ABBA: Benny Andersson - PIANO MAESTRO!! 

Swedish pop group ABBA's Benny Andersson is an outstanding pianist. In this video we discuss his style and how incorporates elements of classical, folk and various other styles which gives ABBA's music its distinctive, emotional and unmistakable sound.

Benny Andersson a true genius and a big reason why ABBA is ABBA!!! I have the privilege to have met Benny at a relatives funeral back in 2007! A very humble guy with a big heart!! ♡ Thanks Vaughn!!! =)

With Benny's brilliance in mind, it's easy to underestimate the influence of the other members. It's the combination that makes their music stellar.

Finally someone who understands the greatness of M.r Benny Andersson. Seen in the all time greats perspective.

My mother loved ABBA, she was 93 when she passed, I was one of the few among my peers that loved their music. They transcend even today. The come back album proved the talent and adoration lives on after all these years apart. I’m so happy you’re a fan Vaughn. You play beautifully. A fine tribute to Benny.

Yes, Benny is one of the greatest melodists ever and I’ve always noticed that he arranges like a classical composer. He’s also ever aware of the fact that he has singers to place in his music. And they are all always and ever, totally genuine; which is why Benny’s music is honestly musical and musically honest.

In my opinion Slipping through my fingersbis the most beautiful melody line of them all. Every part of the song is brilliant. Very classical inspired.

"I sound like a real ABBA fan boy...I make no apologies for that!" Absolutely classic, THE BEST haha

Maestro Benny! :-) He is responsible for a lot of ABBA's musical appeal, being the harmonies or subtle countermelodies. He and ABBA put melody and harmony first to make pop music in the right sense of the word. Great songwriter, arranger and performer! You can get a bit bored with some ABBA songs being played over and over and done in karaoke, as with other music, but that doesn't take away the fact that they are beautifully crafted and deserve their place in music history!

Benny Andersson came out with a piano album a couple of years ago simply called "Piano". He selected works from all of his repertoire that he felt worked best as piano solos. Songs are from ABBA, Chess, Kristina, and his solo Swedish work. Great album. You won't hear the regular ABBA hit son this album, non SOS, no Dancing Queen....more ballads.

What Benny does to not distract the voices are two things (or two and a half): The first is playing broken chords instead of full ones, which still gives you the whole chords to clearly identify the key at hand, but they don't block all the other instruments and especially not the voices, but gives them a kind of soft flowing carpet on which the main melodies of the voices are placed. The second is that he fills the gaps and pauses of the melodies with echos and variations of the melody we just heard, often one or even two pitches higher, emphasising the melody and by that letting the voices stand out even more, because they work as jumping points for the next phrase. The half is (and i think you almost said this in the video when you talked about how the pattern determines the tempo on the chiquitita part): The piano makes the tempo. This is different from most pop and rock groups, where the tempo normally is governed by the rhythm section of drums & bass (but Abba are not the only ones - Jim Steinman does it with all his songs, too). By doing that, the voices are not as bound to the rhythm as they are on tracks with a stricter tempo. The aforementioned carpet of single tones of broken chords allow them to stretch and pause and set in a bit sooner or later than the actual bar and that gives the voices the opportunity to stand out, even if the arrangements of ABBA songs have far more layers than usual pop songs (and that's why Jim Steinmans songs can have these many more layers, too).

He is also one of the best composers the last 50 years, in the pop genre....

It's like home baked bread, the variations in texture and "imperfections", are precisely what make it perfect. Truly, less is sometimes more.

I think, what makes Benny's compositions (and the recordings of them) so special is also, that they lack any "cynicism". They are made with care, because he treats his audience with respect. This is also a reason why ABBA's music has endured, because when you listening to them, you as a listener experience something pure, that was made from the heart, with love, for you to listen to and enjoy. ABBA's music is manipulating you emotionally, but with the intention to lift you up and inspire you. When you listen to his music, you can feel its humanistic nature.

I love Abba especially because of their great piano parts. Its timeless music you can allways listen too. Benny is a great composer and pianist!

Benny is the main composer of ABBA's music, and we can all agree his a freaking genius. A true master of balancing complexity and simplicity. That's not to undermine the other members' contribution, Bjorn's lyrics were great (specially towards their _newest_ records) and the girls handled harmonies at a level only comparable to the Bee Gees or The Beatles. And they also had the right associate musicians and engineer that took it to the next level. But Benny provided the foundations on which everything else was built. He's amazing.

