Week 5 - How Songs Work

Welcome to Week 5! This week we will be talking about how songs work. I have a lot of cool videos for you to check out and a couple more songs!

This week we will be trying to understand a song from the inside out (Bridge, Chorus, Verse structure), song endings, intros and how to put it all together, two more basic songs plus previous songs review. 

               Understanding how songs are written

                              Simple Song A B – Two part Structure (AB structure) Irish songs follow this structure

Example: In this example the band has taken two simple songs "The Kesh Jig" and "Morrison's Jig" and played them back to back in one piece. This gives the entire arrangement more of an A B C D structure. But you get the idea. Here's a link to a TAB for this song in the key of G, which you should know most of the chords for this song now, if you need help with C let me know. The easy way is just barring the 10th fret. http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/session-guitar-tab/kesh_jig.htm

                              Verse Chorus Song – This is a song meant to be sung, very similar to the A B structure, but often with a little more development, so sometimes you have an A section that is slightly more complex than a simple AB song, and sometimes the Chorus will be more complex than a simple AB song. Here is an example from Joe Cocker. It only uses 2 chords, C and F, or you could play it with D (0) and G (5). If you want to play along the frets are (10) and (3) I believe. Incidentally, I had the honor of working with Dave Mason, the guy who wrote this song. He does a really good live version you can check out on youtube also. A lot of hymns follow this structure too. Amazing Grace that we've been working on uses this pattern.

                              Verse Chorus Bridge Song – Often employs relative minor in the bridge. This is a song that is slightly more developed. It has the typical verse and chorus, but there is a developed part often called the bridge or the tag because it's tagged onto the song. A lot of pop ballads from the 80's and 90's use this structure. Often they will change to different chords in the bridge, sometimes using the relative minor or the Bm chord that you've been learning in this tuning. Here's a song from Coldplay that uses this structure: Tab found here.

A B with A B Development Song – Classical pieces like “Ah Vous Dirai-Je Maman” use this structure. This is an example of taking a simple melody and then developing it (in this case 12 times) multiple times until you have a complex piece of music. Each time Mozart plays through he is playing the same melody just with more complexity each time.

Complex Song – Bohemian Rhapsody, Carry On My Wayward Son, examples of songs with complex structure. Some songs seem to have more than one bridge, or part and a lot of development. Here's Carry on my Wayward son by Kansas as an example.

Here's an interesting article I discovered also:

So along with "the Kesh Jig" above, here's another New Song for you to try:

Heart of Worship

Matt Redman

Verse 1
D                        A                            Em
  When the music fades, all is stripped away
                    A
And I simply come
D                       A           
  Longing just to bring something that’s
     Em
of worth
                               A
That will bless Your heart

Pre-Chorus
Em                    D/F#            A
     I’ll bring You more than a song
                          Em                D/F#    
For a song in itself   is not what You
            A
have required
Em                          D/F#         A
     You search much deeper within

Through the way things appear
Em                      D/F#        A
     You’re looking into my heart

Chorus
D                                 A/C#
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
            Em                        G           A
And it’s all about You, it’s all about You
   D
Jesus
D                                  A/C#
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
               Em                      G             A
When it’s all about You, it’s all about You
    D
Jesus

Verse 2
D                        A          
  King of endless worth no one
            Em
could express
                            A
How much You deserve
D                                 A                
  Though I’m weak and poor all I have
     Em
is Yours
                    A
Ev’ry single breath

(Repeat Pre-Chorus & Chorus)

 

Week 4 - Melody

All songs have one thing in common - they have a melody of some sort. If they don't then they're not really a song.

Here is a good documentary on Melody from Howard Goodall. I used to show this video when I was a music teacher at a Christian School in New York.

Last week we talked about Rhythm, and Howard Goodall has a cool video about this as well here:

And for some of you who want more info about sheet music, he has another documentary here:

Finally, here are a few new songs for you to study and learn:

The Death of Queen Jane - from the Movie Inside Llewlyn Davis
This was a cool old folk song from England from the movie "Inside Llewlyn Davis," based loosely on the life of folk-singer Dave Van Ronk. This song is about a C-Section gone bad! The video is posted below.

