Wait, why do these basic chords sound SO GOOD? | Q+A 

I wasn't ready to hear Adam sing this early in the video

Any chord progression that sounds ‘wrong’ can be ‘right’ if you just play it enough times. Because *repetition legitimizes.*

1:24 that was a genuinely beautiful performance by the Adam Neely Choir

Regarding 8:41, technically the guitarrón used in mariachi music has been around for several centuries, having evolved from a Renaissance instrument called the bajo de uña, and uses a very deep and wide body to project without amplification. That said, I feel that not terribly many people were particularly aware of Mexican folk music or the Spanish traditions which influenced it outside of those places until comparatively recently, and unfortunately that traditional music most likely lacked the prestige of the "art music" which the guitar wound up being adopted into in order to replace the lute-where the low end provided by something like a bass viol was already superseded by the cello and double bass rather than something like the bajo de uña.

I love when people just write a random sequence of "jazzy chords" expecting Adam to be impressed lol.

"Why no classical bass, but clasical guitar?" answer is partially incomplete, perhaps due to a nationality bias, but there is at least The Mexican guitarrón that, as Adam says, has an immense body and was invented in the 19th century. The notes are plucked like a current electric bass and it is still used by mariachis.

6:31 now I want to write a piece of music called "we need to hire a new bass player" with a totally incoherent bassline that makes the bassist look bad

your editing is so pleasing. 2:00 playing an example of what you were just talking about while just simply going on is such a simple but great improvement to quality.

Having synesthesia and not having perfect pitch. Have you ever experienced that while playing live and in a rehearsal setup that you anticipated the colour of the chord but was surprised when it turned out to be something different? Did it affect your playing style and what note you were going to play next to colour the song in a particular way?

I think that one chord progression you heavily criticized was actually good, but incomplete. If they had more transitional chords it'd sound mysterious and somewhat epic.

On the 2nd chord progression. It feels like he was trying to do a deceptive cadence, landing on 6 instead of 1. Adam suggested a b3 after that to go back to 1. From my work in the barbershop genre, b3 is actually used to set up a deceptive cadence in a 2-5-(b3-6). It helps with all the sevenths. When used sparingly, it can be very effective.

"You can't take the audience out of your music." Wow. Strong words to live by.

Point about the second progression (the one Adam didn't care for): On guitar, that's C with the B string open F with the top two strings open Dm7 with the entire bottom end open Open position G7 and a fun resolution In other words, how idiomatic it is on guitar, and the resonance of open strings, may lend it some credibility that it lacks on piano.

Finally another Q&A, I love these, always inspire me :)

Whoa, Harmony Through Melody! That's written by my undergrad theory prof and his colleagues, and it was my main theory textbook all through my degree. Pretty validating to hear you call it "intense" because...yup. But as a singer I think it did help me to really focus on thinking about chords this way.

Fun fact about 09:00. There's a sort-a bass ancestor in Gnawa music. The instrument it's called Guembri. A 3-string "guitar" with a low register. The Gnawa tradition influences western music through the 800 years of Al-andaluz and the arab-andalusian tradition (present even in "Cantigas de alfonso XX el sabio", with arab composers and arab musician among the court). However, it's pure speculation why the bass guitar tradition couldn't permate the western cannon as much as other elements of arab and gnawa music . (I apologize for my english, cheers from Chile)

Speaking of the NYC music scene I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to clubs like Smalls and Rockwood. I was in town from the West coast for a week and was determined to see a show at one of the places you always mention/play at. So I looked through the calendars and found Ron Carter playing with Geoffrey Keezer at Mezzrow. What a great experience! Sad I left 2 days before the NYChillharmonic played.

Actually, the low frequencies propagate with less losses than higher frequencies. So a low freq wave travelling the same distance as a higher freq wave will be louder. The "problem" here is our psychoacoustic sensitivity to sound. Our ears are more sensible to sounds from 1kHz to 3KHz and that's why we need amplification for lower frequencies. As a prctical example think of when you are far away from a concert you will hear/feel better the low frequencies. P.S. 1: I am fun at parties I swear. P.S. 2: Love from Greece Adam, love your videos.

