Hello everyone. I am aware that a number of you are finding the background music in the first section quite distracting - I'm really sorry about this. All I can say is, I hope you can still enjoy the video nonetheless! Please know that this is something I've been working on a lot since putting this video out into the world, so thank you for your feedback.

I was totally following along and understanding this until 0:01

Thanks for being a guide for us music noobs and showing us why what we're listening to in Jacob's music blows us away. Great breakdown.

Jacob is the first western composer to make micro tuning palatable and uplifting and one of the reasons I consider him to be the single most brilliant musical mind of this century.

I am not a musician, but I listened intently to this entire presentation because it was written exceptionally well which made it extremely interesting and accessible. I may not get out of it what a musician would, but I've come away knowing a little bit more than when I got here. BTW, I don't know what the fuss is about. Nothing distracted me. I think the mix is perfect.

I'm not a bad singer, I'm just singing in microtonality.

Do you really have only 100 subscribers? Some of your videos only 100 views or so? incredible! The quality of your videos is great! I can see those numbers growing pretty quickly, is just a matter of time! Will be my pleasure seeing this channel’s growth! Congratulations, great job!

Perfectly described! I'm in awe at how musically advanced Jacob is. Thanks for the video!!

Jacob Collier liked this!

0:30 that’s me in the blue sweater two years ago in his masterclass in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One of the most beautiful moments of my life 🙏🏽🌻🧡

If every music school theory class played this, they would be years ahead of where they normally are.

That was the cleanest explanation of equal/just intonation I’ve ever seen! Bravo!

Incredible job. June Lee’s work transcribing these pieces blows my mind. Your analysis is equally impressive. Jacob is, I agree with you, a once-in-a-lifetime musician/composer. I’m in awe of his ability and musical sensitivity. Great video, keep up the good work.

It's not just his genius but his personality as well, drawing me in to his music

4:53-6:27 I LOVE how you blended all these pieces! From left to right, all while following your dialogue. You made them all sounds as if they were complimentary works intended to go from one to the other. I really enjoyed the sound and I could totally see this being a form of art in itself.

As a youngster I had the privilege of working around concert and solo musicians who naturally used the "just" method of playing and tuning..not one of them could explain it. This is utterly fascinating!! Which is why I took to Jacob's methods so logical and eerily beautiful!

I could be wrong here but I think 12TET has even affected the way JC plays piano too, I noticed he likes adding 2's on major chords, for this example I'm specifically referring to where the 2nd & 3rd are a whole tone apart, something like 15123. If my analysis servers me correct, he realizes that the distance between a justly tuned major second interval is 204 cents, but because in 12TET the distance is only 200, -4 cents flat, then by adding the 2nd next to the 3rd and in between the root, that helps eliminate the +14 dissonance on the piano between the root and major 3rd, so the listener hears the -4 between 1st-2nd-3rd compared to the +14 you'd get in 135. Using JI for 15123 would yield the same results as the Pythagorean 3rd which is +8 cents sharp, 22 cents higher than JI. In the second interview he had with June, Jacob implied this secret with the example of the 6/9 chord - 153695, which could be said to be even more consonant since that's built in 4ths, the distance between which is now only +2 cents sharp for every fourth interval rising consecutively. While the existence is all there for the 3rd at +14, +16 in between the 5th-3rd & Root-6th, -4 for the 9th, and -2 for the 5ths, again the consecutive 4ths which are only +2 cents sharp for each one rising means all those non justly tuned intervals are perceived as consonant despite them being "imperfectly" tuned. This can even be applied to polychords and such, like *159367♯15♯11 / F♯C♯G♯A♯D♯FGC.* (Not sure if G needs a double sharp instead, if so forgive me). I _guess_ it can be seen as D♯/G♯/F♯, or F♯ Super Lydian. Each consecutive interval is either a 5th, 2nd or 4th apart so if anything this chord consonance on ecstasy, even in 12TET, if not especially in 12TET.

