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@furretwalky

2 жыл бұрын

yes

@brakman01

Жыл бұрын

Not sure if you know Gentle Giant: here's a song by them that utilises counterpoint and canon techniques, and they do it live, using instruments and vocals. One of the most underrated bands ever IMO: kzread.info/dash/bejne/rGqLta6AZdWTp6g.html

@_InTheBin

29 күн бұрын

David, could you tell, whether "Big Jet Plane" by Angus and Julia Stone uses also counterpoint in terms of the vocals, guitar and the strings or not? I just can't figure out the last. Thank you in advance.

@janeamandaford4199

10 сағат бұрын

👌🌸🙏

There’s a lot of instability in my life but one thing I can always count on is seeing Paul McCartney in the thumbnail of a David Bennett Piano video

@jameshannagan4256

2 жыл бұрын

And Radiohead and i read that Paul is a big Radiohead fan which is just perfect because even though they often sound nothing alike the band that reminds me of the Beatles the most by far is Radiohead.

@paulmeunier5747

2 жыл бұрын

There are 3 guarantees in life: Death, taxes, and a Beatle being featured in a thumbnail of a David Bennett music theory video 😜

@gloomsdoom649

Жыл бұрын

Bahahahahaha

@wetbeans7957

Жыл бұрын

SenpaiKai

@oakvalepennybridge

Жыл бұрын

I hate the thumbnails. Can't quite put my finger on why they bug me so much. I think it's because they're always very staged photoshoot shots. Also he frequently puts randoms like green Day alongside the Beatles, you get the impression he doesn't know that much popular /rock music other than Beatles and Radiohead, apart from a couple of random bands like green day

Oh god. That ‘vocals only’ of God Only knows is beautiful. Brian Wilson is such a brilliant mind.

@kellydalstok8900

2 жыл бұрын

That’s one song I’ll never grow tired of.

@houdinididiit

2 жыл бұрын

You should check out his latest solo piano album. You will hear harmonies of some of those Pet Sounds and Smile tunes like you’ve never heard before. Some of it resembles a blend of Debussy, Mozart and Gershwin. Unbelievable mind.

@roberts1918

2 жыл бұрын

Sir Paul’s all-time favorite song.

@pianomikey0

2 жыл бұрын

I went to a religious college, where we occasionally sang from "101 Bach Chorales". It was some of the most amazing, hauntingly beautiful music I've ever been a part of. The classical composers have earned their fame!

@deetay725

2 жыл бұрын

I loved all the harmonies and polyphony of The Beach Boys. Even in a less serious song like Be True to Your School, check out the cool chord change on the word fly in the sentence Let your colors fly and also later in the song on the Oos going into Rah Rah after the chant Push En Back, Push Em Back, Way Back! Genius!

- Songs that use: "insert music theory concept" - Thom York's face: Helloooooooo

Thom Yorke, Paul McCartney, and JS Bach. David's big three...

Paul McCartney also uses counterpoint in Wings' "Silly love songs" layering the 3 melodies introduced before then adding a fourth melody with the bass

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

I love that! It's mind-meltingly cool

@brentmcf

2 жыл бұрын

The way Paul plays bass, most Beatles/Wings/Paul solo songs could be considered counterpoint

@NNnn-zc2bm

2 жыл бұрын

Is there counterpoint in McCartney's song Wanderlust?

@tommyhughes4661

2 жыл бұрын

@@NNnn-zc2bm yes at the end of the song

@brentmcf

2 жыл бұрын

@@NNnn-zc2bm yep, definitely! That’s a great example. That second melody comes in with the horns under the verse about midway through the song, and then as has been pointed out, it becomes really prominent with the two overlapping vocal lines at the end. Although it’s not from the bass on that one-I mean something like All My Loving

My favorite Bealtes counterpoint is the 4 parter at the end of I’ve Got a Feeling with John and Paul’s vocals mixing with Georges and Billy’s riffs. Great stuff.

@tina.InTheSkyWithDiamonds

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!! Looove that as well!

@Bella-nt7ec

Жыл бұрын

Right, that's heavenly piece of music

@peterbernhard7415

Жыл бұрын

Considering "mixing", "riff" I'd like to draw you attention to my comment. In fact, isn't riff not a counterpoint as the vocals always come first (it might be just the opposite, or just seen from the "mixing": it's up to the studios to turn a riff into a counterpoint). Never mind. Your comment pleases me.

