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Piano Man

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 Taso
(@taso)
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This is considered by many to be a masterpeice when it comes to song writing...

From what I remember a teacher saying, Billy goes to the relative minor of the key for the bridge...

So if I were in the key of E, (and I THINK I am, the chords are E, D, Dsus4, G, and A) the relative minor would be C right?

Assuming that's correct, how can I get to the relative minor without it sounding weird and out of place?

Hope that makes sense...

Thanks

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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(@alangreen)
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Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Hiya,

Close - the relative minor of E is C#m (4 sharps - C minor has 3 flats)

If you start by remembering that the chord of C#m exists in the key of E major then you're onto a good start. You can just pick up your song and put it down in the new key if you like, but normally you'd want to do some kind of cadence in the new key so that your audience know what's happening. A straight V-I sequence will do, although most modern music uses a II-V-I cadence, which in C#m would be D#dim-G#-C#m

Hope this helps.

Best,

A :-)

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
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Joined: 20 years ago
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I always did love that song....but if someone (and no I'm not volunteering!!!) did a version for "easy songs" wouldn't it have to be re-titled "Guitar Man?"

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

Oh yeah - if you're talking about the section where BJ sings la-la-la-la-la-la, a simple E/D#/C#m should do the trick....

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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 Taso
(@taso)
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Topic starter  

Thanks for the responses,

Can you clarify what "cadence' means?

And lets say the progression goes: E, D, G, A...What's the best way to go to C#m? (I think the answer to that might come with the explanation of 'cadence" )

Thanks again!

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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(@davidhodge)
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Joined: 16 years ago
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A cadence is simly a two - chord progression, usually involving some sort of harmonic resolution. Going from V to I (G to C in the key of C), for instance, is called a perfect candence. IV to I is called a plagal cadence.

I think I wrote an article about it some years back... :wink:
Peace


   
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 Taso
(@taso)
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Ok, thanks, and just to clarify, is my progression in the key of E?

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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(@davidhodge)
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Ok, thanks, and just to clarify, is my progression in the key of E?

It is.

For whatever it's worth, I'd like to add that I learned this in C and it's not all that hard. Instead of looking at it as different chord changes each time, look instead at the descending bass line that runs through the whole son. It's just as easy to think of the slash chords, meaning that the main chord stays the same while the bass note moves. In C, it's like this:

C C/B Am Am/G F C/E D G
It's five o'clock on a Saturday the regular crowd shuffles in...

And in E:

E E/D# C#m C#m/B A E/G# F# B
It's five o'clock on a Saturday the regular crowd shuffles in...

You already know it's a waltz - each chord change lasts for three beats.

In the bridge, things in C do switch to Am (the relative minor), and the progression (if I remember correctly) each chord getting three beats again, is;

Am Am/G D7/F# F

Am Am/G D7/F# D7/F#

G F Am/E G7/D

Transposed to E, you get

C#m C#m/B F#7/A# A

C#m C#m/B F#7/A# F#7/A#

B A C#m/G# B7/F#

Man, I hope I remembered that correctly. Anyway, the thing is, in this particular song, to let the bass line guide you through the chord changes

Hope this helps.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Peace


   
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 Taso
(@taso)
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Topic starter  

You know what man, I totally misled you with the subject of my post...I should have clarified this earlier, not sure how I didn't see this coming.

I'm not trying to learn Piano Man in the key of E... The E D G A back to E, etc, was my own chord progression, and for the bridge I want to go to the relative minor. I was just citing Piano Man as an example of a song where that is done.

Sorry for the confusion :roll:

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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