Great analysis, and loved your focus on the drums! So from a drummer on a guitar-channel: A beautifully weird track, but I longed for some drums in the intro. Said and done, here you go: enjoy! 😅🤩😂 ru-vid.comhIzAJdN9lR0?feature=share
Tim Henson creates his riffs on computer. Makes an “impossible” combination of notes in harmony and then finds ways to play it afterwards. It’s incredibly cool, breaks you out of guitar ruts like nothing else. Such a creative and talented band...
On a computer? And so it sounds. Honestly, what the do on their instruments is absolutely impressive but i cant listen to this music with joy. Because it sounds artificial to me, not natural and to me it sounds, beside all this impressive technique, like stress and tension, mixed with boredom.
When you started talking about the band being like a keyboard, I remembered Tim did a video a while back about how they write their songs. He uses a keyboard..
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IhfXXC20EJY.html Tim's descriptions of his writing process are hysterical. "And now I just play all the notes at once, then flex all over this other part..."
It warms my heart to see people react to G.O.A.T and talk about more than just Tim's guitar. The drums and bass are funky as hell and they get overlooked so often
I was Polyphia’s singer in 2011-2012 (when they had vocals). They always astounded me with their talent. When I was in the band, they had Brandon Burkhalter (another world class drummer) before he parted ways 3 years later, in which they got their current drummer Clay from a Dallas band called Windwalker after a short time with my current band’s drummer Randy. They used to be an extreme/speed metal band until they inked their first record deal. The other Clay (the bassist) was one of my childhood best friends and improved more in 2 years than I’ve seen any other bassist improve in 5 years. Tim and Scottie have been world class since before they were 18. Nowadays they write based on popular chord progressions such as this one (minor6, 1, 4, 3) that are used in pop songs of every genre even Feelin Good by Michael Bible. They didn’t need vocals after their stylistic transition because they decided to create lead guitar parts that were vocal hook-esque with the addition of cool slides, harmonics, etc. both guitarists obviously switch leads during the song with the non-lead player playing what would be described as chordal in nature with the rhythmic addition of appegiation and lead tones as well as quick upper/lower harmonies when the lead has something profound going on. These guys are still young and improving so it’s insane to think about all the albums they will make in different genres before inevitably disbanding and having careers as solo guitarists, bassists, and (hopefully) drummer.
@@cpl2gwot As someone who went to school with Scottie and Tim, was in the Dallas music scene whenever they started, and knows all of the people that have been in the band. I can confirm that is the real Hunter.
What gets me most about Polyphia is that it's not just one band member who is ridiculously talented. Every one of them are fantastic and they fit together flawlessly
Dude, I usually hate these “reaction” videos but this, THIS is how you do it. Props brother, you broke it down, noodled some of the riffs/chord progressions, etc. And, AND you replayed integral parts of the comp that makes it so good! Great job my man, this is exactly how I reacted to this song the first time I heard it, just totally blown away and immediately wanted to break it down!! lol, sh*t ya don’t see often enough. And the drummer….😳 Thanks for reigniting my interest in YT musicians, thank you brother 🔪🔪🔪
i heard Tim Henson say once that during the writing process he programs the drums in a DAW and sometimes they end up super intricate and rhythmically weird and he laughed and said something like "sometimes i forget a person has to actually play this for the record"
@@socrates6331 I think part of it has to do with the production and songwriting. For first time listeners who normally focus on more typical guitar-centric music, the compressed tone and keyboard voicings can be a challenge when learning by ear. I notice that the chords especially can sound harder to accurately pick out because the tone sounds so squashed on them.
@@socrates6331 I'd also like to add that I have learned Goose as well along with The Worst and 40oz off The Most Hated as well as parts of Nasty, Yas, Rich Kids, Drown, OD and So Strange. The difficulty comes down to ear training over technique for the most part, and many teachers don't stress that as much.
Talentless musicans...anyone can fiddle-around and use computer music software to enhance overtly-technical crap...trust me, I can shred 100 mph w/ no soul but after spending a few nights using Garage Band, I can replicate fugazi sh*t like this #FACT
Then you quit the band to play at the local church...thanks Brandon now we have to have Jeremy’s little brother cover drums and he sucks more than you. Lol...this is half my experiences with drummers the other half is I either screwed their sister or girlfriend. But really, good drummer is so hard to find.
@@Cannibal_Actual Yeah buddy, I feel that. Especially in where I live. Almost no parents will buy their kids a drum set. Expensive piano no problem, expensive guitar no problem, violin, flute, you name it as long as it can be played at lower volume.
