The Worst Area of Music

Музыка

As composers we think about melody, harmony and rhythm. But if that's ALL we think about, we may find our music turns 'beige' - in this video I talk about how to use the musical space and the register of instruments to avoid the dreaded 'Beige Belt'.
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Пікірлер: 261

  • @DBruce
    @DBruce9 ай бұрын

    Very proud of my son's hilarious outro music which he made for me as a comedy birthday song. Do you think it should become a permanent feature?

  • @ftumschk

    @ftumschk

    9 ай бұрын

    Definitely, provided he gets the appropriate royalties ;)

  • @Alan_Stinchcombe

    @Alan_Stinchcombe

    9 ай бұрын

    Yes, until he surpasses it. 😊

  • @subjectline

    @subjectline

    9 ай бұрын

    Keep it, I lol'd

  • @leiferickson3183

    @leiferickson3183

    9 ай бұрын

    YES!

  • @Richard_Nickerson

    @Richard_Nickerson

    9 ай бұрын

    My son loves it

  • @HerewardTheW
    @HerewardTheW9 ай бұрын

    One of your best videos yet, David, in content and in editing!

  • @DBruce

    @DBruce

    9 ай бұрын

    Thank you!

  • 9 ай бұрын

    Fun to unexpectedly see myself on the screen at 11:46 😄Great video with very good points as always, keep up the good work! Cheers

  • @japphan
    @japphan9 ай бұрын

    I actually think there is a hypnotic quality in staying in that beige register, and I find it to be a very interesting minimalist idea, and have written a couple of pieces that remain there. I am convinced you can make it sparkly bright beige.

  • @HighKingTurgon

    @HighKingTurgon

    9 ай бұрын

    In C

  • @DBruce

    @DBruce

    9 ай бұрын

    I think this expresses a thought I had but didn't manage to articulate, thank you!

  • @elleboman8465

    @elleboman8465

    8 ай бұрын

    @@HighKingTurgon _In C_ has a pretty broad register if performed on a varied set of instruments. Reich's _Piano Phase_ , on the other hand! Now there's an example of sparkly bright beige music if I ever heard one!

  • @alexlewis5365
    @alexlewis53659 ай бұрын

    As somebody who has watched a lot of tng recently, I can confirm I hear the soft hum of a starship constantly. Even when I'm eating, or sleeping. It's haunting, yes, but wonderful.

  • @SethIsDavid
    @SethIsDavid9 ай бұрын

    Using a MIDI piano roll instead of a score made my brain tickle. Not sure if I like it...but definitely made me feel something. Great vid

  • @hoangkimviet8545
    @hoangkimviet85459 ай бұрын

    Now we have David Bruce Star-trekker.

  • @KeithGroover
    @KeithGroover9 ай бұрын

    That's really interesting about how the beginning of Rite of Spring has "gotten easier" over time. I think something similar has happened with the beginning of the 3rd movement of Mahler 1. It's way up high in the double bass' range, and I'm sure it was meant to sound weak and small, but we've all grown up listening to Edgar Meyer and are a LOT more comfortable up there these days, so you have to kind of "tone it down" and make it a little more weak and small-sounding. It's like an arms race of musicianship.

  • @isaiahmumaw

    @isaiahmumaw

    9 ай бұрын

    I think much of this is fueled by the growing interconnectedness of our world. As musicians with incredible skill become more well-known, more people try to copy them, often refining it in the process. I see it all the time in the world of marching band. Things which were considered borderline unplayable less than ten years ago are considered baseline requirements for members in the top competitive groups today, and the pace is rapidly increasing as kids try to copy what they’re seeing online.

  • @mymo_in_Bb
    @mymo_in_Bb9 ай бұрын

    When the rite of spring part came, I thought to myself "oh dear oh no this is the video I submitted those recordings to" and when I found out I wasn't featured in the end, I was so relieved! (Anyway, thanks so much for making this video, it's incredible how much there is for me to learn!)

  • @Hypnotic0range
    @Hypnotic0range9 ай бұрын

    Another video like this touching on rythmic beigeness could be nice, I've played more than a few band pieces that are harmonically very pretty, but have almost nothing going for them rythmically and they end up all sounding like the same harmony soup.

