David Bennett Piano - 2020-07-27
Why does Western music divide the octave into 12 different notes? Why not 13, or 19 or 24 notes? For such a simple sounding question, the answer is actually a tangle of history, physics and human preference. Get ready for some serious music theory! Thank you to Modartt for gifting me a copy of their amazing Pianoteq software. Find out more here: https://www.modartt.com/pianoteq Thank you to Fred Scalliet for adding French subtitles to this video! Sources: Gamelan Music: https://youtu.be/UEWCCSuHsuQ 12Tone talking 12TET: https://youtu.be/ZOLRvbPURXQ Where does the 12-tone scale come from: https://youtu.be/CFbG-8eYKJU Audio Spectrum (AdminOfThisSite): https://youtu.be/qNf9nzvnd1k Perception of Octaves: https://www.quantamagazine.org/perceptions-of-musical-octaves-are-learned-not-wired-in-the-brain-20191030/ Playable Harmonic Series: https://alexanderchen.github.io/harmonics/ Octave circularity in the auditory brain: http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/eng7.htm An extra special thanks goes to Vidad Flowers, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Bruce Mount, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇 SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/davidbennettpiano
Im not "playing the violin badly", I'm just experimenting with microtonality
perfect excuse when you dont know how to play the violin
I'm a guitarist and I like explore tonality of the skinflute.
"It's not a mistake. It's jazz. If you do it again, it's an arrangement.."- Jorma Kaukonen
we are not the same!
Sounds like the music-theory version of "It's not a bug. It's a feature."
This should be taught in schools as a linked maths-music lesson to show students how maths is embedded in many aspects of life. Excellent explanation of the 12-tone octave - thanks!
@aussie_boy
Its an imitation of reality.
Lest you forget the relationship between radio frequencies and their multiple wave length !
🤔....?
@Sugarsail1 The fact that you said "what are we learning this for?" as opposed to "why are we learning this?" speaks volumes about the grammar that was (not) taught.
@Silly Jellyfish No music theory? That's surprising. (The subject of this video should be the first lecture in a music theory class.)
@Roy Tee yes. My earliest memory goes like these are minor/major circles - memorize them in order, no explanation. These are sharps and flats - memorize them in order, also no explanation. Those who need them explained will learn about them on their piano lessons (maybe). Those of you who don't have piano or MAYBE violin will never understand what those things are about. They are going to be on the test though. Next, there are ionic, doric, lydic, and mixolydic scales, also a bunch of others, but only weird people use those so basically nobody, so don't bother remembering them. And yes, chromatic scale is a thing and there's only one. We also ignore blues here. Also no explanation whatsover. Now good luck, memorizing this in a week, it's going to be on the final test,also we are never mentioning it ever after this. From next week we start with classification of instruments with our crash course of neolitic to present time music speedthrough in a month, and from that point we start with the "real" theory babble about european compositors from 17th century up. Also we are skipping over percusions of all kinds because they aren't real instruments except for gong and triangle because these sometkmes appear in the classical orchestra. And lol, there are no audio examples of anything ever despite this whole school being focused on music. GG
I'm really bad with music and been trying for DECADES to get it explained and most music people can't explain it well, this was a massive help.
DECADES is how I tune my 7 string
Thank you, David. I really needed this video.
Long ago I got frustrated with piano and trumpet because nobody could tell me why some key had 3 flats and another had 2 sharps, or why it mattered. Without the Why, it all seemed like rote memorization of arbitrary rules — something I still find painful. Many years later, you are the first one to successfully show me how those rules can be derived from physics and biology. Now, everything I learn has some foundation I can return to when I need help understanding or remembering.
Two months later, I've made more progress than I did in all of my high school years. I like practicing now; even scales are interesting. The music I love makes more sense to me and I am learning to reproduce some of those sounds.
With your help I am little bit happier. Thank you.
@blindandwatching Yes and it's extremely simple to find the universal ratio for the half tone. Using this half tone we will play slightly out of tune ALL intervals but staying in only one temperament possible to satisfying the ear!
@Donald Bryant Thank-you, Donald. Very useful information. 🙂👍
One little addition: C Major has all 'white' notes because scales began with A Minor, and it's sensible to have a notation system with names beginning with the first letter of a commonly-accepted alphabet.
