Matt Savage plays "Blues in 33/8" in New York

[Juicymusic1]

I think I've just developed a heart murmur listening to this....

[free2rym99]

I'm surprised at how hard 33/8 can groove.

[Maddie01022]

if you just count to 7 twice and then to the and think "short 3" you got it

[MikeGipsonUSAF]

Well done kid.

[Bjorneization]

this cat is swinging

[KingKarolus222]

reminds me of Occupy Wall Street

[Portlandhardstylers]

epic, now to go try and figurer out the time signiture of a glitch core song.

[Malkmusianful]

better than miles davis

[kurtilein3]

this is so brilliant. on so many levels, meta-brilliant.

a child with full-fledged autism learns to play the piano overnight, and then finds out that he is also great at composing, gets into jazz, and is a professional when 9 years old. And this is him at his best, Matt Savage. Some scientists say there may be as few as 100 people on the whole planet that are comparable to him, Stephen Wiltshire, Rüdiger Gamm, and the true rainman Kim Peek. He is a child now, so decades of great music to follow

[mootbooxle]

I love it!

[josefpanes]

Wow, deep complex off-beat Jazz O_O He's really good.

[boucoupthick504]

I can't even wrap my head around 33/8 time!

[Criticalperspective2]

Swings like hell!

[Frymononie]

12 people had trouble coming to terms with the fact that they'll never be this good at anything they try.

[jzilla666999]

props to the drummer.

[Daghead]

If you can't dance this even though you like it, YOU SUCK.

[ronaldmcdonald333]

just split this into 3 sets of 11

[auhoward14]

@ronaldmcdonald333

Yeah... that's not how it's phrased at all though

[Paulhomes]

He's almost as good as bieber

[mattsavagejazz]

@Paulhomes Hahahahaha....

[HerMeggido]

The 9 people who disliked this performance are

Babarians.

(!)

[mattsavagejazz]

Hey everyone!

You can find new videos of me at my new channel: mattsavagejazz  (I was 14 in this video; I'm 18 now)

Matt

P.S. 33/8 = 7/4 + 7/4 + 5/8, just like in the Counting Blues in 33/8 video.

[jude4312]

i didn't know this dude was a savant. he's such a nice cooperative kid who is really strict with his schedule. i remember him saying this after a session 'i want to go by 11pm so that i can practice, and i want to get up early in the morning because i want to get an ensemble room to practice' that didn't sound like a savant to me, just a dude who is really determined. God bless this guy.

[swiffstep]

weird.. i can barely keep up with this rhythm in my head... sounds like its skipping to me like a scratched cd or something lol

[danielinsporto]

i cant believe no one is commenting on how young this kid is. this is mindblowing.

[MrStrangeSensation]

@danielinsporto

What's even more mind-blowing is that he's an autistic savant and he's been playing and composing jazz since he was like 8 years old. He absolutely mastered jazz before the age of 10, the kid is seriously gifted. Look into it if you like jazz, he has several albums out already (and a new one coming out in like 2 weeks)

[98Eric98]

33/8 isn't that impressive because the 8th note gets the beat. At my school we play the pep songs in 5/7 while the cheerleaders are trying to dance to them. It messes them all up, which is pretty hilarious.

[HotRatsAndTheStooges]

@98Eric98

5/7 doesn't exist.

[arulguna]

@HotRatsAndTheStooges

5/7 CAN exist. As an irrational Time signature.

In fact there is even a piece in sq(42)/1.

While Matt Savage's piece in 33/8 is not too complicated to understand, It is quite a different matter to make it as entertaining as he has. Well done!

[sebz661]

@arulguna sq(42)/1.? no such thing.

[mattsavagejazz]

@sebz661 Just found the song in sq(42)/1, by Conlon Nancarrow, from "Studies for Player Piano." It's possible with computers! 5/7 is also theoretically possible as a time signature, but it's impossible to write down with Western notation ('cause the note values are based on powers of 2).

[ricyarborough]

@98Eric98 5/7 isn't a real time signature...

The first number is the ammount of beats in the bar, the second number relates to either a semi-quaver, quaver, crotchet, minim etc...

so 4/4 = 4 crotchets per bar, 5/8 = 5 quavers per bar...etc

[oforsberg]

@ricyarborough So, theoretically you can have the amount of beats in the upper number and the number of n-tuplets in the lower number. Thus, if there is a song in 4/4 time in which is a part where the beats are 7-tuplets and there are 5 of them in a bar, isn't it more logical to consider it in 5/7 time instead of 5/4 or 5/8 with a tempo change? (this sounds like something Zappa would compose)

[BillyWillis89]

@oforsberg Agreed, sounds extremely Zappa. But there is no such thing as "playing pep songs in 5/7". The concept of a 7-tuplet is meaningless out of the context you have described. Basically 98Eric98 is full of crap. They might be playing them in 5/8 or 5/4 (or think they are, lol). Incidentally, have you ever studied with Dr. Joseph Klein, he's a Zappa expert?