@voornaam3191

10 ай бұрын

The Senots are also interetsing...

The ending piece was lovely

@farteinjonassen7523

2 жыл бұрын

National anthem of Ukraine.

@andreasheine9607

2 жыл бұрын

In the flag's colours!

@jaakkot5440

2 жыл бұрын

@@andreasheine9607 yes, noticed that too

@GorillaCanon

2 жыл бұрын

@@farteinjonassen7523 Thank you! I didn't realize that. I've already listened to it three times, looked for more versions of it, and fully intend to learn to play it. I am a huge fan of Bach, and this piece spoke to me in all the same ways. Amazing.

@Ivartshiva

2 жыл бұрын

There I was playing along innocently until the end. Then I went back and played it again.

oh my. David this is insanely good?! I mean everything you do is perfection. Whenever you do the 'if it was......, then it would sound like this', I LOVE it. So much care goes into stuff like that and it is so satisfying to watch while learning!

@Marina-pe1gx

2 жыл бұрын

And an example by Blur? YES. Also, as a piano player, fugues are bastards :) Lovely arrangement at the end too.

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! That means a lot 😊😊

I always love Bach's use of counterpoint, although it caused me great grief when I was learning the piano as a child. It was my piano teacher, who pointed out that my two hands were playing independent melodies although together they make nice harmony. Perhaps that was the point when my liking of counterpoints (in any genre of music) begun.

@peterbernhard7415

Жыл бұрын

makes me tentatively think of counterpoint as creating suspense until two or more notes of a riff and a vocal line meet. A riff might be a simple melody ... but isn't that what the video shows? So equality might lead to dominance, and just like the key of a piece or row of notes is a matter of ambi-valence turned to "dominance", hierarchy. I was told it's a matter of counting. Crows know to count to 4, no more. Do they eat chocolate bars - of course they do, just like real bears know to talk too. There is always an a-specht (I'm German, too) of equality. Sorry about my brmng.

I'm a big fan of counterpoint, so this may be my favorite video of yours yet. Also bravo for your arrangement at the end!

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

When you mentioned musicals, my mind when straight to the last bit of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" when all the verses come together.

@KingoftheJuice18

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, of course, but, you know, We Don't....

@1stevenreid

2 жыл бұрын

Lin Manuel Miranda uses counterpoint a lot. "The Schuyler Sister" from Hamilton has a great counterpoint section with Angelica repeating a section, Eliza and Peggy a different section, and the ensemble doing a third section.

@Johnisawsome1

Жыл бұрын

Yes. Lin Manuel Miranda is a master polyphonist and has incredible understanding of counterpoint. See “Blackout” “Non-Stop” and “The Battle of YorkTown”

Great example with For No One. It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs and hearing those two melodies come together toward the end of the song always hit me extra hard.

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

yes it's soooo good

@TheDirge69

2 жыл бұрын

my daughters fave Beatles song, however she says it doesn't go long enough, maybe an extra verse-chorus? Come-on Paul you can do it!

@jacobshirley3457

17 күн бұрын

@@TheDirge69 Early Beatles and their short song lengths.

Great video. Blackbird by The Beatles is the example of counterpoint in pop that I most often hear cited. In terms of vocal counterpoint, Queen’s The Prophets Song and Duran Duran’s New Religion are great examples.

@sharpphilip

2 жыл бұрын

I think “New Religion” is such an undervalued song-and yeah, those contrapuntal vocals get me every time!

@andik110

2 жыл бұрын

@@sharpphilip As well as The Prophets Song 😉

@wandajames143

2 жыл бұрын

Blackbird is moving in 10ths or 3rds it’s not really counterpoint

@urilevy1

2 жыл бұрын

The little things give you away - Linkin Park

@aldeayeah

2 жыл бұрын

@@andik110 Now I know :P

I've never had chills running down my spine from a brief example in a music theory video, till now. Les Miserables is a complete work of art

I was rooting for Scarborough Fair / Canticle to make into this piece, and there it was!

Counterpoint is definitely my favorite subject. I'm still a beginner so i can do only second species, but it's still fascinating. It relaxes me, makes me dream, makes me feel immense satisfaction when I crack the puzzle.