@RWBHere Awesome addition. I did not know that and it makes total sense when you explain it that way, I'll make sure to mention that from now on.
Thanks for your kind words and for adding to it.
@Ron Hutcherson You’re inspiring! I can’t say I know how to play trumpet or piano, but I can speak as a trombonist. Playing concert notes (some instruments play a slightly different set of notes, so the commonly accepted notes displayed in the video and played on piano etc would be called concert notes, for anyone wondering) you can usually figure out a bit of naming convention for the scales and how to figure out which ones which, for example, when talking about flat scales, the previous flat is what the scale is named. Ok a B flat major scale, the B and E notes are flat. And on an E flat major scale, B E and A are flat, etc. Scales also begin and end on the same note, so as long as you know all twelve notes, know which ones are flat, and can play them, then you can figure out how to play a scale in any octave purely from the name. a scale of B flat has B and E flats, and goes B-flat C D E-flat F G A B-flat. It’s not a very music-theory way of explaining it, but it helps break the rote memorization of all the scales for me at-least.
You explained it perfectly
For instance: scales. There seemed like so many scales to memorize. I hate the answer "thats just the way it is" because I knew there had to be some underlying logic. I thought it would be easier to understand WHY scales are created and work from the ground up, as opposed to brute force learning and memorizing. Turns out, I was right XD
I remember taking piano lessons when I was a kid and realizing this point myself (@ 1:35). So just as an experiment I transposed the song "Minuet" by Mozart into different scales/chords just for fun but of course keeping the same interval. I found it fascinating that it was still the same song even if I started on a different note and just retained the intervals.
My son did the same thing with a song when he was young. Played the same short song in every key till the octave. He figured it out.
Bach did one called A Well Tempered Clavier.
Maybe more will be added in the next update.
The Microtonal Update. 😂😂😂😂
@『Oceanus Procellarum』 that's actually a thing in music apps
You can't play 12 let alone more!!!
register for beta version
Music plus
David, I've been appreciating and enjoying your videos, they are all so thoughtful and absorbing as well as being well-researched and produced. But in this one, you have surely exceeded even your high standards. This is simply one of the best music educational videos that I have ever seen - a complex subject clearly explained and articulated, placed in a carefully thought-out structure, all enhanced by first-rate graphics. And the whole work is presented with enthusiasm and an obvious love for your subject. Keep up the fine work!
I agree wholeheartedly. This is one of the finest educational videos of which I'm aware. Thanks, David.
3:15 - provided the strings are the same mechanically and under the same tension. On a guitar, all of the strings are almost exactly the same length, but have very different frequencies; this is accomplished by making the "higher" strings thinner and stretching them more tightly (in some appropriate combination).
I love how you're taking the subjective part out of it and showing us that, yes, there is obviously a reason behind the fact we perceive certain sounds to be pleasing (alignment = consonance = harmony, disalignment = dissonence).
Constructive and destructive interference would have topped that off, too.
That was literally the first formal training that I can remember getting on music. Thank you so much I learned a ton.
“There are usually only 12 notes”
Trombones and fretless string instruments:
they will never understand our power
@James Louder it's so relevant that 99.999% of musicians in the modern era just use the 12 notes most musical instruments are designed to use. In their understanding the difference between C# and Dd is weather you are moving up or down a scale or what other notes exist in the desired scale.
@Crimadella Phone "...weather [sic] you are moving up or down a scale..." Hold it right there. Are you telling me that a D-major scale is D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#,D going up, but D,Db,A,G,Gb,F,E,D going down? You don't know, do you, that if you asked a well trained violinist to play you those two scales, they would used different accidentals ascending and descending--and you would hear it!
Unlike you I haven't taken a poll, so I guess I'll have to take your word about that statistic of yours. Still, I dunno...wanna put a little money on the table about that last 0.009%
Even fretted stringed instruments, as you can bend notes to whichever pitch you like. Not to mention having access to a whammy bar, which does the same thing in either direction. The guitar is a very versatile instrument.
You can play microtones on any instrument.