Tim also mentioned in an interview that usually before live shows they get together and practice their asses off for days because they want the performance to be perfect live. Really dedicated dudes met them on tour a while back really kind and warm
When they were in Toronto, Clay was hammered completely and Scott was just out. Im sure they have their shows but man, seeing half of the band trashed on stage is a shame
@@nivmimran Clay was takin rips off of joints from people in the crowd. Regardless of who drives the writing or the playing, he's really the showman of this band
xlaythe yeah that’s true. When I saw them in 2019 Clay G was the one with the microphone hyping up the crowd. Tim seemed kinda shy honestly and was sloppy in a few parts
@@xlaythe I totally agree that Clay is the guy that usually communicates with the crowd. I am just saying that when you come to a show to see your favorite band, its a bit disappointing to see half of them trashed. It affects their playing. Specifically the Toronto gig was like that. Tim and Clay (Drummer) were holding things together. Regardless, they are my favorite band and don't get me wrong, the show was sick as hell.
I love that he puts down the guitar and just marvels at the drummer. Everyone is gonna focus on the incredibly technical guitar, but the drummer is absolutely sensational. I’ve never seen a drummer master dynamics and lay on the cymbals so much. It’s awesome to see a guitar teacher recognize that.
"People who give crap to people who play with the click track" One easy way to shut them up is to ask them to do it. There's no cheating in music. It's not a sport. Do what makes your art better.
Wow, there's just so much wrong in this statement. "There's no cheating in music"? Okay, then autotune, you know the thing that alters your voice and makes sound not like yourself, literally giving you the ability to do something you can't actually do. Or programming drums, literally taking a sound someone else created, throwing the actual drummer out of the equation because people are too incompetent to take the time to learn how to properly record drums to make their own unique sound for their bands. Yeah, that's not cheating.
Oh no, my good man. That is not me who is insecure. That would be someone who feels the need to alter his performance and lie. I don't want lies. I want talent. just because someone can't deliver the goods doesn't mean they have to subject themselves to sounding like every other band who uses the same fucking samples, or IR/cab sim. It ain't a sport, but both of us know this industry is highly competative and ignoring that is just plain stupid. Don't be blind. Care for quality, not quantity. No cheaping out on takes just because you can "fix it in the mix". I despise this lazy, down-right disrespectful attitude to the art of making music.
@@aqlord Sorry but you're insecure. Get all the cheats in the world, that won't help you make a good song. Musical talent can't be cheated. You can tell autotune. You can't play live if you can only edit in a studio. They're not cheats. But they aren't perfect either. Music is an art. And those cheats will never make you write music any better, which is the hardest part of music.
Man Tim Henson’s mom literally saved my life haha i has a heart attack and she resuscitated me and saw I was wearing a polyphia band tee and was like “my son’s in that band”
@@luiggiibanez You think so? I would wager that you caught them on an off night and that is really unfortunate. When I saw them they were beyond expectations.
7:10 - I love how the drum fill is so good that he actually looks mad. You can tell he's watching Tim and when Clay hits that run his eyes move over to him and he gets a "Oh fuck off" look. So good.
They are changing the game. First time I ever heard this song it almost brought me to tears. I felt like I unlocked a new dlc of music that I didn't know existed
My friend just introduced me to them- ahhh it sounds.. I don’t even know how to put it correctly, astounding? Freaking cool? Impressive? I love it already
Go check out the Bach playthrough with Brandon/Tim/Scott...Brandon is a beast but instead of death or black metal he went all in on gospel. Which isn't bad either but it's easier to disappear from view in a church...
I've watched a handful Polyphia "reaction" videos, now. More and more seem to have popped up over the past few weeks. But none of them so far measure up to the level of detail and discussion you gave here about what's going on in this song. Also, I just generally enjoy watching your mind be completely blown by these guys haha .. your excitement for music is super contagious.
"Not like in ProTools obviously" That's exactly what it is, actually. Tim composes the notes of the riffs on a keyboard and then just kinda figures out "now how the fuck do I play this?", adding his own technical flair to the raw notes as he goes along. The result is some ridiculously complex and unique stuff that you just don't get from experimenting with a guitar alone.
He seems to making a point to them playing to a click track? Doesn't any decent band play to a track live. Especially if you play music that needs to be tight. Wedge monitors are bunk if you need to be super tight.