[wankazoff]

awkward!

guess I grew up on to much dance music and occasional 3/3s.

does it make anyone else feel uncomfortable?

[charlesbyers]

that look at 216 man cracks me up, you got to meet daxflame

[mattsavagejazz]

Hey everyone! You can find later videos of me at my new channel "mattsavagejazz." I was 14 in this video; I'm 18 now.

[DajaWaja]

que fuerte...

[jkeeton44]

I think I'm in love..... with a little boy? Sorry.....

[bhfam]

@jkeeton44 he's 18 now.

[kirknasty]

is that vodka he chuggs first?

[mattsavagejazz]

@kirknasty Haha no, just a big bottle of water. No drunk could ever play this tune...

[MrFunkyBeaver]

that is a very good shit, like it like it

[sputnikdx]

I think everyone should watch the video response to the song. It's really helpful for anyone figuring out how to count to this song, as the title suggests.

[MusicManimal4]

EPIC MAN real talent!

[djbrown888]

it is so exciting and i can wait to hear what this young man will create. bravo !!!

[WinnerTV1]

These people are real musician, not the chart Top 100 garbage!

[AZNSk8er4lyf]

it feels like it just restarts at one point

this is really cool

[MrsSarb]

Wow that's crazy!  Never heard anything like this before.

[saxomania101]

in response 2 FreeCapital. as both a musician and a brother of a autistic sibling I must whole heartedly disagree. your comparison to the quarterback's exceptionally large hands is a very ignorant statement. his hands were to his advantage. Autism is NOT an advantage. When you have someone as special as Matt, the obstacles he faced to reach his goals must be acknowledged. that is the basis of all inspirational stories, someone overcoming obstacles to become something great. Matt you are awesome.

[FreeCapital]

What's with all the asperger/autism nonsense. Who gives a (insert phrase here) It should be a side note (no pun intended) to the piece, instead of the main topic. You don't go around yapping about a Quarterback's "exceptionally large hands" every time he throws a superb pass, do you? You are your brain. By labeling people like Matt, you take away from his innate talent. Just appreciate the music. Only ignorance should be labeled as such; the rest, appreciated for their contributions to society.

[iHAVE1j]

Autism is more of a blanket term for an absurdly multi-faceted condition. Splinter skills show up in some, but not in others. Most autistic "savants" have only one splinter skill. Matt is such an exception to the general rule, being gifted in math, music, history, language, &etc. but apparently deficient in social skills, it should make anyone wonder if autism is an issue at all in his music. Is it fair to say he's the .000001% of generally gifted autistic savants? probably not.

[mattsavagejazz]

Thanks for all the compliments! You can check out newer videos of me on the channel "mattsavagejazz".

[The4LA2Baker0]

great stuff! being a drummer this timing is really confusing. im impressed with how the drummer was able to keep it together. it would take me some time to get used to playing this style.

[xTrEmEakaJDz]

WOW 5/5

[holaadios12345]

lol did u mean WOW 33/8

[6741545]

@holaadios12345 xDD, you were cool xD

[BackfiredPlans]

@holaadios12345 stars

[asdfasdfasdf444]

wow this is so cool ahha whoever underestimates this kids genius after seeing this video is just musically ignorant in some way im sorry. for his age... damn.

[GlauciaCarvalho]

the kid is genius!

[everynameseemstobe]

I believe this kid was only 15 at the time, yet he knows more about music than i can ever hope to know - rock on, matt savage!

[IVlr3vil]

He comes off as normal here to me. You got those professionals who don't have Asperger syndrome or autism and they do twelve hours a day with much harder stuff (jazz and classically trained pianist).

[Megatrousers]

It's not about his piano playing skill.

Would you have any idea how to compose a piece in 33/8?

[keyboardsathya]

simply superb! very inspiring. Let me try it and enjoy this piece.

[lutecore]

3:33 WHAT!?  Completely blown away...

[dismo77]

very awesome song

[babypicspider]

Yo matt i just saw u on either discovery channel or nat geo..u blew my mind away with ur music! Definitely gonna get me copies of ur wonderful works. Peace from NY.

