La Monte Young - The Well Tuned Piano, Kluncklick and Jack Moore - Visuals

[sofuckinndope]

wow when they said this was minimalist music they weren't fuckin kidding

[MrChirpsky]

Sorry if someone already pointed this out, but the tape music is by Pierre Schaeffer. I guess Young uses other peoples music quite a bit.

[MrChirpsky]

@MrChirpsky Oops, I left my iTunes on & listened to this with Shaeffer's tape piece & Cage's Williams Mix - pretty interesting collage.

[byugrad1024]

To someone with perfect pitch, that annoying repeated C over and over again is adequate enough to induce a migraine. As a musician of over 25 years, I struggle to see the significance of pseudo-random combinations of only a few notes. I bet the computer on Jeopardy could compose a song just like this in only a fraction of a second.

[treinspore]

@byugrad1024 lol

[slowbloodmusic]

if you really want to "see the significance", i would suggest doing some research. look up "just-intonation" and "minimalism" on wikipedia as a start. or you could just read a bit about La Monte Young to understand where he's coming from. also, this is not "pseudo-random", he is improvising on pre-determined themes. there is a high degree of intent behind this piece that may not be evident in such a short clip. it is a very long piece.

[kettlezone]

Would be great if someone could post 'Get into the Sound: the Sound is God, please? :)

[faredust77]

I love minimalism :)

[opoof]

Huh so this is what acid is like....

[shatchett0]

Sounds like bells.

[carbine125]

where on earth can you get a hold of this?

[NemesisAleksander]

just stfu and close ur eyes and enjoy the music. All your semantical arguements are very pointless

[Kucks11]

So this really isnt a human concept its nature pure

[tetrahedron3100]

Parts of this sample sound remarkably similar to Iranian classical music, particularly when the notes come in a flurry.

[theo1203]

face up top at 5:10

[elliotg996]

I Just too some acid and watched this it was brilliant, the images and music really seem to go together.

[bigmamainthemud]

Oh - well then. This might be good but it reminds me of certain other practices I don't really like such as when they put small buzzers on an mbira. I just prefer it w/o; I guess I like my pianos in tune.

[NateyPooPoo]

@bigmamainthemud In the tuning system you're accustomed to**

[bigmamainthemud]

This piano is out of tune and ouch to it

[Osthropek]

@bigmamainthemud no, see that's the point of the piece. things are shoved under the piano strings, causing some dissonance, and during the entire piece the piano becomes increasingly detuned.

[JoeyRyanacoustic]

@Osthropek The piano is actually properly tuned in terms of unequal temperament. Its not that the strings have things shoved under them.

The point of the piece is that he is playing Just intervals, which are the proper intervals in the theoretical 'proper tuning'.

All the music we hear it is out of tune, but it is what we know, it is tuned to the equal tempered system of tuning.

This is the proper tuning in terms of pitch for each note, called unequal temperament.

[Osthropek]

bloody masterpiece

[chubbard09]

so much drugs

[TheSaucyAuto]

@chubbard09 No, just a bit of imagination and a willingness to explore.

[dshznt182]

This song makes my mind wander

[MightyCarnac]

The piano sounds beautiful but I keep thinking it'd be so much better with a melody. Just my prejudice I suppose.

[bigchurp]

@MightyCarnac well this is just to show what fourths and fifths really sound like. we are so used to a well tempered piano.

[blowoutfilms]

eeee... its ok that, i listened to it whilst doing some household chores, what a nice expirience.

[KLUNCKLICK1]

Nice, the visuals are by kluncklick and Jack Moore.

[inlandempires]

@KLUNCKLICK1

Thanks for the info I have updated the video data accordingly.

[briankaz]

I found the 5-CD set of this performance at Amoeba Music in Berkeley, probably sometime in 1995! As I recall, it was on sale for about $120! Right now that album is priceless, as far as I'm concerned!

[tintism]

The artwork seems to be similar (but I may be wrong) to the images created by Mark Boyle (Boyle Family) where he projected light passing through various bodily fluids including piss, saliva and vomit. Beautiful isn't it :)

[nukepcr]

I want more!!! So far, it looks like a sonata to me. The video stops right where some kind of recapitulation starts, after an agitated development. The introspection of the alternating dissonant, beating seventh, and the pure, natural perfect fifth gives me goosebumps. The video seems to be part of the music.

[borowczyk76]

Got myself a mint copy of the 5CD set, autographed and all, cost me one K, but it was well worth it...

[Insead1]

very good

[HAMayoral]

There's like a blank noise in the background that changes with filters... That is way trippy. It makes me feel like I'm going slightly deaf for a moment.

[leakeg]

it's amazing how initially annoying that 5th sounds to me! I guess I'm so used to the technically incorrect 12 TET 5th. Hmm I think I'm already used to it.

[szloblac]

what are the visuals on this one? did you make it?

[narablog]

@szloblac

The visuals are probably by Marian Zazeela, La Monte Young's partner/collaborator...

