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Whats the deal with this?? (for you theorists)

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(@michhill8)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 420
Topic starter  

wow, thanks for all the replies. Although I know there is more theory behind this, I think Wes answered what was to be my next question, dealing with the solo in E. I think ending with that E gives a feeling to it where soloing in E would sound right. But, I know noteboat knows his stuff and I have a feeling the true key of this song must be C if he says so (and the explanation makes sense), so I must assume that my powertab file is wrong when it says the key is E when it should, in fact, be in the key of C.

Thanks Dudes!
Keep on Rockin'

Pat


   
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(@clazon)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 502
 

I think we're underestimating the Blues background of Jimi.

I think for various reasons like the solo and melody people gave it the benefit of the doubt and labelled it as being in E as this is commonly a Blues thing.

This all highlights an important thing though (well a couple) music theory can justify anything really if you delve deep enough and are willing to make some tenuous (and not so tenuous) links at times. And the second point, sometimes you can just ignore music theory and go with what feels right and it will sound just as good without being theoretically justified.

"Today is what it means to be young..."

(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)


   
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(@noteboat)
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Joined: 21 years ago
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Well, for notation I'd put it in C... but that doesn't mean E minor pentatonic won't work fine as a solo.

Em pent notes: E-G-A-B-D-E

Every one is in C major... and G major... and D major!

I don't think it's originally a blues tune though - even though it has a blues form. I think it was originally a folk tune.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@clazon)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 502
 

I don't think it's originally a blues tune though - even though it has a blues form. I think it was originally a folk tune.

"Each to his own", eh?

:D

"Today is what it means to be young..."

(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)


   
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(@mhlandry)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 37
 

I don't think it's originally a blues tune though - even though it has a blues form. I think it was originally a folk tune.

The lyrics are from an old folk song... I'm not sure about the melody.


   
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(@improvgtrplyr)
Estimable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 87
 

in most cases a song starts and ends with the root.

it's been a while since i've played it but it does start on E and the chord progression does end in E

i bet most musicians would agree...try going to a open mic night and tell the musicians to play "hey joe" in the key of C.


   
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(@fretsource)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 973
 

Hi all. As a newcomer, I must say I'm impressed by the intelligent and thoughtful questions and answers I've found on this forum.
It's my first real post so I thought I'd dive in at the deep end and offer some comments on Michill's interesting question regarding the key of Hey Joe.

I like Kingpatzer's comment that it's a 'key of the moment' thing - If I can put it another way, no key can be assigned to the whole song because as soon as any key begins to emerge, it is contradicted almost immediately by chords that suggest other keys, leaving no firm impression of any particular key at all.

And I think, that's the main point. What really determines the key of a piece of music (if it has one) is its 'tonal centre', i.e the note (with its chord) that relates to all the other notes in such a way that it imparts a distinct feeling of stability and repose, such as the last note of 'Happy birthday' to quote a universally known example. The strong feeling of having arrived 'home' that accompanies that note is the true indication of its key, regardless of how anyone has chosen to notate it.

But not all music is as strongly 'tonal' as Happy Birthday (thankfully) and Hey Joe is a good example. It has no definite tonal centre and therefore no true key. But if it has to be published in standard notation, (a system that evolved to accommodate tonal music) a key signature has to be chosen. There's no way round it. Even omitting the key signature on the grounds that this music has no key, would still imply a key signature of no sharps or flats.

I guess E major has been chosen as the nominal key for the reasons given by Wes, but NoteBoat's choice of C and the reasoning behind it would be equally valid.


   
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(@michhill8)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 420
Topic starter  

wow, this really was an interesting topic :shock:

Thanks Dudes!
Keep on Rockin'

Pat


   
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