Towards a Personal Language of Music | Adam Neely | TEDxHSG

Adam highlights the striking similarities between music and spoken language. At a young age, his observation of music being used as a form of communication between professionals, was one of the reasons he went on to pursue this career. Adam Neely is a bassist, and music educator and KZbinr with an engaged subscriber base of 500,000, 2 million monthly views, and 42 million lifetime views. His video essays, gig vlogs and educational content explore what music means, and what it means to be a musician. Sometimes called the "VSauce of music," Adam engages a wide popular audience with esoteric and obscure subjects in music, tying them to other subjects in neuroscience, acoustics, aesthetics, history and art. As a bass player, he also shares his experiences as a working professional session musician in New York City. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@drewajv]

He played the lick when he said the word lick. The absolute madman

[@SpencerCHale]

He wasn't going to NOT slip that in there somehow :-D

[@hezzyfish9283]

I was so happy

[@foolishsamurai9]

we're talking about adam, we knew this was coming

[@MrDannyg77]

DrewAJV when does it happen?

[@TooManyEditsProductions]

9:19 as well

[@BrandonCuringtonOfficial]

Me: yaaayy Adam Neely in a TED talk Audio:

[@gooball2005]

this is a big L and a small R for the audio

[@stevonico]

"Manifestations of the platonic ideal of G Maj7" -Adam Neely in a single quote

[@henryrichard7619]

Stephen Cantarero I prefer the platonic ideal of Dm7b5

[@such.ukr.nu.metalcore]

@@henryrichard7619 Eb11!

[@Leonrez]

The audio is pretty shot. Mirroring it to left and right channels would help somewhat. Super disappointing issue for a talk about music and sound.

[@Trance117_]

It wasn't that bad.

[@koalanectar9382]

If you have the ability to sum your audio output to mono that will make it sound normal.

[@LimeGreenTeknii]

@@koalanectar9382 How do you do that

[@wesshepard]

It’s sooo bad! 😢

[@dantekross6489]

It sounds especially bad if you're on a phone without earphones

[@philipc7273]

My left ear really enjoyed this video...

[@noah-jazz]

I thought my headphones were busted

[@cruz.c]

guess i just wore these backwards

[@INADRM]

I uploaded a fixed version

[@carstenjarocki7779]

xD

[@BradsGonnaPlay]

INADRM thanks for the warning, didn’t have to waste anymore than 2 minutes on this

[@eliyahfranson]

He did not just play the lick on Ted Talks

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

He did.

[@eliyahfranson]

LifeOnTheEdge I don’t know if I should be shaking my head or very proud

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@eliyahfranson Franky, I'm just sad nobody laughed.

[@eliyahfranson]

LifeOnTheEdge clearly they have never seen an Adam Neely video or know much about jazz

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@eliyahfranson Agreed. Seems like a bit of a tough audience. Maybe it's just the audio. I doubt that it's a musical audience though, so that's probably why.

[@conorreedR2C]

The absolute madlad played the lick while saying "lick," what a legend

[@wave9142]

I don't think it's a tough crowd, I think it's just the way the audio is mixed. At 11:19 Adam says "thank you", suggesting that the crowd did clap there but we can't hear it here.

[@helicopter_traffic]

Wave the crowd must have been clapping in the right channel...😢

[@poacher5131]

What we're hearing is a direct out from Adam's head set, I think. Very directional, and low gain, since it's so close-mic'd.

[@RetroPlus]

If you turn your volume all the way up you can very faintly hear clapping in the background

[@MrDamojak]

Kata E

[@mccookies3664]

You can also tell when he asks for a key and you can’t hear the person saying F but he can

[@SimoneDePascalis]

Everybody losing their minds for the lick at 8:26 but how about 9:19

[@farivarsabzavi9817]

8:26 Oh no he didn't just play the lick!

[@AJJohnMusic]

SLICKKK HAHAHAHA

[@dwightbrady5599]

Glad I wasn't the only one who picked up on it. I love how he says it as well without breaking stride.

[@BensRightBrain]

I was waiting for it!

[@TRUETOILETTENPAPIER]

and he played it right when he was saying "licks". good god what a man

[@SomeoneSomewhere42069]

And not even a chuckle from the crowd xD that's how I know his subs weren't there

[@bman3977]

I’ve been searching for this video everywhere ever since I heard Adam did a Ted Talk... and only now does it show up into my KZbin feed... THANKS KZbin ALGORITHM

[@sandwichgames8122]

same, it didn't even pop up when I searched adam neely ted talk

[@mademsoisellerhapsody1868]

and the sound volume is too low to hear without straining

[@Ana_crusis]

it's easy enough to find. All I did was type in " adam neely ted talk" and there it was.