Pls correct me if I'm wrong, folks...

[Diosade]

How this piano is re-tuned? Amazing piece of music.

[Bigandrewm]

Kyle Gann has a basic description of La Monte's tuning on his website. Look for the just intonation section.

[leakeg]

to just intonation ;) - wikipedia it!

[polkusin]

sounds almost unlike a piano because of the intervals being pure :)

[BrontoScorpioMusic]

Just amazing! The resonances of the harmonies are just beautifull!

[tojupiterandback]

i don't know, but when i listen to this, it makes me think of nature, like mountains, rivers, cold climates, and transparency. it's like flowing thing that this music brings up to my mind. maybe it's just me.

[capedcamish]

This song does weird things to my hearing.

When it starts up, the 7ths obviously are striking and remarkable, which is just an accident of mathematics. But it seems to me that the longer you listen, the more your ear becomes accustomed to those rumbling waves that don't agree with each other. And, call me crazy, but you soon forget the chords and the wave interference starts to become a melody in itself.

[Iconoclast]

@capedcamish I think that's the point.

[drmoogala]

I see you are just as stupid and foul-mouthed as ever. I guess it must be Bush's fault huh? You simple minded dupe. SEIG HEIL!

[fart813]

Bought a Lamont Young and The Forever Bad Blues Band on a writers review..

and to this day i wish i could find that writer and beat my $20 out of his ass...

double cd ....Live.............and each cd had 1 song on it, each was over an hour...

and can SAFELY say THEE worst purchase of my entire 30 yrs on this planet buying records.........sorry L Y fans

[narablog]

@fart813

and that's why your name is fart813

[profyost]

In my opinion, this piece is the pinnacle of recorded music to date. I have never heard a more perfect artistic interpretation of the pure physical essence of harmony. It is unfortunate that it is not more widely available.

[MagicDolphinGO]

This is irrelevant, emotionless, formless, meaningless, and pointless music. Gives a bad name to minimalism.

[flammesombres]

I would say it's one of minimalism's saving graces, personally.

[hexachordal]

Your comment is irrelevant, emotionless, formless, meaningless and pointless. You give a bad name to YouTubers.

[narablog]

@MagicDolphinGO

Dearie, you are irrelevant, emotionless, formless, meaningless, and pointless in terms of all magicians and dolphins.

Go back to ATLANTIS already.

[littlescale]

Thanks for posting.

[fuckmyburger]

wtf

[narablog]

@fuckmyburger

asshole

[jigglesnap]

I like the chords, but the music is just aimless noodling. Music isn't automatically good just because it's well-tuned.

[drow809]

boring

[JoeDull]

This is incredible I can't stop listening!

[herma57]

gorgeous,I like LaMonte's hats,

[Eilicec]

thank you so much for uploading such a - in every way - beautiful video!!! Yong is so awesome! Where's the artwork from?

[inlandempires]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hate to say it, but I don't remember the source of the artwork(s). So, all praise should go to Young & Anon. :-(

[ShemTheSham]

@inlandempires - This is a guess, but I know that Andy Warhol had a light show with the VU that included colored oils and slides on a projector screen...this looks like the same setup.

[inlandempires]

@ShemTheSham The mystery was solved: the visuals are by Kluncklick and Jack Moore.

[reddupo]

I'm doing a school project that involves just intonation....

so far I'm only a few hours into investigating it....but to me it just sounds extremely out of tune?

[aundeensemble]

out of tune in relation to tempered tuning.

it sounds extremely different because he puts emphasis on the 7th harmonic.

In just intonation you use the 7th harmonic which naturally sounds different to the tempered seventh that we are used to.

[thallocub]

this way he anticipates the spectralistic aestethics. The inner shape of sound is THE shape, and the process is the hearing process, not just the executing process.

[squasher42]

where can i get a copy of this recording? I cant seem to find one anywhere...

[inlandempires]

I'm afraid it's not available commercially. It seems that Young is not very enthiastic on selling CD's.

[cmvragas]

@inlandempires

could you send it to me if thats possible? x

[DrumsAndMisc]

@inlandempires So, where is this recording from?

[inlandempires]

@DrumsAndMisc

I'm taking the fifth here, but the rumor is that there are such things as "file sharing" applications on the internet. Not that I have ever used one, of course.

[bananimalistic]

soulseek

[AlienatedStud]

This is a future echo, La Monte Young is showing us that Western Harmony is in it's infancy, that there is MUCH more to be explored and really, that's a beautiful thing.

[yobreakfast]

Uhm, actually this intonation is as old as humanity... it is the primall intonation all humans are born with... it is the Western intonation you refer to that is "new-fangled"

[AlienatedStud]

Yes I know. So why can't this be a new form of Western Harmony?

[yobreakfast]

I would say "Vintage" because it was originally used in the West before the invention of tempered tuning... "New" I find thus to be a bit of a misnomer,... but call it what you want I suppose...

