The Music Theory Song

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Dec 22 - 05:13 AM

The text on Jack's link has "Original parody lyrics by David Rakowski. Additional lyrics and vocal performance by Dave Swenson."

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Thanks. I added that to the lyrics post. -Joe-

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 27 Dec 22 - 05:09 AM

Where are the plagal and authentic modal structures? (Safely tucked away with the headache pills!) Musicians are worse than computer programmers for making the simple sound obscure. There is an old saying if you do not understand a term in a paragraph of anything technical, ignore it. The piece will make perfect sense without it. (Ambrose Bierce?)

Subject: ADD: The Music Theory Song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Dec 22 - 02:20 AM

THE MUSIC THEORY SONG
(Original parody lyrics by David Rakowski. Additional lyrics and vocal performance by Dave Swenson.)

Octave moving to the mediant,
Major 6th stepping down to do,
Major seconds being sung by a choir,
Chromatic alterations of the scale,
Diatonic scale, descending scale to minor third,
Major 6th, ii V-7 of IV,
Major seconds with their ears open wide, will hear a pretty tritone tonight.
        
There's minor sevenths in the bridge,
There's also lots of minor seconds in the bridge,
And every minor 6th is gonna try
to hear the supertonic over V of V.
        
A motif used to build this simple phrase
Major 6th, five walks down to one,
Although this phrase rises to a high leading tone,
Drop a perfect fifth,
Meet the Flintstones,
Sing a perfect fourth two one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF074CL5vjI


Melody "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), by Robert Wells and Mel Torme

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 23 Dec 12 - 07:04 AM

That's what you get on a folk music site;-)   The trick is the same on piano, though, you just need to move the Seventh step in the Dm7 down a half step and you're playing a G7.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 22 Dec 12 - 02:25 PM

For a dissimilar take on deconstructing a song, give a listen to Finest Kind's "John Barleycorn"

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 22 Dec 12 - 08:53 AM

Sorry Stim, I was referring to playing it on piano, not guitar! And I'm not very familiar with playing jazz.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 06:52 PM

I'm confused, Tattie Bogle--the chords are very good, which is pretty unusually for an online jazz chart. If there seem to be way to many chords, it's easier if you recognize that a lot of the song is just the ii/V7 progression, which is basic jazz progression, only repeated in a number of keys(Dm7-G7,Gm7-C7, F#m7-B7, etc).

If you can play

Gm7-

3-x-3-3-3-x

C7-

3-x-2-3-3-x-

you can play all the different chords by moving up and down the neck. F#m7/B7 is on the 2nd fret,Dm7/G7 is on the Ninth, etc.

After that, just walk through the chord progression a few times without playing it in rhythm. Just brush the chord once and give yourself what ever time you need to get the next one. After you do that a few times, it will start to fall together.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 04:24 PM

Sent the link round a few friends with whom we've been struggling to play the original Mel Torme "Chestnuts" in basic key of G: bl@@dy awful chords, but great parody! Thanks Jack!

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Ron Davies
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 10:49 AM

"surprised"

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Ron Davies
Date: 21 Dec 12 - 10:48 AM

I try to make sense, unless I'm being sarcastic (which of course hardly ever happens)--and that should be pretty easy to discern.   Anybody who thinks I don't make sense is invited to cite chapter and verse.

And yes, Jack, you did draw a parallel between the West's attitude towards Libya and the Sudetenland crisis.    I was suprised to see that post, but if you'd like I'll resurrect the thread and you can see it.

You also smeared Franz Schubert, with a blithe, unsupported allegation that he was a pedophile.    There is no proof of this--it is just an allegation.

This thread goes a long way, of course, to offset these earlier remarks.    This is a wonderful contribution to the store of knowledge.

But the Net is the opposite of Love Story. Once something is in print it doesn't go away.   That's a pretty good reason to try to make sense, I'd say.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 02:13 PM

Do you mean he's a lot like you, Ron?;-)

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Jack Campin
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 01:47 PM

I don't recall mentioning the Sudetenland in that context. The obvious parallel with recent history is the Spanish Civil War (except that the American-backed guys in Libya are far more brutal, reactionary and imperialistic than Franco's mob, witness what they are currently doing to Mali).

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Ron Davies
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 01:38 PM

He's fine on music, certainly.    On politics, not so much --e.g. Sudetenland parallel in Libya.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 20 Dec 12 - 12:11 AM

It's hilarious, Jack, but you've posted a lot of great stuff--keep it up!

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: John P
Date: 19 Dec 12 - 07:54 PM

Hilarious! We've been singing this around work for weeks. It even turned up in the Christmas Carol sing at the company party.

Subject: RE: The Music Theory Song
From: Ron Davies
Date: 19 Dec 12 - 06:08 PM

Excellent.   What a find.   For my money the best you've ever posted, Jack.

Definitely going to memorize this--(maybe not by the 25th, though).

I've thought for years "Meet the Flintstones" was in this.    It's also in some classical pieces--can't remember which ones.

Subject: The Music Theory Song
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Dec 12 - 03:05 PM

Interval stuff animated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF074CL5vjI