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27/05/2010 2:37 pm
I've started learning "Hey, Joe" (Hendrix version) and am transcribing the bass line. I'm in the middle of transcribing a bunch of blues tunes (for an audition) and I like to note the chord number above the staff, just in case we change keys, then I can follow the pattern but know to move it to different chord. Hey, Joe has me confused on which key it is in. The song list the band I'm auditioning for has it listed as E. Listening to it, it feels at rest on the E. But if you look at the chord progression, it doesn't really fit....
Chord Progression: C G D A E E7
Chords if in E: bVI bIII bVII IV I I7
The chord progression fits the key of G perfectly.
Chords if in G: IV I V II vi vi7
From some googling, I saw a post on a forum where someone said in one of the music books they had, the sheet music was in G.
So, is it G or E? Inquiring minds want to know.
27/05/2010 2:44 pm
Listening to it, it feels at rest on the E.
That's what matters most IMHO. The tonal center is E.
If I were transcribing it onto staff paper, I probably would use the key sig E major -- but however you write it, you're going to be writing lots of accidentals along the way, naturals or sharps or both.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
27/05/2010 2:50 pm
E is definitely the tonal centre - but if you look at the chord sequence, you'll notice it moves in 5ths to get there - C to G is a 5th, G to D is a 5th, D to A is a 5th, A to E is a 5th.
A :-)
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27/05/2010 2:59 pm
Yeah, E is the tonal center. I think of it as a progression in fourths - exactly the opposite of how Alan views it - because each chord change is essentially a IV-I in a new key. So you could think in G over C-G, or in D over G-D, etc.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
27/05/2010 3:13 pm
...each chord change is essentially a IV-I in a new key. So you could think in G over C-G, or in D over G-D, etc.
This stuff used to drive me nuts as a theory student. My little Teutonic komponist brain couldn't handle the gaps between academic music theory and rock. If I had tried a formal analysis of "Hey Joe" back then, I would have slapped my forehead. "Why can't you be normal!?" :)
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
27/05/2010 9:29 pm
Sorry, I can not see it clearly. Alan sets the reference in the "origin" key, which defines a I-V (ie. key C, C->G). Tom sets the reference in the "final" key, the IV-I (ie. key G, C->G). Is it correct? Any advantage? Mmmm... perhaps as a progression in fourths you finish in E...
28/05/2010 2:11 am
The term "key" can be thought of as "home" - where a progression comes to rest. You want to resolve your solo notes to the end, not to your starting point... that's why I think of it as a progression in fourths, rather than fifths.
But like a lot of things in music, each approach can be valid - and each can be confusing. The goal of thinking in intermediate keys would be to establish points along the progression where you can target tones, resolving any dissonances you created. Both approaches will work, but they'll put the consonances at different points. The important thing is how you handle the last change - you want to end up with E as the "I" chord, however you're thinking along the way.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
28/05/2010 1:42 pm
Crystal clear. Perfect!
Thank you very much :D
Topic starter
28/05/2010 4:55 pm
Thanks for everyone for contributing on this. This will be one I just have to play the song and not worry so much about if I'm playing the IV or V or what have you.