Good video. Interesting thing about it is that even though I know this stuff and it should be common sense to me, it's embarrassing how often that supposed common sense goes out the window for me in many playing situations. I'll then kick myself for making all those "rookie mistakes" and scold myself because I should be better than that.
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Rick Beato: What bassplayers should know
- Thread starter RichardW
- Start date
Rick Beato: Don't play the third if the singer is singing the thrird
The Smiths Bassist: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Smiths Bassist: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think that's the video I'm thinking of (ie., I watched that video before "Era of Perfect Music"), but his "Era of Perfect Music" video touched on pretty much the exact same stuff...
Yep!
Joe Walsh talks about the same thing in this brief vid......
One of my favorite Youtube'rs for sure. Rick finds a way to combine composition, theory and production together like no one I have ever seen. He's great.
Everything but the title. Come on, man, computers didn't of their own accord break into recording studios and force people to do these things. (I have this image of a PC holding a gun to a producer's head saying "snap to the grid or else!") People made decisions to do these things. Sure, they needed computers to enable them, but it's not the fault of the computer, it's the fault of the people who said things like, "ohh, a grid. I guess we'd better force everything into it."
But still, lots of good content otherwise. I think it was in that video where he talks about how the Police's "Roxanne" is at slightly different BPM for each verse and each playthrough of the chorus. Never noticed that before, now can't not notice it—happens all the time in music from that era, though.
Oh, and the real culprits are drummers, of course.
If drummers weren't such a PITA, there never would have been drum machines. It's drum machines that really locked songs into fixed tempos...
If drummers weren't such a PITA, there never would have been drum machines. It's drum machines that really locked songs into fixed tempos...
Technology has pealed the onion of human creativity from the art of music since Edison invented the phonograph.
In the 50’s, the jukebox started the trend that eventually put live musicians out of business. Performances became more and more driven towards spectacle and farther and farther from actual music.
And as far as computers ruining music, Multi-track tape, fundamentally changed the medium in much the same ways that Beato says computers are doing it today.
Those old recordings of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong were a single mic in the center of the performers. The “mixing” was done by moving players around the room. The “faders” was how far away from the mic you we’re standing. And nobody made any mistakes because these were professional bands that played two or three shows a day, the recordings we know and love were just another one of a thousand times they had played that same song.
Multi-track recording changed all that. Bands we all love like Zeppelin, Joe Walsh’s Eagles and epitomized by the likes of The Beatles and Steely Dan built songs in the studio track by track; they usually only learned to play them live by going back and learning the song from their own recordings.
Computer and digital technology is just another step along that same road that we have been traveling since Edison.
The only constant is the simple fact that its just as hard to write a good catchy or poignant song today as it has ever been. I pray that will never change.
In the 50’s, the jukebox started the trend that eventually put live musicians out of business. Performances became more and more driven towards spectacle and farther and farther from actual music.
And as far as computers ruining music, Multi-track tape, fundamentally changed the medium in much the same ways that Beato says computers are doing it today.
Those old recordings of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong were a single mic in the center of the performers. The “mixing” was done by moving players around the room. The “faders” was how far away from the mic you we’re standing. And nobody made any mistakes because these were professional bands that played two or three shows a day, the recordings we know and love were just another one of a thousand times they had played that same song.
Multi-track recording changed all that. Bands we all love like Zeppelin, Joe Walsh’s Eagles and epitomized by the likes of The Beatles and Steely Dan built songs in the studio track by track; they usually only learned to play them live by going back and learning the song from their own recordings.
Computer and digital technology is just another step along that same road that we have been traveling since Edison.
The only constant is the simple fact that its just as hard to write a good catchy or poignant song today as it has ever been. I pray that will never change.
Tip #1 should have been "Learn the #$%!@ fretboard so you know what the #$&! you're playing." Is there anything more fundamental to bass than knowing the fretboard? How many guitarists do you know that don't know where the notes are? Just patterns or memorized licks. We're like "Grab that C up there" and they're all "derp, derp, derp."
Anyway, I've never watched any of his stuff but I guess I'll have to so I can form an opinion.
Anyway, I've never watched any of his stuff but I guess I'll have to so I can form an opinion.
Sometime in the 80s Barcus-Berry sold a rack device I think they called the Human Clock or somesuch. The thing took the click track and subtly varied its tempo in the irregular way that humans keep time. I don’t recall whether it was a success because I wasn’t doing any recording at all and not terribly long after it came out I set music aside for a bunch of years. So 30+ years ago somebody noticed that perfect time was a drag to listen to.
This is TalkBass. We don't need no stinkin' FACTS to form an opinion!!
I played with two guitarists over the years that didn't know ANY of the notes on their guitars. I've told this story elsewhere so I'll be brief.
1) The first guy could play Keith Richards like nobody's business. I didn't know he didn't know the notes on his guitar until he brought a song in and I said, "What key is it in?" He looked puzzled, looked at his guitar, looked at me, looked at his guitar, then strummed a chord and said, "This key."
2) The second guy nailed ZZ Top, absolutely copped the tone and vibe, along with the right notes. We were playing the Allman's Good Clean Fun and I wrote out the notes for one of the parts, literally like "A, C, D, F# ..." We come to the next rehearsal and he can't play the lick and I said, "#$# *&#$ it, I even wrote this #$$% out for you!!!" He looks at me and says, "I don't know any of the notes on my guitar."
I don't play with people like that any more, it's too exhausting trying to communicate with them.
You too?? Yup, sort of jump off the screen as I opened the thread.
His channel is great! I really like his song breakdown videos, the superstition video really opened my eyes to how cool the inner workings of that song are!
The funny thing in that video is that Rick "came out of the closet" in this video. He explains that he majored in Bass in college and that he started as a bass player prior to learn other instruments. An interesting video for sure.
I'm sure multiple YT commenters (worst kind of people!) have pointed it out, but there are two "#4" tips in the video, for a total of six. 
(Not that I'm complaining for free pro advice.)
(Not that I'm complaining for free pro advice.)
Rick has a ton of useful information and insight. I love his stuff. He comes across as a wise sage. However, I agree with another poster in a different thread that he can be a different guy in the comments section if you cross him. He can turn petulant on a dime and he has a very tender ego. He and I got into it over something very trivial. He's a nice guy, as long as you agree with everything he says. Like a lot of guitarists.
I'm sure there's another video of his he tells a story of leraning guitar first and sitting next to his dad and playing along. His dad asks him how he learnt it, and he said by listening. His dad was quietly supportive of his guitar playing.
Then I watched this video this morning and though 'Wait a sec!'.
Seems I mis-remembered.
Started on the Cello at 3rd grade, bass at 7th, the guitar that summer and he learnt Joe Pass later for his dad.
Started on the Cello at 3rd grade, bass at 7th, the guitar that summer and he learnt Joe Pass later for his dad.
