What is the most difficult piece of music?

[@ssrd.]

Rest in peace Ben Johnston. He passed away at the age of 93 just on July 22, 2019.

[@MooseEatsBears]

I just showed up to say the same thing. May he rest in peace.

[@furmanarrangements]

I made a playlist of some of his works to help commemorate. RIP kzbin.info/aero/PLBvpZQMRrRGScYjBRKt5_2-8WEJ3i0uwV

[@thecobbfamily7761]

I was 93rd like

[@sweetwafer6099]

@@thecobbfamily7761 so now u're next

[@Bhatt_Hole]

@@todensarg The absolute master of music?? wtf?

[@vibes6326]

“what do we mean... by... difficult????” ok vsauce

[@yato3335]

But what is music?

[@sebastianzaczek]

But what is?

[@JacquesDeLeon]

What?

[@shouse_zip]

Канал Кузмича илрмлриодрмди одои до о мд омдод иъ

[@DavidRodriguez-ru6df]

I came to comments looking for this specific comment

[@explanationmark_]

anyway, here’s wonderwall

[@tangerin3_4utumn]

gregotheus_ i love you

[@motttta]

here's the intro of Smoke on the Water

[@offensive_name6123]

Heres seven nation army

[@redsea1234]

sup, here’s the intro of stairway to heaven

[@iggykad]

NovaExplosion *hand on guitar* no no no, not in my store.

[@BopLouie]

It's Hot Cross buns on a Recorder in 4th grade.

[@frenzzyleggs]

That’s hard but this is harder : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqq3q5JjeraCjqc

[@Agentepic25]

@Suqq a Kacktus I was literally about to type that lmao

[@thecobbfamily7761]

IM 200

[@chunkchunk223]

More like: hardest to listen to

[@zacharystevens8751]

When you think your 4th grade recorder song is hard, but you find out Ba ba black sheep was the real challenge

[@MisterAppleEsq]

When I was six, the F major scale was the most difficult piece of music I'd ever seen.

[@DZrache]

This is bringing back memories of being forced to play piano...

[@rayshroud9729]

F major is pretty weird on the piano. its the only scale i can think of off the top of my head that uses a 12341234 fingering pattern. there's probably others, but i cant think of them right now

[@MisterAppleEsq]

+Slate The reason it tripped me up is because both hand use a different fingering pattern.

[@carlosalejandroalvarenga4913]

Mister Apple honestly

[@6stringstorulethemall967]

Mister Apple that god damn Bb bro

[@AttitudeCastle]

Ben Johnston sadly just passed away, July 21st, 2019. RIP. His quartets are magnificent and hopefully his work becomes more widely performed!

[@michaelgibbs514]

May he rest in peace.

[@rdavidr]

"playing" a 70+ measure rest

[@browncoat697]

#justauxiliarypercussionthings

[@Pembolog]

What about Ravel's Bolero?

[@leocomerford]

Just hope the guy in the next chair doesn't forget to cue you in at the end of your, ahem, rest. Do you know the /Miss Saigon/ legend?

[@rddsknk89]

And then you miss the one crash hit in the entire piece when you miscount

[@tiyenin]

Punk Player94 I've done this. It's heartbreaking.

[@SgtSnausages]

Musician for 40+ years here. Still can't hear a 5 cent difference ...

[@emilianol203]

put that 2 seconds in your audio editor , listen to it 100 times in a loop, and a little diference will come up

[@kitsubreasts]

i'm new on music, i can hear it, i can actually hear 2 cents. But you still beat my ass on music everyday.

[@Liza.Wharton]

there's just no need to hear a 5 cent difference

[@sausas8209]

@@Liza.Wharton Except if you wanna master ben johnston string quartet 7

[@Dowlphin]

Ask an accountant to teach you. 😆

[@Bobobo-bo-bo-bobobo]

I hope everyone has practiced their 40hrs today.

[@tabbbasco_sauce4545]

nah, only ling ling

[@ProgressiveBoink]

Now that there's twoset fans here, get Brett and Eddy to sight read Ben Johnston's String Quartet 7

[@superduperjoi6800]

Who are you DUOLINGO OWL

[@TheFreekill17]

@@gnowra so cringe

[@mzadro7]

Yeah, i do. 40 hours. 40 hours a year

[@JimDooley]

No way man! I was totally hooked at the one minute mark.

[@srenkaas4654]

Jim Dooley same

[@matty9460]

"can you play this midi file" "hold on a sec, need to over clock my CPU"

[@TheCobCAP]

fl studio minimum specs: i9-9990k 64 gb ram

[@lowrider465]

6:20 THAT ISNT SHEET MUSIC ANYMMORE THATS A BLUEPRINT

[@Dowlphin]

...for the end of the world as we know it.

[@stokercarnage5194]

lmaoooo

[@janmatula1534]

i actually kinda like the aesthetics of the scores

[@ralphg.curtis9297]

This is a rare sporty Neely. It only appears once in every 276 Neelys. Upvote in A=432 seconds for finger fitness and good health.

[@CanningPetto]

PROTECT THIS HOUSE!

[@marcosgruchka2254]

If you dont you'll get a bend wrist everytime you play the bass

[@Doormin]

Marcos Gruchka this is an underrated reply

[@xFliox]

Never stop writing comments, existence need this. ( I just lmao)

[@soniFloatingAbout]

Well memed.

[@nineinchsails7702]

This page is the Vsauce of music theory

[@gavinroberts2581]

Diallo Banks wow, I never thought of thought of it that way but now you mention it...

[@treyforest2466]

“But what do we mean by... difficult?” (Vsauce music plays.)

[@MrJoaoVitoriginal]

"and how much does difficult... weight?"

[@JasonVladimir]

Build it, draw it, play it! ....BiDiPi

[@0xABADCAFE]

Damn, I was literally just thinking the same thing.

[@ThePopPunkDad]

I have ADHD so definitely John Cage’s 4’33” is the most difficult for me.

[@aatee5840]

The intonation that the front-row Karen needs to interpret the song is something rarely, if ever, accomplished.