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light"! Where they're singing "...will you love me forever..." and "let me sleep on it..." at the same time. Also in the outtro, "it was long ago and it was far away..." with "it never felt so good, it never felt so right...".

Queen's "Prophet's song" is an awesome example of the canon technique - the polyphonic part starts by looping individual melodies and repeating them in rounds, but then Freddie starts layering whole harmonies in a counterpoint, which is crazy. Such a cool and underrated piece! P.S., as a Ukrainian, I didn't expect to hear the hymn in here. Thanks for this little gesture of support, it made me smile

@finchx881

Жыл бұрын

This is made by the delay technique often used by queen. Try to listen all of the live solos of Brian May where he layer himself by using the delay. Great example

@angelloperez7273

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for mentioning "The prophet's song" such an underated song by Brian May.

@kirkwahmmett1666

Жыл бұрын

The Prophet's Song is so great. I'm a huge Queen fan and it is one of my favorite Queen songs. Brian May really has written some of the most brilliant music.

@squidsbizarreadventure

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for explaining it, that song is a religious experience!

@duppthord6278

20 күн бұрын

Ooo

My favorite pop songs of the late 90s/early 00s were always the ones that featured counterpoint at the end. Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did it Again," as well as "Get Another Boyfriend" by The Backstreet Boys were great examples of such songs. Incidentally, Max Martin wrote all of them. Dude knew how to craft a song.

@DenysZhadiaiev

Жыл бұрын

Counterpoint at the end, perhaps, was a symbolic representation of "divorce" (another boyfriend? or "oops" - something not according to the initial plan). These are aural pictures of the meaning behind the song. In his other video David talks about Bach's masterpiece where composer joined two identical lines for the player to play them simultaneously but one from the beginning to the end and another, identical, from the end to the beginning. For me it is clear representation of the antinomies and antitetics developed by German philosophers at that time.

@eleesiasportraits6114

Жыл бұрын

I was rambling to my sister the other day about how much I love all the "layered overlapping parts" at the end of Oops! I Did It Again! without even realizing it was the Counterpoint I was referring to. 😆

@peterbernhard7415

Жыл бұрын

Considering the replies I wonder I you can layer a chorus with what leads to the chorus (what is the word for what's opposed to the chorus, I wonder). I think it's interesting to assume that a "chorus" can never be layered with what's before as it never really fits well, by definition. Never mind!

I love the fact that in almost all your music theory videos there is radiohead !!! RADIOHEAD GENIUS

The rock band that used counterpoint in the most effective and interesting way has to be Gentle Giant, with songs like The Advent of Panurge, Knots, So Sincere, His Last Voyage and of course, the amazing On Reflection. A whole David video on those few songs would be worth it!

@oliverzwahlen

2 жыл бұрын

YES!!!!! It's really a pity that David ignores the rich world of 70s art rock. I mentioned here many times Genesis songs from the Gabriel area which - as I would argue - were the Radiohead of the 70s.

I learned a lot about this in theatre, MANY musicals use this technique with the last song of the first act, ie Hamiltons "Non-Stop" or in A Gentlemens Guide to Love and Murder combative character/pushing moment, "I've Decided to Marry You". It's a fantastic opportunity to really sink multiple people and ideas together in such a creative way. I adore it, it's one of my favorite things about transitive music writing.

@TTarragon

9 ай бұрын

Lin Manuel Miranda really loves it. He used it in In the Heights (96000, Blackout, Finale), Hamilton (Non-stop, Schuyler Sisters... ), and Encanto (We don't talk about Bruno). I think he really makes it work!

One of my favorite examples of counterpoint (round) in popular music has got to be "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" by Spiritualized

@danielf3623

2 жыл бұрын

Mine would be Fiona Apple's Hot Knife, which is pretty much a baroque pop fugue.

@sarahhowell7042

2 жыл бұрын

i LOVE that song

@mhoppy6639

2 жыл бұрын

Great shout. Great album and I have the original album with orescription drug packaging. Superb.

@Symphonicrockfran

2 жыл бұрын

I LOVE THAT

It took me a moment to realize why the second voice in the final piece was marked yellow. Brilliant. 🇺🇦

I love this! I hadn't even considered what made these songs special. It feels so freeing to have interwoven melodies that don't need block chords to support them

@LisaSmith-yb2uz

2 жыл бұрын

I COMPLETELY AGREE!!! 🎵☺️👌💓

The middle, slower section of "Close to the Edge" by Yes has a great example of two inter-woven melody lines.