Really enjoy your videos. They're very informative and there's something relaxing about the way you present everything as well. 👍

Nice Q + A! Deffo one of your chillest videos in a while! I'm thankful you didn't go on and on (and on) about the style of 18th century European music for so long this time, you kept it short and sweet which I like!

That Dm7/E gave me end of 'Saturn' from Holst's Planets vibes. One of the best resolutions harmonically to any piece ever imho. Dm7/E , Dm7, Cmaj7. Rising melody, falling bass, glorious.

08:40 Well, there were a few plucked instruments in the renaissance and baroque period that were partly or fully in the bass register. Those were normally used to play basso continuo, a style on which a bass instrument (usually a Cello, Viola da Gamba or Bassoon) would play a written bassline and a harmonic instrument (like a Harpsichord, Organ, Lute, Harp etc.) would play the harmonies according to the bass notes, and in later periods numbers that would be alongside the notes to help the player figure out the harmony). The most famous plucked string instrument that is enters the bass register is the Theorbo, aka Chitarrone. It typically had 14 courses (a course is either a single string, or two string that sound in a unison or octave that you play as though they were one string) in which the upper strings were the same as a lute and the lower strings were tuned to a scale (the player would tune the scale to the key of whatever piece they were playing). The player played the bass line with their thumb on the bass strings and used the other fingers to play the harmony on the upper strings. There are many other similar instruments that work on a similar principal with different tunings/numbers of strings etc. including the Liuto Attiorbato, Bass Lute and Archlute. I know of one instrument used in Europe in the Renaissance and Baroque period that can be seen as equivalent to the modern bass guitar in as much as it only has low strings which is the Colascione. It usually had two or three strings (although I've seen one with four) in the lower register, tuned in fifths. I believe there were also Russian, East Asian and Arab instruments that were similar to a bass guitar (an image comes to mind of a huge Bass Balalaika from Russia with a triangular body the size of a Double Bass body), but those are not areas that I'm familiar with.

Awesome video, always appreciate your qna’s when I watch them but this one was especially great

We are a damn lot of people enjoying Adam sing, yeah?

Love the video and the singing! :D NB Incase anyone was wondering, the bagpipes were playing Highland Cathedral, which is not a traditional Scottish tune. It was written by german composers Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb :)

I never get tired of your in-depth yet accessable explanations. That relatively short video was just jam-packed with interesting bits and bobs. Btw, you need to sell a t-shirt: 'Love the music, hate the shlep ' with a silhouette of lady liberty in the background. If you sell one, I'll buy it.

Lovely piece, Adam.

Great video as always

I get a lot of joy out of being able to predict where a progression is going and I like the improved version of the second progression for that reason. I think learning the rules before you break them is a good rule..

6:15 "Scottish traditional music" - that's Highland Cathedral, written in 1982 by two Germans. Probably the most popular music for bagpipe (or bagpipes and brass), but not the most Scottish or traditional.

Great video Adam!

Love what you do! Simple, and clear. Thanks. M

Yeah, today watch an old one because I need my fix. Thank you Adam! Best wishes from Argentina

I love how you mix "we're going to a little bit spookier of a place" with so much academic and craftsman's rigour in other places. Also, as an advertising person, fascinating to hear how you start with audience empathy just as marketers [should] do [but they usually don't]

I haven't heard Adam's singing voice before and it's so lovely!

Love your videos, man. Keep it up!

I would like to add onto the "why no classical bass" question. Not only is amplification an issue, but the strings used wouldnt have been good enough either. Before the 1890/1910s the main strings used on guitars were gut strings, made from sheep intestine. The only way these strings could really resonate as basses were through having incredibly long necked instruments. An example of a work around on this are things like the Theorbo and Archlute, and even then you had to tune the strings for the specific basses needed. you couldnt fret them like you would today.

One of the best third-stream tunes I love by Mingus is Children's Hour of Dream. It's an incredibly unique piece of music, but I love the aspects of it which can be compared to classical music. Being close to the Mingus Dynasty, I have learned that Children's Hour of Dream was composed after Charlie Parker approached Mingus and improvised over Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, and over the next 3 days after that encounter, Mingus wrote the whole tune. On top of this, the entire Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Suite by Mingus is an incredible piece of work, and I got to play the entire Suite with my big band

Awesome! Evil Adam Neely dropping knowledge! Thanks for the tips.