[@blapis89]

Now, enjoy this top 10 houses made only with a spoon

[@philipplauter8716]

Love you for sneaking the lick in there at 8:26

[@Anthony-cn8ll]

For Android users: Settings > General > Accessibility > Hearing > Audio channel to Mono

[@SamParnin]

I see you Adam, subtly plugging those wedding gigs.

[@KristianGravdahl]

Newest Adam Neely q+a.. "as i said in my TED Talk"... And now I'm here

[@forrcaho]

13:05 Dammit Neely, you never resolved that phrase!

[@prodevus]

Adam Neely at a wedding: “Merriam webster defines wedlock as a bond between two people”

[@TheIvasyl]

Merriam webster defines wedding as the fusing of two metals with a hot torch

[@dankmemesdeaddreams2309]

Omg it's the real robert frib

[@codyziebko7713]

Up there with his comfort bass guitar. You killed it Adam! :D

[@TMmodify]

He tried so hard to make them laugh I found this as hilarious as it was instructional, as I'm used to Adam's humor, but the people seemed ice cold

[@helicopter_traffic]

Ilian Petit crowd mics are lost in the right channel 😢

[@DreadKyller]

A bit late, but the audio we hear is from his mic, which is an extremely directional mic often used on stages for that exact reason, the volume of crowds, the mics are designed to be very sensitive to a small area and dropoff in response very fast to anything off-axis. Because of this we don't hear the crowds much, however there are parts where you can hear them quietly, there was definitely a lot of clapping, but also the people at TED talks tend to be respectful and not make tons of noise all the time and delay the presentation.

[@videogiuoco2055]

I'm Italian and sorry for my bad English, I try to explain myself at the best of my possibility...Beautiful explanation about music as a language, it means a lot if we think that our understand of the world is based on communication and social interaction, how can we express a meaning in different languages to have a better idea of the fact that we try to explain? And how we should approach a new concept trough different lenguages, it's the same if we think about different vocabulary in different lenguages, some lenguages explain something better than other lenguages, I think at Arabic or Chinese sentences that I cannot translate perfectly whit my Italian vocabulary! I think is pretty the same and Music is another way to express ourself powerfully and go beyond our lenguages obstacles. Music is a way to understand and feel something that we can't explain with ours lenguages. And it means a lot thinking about what, as Humans, we can't experience in our world.

[@Jolgeable]

Sometimes I find phrases in other languages and there's not similar construction in my language. I think it's like listening to a kind of poetry, something that we understand, but also something that I would not think of speaking in my original everyday language.

[@TheBlackKnight1o1]

My left ear really enjoyed Adam Neely's bass lesson.

[@TheRastaDan]

After 13:09 my inner voice just screams: PLAY THE GODDAMN LAST NOTE GODDAMMIT... NO YOU DON'T DARE TO PUT THAT BASS AWAY NOW!!

[@blocky333]

hes so good he makes me wanna cry

[@grimaceknowswhatyoudid]

Hey.... ya boi made it to the Big Time! ..... IF ONLY I COULD HEAR IT!!!!!

[@gxexrxmxaxnx]

For those not enjoying the left-only audio: If you go to audio settings on windows, you can turn mono audio on (and also turn your volume up a lot).

[@adamjohnson1722]

You can tell he's a jazz musician because when was switching the chords he played a 1-2-5

[@Erkki_Mela]

Adam Johnson 1-2-5 is the greatest musical tension and resolve there is. C-Dm7-G7, nothing soothes me more than that smooth resolve, mmm...

[@carsontanner966]

erpaloinen lol

[@jaredfieseler6654]

You mean a 2 5 1 right...

[@CabelCabelCabel]

There was literally no facial reaction on his face after playing the lick, but when 1 minute later he ended up on the same frets of the bass as when playing the lick, you can almost see him smile. :D

[@heymusiclovers8361]

Literally screamed when I saw this video "Adam was on Ted Talk?!!" 😍😍

[@cranebenson7506]

8:27 ohhhhh he did it

[@chiefindisguise]

Adam on TED super cool congratulations!!!

[@jonathanhilliard9772]

No joke, I thought my headphones were broken so I took it apart and brought out my soldering gun but the next video played and I realized it was fine. Pls fix

[@invalide]

dude quit flexin your soldering gun

[@jonathanhilliard9772]

Actually it was a soldering iron, haha

[@jonathanhilliard9772]

im poor

[@INADRM]

I fixed it and re-uploaded it

[@user-we4rs1be7u]

@@INADRM Thank you so much!

