THIS SONG IS IMPOSSIBLE.

Yes it is. The song is called Fracture, written by Robert Fripp of King Crimson for their 1974 album, Starless and Bible Black. Robert Fripp has admitted that he cannot play the song live, and that it is actually IMPOSSIBLE.
And yes, it took me 34 takes to (almost) nail the first part of the song. The only way i could it was by staring directly at the tabs for the most part.
What makes this song (and specifically, the “actual” impossible part) so impossible is that there’s a guy who has been working on it for 20 YEARS (yeah, that’s right), and he still can’t nail it. I will link the blog right here 👇🏻
makeweirdmusic.com/learn/fract...
And as always thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to like and subscribe, and also, let me know what video you want to see next. Peace.

[@karayuschij]

Fracture, on the album Starless and Bible Black was recorded LIVE! And the tempo is twice the one you play…

[@SorooshMhs]

karayuschij it is not twice, i just checked. I see that it is slightly faster than my video, but not twice as fast

[@karayuschij]

@@SorooshMhs Yes not twice, but really faster :) (You are on the right path btw! )

[@SorooshMhs]

Thanks!

[@gogbone]

well done! i think its insane how this song has ONLY been successfully performed live. never in a studio. really amazing piece of music.

[@SorooshMhs]

Thank you! I appreciate it.

[@iananderson3799]

Version on "Starless and Bible Black" was recorded live.

[@SorooshMhs]

Insane, isn’t it?

[@masokotanga7356]

Not all of it. Steven Wilson's live mix exposes the myth..

[@SorooshMhs]

@@masokotanga7356 interesting, might watch that some time

[@MakeWeirdMusic]

That’s a great start!

[@SorooshMhs]

Make Weird Music hey, thanks man! This video was actually inspired by your video series on the song!

[@MakeWeirdMusic]

@@SorooshMhs Very cool! I just recorded FraKctured. It's an adequate performance, but much better than I could ever do years ago.

[@SorooshMhs]

Make Weird Music wow 22years! that’s a lot of commitment and I could never do that haha

[@mrmusic248]

I saw the "Starless And Bible Black" tour, and Fripp did indeed play "Fracture". Perfectly, I might add.

[@SorooshMhs]

Did you see a video of that or did you see them live?

[@RobFieldFlorida]

They have played the song live, in the modern era. I saw them do it in New Jersey in 2017. What he meant isn't that it's theoretically impossible. He meant that it's PRACTICALLY impossible, that it's a full-time job to rehearse and practice the one piece. So, unless you're the original author, on tour, and it's a centerpiece of your show, it's not actually worth it.

[@SorooshMhs]

Haha makes sense i guess, i didn’t even attempt that “impossible” part to be honest, i just stopped right before it. Thanks for watching tho!

[@RobFieldFlorida]

@@SorooshMhs You played it well. There are videos of people that tried and failed to play it perfectly. It's a famously difficult piece from a band famously fond of difficult pieces.

[@SorooshMhs]

@@RobFieldFlorida thank you haha

[@KnjazNazrath]

Robert Field is Robert Fripps good twin. If Fripp had an evil twin, time signatures themselves would tremble on the page.

[@SorooshMhs]

@@KnjazNazrath hahaha evil Robert Fripp would only write in 4/4 :D

[@samasoule3346]

FRACTURE was the name of my first band in 1976, this song guided my whole musisian life ...

[@SorooshMhs]

wow that's long before i was even born hahaha. very cool story, thanks for watching :)

[@andrewfrankovic6821]

Musisia is near Cambodia, right?

[@neilparnell5712]

See recently uploaded version by Maria Barbieri. Absolutlely amazing with Fripps tempo and tone. Apparently Fripp himself was very impressed. Also see her Larks Tongues cover.

[@SorooshMhs]

Just checked out her cover and wow, she’s amazing! Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching :)

[@billheineman472]

@@SorooshMhs I've got a lengthy concert history with King Crimson and have had the pleasure of having experianced Fripp present this MASTERPIECE twice. I concur with Rob Field ~ fine job attempting this difficult piece. I was suprised to find (algorithm found me) another guitarist venturing into Fripp's Fractured realm ~ after Maria Barbieri.grabbed the GOLD ring. . kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKe8qYaJqpiWhdU .

[@raivan354]

I saw Fripp and the band play Fracture on the Starless & Bible Black Tour in the early 70s. It was jaw-dropping. Fripp is and always has been an incredible guitarist, in terms of technique and creativity, one of the best ever. You did a nice job on the intro! (the calm before the storm).

[@SorooshMhs]

Woah that must have been amazing to see live!! And thank you! Didn’t really attempt to play the “storm” part since i knew it was way too difficult for me haha. Maybe in the future i’ll give it a shot :)

[@fabioriato]

The crazy thing about it is that it has only been performed live, actually. But Fripp is right on how impossible it is! hahaha Its sister track, FraKctured, is also virtually impossible and you can see how Fripp himself struggles to play it live.

