Home › Forums › Music Theory › Analyzing EP 222 – My discoveries
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September 17, 2017 at 8:14 am #80474
I am always struck by what a great ear Brian has for licks. The ones he comes up with just seem so melodic and suitable for the progression. I went through EP 222 bar by bar and this is what I discovered.
The piece is in A major and utilizes the I, ii,IV, V and vi in the progression.
It is remarkable in how many bars the lead will start and end on the root of the chord (or occasionally another chord tone, ie. 5th). Often the root note anticipates the chord change and carries over on beat 1.
The only place Brian strays from the major pentatonic and uses a 4th is during a Bm chord when the 4th is one of the chord tones.
In the 9th & 20th bars, where a dramatic F#m chord appears, Brian starts and ends on an F# note. Likewise in bar 10 on an E chord, Brian slides into an E note.My point is that even while sticking to the major pentatonic, Brian, consciously or by ear, targets the chord tones within a lick and why the licks sound so appropriate. I think this is ultimately what we need to strive for as guitar players.
John -
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September 17, 2017 at 8:46 am #80476
My point is that even while sticking to the major pentatonic, Brian, consciously, or by ear, targets the chord tones within a lick and why the licks sound so appropriate. I think this is ultimately what we need to strive for as guitar players.
John,
You are exactly right my friend.
Gene
Gene
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September 17, 2017 at 9:25 am #80477
I like analyzing too so was just went over to this lesson.. first thing i wanted to do was confirm the chord progression..Starts key of A major ,, I start from the ist position and play the diatonic chord progression both vertical and horizonal off the A major do re me fa so lah dee AM (1) Bm(2) F#m (6) EM (5) DM (4) 12654 …. 1-4-5 M-major 2-3-6 m-minor jazz musicians do this and recall Brian explaining this in his Jerry Garcia too.
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September 17, 2017 at 9:46 am #80478
Well I never would’ve recognized all the targeting of chord tones unless you pointed it out, John. Maybe that explains the sophisticated sound of the melody and how it just seems to blend so well with the chords. In any case, this is another one of those “Brian’s instant classics.” His talent for constructing melody is amazing. I’m saving this lesson for a day when I have several hours to work on it. Kind of like saving an expensive Scotch until you have time to really enjoy it.
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September 17, 2017 at 10:17 am #80481
It sure gets easier when recognized.. EP222 is in the key of A ..so play the tonic/root (A chord any position,, just play diatonic major scale in key of A from one to sixth no need to play 7 note as this is a diminished (locrian)be just use the six scale notes chord progression in Key of A is same thing.. from here you start to understand relate to the greek modal terms,, i have a small marker board i wrote to memorize them lol.. not that it really is needed but gets you to second base as a beginner
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September 17, 2017 at 10:44 am #80482
So in terms of progression it wasn’t mentioned but glad you made note ,,it is a 1265 or would it 1212654 progression? looks like someone’s phone # i guess? Hey yeah how would this progression be conveyed number wise jamming out
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September 17, 2017 at 3:57 pm #80490
I thought when I listened to this that it brought to mind the song Lovely Lisa EP174. Idont know if it as similar structural features or not just a feeling/observation about it. JohnStrat
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September 17, 2017 at 4:07 pm #80491
Hey John, you guys are talking over my head! 🙂 When writing these I just listen and try to pull from licks that I know. I honestly don’t consciously target the chord tones, so I would say that’s just my ear knowing where to land. My “bag of tricks” isn’t super extensive, so the melodies that I play are usually simplistic in nature. At least they sound simple to me when I listen back to them. I’ve worked really hard at creating the illusion of a simple melody that’s improvised though. I can’t tell you how many countless hours I’ve spent listening to records and just trying to create something meaningful to go along with the song. It has to be something that the human voice can sing (well for the most part)… which is why I’ve always stayed away from shredding on the guitar.
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September 17, 2017 at 6:47 pm #80496
Brian,
Hats off to your ear, man. I think it guides you impeccably.
John
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September 17, 2017 at 4:47 pm #80492
Thanks to John’s post I gave a listen to EP222 (been too busy lately for AM due to other issues) and glad I checked it out.
It’s a beautiful piece, definitely another “Brian classic” that I’m gonna try to jump on right away, because we’re off to the Maritimes without a guitar for a week or so.
As for the theory, I find it’s helpful (and safe) to know the chord tones of each passing chord, but in the end I fall back on familiar pathways and things that just sound good to my ears.
Still, I’ll give John’s analysis a good think through, and then try to knock off a quick recording before departure for Down East.
Great tune Brian, and beautiful TONE. Can I ask what gear & settings you’re using?
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September 17, 2017 at 7:41 pm #80499
Progression is 1 2 (four times), 6 5 4 4. Notice that it’s twelve bars. Though it doesn’t have a classic 12 bar blues progression, it still has the melodic form of a blues. Another thing that’s cool, and holds it together, is that every time it comes to the B minor, the phrase is a dotted quarter note hold of a B, followed by an eighth note A. Other thing to mention is that there is no perfect cadence here. It moves through the five chord to go from 6 to 4, but not to go back to one. Instead, the return to the one chord is from the four chord. This is something that R&B has tended to borrow from church music – its called a plagal cadence, and it has a softer feel than a full cadence. (Church because its what you usually hear in the “Amen” at the close of a hymn.)
Yeah, this lesson is very appealing, and it reminds me in a lot of ways of Lovely Lisa. The opening phrase, for example, is really similar. But as Brian says, this is a lick he tends to use a lot. I think it appears in almost somewhere in almost every one of his slow country lessons.
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September 17, 2017 at 8:00 pm #80500
Thanks, Duffy. Great observations.
