Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Episode: Rick Beato (February 26, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this engrossing episode of Tetragrammaton, host Rick Rubin sits down with musician, producer, educator, and YouTube phenomenon Rick Beato. Their conversation delves deep into the worlds of music education, production, creativity, streaming, musical history, technology, and YouTube itself. From the science behind perfect pitch to the transition from physical albums to streaming, the two Ricks share a passionate and nuanced perspective on what music means in today’s world and how it’s created, consumed, and taught.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Rick Beato’s Background & The Origin of His YouTube Channel

• Musical Journey: Started as a band member until 1999, transitioned to full-time record production, then began his YouTube channel in 2016 ([00:23]).
• The Viral “Perfect Pitch” Video: First breakthrough came via a video with his son Dylan, who has perfect pitch ([00:49]).
  • Rick explains teaching Dylan about chords from an early age, combined with exposure to high-information music (Bach, advanced classical) even in the womb and early infancy ([01:30]).
  • Dylan demonstrated an uncanny ability, identifying complex chords and individual notes instantly ([01:22], [09:29]).

“I played multiple chords at the same time — up to four chords, and Dylan could name them all instantly, even if I played them… 12 note chord.”
— Rick Beato [00:49]

• Nature vs. Nurture: Beato theorizes all babies can develop perfect pitch if exposed to rich, varied music in the first 9 months ([03:21]).

Creativity, Ear Training, and Teaching Philosophy

• Rick discusses his experience as a college music professor and the unique challenges in teaching jazz and improvisation ([10:55]).
  • Jazz as language: “It’s extremely difficult to teach jazz because it’s like, how do you teach someone how to speak a language?” ([11:01])
  • Students often struggle with improvisation and melodic phrasing beyond playing scales/arpeggios.
  • Motivation and learning by ear are essential.

“Very few of my students were able to actually learn to improvise well. And I’d hate to think that it’s on me as a teacher... But I learned jazz because my dad listened to jazz records…”
— Rick Beato [12:58]

• Beato’s history: Grew up in a musical family, constantly surrounded by jazz/classical/rock, and learned music mainly by ear before studying theory ([56:05], [58:00]).

The Evolution of Music Consumption & Streaming

• Access to music has radically shifted from the scarcity of physical albums to the limitless availability of streaming ([27:13]–[34:19]).
  • A sense of ownership, effort, and value is lost with streaming.
  • Album art, credits, and intentional sequencing have become devalued ([29:01]).
  • It's difficult to trace the people behind the albums — producers, engineers, musicians ([30:50]).

“Music is too available. It’s too easy to obtain.”
— Rick Beato [28:51]

“The scarcity element has been taken away. And the scarcity element made it desirable. You wanted to get it.”
— Rick Rubin [28:51]

• Streaming encourages breadth over depth; listeners (including Rick Rubin) move on from new albums more quickly ([33:34]).
• Both see pros and cons: more discoveries and rabbit holes, less immersive repeat listening ([34:01]).

Production, Taste, and the Role of the Producer

• Rick Rubin and Rick Beato explore what makes a producer valuable. Both agree: Taste is paramount ([43:17]).

  • Rubin: “In my world, the producer is a non-technical function.”
  • Beato: “That to me is literally the job of the producer.”

• Technical knowledge is useful, but being able to recognize a good performance, vibe, or arrangement is the ‘secret sauce’ ([43:38]–[45:40]).

• Reflection on classic producers (George Martin, Daniel Lanois, Brendan O’Brien) and their unique approaches, but all are ultimately about curating taste ([44:45]).

YouTube: Building an Educational Channel in the Age of Algorithms

• Early years: Focused on advanced music theory, jazz, and classical breakdowns, and sharing deep knowledge not present elsewhere ([24:11], [63:01]).
• Shift to “What Makes This Song Great?” series, leveraging rare multitrack stems to dissect pop/rock classics ([64:54]).
  • Serendipity: Beato acquired a massive library of multitracks through a barter with another engineer ([65:59]).
• Growth of the channel led to widespread recognition and connections with world-class musicians (Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai, etc.) ([24:11]).

Adapting to Attention Spans & the Algorithm

• Beato reflects on YouTube analytics and the evolution of content toward shorter attention spans. Most shorts need to be under 35 seconds to hold attention ([61:17]).
• Thumbnails, titles, and the psychology of virality discussed in depth ([79:06]–[86:09]).
  • Beato routinely A/B tests changes to headlines/thumbnails, which can have massive impacts on viewership ([79:09]).
  • All videos have their own separate ‘algorithm’ — changing presentation can instantly revive interest ([84:06]).
• He makes content for himself rather than chasing trends, which has served him well ([87:11]).

