Any Melodies with ascending diminished fifth (tritone) interval?
Ravi
I am trying to memorize melodic intervals by using familiar song
melodies. For example, the ascending Perfect Fourth
interval is the opening of the song, "Amazing Grace".
I need another song for the ascending diminished fifth (tritone)
interval.
Wiki lists Maria from West Side Story and Simpsons theme, but I am not
familiar with those songs.
Are there any familiar Beatles songs (or other pop songs) with an
easily recognizable
ascending diminished fifth (tritone) interval in the melody?
It will probably be easier if the melody is the opening notes of the
song.
John Gutglueck
Maria and the Simpsons Theme do begin with tritones, but they're
actually augmented fourths, not diminished fifths. [Use the "Fixed
text" option to read this.]
Maria
tune: Db G Ab
lyric: Mar-i-a
The Simpsons Theme
tune: C F# G
lyric: The Simpsons
In each case the chromatic upper note of the augmented fifth resolves
predictably up a minor second to the fifth of the underlying chord.
I can't think of any Beatles tune that *begins* with an ascending
tritone, but here are a two phrases that might help you fix the
interval in your mind:
I'll Follow The Sun
tune: D G Eb A G C B D
lyric: One day, you'll look to see I've gone
Contrast the ascending augmented fourth (Eb-A) on "you'll look" with
the ascending perfect fourths on "One day" and "to see."
And I Love Her
tune: F# G# A D# C# E
lyric: I give her all my love
Here, you get an ascending augmented fourth (A-D#) on "her all." And
if you ignore the C# on "my," you can hear the Maria/Simpsons motif in
the A-D#--E of "her all . . . love."
If you want an actual diminished fifth (as opposed to an augmented
fourth), there's this somewhat less melodious bit of tune from Blue
Jay Way:
tune: D# F# A F# D# A G
lyric: now they've lost themselves instead
Listen for the ascending diminished fifth (D#-A) between "themselves"
and "instead."
--
John
Ravi
Thank you. I will study these.
If anyone else has other example tritone song melodies, please add.
abe slaney
> On Jun 29, 9:18 am, John Gutglueck <johngutglu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > I need another song for the ascending diminished fifth (tritone)
> > > interval.
> If anyone else has other example tritone song melodies, please add.
"Bali Hai" from South Pacific comes to mind, if you ignore the short
fifth between the notes of the tritone. If you don't know that song,
don't worry - Led Zeppelin nicked it for the main riff of their
"Immigrant Song".
ermitano
>
> - Mostrar texto de la cita -
great examples!
The Arranger
> Maria and the Simpsons Theme do begin with tritones, but they're
> actually augmented fourths, not diminished fifths. [Use the "Fixed
> text" option to read this.]
>
> Maria
>
> tune: Db G Ab
> lyric: Mar-i-a
>
> The Simpsons Theme
>
> tune: C F# G
> lyric: The Simpsons
>
> In each case the chromatic upper note of the augmented fifth resolves
> predictably up a minor second to the fifth of the underlying chord.
>
These are by far the most well known examples.
In the jazz world, it is very common.
Duke Ellington's "Main Stem" is based on a riff that prominently
features a tritone -- the flatted third and the sixth. "Walkin'," best
known in its Miles Davis version, and often incorrectly credited to
him as a composer (it was probably written by Gene Ammons), also makes
use of tritones on a 12-bar blues.
Of course, the flatted fifth was considered the signature note in the
bebop movement. One of Charlie Parker's pet blues licks started with
the roout, leapt up to the flatted fifth, and resolved downward
through the fourth and flatted third.
The Arranger
O'Leary III
> "Bali Hai" from South Pacific comes to mind, if you ignore the short
> fifth between the notes of the tritone. If you don't know that song,
> don't worry - Led Zeppelin nicked it for the main riff of their
> "Immigrant Song".
Good one. It is a haunting melody.
There is a King Crimson song that has a Fripp solo that always reminds
me of Bye Bye Birdie.
The Arranger
I'm sure you have noticed, but I'll mention it anyway: the first
eight bars of Clapton's solo on "Sunshine of Your Love" is a quote
from "Blue Moon."
The Arranger
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> I'm sure you have noticed, but I'll mention it anyway: the first
> eight bars of Clapton's solo on "Sunshine of Your Love" is a quote
> from "Blue Moon."
That's what they've been saying for years, but I don't think it sounds
much like "Blue Moon" at all. I consider it an old wives tale, although
it's come true, as I've heard Clapton since then sometimes explicitly
quote the song. But it doesn't sound the same as the original recorded
phrase.
The Arranger
> On 03 Jul 2008, The Arranger <recur...@gmail.com> wrote in
But I didn't hear it from somebody else -- I noticed it myself.
The Arranger
The Arranger
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> But I didn't hear it from somebody else -- I noticed it myself.
I think the first 4 bars is real close, but after that it goes
elsewhere. I wouldn't doubt that Clapton had a bit of the Blue Moon
melody buried in his mind, but I really don't think he was
intentionally quoting it.
Check this out:
http://home.comcast.net/~esionder/temp/BlueSunshine.mp3
The second one is where Clapton takes the legend and runs with it.
RichL
Definite difference. Is the second one from a live performance?
abe slaney
I think it's gotta be deliberate. As you've indicated, the first few
measures - the part the mirrors "blue moon you saw me standing alone"
- is the exact melody. And it's a fairly common practice in jazz
improv to start a solo with a known theme, often with a wink to the
textual theme of the quoted piece, and then branch off into pure
improv. In this case, the textual theme of "moonlight vs. sunshine".
Plus, it's harmonically outside of the expected blues box. I'd be
interested in hearing examples of other blues players starting a solo
around the 4, 5 and 6th of chord without reference to the 3rd or 7th.
I could be way off, but it just sounds unusual to me.
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
> I think it's gotta be deliberate. As you've indicated, the first
> few measures - the part the mirrors "blue moon you saw me standing
> alone" - is the exact melody. And it's a fairly common practice in
> jazz improv to start a solo with a known theme, often with a wink
> to the textual theme of the quoted piece, and then branch off into
> pure improv.
I've never heard Clapton address the question, but I'm sure he's
been asked it. The second clip shows he's aware of the story, but
that doesn't mean it was his original intention. I've got a bunch of
live Cream recordings, and he doesn't quote Blue Moon in any of those.
The obvious wink is a more recent thing.
Anyway, this all just conjecture. I doubt even Clapton really remembers
what was going through his mind way back then. My opinion is that it's
a bit of "unconscious plagiarism".
> Plus, it's harmonically outside of the expected blues box.
It is, a bit, but that's kinda what Clapton was all about in those
days, liberally bouncing back and forth between major and minor.
Mixing up the sweet major with the tart minor. At least, that's one
of the major lessons I learned from him (I was a huge Clapton freak
back then.)
Nil
rec.music.beatles:
>> http://home.comcast.net/~esionder/temp/BlueSunshine.mp3
>>
>> The second one is where Clapton takes the legend and runs with it.
>
> Definite difference. Is the second one from a live performance?
Yes, but I don't know where. It's just an MP3 I picked up somewhere,
but it's not labeled.