[@mforgetteable]

My most coveted Apple Music purchase.

[@happypiano4810]

I have Tourette’s. If I’m in a wave, what the hell am I supposed to do?

[@ConnorHammond]

@@happypiano4810 lmao, you should make a 4'33" Tourette's edition. That'd be hilarious AND artistic if you act as though you're performing it seriously, as well.

[@happypiano4810]

@@ConnorHammond I’ll wait for another flare up, I guess.

[@KingOrpheus]

Dream Theater - Dance of Eternity is a great example. 108 time signature changes in just over six minutes, yet still able to maintain a tangible song "structure".

[@SammyMakepeace]

Nah man teenagers can play that xD

[@KingOrpheus]

@@SammyMakepeace No.

[@SammyMakepeace]

@@KingOrpheus no like literally, I can link you videos of teens and kids playing that. It's on KZbin. I know you don't want Dance of Eternity to be, but it is a meme piece now

[@slapp3r439]

the time changes aint even the hard part

[@MechanicalRabbits]

@@SammyMakepeace teenagers can be virtuosos. In fact, most virtuosos are already really good in their teens. A teenager being able to play The Dance of Eternity doesn't mean the piece is less difficult, it means the teenager is an amazing player.

[@kappachino2569]

Seven Nation Army by White Stripes

[@JanBabiuchHall]

Particularly the drums, yeah?

[@Dottor_J]

The riff of smoke on the waters on guitar

[@o00thunderhawk00o]

that song is impossible. no one can reach frets that fast.

[@darkdudironaji]

Even the white stripes can play that.

[@T4gProd]

DAAAAAMN!

[@niconico4138]

Try soloing over Giant Steps with Lars Ulrich and me performing "Clapping Music" in the background

[@Decrystallizing]

Nico Nico 😂😂😂💀 ok but in seriousness this is something I think about all the time: what if Metallica had a drummer who could actually get down?

[@alanschamber]

Now do it with a drummer that actually knows what 7/4 is :p

[@daniels1293]

Try playing soothslayer by buckethead lmao

[@edugarcia001]

I've seen the first five comments and no one was "Smoke on the water" KZbin changes

[@Kar4ever3]

At least no "Darude - Sandstorm"

[@arvidlundqvist7736]

Ironic, he could observe the change in others, but he himself stays the same.

[@rainbowbridge4766]

Eduardo Garcia Álvaro But can he play Smoke on the water?

[@Avvisoful]

Smoke on the water

[@JimTheCurator]

Avvisoful bore ragnarok

[@JawnLam]

A philosopher once said, "If you can play something slowly, you can play it quickly."

[@nnooooooooooooo]

Was this the same philosopher who required 40 hours of study a day?

[@mochienn]

must've been quite an _interesting_ philosopher ...

[@evaperez5625]

Perhaps a genius that was born, and not made?

[@slushu_6865]

V I O L A

[@linusschanreitner5825]

Must've been a philosopher for that statement, a musician would disagree.

[@lonisballington7636]

I love how his new intro has the infamous bent bassist wrist

[@alexdelarge5800]

me playing blues: A7 x4 D7 x2 A7 x2 E7 x1 me playing jazz: Cmaj7(b5)add9(#11)sus2

[@remifasolla5324]

so do you play 9-bars blues?

[@raulperez2308]

that's just a D13(b5) over C, git gud

[@dhu2056]

add9sus2 chords are the best

[@agustinquindimil6594]

Dude wtf Where's the 035 and the 7 7 10 7 5 3 2

[@khoaprod]

isnt that just a cmaj9 b5

[@chittychins9489]

Vsauce, Adam here.

[@indigoroyals6640]

There was a moment where I was waiting for the music to kick in.

[@Superphilipp]

Indigo Royals, he already did that joke once, guess it would get old.

[@cynomyS]

Superphilipp which video? Physicsgirl also did that in a video this summer

[@Vojife]

That's exactly what I was thinking! :D

[@orcaaaaa666]

Michael, Vsauce here.

[@brendondellinger355]

Through the Fire and the Flames on *E X P E R T D I F F I C U L T Y*

[@kwabzycomposer]

Brendon Dellinger @Acai

[@olen563]

Slow ride on easy

[@electrictiti]

I came for this comment!

[@billyashworth3944]

*200% speed

[@CoolAsianGuy]

even chiildren can play that

[@OrangeC7]

lol Niccolo is in the 1800s like, "N00bs get off my violin server"

[@hsuhorn]

OrangeC7 lol

[@sebastianzaczek]

I think he once even strongly rejected playing (or composing something for) the viola...

[@mikaelplaysguitar]

@@sebastianzaczek Paganini didn't want to play the viola concerto Berlioz was writing for him because the music had too many rests, not because it was for viola. Paganini himself was the one asking for the concerto in the first place.

[@MidlifeRenaissanceMan]

I just find it difficult getting out of bed in the morning.....does that count as virtuosity ??

[@Sockem1223]

Chris Wilson sending hugs

[@stuartcoyle1626]

You need to listen to what Robert Fripp says about being a successful musician.

[@ArielEduardoAlba]

It can acquire a superhuman difficulty at times...

[@oNTiger]

peter the chad

[@FUTrading]

+peter wurst u rly are the worst

[@OGSumo]

Hot Cross Buns had me sweatin' back in the day.

[@waffle5422]

ONE A PENNY TWO A PENNY HOT CROSS BUNS.

[@iammaxhailme]

One of my music TAs said "what's the problem if we define difficulty by how hard it is to recreate something that someone else did?" so I went on the piano and literally flopped my hands around like a fish doing random things and said "by that definition I have composed the most difficult piece of all"

[@blackcat19]

As I've grown older, I've gradually lost interest in virtuosity in music. Nowadays I care much more about the feelings a piece of music elicits in me and I'm more impressed by a group of "boring", simple parts working together in perfect harmony to make me feel something. As a result, I find myself appreciating simple, traditional, tonal music more and more with each passing year.