Dude this video is pure gold for me, i am doing right now an investigation about microtonal music, thank you so much man, keep doing videos like these please

The music lover in me loves the dude. But the insecure aspiring musician/composer in me, who wishes to break similar barriers as him is also frustrated. Oh well lol. Thank god for massively talented people like mr collier

Personally, I’m not a fan of Jacob Colliers music, but I do enjoy his performance energy and I appreciate the technical complexity and uniqueness of his arrangements.

In addition to Julian Anderson, Thomas Adès and Unsuk Chin, the German composer Enno Poppe is also using microintervals in an incredibly expressive way.

Constructive Criticism: Background music should be relatively quiet and recessive. The orchestral track playing from 1:10 to 3:25 makes that part of the video quite hard to watch. Similarly for the ticking track from 3:53 - 4:24. Superb content, however!

June Lee, Listening In, and JC! All three + more! y'all are rad, thanks for making new information fun and easier to digest!

Wonderfully explained.. you really got to the heart of it. thanks so very much. Really enjoyed it.

He reveals his secrets because none can do the same. Hahahaha...

Wow. Such depth and such good production value. This channel deserves so much more views.

my brain is still processing this video hours after i watched it holy moly Jacob really is a once-in-a-generation artist

Came from your other videos, equally wowed by this. Incredible stuff, thank you

Thank you for your amazing generosity of spirit in making this beautiful video. It was a total joy and inspiration to listen to.

I am not musically knowledgeable enough to pretend I understood all of what was just presented. That said it confirms what I've always felt about Jacob's music that it is just on another level, where all the complexity is always in support of the musical message that just comes across naturally and beautifully wether you "understand" it or not. Excellent video, much appreciated.

One of the best lessons I ever heard. Thanks a lot ❤

He is sooo great at blending microtonal notes into a harmonious song!!

A beautiful, wonderfully explained analysis. Unlike your breakdown of "Moon River" I felt like I probably understood more like 10% as opposed to the 5% from the aforementioned. That's a pretty heady change in the curve for teaching over the course of 20 minutes. Thank you again,

Fantastic explanation. Thank you.

This was really fascinating to watch. I've recently (as in over the past year or so) done a deep dive into historical western European music, so a lot of this information was pretty accessible for me. I was thinking about the fact that A has been tuned to all different pitches throughout time (e.g. A=415, A=392, etc.) and I was pleased that you mentioned the A=432 bit towards the end. One thing about just intonation is that if you follow pure intervals throughout a song, as you pointed out, the pitch will either raise or lower. Doing so could naturally raise A=432 to A=440 without putting in much extra thought. This was a huge conundrum historically, and is why various temperaments like Pythagorean (just fifths and fourths) and 1/4 comma meantone (just major thirds) exist, because maintaining pure intervals and stable pitch throughout a song is physically impossible (as least it certainly appears that way). Again, great video!

thanks for explaining, it does solve many questions I have for awhile about how does orchestra choose between different intonations, cuz it could affect how I need to practice on my flute more on same note but different pitches. I post this question on reddit, there are common answer like using the ears to match the bass, ditching the tuner...etc. I feel it's not complete, cuz there are some notes on flute which are difficult to play sharper or flatter to match Just Intonation from Equal Temperament , it does need practice to produce those frequency(like microtonality here) with tuner/drone. So I can hear it constantly and get familiar that with my brain, not simply just open the ears. Moreover Jacob is so amazing that using Just intonation to slowly raise the pitch, it smartly solve the trade-off between these two intonations, and also give comfort to the ears.

Very interesting. What kind of person can think like this? Jacob is from another world. Incredible

This an amazing, DEEP, analysis of Collier. Wow. What incredible context given via teh avantgarde music references .,..

Amazing work you've done here!

This video explains why Jacob Collier has so many listeners (including me), at 6:20 when he talks about other 20th century composers it is truly hard to listen to but because it seems like they have problems with the balance of complexity and story, but with Jacob Collier he is the best at that balance. This is why he is one of the best composers to date.

