Bana: Fidjo de Ninguém

thought this was some kind of quaint samba but learned it's morna with lyrics in Cape Verdean Creole.

DOTA: Für die Sterne

like her compositional style, cliche pop/folk rhythms with nice rhyming and surprises, pretty musical.

also liked Grenzen and the lovely words in Zuhause.

Unplugged Cypher DLX

hip-hop cypher with a live band.

4:20 Megaloh: merging word sounds into each other
11:56 Bengio: combining percussive hits with switching words

Samy Deluxe: Requiem

lyrical bullets like a German Eminem, nice contrast and musicality in the verse

G.R. Mocidade Independente De Padre Miguel: Repique Reza Forte

plucky old-time guitar solo on a groovy samba

Pharoah Sanders: The Creator Has A Master Plan

impressive vocal control with this rapid falsetto breaking; nice n' crazy free jazz before and after

ศักดิ์สิทธิ์ เวชสุภาพร [Tor Saksit]: ปรากฏการณ์ [Phenomenon]

catchy Thai melody I stumbled upon in 2023 but never got around to learning; some cliche jazzy chords with nice surprises

Comedian Harmonists: Mein Kleiner Grüner Kaktus

more silly German music suggestions in response to my question, this one about "my little green cactus".

also, some vulgar Mozart in Good night, You are quite an ox and one I won't translate.

Mussorgsky/Ravel: The Great Gate Of Kiev

bone-chillingly majestic as it is, but it probably feels stronger to listen to the 11 parts before. from Pictures at an exhibition

Susso: Keira (2016)

music inspired by, and directly sampling, the magnificent sounds of the Mandinka people, recorded during a recent trip to Gambia.

3. Bani: glitchy sampling and splicing of former words.
4. Son Kunda: hip-hop electronic beat overlayed with tribal singing that's nicely unrelated to the instrumental tonality

Jordan Prince: High's Cool

strange to shift from finger picking with contemporary pop chords to a kind of triplet blues. inspiring album concept.

Ingo Insterburg: Ich liebte ein Mädchen

style seems quite specific or idiomatic to German or Germany, curious to know other examples that fit this description

Paulo César Pinheiro, Mauro Duarte: Nunca Mais

very brazillian to turn the same repeated phrase into flowy magic; melody works nicely as instrumental too

Abu Obaida Hassan & His Tambour: The Shaigiya Sound of Sudan (2018)

[This Sudanese pioneer is known for having electrified the tambur (lyre), creating a hypnotic, trance-like sound in the ’70s and ’80s. Notice the call-and-response pattern in the chorus.]

ADVANCED AIRHORN TUTORIAL

so many rhythmic permutations from a single sound sample

Tarek Yamani: Peninsular

middle eastern jazz with microtonal piano, occasionally some Mehldau-style punching and counterpoint

Chad Fowler: Alien Skin

nicely obnoxious swingy free jazz

Harry Mack: Flow Patterns 101

freestyling a lesson in rhythmic subdivisions from quarter note to 16ths and triplets

Harry Mack: How To Improve Free Association

[Practice free association with your notes app by making a list starting with any word and following it with whatever comes to mind. Try to be non-judgemental. More important that it makes sense to you than to other people. When you're comfortable to try with a beat, you can just fill space with "uhh" or other rhythmic sounds and simply land on your next word to practice changing in time.]

---

Music training really trains you to break things down into manageable parts. Teaching well exposes the atomic elements of a practice so that you can find the right entry point for your level of skill or experience.

Harry Mack: How To Get Better At Freestyle Rapping - Setup, Punchline

[Practice is strategically targetting your weaknesses to help them improve over time.]

[Wanting to sound great means willing to sound bad so that you can practice.]

[Deciding what object in the room you'll freestyle about and what to call it takes up mental RAM that could be spared if you use a simple word generator to practice.]