[zhaoxmmusic]

yea 33/8.. let's dance on this tune everybody.

[mattsavagejazz]

Yeah! Let's start a new dance craze!

[MrIsaacDB]

@zhaoxmmusic lol



[jaydude214]

hahaha 3:07 the drummer messes up

[drexil14]

he didnt mess up it changed styles or tempo

[aronizer]

If you listen carefully, it's not that hard to follow. It makes sense

[kurtilein3]

at the beginning, the rhytm sounds a bit strange, but then after a minute or so you understand the rhytm, and then its a really great song.

its funny that people here in the comments dont believe that he has autism while matt says so himself, and while so many scientists and experts consider him to be an autistic savant with very clear symptoms of autism.

its great that its getting easier for people in the autism spectrum to become accepted as positive enrichments to society.

[bbking93]

being in 33/8... i think the entire song was about eh.. 12 meansures lol =P

[ophliablue]

But for now, I don't care. I just really enjoy Matt's music. :)

[ophliablue]

Matt Savage was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a grouping of 5 different types of developmental disorders (autism being one of them). Hard to diagnose.. the classification or label 'autism' came about fairly recently (I want to say circa 1980 - my mom was a child psychiatric nurse at UCLA at this time, when these disorders were being heavily scrutinized and differentiated from schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder).

[L0LC4T]

Yeah, guys, he's not autistic. He has aspergers. Pretty big difference.

[mattsavagejazz]

Aspergers is a form of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). And I actually have PDD, a higher-functioning form of autism.

Not that I feel like I have it or anything...

Matt

[Kumari58787]

you are wrong, it is all (autism, aspergers etc) on a spectrum known as the autism/autistic spectrum so people with aspergers can choose the label "autistic", referring to the spectrum.

And as far as I know, he has high functioning autism, not aspergers. but I can't really tell the difference much except that I know most people with aspergers don't have any language delay and most high functioning classic autists do (to some extent)

[pookiehohn]

Asperges is within the Autistic spectrum. He therefore has autism.

[xeraphon]

Not completely true, he has Asperges, wich is a form of autism. It's like saying someone has "cancer", people don't just have cancer, they have cancer is some part of their body; you don't just have autism, you just have a form of autism since you can't have autism itself.

[mattsavagejazz]

I don't have Asperger's... I just have another form of autism, that's all.

Hope this clarifies things a bit.

Matt

[malefikgirl]

yeah !!! ça groove à mort !!

incroyable ce gamin !!

[arbethobbo]

is it autism or asperger? i think is the second. isn´t it?

[lucyisthelight]

It´s just really good music.  ;-)

[uechanchung]

lol it's weird going to the next bar after the 5/8

[mattsavagejazz]

Hi! Just clarifying the time signature thing.

Structure of 33/8 is correct. Sure, it's better to say 7/4 plus 7/4 plus 5/8, but it's just cooler to say 33/8. After all, 33's a bigger number.

It's easier to imagine it if you picture the bars of 7/4 as just straight-ahead bars of 7/4 like most jazz musicians play it (4/4 plus 3/4). And the bar of 5/8 doesn't really swing... it's nearly impossible to swing 5/8! Just count to five... it's easier.

Hope this helps!

[damaband41]

can anybody actually count this out? If so, please post a vid of it!

[barcanard]

I'll post a vid, but the counting would be too fast, so I count the quarter notes. It is phrased into two groups of 7/4, then a measure of 5/8, with swing eighth notes. In reality, the true meter (without swing) should be either 49/8 all together (grouped in 3's) or a mixed meter of 12/8, then 9/8, then 12/8, then 9/8, then 7/8. I'll post my video of it slowed down though with all the beats, then sped up with just quarters.

[longtallsallie08]

lol what the f

[pfoxxx]

The boy's a god damn genius!

[mvgg]

he is a Savant

[Sawyer082]

borring

[stealthgear]

seems like it could sound better if the drummer put the accents in different spots.

[N6aT6aS6]

dude, try play a beat in 33/8 lol

[Awestrom]

hahaha yeahhhh great point

[wesboki]

What's the use? Sometimes it just stumbles and sounds like the needle of an old recordplayer is jumpin' across the vinyl.

[flamingspinach]

I'm a pianist but I'm actually more impressed with the drummer than the pianist. It's much harder to keep this kind of compound time on the drums than on the piano, because you need a steady hand on the downbeat, whereas a piano can just layer. Anyway, good song - 12-bar blues is always good, haha

[stevenk1133]

exactly. that's what i was thinking when i listened to this. how in the world do you keep time AND count 33/8 AND play the rhythms correctly AND make it sound as good as this kid does?