I’m surprised he was not classically trained from childhood because he is a fantastic player and songwriter. I like his classical flourish’s and I like how his piano adds a touch of classical style to the songs. A Brilliant player and he seems to be having a lot of fun as well. Since he’s enjoying himself then it’s contagious and you end up enjoying yourself as well. Their music has lasted and will last forever as great pop music. Bravo Benny and Bjorn! And Agnatha and Frida! They are magical! The stars were aligned when they all met and got together to make music.

Always a fan, but I appreciate Benny’s writing genius so much more as an adult. As kid if I pulled down my kiss posters for ABBA, I would have faced endless ridicule from my older brother’s friends😂 So much ABBA resistance in the earnest depressing 1970’s, Great art stands the test of time. The two new tunes are so poignant , it’s looking like a happy ending for the eternal music of ABBA.

His album Piano is amazing. I love the piano version of The day before you came. It really highlights the beauty of the melody of that song. Please analyse I`m a marionette. You should also check Intermezzo no 1.

Hola from Spain!! I 100% agree with you. He's a genius. An unassuming one, humble and down to earth. You can really appreciate his craft in the Piano album. No overdubs, multi layered sophisticated production... no wall of sound at all. Just naked, pure... great music. The theme selection is pretty somber, slow paced but great. You can see clearly both his evolution as a composer and the melting pot he's always been known for. From the West End musical tone of the amazing I Let The Music Speak to the classical Flikornas Rum. I bought the sheet music book from the album. The moments of joy this man has given me through the years are countless. What's even better, there are more around the corner!!!!

Benny Andersson = brilliant musician!

Just THANK YOU for this video.

We all grew up with ABBA. Benny is a genius. Real Piano Maestro. I can watch his videos playing piano endlessly. True inspiration to me. If God permits, May be in my next life, I wish to play Piano like him.

If I could play Piano as you do Vaughn, I would aready be happy :-). The brilliance of Benny is undeniable. A good Piano player can already make a difference to, how music sounds in your ears, and what emotion it transports to your heart. Sometimies I get sad that I've never had a chance to learn it for myself.

"My love of Bach is deep, strong, and everlasting." - Benny Andersson, Piano (2017)

ABBA what can you say? Musical genius at the highest level. I remember there night of Eurovision I burnt the kitchen down as I watched them because I'd left the chip pan on the stove. It truly was my Waterloo. Fire brigade the lot. I blamed ABBA for being so good. Irony was the next day I had to sail to Scandinavia. All I could think about was those damn chips and ABBA distracting me. My consolation was it made a lifetime of after dinner anecdotes.

I don't know any other pop song that spreads it's opening melody over three instruments: guitar, piano and horns. Brilliant. (Chiquitita)

The boy is God himself! Go Benny 🔥

Brilliant! Thank you for this video. Loved seeing the placements on the keyboard. ABBA will never be thebsame - and that is meant in a positive manner!

If you do not like ABBA you DEFINITELY have something wrong with you. Abba had the ability to reach a audiance over a wide age group. The new music is very impressive. After 40 years and they are still strong .

ABBA is something for everyone and many things for some.

the genius in abba as a band . everything did what it needed to do . their music is a perfect lesson in each instrument serving their role ... while not guitar music , when you really listen the guitars are busy.. the bass is holding everything together and with the drums push the melody along ... the keys and piano and strings just sit under the vocals... its a lesson in how to write/play/produce pop songs ....

Benny is an uneducated musician. He has never written down a note. Self-educated. George Martin, Beatles manager once said "ABBA is the blueprint of pop music. It can not be done better"

Thank you for this and covering more ABBA music in the future. I'm looking forward to it. I've always been rather fascinated and in awe by Benny's compositions and it is fantastic to hear someone who is enthusiastic about breaking them down and analyzing them. I am not a great piano/keyboard player and not the best at reading sheet music. My own compositions I've created/recorded and put up on SoundCloud are definitely inspired by ABBA (and in particular Benny) but are rather simplistic and just a hobby and nowhere near the same level of sophistication. I was excited to buy the sheet music that goes along with Benny's "Piano" album when I heard it is a direct transcription of what he is playing on that album and it is nice to know that if I hear something on that album and I say "Oh! This part sounds so interesting! What exactly is he doing there?" that maybe I can very slowly figure it out thanks to that notation (but that said, looking at it written out actually freaks me out a bit at the complexity so that is something of a double edged sword). To have someone doing this sort of thing on video is awesome and such a joy to watch.

