Chords for An Introduction to Math Rock

So, let's talk about Mathrock.
This is one of those subgenres that seems ultra specific and hard to get into, but I
promise it's not that scary, and once you've started enjoying it, it can be the coolest
thing in the world.
This is going to be a relatively short, condensed video of my perspective of what the genre
is, something that'll help you get a feel for it, and then some classic bands and albums
that every Mathrock fan should have in their collection.
Jumping right into it, Mathrock is a crazy genre that will leave you asking how did they
just do that after you listen to a song.
It somehow feels both messy and unbelievably organized.
This kind of music started taking shape in the late 1980s in the United States.
It's indie rock with direct influences from prog rock and post-hardcore stuff.
One arguably dismissive short phrase I've seen people use to explain Mathrock is that
it's like emo jazz.
Emo because what you're hearing can fit some of the aesthetics of emo rock.
There's at least a few electric guitars, drums, and occasionally a DIY lo-fi kind of feel.
And jazz because on paper, Mathrock is a lot closer to that than your average mainstream rock band.
It seems less structured and more improvisational.
This is where we get into the key characteristics of this genre.
Mathrock is ruled by unusual time signatures.
For those of you that don't know, a time signature is a musical notation that tells
you how many beats are in a measure and which note value is equivalent to a beat.
So the most common time signature is 4-4.
That means that there are 4 beats in a measure and a quarter note gets one beat.
1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.
That's the base of most pop songs ever, right there.
Mathrock uses much stranger and more complicated time [B] signatures like 11 [Gb]-8 or 13-8.
For example, if we were using something like 9-8, that means instead of 4 beats in a measure,
it's 9 beats in [F] a measure, and instead of quarter notes, we're using [Gb] eighth notes.
[G] Instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, it's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, [N] 6, 7, 8, 9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, and so on.
That's what gives Mathrock its name.
Trying to get everyone on the same page within those time signatures, switching them around
mid-song, playing different notes, whatever.
All those things combine for something very complicated, something that, in theory, requires
a lot of math.
Other main characteristics of the genre include the aforementioned abstract song structures.
Instead of something like verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge-chorus, it's usually nothing like that.
It's common that you won't hear the same section twice, and also there's a ton of
Mathrock that has no vocals whatsoever.
There's a lot of stopping and starting, harsh dissonant chords, and once in a while,
some distortion too.
With all these things in mind, let's listen to some examples.
For starters, I think it's better to check out stuff that is more Mathrock-adjacent,
stuff that purists might describe as not-real Mathrock.
_ Contemporarily, American Football combines Mathrock with Emo-rock to create something
appealing for a little bit more of a mainstream audience.
There are the complicated instrumentals, but now you actually have vocals and more of a
normal song structure.
Here's their song Never Meant, which is, in my opinion, the [Ebm] number one song to help
introduce someone to the [F] subgenre.
[C] _ _ I'm_ _
[F] Ne [C]-o-r-o [Fm]-c-k
And then, just to name a couple of classics, these are some of the must-know bands when
it comes to Mathrock.
Don Caballero is one of the most prominent of all these groups.
Their album What Burns Never Returns is my personal favorite.
Their drummer Damon Che is absolutely mind-blowing.
Here's a snippet from a song with an interesting title, [Em] In the absence of strong evidence to
the contrary, one may step out of the way of the charging bull. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Ebm] Terra Melos is another fascinating band of the genre.
Their untitled album is absolutely nuts.
They're pretty experimental, and the song Melody II is this [Ab] ever-changing combination
of hardcore, jazz, and electronic music.
[Bm] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [Em] _ _ [E] Other important bands include Polvo, Toe, Piglet, and there are so many more.
I found this flowchart on Reddit, I'll link it in the description, but I do think it kinda
throws you right into the deep end.
[Ebm] It might not be the best introduction, but [Ab] it's definitely a great [Gm] list of necessary
[E] genre-defining albums.
So that's my short little introduction.
I completely understand if you love or hate this stuff.
I think it's ridiculously impressive, but at the same time, it's not music that I
personally choose [Fm] to listen to all the time.
I have to be in a very [E] specific kind of [Ebm] mood.
If you're on the fence, give it a try.
It just might be your new favorite genre. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _
Hey, thanks for watching that video.
It's not often that I talk about an entire sub [Ebm]-genre, so let me know if you want me to
do that again.
[Am] Feel free to like and [Ebm] subscribe if you enjoyed it, that stuff really helps the channel.
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