[@DiazShitAndStuff]

Interesting comment, as a young appreciator of music, I am hypnotised by virtuosity to a maybe detrimental level. As you mention, sometimes the real magic occurs in the simple combinations of harmony.

[@KitWriter]

I can get behind this to a degree. I like when a band or musician finds that delicate balance between virtuosity and expressive feel. I mean, it was funny when a fan told Tom DeLong, "You suck at guitar," and he snags a guitar and plays a complicated solo, then says, "So, I ask you, does THIS sell records? Because it doesn't put food on MY table." Korn had the same approach, so they cut solos out all together, and tuned down to 'A' and 'B' for their songs. But, for me, I like that balance. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2rJiaFtmsepmKc This silly-song-titled song has emotion, technicality, power, and it's moving. Would love to hear your thoughts.

[@03Venture]

blackcat19: Well said!

[@leftpastsaturn67]

An early symptom of the little-known but widely suffered - Phil Collins effect.

[@carterheekin1974]

I relate to that a little, given that before this year I never permitted myself to like EDM, which is silly because I would hear it all in terms of how it didn't meet my expectations, and I was totally missing the point. However, I've also realized more than ever that I don't think that the human voice is inherently one of the most pleasant sounds, but we love it so much for reasons described in this video.

[@3abdoX]

"Sound like they are moving furniture", I laughed so hard I spilled cola out of my nose. XD

[@blue_leader_5756]

That must have hurt

[@thomaspick4123]

Scratching fingernails on a chalkboard will have a similar effect on the listener. Or listening to a Frankenstein wife!

[@black_platypus]

"... and I wasn't even drinking cola!" :P

[@jheffreymartineau3388]

nIcE B A I T

[@wilkinson384]

I think wonderwall should get an honourable mention

[@MarkARoutt]

Louie Wilkinson nah.

[@singulartrout]

Louie Wilkinson toooOOOOO THE WIIIINDOOOOWW TOOOOOO THEEE WAAALLLLLL

[@nathanadler1452]

It's extremely difficult for most people at parties to know when they shouldn't play Wonderwall.

[@jakubstanicek6726]

I say Maybeeeeeeee...

[@RealEsther]

i dont know why i laughed out loud...

[@iammatt06]

7:48 while that’s partly true that we actually rely on the sound to correct the note if it’s out of tune the main thing is hours and hours until muscle memory kicks in. That’s how we play our notes without Frets and we start off as beginners with stickers and taps that replicate frets until we can play without them which takes at least 3-4 years

[@abbieamavi]

*then I will compose a black MIDI piece of eruption with solo double bass solos and nested tuplets with multiple sub divisions* *but dude what was Ben ON?!?! who hurt you man, why the pain bled onto paper?!?!*

[@sebastianzaczek]

Veni Vidi Amavi have fun

[@Anjiruu]

Eruption but the entire wingspan of the piece is compressed to equal subdivisions of pitch from C#3 to D4

[@tpat90]

Why pain, the music can be joyous at times. You just have to get used to the music. Listen to Amazing Grace by Ben Johnston as an example, it has some really astonishing moments.

[@ConvincingPeople]

Veni Vidi Amavi To explain simply: Ben Johnston was a serialist composer who wound up getting really into just intonation and sought to bring the pure and clear yet often alien harmonies of the latter into the complex structural frameworks of the former. In order to square this circle, he would do things like create tone rows based on pitches derived from stacked intervals up and down the harmonic series. The point is, in essence, to create music that is at once beautiful to the ear and fascinating to the intellect; the issue is making it happen outside of one's own head, in which case having very dedicated collaborators like the Kepler Quartet is a must.

[@RobMarques]

@@ConvincingPeople *mic drop*

[@thefakedeal]

The new intro is really really creepy.

[@lancego4109]

thats why i like it

[@wdalts]

Have you seen the old one? Lol

[@RCAvhstape]

The old one was wonderful in a vapor wavy kind of way.

[@tobiasobsen1287]

you should check out the music videos of simon fransman to see its full creepness

[@Catmomila]

A E S T H E T I C

[@jpegis_an_audio_file3809]

Adam is the music Vsauce

[@Ardeact]

JPEG Is_an_audio_file I think JPEGs bring out superior sound quality than FLACs

[@kyrla]

Clearly not. I take it you've never heard a music .pptx

[@Ardeact]

It may be high quality but I find the .pptx to be a bit slidey

[@canceroushit5933]

I still remember that one vid where he played the vsauce music as a joke

[@cherrylover1349]

Vsauce is irreplaceable

[@handledav]

The flight of the bumblebee is a lot easier than it looks

[@roberthunter5059]

Chromatic scales everywhere!

[@fionapalma3886]

ok david

[@thesteaksaignant]

Yep, that's why people can play it fast

[@FightingFire01]

Cziffra respectfully disagrees

[@lebe0396]

To be fair it is just a bunch of scales so it kinda is easier than it seems

[@DjVortex-w]

I think that John Cage's 4'33" is the most difficult piece of "music" to play in a casual social setting. I have once seen an attempt live. It failed. It failed because the audience got bored in like 15 seconds and went to do other things, and thus the "musician" just stopped even attempting anymore after a few seconds more.

[@TheStuF]

Nothing "failed", the piece was played perfectly. It ends 4.33 after it starts.. there is nothing in the original manuscript saying how to "end" the piece. Crowd can do what they wish, they do not HAVE to be silent. You do not understand the piece at all.

[@DjVortex-w]

@@TheStuF I think that when the musician stops performing the piece, it has failed.

[@TheStuF]

@@DjVortex-w I understand your point and for any other piece I would agree. For this particular piece it is just not so. The piece continues to be judged on its content and how that content is being performed - as in is it performed EXACTLY as composed (if we are determining a difficulty level for performance of a piece this is our only accurate measure), whether audience (or in this case musician) continues their role or not - at a rock concert many people are not paying attention but the "player" may be perfect. As the piece is not reliant on any activity by the musician it is therefore not reliant on the presence of said musician. 4'33'' is NOT performance art, it is a song.