I love listening to you play. Thank you for the music Vaughn.

Benny is a genuine music master, my most favourite musician and composer since the 1970s when I was a child and began to perceive the world of music. You can try to listen to his great composition "En skrift i snön".

Thanks for doing DM and ABBA videos! Love this channel and the Patreon channel even more now! Benny and Bjørn are just musical geniuses. ...and yes, I've never listened more ABBA, since I was a uncertain teenager, than now. Funny how I understand the music completely different now, with all the years gone by!

The opening to the Chess Theme is so melodically beautiful and Benny plays it with sensitivity and perfect timing.

Impatiently waiting for the series! This is the stuff i need so much! Thank you! For the music :-)

Firstly.. LOVE the sound of "Neon Views".. I want it. Now. Yes, Benny is a natural genius in his writing and approach to music in general. Have you listened to his "Piano" collection? Man, he even got me into his folk music a few years back "Benny Andersson's Orkester". (Though I'm very comfortable with listening to a massive variety of genres) I've heard him say in an interview that he listens to classical, and you're on point.. if I'm not mistaken, he claims Bach is never-ebding inspiration. Anyway.. enjoying your vids!

A review series of ABBA. Juhuuuuuuuuu!

Benny Anderson is that to Sweden as Grieg to Norway and Sibelius to Finnland. I think - about his music - his absolute favourite is Mozart. Just simply this brightness in his music very close to the brightness in Mozart's music..... I never forget first time I heard "As Good as New" I thought I mixed my CDs and I put there accidentaly a Mozart Symphony (if you know how that song starting)... And there is the Abba Requiem, with very clear musical reflections to Mozart's Requiem: "The day before you came". The chorus parts dark harmonies are almost directly coming from the Lacrymosa title of Mozarts masterwork... Benny said few yaers ago to a newspaper that he just hear classical music, especially Bach. Bach is the core of all the music later emerged, including the "precious pop" as Beatles, Queen. - they also used calssical music elements in their music. I think ABBA's very close relations with the classical music through their genious composer, Benny Andersson is obvious. And still true that sentence: you cannot skip the real music, if you want to step forward than the average modern pop/rock emptyness. And the real music is the classical music. And after this absolutely true what you said: if you don't like ABBA, you don't like music!!!

Thank you Vaughn for helping me understand why Abba is Abba. They may be see as "pop", but indeed their music reaches way deeper.

Benny is indeed a MUSICIAN -- a great one!

ABBA has it’s own way of managing to make everything sound simple and sophisticated, mellow and uplifting, sad and happy all at the same time… it’s incredible… geniuses!!!

Benny is an absolute genius - they all complement each other so well but Benny I feel is the real driver behind the group. Pure class.

I'm glad you mentioned Chiquitita because I've been particularly blown away by the glorious piano sounds of that song and the end bit is glorious!!

There's a video of Benny receiving an award where he plays Chess and has to cut short because his hands shake so much (nervous) he couldn't play. So human!! Love the man

Ritchie Blackmore and the rest of the guys in Rainbow at one time confessed to each either than ABBA was their favourite band.

Is there any precedent that one can recall where an artist stepped away for 39 years and returned to produce new music (sounding very much as they did 39 years ago)? These artists are in their 70s and it is hard to wrap my head around this. Please consider keeping a source list of other videos on this topic. There is one YT video that I found helpful as each of the members speaks to what it takes to produce their music. 'ABBA Words and Music'

Great video, and good to hear another South African!

ChiquiTITA! 🙂

Nice disection and Benny is of course a genius. The man sits at his piano 9-5 five days a week just waiting for a melody to pass from his brain, to his figers, to his keys. He likened it to 'waiting for a dragon to come out of the cave'. As a boy growing up in Sweden he was exposed to many different genres of music, folk, classical, pop etc as well as the european types of music. The German schlagger, the French and Italian chansons... The melody once found then has to be arranged and given lyrics. Thats were in the ABBA format Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida come into the equation.On Benny's solo recordings you still get strong melodys but in a much smaller pop landscape. But had ABBA continued recording after 1982, I'm in no doubt many songs that finished up in Chess, Kristina Fran Duvemala, Hjalp Soakes or with Gemini, Josefin Nilsson or Benny Andersson's Orkester, many of those songs would have become ABBA songs....they just didnt want to be ABBA for 39 years.