Roberta Sá: Quando o Canto É Reza (2015)

• Mandingo: starts with a 3 guitar fugue, Barravento + Bach
• Marejada: has this chord voicing that pierces me

ኃይለየሱስ ፈይሳ [Haileyesus Feyssa]: ፍቅር ተወደደ [Fikir Tewedede]

cool surprise change in timefeel in the beginning; multiple beats/rhythms simultaneously

Virginia Rodrigues: Vá Cuidar de Sua Vida

sweet melody and lyrics with references to capoeira and candomblé

Big L: Put It On

boom bap

Gal Costa: Cantar (1974)

• Barato Total: funky groove; percussive singing; everything tightly in the pocket
• Flor Do Cerrado / Garota De Ipamena (Medley): two songs get supeimposed; fun interlocking rhythms and offbeat landings
• Jóia: fourth harmonization
• Até Quem Sabe: João Donato-style sustain chords and instrumental singing

Louis Cole: Outer Moat Behavior

seems like the same material repeats for almost two minutes, but still interesting; cool "rising" sensation in the bass with these complex chord changes in the background

João Donato: Doce de Amora

childlike silliness, playful but not superficial

Rara in Haiti / Gaga in the Dominican Republic (1978)

generally explosive.

• Bourg Champagne: reminds me of samba
• Carrefour du Fort: hypnotic, trance-inducing
• Cemetary at Bizoton: "only in 4" but somehow sounds more complex

Brad Mehldau: Jacob's Ladder (2022)

unexpected wacky, out, prog rock. Pedro Martins' voice on Vou correndo te encontrar / Racecar.

Mestre Lua Rasta e o Bando Anunciador: Roda do Terreiro (2000)

want to find the lyrics for the songs at 6:48 and 7:40.

Filó Machado, Cibele Codonho: Correnteza

wicked chord substitutions. my version was based on a recording by Joyce and Toninho Horta.

Filó Machado, Gennoshin: Dinorah Dinorah

such a simple short rhythmic refrain, yet satisfying to repeat a hundred times in the same song

Nadah El Shazly: Claustrophobic Love

simple noisy cello over a haunting eerie harp with ethereal effects

Stacy Kidd: Let Love Enter

groovy; not used to hearing jazz solos in house tracks

Rafael De Lemba: Ingazeira o Ingá

capoeira variations with blue notes, adding fire through singing

Filó Machado, Djavan: Origens

Sounds like Stevie Wonder singing Brazilian Portuguese.

Salve América

trippy guitar harmonies, beautiful amalgamation of references to indigenous words and culture

clown core: Diarrhea Inferno Welfare Burrito

gradual voice-leading and suspensions with fast-paced drumming

clown core: existence

wild creepy sensory overload

Pingu voice acting

Italian voice actor Carlo Bononi was the voice of all of the characters on Pingu. A trained clown by trade, he used a theater technique called grammelot, which consists of "speaking" in a mix of babbled gibberish noises. He improvised all the voices live and unscripted.

Filó Machado: FÉ CEGA / FACA AMOLADA

pure musicianship with mostly guitar, beatboxing, and vocal rhythmics leading to some very happy music; complex harmonies remind me of Toninho Horta and Jacob Collier (especially the changing shirts).

Mestre Gato Preto: The art of the berimbau (2001)

mostly berimbau without singing, solo and with the drum section, great swing

Simon Stuij: Alles Raakt Mij

tight drumming, nice contrast between sections

breathe.: London

would love to know the genre that is named for this chord progression.

Maribel La Canija: Mediterráneo

many 'typical/cliche' progressions but nice surprise resolutions, crunches, and resolutions. timefeel includes triplets. bass solo has this "suspended in the air" feeling i tend to seek out.

KNOWER: It's All Nothing Until It's Everything

deadly intricate rhythmic precision juxtaposed with smooth flowing head-banging melody.

Minha Velha: Capoeira Music Practice

Mixture of leading and harmonizing. Big sound with 7 people; sounds like there's more instruments than there actually are.

