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Why I lost a bit of respect for Sting (Rick Beato Interview)

Sting did have some pretty good side men on his albums (Larry Adler, Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Don Alias, Victor Bailey and Omar Hakim.)

But I do agree that despite having written all of the Police's Top 40 singles, Sting really wasn't the heart of The Police. Andy Summers really helped popularize the Roland guitar synthesizer.
 
I'm sure many of you have seen the Rick Beato interview with Sting and his guitarist, Dominic Miller. It was a fascinating look into songwriting, basslines, and (inadvertently) one gargantuan ego.

It was a great conversation. But when Rick began to discuss the other members of The Police (Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers), Sting stepped in and essentially gave himself credit for their contributions to the band.

At some points it was subtle. Others, not so much. But I found it to be very off-putting that one of my all-time favorite musicians showed so little humility in dealing with his bandmates.

Did anyone else notice that?

Just remember that the dude did not get famous for being humble.
 
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He's always seemed obnoxious. Then again, so is Beato.
Rick Beato obnoxious? How so? I have never found Rick to be obnoxious. He is incredibly knowledgeable and talented in many areas of music including musicology, theory, ear training, equipment/gear, and production and engineering. From my perspective all he does is share his knowledge through YouTube and monetize his products to make a living. The nature of his videos is that he shares his opinions, which he always substantiates. I find that I agree with him most of the time.
 
I'm sure many of you have seen the Rick Beato interview with Sting and his guitarist, Dominic Miller. It was a fascinating look into songwriting, basslines, and (inadvertently) one gargantuan ego.

It was a great conversation. But when Rick began to discuss the other members of The Police (Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers), Sting stepped in and essentially gave himself credit for their contributions to the band.

At some points it was subtle. Others, not so much. But I found it to be very off-putting that one of my all-time favorite musicians showed so little humility in dealing with his bandmates.

Did anyone else notice that?

I haven't seen it, but am going to...I really like Sting's work and was surprised (yet not...) to hear he was tough to work with...brilliant minds can be.
He still puts up some fine music.
Rick is a bit to take, tho...can't get through is vids...
 
Sting is Sting , you can take it or leave it. I'll take it and as for Beato, well he is awesome and his YT show is more than excellent. I think someone might have some personal issues here.
I agree. There seems to be all kinds of prejudice for Sting from those who don't know him or will ever know him.
There's even some Beato shade thrown, which I don't understand at all.
 
Sting has always been a little self centered and cold. Oh well... He's a monster and has produced a ton of great music that I have enjoyed for 40 years.

Don't get the Beato hate, though. He has an excellent channel that is easily one of the most informative and entertaining watches on YouTube. Even the Sting interview was handled very well. He kept it Stingcentric, very, very little about the usual questions Sting gets with The Police, particularly in regards to the interpersonal drama.
 
I'm sure many of you have seen the Rick Beato interview with Sting and his guitarist, Dominic Miller. It was a fascinating look into songwriting, basslines, and (inadvertently) one gargantuan ego.

It was a great conversation. But when Rick began to discuss the other members of The Police (Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers), Sting stepped in and essentially gave himself credit for their contributions to the band.

At some points it was subtle. Others, not so much. But I found it to be very off-putting that one of my all-time favorite musicians showed so little humility in dealing with his bandmates.

Did anyone else notice that?

I just chalked it up to Sting being Sting. That trio are like siblings. They have a tremendous amount of love and respect for each other, but also a competitiveness. I think they've all accepted that, long before the public has or ever will.
 
Also in other Rick Beato videos Rick goes on and on about how Sting uses this mode or that mode and the brilliant music theory employed by Sting, then in the interview with Sting you get the impression from Sting himself he really wrote the music more intuitively and the songs were not derived from an extensive contemplation of music theory.

Theory is not guide book on how to write music (Modern/Jazz theory anyway. Classical theory does have rules for writing classical music. But, we're not talking about that, so...). Theory is a way to describe the things happening in the music so you can apply it elsewhere, if you so desire. Where you see a cognitive dissonance, I don't see any issues at all. Rick Beato is describing the vehicles in the music that make it what it is. Whether Sting knows he's doing these things on a consciously or not, doesn't matter and has no bearing on what Rick Beato is talking about.
 
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Based on this thread, I went into watching the interview with certain expectations. I didn't find Sting to be all that irritating although that version of every little thing was a bit cringe. I chuckled at the bewildered look on Stings face as Beato explained the theory behind his writing. I believe Sting when he says he just goes with his intuition. I've used the word intuitive to describe The Police before. No one before or after sounds quite like them and I don't think you get songs like that theoretically mapping chord changes and structures. (IMHO)
Totally agree with this. The stuff about chords and that comes AFTER the song has been written
Peter Drake
teacher Hexham
 
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Theory is not guide book on how to write music (Modern/Jazz theory anyway. Classical theory does have rules for writing classical music. But, we're not talking about that, so...). Theory is a way to describe the things happening in the music so you can apply it elsewhere, if you so desire. Where you see a cognitive dissonance, I don't see any issues at all. Rick Beato is describing the vehicles in the music that make it what it is. Whether Sting knows he's doing these things on a consciously or not, doesn't matter and has no bearing on what Rick Beato is talking about.

I like a little cognitive dissonance in music that I listen to ... that makes it more interesting

;):bassist:
 
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