[@TheStuF]

@@hello-pf2ew 4'33" or the original comment or my replies? Which (or all 3) is the joke ;)

[@TheStuF]

@@hello-pf2ew is it me your looking for?

[@arkocal1611]

I demand an honorable mention to Trout Mask Replica.

[@educostanzo]

Second that!

[@bm7024]

No lol

[@jdsevereide]

Ug

[@LaughWhileItsStillLegal]

Obviously John Cage's 4"33 is most difficult,so far everyone gave up without even trying XD

[@legamature]

Have you heard the piece?

[@jernfuglen]

I tried playing it on piano, but I failed.

[@EinSofVirtuoso]

@@jernfuglen I always forget to flip the page.

[@davidmdyer838]

Most people get this one wrong. 4'33" is not silence, it is ambient sound, therefore different for every time it is performed. It is meant to wake up your ears.

[@TheStuF]

@@davidmdyer838 yes, David. So Original Poster is correct. Seen as the composer did not tell us exactly how it should be, it is the most difficult piece to perform CORRECTLY. I.e. there is NO correct method :)

[@zzzdi5770]

To answer your last question, I'd say Ligeti's "Fanfares" for piano (one of his Etudes if I'm correct). The piece is constructed around one rather simple ostinato, which travels through both hands and many registers, and never stops. But a lot of things are happening around it, sometimes the ostinato is put forward, and sometimes it completely melts in the background. I love this piece because its concept is easily accessible even to "neophytes", but it is extremely challenging too (having witnessed a pro pianist work on it for a couple of months). I love how Ligeti proposes repetition as a mean of both accessibility and complexity. Excuse my english btw, I'm french.

[@ConvincingPeople]

That's actually fascinating. And of course it's Ligeti.

[@Qwuarter]

now I wanna hear Rob Scallon play the 7th string quartet only on the 7th string of his 8 string guitar.

[@hyperbiscuit2284]

Hell yeah dude!

[@wavechamber320]

Oh come on, that's even too dumb for a joke!

[@camelot_crusader3024]

Ling Ling can sight read every part of the Ben Johnston string quartet at once and play them all on just violin.

[@radiofriendlyunitshifter5980]

Twosetviolin?

[@sebastianzaczek]

Yeet

[@kwabzycomposer]

Wow that’s pretty I N T E R E S T I N G

[@u.v.s.5583]

If I practiced 40 hours a day 365 days a week, I could reproduce his results within the next five millenia.

[@elmohead]

Ling Ling can play that on a viola.

[@Vermin298]

Hardest thing to play is something new. As in, creating new music. I don't play any instruments i just make music on my computer (just as a hobby, don't get excited) but trying to come up with something that sounds new and fresh is the hardest thing for me. Also the most rewarding....

[@mysteriousDSF]

as a composer I perfectly agree! it's got me hooked all my life.

[@jameshigdon4110]

I play both physical instruments like guitar, piano, and drums AS WELL as the computer, and I have to say; in DAWs that quantize everything and fix pitch to exact 440hz standards and the like, it's way harder to just...Create something totally new and unique. I can only imagine working with extended scales with semi-tones and convoluted time signatures in something like Reason, Ableton or FL Studio. If someone wants to show me a math metal song with nonstandard scales with nested triplets and the like, I'll be legitimately impressed, though.

[@baklap141]

I play acoustic/electric guitar , keyboards/piano and Ive never had any lessons for guitar. Only in the past when I was young I had piano lessons for about 6 years. Learned guitar just by watching youtube 😜 I wish I kept playing piano but I stopped when I was around 18 years....just because at that time girls and friends where a lot more in the picture. Later on I had a neighbour working with the daw Renoise and since then I am hooked on the program now for more then 10 years. There is still a lot new stuff to learn but I know to create a lot different styles of music now. I find it very satifying to learn a lot different genres and then mix different genres. The most important is to not copy people I think. My friends can hear clearly what I made and what not, just because I have a personal style. Actually when working on new stuff I let the sounds just guide me , everything just is coming out of nothing. Quantizing is not the best , it removes the feel in the music. Some things like bass lines sound better when being perfect on beat but other things sound better when recorded live. I tryed Ableton live , FLstudio , qbase ,reason and some other daws but I still prefer Renoise. I also have times when being completely zero creativity , then exploring new music helps me a lot or just work on new stuff with friends is also nice.

[@holliefitzzz]

@@jameshigdon4110 100% agree. After being in "proper" bands for years I did a solo side project and i made everything on computer. Sounds like everybody else no matter what i do

[@jameshigdon4110]

@@holliefitzzz I mean, it can absolutely be done. You can turn off quantization, change the frequencies and pitch of your instruments and automate tempo from like 30 BPM to like 500 BPM. It'd just be a lot more work than playing actual instruments. Lol.

[@ZoolanderSkytower]

Playing Ben Johnstone. "You were off on that." "Oh you noticed my inversions?"

[@Altusfonz]

I still get nightmares about playing Giant steps. Those chords just FLY at you.

[@mr.blocky3274]

They do take "Giant Steps"

[@harryvincent]

did anyone else think he was going to say all star at 7:00

[@sebb01243]

Yes. Good to know I'm not insane.Yet.

[@james.randorff]

Yes, and I was wondering how far I would have to go in the comments before someone mentioned it. 😂

[@EverlastingLuigi]

I thought he was going to say John Cage 4'33

[@fudgesauce]

I watched this video as the last thing I did before going to bed. Then I had a dream. In the dream, it was a vlog style of Adam climbing on the outside of an old, tall, train tressel, racing to get in position before the train arrived. Of course, vlog style, it had shots of Adam first person and from the place he was going to, so he must have set a camera out at the place he was trying to get to. It was technically difficult and if he slipped he would have fallen a great distance. Anyway, he gets to his mark just as the train arrives, and Adam curses because the point of the video was to demonstrate the doppler shift, but the train didn't blow its horn. Not sure why he expected it to, nor why he had to capturing it on the tressel other than visual interest. As he exited the tressel, the police were just arriving, and he ran away as the police chased. I never found out if Adam got caught because I woke up and had to pee. Sorry dream Adam, you are in dream limbo now.