Dam!!! never herd of this ever!!! But I no one thang I really like the sound!!! I ain't even listened to the rest!!! Song and love hear everybody We All Have That music has been in my soul since I knew anything
@@moonmanvic how could you possibly not know? Ahh you are a democrat, ignorance us bliss within your sekf created tiny bubble fantasy world you call reality
It’s cool as hell to see a guitar teacher give the drummer and bassist the praise they deserve too. There are a lot of people that just focus on the guitar but the entire band is incredible. I’ve been listening to them for a few years and heard their stylistic changes on every album and how they adapt to different genres, but also change them and make this really unique sound. They’re kind of in a trap/hip hop stage at the moment and you can hear it in the drums for sure. I know Tim Henson (guitarist) listens to trap music and makes keyboard “riffs” that sound like rap beats until he puts them on a guitar. Badass band overall and I can’t wait to hear what they do in the future.
They play like one huge instrument. Wouldn't surprise me if they used pc to write it out on a sheet, and only afterwards deciding who plays what. Doing the composing separate to playing, kinda like for a orchestra.
I mean my friend was like, "You like rock and edm right? Check this out!" And showed me G.O.A.T. which I then proceeded to listen to all their other stuff after haha
"You're only as good as your drummer. Period". That's an insight you don't hear very often. Thanks for putting out enthusiastic, insightful, and balanced content. *Palmisano fan for life.
"You wanna know what time it is?" "Click" "there it is". That is the best realization of tempo feel ive seen in a video. Drummers really are the most underrated band members. Listen to anything by sleep token and even his amazing vocals are overshadowed by the perfect drum track. Time and feel are always the dividers of good and bad.
THIS! This concept really started with "The most H8ed". It's like they said to themselves: "We're a cool instrumental borderline prog metal group....what if we just make Trap Beats?"
I personally don't go to live shows to see tight and precise. We saw BF5 open for for Beck (still a Beck fan btw) in '96 and were blown away, and we LEFT three songs into the Beck set. Now I want to hear GOAT unplugged. ;)
My god, you know nothing about guitar or instrumental music in general... this style of playing has been going on for fucking decades... it was nothing new to me, it's average. Thousand players sound alike already. It's just that the mainstream audience, which is roughly 95% of the people, never really digs further than what the radio or MTV will play, or what your friends heard on spotify's pop-centric recommendations. Instrumental music started losing touch with mainstream audiences near 2000. Until Polyphia started using guitar with actual bass rhythms and instrumental arrangements fitting modern electro music... which made it to the mainstream audience. It's a known fact, mainstream audiences know shit about music. Some high profile music schools I won't name, label the general audience as "retarded", one school has a special name for it. There are reasons, that even theory of music explains pretty well.
@@AM-we8hj dude .. this guy is fire , I am listening technical death metal and band like this for , yes 10 years over , but Tim Henson is just a fucking beast, he shred, you can't bitch on this
Tim Henson will go down in history as one of the greatest and unique guitarist of all time. He has achieved so much and is only 26 years old. Polyphia is one of my favorite bands and they are ever bit as good live as on record.
@@lurezpe8655it really is, younger artists like billie eilish who had some sort of breakthrough into music can't be put in the same category. look at any of the great musicians, many started creating around his age, getting recognized as they got older. yet here he is at 26, imagine what he can achieve in the future. at least that's how i personally see it.
@@thelickpolice1210 Nah, it probably only took them a week- but their version of a week is exactly 604,800 seconds and they always know which second they're on.
Michael: This took them a year at least, and if you say it took them a week and they were all high I'm calling BS Polyphia: Sweats in marijuana cabinet
Some of the best moments of musical progression, and creativity that literally have shaped the way I look at, and play guitar have come from being extremely high on LSD and cannabis. These substances, lsd specifically and especially, dissolve walls and barriers within our minds allowing us a more harmonious neurology, and cognitive functionality.
Watch "The Doo". He does a close up of this song...just not slowed down. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B-U4hyKOPe0.html Here is a link to the tabs for guitar
Dude! You are the only "teacher reacts to Polyphia" that got what they are doing 100%. If you check the guitar player's video explaining how he wrote that song you'll realise that all your points are 100% accurate. Awesome video!
I love the way they are so unique in style. No member is the focal point. They are all doing certain things almost like mini solos that come together perfectly as a single sound unit. No lead playing and no backup playing. They are one cohesive unit that are perfectly in sync but not in the usual way like most bands.
When you noticed their playing resembling piano licks it's because when Tim is writing new licks he's using midi instruments as a writing tool for guitar.