John
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September 17, 2017 at 8:29 pm #80501
Duffy,
Speaking of Lovely Lisa, the chords are similar, ie. A, Bm, D but then suddenly this beautiful out of key F major appears. Is there any theoretical explanation or just a chord that sounds good?
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September 17, 2017 at 8:58 pm #80502
John, I think the descending progression that starts at bar 9 is F# minor (6 of A) to E (5 of A) to D (4 of A) and hangs on D (4). Like Duffy said, 6 – 5 -4.Then resolves back to root A and starts over.
So all the chords come from A scale and that means you can A major scale all thru it, and landing on the roots or chord tones of each chord reinforces and clarifies for the listeners where you are.
So the notes are straightforward – with bends and doubles stops for flavour. But it’s the timing and phrasing and nuance that make it sing.
I’ve just spent an hour learning the notes. Now I’ll spend a day working on timing and phrasing. So Tuesday is R-day . for Recording this beautiful piece of music.
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September 17, 2017 at 9:21 pm #80503
Roger,
I was now comparing the chord progression in Lovely Lisa, A-Bm-D and then F major, which is out of key but sounds great.
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September 17, 2017 at 9:27 pm #80504
In Lovely Lisa, the move to F is called a modal interchange, or a borrowed chord. Basically, we can look at A and A minor as parallel, and thus interchangeable. In A, the scale includes an F#, but if we move to the parallel minor, the chord is F. It works smoothly because they have A as the common tone.
All of that is another way of saying it sounds good. But one guide for knowing that a borrowed chord will sound good is by looking at the related keys: For A you have the F# relative minor, the a parallel minor, and the F# major (which is parallel to the relative minor). You can move to any chord in any of those scales that shares a common tone with the chord you are moving from. It will almost always sound cool.
Another example is the move to G from E in the JJ Cale lesson, or in After Midnight. E minor is parallel minor to E major. The G chord appears in the Key of e minor, and it shares the B with the E major chord.
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September 18, 2017 at 8:38 am #80522
Duffy you be right,, when you mentioned relative minor..wiki ! In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures. … The tonic of the relative minor is the sixth scale degree of the major scale, while the tonic of the relative major is the third degree of the minor scale. The relative relationship may be visualized through the circle of fifths.
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September 17, 2017 at 9:34 pm #80505
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September 17, 2017 at 9:36 pm #80506
Duffy thanks, I was close but wasn’t sure .. this may help others learn a bit what i was referring too.. btw very fun lesson and great for practicing improvisations
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September 17, 2017 at 9:36 pm #80507
OK, John, I see now. In Lovely Lisa Brian jumps to F major. You’re right, it doesn’t come from the A scale, but it sure works.
Reminds me how the Beatles used to throw in chords that didn’t “fit”, probably because they didn’t know theory so they used whatever sounded right at at the time. And it sure worked for them.
In 222 the descending progression F# minor – E – D – D “fits” the theory but is also very very beautiful.
I’ve been playing this song all evening, and the chords just invite smooth R&B improvising. (Even found a very cool tone in Garageband that my wife says is perfect.)In the teaching business they say the most effective type of learning is “teaching others”. Well, Brian was clearly an accomplished picker before AM, but after composing and teaching over 200 lessons, he’s sure catapulted his playing and especially COMPOSING way up to another league.
Congratulations on this one Brian.
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September 17, 2017 at 9:48 pm #80509
Duffy,
That’s excellent information. I checked the JJ Cale lesson to see the similarity. Thanks for posting.
John -
September 17, 2017 at 10:53 pm #80512
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September 18, 2017 at 8:15 am #80519
my point was you can pick any Key and play the modal chord progression (123456,, or any progression you like a major 145 twelve bar blues.. 236 minor and like ep222 or something i just made up practicing and exploring around with the ep222 chord progression lesson..Most notes that build the chords are the same notes that are used solo.. the structure of the chord, so if you play up the neck diatonic modal progression , you’ll theorize both major and minor in the chord progression,, hence mixing major and minor scales ..of coarse there is exceptions and embellishments /extensions/etc. but it is cool to recognize ..keep it simple and eventually it all pulls together.
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September 18, 2017 at 8:35 am #80521
I wish I was able to understand what you guys are writing about.
..Billy..
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September 18, 2017 at 8:44 am #80523
I wish I was able to understand what you guys are writing about.
Me too Billy! me too! lol..welp! morning coffee done! I get to get hiking! maybe some golf ..i need to get out enjoy summertime weather!
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September 18, 2017 at 10:23 am #80525
I wish I was able to understand what you guys are writing about.
Me too Billy! me too! lol..welp! morning coffee done! I get to get hiking! maybe some golf ..i need to get out enjoy summertime weather!
The Autumn Leaves are starting to fall here John, We get poor summers now since they invented global warming.
..Billy..
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September 18, 2017 at 2:27 pm #80531
My brain is full after reading this, and I’m a PhD….
Sunjamr Steve
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September 18, 2017 at 3:03 pm #80537
I’m not a PhD and my brain is full……
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September 18, 2017 at 3:31 pm #80539
Best thing is to just work thru the lesson with Brian. The man has a genius for explaining and demonstrating what can be complex stuff (see above) in very simple language. I’ve spent a couple hours working thru the lesson and it’s so clear in my head how to get on top of this solo, mixing maj and minor pents (using the same familiar patterns) and then to improvise forever with these riffs.
The hard part right now is getting up to speed on some of these riffs, especially that minor pent run 4 bars from the end.
But working thru the lesson, one riff at a time, and listening to him explain what he’s doing and why it works, well, that’s all anyone needs to know.
This, for me, is the Eureka lesson – everything from Day One at AM came into focus. If I could only have one AM lesson, this is it.
Now, more practice.
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