[@AndyChamberlainMusic]

Ben Johnston passed away just a few weeks ago today. It's amazing and wonderful that his quartets all got finished recording in 2016. Amazing stuff.

[@NotMeInc]

A solo performance of Steve Reich’s Piano Phase is pretty damn impressive

[@simongunkel7457]

Especially if the instructions for how to arrange the pianos is adhered to. I'd say the limiting factor might be the feet, rather than the hands or the performers sense of time.

[@martipereira4553]

there's a video of that somewhere in youtube

[@kyrla]

A duet performance of Steve Reich's Piano Phase is even more impressive, because it's hard to deliberately stay slightly out of tempo with someone else while they're also unconsciously trying to bring the parts back in phase.

[@k.upward]

Yes I did an all-night baton passing play through where we would each tag in at various parts of the piece and complete it in turns.....jumping in was the hardest part

[@MladenDragovicMusic]

"Sounds like they're moving furniture." And it LOOKS like they've thrown it out of the window on a lawn full of garbage.

[@guillermotaylor6506]

"though fire and flames" in expert mode is the most difficult

[@superkirk11]

That song is on Rocksmith now, and it's the fully sped up studio version. down right painful (but fun) to play. Puts expert hyper speed 5 to shame.

[@superkirk11]

Rocksmith has it as two separate parts, Lead and Alt Lead. I think I got like a 46% on Lead, Haven't tried Alt Lead yet. I usually stop playing for the night after I attempt that song.

[@bkaspe00]

Guillermo Taylor Damnit I just posted that joke

[@lrballistics]

Wait seriously? Rocksmith 2014?

[@rosiefay7283]

1:35 I think you can split this hair even further. Some music is physically difficult because of the sheer stamina you need to perform it. For example, the first movement of Alkan's Concerto for solo piano (op.39 no. 8). Some, because of the technique needed (e.g. some of Chopin's Etudes and Liszt's Transcendental Etudes -- some of which need lots of stamina, too). As for conceptual virtuosity, I give you avant-garde composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Cornelius Cardew and ... 6:06 ... you read my mind! 7:48 Adam "This music is insanely difficult." String player: "No frets!"

[@wilh3lmmusic]

Stamina - Welcome to Sorabji

[@SgtFloofy]

Another song that requires large amounts of stamina: Fracture by King Crimson; that song is notoriously difficult to play

[@xGshikamaru]

Dream Theater - The Dance of Eternity all these time signatures were mind boggling when I first heard them. The song is not only technically and conceptually challenging, it's also nice to my ears, and that is probably an ingredient of its appeal. Great stuff. Physical Education by Animals as Leaders is another one.

[@tonallysavage3990]

So is arithmophobia

[@c.l.368]

Cognitive contortionsssss

[@c.l.368]

Or any of Virgil Donati's original compositions

[@sashingopaul3111]

any Dream Theater song is hard

[@syndesys]

xGshikamaru I honestly kept thinking about The Dance of Eternity the whole video

[@Giganfan2k1]

Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" was probably the hardest piece for me to play in high school. The slow pace, even tones meant you had to speed up and slow down your bow to keep an even tone. Hell you could also rock your fingers flat and sharp to conserve bow speed if you needed. But you had to be intmately familiar to how your instrument sounded. So many technical things were going on that most of the parents that listened to us didn't probably appriciate. Just a straight challenge was probably an unabridged copy of "Night on Bald Mountain" but it didn't sound as great because our symphony orchestra was just band nerds we rented and they had band stuff to master. I think we sounded better without them. No offense.

[@Cloudkusanagui]

Gotta admit I was ready to say "How can the clickbait not be Ferneyhough and his philosophy of new complexity??". THANK YOU sir, for showing me a new composer and a new complex idea of creating music. Your videos are always very insightful and informative, GREAT content.

[@mytranscription6909]

"Physical Virtuosity", "conceptual Virtuosity" means difficult. Franz Liszt : Hold my beer

[@RunePaamand]

@@paeffill9428 But it's a good example of pieces that are both.

[@dhruvsawant9234]

@@paeffill9428 his spanish rhapsody s253, s 140 no 4b, 6 and 3, berlioz transcriptions and beethoven symphony transcriptions are all up there(because they're impossible). But yes, he does have a lot of pieces that sound really good(ständchen, liebestraumes, consolations,etc.) In fact I actually really like the s 140 no. 3, as i like it's theme(the one that is in the violin concerto) more than the replacement in the la campanella that is played today. Same with the 6th paganini étude.

[@chazinko]

Liszt was smart - he knew audiences, he knew how to write effective, dramatic music and he knew what was physically possible for the instrument. His music's enduring legacy is his musical inspiration and the combination of these factors.

[@thekenanski8789]

idk, I think a lot of Liszt's technically difficult works are actually conceptually really simple-there's not that much really going on besides taking chords and then spamming ridiculous arpeggios and octaves and adding as many different voices as possible, etc. but in essence there's not much there beneath the flamboyant surface.

[@Alejandro_87]

"Mary had a little lamb" - cover by Guthrie Govan

[@oofley8346]

"Sounds like they're moving furniture" is the funniest thing I've heard in a good while

[@ajadrew]

2:20......not you...;-)))

[@EricssonB]

ajadrew loll wasn't expecting to laugh; did

[@ajadrew]

Adam nailed it!!

[@tushatoobackup787]

ajadrew lol I'm weak Poor Donald

[@fburton8]

I laughed so hard that milk came out of my nose.

[@GoldRaptor00]

DELET THIS >:(((

[@khakishorts8661]

Brian Fernyhough's piece looks like one of my fever dreams

[@mr.plague1192]

smoke on the water

[@tomzijp4020]

On the g string exclusively

[@sowieckikaktus172]

0 3 5 0 3 6 5 0 3 5 3 0

[@unknownboi.]