@@MrSh4des Yep. Tim writes everything on keyboard with drum work and then they learn how to play it on the other instruments. Exact same thing all composers do, since virtually no composer plays all of the instruments they write for. :D
A guy that helped him progress is Tosin Abasi from “animals as leaders” he’s the best when it comes to 8 string guitar territory. Finger picking, blues, metal, finger tapping.
now imagine listening to other bands like meshuggah who are every bit as sharp live as they are in the studio. I mean Thomas Hakke is a Living Metronome. then you go back to metallica and try to listen to lars. Its kinda cringy.
There is a clip of Tim discussing how he came up with the main riff. The second half of the riff was a result of an accident He chopped and pasted the a portion of it a half a measure too soon in whatever program he was using and the result, although a mistake, was sick so he kept it.
I saw Polyphia live in the fall of 2019 and I definitely felt like there were times where the studio recording sounded much better, but for the most part these guys have what’s it takes to do it live man. Incredible
If you look up Polyphia - How to Make a Riff, you'll see how they construct some of their stuff with a Piano first then recreate it on Guitar. How you were talking about them thinking more like a Piano player rather than a Guitarist. Right on the dot.
Yep. They are insanely tight. Tim spends hours writing this stuff on piano and breaks them up into Left and Right hand. He will take a part and Scott takes the other, and of course the rhythm section is just a beast of their own!
Everyone's got click in their ears. i toured with them twice, I actually played this show in Glasgow. They let us borrow their in ear system for the whole tour; extremely nice dudes
I appreciate how much you focused on the drummer and bassist, Tim gets so much praise as he really is changing how people view the guitar but I wouldn't have noticed as much of the technicality of the drumming with our your break down of it
GOAT is very fun and cool in terms of the sounds they make, but if you’re a musician you will probably enjoy O.D. more. It is truly something else. It will probably be the song you’ll have on repeat.
You said you wanted to see them play it live. I just got through seeing them at Iron City in Birmingham. They are every bit as skilled and talented as in the video. As a fellow guitarist of 25 years, these dudes are light years ahead of many guitarists, especially for their age. I've accepted I cannot ever hope to be THAT skilled, but I have learned to just appreciate it for what it is. I admit defeat in the most humble way possible.
The lead guitarist arranges the music in FL studios then they play it live on guitars. That's why is sounds like it was written on a piano. It's written in the piano roll of a D.A.W. He has an old video about it on his channel. It's essentially math rock that's arranged in a D.A.W. They're also incredibly talented.
I feel privileged that bands like Polyphia exist. Tim is pushing the envelope of what you can do with guitars and music, I love it. The whole band is tight though.
This is the best “insert teacher here” reaction I’ve ever seen. I love how you’re able to evaluate and explain the chord progressions in real time while going into technical breakdowns rather than just saying “wow this is so good!” Love the channel!
Just want to say, in the wake of not seeing a live show or experiencing much new music at all in the past ~14 months, this video and your reactions are an excellent replacement. I'm not around musicians/music in general much in my day to day, but that's part of what made going out to live shows or random jam nights in the city so much fun. Long story long, thanks!
as a guitar player I don't see how I haven't stumbled on to them before now! I even listen to technical metal and the RU-vid algorithm has failed me on this one until now, lmao!.
As a music lover and guitar player, Polyphia has to be one the most rhythmic and enjoyable bands to listen to. I would have never guessed using a computer to make a composition then playing it with real instruments would sound so good. Incredible.
I appreciate how you're geeking out over their hyper technical playing and "virtuoso"- like qualities and how you can describe everything they're doing with musical theory. It's almost like a class. Props, teach.
I believe I've heard that when Polyphia composes music they start off by making the song on the piano and then divides the tune of the keyboard into the different segment the bass the guitar and the licks.
My favorite thing about your videos is how excited you get, you're truly passionate about music and that energy can be felt. Keep up the great work my friend.
Hey man. You have no idea how refreshing it is to see someone react to music that actually knows and understands it on a technical level. Keep up the good work I believe you can be very successful with this
I had never played in a band to a click track before I started playing for my church praise band. You're right about it being a different skill set. Our songs aren't very intricate, but when someone gets off of the click, you can tell it right away and it is painful until they get back on.
"You're only as good as your drummer"....thank you I will now remind everyone of my guitar and bass friends that they can thank me for sounding so wonderfully talented 😂 Fantastic breakdown of this ridiculously dope jam!