Laughs in Trombone glissando
I have been reading blogs and watching videos about this for months, and this is by FAR the BEST explanation I have found SO FAR. It is clear, concise, intuitive, and with visual representations that make this whole thing easy to track. It is also not overly jargony.
"Job's a good'un right? Well, not quite..." Love it!
What does that mean?
Jobs a goodun...
Like watching a craftsman build summat... he did a good (one) job...? Well not quite...
He hasn't painted it yet...
@Benjamin Stephens job's a good 'un is similar in meaning to bob's your uncle
Thank you so much for this. I've always needed to understand why we've ended up with the particular notes that we have. It always seemed so arbitrary and answers like "it's just the most pleasing to the ear" were never satisfactory. The visual of the frequencies being in sync with each other made it all clear now :)
My dad was a piano technician and he once mentioned something about "spreading" the octaves out a little so the interval between notes was just a tad longer, he said this was a good compromise and tends to sound better than straight equal temperament. But my memory is a little fuzzy.
This is actually related to the physics of strings under great tension, and not because of an attempt to create pure intervals. Piano strings tuned to the integer ratios described in this video will still beat, necessitating that the piano be tuned "slightly out of tune."
Excellent Video! You really nailed this!
Using numeric examples (frequencies here) will nail it for students struggling with the usual teaching methods.
12 tone equal temperament! Wow
The genius of Hendrix: he claimed to
see music notes and tones.. as hues, or grades of varying colors inside his
mind. And incorporated these into an
idea he had, similar as an artist uses
a colorwheel. But it came naturally to
him, as he was an open channel that
delivered our earth - some incredibly
unique ballads and compositions. <>
A spiritual conduit to the ear attuned.
Make big money
12 letters = 12 notes. 🤔💰
Indeed - beautiful clarity of the message - superbly done.
Wow. This is so complex. I often think of the early great composers, like Mozart and Beethoven, wondering though they knew this, could they articulate it? Great learning video, thank you.
You remember Bach writing a great lot of pieces for the "Well-tempered piano"? This.
Iirc, it was a big issue at Bach's times, and I imagine the composer was pretty glad when it was eventually settled, as it freed a lot of creativity in him.
This is so well presented. I would love to see this aforementioned video on non western tuning systems.
This is one of the most difficult concepts I've ever encountered in music theory, and this video explains it incredibly well.
Just learned more music theory in 18 minutes then I have my whole 55 years…bravo.
“It’s not the frequency, but the intervals”
This makes so much sense!
to bad we have non pure intervals....
I had always heard that music was both notes and the spaces between. Now I have seen why the scale itself requires that. Thanks.
The frequency is still what makes E sound like an E and a D a D. Melody is where the intervals start to matter.
@Pierre Bierre Very impressed that the A at 1'05 is shown at 446Hz! Going crazy :D
the sky is blue
Like I've literally always asked this question. This is by far one of the best music theory videos I've watched! 👌
Amazing video. One of the best I've found to this day. Although I'm very curious about music theory, I had never heard about pure intonation vs tempered scales. As an engineer, while watching this video, I was playing around with the frequencies, intervals and relation distribution in an spreadsheet, and I was like "why the f*** the relation between each semitone is not the same? This will now work when transposing!".. and the answer came right away. This is a slap in the face of those who like to place comments like "tune that guitar brow!"... like, EVERY GUITAR is technically our of tune per definition/construction! ahah... Congrats man!
Hi David, great series by the way, most fascinating and absorbing. As a diatonic harmonica teacher, I get these questions about temperament a lot. We play diatonic harmonica using church modes and we have to create all the black notes by pitch-bending, as well as F and A in the first octave and B in the top (third) octave. We often play microtonally, especially in blues where the feeling overrides the theory! We also have tuning choices of Just Intonation (for chordal music like Blues, Cajun etc in Mixolydian mode), Equal for melody playing in different keys, or an infinite variety of 'compromised' tunings. Many players have their harmonicas tuned precisely to 'pre-war' tuning to recreate what the old blues guys did on the recordings from back in the day. If you want to get in touch about this I'm happy to shed more light from my experience and training if you are interested. All the best, Ben
It is however worth noting that eastern music uses half-sharp, half-flat, quater-sharp, and quarter-flat. Rather, In eastern music, there are 26 pitches in an enharmonic scale.