  • @theKobus

    @theKobus

    8 ай бұрын

    On the topic of band pieces, I find oversaturation a really serious problem in a lot of band music. Because the composer feels like they have this job to make an interesting part for everybody and then there’s just too much going on and the overall effect is slushy

  • @notaguy4289
    @notaguy42899 ай бұрын

    I started writing music around a year ago, and I really have to thank you for all the work that you've put out, it is by far one of the best resources here on youtube about how to make music that's not just functional, but interesting and more emotive, a lot of the choices I make when writing are inspired by you, despite academic music not being really my thing, thank you very much!!!

  • @Nooticus

    @Nooticus

    9 ай бұрын

    so true!! Hes an absolute legend

  • @danpowell3953
    @danpowell39538 ай бұрын

    As a Star Trek and music fan, I found this very entertaining. Your editing was out of this world. My only issue was trying to hear the musical examples while you were still talking, but I get it…

  • @jamiebsn5589
    @jamiebsn55899 ай бұрын

    Thanks for having me (and my continuously more strained tenor register) on this David! I'm now off to start practicing Kristian's treble C's... I've got a ways to go..

  • @ivanmoren3643
    @ivanmoren36439 ай бұрын

    Yes!!! This is why a lot of bass lines in old reggae and dub are SO good.

  • @johnberkley6942
    @johnberkley69429 ай бұрын

    A great example of register as a musical effect is 'Mood Indigo' by Duke Ellington. It was so far out of their comfort zone that the musicians struggled to get an unfluffed 'take' when recording it for the first time. But the effect was worth the effort, and hearing the arrangement played on the 'wrong' instruments is an almost mystical experience.

  • @michaelhunter2136
    @michaelhunter21368 ай бұрын

    The Star Trek metaphore was hilarious, and I don't generally like such things because they are often distracting from the actual content. On top of the humor, what you were talking about and the examples you gave were amazing. I'd give you a thumbs up without the Star Trek thing but now I'm sad that I can only give you one thumbs up. Great stuff!

  • @Hudson_Holland
    @Hudson_Holland9 ай бұрын

    The editing in this video is legendary!!! Very great concept, thank you!

  • @brianyule1289
    @brianyule12899 ай бұрын

    These videos are incredibly clear & incredibly clarifying. Great stuff!

  • @Fempath
    @Fempath9 ай бұрын

    Live long and prosper captain David Bruce 🖖

  • @danielkeller6610
    @danielkeller66109 ай бұрын

    Definitely one of the best David Bruce videos of all time... probably my new favorite

  • @SilvermainMusic
    @SilvermainMusic9 ай бұрын

    Fantastic delivery. Bravo for your Star Trek compositing!

  • @bret6484
    @bret64848 ай бұрын

    I have been struggling with this without realizing. I think this fresh take on register is about to transform my composition. Thank you so much David!

  • @braynjohnson4302
    @braynjohnson43029 ай бұрын

    The editing on this one is hilarious

  • @xxManscapexx
    @xxManscapexx9 ай бұрын

    This was fantastic. I hope you keep the new outro music 🤣

  • @hisham_hm
    @hisham_hm9 ай бұрын

    Amazing video, and it gives me vocabulary to describe an issue I've felt with many songs but couldn't put my finger on - case in point, how so many songs in George Harrison's later solo catalogue feel "samey" from start to finish. (I think you see that a lot in the latter career of established artists because they get a pass at releasing whatever they want and don't get editorialized by producers as much, while up-and-coming artists either get dragged out of the Beige Belt by producers, or don't get a chance to release music in the first place if their songs are too beige (of course everyone can release independently nowadays but you know what I mean)).

  • @syroyid
    @syroyid8 ай бұрын

    Educational, creative, accurate, humourous and exquisitely produced. World-class material

  • @blow-by-blow-trumpet
    @blow-by-blow-trumpet9 ай бұрын

    Nice video David. I totally love the whole Star Trek theme! I appreciate your humour as much as your musical insights.

  • @bobmoorecomposer
    @bobmoorecomposer9 ай бұрын

    OK, I about spewed my coffee at 00:58. Well played.

  • @skiesengine1836

    @skiesengine1836

    8 ай бұрын

    There are some peak moments there xD

  • @EllisThings
    @EllisThings9 ай бұрын

    I listened to all the examples with my left ear, my right ear, and then my final frontier. 🌌

  • @petergivenbless900
    @petergivenbless9009 ай бұрын

    The 'Star Trek' imagery used in your exploration of the Beige Belt should've used clips from 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' where the colourful uniforms of the TV series were actually replaced with beige ones! I quite like "beige" music; it allows the patterns within the music to "speak for themselves" rather than getting lost in, or overshadowed by, the different registers used. I find music that has its structure spread too broadly across registers somehow sounds "simpler" than the same material confined to a few octaves which, to my ears, sounds desnser and more ambiguous.