Sowiecki Kaktus oooo its so complex

[@sowieckikaktus172]

@@unknownboi. yeah, took me about half day to write tabs, you're welcome

[@elianasteele553]

The genre of Math Rock seems to be really difficult to master.

[@hydroidsound]

Chon, Polyphia, Covet, The Omnific. All insane prog math rock bands.

[@teamatfort444]

Jaksida try play mesuggah

[@greenchilaquiles]

@monokhem jazz was only ever cool on January 20, 1963 and never again.

[@mocktagisapunkband]

monokhem Jazz was cool?

[@royalcat10]

@Ryan Bergener That's not the point of calling it "math rock" While you are correct in that math is everpresent in all music and all things. Generally you don't have to do very much thinking mathematically beyond counting to 4 in most music, and usually can just be felt rather than counted. Mathrock is dubbed so because... well to play it you have to do the math. Literally. The constant changing of time signatures and extremely unusual rhythms means that you usually cannot "feel" the music. You either count or get horribly lost.

[@HarlanValdes]

"Hey Adam Vsauce here"

[@Adam-yo3bt]

Harlan Valdes jesus is coming back repent.

[@MrGorobu]

I was waiting for the vsauce music to drop.

[@alhfgsp]

Virtuosity can often show more in slow playing because you can hear how much care is put into the presentation of every note, and the skill in being able to paint a certain picture. To hear how violinists can make certain notes resonate so beautifully. Speed isn't always the determining factor, though it is impressive and shows tens of thousands of practice hours.

[@thisismyname1920]

The small-hands Trump jab caught me off guard. Fricken hilarious

[@danem2215]

Special K Ikr, I died

[@sciencmath]

I voted for him but I always appreciate a good small hands joke

[@Yet_another_placeholder]

Both Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D and Camille Saint-Saëns' Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso were considered physically to be really difficult. The Violin Concerto was even considered impossible to play, when it was first released. Then someone played it, and now it's just considered difficult, not impossible...

[@FreezepondMapping]

This video has comments from 2 days ago. What?

[@AdamNeely]

Patreon people get early access.

[@classclown6ya]

Freezepond lol exactly I see it too

[@tushatoobackup787]

Freezepond The gay frogs are responsible

[@ajadrew]

There's water at the bottom of the ocean

[@calebbelac9349]

This video helps me realize how far he’s come with audio quality

[@mateistroia9780]

This guy is the PsychedSubstance of music. His name is also Adam.

[@jamieproctor7109]

did you coin the term 'hear the sweat' because I'm writing a dissertation that uses concepts similar to what you have put forward here, and i can't find any sources that use that phrase. I think it is a really good phrase.

[@Remmy_Swag]

I saw Ben Johnston in the thumbnail and was stupid thinking it was the really obscure drummer from Biffy Clyro (The greatest band of all time)

[@claypolak2412]

MON THE BIFF

[@Santos.Sarmento]

Brilliant. The best thing about this title is the question that elicits the answer given. The same reasoning can be applied to "what is art" or "what is intelligence".

[@jolan7765]

Smoke on the water by deep purple

[@jennyjohn704]

What about that overplayed warhorse?

[@casanveva]

@@jennyjohn704 I guess the world never found out

[@brentlareaux8419]

That doesn't fit in the category because its pretty much unplayable.

[@ingwerschorle_]

0 3 5

[@nanoa4863]

most difficult piece of music is "Despacito" extremely hard to perform without dying

[@francisguyo]

haha true

[@NotRightMusic]

But who can define "creative virtuosity?"

[@oscarito8417]

I think they're called "genius" instead of "creative virtuosos"

[@2r8u74]

No, creative virtuosity is rarely identified by the general public. It isn't Taylor Swift so I don't understand it. Mozart was a rare creative virtuosity that bc of his sister before him, his father had built in roads to the music hall and patrons across europe. But he was derided by his peers and died broke. Usually a group of musicians "discover" creative virtuosity then the artist is recognized. I met two, they both hated the public, weren't in it for the money but saw year after year music stolen from them cut down to the thief's ability and some were huge hits and some were not even b-sides. Nothing was ever "finished" to them. One had a really bad week, his wife was pregnant and left him to be with the other guy taking his daughter that they were actually developing telecommunication through facial expressions then over time making the expressions less and less pronounced. Then he came home and all his recordings were stolen along with his studio. So he went to the local dealer and said Here's $200 give me as much of that stuff called Hillbilly Heroin. The dealer gave him double out of respect for his talent and his father found him on a couch in an empty house. Death by stress or misadventure. The other He is an American myth very hard to find is doing impossible things. Last I saw, he layered and played three parts but then his wife started playing and they were tuned in a way that the music had a rhythm and melody but the tuning sounded like their voices and I could hear a vocal line. I could understand it. Two classical guitars by their pond. The deer came out of the forest behind the pond and laid down. He wouldn't let me get past a Bailey's buzz bc there was this almost hallucinatory effect as you listened closer to make out the words and when they stopped, it was confusing about what happened during parts. If he ever would allow anything to get out. It would be rejected bc of the emotional control he takes f4om you. Usually we let the song effect our emotions by pairing memories with it giving it personal significance but when your emotional response is not your choice and being dictated to you, it is scary and the villagers would definitely have them on the list to chase with torches. I listened to the same song the next day after getting stoned and it was so intense I was digging my fingernails into the couch and finally lunged to get the headphones off. I not sure who his audience would be but he has surpassed what is accepted at our age and era. Music affects you everyone agrees, he can make it manipulate you against your will. He says bands and lead singers get feedback and say I hope it touches people that means a lot I hope they feel the way I did. Well he makes you feel the way he wants you to and it is over all creative virtuosity none for a very long time will get it but every song starts very catchy and seductive and then the wild ride and the endings are always a power punch Yeah Wow. The middle it is differentl. They say Everyone has a gimmick. Jimi the fire and smashing, our gimmick is we are fucking incredibly good and we keep opening more doors so we can either go play for money to people that think a snare and maybe keyboard bleeps with a dude talking in sentence that all rhyme with the last word is really cool music or we can keep building finding understanding the unknown force that is mystery magic called music. Give don't take. So...thatis the long version of a creative virtuosity musician.

