What can a guitar solo be?

[@AdamNeely]

dear lord dude every video is next level

[@salvat3735]

every day we stray further from tradition

[@GiordanoBruno42]

Truth

[@papo_parra]

Damn right, dude!

[@Llamadangles]

You never fail to elevate me to a level of emotion and inspiration to want to go further with my music Ben. Amazing video and hey thanks again for the brief chat on Instagram the other day for that 'fake' video I sent you.

[@johnvicaireiii5537]

69 people agree with your statement. APPROVED!

[@andrewhuang]

Sometimes I hesitate before clicking on a Ben video because I’m afraid my mind might expand too quickly

[@lucasvivante8988]

i've not recovered yet from the today experience

[@dougc84]

just let it happen, huang. let it happen.

[@janmatula1534]

same

[@bluefoxfox1459]

@@dougc84 it's gonna feel so good Just let it happen, let it happeeEEN

[@scottd.1700]

Every video of his reminds me of your video on the harmonic series 😆. Love your work too, Andrew. You're amazing.

[@samuraiguitarist]

This man is staying stoked!

[@BenLevin]

Proud to be stoked for you

[@ShawnCrowder]

I don’t know what “genre” of video this is, but I like it.

[@grantcleveland4506]

You just described this dudes channel

[@HeirophantCarneus]

Educational

[@Trevor_M_F]

Ben is a treasure.

[@alexknickrehm8385]

To define is to limit

[@joez6235]

It’s the future

[@dalemusic9316]

"Another way to sing when your voice is tired" is such a beautiful line

[@oliferamusique]

I cried a bit ❤️

[@SirRealShow]

I'm slowly waking up to the fact that you're the most creative person on this platform. And I really hope everyone else starts waking up too. This is incredible man!

[@nunolance23]

This ❤️

[@EpiGuitar2012]

The level of creativity is just insane

[@crabmcflab3035]

yo his music and video content is amazing! but we ought not bog ourselves down in the abstraction of whose creativity is best or the most. all artists create something from nothing!

[@avedic]

Couldn't agree more. There are a ton of incredible people making all sorts of interesting content on their channels. But Ben is absolutely the most _creative_ among them. Everyone has their skill and talent and whatnot...but Ben's thing is to learn everything he can about music theory.......................and then just make shit sound really really amazing. Trusting that the knowledge is in fact in you....and you can recall it. So just trust that....and make music. That's Ben's contribution to all this. And I appreciate it so much. No one else is putting out content like THIS...or so many of his other videos.

[@timothylauffer8066]

"I can do it each day and it doesn't cost more each day. It's not something that needs to grow or change to be good." I didn't know I needed to hear that.

[@seandaniel23]

Great use of the minor pentatonic

[@co_iso]

my grandma always said that I could cook better if I put a little more love into cooking. and that if I cook for someone I love I will put more love into it than if I cook for someone I don't love. and to be fair, that's what I experience when playing music to some extent. for as "selfish" an artform as you may think it is, I think playing for someone rather than for yourself or to satisfy your own musical needs makes your music just a little better. and that's what I feel when I solo. I feel like I am playing for somebody else, maybe the audience, maybe my family, maybe my significant other. in my opinion, soloing is as much a form of singing for when your voice is tired as singing is a form of soloing when your fingers are tired :) your videos make me stop and think, they make me feel all the emotions I've been bottling up throughout the week. I really appreciate you and the things you do, Ben. keep up the good work ♡

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

it seems the best artists are empathic towards their fellow beings.

[@highestsettings]

I dunno, you know what you like more than anybody. Perhaps if you love yourself and you create music for yourself the same principle applies. For me, when I write, it's just for the fun of it. It's so I can create something I enjoy listening to, and so I can have some fun while I do it. Perhaps that is selfish, but I know there are bound to be people out there with the same or similar tastes to me. So I guess I'm making music for them too.

[@soup2634]

Yea! Well said :) I heard this on the Duncan Trussel Family Hour (paraphrase): "In a duel of two swordsman, the warrior who loves his opponent more will win." Maybe that's because they are calm and focused or as I was just given the insight it's because they do not kill or fight.

[@gniewomircioek6845]

Maybe just cook someone you love?