[@MrDannyg77]

Loved it. Explained many things I’ve often pondered about how improvisation is created. How strange that I could only hear it with my left ear.

[@Dowlphin]

I expected him to close by trying to musically express the feeling he had back then when he was 14 and witnessed the jazz duo.

[@jazzturtle2508]

This had me thinking that we have a similar challenge in expressing emotions through language. While many reduce emotions to simple words like anger, fear, happiness, etc. many tend to agree that emotions like music are so much more nuanced and complex than these words would have us believe and there is a certain ineffable aspect to emotion that words fall down in describing. In fact often poets, artists and musicians do better than psychologists, neuroscientists and doctors at capturing some of this.

[@kronus4915]

Adam Neely is a genius change my mind!!!!

[@martinkent_]

Yo what? Adam Neely did a Ted Talk? Since when?? Why am I only seeing this now?

[@SvintMvrcus]

same lmao

[@samo_benko_]

Yeeeeah Adam got his own Ted talk!!

[@thankyou8622]

somebody rip this and boost the audio, even cheaply done, it would be better than this lol!

[@helicopter_traffic]

Randy Fulgham if you’re wondering still, someone further up the comments did it

[@mummyman2115]

i really needed this now, this really helped some things click for me

[@gregrice1354]

Another fine presentation by Adam, of well composed insights to help share the beauty and truth of Music. This material should be of value and interest to poets, dancers, actors and even to visual artists who seek to create patterns that may reach or communicate as directly to human emotions, as music does. A lot of wisdom, experience and mastery of Music concepts and practice, condensed to only about 1/4 hour.

[@ivyssauro123]

That is also why music and taste in music is so subjective, easy categories like realism(that can be applied to visual art which is more often than not representative of real life objects) is thrown out the window and all that matters is that clarity of emotion that it brings upon yourself, and that will change drastically and seemingly randomly from one another.

[@BobbyJCFHvLichtenstein]

Wow. I never knew Adam had his own Ted Talk

[@jubnx2781]

Adam has come a long way

[@akhilsankar]

adam neely, his best insights into why we have music inside us, and why its dfficult to take out to express. nice.. obvious neely presentation. loved it.

[@ALF8892]

I love Adam. He is the king of youtube if the people in the audience didn't know.

[@lfox02]

*I've been waiting for this moment*

[@nathanmilner4966]

9:20 the liccc

[@oskarholm9351]

If you’re on iOS, go to general -> accessibility and put the sound in mono. Ur welcome.

[@jimmydarrow6671]

Oskar Holm Omg you’re a hero

[@msenecal]

Simple effective solution. Thank you.

[@retroretro8467]

Super low audio; super glad I usually have mono audio cause apparently its only one channel. Great talk but but the audio guys really messed this one up lol.

[@ayylmao6199]

Hey could you please make the audio a little quieter? It really hurts my ears

[@bokajllensch661]

The audio is not bad! just activate mono mode on you device and turn up the volume. its still super clear without any noise! It sounds very good.

[@mothhh2114]

I love how this comment section is filled with people who know this guy saying "HE PLAYED THE LICK!!!"

[@mwangimacharia861]

At 8:27 when all @adamneely fans know what he pulled😂

[@jennivivelopez3420]

Victor wooten did a similar talk about music as language. Both awesome!

[@TheDiamondTardis]

13:26 Repetition Legitimizes Repetition Legitimizes

[@koalanectar9382]

I like that shave and a haircut reference, it's straight out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

[@lorenzocoracin522]

I already knew what he were about to say because I follow his channel a lot, and I understand perfectly every topic he talked about. Someone said that if you can't explain something you don't know it well enough, and I think that being clear and able to express something is really one the few things that matter a lot in life, and it's been so great that Adam made some clarity, and even explained - clarity. There are few people on earth good as him I guess.

[@ruchirsajwan]

Good to see you here Adam

[@lj.youtube0901]

The audio bloody scared me. I thought my headphones were dying

[@timelkin838]

Music is a profound concept into the point or meaning of exsistance. The universe is vibration. Are bodies are The instruments that create the beat of the heart with the flow of the blood.

[@zandyknope2907]

1:56 question and answer time in adam’s ted talk...ya

[@almightytreegod]

Love this talk but kinda makes it even harder to write lyrics for my stuff. Haha

[@NickLAnderson]

🙏🏼

[@musiclearning]

Ted talk please fix audio issue. Playing on phone speaker is fine but over ear phones won't come out. It's a basic audio engineering mishap. It's ironic to the topic of this talk.