You are right to mention other kinds of music; I was going to do so myself. But what do you mean exactly by Eastern music? Chinese? Indian? Indonesian?
@Grazikon I think he's trying to say foreigner music.
Muddke Eastern music, do you mean? I agree, of course – tho' other traditions have different microtones (tones not recognised in traditional Western music.
music in school: hella boring
music when you voluntarily are interested in it and research music theory on your own: cool and interesting
If my teachers did that i would be happy
Honestly every music teacher I've had (except one) had no chill and made it super stressful to learn this stuff. Having all this be explained in a calm, straightforward manner helps me retain it.
Must be good to wake up each day knowing you’re a genius.
Here here!
Luv it !
This was a very helpful and educational broadcast. It had a, “University Professor like feel to the music lecture.” It explained it all in quite a good detail of the how and why, in dealing with the basic understanding of the mystery of music playing and arrangements. Thank you, well done. 👏🏆
I remember someone explaining Equal Temperament to me before, but it didn't stick. Your explanation was much clearer, and I'm confident it will stay put in my tiny, tiny brain. Thank you! :)
What an excellent video. I love the combination of history, physics and music theory to eloquently explain a very complex topic. I was sorry to hear most music is equal interval, I’m sure we’re naturally atuned to the multiples of the the root note. The music of the spheres…
Dude you Rock. I haven't seen anyone else on here who explains these things so clearly, completely and accessibly, with great relevant visual and audio examples. Thank you, I'm spreading the word. :)
I’ve been playing music professionally for over 50 years, and this is the first time I’ve completely understood this.
@chipcurry - Same here. Lol.
@tannertuner - Paradoxically, after having watched this marvelous video, I feel kind of redeemed from darkness.
Mee too :)
That’s sad.
It's simple dam math ugh all music is this guys explaining bs
It's been years since I've touched on any music theory. This was very clearly and simply explained. Fantastic job!
fascinating... would love to see a video on how this all evolved historically...
what was the first note system and how did it come about?
how did it evolve over time?
I recommend The Great Courses lecture series, "Understanding the Fundamentals of Music" by Robert Greenberg
You may be able to borrow a copy through your library system, but it is so worth learning more about how music works and how this system came into being. Good luck! :-)
This is one of the most informative & interesting videos I've ever watched. I know music theory, and I know a lot about synthesizers and stuff, but this video taught me a lot of things I didn't know and provided several Aha moments. Great job. Well produced, well written, and well narrated.
This has blown my mind and totally explains why when I tune by ear some notes sound slightly out. Great video!
Use of polyphony in Western was also a big motivating factor for the development of the 12-tone equal temperament. These things are less important when everybody is playing exactly the same note at the same time.
Thank you David for this excellent explanation. You have given me so much insight with your videos. What also fascinates me is how these particular intervals and notes seem to be universally pleasing to the human brain as music, but might just be regular sounds to other animals. It’s as if music is physiologically imprinted in us and resonates with our bodies and mind.
A lovely educational video. I really enjoyed this because I've often asked the 'why' question in music: why these tunings, why these notes, why does it 'just work', why does it sound 'nice'? This answered it well, and coupled with a previous educational video of how we 'feel' music based on how easy it would be to play the 'drum beats' of intervals if we slowed the tones down until they were just clicks, this video and that video gives a nice holistic understanding. I loved the piece played at the end of the video too; really nice.
it would be interesting to hear more about temperament, particularly the differences between all the different types, including Pythagorean, meantone, and well temperament.
As a musician who also makes videos, I know how hard it is to try to organize complex information in a clear manner. You´ve absolutely nailed this, great job!
Thank you! This one really was a challenge so I’m really glad it came across ok! Thanks
Thanks for explaining this. Your explanation about tempering helped me to understand something my 7th grade music teacher said 50 years ago. He told us that in Bach's time the harpsichord would need to be retuned every time the performer wanted to play a piece in a different key, and that if we were to hear a piece played back then, it would sound strange to our ears. Now, I understand why.