Cachila: Uruguay – Tambores del Candombe N° 2 (2009)

Pure vocal percussion, sometimes with actual drums. Can't help but solo or move on some of these explosive rhythmic drives. Some tracks fuse conversation, sound play, and humour.

Jacob Collier: Fascinating Rhythm

One of his first popular videos, from 2014 yet doesn't feel dated.

Louis cole: Palmdale Cruisin'

melodic phrasing feels vaguely baroque; harmonies make giant steps; solid groovy beat; bought this right away

Sullivan Fortner: Once I Loved

mixing multiple voices, dense crunchy textures, jazz harmonies with quirky extensions, slight atonality, never heard this kind of playing.

Sullivan Fortner: Sunny Side of the Street

non-ironically making an older style feel current.

Brad Mehldau: The Greatest Jazz Pianist of Our Generation

[Written chord changes are an expedient way to quickly coordinate playing together, but they lack precision to specify things like voice-leading, even from more popular songs like Blackbird.]

[I like to add a note to so-called 'stock voicings' for crunch.]

[The intellectual aspect of improvising happens as you make sense of music. What happens in real-time while playing is a natural reflexive response based on everything you've learned.]

[Can you tell the same story with just two notes?]

---

fluid switches between discussion and piano playing

Kenny Garrett and Sounds From The Ancestors: Tiny Desk Concert

simple gospel influenced groove turns into a party; got me out of my seat pretty quick, couldn't sit still; lots of subtle polyrhythmic goodness in the background.

DOMi & JD BECK: SMiLE

catchy tune without words; complex drumming and rhythms but flows easy; video and imagery kind of absurd and hilarious with some famous figures doing a cameo.

Nas feat. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie & YG: YKTV

Triplet tension in chorus; lyric flows while never mechanically aligning with the beat's grid; bass triplets that happen a few times create a feeling of suspension; contrast between silence and full beat avoids monotony,

Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs - Live in Budapest (2018)

Been appreciating lately how hard it is to sing in tune and so I enjoyed this on a higher level than normal.

27:17: wildly precise abstract tuning, singing, and gibberish without turning into a mess.

31:31: groovy bass-y beatboxing to support instrument-like vocal solos.

43:31: improvised speaking through music and singing, realistic voice-only drum groove; polyrhythmic breaking of Bobby's voice to create effects.

Camafeu de Oxóssi: Berimbaus da Bahia (1964)

Percussion layer with a few instruments becomes a solid rhythmic foundation for singing. Some tracks of chanting with what I call "vowels of African origin", followed by some classic songs from the Capoeira tradition.

Adrian Holovaty: Melodic Guitar Music (2023)

Pure instrumental arrangements with guitar and bass. Tasteful improvising over django swing vibes.

Marta Gómez: Canciones de sol (2016)

Sweet simple melodies with complex rhythms and accompaniment, punctuated with a children's chorus.

Djavan: a voz e o violão (1976)

Perfect fusing of the Brazilian language's natural rhythm with samba's flow: 4. Para-raio reminds me of the 'perfect fit' between words and percussion I hear in João Donato's music; 9. Embola Bola (Cateretê) barely has words, almost pure voice percussion; 11. Magia feels like hip-hop; 12. Ventos do Norte like swing jazz.

PYRAMID PROJECT, Contours, Juma Tutu: DRIVER (LASTA's Afro Disco Remix)

Single-bar bass loop probably never changes or stops; contrasted with sections featuring a kind of flute, chorus vocal hook (no idea what language it is), abstract saxophone solo and interjections; bass on each beat, booty-shaking, makes you dance and feel good.

Guedra Guedra كدرة كدرة: Juke Lockstep

Middle eastern oboe/reed/clarinet head banger with body shaking beat.

Sarama - Muaythai Music

Form of music played before Muay Thai matches. Never heard it before but reminds me of South Indian Carnatic music, bhuddist ceremonial percussion, and avante garde jazz saxophone; of course it’s not a great description as I have no references to understand it yet, but if you like any of those three things you might dig this.