Wow, that explanation of harmony is so damn good, thank you.

Adam singing! Already a great video

The idea of harmony through melody is exemplified in Godowsky's Studies on Chopin. He always tries to create moving lines from simple harmonic structures. Even his 2nd study based on Chopin's first etude he turns the simple harmonic outline into a chromatic melody buried between the arpeggios. And in his second study after op. 10 no. 9 he creates a 4 voice structure by taking the underlying harmony and the melody and changing them to create a massive polyphonic tower. All of the original harmony is still preserved, however.

This is such an intelligent channel and presentation by Adam - really quality stuff. Thank you.

As always, thank you Adam.

Adam, please analyze Charles Trenet's 'La Mer" - with its two key changes and then back, I'd love to hear your take on why it "works" so well.

He play that funky bass He gigs in many place But most importantly He sing with so much grace

Thanks Adam!

Harmony through Melody! Charles was my piano and theory prof! I've learned so much from that book and I've never heard anyone anywhere talk about it. Thanks for the engaging content!

"There are no wrong notes, you just lack confidence" - Jacob Collier Everything can be made on purpose, is you just have an idea of where to go from there.

I feel like making it something like Dm7/E G/D Abmaj7/C would smooth out a lot of the spice in the 'wrong' chord progression - adding the F-E-D-C bass would contain the crunch nicely.

Thank you for educating me every time!

Adam, I love your videos. You inspire me a lot. Keep up the good work!

Watched this yesterday on Nebula

5:48: I hear your point about it spunding unresolved but I have to admit I like this progression. It sounds very open to possibilities, it's instability with lingering wiffs of familiarity mimicks life quite nicely for me. I am definately the target audience.

I’ve been really enjoying your in depth videos on topics like tempo and pitch perfect. Can you make a video on the benefits and disadvantages of playing an instrument while looking at the instrument vs playing while having your eyes closed?

Crazy good content dude

Regarding technology in music - strings being made of better materials for higher tensions is also critical. Titanium strings on a cello sure play nicer than steel. and steel is nicer than gut. Strings themselves really allow instruments to play better.

3:58 "My brain has been afflicted by something - and that affliction is called _jazz_ " I think there's a prescription for that...

another masterclass thanks Adam 🙌🏼

Love your music room and it looks so organised

Pog Adam Neely video

Some of my favorite third stream music is by Moondog: I think pieces like Birds' Lament or Good for Goodie nail the hybridization of classical form with jazz rhythm, harmony, instrumentation.

Oooooooh! Nearing 2 million subscribers! It’s all because of the interesting content. Quality. Thanks, Adam.

This one is one to rewatch again and again

I liked the "wrong" chord progression especially because of subverting expectations about something familiar. I'm all about that mixture of familiar and off-putting, I think it roots you but also makes the slight, masked inconsistencies more interesting

I liked the "wrong" in that progression. Going further could net something impressive. And the context my have helped relieve that "wrong".

I think the progressions are beautiful, I've been pretty interested in different ways of listening to music and understanding it, been learning a lot from new complexity stuff and some post modern composers, i know it's not main stream at all, but i like it ❤

now I finally hear Adam sing! this was a treat.

Trivia Time :-) the Schlep... me as a German recognize the roots of the word. We have the verb "schleppen" which basically means drag / carry a heavy load. This can be used for carrying home your groceries, dragging a ship into the harbor. In urbans slangs, it can be used to explain that someone made you go somewhere you did not wanted to, like if your girlfriend want to go the opera and make you go with her... another use is like walk slowly and with effort. Like in "She was able to drag herself to the phone with the last of her strength and call the police.", again the drag would be "schleppen" in a different form, the term "abschleppen" in it's original meaning is to tow a car, but can also be used as urban slang to pick up women / men

I don't know why I was so surprised to find out you've got such a pleasant singing voice.

Needed this

Holy shit Adam singing! And it sounds beautiful! Au!

Question for the next QnA: What makes psychedelic music haunting (or gets us into the zone/trip) and how does it effect our brain???