Brilliant, pacy exposition and very polished. Well done.

This is some high quality content!!! Thank you so much for your work on this! Can’t wait for more videos

That is so fascinating! I've learned so much... I never even heard of these terms before!!!

dude. insane explanation. so concise and easily understandable. great editing as well

Oh-my-dear! So much information in thus little space... better I‘d never found this channel.No I‘m 50 more years away from understanding the minimum of music and being. Thank you for this teaching

this was awesome, thanks for the analysis

Your channel is amazing !! I will watch any JC video you make !

The background on music was terrific!

This is truly amazing. Unbelievable gift

When making sampled orchestral instruments sound real. . . slightly detune. You begin making your software simulate complex overtones. Detune = Tambre. What's interesting about this, when Collier makes specific chords: Knowing what notes you want to highlight. Base notes, 4ths, and retune vertically accordingly to create effects. Rather than emphasizing a note by playing it louder, he appears to emphasize a note by "forcing" all other notes in a chord to fit with the emphasized notes. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Wow, amazing! Keep up the good work! :)

Please do not listen to any criticism. Your music videos are amazing!Those critics mostly have no idea about contemporary classical music whatsoever as equally have never produced any professional video channel not mentioning to the standards you do.I enjoyed the background music during your explanation and understood everything not being distracted at all ! I subscribed to your channel after first minutes of watching this video. Good luck to your channel, you are doing amazing job!

I saw more ow your breakdows. I'm not a native speaker but understanding english very well, but when it gets complicated it's getting difficult. A tip, therefore: if you tell things a bit slower it will be understoud much better AND it does not sound ad if you're running a race. The contents though is magnificent, well done!

Wow, what a beautiful video!! Your channel is great!

Wonderful job with this. I (and most others that are musically educated) have always known Jacob was in a league of his own, and you just explained one the subtle but AMAZINGLY complex reasons why lol. Well done!!!

Yes yes yes! Thank you for such a well executed video on Jacob’s mastery of harmony. Excellent work!

Fantastic video! Keep them coming! Cheers

I am a fifty year old guitar player but Jacob is true genius, I am learning a great deal but it is quite deep and challenging lol.

2:05 Equal temperament is not out of tune, because the very definition of being in tune is given by the choice of temperament. Just intonation is not “more in tune.” Though, what we can say is that Equal temperament intervals are not pure, while just intonation intervals are(intervals with the root are going to sound really nice) out of tune/pure intervals are very different concepts Equal temperament thirds are awful if you really pay attention to it. C E beats really bad, while equal temperament fifths are okay. (pureness wise) Nonetheless, the main reason behind using temperaments is choosing which third is going to sound nice. To have a nice experience of C major, you can reduce the size of those fifths C G, G D, D A, A E while remaining all other fifths untouched. Those fifth are going to sound a little bit flat, while making the third C E sound pure.

Outstanding content! Missed the shepard tone kinda groove on "dun ba ba" that is just brilliant. Talents like his' only comes once in a blue moon

Incredible, man. Great vid!

That is the best explanation of just intonation.

I love Britten's variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell that is playing the background, just like I love Jacob Collier's music. Thanks for this video.

Thanks Barnaby and June Lee!

Fantastic Analysis! - in-depth commentary on an extremely complex and systematically 'grey' area of music, whilst successfully bringing this obscure subject to refreshing light is no mean feat, and HIGHLY COMMENDABLE!

Very well done, excelent video summarizing and collecting a lot of information that is on the internet but is not so easy to find

Hey - great vid man!!! Loved it :)

Awesome video!

Wow, you explained them really well!

Excellent explanation of microtonality.

How I incorporate micro-tonality: Throw on some weird fx that messes with harmonics, put it back in the mix a little with some reverb, and see if it ends up sounding good. (Ohh yeah, and be ready to do some extreme EQ work, as well as throwing out the sound or keeping it for later in the end anyway) Seriously, it's crazy what kind of tones can sound completely natural on top of compositions based on our normal tuning system

This video deserves more attention.