[@buenmojo]

The Ben Levin video complete exp.: 1- Click as fast as the wind when a new video appears 2- Go for the best headphones in da house 3- Click play, then wait and see all the adds for maximum revenue of the artist. 4- Pump up the volume 5- Enjoy with the high quality top content 6- Wait and see the final adds while you're thinking about what have you seen 7- Say thanks Ben 8- You can rest now Thanks Ben

[@BenLevin]

❤️

[@patrickmilligan9219]

9. Easily justify enrolling in the Patreon because this is your favorite thing on the tube, lately.

[@erwin2869]

Watching a full add doesn't give the KZbinr any profits.

[@theuntapstep7789]

See above comment:

[@patrickmilligan9219]

@@theuntapstep7789 thank you Gilder Bairn.

[@xoohooo6277]

I tell my kids this is Frank Zappa

[@ankushmamgain8227]

And his voice is similar to Satriani

[@joycesanders4898]

..better.

[@fallofmath]

I have no idea how you are able to make these every week. The creativity, atmosphere, structure, scripting, the actual content - it's all there, it's all high quality and it's all unique.

[@Bladavia]

I can't even imagine how many hours of editing and 3d design and animation goes into this. Not even mentioning the music itself.

[@josed.vargas3961]

I'm sure these are all part of a backlog he's been amassing for a little while now and he's just releasing them now. Still incredibly impressive work nonetheless

[@saulgoodman1390]

Regular music KZbinrs: This week, we're looking at tuplets... Ben Levin: Today we're going to existentially explore our musical third eye and the philosophy of the relationship to our place in the universe

[@GreatFlamingEyebrows_]

Ben LevINTERESTING Ben LevINFORMATIVE Ben LevINSPIRING

[@davestern2912]

I wish I would have come up with this!

[@Sage-zs9qy]

Ben LevINCEPTION?

[@xBABYxSHAKERx]

you forgot Ben LevINCEPTION

[@shadwellsong]

:) well played

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

And occasionally, Ben LevINCOHERENT...

[@olgierdvoneverec4135]

My experience with this video. Step 0: curiosity, I wonder what Ben got for us this time. Step 1: shater my percetion of whats possible and leave me in absolute awe. Step 2: that's not enough. Step 3: make us reflect on humanity our pourpose, our needs, desires and goals and our relationship with art. Step 4: cool solo. My takeaway on what I think a solo can be? Meaningful.

[@HBCrigs]

This piece of music reminds me that it is alive and that music as a whole is a cosmic storm of possibility. Every once in a while consciousness collides with a landscape of experience and this video is a whirlpool in that ocean

[@thatbeet]

This is incredible-from the music, to the message, to the visuals. Also, "starve while we eat" is such a vivid, perfect bit of imagery. Hoping to see "Guitar Memento" in the future (or "Guitar Shutter Island," if using Leo as the pivot haha)

[@BenLevin]

Haha guitar shutter island would be a trip

[@thatbeet]

@@BenLevin Haha in the end, it's revealed that it was ukulele the whole time (...or was it?)

[@beenis08]

Id watch guitar shutter island

[@dikshantraj6005]

In trying to not make a guitar solo special, you've made it the most special thing there is.

[@mattstalker4084]

"So we've circled back to what a guitar solo is, at its core, which is, another way to sing when your voice is tired". This gave me goosebumps. Thanks, Ben

[@dion_spyro]

There's so much detail and love and character in every sound, word, and visual this dude produces. Inspiring human.

[@leavethebasket7435]

That was unreal. Thank you for making this Ben

[@mickyfitz5037]

Seriously though, this video reminded me of how music is a different outlet for everybody, in different ways, which is an important thing to remember.

[@TheChodex]

If somebody asked me "what type of videos does ben Levin make" I honestly wouldn't even know what to say. These videos can't be described, only experienced

[@DevinJuularValentine]

I'm back a year later... For some reason this video has stuck in my head, and I'm not a guitarist... Just the idea, that a guitar solo is another way to sing when your voice is tired - it's so beautiful, and applicable to many instruments... And the music in this video is just... Chefs kiss. I think about this video now and then. What a work of art

[@AdamEmond]

WHAT CAN BE

[@shadcovert1160]

Man I love this shit. His work is just phenomenal. Plain & Simple. Musically and visually.

[@dukewinham7388]

for the uninitiated this is a glimpse into madness, for those in the know this is sheer brilliance.

[@visitur4914]

Whenever I watch a Ben Levin video for the first time, I always end up feeling like it's my first time watching a Ben Levin video.