[@SorooshMhs]

Oh yeah Fripp is a freaking mastermind!

[@richdelgado3405]

Now play the song, at a Frippian tempo, AND keep a close eye on all your bandmates, making sure that they hit all of THEIR notes perfectly and in-time. And give them a stern look if they fail.

[@SorooshMhs]

Sure, just give me another 50 years to practice, and i’ll get back to you when i’m ready :) Thanks for watching

[@richdelgado3405]

@@SorooshMhs Hey, I'm just glad people are still discovering Robert Fripp and King Crimson. If you're up for a more fun challenge, check this out (it's from League of Gentlemen, another Fripp band): kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX27m3SFnatrpbs

[@SorooshMhs]

Interesting, never knew about this project. Sounds pretty cool!

[@Dagolis]

This is sick man

[@SorooshMhs]

Aye thank you! This video is very old and i’ve done a whole bunch of stuff since then. So feel free to check out my recent music if you like. Cheers :)

[@augustusbetucius2931]

Odd choice of guitar for that song. I'd love to see Fripp use that guitar!

[@SorooshMhs]

Hah right! It’s just what i have. I have a tele as well but i didn’t have it at the time. I also have a strat tupe Godin but i keep that one in drop C tuning

[@raymundoaustria5821]

Im learning this and I'm a kid

[@SorooshMhs]

Best of luck :))) i’ve never even tried the impossible section.

[@raymundoaustria5821]

@@SorooshMhs i tried it and it's pretty hard

[@SorooshMhs]

@@raymundoaustria5821 I wouldn't doubt it hahaha

[@championsleague5692]

Very skilled! 😃

[@SorooshMhs]

Thank you :))

[@ikkenhisatsu7170]

He surely didn't mean it couldn't be played. I'm sure he meant it was difficult to play. But I'm happy, 40 years later, you figured it out.

[@SorooshMhs]

I wish i figured it out. The impossible part is right where i stopped playing 😂

[@kw19193]

One more thing to consider - Fripp doesn't anchor his plectrum hand at all. Consider having a go at it as he plays it. Cheers!

[@SorooshMhs]

Will try it if i ever attempt the impossible section. Thanks for watching :)

[@rawreviewsandreactions6434]

U did quite well . The timing was solid

[@SorooshMhs]

Thank you so much :)

[@EastmanD]

well....close.....

[@SorooshMhs]

hah, maybe some day i'll muster up the courage to try and learn the impossible part :D thanks for stopping by!

[@ThePuertoricanBeastJonathan]

Imo its not that its impossible, its just that its not normal for most guitarist. I would imagine a bluegrass player can probably play this with ease.

[@SorooshMhs]

it might be easy if you're a god. for us mortals, it's impossible :D thanks for stopping by!

[@Ramaneo]

:)) 💚

[@SorooshMhs]

Raman Afravi thanks brotha :D

[@FernandoCuadro]

maria barbieri is the only one that could play this thing in it's entirety

[@SorooshMhs]

And Robert Fripp himself haha. Thanks for watching :)

[@itsNinjaKiddo]

Nice intro LOL

[@SorooshMhs]

Thanks heeheee

[@frankpotter5936]

That is very impressive so please don't take offense when I say they Fripp wouldn't be at all happy had he done that performance.

[@SorooshMhs]

I won’t take any offense. This was a not-so-good attempt at the intro and i didn’t even try the “impossible” section since it is way beyond my abilities haha. Thanks for watching :)

[@Lightmane]

Um, he's referring to a different song called Frakcture. Watch "King Crimson - FraKctured (Live in Bonn, Germany 2000)". When you can play that, make a video. Good luck.

[@SorooshMhs]

Idk if i’ll ever even try that, looks and sounds insane. Thanks for watching tho :)

[@jizhou7262]

Actually he is referring to Fracture, as the Diary note was in 2016. He was practicing it for the new King Crimson tour.

[@Lightmane]

@@jizhou7262 the original isn't impossible to play. The one I told him to check out IS. That's the one he is referring to.

[@jizhou7262]

@@Lightmane I think when he said impossible, he was saying as a 70-year-old man whose body function was not as good as when he was in his 20's. He decided to play Fracture during 2016 tour, but then found it more difficult than he thought after a few unsuccessful tries. That's why he got mad and said that song was impossible. It didn't mean that he could not play the song. Of course he could play both Fracture in the 70's and FraKctured in the 00's perfectly.

[@Lightmane]

@@jizhou7262 No. He was referring to the piece itself. It's the most difficult piece he ever played.

[@Behdad47]

Why make something when you can't even play it lel

[@SorooshMhs]

Same question... smh

[@BroDocTrev]

Dumbass kid that's Robert fucking Fripp.