@stephenmcg4299

2 жыл бұрын

Great counterpoint in And You and I on the same album.

Man, coming with a great video topic. I think a lot of music lacks counterpoint today. Doesn’t matter what genre but legit counterpoint would be nice to hear again in some music from someone.

What I found interesting in the Paranoid Android example was that the various voice do sort of HINT at homophony. Like, in some places they come close to some similar motion, but passing notes, pick-up notes, and other ornamentation gets in the way.

Knots by Gentle Giant has some of my favourite vocals in music. They’re known for complicated music, even for prog rock, & the vocal counterpoint is dense and rich.

@patchoulicyanide

2 жыл бұрын

Yo that song is sick

@progfellow

4 ай бұрын

I was looking for a Gentle Giant comment, who I’d say were the masters of counterpoint in rock. For the uninitiated, try “On Reflection” (the studio and live versions are VERY different) and No God’s a Man in addition to Knots.

Thank you. As a choirboy, I heard all these on a weekly basis, but it is lovely to see it all laid out and explained so clearly and with examples from different genres. I was wondering what the piece at the end was… then I read the name… then I became aware of the colours. More meaningful because of its understated nature.

Amazing ending, David. One song which recently came out that uses counterpoint is one of my favourite songs, The Adults Are Talking. In several parts, the guitars that Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi play are contrapuntal against each other.

@squidsbizarreadventure

3 ай бұрын

Great fucking album and I hope David will talk more about it, I want to learn everything about it!

This could mean interesting idea. Explore how composers maintain attention in longer songs. Some suggestions Cygnet Committee - David Bowie Supper's Ready - Genesis Echoes - Pink Floyd Karn Evil 9 or Tarkus - ELP 2112 - Rush Thick as a Brick or A Passion Play - Jethro Tull

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

I'm something of a long song connoisseur and I'd say a lot of it is overall dynamics. They often tend to rise and fall in a seamless, dramatic, and interesting way (Echoes, Shine On You Crazy Diamond) or continually rise in intensity until they come to a triumphant climax (Cygnet Committee, Stairway To Heaven). Very few examples are relatively steady in dynamics, and usually have some other variation or musical trick to keep them interesting - two examples that come to mind are Kashmir and Achilles' Last Stand, which both have rhythmic and harmonic tension throughout (Kashmir is polyrhythmic and Achilles has the tightly layered bass/guitar/drum parts); even they do build up and fall down, albeit to a less dramatic extent than the other examples.

@Symphonicrockfran

2 жыл бұрын

The Underfall Yard - Big Big Train We Spin the World - Moon Safari Other Half of the Sky - Moon Safari Mind Drive - Yes The Truth Will Set You Free - The Flower Kings

@danteshydratshirt2360

Жыл бұрын

I would throw in Jim Steinman to that mix who seemed incapable of writing short songs

@danteshydratshirt2360

Жыл бұрын

@@ThinWhiteAxe I think an exception which proves the rule is Laurie Andersons O Superman and most trance music

Counterpoint is what I'm going over in university, this is perfect timing! Thanks for all the videos

Damn David! Our anthem in the end was so good. Sorry for responding that late, but only now had a possibility to finally catch up with this video in particular. Thank you for your videos and for your support! Been a fan since too long. Greetings from Ukraine! Together we'll be strong as no one ever before. Peace out✌

I really enjoy watching your videos and it caught me by surprise to hear our Ukrainian anthem at the end!!! Thank you so much for this gesture, it's sounds just wonderful and I absolutely love it🥺💙💛

I was hanging out for you to talk about the miraculous 5 part counterpoint near the end of Mozart's 41st Symphony. The real miracle is not the 5 part counterpoint but the way he joined all 5 parts back together in a couple of seconds and making them disappear like a magic trick.

The breakdown in Prophet’s Song by Queen feels like a great example of counterpoint

"Fall on Me" from R.E.M. has three vocal lines in the chorus. "Pilgrimage" from Murmur is a good example as well.