[@IuriSigma]

/\ WHAT O_O

[@2r8u74]

Maybe too much information falls by the wayside in a technological social media condensed or confused age. Sorry for trying to...explain advances that we all know isn't what is accepted or commercial and part of a theory that is equivalent to the uniiverse revolves around the earth. Suppression of advancement is easier than understanding and explaining it in 144 characters. Theory is not fact and when it comes to music the facts have been retarded for about a century or more when commerce made theory of that time enough to sell and to go further into understanding the concepts and differential and effects psychologically emotionally and even communally mean unsettled science and that is fluidity in economics which is the disease that kills profit. But since the blindspot in that theory is ignorance of fact and ignorance is hindrance of fact which will never be eliminated as enlightenment does not travel along an economic or better said, along a singularity but is on a universal plane which results in an unseen route such as a technological one which has brought about that fluidity in a smaller stream of principled dedication to human advancement of this phenomenon that could be in a natural development in the same vein as quantum physics instead the percentage of humanity thay are associated with music is small and those that see truth in the rejection of outdated misguided theories and even categorization in a concepts of the nebulous arena called arrt or are mostly invested in the crumbling of that economic designation are so minute that the ability to advance is resisted as the ignorance of the majority, the almost universally agreed on ignorance will reduce those that become the leaders of the musical age of enlightenment which is always rejected by those in tower built on the past. I realize that this most likely didn't help. But maybe this will: I am not a witch, tell the villagers not to chase me. The future will make this easier to accept after the grief of greed and the theft of intellectual prestige destroys the value of some and on those ruins will be built the worth to all.

[@MichaelBB]

Art Tatum was a creative virtuoso. MBB

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Transcending the notes is the most difficult. This is expressive perfection - the best music video I've ever discovered. Beautiful on every level.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/enPPY3aijd-nabc

[@moradan81]

3:47 I hear Astor Piazzola's "Fuga y misterio" in that violin.

[@lloydaran]

Paganini and Liszt's most hand-crushing pieces still leave me speechless anytime I watch an extremely rare, proper performance, I don't think their highest levels are "popularised" enough for me to lose interest at all. In other words, I don't need to search for pieces like the last one you talked about.

[@flisboac]

0:13 For some reason, this intro terrifies me. More specifically, the music, not the animation.

[@tribbybueno]

i like how self-aware your narrative is. something as abstract as this requires flowery diction and here you are, writing bits where you make fun of yourself for it. bless you

[@palermus20]

You look like that one Bullie in school whose parents were really strict so they made you learn jazz and now you are super a chill dude

[@Iaido_Tests]

Paganini has more difficult pieces than his 24 caprices. Nel cor piú non mi sento or his variations on God save the queen for example.

[@dhruvsawant9234]

How about sorabji's symphonic variations(lasts for 9 hrs), or his opus clavicemballisticum? They're both impossible. So is liszts s140 études(études d'execution transcendente d'apres paganini, or the original paganini études) no 4b, 6 and 3. As well as quite a few more from liszt(like his symphony transcription, Spanish fantasy s253), more from Alkan and Mereux, and also Beethoven's hammerklavier(It's actually impossible at tempo too). And I think it's god save the king.

[@Iaido_Tests]

@@dhruvsawant9234 Yeah, it is "god save the King". It was my autocorrecture. Hate it. There are many more pieces which are more difficult than the ones mentioned in the Video.

[@kathychenyinggao4519]

Need to be a LingLing to play Nel Cor Pio Non Me Sento! A LingLing like Ziyu He

[@KingstonCzajkowski]

@@dhruvsawant9234 Sorabji is the most difficult composer on that list; the rest don't compare, except for maybe Alkan. Sorabji is insane.

[@walterwhite7468]

0:07 vsauce much

[@Asidders]

He missed the music cue ☹️

[@grainfrizz]

Water is wet . . . . . . . Or is it?

[@SadButter]

@@grainfrizz no it isn't, because "wet" is defined as something that is drenched or covered in water. Therefore saying that water is covered by water makes no sense.

[@JohnSmith-yi9cp]

That nigha channel dead for 2 years now

[@abelieversperspective9595]

There is virtue in honest effort. Effort is audible whether it is in the conception of the piece, the performance of it, or both.

[@christianraduns9700]

All Star is obviously the hardest

[@garrybobbyphogeson721]

christian raduns but it can't even be played by computers so it doesn't count. Only the all powerful smash mouth could ever play it

[@deejay5633]

Top 5 Most Difficult Pieces I Know 1. DREAM THEATER SONGS (Petrucci and Rudess are responsible) 2. Shawn Lane Live Solos 3. Yuja Wang/George Cziffra's Arrangement of Flight of The Bumblebee (Insane on Piano) 4. Hungarian Rhapsody (Movement no. 2) 5. Circus Gallop (played by a kid so not a black midi anymore)

[@distortion1222]

David Angat dream theater 😍

[@orngng]

IMO, 4 and 5 is the best ones on this comment section

[@jozokrstanovic9040]

David Angat death waltz??

[@alexmurphy5289]

Rush bombs on Dream Theater...

[@Ivan_1791]

David Angat I know more about piano and I have clear that the hardest piece for piano is Scarbo. xD And the hardest piece of Cziffra is the Sabre Dance.

[@NightshadeNate]

Duh, Everyone knows it's Through the Fires and Flames, get your facts right

[@bluchicken_995]

*soulless 5

[@zubrhero5270]

Yea but only on a plastic 5 button Les Paul. Otherwise its easy.

[@bertaga41]

This is splendid. It is a joy to listen to such an articulate speaker. The video itself is a work of virtuosity! I am fascinated by the concept of difficulty in music. My focus is largely on British traditional folk song and I have noticed over the years that some tunes are easily assimilated but others of apparently no greater complexity have me stumbling for months. I'd love to get an insight into this type of difficulty.