As a Depeche Mode fan, you may be interested to know that there is a early live recording about of them doing a cover of 'Mamma Mia' at The Bridge House in London. Vince Clarke, of course, later became half of Erasure who had a big hit with their Abba-esque EP.

Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead was also an ABBA fan.

Great job! ❤️

The modern music of today is far too heavy on loudness and lack of dynamic belting of singing and playing. A song like "Hurt" or "Tomorrow Never Comes" by Elvis Presley can't be hit songs today. And I disagree with you on "over produced music" today, today music sounds too often like demo songs.

I love your energetic and knowledgeable videos. You are a great music analyst. Keep up the good work!

Can't help it but love these things and what it means musicly etc. Looking forward to breakdowns of their songs, Good job VG. PS. Don't back down on your melodic playing if it's what makes you tick, it's creative sparks IMO and stand up for it if that's what you really feel a song should sound like.

You need to check out the visitors and should I laugh or cry, just pure perfection .this is when syrhn became available and Benny was so ahead of his time.he is so underrated.

Here's the phonetic: CHICK-IT-TEE-TAH

What do you think about their 2 new songs ? .... and the news of a new album in November .

What Vaughn tells us on 5:00 - 5:07 : I totally agree ! Whether you like their music or not.

"I was hugely surprised to see that there is a lot of interest about ABBA - and that doesn't surprise me" 😏

ABBA greatest pop groupm ever walked this planet.

Great interpretation. His arrangements almost have a Overture or Concerto style.

Last time I saw Benny live was in Hudiksvall, köpmanberget -68, leading the Hep Stars on organ. He is magnificient and playing outside the box of how you normaly play. Every Abba song is so perfect and through worked and not a singel detail left un done The Hepstars on Stage was in the beginning of the 80s the best live album released.(voted) He could have played in any era with His gift. If He had lived with Bach and Bethoven He would have done well there too. The gift from The creater of haven and earh Jesus Christ the Messiah .. God bless you Benny! 👍🏼

Benny and Tuömas from Nightwish,two modern era genius of composition.

Look at youtube and the popband "Hep Stars" from the 1964 1965 Benny is playing already there

After listening to much ABBA, I feel that in many cases, Benny's piano is the structure, the skeleton of the song! Listen to the Winner Takes It All ... his piano is right there from the start .... then again he did have some cool synth sounds but on many songs his piano is kind of the core structure of the tune (maybe not up front like some synth riff sound like Voulez Vous, but maybe a more natural background playing which is the basic structure of the whole tune. I kind of wonder if Benny came up with most of the themes and Björn wrote most of the lyrics (but who knows how that interaction fully went) .

Plus, I never realized how 'SOS' goes from D minor in the verses into an F key for the chorus.

I am Swedish but never actively listened to Abba but still know all of their their music by heart though. Thats the impact. Benny is not classically trained, nor can he read music, they hired a guy to write down their music.

And now, April 2024, a new song release from BennyAnderssonOrchestra (BAO) with a new album coming soon!

Benny is a genius

Benny is the alfa and the omega😘💕💕💕💕💕✊

You mentioned jazz influences in his playing. I´m not aware about that. It would be interesting to see (or rather listen to) an example or two. Their eclectism is amazing though. How they picked up disco elements, and also: isn´t I have a dream like a tribute to Mikis Theodrakis (R.I.P)?