@tommyamoeba9220

2 жыл бұрын

was going to post fall on me. early r.e.m. has a lot of counterpoint with backing vocals singing different melodies and lyrics that lead vocals often more clearly, blurring the line between lead and backing. other examples, harborcoat, driver 8 and it's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine). additionally, their melodic bass lines and ringing guitar arpeggios bring even more counterpoint to the party.

@urbangorilla33

2 жыл бұрын

@@tommyamoeba9220 Yes, I think those were the key ingredients to their sound those first few albums.

@aftp6646

2 жыл бұрын

There are so many examples by R.E.M also in late R.E.M. as well like the Great Beyond, Leaving New York and Binky the Doormat.

I love this one. Also, a nice reminder of the never matched awesomness of JS Bach.

Kudos to the last piece.

"Carnival Fugue" - on the album Focus 3 - written by the astonishing Thijs Van Leer, is a rare example of a fugue for a rock band.

Beautiful arrangement of the Ukrainian national anthem at the end! We’re playing that piece in my orchestra to honor the citizens of Ukraine 🇺🇦

@peterkelley6344

2 жыл бұрын

Now that I understand it. I can understand WHY you did it. Bravo DAVID, BRAVO!

@DMSProduktions

2 жыл бұрын

I saw WHAT he did with the place markers also!

@suleymantekingurmen7643

2 жыл бұрын

@@DMSProduktions Yep ukrainian flag ftw.

@DMSProduktions

2 жыл бұрын

@@suleymantekingurmen7643 Dobry!

@judih.8754

2 жыл бұрын

Bravo David, Bravo peoples of Ukraine 🇺🇦

Thank you very much, David, for the example of our country's national anthem from the 16:23 minute. You are real friends!

I’ve always been aware of counterpoint due to my love of Les Mis and my favourite song, The Confrontation. I’ve never however understood it to the extent I do now, thanks to your video. Thank you. It’s made me realise why I adore certain songs, for example Mad Hatter by Avenged Sevenfold. I knew I loved it and kind of why, but didn’t realise that it’s the counterpoint that comes in is what really draws me into the song. Again, thank you

I'm glad someone finally pointed out the wonderful counterpoint of "Scarborough Fair/Canticle".

You may not know Gentle Giant, but they have some intense vocal counterpoint going on in their song, 'On Reflection'

@ramonromerohernandez7136

Жыл бұрын

And instrumental as well. I was looking for this comment, yes, Gentle Giant are the kings of counterpoint (fugues or imitatives): The Advent of Panurge and Experience also have counterpoint

that Bach Fugue in G minor BWV 578 wtf incredible, heart-stopping - holy moly - never heard it before, thanks for sharing

@peterkelley6344

2 жыл бұрын

You've never heard of Bach's Fugue in G minor BWV until now! That was one of the first classical works my parents introduced me to when I was a kid! (1960's). It is still one of those 'ear worms' that I have from time to time. Ear Worm = a song you can't get out of your head.

Counterpuntal vocals are the real harmony in my book. "4-part" choruses that are just stacking chords grind my gears (especially intrusive sevenths) but a proper ensemble of counterpuntal melodies (like One Day More) is transcendent.

Another musical example: Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof. Four melodies comes together quite dramatically.

@jeff__w

2 жыл бұрын

And, roughly from the same era, _The Music Man’s_ “Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You?” Barbara Cook, in a 2000 interview, said that every time she and the Buffalo Bills did that number it stopped the show, something that utterly baffled her until she saw it as an observer in the audience.

How about Tears for Fears "sowing the Seeds of love."? Love the counterpoint in that tune. Great video David. Keep 'em coming!

Thank you so much David Bennett. I just learned in a few minutes what counterpoint and fuque actually mean, something I’ve been trying to understand for a long time.

I’ve tried to learn about and understand counterpoint on many occasions, but it wasn’t until this video that it really clicked. By coincidence, many of the songs you used as examples are favorites of mine, and now that I know the word to describe what they’re doing, I feel way smarter ☺️ The ending arrangement was gorgeous and a lovely, subtle way to end. Nicely done!✌️🇺🇦❤️

@ElMeach

Жыл бұрын

It really is not that hard once you see this video and now I can be that awful guy with my friends who talks about something that nobody else gets while laughing as if anyone not knowing is beside us. I'm a monster

David, you've opened up a whole new world to me! I love your videos. I watch them all and I've learnt so much! ❤

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Great! Thank you!