[@devon-crain]

"Another way to sing when your voice gets tired". Thank you for those words, it really hit me hard with a realisation that I turned to learning instruments for that reason in the first place.

[@pkmorris1]

wow your channel is like the single instance of fulfillment of the creative promise from the early days of the internet

[@trumpetdude320]

Even now I am absolutely blown away by that solo at the end! It’s so rich with an emotion that honestly I’m probably feeling right now. It’s like an agonizing scream for help. I’m almost crying listening to it.

[@EliGamesOfficial]

One of the rare moments in time I hope a video won’t end.

[@navidaminkhani3535]

Every day we use lots of exaggerated words like "Amazing" to complement ordinary things in our lives. But this is where we're supposed to use those words... Ben this is AMAZING!

[@ethfun]

yo i had to watch that last solo once, then immediately after the first section, then again - three times back-to-back - to even remotely come to grips with it. utterly incredible.

[@tonyrozza5638]

Awesome

[@YellowJelloMusic]

All these Ben's recent videos are like an audiovisual essay on some concept or an idea while being a song at the same time. And the psychedelic visuals just blow me away every time. I love you, Ben!

[@scottd.1700]

"Tucked into the American Dream" may be my favorite line now. Love your stuff, Ben. You are my number one influence. Your lessons for inspiration are the REAL inspiration.

[@0neirogenic]

Ben, you had me thinking thoughtfully about solos and how I approach them (I am a bassist for the record), then you looked into my soul through many 1's and 0's and screen and I was comforted, then as I becoming content on meditatively approaching soloing you melted my face off. I don't think a multimedia piece art has moved me so much in such a simple way.

[@EricRaum]

You are one of the most creative humans alive right now. I'm in awe of this

[@noyd4172]

Between almost breaking one of my fingers, listening to Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Fever to Tell" in full again for the first time in years, having no high-e string on my guitar (snapped a week or two ago), and seeing this video, I think I'm starting overcome a lot of my cynicism and start loving life and music in the naive and unfettered way that I used to. All love, no failure. Thank you, Ben.

[@dikadiego]

dude, this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen on youtube. thank you for that.

[@joaomarcelo7327]

Jesus Christ dog, the tension in the first solo with the conflicting tones and the way you resolve it, just... I had to pause the video and comment

[@hanpedunkten]

How did I miss this for a whole year? I must have not been a zealous enough Benonite back them yet as I am now at this time that is past when you see it. New favorite methinks

[@TimSamoff]

I love you.

[@kerajeffery5758]

Incredible, especially the final solo.

[@kkyyee]

This is some of the most incredible music I have ever heard. I keep coming back to this

[@earcos]

You live in 2077. Huge fan.

[@jobbimaster]

You have mastered the art of expression, now benevolence flows through. Holy fuck dude. Thank you.

[@HighDeafRadio]

I dont know if I feel you or you just feel everyone. But its full of love and I really do appreciate it.

[@awogbob]

Great video Ben, I laughed when you intro'd the video and said 'i have practiced guitar solos more than anything in the past years' I can relate to that almost exactly. For me my answer to what a guitar solo is or can be is a bit different than yours, tho I want to share if only to give you another perspective. 'what can a guitar solo be?' When I was a kid Another Brick in the Wall pt 2 solo and Dani California solo were some pieces of music that rang out in my head for years. I always just assumed that everyone thought that was the best part of those songs, or even more naively I thought most songs from RHCPs stadium arcadium were written just for the solo to exist. Even as a kid my interpretation was that the guitar solos said something. I can hear Brick in the wall and it's as if he's talking it's so visceral. So 'what can a guitar solo be? ' It can be a cool part of a song, it can be the capstone to a great track. It can be the explosive reinforcement of the songs themes. It can be a poetic expression and political statement like Hendrix Woodstock anthem. Ultimately I think a guitar solo can be a unique, tangible, and vibrant expression of some of the most intimate and locked away parts of a person being layed bare. That's what I'm attracted to most by certain guitar solos, not nessicarilly the technique or flourish (that is just vocabulary) but the ability by which the person communicates their soul in that moment. Hendrix, Gilmour, frusciante, Vai, Zappa, and many others. I feel like I know them when I listen to them because in a sense I do know them, I see them naked in a way in those moments when they pour themselves through their fingertips and amplify it. Maybe this is getting too weird. I don't think this is limited to guitar soloing at all, I think this stretches into all artistic mediums... I think what people are attracted too in all art is the person and their humaness coming out through the medium. I get a very similiar vibe from your feeling lonely/falcon launch, I'm like damn this is Ben being Ben writing and playing Ben music and I love seeing Ben because Ben is valuable and beautiful. I think you came to a similiar conclusion in the end of the video when you said singing without a voice. Anyway lots to talk and think about, but thanks for the cool videos as always. Hope some of these ideas made sense. For myself I always find the more the guitars tone accentuates the small nuances of my fingers and playing helps me express myself more fully into the instrument ... I use a metal quarter to bring out more overtones and a compressor... Not any one way is correct tho.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Introspection and outrospection.