  • @ProuvaireJean

    @ProuvaireJean

    9 ай бұрын

    To be fair, the editor desaturated the colours so that the Command gold (technically green) shirts did look more beige. So beige in fact that for a moment I thought the uniform he was pasted on to was the beige version from The Cage / Where No Man Has Gone Before.

  • @petrzakrzewski
    @petrzakrzewski9 ай бұрын

    What a cool way to teach music, good job David!

  • @TheDumplingOrc
    @TheDumplingOrc9 ай бұрын

    This clears up quite a lot for me! I'm glad I have actually been doing a fair few of these tricks innately, but I understand it better so will improve, thank you!

  • @GeoffLiMusic
    @GeoffLiMusic9 ай бұрын

    This video looks like it would've taken a long time to make. Super informative and love the editing!

  • @tbastdgagitw
    @tbastdgagitw9 ай бұрын

    Excellent. Wonderful visuals.

  • @James-wf8nu
    @James-wf8nu9 ай бұрын

    your videos are always so engaging david

  • @Nooticus
    @Nooticus9 ай бұрын

    Excellent video as always! Great examples used and engaging from start to finish! The floating head made me chuckle a few times too!

  • @AllanGildea
    @AllanGildea9 ай бұрын

    Fabulous. Thank you.

  • @LisztyLiszt
    @LisztyLiszt8 ай бұрын

    Some interesting ideas here. I've always found that music which frequently changes direction in unexpected ways really adds colour, character, and life to the work. Among my favourites in this regard are the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's Octet, Liszt's Feux Follets, and the masterpiece of them all, the first movement of Eroica. Not a single boring bar between them while every note oozes with intention.

  • @BudgeChem
    @BudgeChem9 ай бұрын

    Great content! And lots of great comments that I also agree with!

  • @singlesideman
    @singlesideman8 ай бұрын

    Thank you for making yet another solid, well made video that isn't filled with errors and self aggrandizement, a real rarity.

  • @raybergstrom
    @raybergstrom9 ай бұрын

    Insightful lesson! Brilliant and hilarious editing!

  • @LouisEmery
    @LouisEmery8 ай бұрын

    1:30 I had just played some bagatelles this week. And I was about to respond on how Beethoven avoided "beige" in his bagatelles. Right before you brought it up!!!

  • @TigerRichards
    @TigerRichards8 ай бұрын

    That was ... illuminating. And interesting. And fun. And a very clever video format. Nice!

  • @SuperOhdannyboy
    @SuperOhdannyboy9 ай бұрын

    I really needed to hear this. Great lesson.

  • @stevehinnenkamp5625
    @stevehinnenkamp56258 ай бұрын

    Maestro Bruce as Captain Kirk! Don't know how you managed it, but your potrayle was as restrained as your advice was masterful. Thanks for making a powerful, sometimes forgotten strategy such a pleasure when you are in command.

  • @alexchristodoulou
    @alexchristodoulou9 ай бұрын

    Fantastic video, thank you so much!

  • @daanbaas2962
    @daanbaas29629 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the very informative and fun video Bruce 🖖

  • @rogerhewettmusic
    @rogerhewettmusic8 ай бұрын

    Wonderful video. Thank you!

  • @quaver1239
    @quaver12399 ай бұрын

    Marvellous - thank you! 💙💙

  • @simondanielssonmusic
    @simondanielssonmusic9 ай бұрын

    Love your channel. Cheers from Sweden! :) Edit: also, your editing has really stepped up as of late! The production quality is really good considering the fact that music composition is kind of a niche topic, at least compared to Apex Legends tournaments.

  • @Ryousake
    @Ryousake9 ай бұрын

    This is a very interesting video! I'm very sensitive to the beige belt when I'm composing. I know I could write music that's more ambient but that ends up being boring for people who aren't me so I started making sure to not let things get too "same-y" with texture and tone. Sometimes, it is the goal because a lot of my music is telling a story and if i need something that sounds mundane, i let the beige belt in just a little bit!

  • @thevalarauka101

    @thevalarauka101

    8 ай бұрын

    I like the letting it in idea, might try that myself sometime!