That understated finale was marvelous! David Bennett you dastardly little showman!

Round was called singing in canon in finnish language. Always wondered about that. A great example of counterpoint (took a bit for me to catch the drift) is Opeth's Black Rose Immortal. Or Opeth's The Apostle in Triumph. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird's solo as well has parts where the guitars start splitting or following each other repeating licks instead of unison or octave. Towards the end they just start doing completely different things as the cacophony, the energy and the tension builds up to the point where even drums are one big fill and bass guitar is doing it's own thing, for the final resolution. Although when they hit the final resolution, they go back to three guitars playing a different thing.

Thank you this was really well explained and I enjoyed it. I will show it to people who know no music theory and they will still understand it. This is the mark of an excellent teacher and communicator.

Great video! I especially love the arrangement of the Ukrainian national anthem

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊

@m.kostoglod7949

10 ай бұрын

It's rearranged to the point that I wouldn't recognize it if I weren't told that's it

Could the last section of "I've Got a Feeling" be considered as counterpoint?

@maxturgeon89

2 жыл бұрын

oh yeah!

@bobsala7780

2 жыл бұрын

@@maxturgeon89 Well said.

@victorwilburn8588

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely. I was thinking the same thing when he talked about examples of counterpoint where the different parts were previously introduced separately. It's also a good example of how John played off of Paul's ideas -- that song wouldn't have been nearly so interesting without the melodic AND thematic counterpoint of John's contributions.

This is real interesting. I wrote a very short counterpoint piece years ago without knowing what counterpoint was. It just sounded cool to me. It's awesome to have a name for it. Thanks for the video.

I am currently studying gcse music. I keep coming across new music theory ideas and absolutely love it. Your videos are great, and somehow all of your recent videos are about something I have recently come across. Counterpoint I learned about a few weeks ago, and fugues just recently. I love your take on explaining it all, it's very clear.

Beautiful arrangement at the end there. 💜 Blessings to Ukraine.

@turquisestones

Жыл бұрын

You send blessings to a country that bombed its own civilians in 2014, right?

Love this very informative, Thanks. Just a quick point on Scarborough fair, the original song is already heavily laid in irony. The lyrics are a series of impossible tasks, like 'ploughing an acre of land...... between the saltwater and the sand, basically the message is 'when hell freezes over' he or she will be a true love of mine. I suppose setting these dark lyrics against this beautiful melody was part of the songs original intention. The Simon and Garfunkel version is excellent and takes it to another level.

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed!

@peterkelley6344

2 жыл бұрын

All three verses of the original Scarborough Fair were in fact three impossible tasks. I believe in contemporary times the calico(?) shirt can now be done. (Feel free to correct me on that.) If so, that now can be checked off the list.

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

@@peterkelley6344 cambric, and I'm pretty sure you still can't make a shirt out of that type of fabric without seams or needlework. You can probably knit one, but that's arguably still needlework.

You’re such a great teacher! I’d add that, to me, avoiding parallel fifths and octaves makes for more satisfying voice-leading in general, especially in string or other instrumental backgrounds where lines should flow smoothly without detracting from other parts of the song.

Yes - Close to the Edge, ‘I get up, I get down’ section

So I guess this is why I prefer baroque music over classical. Bach is the bomb--that's all I got to say. I guess that's also why I am drawn to Radiohead. It's not simple pulpy music. It takes concentration to digest it and hear all the parts simultaneously.

@ignacioclerici5341

2 жыл бұрын

I'll tell you a secret... There is counterpoint in the classical period as well Another secret: classical symphonies are not simple nor "pulpy" and are full of counterpoint, specially Mozarts and Haydns, and Beethovens

@TheFrozenblaze_

2 жыл бұрын

@@ignacioclerici5341 I like classical as well, but baroque sticks out more. And Pop music is pulpy, not classical.

@ignacioclerici5341

Жыл бұрын

@@TheFrozenblaze_ watch Richard Atkinson videos on Mozarts symphonies to get an idea of how good he was at counterpoint, and how amazing and sophisticated his music is

@miguelpereira9859

Жыл бұрын

@@ignacioclerici5341 Mozart's Requiem

The 'Scarborough Fair-Canticle' model of counter melody brings to mind David Bowie and Bing Crosby's 'Little Drummer Boy-Peace on Earth' from 1977. The latter has an interesting story to it. Worth looking it up.