[ohlordbabyjesus]

why does it have to be "western" harmony? ethnocentric much?

[Bzakatron]

As opposed to "eastern" harmony, which never existed? Kneejerk opposition much?

[xmfdibujito]

@yobreakfast I got your point, but actually there is no "natural intonation" or primal tuning. Just intonation is only one kind of tuning system, theres a lot, infinite possible systems

[NateyPooPoo]

@xmfdibujito Actually this /is/ the naturally occurring tuning in all horns and strings (the harmonic series). If there is any primal tuning this would be it, since it existed before any system we've used.

[xmfdibujito]

@NateyPooPoo The harmonic series are that... harmonic series. But humans used all kind of tunings, some harmonic and some "enharmonic" . We are no limited by Harmonic series, in the same way that we are not limited by the 12 tone tempered scale. the Birds make beautiful melodies with "enharmonic notes" & intervals, outside the octave scales. Stockhausen made some of that too...

[NateyPooPoo]

@xmfdibujito Please stop making comments on music theory when you clearly do not study it. You just F'd the word "enharmonic" up the A in terms of definition. Enharmonic is a term used when one note is written different ways on staff paper (C# & Db are enharmonic). When did I say we were limited to one system? You said that there was no "natural" tuning, when the harmonics series is just that. Now please save me any more trouble of replying to uninformed blabble.

[xmfdibujito]

@NateyPooPoo Hey, dont be mad. I used a wrong term. Im not a native English speaker. I was referring to the notion of Harmonic & not-harmonic sounds (inharmonic is correct?). I know what the harmonic series are. Im just against calling some human concept a "natural" thing.

Lithophones instrumets are "naturally inharmonic", so, they are in a primal tuning system?

NO

[Kucks11]

@xmfdibujito Actually, we learned our Music System from nature. Everything in our universe is vibration and sound when it was said at the begining was "The Word", (Sound) this actually has a meaning so our music system is just like math a nature law.

[Kucks11]

Even our planets and how they stand can be written in Tonal intervals.This all has a system. So music is one of the most spiritually things that we have to descripe our inner selfs and the Universe.

[Kucks11]

Look for a Book called Nada Brahma by Joachim-Ernst Berendt if you interested in this topic there you'll find Sound

[xmfdibujito]

@Kucks11 Well, I agree with you in a lot of points. Everything is vibration, I love Stockhausen & Nikola Tesla work and I also have read Hindu and Pythagorean teachings. BUT, we, like humans, see and make our own concepts of what we see in Nature. Yes, Nature has his laws and systems, but these are human words. Music is not a human concept, but the "talking" about music is just that. And, for me, no concept is "written in stone".

[Kucks11]

@xmfdibujito Yes i can agree with you.BUT,we, like humans, are what we may have forgotten,........ nature too.

[Kucks11]

i thing we cannot understand that completely but we can hear it when we listen closely

[yobreakfast]

@xmfdibujito No this is entirley false, enharmonic is a notation system, not a physical sound... harmonics are physical sounds made by the instruments (strings, winds, brass etc), birds do not use enharmonics, since they do not write notes out, and there is no such thing as enharmony outside of the twelve note scale....

[yobreakfast]

@xmfdibujito I meant the intonation our brains are hardwired to recognize.... of course tones do not exist in real, its just our brains who interprets sounds thus, but it does so even before birth, in humans and animals, thats why I call them "primal"

[robzitinho]

I echo that last comment. Don't know if I could do the whole 5 hours though.Made it through an hour or so a long time ago and it took a long time to re-enter the real world after that.Definately takes you somewhere.

[welwise]

thank you

[bobbycormier]

i hope this is a trend on youtube. i hope we get to hear some more music from great artists like the much discussed, but rarely hear'd la monte young. - bobby cormier

[joznick1]

inlandempires you are the fucking man i saw your picture and flipped then read your name and flipped you like lynch and la monte young, lets hang out!

[Gerdellos]

Great sound, just intonation temperament rules!!!

[blinginlike3p0]

fuck yeah

[andarcalabar]

!!!

[Chris87340]

Thank you for all of the La Monte Young videos, plus the beautiful, psychedelic artwork that goes along with the music.  Where did you get these images?

[PADSEnsemble]

One of the greatest and most successful experiments in tuning ever.

[mickykiiatein]

looks like in rainbows.. im confident that if you sit tied to a chair in a locked empty room and listened to the whole of this, you would literally go crazy.. not because it's bad, because its so creepy

[defdeezy]

no, i've listened to the full thing in one sitting twice in my life so far, it's quite an experience. an opening of the ears occurs at about two hours in, sounds start coming in and you can't tell if they're actually there or if you just think they are, and you question whether there's a difference--so, perhaps crazy is the right word...

[Imal00ter20]

There's something truly beautiful about this,

[tombei]

some more, please!

[Severomm]

Best piano piece in the world.

Viva la just intonation.