Thank you for the intuitive explanation, most my life I was explained that there are 7 white keys, and there are 5 black keys, and it is what it is. Now I have a stronger grasp on the concept thanks to you!
This was an excellent video. I had learned these things in music theory classes and music history. I bring this up because of the well tempered klavier.
I am interested in a discussion in modality and intervals relating to just temperament previous to the advent of equal temperament.
This is a brilliant and very useful explanation. I love how you have organized it and put it into easily digestible terms. Unless I missed it, though, I feel like it would have been really useful - or at least interesting - to discuss the ideas of microtonality in things like glissando on stringed instruments or slide trombone. Especially when you touched on the theoretically limitless number of frequencies available to be assigned to notes, I'd like to have heard your thoughts on how this impacts the ability to create tension in-between the "accepted" notes and how those ratios effect the ear in the standard diatonic model.
I’m 58 and started playing piano at age 2. I make my living from music. I studied my entire life and though I knew the basics of this I have never understood it as I do now. Your videos are superb and I always learn something from them. Thank you.
@Christoban Rodriguez Trombone more like tromboner
This is so wholesome
It makes you think about how many things we take as granted.
You go old man!
yes taddeiiii ... when micro-tonality seemed so far away..
This was really interesting! I have studied some traditional music theory, but didn't quite understand why it works! I have had trouble sometimes because I think in intervals rather than notes, so it's great to hear you say that this really is what makes melodies. I also appreciate your emphasis that this is only the Western way of doing things. Too often our music classes give the impression that this is the only right way to make music.
I was always curious about this when I was exposed to music training at a young age. But it was never explained! Musicians were informed by physics and mathematics (but they never let on ..). Music therefore seemed like such a wrote activity. Thanks for now (finally) making this clearer.
this is great :) thank you! I was wandering about this a long time and no one has explained this to me in such a clear and demonstrative way :) the tuning software helped a lot !
THANK YOU!!! This answered so many questions that have held me back from learning music for a long time....
My only other question is about the flats vs naturals. What determines which note gets which designation? And why no B# or E#?
If you already answered somewhere I'd love to see it. If not, maybe a good topic for a follow-up video?
I don't know what determines whether notes are marked as sharps or flats, but B# is just C, and E# is just F, because those notes are a half-step, or minor second apart. On a piano, they are the ones without a black key in between them. 🎹 The 8 letters follow the C major/A minor scale, but I don't know why they were chosen. It would make more sense to use a different letter or name for each note, like the Solfege system (do re mi, etc.) does.
Great question!
I'll try my best.
A "scale" uses a predictable pattern of whole steps and half steps. A "whole step" can fit a sharp -- or flat -- between the notes.
From E to F, and from B to C, on a piano is only a "half step".
Our ears have been trained to accept this as "normal". Children can recognize songs (or parts of songs) before they can speak.
In the same way, our brains have been programmed to accept language! We say "My name is (Joe/Susan/Mary/David)" and not "My name (Joe/Susan/Mary/David) is." You hear it enough times and it just becomes "normal".
:)
David Bennett Piano - 2020-07-27
❗ CORRECTION: At 5:41, it should read "For Major Sixth multiply by 1.666, and Minor Sixth multiply by 1.6" but I got them the wrong way around 😅 Thanks to Hans Bakker for spotting this 👍
Rodrigo Machado - 2022-01-13
@halflanding 1 you explained the best. You should be a music teacher or professor. Honestly. Thanks so much
Kwok Kei Lo - 2022-02-05
1.5 times is actually 3 times of one octave below, 1.33 is just 1/3 of an octave above. the square root of their ratio will make approximately 2 when raised to power 12. It is the first solution that satisfy both harmonic and ratio requirement. I found it some 15 years ago when I was a physics teacher. But I was unable to find any literature about it. After so many years, I finally come across it.(I have been certain that someone should have written about the construction of the note system well before me)
J handle - 2022-02-08
@Teddy Dunn It's not a conclusion. It's physics.
J handle - 2022-02-08
@David Bennett Piano Of course it does. Anything else sounds dissonant.
Charles Rockafellor - 2022-02-11
I had a feeling that someone would have mentioned it in the past year and a half — glad I checked the notes (OK, comments, but I had to slip in a pun!). 🤣