[@Dan.Hartington]

Damn...you’re a never-ending source of creativity.

[@LanceMabu]

I hope the world is ready for Ben because this is going to explode some day

[@yitzharos]

Where have you been my whole life? Wonderful Explorer .

[@gooseofpower]

I've watched this video 7 times in 3 months. It's my fav.

[@adancein]

You are such an inspiration. You just throw everything you have at the screen, it is so vivid and interesting and enchanting.

[@tverdyznaqs]

What the fuck, Ben??? Quit being this far ahead of tour time, you freak, I love you!

[@superhappypotatoe]

You're overwriting parts of my brain. I like that.

[@Radmetalmonk]

Ben, you're the ambassador of productive play.

[@Bladavia]

How does this guy keep blowing my mind with every video

[@TiagoLageira]

*guitarists having an existential crisis*

[@sagecarter2368]

Calling a guitar solo “another way to sing when your voice is tired” somehow gives me big Grateful Dead vibes. It reminds me of being midway through their second set of the night, when the band and the audience is all starting to get kind of exhausted, but there’s a second wind that carries a majestic solo on some nostalgic/melancholy song like Morning Dew. It’s like that moment in Candyman when Jerry sings “hand me my old guitar,” he’s tired and just wants to sit with his instrument and feel at peace.

[@JRHall-kx7gv]

Man... I really like Ben Levin's music, but I really, REALLY like his thoughts on what music is and what music can be. And the videography is freakin' stunning, too.

[@jacksonbarker7594]

Incredible

[@alialmuhamad4780]

This video has your best editing so far. It's still as unique as usual, but not annoyingly overwhelming. This is what I absolutely love about you , you're always evolving. 👏❤

[@Akhin]

Great video as always. "Another way to sing when your voice is tired" is really the best way to look at a solo. Much love !

[@pollution_]

I think bens channel is proof that a youtube channel can be considered art in itself

[@laplacedemon6338]

It's the 21st century, guitar solos can be anything now.

[@MaddesG1]

Yes. If my guitar wants to sound like a litteral air guitar.. then so shall it be. Its like the gender debate. Who fng cares what my guitar wants to sound or be like. It is a piece of wood with strings and it resonates with ones soul. Solo is like your soul. Theres chord solos/harmony and just single line stuff but also solo could be just as simple as just one person playing guitar. No music side for the sole sound of the guitar maybe set at a distance panned somewhere and slowly panning closer and working its way closer to other sounds before they all kick in. Solo can be small and leave a big impact or be big and leave numerous smaller little impacts. A solo can be bad or good. It can suck and sound like a dying cat or sound amateurish but its still a solo. It can be the most professional sounding thing ever and inspire many. A Solo is what you make it as the soloist. A guitar solo is best questioned as. Who am I as a Soloist? Discover this and you can solo in many contexts and connect more with the solo. Instead of thinking I am a musician and this is a part in my music. Isolate yourself from it all and be the soul in your sole solo.

[@adityamohan1773]

You know.. There were times I thought ur music isn't for me. Then I listened to ur LPs. Then I heard the solo from "Focussed soloing video". You are mesmerising me with your music. Now I feel ur kind of music is what makes me feel the music more than anyone else's. I keep listening to the little pieces u write. It could be something as old as AAAAAA tuning. Or it could be something as recent as that song you wrote for David Bruce's Collab. I am ever inspired by you. U and Jake Lizzio taught me about modes. I learnt a hell lot about music than guitar from you both and I can make music now finally. I still suck at my guitar. But I love writing music.. Partly thanks to David Bruce too. He made me feel writing sheet music can be fun too. I'm loving this world of music i just recently stepped in. It's all thanks to powerful and creative dudes like u. I know u were feeling a creative drain in middle. I hope u are fine now. Ur content amuses me. It also opens my third eye of sorts lol. And god are u insane. U are more insane than the ppl who take refuge in asylums. But that's what makes ur music sound primal and technical the same time. I just love what you do buddy. I love you 😚❤️

[@TommyNightm_re]

I'm loving your videos. Can't believe it took me this long to find them. I played a show with you in a basement called The Tip in 2012 iirc. My string broke and you let me play your Ibanez for the rest of my set. You told me I rock and I'm going to hold onto that until I die.