DJ Vadim: Cappo Style (Instrumental)

From Vads Beats Nice! (Instrumentals, Vol. 1) (2019). Lots of ‘cliché’ in the crisp drum beat and simple melody, but with subtle variations to avoid feeling repetitive. Combining synth instruments with analog sounds.

Boney M.: Bahama Mama

Live performance from 1980. Catchy chorus with signature Boney M. sound.

Asha Bhosle: Udi Baba

From Vidhaata soundtrack (1982). One of the first Hindi songs I find catchy.

Caetano Veloso: Tonada De Luna Llena

From Fina Estampa (1994). The voice of Caetano Veloso singing Spanish in falsetto, surrounded and supported by flutes, clarinets, clapping, percussion, opening a portal to an alternative world of warmth and light.

Chassol: Indiankidz

From Ultrascores (2013). Someone in the comments explained that these are young trainees who are learning Sanskrit chants to become Hindu priests. Curious to see certain sounds linked to head positioning. Observe the focus and some kind of fire in the eyes of these children. Odd to mix electronic instruments and piano with this, I would love to see the original source video and hear the raw singing.

Jacob Collier: Don’t Stop 'Til You Get Enough (2018 single)

Overlays himself with a grand piano that can loop, re-creating the vibe of Michael Jackson’s original using purely acoustic sound. Wild funky solo and lush harmonies as always. During the halfway point he goes into a time signature that I can’t figure out; anyone know?

Michel Camilo, Anthony Jackson, Horacio (El Negro) Hernandez: Calle 54 (2000)

An excerpt from the documentary about Latin jazz featuring some ways of playing the piano I haven’t seen before. The beginning more resembles something you might hear elsewhere, but I’m starting at the mid-section which has some very intense improvising with Latin rhythms. Impossible to sit still as they have too much fun creating this from nothing.

Pongo: Bruxos

At COLORSxSTUDIOS (2021). Massive sound in this body-shaker, both in the powerful voice and in the beat. The synthy flute about halfway in is a timbre I don’t hear often.

Carpenters: Top of the World

From A Song for You (1972). Caught me by surprise to hear this while looking for something in a local Asian supermarket—my mom used to sing it as a kind of showpiece and even recorded it once in a studio. Listening more closely, I hear for the first time that there’s electric piano everywhere, orchestral strings, and these cool IV-I cadences before the verses start.

Hundred Waters: Particle

From Currency (2017). Starts with delicate acoustic piano tones and chords. I usually find it interesting when to use blocky (predictable) patterns from techno music without the music feeling too repetitive; the constant contrast here makes it always dynamic and alive. Lots of triplets and dotted rhythms throughout, twice used in the melody to create this feeling of continuously moving, dropping (for example, around 57s). The lyrics and melody help evoke a sense of flying, soaring, falling.

Vulfpeck: Back Pocket

From Live at Madison Square Garden (2019). Inspiring to hear a thousand-strong audience sing a complex line in three part harmony. Lots of beatboxing, music via voice and the body. Guitar shredding partially mirrored on voice. Surprising to clarinets at the end in this context. Good vibes, happy times, saudades for live music.

DUCKWRTH: I’M DEAD

From I’M UUGLY (2016). Time feel for instant body shaking, decorated and supported with seventh chords, bass patterns that repeat with variation, and effects to create contrast between sections. Lyrics slot into the drumming like Lego.

Zventa Sventana: Мужа дома нету

From Мужа дома нету (2019). Combines electronic sounds with folk singing. Lots of cool percussion and odd production details throughout to keep things dynamic (several only occurring once in the whole song). Touches elements of techno music without being too formulaic, might be the combination with various vocal timbres that keeps it feeling alive.

