Re-read the previous thread, "The Circle of Fifths". It'll help, I think!
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
The old hit Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, the bass player played the same note and rhythm throughout the song. That one note is what really made the song work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjX2MKaZ-rg
The keyboard player on Listen to the Music by the Doobie Brothers played one long constant note for the entire song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjgfsqEUZFQ&feature=related
And I love On the Road Again by ol' Canned Heat. The sitar plays one note throughout the entire song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRyBhKi3kA&feature=related
It works! :D
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
The Beat Goes On - Sonny and Cher is one chord/ whole song .
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
Anybody remember Harry Nilsson? "Coconut" was a top 10 hit with one chord...
You mean he had another hit on top of "Without You"?
Everybody's Talkin'?
--
Helgi Briem
hbriem AT gmail DOT com
The old hit Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, the bass player played the same note and rhythm throughout the song. That one note is what really made the song work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjX2MKaZ-rg
Well, I''ll be! That's pretty creative, simple and elegant.
And I love On the Road Again by ol' Canned Heat. The sitar plays one note throughout the entire song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRyBhKi3kA&feature=related
It works! :D
Yep, the drone. Integral part of Indian Classical music.
Within You, Without You.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Aerosmith used a drone played on a hurdy-gurdy all the way through "Back Back Train" on their "Honkin' On Bobo" album.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I think that "Choctaw Bingo" by James McMurtry might be one chord- or at least mosly one chord. I had been trying to work this one out but might have become confused by the sheer simplicity. I was looking at some You Tube videos of this and he doesn't move his fingers very much, I can tell you. However, that particular song, if you arn't familiar with it, is all about the lyrics, so it kind of makes sense to keep the chord progression simple.
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
Aren't "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" basically one chord (or does the latter use two)? Doesn't Indian music work out of a single chord? McCartney's "Helen Wheels" is a one chorder too.
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
From my very limited understanding of Indian music, the piece is played as one-note melodies on the top few strings of a sitar. The "background" sounds are provided by a good number of sympathetic strings. The sitarist doesn't form chords as we know them on a guitar. Because of the length of the neck of a sitar, and several strings to play the melody on, it takes some skill. Btw, a plec is worn on the right index finger, the thumb is anchored on the top of the body at the base of the neck, and the strings are plucked upwards by the index finger. Maybe in my next life I'll become a sitarist. Always wanted to learn.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
it's cool that there are so many one chord songs. 'joy' by lucinda williams is one off the top of my head.
however, i was trying to point out that it's a way for someone at any skill level to have fun and create by coming up with new rhythms and grooves just based on one or two chords. a way to work on strumming/ picking/ right hand technique. because that's really what rhythm guitar breaks down to so often. a repeating left hand chord progression, held down by the strength of the rhythm. you can make the same progression sound totally different, different flavors, different moods.
this isn't to say that theory isn't important. although he utilized all sorts of musical tools, bach could write pieces of just quarter notes that are powerful 500 years later based on the strength of the melodic and harmonic progressions.
I think Keith Urban had a hidden track on one of his Cd's called "One Chord Song"
It all a G chord, he even makes mention in the lyrics
"Yeah there ain't too much that I can do with the melody
'cuz I'm stuck within the confines of this single key
of "G"
"Yeah, now here's the same thing that you heard 8 bars before
And if you're just like me I'm sure that you are bored
With this chord"
"Now I can make it sound like there's another chord
But you'd be fooled because there is only one"
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
Nilsson also did "Remember" and "Cuddly Toy"
Everybody's Talking is by Fred Neil, but wouldn't be anywhere without Nilsson's uptempo cover
"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" was top 40
"Without You" was written by Badfinger
I had someone who plays Asian music (Indian included) tell me that their song structure is unlike ours. They do not harmonize with chords, but instead, stack different scales on top of one another. Switching from one scale to another and another and another has a similar effect to changing chords in Western music. He had a specific name for the scales, but sorry, I've forgotten it.
I've played one chord songs (including Sly Stone stuff) and for the first 50 or so times they are a lot of fun, but I play music for a living, after so many plays (depending on the song) I simply get bored with it.
But often, when you get bored with a song, you can simply not play it for a few months, then when you bring it back out, your interest is re-kindled in the song. It becomes like an old, familiar friend you haven't seen in a while.
And also I think it has to do with how much experience you have. Many songs that really turned me on when I was young, don't do that for me anymore, while others still do. I've also gotten to the point where music I didn't understand when I was young (Prokofiev symphonies) really appeal to me now. It's a lifelong journey for my ears.
So if you like the one-chord song, don't feel badly or inferior, enjoy it. Then if you get to the point where you want something else, accept that. If any kind of music at all finds an enthusiastic ear, it is good music to that listener, even if it has no chords.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton
Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Add-on Styles for Band-in-a-Box and Microsoft SongSmith
The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<
Kinda off subject, but Neil Young's Cinnimon Girl has a one note guitar solo. I've always thought that was pretty ballsie.
" Thoughts that pay homage to frustration will attract frustration. When you say or think theres nothing I can do,my life has spun out of control,and I'm trapped,thats what you will attract ".
It is a trick no doubt. Most people have trouble keeping 3 interesting.