[@INADRM]

I fixed it and uploaded it

[@Music4all4Music123]

“Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand” Stevie Wonder Also I’m kinda surprised that Adam didn’t say that.

[@bernardosantos8020]

I think he didn’t say that because that is a song lyric, not a quote, I guess

[@octave38]

dum dum dum dum dum

[@grigno97]

8:26 you did it, you crazy son of a bit*h, you did it

[@dylandecker_music]

When did I miss this!?

[@astrog7361]

Me: Hey how does music work? Adam: WoRdS

[@flatterswhite]

the format itself isn't funny, so putting unfunny words into this format won't make it funny

[@artietrasshko7141]

Can ted talks reupload this video but with a “the lick” counter?

[@garyreidmusic]

I had to buy new earphones to listen to this Tedtalk about music...

[@tatorusia6057]

I just made a proper audio version. :D if you aint doing it, we people will. want me to send it to you TEDx ?

[@anonymousfyrefly3350]

Where is it? I can’t find it on your channel

[@tatorusia6057]

Anonymous FyreFly i didnt upload it yet, waiting for TED team to contact me so they could repost it themselves

[@INADRM]

I uploaded a proper version

[@SomeoneSomewhere42069]

Was the audio this bad in person? 😅 because I feel like Ode to Tedx would sound WAYY better with proper audio 😂

[@gumiero7701]

I'm watching repeatedly, because repetition legitimizes

[@matterminator57]

Thanks but my right ear still plays 0-3-5

[@Caleb-lw1rc]

8.30 cheeky lick

[@iamalpharius9483]

Adam, a long as I've been watching your stuff I've had a much better time playing.

[@professorquinsonsnib]

8:26 we just got lick rolled

[@hezekiahdaggett2179]

Me finding out Adam neeley has a Ted talk

[@captainkiwi77]

For everybody saying the audio is terrible, just switch to mono audio, it’s infinitely better

[@jessebout5143]

Spent me whole morning bummed out thinking my right headphone had broken.

[@bencoulcher9507]

hey Adam Neely. in regards to 13:30. I personally believe that in regards to language person one is speaking in regards to the filtration of how he experienced it and his vocabulary to then reach person two and be filtered through their visual and auditory perception then in relation to their experiences through the process is most likely reenacted in their mind to understand the portrayed message. And then with music is giving off a mathematically sound vibration which is happening and being expressed an experience in the present moment by person 1 and experienced by person 2 aswell. seems as if you were to put it into an equation the perception of music has less factors/filters to work through.

[@delicate1318]

Had to download an audio panner just to listen to this

[@PlayLikeTheGreatscom]

I am _sooo_ gonna transcribe this in a Soundslice! :D

[@daveBignoseA]

Great work Adam! Thanks.

[@hannahwilkinson1085]

What did you guys think of the actual presentation (other than the shotty audio)? I feel that it was easily relatable, and it expressed clearly, something any musician would already understand, but I’d be interested to see if a non-musician would find it more or less insightful.

[@beeklein1126]

Same here, as a musician I loved it and felt that Adam expressed all the things I feel about music suuuuupper well, he always does. I just wonder how people less familiar with music theory and how it feels to play an instrument feels about this.

[@DOIRONchannel]

I enjoyed that, thanks Adam!

[@LurkTheDarK]

I was on my way to get new headphones when I realized the video audio here is what's broken, I'm so sorry Adam, can't believe they've done this.

[@sebcmc]

cool adam neely

[@pauldavies9360]

8:27 Da lick!

[@Droidzey]

I feel like Adam is right over my left shoulder whispering a ted talk

[@franciscamafouana52]

FINALLY TEDx!!!!!!!!!

[@jishkabob213]

They forgot to edit bass into the end.

[@jacksongreer2953]

I love Left Adam Neely

[@paragsatyal2330]

extemporaneous, new vocab addition, win!

[@niklas3686]

WOW

[@nickpelkey]

Boost audio and re upload

[@timothywhite8932]

Awesome Ted talk

[@Mario-ij5vc]

Pls upload this again with higer volume

[@vanhavirta]

How I wish I could overdrive my volume setting a bit further

[@olvinjanoisin2255]

Hijackaudio + duplicate left channel + 4 x volume overdrive + 500Hz EQ cranked up this was very nice. With less audio processing unlistenable.