Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

208 | Rick Beato on the Theory of Popular Music

Aug 22, 2022

01:11:17

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Are You Able to Predict the Future of Popular Music?

02:29

Are You a Believer That People Can Appreciate Music Perfectly Well Without Knowing Any Theory?

03:06

Is Rock Music Dead?

03:05

Introduction

5min

How Did You Get Into Making YouTube Videos?

4min

What Is Perfect Pitch?

3min

Music Theory and Popular Music and the Big Question

4min

Are You a Believer That People Can Appreciate Music Perfectly Well Without Knowing Any Theory?

3min

The Intuition Is Trained by the Beatles

4min

Is There an Understanding of the Major Scale?

2min

What Are the Major Scales in Pop Music?

2min

Is There a Mode of the Major Scale?

2min

10.

Can You Listen to a Song and Know What Key It's In?

3min

11.

Is D Minor the Saddest of All Possible Keys?

3min

12.

The Flat Two in Heavy Metal

2min

13.

Is There a Concern That Making It Too Mechanical to Understand These Things?

3min

14.

The Four Chords That Ruined Pop Music

2min

15.

Is There a Chord Progression in Songwriting?

2min

16.

Is There a Chord Progression in a Song?

2min

17.

The Best Guitar Solos of All Time

2min

18.

What Makes This Song Great Videos?

3min

19.

Is There a Difference Between a DAW and a Recording Studio?

2min

20.

The Computers Are Helping Us Do This, Right?

2min

21.

Is There a Negative Effect of Auto Tune?

2min

22.

Drum Beats Are Not Human Grooves

2min

23.

Is There a Market Opportunity for Indie Music?

2min

24.

Is Rock Music Dead?

3min

25.

Moving Away From the Blues

2min

26.

Are You Able to Predict the Future of Popular Music?

2min

27.

Is There a Sales Pitch for Music Theory?

3min

There is no human endeavor that does not have a theory of it — a set of ideas about what makes it work and how to do it well. Music is no exception, popular music included — there are reasons why certain keys, chord changes, and rhythmic structures have proven successful over the years. Nobody has done more to help people understand the theoretical underpinnings of popular music than today’s guest, Rick Beato. His YouTube videos dig into how songs work and what makes them great. We talk about music theory and how it contributes to our appreciation of all kinds of music.

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Rick Beato obtained a master’s degree in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music. He is currently a producer and owner of Black Dog Sound Studios in Georgia, as well as host of a popular YouTube channel. He has worked as a session musician, songwriter, and lecturer at Berklee College of Music and elsewhere. He is the author of The Beato Book Interactive as well as other music-training tools.

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