[@robertquinn9490]

totally agree and thanks!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey hey Robert, great to see you again! Hope this finds you well, and we're wishing you a fantastic weekend :)

[@simonslee73]

I’ve been doing this for a while, I push choruses and outros a couple of BPM in the same way I automate volume, and sometimes stereo width (for some instruments)

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Simon, thanks for sharing, and a warm welcome to the Hack Music Theory community! What kind of music do you make? Take care, and have a great weekend!

[@simonslee73]

@@HackMusicTheory alternative rock, post-rock, and a bit of instrumental

[@HackMusicTheory]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! What are some of your favourite bands?

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

It's not a lost art (bands like Tool play with this all the time) it's just not the popular model. Customers like predictable beats, so that's what gets made. And the cycle persists.

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

SO true!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey Diego, happy this resonated with you! Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you :) Have a fantastic weekend!

[@tontonkeke9972]

that depend on what genre you want prod you want change speed in techno house drum and bass all electonic music ??

[@lebe220]

The tempo variances in my own new song drive me crazy. And: 2/3/4/5/6/quarters. I had to write everything down to understand what I was doing. The song needs it; I must obey.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for stopping by, LeBe! We love that you're listening to the needs of your song :) What kind of music do you write? Take care and have a great week!

[@lebe220]

@@HackMusicTheory Thank you so much for asking. I´ll take a look at your videos by and by. Thanks for your time and work and sharing it. This particular song (song 3) is in German and has a somewhat classical style. That´s something new for me. It has very critical political lyrics. I deliver a solution in the last verse. I´m influenced by the music of the 60´s and 70´s (Bob Seeger e.g.). I listen to Pink Floyd and David Crosby because my wife loves them ;-) My favourite is Otis Redding. I still miss him and wonder what his unwritten songs would have been like. Wish I could continue his work. Alas...Greetings from Germany and the best wishes.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey sorry for the late reply, LeBe! Thanks for sharing a little more about your music, that's cool :) We're wishing you all the best with your newest song! Blessings 🙏

[@lebe220]

@@HackMusicTheory Thank you so much. I wish you a really fine time with everything you do.

[@Niesrind]

Fun thing to do: measure what bpm Stairway to Heaven is recorded in.

[@averyplaysguitar]

For me this isn't a mistake, it's a limitation. I use Garageband on my old iPhone (I don't have any proper recording equipment) and you can't change tempo in a song. This has really hurt my ability to record things I want to, so I might have to invest a couple hundred into actual recording hardware and software...

[@JackTheRabbitMusic]

Just get Reaper DAW and an inexpensive audio interface. For less than $100, you could multitrack record on a used Tascam.

[@patientmental875]

Yeah you gotta move on to a better setup, very cheap to do so today!

[@cdprince768]

I would love to have seen John Bonham witness an engineer quantizing his work.

[@Table-Top]

cool insight

[@HackMusicTheory]

Happy to hear you dig this one, Table-Top :) Hope this finds you well, we're wishing you a fabulous weekend!

[@henrikibsen6258]

Arcade Fire is good at this.

[@EllipticGeometry]

Now ask Danny Carey, who’s hardly ever used a click. You do need to develop good tempo stability to pull that off without sounding sloppy, especially in that genre. It’s safer to do as Steven says.

[@gilo7171]

not quite my tempo

[@hannanathan564]

Great natural insights!

[@HackMusicTheory]

Happy to hear you enjoyed this one, Nathan, and a warm welcome to the Hack Music Theory community! What kind of music do you make? Take care and have a fantastic weekend :)

[@hannanathan564]

@@HackMusicTheory Thanks! Love the channel. I just enjoy songwriting and production for my own fun. I like many styles of music so that’s what I do: a lot of Alt Rock, Pop Punk, modern pop, country, reggae/ska, just whatever is enjoyable in the moment. No ambitions beyond “just make enjoyable music”.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Thanks for sharing Nathan! We love that you're into so many genres, that's great for creativity, and for enjoying yourself :) What are some of your favourite bands?

[@hannanathan564]

@@HackMusicTheory That’s a question with ever changing answers depending on the day😂. I guess lifetime I could say I’m your typical Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix person. But I also love more complex music like that of Steely Dan and Yes. Hippie summer of love music. The great Jazz/Bop improvisers. Or polar opposites from Blink-182, Pearl Jam, to Benny Goodman, Django, and Chick Corea. I’ve enjoyed some newer pop punk like Knuckle Puck and Neck Deep. But then I love listening to Vivaldi and Brahms or the strange beauty of Brian Eno. I like Post Malone, I like Katy Perry, I traditional 4 string banjo, I like balalaika and sitar music. I’m an oddball I guess lol but I just love well done art and a diversity of influences. Then of course, I love just learning concepts and approaches to thought process from channels such as yours or Beato’s.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Haha, yes, we know how the day changes the answer! There's lots of great music out there in all genres. Thanks so much for sharing, Nathan, we're happy to have you here in the Hack Music Theory community, a warm welcome to you! Cheers :)

[@xs10tl1]

WORD

[@daanthijssen1748]

Finger drumming

[@DaveTaste]

Sunshine by Alice In Chains has a great tempo change in the chorus.

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey thanks for the reminder, Dave, we just had a re-listen, so good! What kind of music do you make? Thanks big time for being here in the Hack Music Theory community, Dave, we really appreciate you :) Take care and have a lovely rest of your weekend!

[@Typical.Anomaly]

I say screw the metronome for practice. For me it's usually a guitar or bass in my hands, ymmv. I like to jam with random YT drum tracks that are made with human hands on an acoustic kit. I own a nice "metronome" (volca drum) but it feels too sterile even when I try to make it sound organic.

[@KimStennabbCaesar]

Practicing with a metronome is necessary for stability and speed in the long run.

[@emendez]

Automate tempo changes dude. There are plenty of tools to do that on several DAWs

[@chesneytube1]

Yes Steven but to do that you need to be capable of recording without a tempo track which I'm not sure a lot of modern pop musicians are... Without all of this helpful software there wouldn't be this absolute surfeit of musicians flooding the market who couldn't compete otherwise... So it's good for them, but bad for good musicians who can easily go unnoticed amidst the flood of 'content' and youngsters who are willing to 'sell' themselves on social media with good looks and swagger. I don't know if a lot of great musicians of the past would make it today because they weren't the best in the looks department (as well as being humble) and that seems to be unfortunately crucial today , as to me at least it's the soul in the music that counts, not the visage.

[@ErixSamson]

Very interesting

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hi Eric, happy to hear you found this one thought provoking :) Thanks big time for being a part of the Hack Music Theory community, we really appreciate you! Take care and have a great rest of your weekend :)

[@TrondGjellum]

Interesting thoughts, but listening to the new Porcupine Tree album, I think that Wilson have gone in to another trap: Making songs that sounds the same as before, with the same structure in a limited amounts of key and time signatures, singing in the same un-dynamic way and with contrast by numbers parts (soft vocal part- instrumental metal part). I love the early PT, but the new album bored me to death.

[@jebone743]

i hate his music but he's 100% right. again.

[@asarcadyn2414]

I always marvel at the original Sunny by Bobby Hebb. Today jams use it as a standard but keep to a fixed tempo. The original just gets faster and faster with every upward key change. Great stuff that people would be scared to do nowadays. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4O6qquworOXgMU

[@harry2house536]

Brilliant!!!!🤑

[@HackMusicTheory]

Hey thanks for stopping by, harry2house, we're happy you enjoyed this one! What kind of music do you make? Wishing you a fantastic weekend :)