[N6aT6aS6]

yeah, the drummer is pretty damn amazing

[johkonut]

this guys autistic

[procrustesuk]

you spell it ARtistic

[MisterNicholasGuitar]

..I'm pretty sure it's spelled autistic..

In this case, Johkonut was right..

[thepacers]

unbelieveble all the savants. ok 33/8 sounds difficult. but if you listen to this piece its easyier than that . its (matt counts in that way and the drummer plays the whole time) 2 times 7/4 followed by a 5/8 bar. this feeling doesnt change (they dont play other accents). mabe the band is too weak?

[SteinwayPiano1993]

Amazing Tempo He have a good music ear

[alexsherice]

so how does one count in 33/8?

my head hurts.

[stoney490]

it just 4/8 time with with a bar of 5/8...adds up to 33 instead of a regular 32, or 16, depending on how you want to count it.

[mstern18]

yes i was waiting for someone to write what it would be simplified. but how does that work, how do you get to 33 from 5?

anyway no matter how its broken down...still pretty awkward/difficult...

[barcanard]

It can be easily phrased as two groups of 7/4, with swing eighth notes, then a group of 5/8.

[BeLLaRiCCi]

Whoever makes a bad comment of this video sux.you suck because He is doing such a good job and for an autistic kid to do this he is making a big accomplishment.

Second,i have an autistic brother who will indeed someday become a great man and you will someday be dying for his autograph. He is so intelligent and in order for you stupid people be able to critisize an autistic person you have to be able to either live the life they lived or at least know how to spell Autistic.

[zanimatsya]

Maybe his music will only sell to other autists, ROFL.

Seriously, he's good, and nobody can tell him what to do with his art otherwise. All the great musicians of the past met similar criticism. But all the ones who experimented in extremes like this (John Cage) were not picked up by the mainstream. There's something to ponder.

[xswitchbladefights]

cheers for your brother, love. i bet i'll want his autograph, i love intelligent people :)

[bacordoba]

This song is very innovative, an avant garde time of thing. Ive never heard anything like it, but now i will always remember the signature and the concept. good job.

[60thstrat]

You guys are all right. It's amazing that a kid can do this and the beat is convoluted to say the least, but it fucks me off to try to listen to it. Kind of like "shredding" on the guitar- hard to do, but shit to listen to for extended periods.

[bassSoloij]

33/8?

poor drummer...

[tajto]

sounds like this tune colauita plays on... sounds like a cd skipping.. killer

[manofadventure2000]

This kid is definitely a talented individual... what is appealing to him seems to be keeping others impressed. He needs to learn to relax a little on those lower notes. I understand that his brain is compelled to do things that normal people can't even begin to comprehend... so I can see why they would criticize it. The second time I listened to it is when I heard his brilliance, the timing is really cool.

[Graumantel]

He's not a normal child prodigy. He grew up as an autist, which isn't your regular prodigy CV, or is it?

[BlackHammondB3]

What's the purpose? Interesting concept, but seems like it's just deep for the sake of being deep. Oscar Peterson and Bobby Timmons were all about groove, which this has none. Atleast not to my "western" ears. Branford Marsalis' "Bulworth" is in 7 and 13 for a little while, but Kenny Kirkland infused the piano with soul as well as a pocket.

[Streifengetier]

come on guys, it's amazing, though it drives me crazy to listen, i think THAT'S the magic

[ironmaiden910]

ouch, thats actuay painful for me 2 listen 2, that drummer must b pretty talented 2

[chadbull]

Kind of nice but Weird and slow at the same time.

I think this odd timing takes away from an otherwise good song. I find myself paying more attention to the beat than the song.

Kind of sounds like a scratched CD that you cannot clean.

[tennywantyouyouyou]

very good ~~ that's exactly the kind of songs i like

[sauceyboy]

pretty amazing

wish i had been a prodigy

[frankjsosexy]

i dont think it grooves at all-

probably would have really liked it had it been in a reasonable time signature

it just jars so much you can't hold on to the pocket

[treehamallama]

why cant i be that good at an instrument! its not faiiirrr,

[Dewingo]

It sounds really interesting, never heard blues in 33/8 before (must be really rare time). Sounds kind of like it's "skipping" at times but that just makes it sound more intersting :D

[Clausfarre]

Loved him ever since Conan.

[hanzorama]

This grooves SO HARD!!!

[djrslc333]

cool song matt!

[povry]

awesome!!

[loigeni]

shit

[lotusbleumagique]

cool!!