Have You Ever Had A Dream

Charles Cornell created complex jazz piano arrangements for a whole compilation of various memes with people speaking—this one is my favourite. If I listen to the original audio, I can’t help but hear this music.

Lisa Hannigan: What’ll I Do

From Passenger (2011). Starting hook got my attention right away. Bright, sunny vibes created with vocals, strings, bass, percussion, and clapping; some of it would normally feel cliché to me, but I enjoyed this. The constant offbeats create a deep swing effect: your body will move.

Murali Coryell: Softly Let Me Kiss Your Lips

From Eyes Wide Open (2000). Prepare yourself for nine minutes of ‘stank-face inducing’ blues vocals, guitar solos, lush organ chords, straight on the triplet drums, scatting… Imagine starting your day with this.

Clogs: Kapsburger

From Lantern (2006). Pure instrumental bliss in this journey that lasts just two minutes. Simple harmonies on guitar that surprise by shifting with subtle voice-leading (often changing one note of the chord at a time). There might be hints of Bach in here, or maybe I’m just projecting what I want to hear.

Amit Trivedi: Shubhaarambh

From Kai Po Che ! (2013). Soundtrack for a Bollywood film, with lyrics in Gujarati. The introduction has a strong time feel without any rhythmic accompaniment. There’s bagpipes (!), and I know how odd it might be to feature that in Indian music, but the duduk-like instrument called ‘shehnai’ went right to my heart.

Ornette Hawkins: Raw Sun Live Sessions (2018)

Live jazz-infused drum and bass from an artist with a killer name.

The Everly Brothers: All I Have to Do Is Dream (1958 single)

One of the first things I played in public on the piano when growing up; the harmony fits perfectly in one hand and can be pretty satisfying to repeat for hours—great way to learn about 3rd and 6ths.

The Dixie Cups: Chapel of Love

From Chapel of Love (1964). Super soulful vibe created from vocals, bass, horns, glockenspiel, drums, and clapping—fewer ingredients than ice cream.

Bobbie Gentry: Reunion

From The Delta Sweete (1968). Complex interleaving of multiple parts with folksy Southern USA accents. Listen to the percussive clapping, bass drum, and guitar on the left channel, with voice and trumpets in the right channel. Reminds me of Moondog.

Israel Fernández: Fiesta (Bulería)

At COLORSxSTUDIOS (2021). The simplicity of a powerful voice accompanied by delicate clapping and feet hitting the floor, heard in stereo. Even without understanding the lyrics, one can appreciate how the fierce singing cuts through your prefrontal lobe. An example of making music with the body and whatever’s around (the desk might have been my primary instrument for years). As an aside: there’s too much good music on this show, and I would appreciate recommendations.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Rare Things Grow

From EARS (2016). Mishmash of many exquisite textures: water glugging, saxophone flutters with delay and reverb, possessed drone voices, quartal harmonies, celestial singing, some shakers in just the right places. Hinting at indigenous musics through instrumentation and motifs, but unapologetically electronic, jazz, and modern. The cover art might be a good metaphor for how this strange and beautiful thing makes you want to keep staring, or listening.

Asmaa Hamzaoui, Bnat Timbouktou: Oulad Lghaba (2019)

I love Gnawa music. Powerful sound from this all female group (the backup singers translate to “Timbuktu girls”). A smattering of polyrhythms everywhere makes it feel like there are usually multiple meters happening simultaneously. Listen to the intricate yet free-flowing ornamentation in the lead singer’s voice and to the bluesy notes of the guembri (like a bass). Hope I will have the privilege to hear them live some day; if you want to get some idea for how the music is performed, see this live concert from Poland.

Ondatrópica: 3 Reyes de la Terapia

From Ondatrópica (2012). Intense combination of beatboxing and breathing (or perhaps hyperventilating) with a repetitive pattern that seems like it’s performed live and not a copy/paste of the same audio. This backdrop makes a strange fusion with the Cumbia-style improvising accordion. Dark and interesting like chocolate 80% noir.