Brilliant explanation!

OF course many artists, from Blues to Folk to Country artists, those of an African Hindu Arabic and Asian traditions all depend on microtonality, they don't reason about it or write it in notation, they use it by ear as does this artist. If you try to use reason to compose music even 12 equal sounds out of tune, you MUST use feeling, then every artists natural inclination is toward microtonal infliction as is the case in the speaking voice, we all express emotion by the tones and rhythms we speak with and this happens without our even thinking about it! That makes all humans ingenious then, everyone speaks with music of voice that is perfect to express their feelings and all of this depends on microtonality that everyone handles every time they talk, no one speaks in 12 equal with A at 440.

Really interesting video! Just a minor point: The chart that maps out the harmonics of a sound (2:34), doesn't follow the harmonic series. If the fundamental would be 1Hz... (which is below our hearing range... if we would detect it at all, we would sense that more as a rhythm than a note) the first overtone would be the octave at 2Hz.. not 3... Not all instruments follow the harmonic series btw (bells, lowest strings on the piano etc...).

“All of these pieces might initially be difficult to listen to” Meanwhile I’ve been legit jamming out I love this

Yo the audio editing on this is 🔥

Good job. Bravo

ahhhh, this is terrifying, hearing a young persons guide to the orchestra after my orchestra played an awful version of it two night ago and don't think i can ever listen to it again XD

Thought it was 21m.... I’m confused why but excited that I’ll get to watch this channel grow. I found sideways before he had 2k subscribers a few years ago. Ed Sheehan in 2009. This is kinda jokes. This is one of the best videos, I’ve ever watched.... not just KZfaq. Netflix, PH, what ever. I’ve just binge watched your whole channel in 2 days.

Great video!

ive never heard of this guy! i am such a fan now... thank you!!

Excellent video mate.

This is lovely, thank you.

This is incredibly inspiring. Jacob's music is very worthy of this type deep dive. I hope it's the first of many such endeavors. For example, I'm getting interested lately in his use of leitmotifs, and even asked him about it in a Patreon chat. They pervade his work not only within songs, but between his entire body of work, as I imagine you've noticed. BTW, because Moon River is so steeped in microtonality you may wish to update this current awesome video. I ask selfishly because I want to know how he pulls some of that stuff off!

He's an amazing talent & it's great what he's done for microtonality/JI; shame none of it's to my personal taste but I must check out the other compositions you mention.

Both of them are music geniuses but when I look at Jacob shows I see Frank.. wow. And the best is yet to come! We should feel fortunate to have such incredible talents!

Incredible stuff

Great work thanks!

i saw this dude live show once and i was blown away.

I’m just impressed he can sing in perfect pitch like that. This seems like a theory that’s only applicable to vocals if you’re able to perfectly increase/decrease your pitch by a couple cents.

Wow! What an amazing channel you've got!!

For calculations:- 1200*log_2(4/3) = 498.044999c (c=cents) 498.044999-500 = -1.955001c (ignore the negative sign) its just 1.955001c To stack up 6 fourths we can add 498.044999... 6 times and subtract the octaves Or exponentially 4^6/3^6 4096c/729c 729c is much lower in octave, let's bring it up, 729*2 = 1458*2 (one more) = 2916c 1200*log_2(4096/2916) = 588.269995 which is 11.730005c lower from the F# (bass note) to C (treble note).

June Lee certainly is amazing too!

Wow. Great job!

I like the concept, but when I listen to his music by itself it feels flat. Like a lot of the chords just sound like mush. I think it might be that using just pitch makes it blend to well. I feel there needs to be some pull in the intonality to elicite an emotional response. Or it could just be that I'm so used to hearing standard tuning & it's not different enough (like different tunings in middle eastern & caucasian music) that it doesn't sound good to me.

Great great video! Thanks

Thank you for this video!

finally someone can explain what Jacob is doing.

Great video