Reading all the comments below, the music seem to hit anyone in some way no matter the musical background. I’m a 56 year old Swede and grew up with Abba. Doing my sound engineer education at SAE in Bangkok and the studio, where we practiced our skills, had this old in-line audio console Harrison that came from the recording studio in Stockholm where many of the Abba songs were recorded. I thought that was kind of cool back then. So I used to dream away when fine tuning my mix through those faders that ones carried the analog sounds from Bennys piano or Agnetas vocal streaming through. Back in Stockholm I took this evening lessons seven weeks in the Metronome Studio, under the Polar label, listening to the analogue tapes, track by track analyzing what was going on. The tracks were ”dry” and no effects were added during the listening. But still the original from 1974. I remember my first impression so well, still not knowing the song that was loaded in the tape machine. The engineer pulled up the drum track and listening to that for a minute, you hear a 2/4 beat kind of stuttering, stiff metronome, style, track played by the drummer Ola Brunkert I think it was. No clue what the song is. Just a bit irritated, yet chocked that the moaning sound of the drummer himself is tracked very loud as well. How could they allow that on this million record selling group? I would never accept such noise on todays digital recordings. But that was not the biggest lesson learned… The fader for the baseline blends in and Rutger Gunnarsson’s outstanding melodic playing on other tracks was not really that impressive here, nor revealing the song title. Is this a prank? Our group, consisting of ten enthusiastic students, myself included, sitting with our ears wide open and our brains are working overtime to recognize something. Anything! No one dare to leave an expertise comment. It could still be a test, wrong loaded tape or just an evil prank…The third fader works its way up slowly - and that is the piano track!!! The euphoria explodes in our bodies, we start moving around in our chairs in the control room and clapping our hands in unison - the tune is recognized immediately! Normally in a Frank Sinatra big band tune you’ll find the swing and groove in the drums and brass arrangements. In ”Waterloo”, Bennys piano playing makes the swing and drives the whole song forward. It was a big learning experience! That sort of boogie-woogie feel was just the perfect glue to have the the bass and drums make sense. So my money was well spent and I learned a lot since I am a piano player as well. Benny is such a genius! Thank you for the music, and let it keep coming!

@vaughngeorge Hi Vaughn Benny Andersson in my view is one of the best musicians did you know some of Benny’s parts he played on Dancing Queen were used on Elvis Costelos Oliver’s Army .

0:46... were you hugely surprised? 0:52... or did it not surprise you? Sorry Vaughn, couldn't resist!

Great playing on the SOS song...that one Nick Rhodes could not ever do...Live! 😉

yea great band. They have some the best counterpoint backing vocals in popular music. 2 for the price of one and chiquitita are two that spring to mind but theres loads.

Benny is the Brain Wilson of ABBA.

I think that Benny cant read music notes. Just like Vangelis.

You’re spot on about the analysis about the ending of chiquitita. It’s folk music. Benny is rooted in Swedish folk music. Here he is on accordion playing folk music that he of course have written.He can play any instrument. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QyJ39V_dIPs.html❤

Björn once said in an interview, in the 70s ABBA was the most creative. Well, it sounds like this is true again. ;)

I'd go so far too say that Benny Andersson is a classical music composer and should be included in that famous group that consists of Grieg, Liszt, Bach and others. He hasn't written a very difficult piece yet, as is common with these composers, but the musical quality is there. And he is hardworking too, he generally sits from 9 to 5 with his piano, I've been told.

Benny played in a group called Hep Stars before finding his musical mates in ABBA. Hep stars rehearsed in my our old house, called the crow castle, in a abandoned milk shop. My parents say he was babysitting me once to make some money (but i don`t know if it is true), and Benny also lended my mothers fake leopard fur, as a costume on stage. I will never know if it is true..If you want to see Benny before the ABBA era, here you are. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8I10nTYEKF8.html

Benny on piano is equal to John Lord on Hammond...

10:12 Nice, well done 👍😍

ABBA/Polar Music Team: Stikkan 'Stig' Anderson Gorel Johnsen-Hanser Anni-Frid Lyngstad Benny Andersson Bjorn Ulveras Agnetha Falkskog Rutger Gunnarsson Michael B Tretow & ABBA's loyal top rank session/touring musicians.

"I would disagree with anyone who disagrees with me on that"... :))

Out of the 4, apparently Agnetha is the only one capable of reading musical notes.

Benny no doubt is a genius. But in all honesty Björn made important musical contributions to many ABBA songs, particularly early ones. This is obvious from early interviews😢 and footage of them working toghether. Furthermore, Björn did all of the lyrics.

Chiquitita 😊😊😊😊

I guess I have to listen to some ABBA now...

Chi-qui-ti-ta ;)

Benny, s magical fingers build up Abba the band

Ya never see Benny and Gary Oldman in the same place.

chikikikeetah

This is Bennys first nr 1 hit in Sweden that he wrote in the middle of the60s. According to the singer he wrote it at a hotel in Norway when he borrowed a piano while the others were waiting for him to start playing poker. The lyrics are not great but the music sounds like Mozart. m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ux9Jfyfa5zw.html