Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken (Little Feat

Subject: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 30 May 19 - 02:34 PM

Can anybody help with the playing of Dixie Chicken? I get lost where it repeats 'down in Dixie land'. It's the rhythm as much as chords... :(

Does it sort of skip half a bar, or what? Can't find any online tutorials for this song, but like it.

All advice gratefully received.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 May 19 - 03:13 PM

No wonder. The bars, to my ears,
continue in the same meter;
but the rhythm goes totally syncopated.


It puts me in mind
of my childhood years with
"I want to Hold your Hand"
playing on the transistor radio,
and that syncopated intro
which threw me every single darned time.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 30 May 19 - 04:12 PM

keberoxu

Yes.

It's a good song though isn't it? I want to crack it. Singing it isn't a problem (ie I'm not proposing to), it's guitar/rhythm accompaniment I'm aiming at. Got to 'mental block' point probably.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 30 May 19 - 06:10 PM

Adequately to the title of the song, the basic three major chords of the key suffice. Often the (minor) seventh is added, sometimes the (major) sixth, but this is optional. As for rhythms, you will probably be on your own; even commercial sheet music arrangers tend to simplify them. If you can sing the song properly, you will have the "feeling" already. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: Jeri
Date: 30 May 19 - 06:39 PM

I think the part where it sounds odd is because it actually starts before it normally would have, with "if you'd be my dixie chicken". It steals some time from the line before.

If you slap the arm of your chair in time, your hand is actually raised for "if you'd" then down again for "be my", and "dixie land" is fairly not-weird.

If this doesn't help, I hope it at least doesn't make things worse.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: gillymor
Date: 30 May 19 - 07:05 PM

"Down in (A)Dix (E)-ie (A)Land,

(D)Down (Slight, quick bend on C note, A string 3rd fret)in (A)Dix (E)-ie (A) Land."

Chords in parentheses, I learned it off the record way back in the 70's
and it still seems to work with what the Feat are doing. Takes some heavy listening and trial and error but once you get it you'll be surprised how easy it is. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: gillymor
Date: 30 May 19 - 07:11 PM

Actually you don't to have to bend that C note, though it does add a bit of grease to it, just hit it on "in".

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 31 May 19 - 12:42 AM

gilymore, this is helpful, and sometimes I got that far, but then I struggle to pick up the original rhythm again..... :(

jeri is this anacrusis?

tks for comments all.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Mark Bluemel
Date: 31 May 19 - 03:41 AM

I haven't listened to it for a while, but singing it through from memory I think it's just a syncopation that moves the second "through" forward a beat and elongates it. There's no dropped bars or beats.

Here's what I think is happening (roughly) with the beats, with some subtleties missed out (for example, I've not tried to get the right rhythm on walking, just indicated the counts).

  3   4  1  2  3      4 1   2   3    4   12 34 +
  And together we'll go walking thro-ugh DixieLand
  
  1   2  3 4   12 34 + 
      Thro-ugh Dixieland
  

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 31 May 19 - 06:01 AM

tks all. I'll try that Mark. Really grateful for help.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: gillymor
Date: 31 May 19 - 06:15 AM

If you know the chords and the moves I would advise you to just keep playing it along with the record until you can't not play it and when you get tired of it leave alone for awhile and come back to it with fresh ears. Not very scientific but it works for me when I have a tough nut to crack. In the interest of getting that N.O. rhythm in your bones it helps to listen to folks like Dr. John, The Meters, Professor Longhair and, of course, Little Feat.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Mark Bluemel
Date: 31 May 19 - 08:07 AM

OK - for "through" in my last post, read "down in". The principle remains the same... I'm getting old and my memory ain't what it was.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: Jeri
Date: 31 May 19 - 09:00 AM

After looking up "anacrusis" (it's good to learn things), yes, I believe it's anacrusis. I haven't tried playing it, though, just singing, so I don't know how the chords fit.

Here's a YouTube of Dixie Chicken.

It's funny, but the song never sounded like there was anything odd to it to me. I guess some people grow up hearing certain somewhat cultural attributes such as syncopation, and some don't.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 May 19 - 09:11 AM

But what a great, great song.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: Jeri
Date: 31 May 19 - 10:39 AM

A guy playing it on YouTube

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 31 May 19 - 11:39 AM

Jeri
That video is quite helpful, as part of the problem may be trying to teach the song to a singer while playing it: two sets of syncopation at once! tks again. It is a great song.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: Jeri
Date: 31 May 19 - 11:54 AM

Glad it helped.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Help playing Dixie Chicken
From: GUEST,Spot
Date: 01 Jun 19 - 04:04 AM

Especially as his way of doing it obviates the necessity for too many full chord changes. Gives me stuff to play with.
Brill.