Again a very informative and well-built video, thank you for that. But especially for the end: Your moving arrangement as well as the gesture itself brought a tear to my eye.

I like using counterpoint to give a tune a nice sense of movement. ' God only knows ' is a great example and also one of the greatest songs ever written .The chord structure is just sublime and it still has the same effect on me that it did when I first heard it 40 years ago . Counterpoint is also nice when played over a drone note but you can end up with too much going on if it's not used right because there's already a lot going on

It's vids like this that inspire me to keep plugging away at music, even though I'm rubbish at it.

@toneDeFguitar

2 жыл бұрын

Same here. Keep it up buddy! 👍

Reptilia by The Strokes is a good example of counterpoint between the guitar riff and the vocal melody

@Reptilia12

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed

As has probably already been mentioned, the Beatles used counterpoint quite a bit. "She's Leaving Home" comes to mind right away. You might have mentioned that the Les Miz piece you featured is one that breaks the conventions of consecutive octaves! Kudos for featuring the Ukranian piece at the end. "Scarborough Fair / Canticle" is also a propos at the moment. "Fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten"... or never understood to begin with... yeah.

Thanks for a great video. I love counterpoint... A round repeats the same melody. A fugue at first repeats the melody a fifth up or a fourth down. Then the melody an octave up or down. Any parallel melody line extendening more than two notes is technically not a counterpoint but a harmonization, ie illegal. Wether theyre fifths, forths, octaves, thirds or sixths. But fifths and octaves cant even have two parallell lines to be illegal. Bach and most composers of the olden days often wrote music keeping in mind that it could maybe be played on monophonic instruments. So the two-part piece (invention no 13) employs a neat little trick that makes it a three part melody line. One line plays two melodies separated by space. Its tricky to explains without playing it and pointing at the notes. But once you hear it, you cant unhear it. One example thats easier to point to is Bach BWV 565. Its starts with the well known Toccata and then goes in to the fugue. Wich begins with a high note on the off beat that counterpoints with the other note on the down beat. One line (sort of) playing two melodies. Counterpoint trivia: If I Fell by The Beatles has some great elements of counterpoint in it. Oddly if you take away one melody line the song falls apart and sounds dull. With Scarborough Fair you can sing/play the main line on its own and its fine. The S&G counterpoint melodies adds wonderful texture to the song. If I Fell sounds weird if you leave out one of the melodies. :)

@danteshydratshirt2360

Жыл бұрын

IMO fugues are the basis of modern pop

the ukrainian anthem was a pleasant surprise. nice to hear nothing but music in that part, as that piece fits the theme of the video and no explanation was needed.

"I Got a Feeling" by The Beatles uses counterpoint when Paul and John's parts overlap toward the end.

As a non-musician I am amazed at how musically sophisticated much "pop music" is. David's technical analyses seem to show that great music can be created in the brains of many special humans, regardless of whether they are taught the existing technical composition structures - or even really understand how they are making it.

Dear David, you're my new favorite channel on KZread, thanks for all your wonderful videos who give me much insight. You transformed me into a Radiohead-listener, LOL, a band I haven't known before.

REM made use of countrapuntal vocals in songs like "Fall on Me" and "It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

@aftp6646

2 жыл бұрын

The Great Beyond is a late R.E.M. treasure of counterpoint.

Hey David - Love this one. Great fan of counterpoint. There were a few in the 60s and 70s - before your time 😀 - which maybe laid the foundations for this in pop. One I remember is the Chiffons' Sweet Talking Guy. Can't remember the others but they will come...

@deetay725

2 жыл бұрын

I love Sweet Talkin Guy!! My favorite song from all the girl groups!

@IanWaugh

2 жыл бұрын

@@deetay725 Hey Dee - Yes, an absolute classic. Wish I could think of the others...

Another example of counterpoint in the modern music is in We Are Young by Fun. In the part with the lyrics "Carry me home tonight, just carry me home tongiht", after the 2nd chorus, we can clearly hear another vocal melody playing at the same time.

One of the most complex counterpoints in rock that I know of is "The Great Curve" by Talking Heads, which has (IIRC) five different melodies plus two harmonies going at one time. In musicals (or more correctly opera in this case), the most stunningly beautiful is "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" from "Porgy and Bess". Nice - and beautifully played - tribute to Ukraine at the end!