INTRO : 0 5 0 5

0                                         7
Queen Jane lay in labor full nine days or more
         0             0                 5  7      5
'Til her women grew so tired, they could no longer there
           0   7      0
They could no longer there

"Good women, good women, good women as you be
Will you open my right side 

And find my baby
And find my baby"

"Oh no," cried the women, "That's a thing that can never be
We will call on King Henry 

And hear what he may say
And hear what he may say"


King Henry was sent for, King Henry did come
Saying, "What does ail you, my lady?
Your eyes, they look so dim
Your eyes, they look so dim"

"King Henry, King Henry, will you do one thing for me?
Will you open my right side 

And find my baby
And find my baby"

"Oh no," cried King Henry, "That's a thing that I can never do
If I lose the flower of England,  

I shall lose the branch too
I shall lose the branch too

There was fiddling and dancing on the day the babe was born
But poor Queen Jane beloved, 

She lay cold as a stone
Lay cold as a stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KnlEuOqF0o

Bad Moon Rising - Credence Clearwater Revival
You all know it, you all love it, one of those wonderful summertime sing along songs from that make us all think of Vietnam war movies! :)

[0]I see A [7]bad [5]moon [0]rising
[0]I see [7]trouble[5]on the [0]way
[0]I see [7]earth[5]quakes and [0]lightning
[0]I see [7]bad [5]times [0]today

(chorus)
[5]Don't go around tonight
Its [0]bound to take your life
[7]There's a [5]bad moon on the [0]rise

I hear hurricanes A-blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers overflowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin

(chorus)

Hope you got your things together
Hope you are quite prepared to die
Looks like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye

(chorus)

(chorus)

Rhythm - Drumming Lesson

Here's a drumming lesson that might be helpful too.

Violin Techniques

So for the fiddle players in the class, here are a couple videos for rhythm techniques on the violin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_KiXziPfkg

Song 2 Week 3 - Cross Road Blues Robert Johnson

Song 2

Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson

Here's a lesson in rhythm if there ever was one! Robert Johnson was an amazing guitar player, playing both slide and without a slide, and he was able to create intricate rhythms on his guitar. Here's one that you can try.

CROSSROADS 

  0                              5       0
  I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
  5                                                  0
  I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
  7                               5                   0
  Ask the lord up above for mercy, take me if you please.


  I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
  I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
  Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.


  Well I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
  Well I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
  You can still barrel-house baby, on the riverside.


  You can run, you can run, tell my friend poor Willie Brown
  Run, you can run, tell my friend poor Willie Brown
  Well I'm standing at the crossroads, believe I'm sinking down.

Here's Eric Clapton talking about Robert Johnson, and doing another Johnson song, 

"Stones in my Pathway."

Here's Johnson doing Crossroad Blues:

And of course here is the version everyone knows by Cream:

 I hope at this point you're getting the idea that just about any song can be arranged 

many different ways. Play it the way you feel it, and enjoy!

Week III - Song 1 10,000 Reasons

Here are a couple new songs that we will be learning this week!

The first is a song we've done at church several times called "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman, I'm including a link to the video and the chord chart!

Here is the Chord Chart in D for your tuning:

10,000 REASONS

Matt Redman

Chorus

0               5                0

Bless the Lord O my soul

7        Bm

O my soul

0                    5       7

Worship His Holy name

7               5        Bm

Sing like never before

5      7      Bm

O     my    soul

       5                    7        0

I’ll worship Your Holy name

Verse 1

5                       0

The sun comes up

          7            Bm

It’s a new day dawning

0                  5              7      Bm

It’s time to sing Your song again

  0    5               0

Whatever may pass

         5                    Bm              (3 beats rest)

And whatever lies before me

 0

Let me be singing 

0                5   7       0

When the evening comes

Chorus

Verse 2

You’re rich in love

And You’re slow to anger

Your name is great and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness

I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons

For my heart to find

Chorus

Verse 3

And on that day

When my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years

And then forevermore