Modern Challenges: Technology, AI, and Music’s Future

• Artificial Intelligence: Beato employs AI tools for audio isolation/separation and sees immense potential for AI in mixing and sound modeling ([124:41], [125:34], [126:34]).
  • AI can already separate vocals from instruments in basic recordings ([124:49]).
  • Envisions a future where AI can instantly transform drum/guitar sounds to match legendary records or specific producers’ aesthetics ([126:34]–[127:59]).
• Concern and curiosity about the cultural impact of AI-generated music ([88:43]–[89:33]).

“In the future, it’s going to be the Beatles and the Beatles AI… If they say, I like AI AC/DC, then I’m gonna… really.”
— Rick Beato [89:33]

The Changing Landscape of Shared Experience & Musical Discovery

• Loss of communal discovery due to streaming algorithms; fewer “shared songs” unite generations as in the MTV/radio era ([108:57]).
• TikTok, not radio, is now the main promotional tool for music, leading to hits based more on viral videos than musical depth ([109:45]).
• Beato and Rubin lament how little was known about artists in earlier eras — the mystery fueled the magic ([111:47]).

Personal Philosophies on Learning, Expertise, and Intuition

• Beato stresses that mastering theory does not replace playing by intuition — the best musicians rely on feel ([136:16]).
  • Quote: “The best musicians play instinctually… Even if they know everything they’re playing, it’s still always based on how they’re feeling at the time.” ([136:16])
• Rick Rubin adds: “Thought is the enemy of flow.” (referencing Vinnie Colaiuta, [137:09])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Perfect Pitch

“Every note sounds completely different.”
— Dylan (Rick Beato’s son, via Rick Beato) [03:08]

On the Purpose of the Producer

“People come to you for your taste.”
— Rick Beato [43:23]

“In my world, the producer is a non-technical function.”
— Rick Rubin [43:34]

On Streaming & Music Value

“The scarcity element made it desirable. You wanted to get it.”
— Rick Rubin [28:51]

On Content Creation

“I don’t make videos for views. I make videos for me.”
— Rick Beato [85:11]

On AI and the Future

“It’s going to be the Beatles and the Beatles AI... and Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin AI.”
— Rick Beato [89:33]

Noteworthy Segments and Timestamps

• Beato's Viral Perfect Pitch Video and Child Prodigy Story: [00:49] – [03:21]
• Jazz Education & “Virtuoso” Joe Pass Story: [11:01] – [20:23]
• Reflection on Streaming’s Impact: [27:13] – [34:23]
• Producer Philosophy, Taste, and Storytelling: [43:17] – [45:27]
• YouTube Growth, Algorithm Strategies, and Multitrack Stories: [61:17] – [87:11]
• AI in Music Production: [124:41] – [130:20]
• Musical Family Upbringing, Inspirations & Early Memories: [55:03] – [58:00]; [99:22] – [100:56]
• Changing Technology and AI's Impending Role: [124:41] – [130:20]
• Flow State and Intuition in Performance: [136:00] – [138:23]

Additional Highlights

Musical Tastes and Recommendations

• Classic influences: Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Miles, Coltrane, Queen, Tom Petty, Nirvana, and a deep love for classical (Bach, Beethoven, Prokofiev, etc.) ([99:22], [100:07]).
• Loves learning about “lineage” and tracing influence in music — “the artists you liked were a trusted source” ([35:39]).

Analysis of Modern Music Culture

• Contrasts “lowest common denominator” hits on TikTok/Spotify with the possibility for meaningful, original music to still be championed — suggests the need for a new A&R-like curation ([77:36]).
• Data analytics play a huge, immediate role in what content creators and musicians do today ([79:06], [83:04]).

The Importance of Documenting Musical History

“First person accounts… I think in the future will be, when the history of music is written, it’s historical documentation of how the things that we love were made.”
— Rick Beato & Rick Rubin [47:08]

Conclusion

This episode is both a rich biography of Rick Beato’s evolution from band member to educator, producer, and YouTube powerhouse, and a searching conversation about the past, present, and future of music. Beato and Rubin share a profound respect for musical craftsmanship, emotional sincerity, and creative taste—qualities sometimes lost in today’s flood of content and technology. Yet, both remain open, curious, and optimistic about how future generations will continue to reinvent the magic of music.

For listeners who are passionate about music’s creative, technological, and educational frontiers—this episode is essential.