[@MoveSaga]

Is this guy a poet? a composer? a great guitar player? a videoartist? a youtuber? an editor? How the hell do you get so good at so many things?

[@tispre]

your music and visuals melt away my facade. thank you.

[@cnonymous]

dude every single one of your videos blows my damn mind

[@markreid7334]

Soul-oh 🙏

[@vitoremidio2740]

I love how these videos have kind of an emotional narrative in that even if I can't really relate personally with your struggles as an artist I still find myself empathising... Gives me the chills every time

[@Optic69]

This is probably the Best guitar video I've ever seen.

[@mmmicroplastics]

Bob Ross energy

[@teehundeart]

Bob Ross on Shrooms

[@EclecticSceptic]

Nah, way better

[@fleef69]

Ben Levin is like if Bob Ross and Frank Zappa had a baby while on every type of mind-expanding drug

[@jobiy1999]

Wow, while watching the video I just sort of started thinking and when I snapped back to reality I realized the it was over. I think guitar solos have this effect where the audience (or whom ever really) can add their own secret lyrics. Express their own words on the inside.

[@CaeSharp]

Ben and Levins Exellent Adventure.

[@rreyes3000]

Beautifully said at the end. Sounds like we are on the same path of discovery! You are many years ahead of me and look forward to more videos. Thank you

[@jeremyfagen]

this vid made me feel something i've never felt before

[@TheDiamondTardis]

I love your videos so much Ben. I've had a hard time trying to come up with my own stuff lately and watching your videos has shown me a whole other side to songwriting of which I have never seen before. I personally want to transform my channel into some sort of music channel once I can come up with things. I am currently 16 and I hope that some day I can be as creative and imaginatory as you are. The visuals in this were stunning and the audio even more so. Thank you for creating the things you do. And most importantly thank you for being a huge inspiration of mine

[@HHCforlife]

I'm convinced Ben Levin has been to the 4th dimension.

[@defnotmee5085]

True edutainment

[@CliffHairston]

So, I found you via Adam Neely. I have to admit I was watching you more in his videos than him in yours, mostly because I enjoyed and am still very much enjoying what I am learning. This video though. This is what will have me digging through everything you have put up so far and everything going forward. Why? Because you really struck a nerve. Music is, at its core, my meditation. Playing my chosen instrument (bass) is my way of going as deeply within myself and outside myself as I can. What you’re discussing and what you’re exploring in this brief 9:19 is, well, it just is. Thank you so much

[@nanayawberko3212]

This is the second video I've watched today The electricity has been out for most of my waking hours I heard that first solo and I FEEL THE POWER

[@fakeAtlas6080]

Thank you for existing

[@equisde8721]

Omg this is so inspiring

[@assdsdism]

i've never seen something like that before. is truly unique and beatiful. thank you, Ben.

[@guardmedia3633]

every time i watch your videos i come very close to crying i'm in awe x

[@xander1052]

I could listen to this entire lesson as a song its that good as both

[@spekkio]

i wish i could have watched your videos when i was a young guitarist many moons ago

[@dooshmagee2165]

dude you make the coolest videos out of anyone else i have seen, freaking love em

[@aaroncummings8736]

Thank you Ben. The last few minutes of this seemed to voice the frustrations that I keep inside. Music is so genuine and your approach to it appreciates that. It's a major triumph.

[@BaileyHeredge]

this whole videos a composition nice

[@kay4x4]

This is what YOU can be! Love you man. Regards, real person.

[@NolieRavioli]

I've been sending all of your vids to everyone I know so you can get a pbs show called the joys of music. Just wanted to thank you for *continuing to make my job easy.

[@guts2112]

Ben has transcended reality.

[@MDRN_ANMLS]

You are an absolute genius

[@jprnn]

Just the video I needed! I've been finding guitar a bit uninspiring lately. Not anymore!

[@drewb5775]

Thankyou for distracting me for 9 mins Ben. I needed it. Also, I'm sampling solo #4 for sure. Cheers.