[@TheStuF]

That type of difficulty is the MOST interesting, great comment. There are various reasons you will struggle but not know exactly why... One aspect is simply timing (if the music and words are not at the exact time of the version you are emulating (not necessarily IN time) it doesn't sound "right") and another would be the exact "phrasing" by this I mean the small groups of notes in the vocals/music being "correct" again this is due to the "loose" nature of SOME folk songs. Hard to put in to words but examples in Irish folk would be "She moved through the fair" (simple when you HEAR it but to sing it CORRECTLY takes a lot of practice and most high level singers do not even get it "right" - to me). "Stretched at your grave" is another because of the change in the final line of each verse - it takes a long time to get it to sound right. I believe it to be due to the fact that folk music has "formed" rather than followed a structure of composition. Hopefully Adam will talk about it because it is a very interesting aspect. Focussing on the music and playing these songs on instruments it would be down to "microgroove", noticing the exact pitch/length/loudness of all notes and getting the VARIATION correct. I.e. does the phrase that plays along with a word/group of words in the first verse still want to be played the same along with DIFFERENT word/words in the second verse, for example. Finally, folk music induces emotion strongly. Folk music is normally VERY well recognized by the audience (they know what it "should" sound like). Therefore folk music MUST be performed in a certain way in order to induce the correct effect on the audience. This certain way is undefined. An 85 year old man after drinking half a bottle of Whiskey once sang the BEST version of a local tune I ever heard or could hear... but he made some mistakes haha :) Main thing, as you know yourself, is to connect to the song as performer.. do this and you can play it HOWEVER YOU WANT :)

[@TheStuF]

a shorter answer is "because of the intimate mixture of very similar and extremely unusual music within folk" So by this I mean - even within a single tune there can be 90% "easy" and 10% "almost impossible" and this, I think, is due to the nature of how the tunes came to be :)

[@bertaga41]

@@TheStuF Thanks. It's great to get an intelligent answer. I think I often I have a certain pitch blind spot which I have to surmount about a thousand times before I can clear it.Ill try playing it on piano then on guitar and get it right but then go back and sing it the old way. Possibly the motor skills are picked up faster because you can visually place the notes whereas with the voice unless you're at the level of a classically trained singer it's largely intuitive. I have spent some time trying to give pitches a physical place in mouth, throat , head or other part of the body and at times this is fairly successful. The only advantage of this slow learning process seems to be that once the obstacle is surmounted the tune is permanently imprinted.

[@TheOpus480]

Apparently some of Bach's Contrapuntus' are known to be extremely hard from his Art of Fugue. Bach's techniques are very hard to wrap the brain around. Or even Charles Alkan's pieces of piano music is extremely hard.

[@Milanesachan]

1:29 who else gets that "vsauce vive" whenever that song starts?

[@Are_you_eyeballing_me]

Where the hell is "YA!" in the end of the intro you rascal? #bringYAback

[@yasirazhari3794]

Are You Eyeballing Me? If you were a true fan you'd know that the "ya" is from his Q&A series.

[@Are_you_eyeballing_me]

Yasir Azhari Whatever, I still want it here.

[@yasirazhari3794]

Are You Eyeballing Me? We all do, my friend...we all do.

[@ryanvergara3603]

I need the "YA!" in my life.

[@benjamindady4366]

I need the old intro back

[@ngideo]

I appreciate you promoting Ben Johnston's work; good stuff!

[@Ninja9191]

0:10 Vsauce, Adam here!

[@MichaelCarswellMusic]

Hot cross buns is easily the most difficult piece...

[@paulocone1963]

If it's microtonal and slowly increasing in speed to insanely fast at the most extreme dynamics of your instrument and constantly changing time and rhythm and key, then maybe.

[@ryanschindler923]

let me dust off the old recorder real quick......

[@guerschonauguste9762]

The beat at the end is so cool Loll !!!! One of the craziest composers out there to me is Nikolai Kapustin. His virtuositic writing is amazing. His music sounds improvised but it's not....

[@Learntheharmonica]

Hi Adam, currently exploring and enjoying your channel. I like here that you mention that listeners want to hear the "sweat" of the player. One of the most creative blues harmonica players ever, Paul deLay, was great to listen to for that sweat: I picture it as a musical tightrope where the great players somehow manage to get across unscathed - the wobbles and scares along the way are the 'sweat' you mention and it's all part of the exhilarating listening experience. As an aside, I studied aesthetics as part of a Philosophy degree at Durham University, where Andy Hamilton is a professor; nice to see him get a mention in this video. Keep up the good work. Cheers. Liam.

[@TheStuF]

Hi Liam, great comment and I like your analogy of the tightrope! I agree and would also say that if you play the actual instrument your self this heightens the feeling (because of really understanding the difficulty). As an aside, what do you think of Don Van Vliet as a harmonica player?

[@ollwoblobollbolo4181]

Huge thanks for introducing me to Ben Johnston!. On a lightly related note, have you checked out some of Aphex Twin's songs? he likes to use weird microtonal tunings, that I can't quite grasp.... Some of his songs sound slightly off but at the same time somehow right.... I love it. (Of course nothing compared to Ben Johnstons work :D)

[@HECKproductions]

i would say wonderwall i cant play it without throwing up

[@alethephobe7586]

What the fuck?

[@diego2246]

Lately I went back to my first classical etude written by Fernando Sor for guitar, which I played when I was just 10, like 30 years ago. It is really easy, buy if you give the proper attention to each and every note you are playing, it becomes quite a challenge. Every piece of music can be quite difficult if played consciously and meticulously, with the proper timing, dynamics, intonation, etc.

[@MeatBunFul]

Anything by Hungarian composers

[@davegoldsmith173]

Arnan absolutely. Hungary gets pretty far out there

[@kyrla]

B A R T Ó K

[@borsuck13]

Kodaly

[@arvaborelius7269]

Liszt

[@smikkelbeer6352]

I wouldn't say Brahms only wrote hard to play music