  • @WizardOfArc
    @WizardOfArc9 ай бұрын

    love the edits!

  • @Sannahmusic
    @Sannahmusic8 ай бұрын

    Thank you for this useful advice. 🙏

  • @Beatsbasteln
    @Beatsbasteln8 ай бұрын

    i'll keep this in mind when i explore the vastness of space again

  • @lizziesmusicmaking
    @lizziesmusicmaking7 ай бұрын

    Entertaining, educational, and very understandable. Thank you and well done.

  • @gabrielkolim
    @gabrielkolim9 ай бұрын

    The editing is on fire 💥🔥

  • @dlollard
    @dlollard9 ай бұрын

    This is cracking me up, and, I learned a lot, and, the outro music is great!

  • @bentaylor4705
    @bentaylor47059 ай бұрын

    I now have a couple pieces I have to check out. Thanks!

  • @halflearned2190
    @halflearned21908 ай бұрын

    Oh my god what an amazing editing!!!

  • @SamTahbou
    @SamTahbou9 ай бұрын

    I'm loving the production in this one

  • @themanupdtairs
    @themanupdtairs7 ай бұрын

    Hilarious theme continuity. Kudos David!

  • @user-xw6bf2dy4t
    @user-xw6bf2dy4t5 ай бұрын

    This is so brilliant and entertaining🤩👌🎶, clarifying and inspiring❗️A thousand thanks, Bruce 🙏🏻You entered my life just in the perfect time ✨

  • @jayducharme
    @jayducharme9 ай бұрын

    Great piece, and your most impressive visual tour de force yet!

  • @GalenWillettMusic

    @GalenWillettMusic

    8 ай бұрын

    Force? Wrong franchise!

  • @XRaym
    @XRaym9 ай бұрын

    The montage is so good and funny, well done !

  • @NicleT
    @NicleT8 ай бұрын

    That was very insightful. BTW, the shot where you're relaxing on captain's bed is hilarious!!

  • @leiferickson3183
    @leiferickson31839 ай бұрын

    Amazing production! This must have taken a lot of work.

  • @willwetherington
    @willwetherington9 ай бұрын

    You king of have a mixolydian scene there with Jean-Luc Picard and the TOS bridge! Lol

  • @stockicide
    @stockicide8 ай бұрын

    Great video!

  • @tpgslmth4252
    @tpgslmth42529 ай бұрын

    Really nice video editing

  • @huntarius1172
    @huntarius11728 ай бұрын

    Wow, I’ve always subconsciously known this and have always struggled with how to explain it when I’m helping someone write a song. Now I can just refer them to this video, thank you!

  • @liamatherton6759
    @liamatherton67599 ай бұрын

    David, you’re awesome, I’m not a composer myself (in fact I’m quite crap at it, I’ll stick to the piano and singing) but thoroughly enjoy these videos. Keep up the great work!

  • @stefke5862
    @stefke58629 ай бұрын

    Thank you! I’m not writing classical music but heard right away that I should be more aware of the beige nebula in my songs

  • @mrkv4k
    @mrkv4k9 ай бұрын

    Greetings from the Czech Republic, it always warms my heart when someone mentions Czech composers.

  • @nandoflorestan

    @nandoflorestan

    9 ай бұрын

    Dvorak.

  • @montego2
    @montego29 ай бұрын

    Fascinating. Useful. Boldly amusing.

  • @endima6204
    @endima62048 ай бұрын

    very interesting video...thank you

  • @qazwerspoil
    @qazwerspoil8 ай бұрын

    That Ligeti piece is very similar to the 7th movement of his Musica Ricercata. Love it!

  • @jayashrishobna
    @jayashrishobna8 ай бұрын

    I gasped at the Ravel low chord. Brilliant demonstration.

  • @diegofloor
    @diegofloor9 ай бұрын

    This is the first time I learn about this. I am amazed. I think in notes and harmony and rarely pay attention to the impact of register choice. And when the video started I had no idea where it was going, but I expected something like you have to change the melody, harmony, scale, whatever, to move through registers. But just voicing things properly makes so much difference. By the way I started writing this about halfway through the video, and then you started talking about saturation, which blew my mind again. So anyway, I'll just shut up and feel baffled by my musical ignorance.

  • @VocalEdgeTV
    @VocalEdgeTV8 ай бұрын

    Dude this video is sick!

  • @matthewbenedict5923
    @matthewbenedict59238 ай бұрын

    Incredible!

