Jul 20, 2011
The Books - An Animated Description of Mr. Maps. [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

An Animated Description of Mr. Maps.
from Lost And Safe (2005) by The Books

This is truly an ingenious technique; sampling and cutting up a vocal narration is standard fare, but approximating its rhythm by quantizing it to percussion in a syncopated way is not. For those who are curious on how something like this can be done, check out Propellerheads ReCycle.

Jul 20, 2011
Jack Conte - I Know [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

I Know
from VideoSongs Volume 2 (2008) by Jack Conte

This is an awesome track, and I love this outro bit; those two chords and the uneven rhythms in the melody. I hear this as a BMaj6 to A#7/B. I find examples like these useful because I tend to under use inverted chords, and because it’s another great sounding pedal point. Try playing the non-inverted versions of the chords with the same melody (in this case, G#Min7 to A#7), so you can hear how drastic of a difference there is without the pedal point bassline. Be sure to listen to the whole song for better context.

My intention with this blog is to showcase bits of music I like and attempt to explain why in a way that can be understood by anyone with a basic musical background. Let me know if anything confuses and I’ll do my best to make things clearer.

Jul 12, 2011
Jaga Jazzist - Book of Glass [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Book of Glass
from One-Armed Bandit (2010) by Jaga Jazzist

SYNCOPATION. And crazy amounts of it. There’s another fantastic example of this kind of syncopation in Siberian Khatru from Close to the Edge (1972) by Yes. Listen for it from 7:00 - 7:30.

Jul 11, 2011
Gonzales - C.M. Blues [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

C.M. Blues
from Solo Piano (2004) by Gonzales

Really fantastic use of pedal point. I love the way he interweaves the pentatonic figures and the pedal in the same range.

(Feel free to chime in on any of these posts if you hear something in a different fashion.) 

Jul 11, 2011
Ebu Gogo - Waterworld 1 (The Limp Joust and Other Battles of Interest) [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Waterworld 1 (The Limp Joust and Other Battles of Interest)
from Worlds (2007) by Ebu Gogo

The bassline really makes this. In particular, the seventh note played, the major 3rd, is a great turn that toys with your expectation.

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