10.6M views · Nov 12, 2018 · 10:50 · 5 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2021–2025
Vox Earworm explains why John Coltrane's Giant Steps is so hard to improvise over: it is fast and moves through three keys. Musicians Braxton Cook and Adam Neely walk the host through the underlying music theory.
Why Hacker News points people here: Recommended as a well-produced, accessible explanation of Giant Steps and the harmonic ideas behind Coltrane's work.
“I highly recommend this Vox explainer on John Coltrane's”HN comment, 2023
“I highly recommend this Vox explainer on John Coltrane's”
Explains the math behind Coltrane's Giant Steps
I highly recommend this Vox explainer on John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", for anyone interested in learning about the math behind one of Jazz' greatest innovations. this video
Part of a personal list of channels
I keep a Google Document of these to share just in case people ask about my YouTube interests. I Actually Watched All of Them I have actually watched ALL of the videos on these channels and I don’t even feel bad about it :-) I actually like new videos from some of the ones below (like NativLang, for example) but they maybe don’t hold up in the early videos. - Space Time: PBS Physics, sooo good -- link -- Great first video: link - Lindsay Ellis: Really, really intelligent video essays about film and culture -- link -- Great First Video: link - Periodic Videos: Chemistry, including a video for every element -- link -- Great first video (obviously): link Other Math and Science - 3Blue1Brown: Amazing math visualizations -- link -- Great first video, how e^pi*i works: link - NumberPhile: Fun math videos -- link -- Great first video: link - PBS Eons: Biology! -- link -- Great first video: link - PBS Infinite Series: Math math math, really really hard math -- link -- Great first video: link - SciShow: Science! More poppy but fun -- link -- Silly first show: link -- Actual physics: link - VSauce: Science-y? -- link -- Great first video: link - Practical Engineering: -- link -- Great first video: link Other Humanities - Alliterative: Connections via language -- link -- Great first video about gin and gimlets: link - Bon Appetit: Such fun food stuff! -- Gourmet Makes: link -- It’s Alive: link - Masaman: Genetics and human migration (and
“watch this explainer on Coltrane's Giant Steps.”
Accessible explanation of Giant Steps
If you're looking for a comprehensible to mortals explanation of the genius that can be found in Jazz, watch this explainer on Coltrane's Giant Steps. this video
“this short YouTube video touches on some of the same ideas in a much more condensed and accessible version”
Condensed, accessible version of the tone circle ideas
If you don’t have the time (or the musical background) for the full article, this short YouTube video touches on some of the same ideas in a much more condensed and accessible version: this video
“I found a well produced video by Vox on the subject”
Well produced video with sound on the subject
Nice site but we're at the point in "Show an In Depth Thing on Hacker News" where circles like these need to be presented with a live GUI that includes sound and colors as you spin the circles around to play different chords. towards my craving for instant gratification with sound and lights I found a well produced video by Vox on the subject: this video