One of my favorite examples of counterpoint in Rock is the last part of The Guess Who and "New Mother Nature/No Sugar Tonight" when the two movements are layered over each other. Always loved that effect.

@brentmcf

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah! Such a great story too, where Bachman and Cummings each had a song they knew wasn’t quite finished, so they put them together and voila

@jameshannagan4256

2 жыл бұрын

My favorite by them.

I know of one good example of imitative counterpoint in pop/rock music: "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" by Spiritualized. If not a proper fugue, it definitely has the feel of one. Great tune too.

Great topic! Been waiting for a great counterpoint video.

great video once again man! the middle section of paranoid android is also really interesting harmonically. a lot of borrowed chords and key changes here and there. its honestly beautiful.

4:57 Well that stutter of 'dead dead dead' in the second chorus of Supermassive Black Hole is the coolest thing I've heard all week

@ThinWhiteAxe

2 жыл бұрын

it's a very cool song!

Counterpoint seemed like the hardest class I took at the time, when I resumed music studies at the ripe old age of 35. On the other hand, Fux's 1725 book, Gradus ad Parnassum, became a pedagogical touchstone for me as it has an engaging approach resembling the Socratic dialogues that a number of people (not just Plato) would write centuries earlier. But my teachers never discussed the Beach Boys! Slava Ukraini, now and the future.

honestly so grateful for this video. way easier to digest than gradus ad parnassum !

A very interesting and informative segment that provides context to a variety of musical styles and concepts. Thank you, David!

Wow, finally some examples from The Beatles and Radiohead! Thank you, I love your content! ❤

Now i want to hear bachs inventions but with the beach boys' voices.

Great video! I would also mension about Deep Purple "Anthem". In the middle of this song appears beautiful theme with baroque-like fugato. After that you can hear string quartet. For me it's one of the best examples of non-classical music in which the counterpoint has been used 😊

@compositioncompilation9452

10 ай бұрын

I couldn’t agree more with this statement! Jon Lord was incredible at fusing rock with classical and baroque elements - his work with Mk I Purple and Concerto are unrivaled in the rock world!

I'm a new subscriber and I just want to tell you how much comfort your videos bring me, thank you for all of your time and effort, its not going to waste and I wish you a life of inspiration and creation

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Learned many new things today. Thank you. Would be willing to make a video of you separate the voices from a finished music track? I think it would be very helpful in trying to hear the individual parts and further understanding of how and why things work together. Is it a complicated process? Is it just load a track into a particular software program and click a few buttons and it does it for you? Can you do more than separate the vocals from the instruments? Can separate each vocal? Can you separate each instrument? Can you separate each voice so can hear each vocal and each instrument in isolation and then play them back by choosing which voices to hear together? Thank you so much. Enjoying the content as always? I don't (yet) play any instruments and I do not have a good singing voice, so I'd never get into a music school (especially at my age), but music fascinates me and I have fallen in love with dissecting music thanks to your videos. Cheers

Many Rush songs have great counterpoint between Geddy Lee (bass) and Alex Lifeson (guitar) in the solo sections -- Subdivisions, Camera Eye, Natural Science, Distant Early Warning, just to name a few good examples.

I have to say, that David is the best musical teacher here on KZread.

Great topic and the ending. Sometimes a counterpoint creates a memorable riff that wouldn't be the same with one instrument. Like Crystalized by The XX and Helicopter by Bloc Party have 2 guitars playing intertwined melodies, which acts as the song's hook

Great video,, as usual. Special thank you for your arrangement at the end. As a Ukrainian, I really appreciate the support 💙💛

That sweater is bloody gorgeous I love it! You look great in it. Just wanted to point that out.

@DavidBennettPiano

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I've been looking forward to this subject for awhile, and the video was worth the wait. (I wish my counterpoint professor had been as clear!) When you mentioned counterpoint in musical theatre my first thought was Sondheim (check out "Now/Later/Soon" from A Little Night Music where three complete songs become counterpoint) but the example from Les Miz was spot-on and the explanation of its function made the dramaturg in me proud. So happy to see that a portion of my support is going to such a worthwhile cause, too! One of your absolute best videos, David!