  • @sohamsengupta6470
    @sohamsengupta64709 ай бұрын

    Fantastic video as always, but you've really taken it above and beyond with the editing this time, made for an excellent watch. That being said, I noticed that some sections of your voiceover have like a tinnitusy very high frequency pitch on the left channel for some reason I'm not sure I entirely understand, it's not a very big deal probably (hell it may be high enough for me to be unable to hear it in a few years time), but yeah might be interesting to find out what's caused that. The pitch appears to be a bit different between some sections, and in a fair few sections it just appeared to be absent, which is rather intriguing to me. Once again, probably not a big deal, it's just one of those things which if you can hear it it's violently hard to ignore haha. Also love the outro by the way, excellent stuff by your son!

  • @MNolanMillar
    @MNolanMillar9 ай бұрын

    Just what I needed to hear.

  • @AvielMannBallo
    @AvielMannBallo9 ай бұрын

    David Bruce + Star Trek = GOLD

  • @user-vg7ts2qt7k
    @user-vg7ts2qt7k9 ай бұрын

    Now we have David Bruce Star-trekker.. your videos are always so engaging david.

  • @Toggitryggva
    @Toggitryggva9 ай бұрын

    Excellent!

  • @pcdm43145
    @pcdm431458 ай бұрын

    You used _Star Trek_ to teach me something about music theory. I like that. Keep doing that.

  • @davidpickar7614
    @davidpickar76148 ай бұрын

    Bravo! As an avid musician, I see this video brilliantly engaging musicians and non-musicians alike!

  • @armandogiordano1226
    @armandogiordano12269 ай бұрын

    Incredible video.

  • @tdubveedub
    @tdubveedub8 ай бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @herrvierkoetter
    @herrvierkoetter9 ай бұрын

    you beamed me up

  • @FilipSandecomposer
    @FilipSandecomposer9 ай бұрын

    Thank you for this educational and interesting video! And for including my very good friend Kristian Oma Rønnes!

  • @omegacanon
    @omegacanon8 ай бұрын

    Great analogy. For guitarists Beige Belt is the pentatonic box around 5-7 fret

  • @misterguy9051
    @misterguy90519 ай бұрын

    I love the Werckmeister galaxy. The Bohlen-Pierce Quasar.

  • @phyzygy
    @phyzygy9 ай бұрын

    Pipe organ, where Enterprise enters the vast Expanse! This video was an artistic tour de force, thanks, David, et al.

  • @Physicks499
    @Physicks4999 ай бұрын

    Thank you

  • @txsphere
    @txsphere9 ай бұрын

    David talks about the sound of The bassoon in the Rite of Spring. Stravinsky was writing the piece to be premiered in Paris and consequently a French orchestra would be playing the piece. The French bassoonist would have been playing a French bassoon which has a smaller, sweeter sound. So did Stravinsky have the sound of the French bassoon in mind or the German bassoon which is most commonly heard today? Search "German and French bassoon comparison" to hear it. Personally I like the German sound, but I don't know if that is because it is more familiar.

  • @russkalen2337
    @russkalen23379 ай бұрын

    I was delighted by your Star Trek setting. I was most interested in the concept of saturation of a register and how that can fatigue the listener into Beige. Something to be wary of in my composing. Thanks. Oh and the outro music was cool, but I don't think I want to hear it every time, lest it become beige.

  • @yesfinallygot1
    @yesfinallygot18 ай бұрын

    oh wow i think smalin was one of my first youtube subscriptions 15 years ago. legit!

  • @mr88cet
    @mr88cet9 ай бұрын

    Hey! Beige just happens to be my favorite color! Haha, just kidding! Great composing suggestions as usual. I especially liked your point about clearing out an area of the sound spectrum a little before you add a crucial part to if.

  • @nolyspe
    @nolyspe6 ай бұрын

    It's obvious to see you had a lot of fun recording and editing this video. 🖖 Love to see the guest appearance from Team Recorder too :P One of the most striking example that came to my mind of "holding the bass then pouring it in" is in drum & bass tracks where the sub-bass kicks in only after a bit. Check "Fracture & Neptune - Ventura" where the sub kicks in around 1:10 into the track. If you have a beefy subwoofer or even good studio monitors that go into the low range, the effect is very cool. The track is already full of little details before that, and the sub kicking in gives it that form of satisfying completion. Later it just intermittently empties the mid range (save for the drums) and bring it back again.

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