5:30 erik satie appears like "and actually that's just the whole song"

Really glad you've made a statement on acoustic bass. So many people still think you can escape physics, but you just gotta amplify it or don't bother.

Love that Let My Children Hear Music is your favorite Mingus 3rd stream album! I completely agree!

You're comments at 6:00 about Chopin and bagpipes reminds me a lot of what Ives wrote. How did his music gain any traction when, to most listeners, it sounds pretty much like what you described? Thanks! Been teaching music for almost a decade and I love watching your videos to get new insights into things!

Whoa 5 minutes I love the concept of How To Not Suck At Chord Progressions (3:01). As an avid harmony lover, I would most absolutely watch every single video. _heehee_ Someone: Puts a iim7/III before a V7 Adam: ...and I took that personally.

Adam your content has been religiously viewed by me and anyone i can get to come into our world for over 3 years. Keep it up man , liked and subbed (obvs) I'll make sure to like the new stuff as it comes out more often.

Neely, you are an absolute mad lad

09:10 You should try the Emerald Guitars "Balor" 5 string fretless bass. It's as loud as a normal acoustic - made from carbon fibre. Awesome instrument.

Re: clickbait titles I don't think it's inherently wrong, and as Veritasium pointed out some time back it's essential to use titles that will make people want to watch. The problem as far as I'm concerned is people define "clickbait" differently. Personally I like the way you do it, they're interesting but don't feel like they're taunting you (like "you're wrong about..." or "why [obviously wrong thing] is actually true" or whatever), and when you pose a question there's usually an answer in the thumbnail for people who are only casually interested. Essentially it feels like you're building interest and not tricking people into watching

Beautiful harmony up front!!

Totally agree with your comments on choosing content on RU-vid vs. Being pushed content from other platforms. I'm okay with YT shorts because concise videos are nice sometimes, but I always back out and look for the next short to watch. It doesn't feel right to swipe blindly and become a mind slave of the algorithm.

Any thoughts about why many pop and classic and blues use more IV - V - I instead of the II - V - I used more often in jazz? In context of functional harmony they change the subdominant chords from II to IV

9:23 bass frequencwies

i really like the chord progression reviews in these videos

God I've been missing these videos so much

Sometimes I think Adam could literally make stuff up, absolute batsh*t crazy nonsense, that just "sounds" right (not sounding in the musical sense, but rather sounding in the explanation sense), and I'd probably be like "hmm... ok." How can one brain fit so much knowledge about music theory? Quite impressive and overwhelming for the layman. Much respect.

DAMN THAT INTRO BASS

Your comment on NYC music scene is so relatable! I moved to Chicago for the same reason, and found in Chicago the amount of jams/ open mics/ paid gigs were just everywhere. Do you have any insight on the music scenes in different cities? Are there any up and coming scenes? Are there any scenes that might be now considered on the "endangered" list?

A question for your next Q+A. Im thinking of auditioning for Manhatten School of Music on the drum kit and I was wondering if I would need classical training beforehand. Great content as always and keep up the good work!

10:24 In Germany we say "schleppen", which would be "to schlep". Didn't know the word was Yiddish. Fun fact: Some of us also sometimes refer to a "laptop" computer as a "schleptop", because you can carry or schlep it around.

Mingus and Schuller were like 50 years ahead of their time, combining jazz and classical techniques is very common now.

That list of chords could be lovely in the right setting. I just sat down and tried a few things and came up with a number of lovely ideas between using those chords in different parts of a composition (intro/outro/bridge) to changing the harmonic rhythm of them to soften/emphasize the curious bassline.

As someone who plays Bass and Synths in Berlin I can only agree with this. The Schlepp is can sometimes really take the fun out of it. Especially in a heat wave like in the last couple of weeks.

Pausing on that G7 chord at the 4 minute mark was either brilliant on your part to create tension or a cruel joke. No chance it was an accident. Dick move, Adam. And I respect the hell out of it. 😂

Quote of the day. "Please don't make the bass player look bad by writing bad chord progressions.."

Great vid! Lovely singing, Adam. Btw, there's also a Mariachi bass or baritone guitar, don't know the name, that is comically large.

I love that you pull out a cinderblock sized book for those rare few interested in that level of research