Guitar Noise

Okay, let’s see…

We’ve covered the art of listening to intervals and chord types because there’s no way to figure out a song without being able to hear the changes in the chords.

We’ve also gone over some of the typical song structures you’re likely to encounter as well as a few standard chord progressions endemic to pop/rock/folk/country ad infinitum.

Primary and secondary chords of any given key? Check.

Covering my butt by saying that, obviously some songs may be harder to analyze than others and that, of course, all of this takes a bit of practice so don’t be discouraged if it seems hard at first? Yes, I think I just took care of that.

Well, then, I think we’re ready to tackle this in earnest. Ready?

Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby

We’re going to go over two songs that I actually worked out over the week between Christmas and New Year’s. And, just as we’ve done in our previous columns, we’ll start out with a fairly simple song and then try our hands at something a wee bit harder. Finally, I’ll go over a song I worked out years ago to demonstrate you why you have to be prepared for just about anything.

Before we start, I make certain that my guitar is in tune with “real life” (a keyboard, electronic tuner or pitch pipe). If I am unable to do that, then I at least make certain that it is tune with itself and hope that whatever adjustments I may have to make later will be few.

The first thing you need in order to figure out a song is a copy of the song. I try to use cassettes because I feel easier about all the stop/starting I may have to do. CDs are fine, but I am much more likely to program my player to play the song six or seven times in a row. I know these things are supposed to be fairly indestructible, but I still worry about it.

Another reason I tend to use cassettes is that I have a radio/cassette player at work and I will often tape a song that I’ve heard on the radio that I’d really like to learn. It may be an old favorite that for some reason I’ve never taken the time to learn or it might be something fairly new that just really appeals to me. It might be a song that someone has asked me to play in the past. For the record (no pun intended), I try to learn at least two songs a month this way. First, it helps to be constantly adding to one’s inventory, but more importantly it keeps me practicing my listening skills.

And after extolling the use of cassettes, I want to make a very important point. The speed of recording machines vary - what I think might be perfect pitch will not matter much if the machine plays noticeably fast or slow. Another thing to realize (if you’re taping off the radio) is that quite a number of stations actually speed up the songs when they’re played on the air. Nothing significant, you understand - you’re unlikely to even notice. But when you’re working off your tape it’s all likely to have a cumulative effect. One way to combat this is to start the tape with a song you know (preferably something simple in E or E minor) and use that song to tune your guitar. It should not be a drastic change, a quarter to half step at best. Any more than that, you should just use a capo instead.

(Oh, why do the stations do that? Because all those fractions of a second saved can add up to an additional two or three commercials a day. Or as the good folks at accounting would say, “Ka - CHING!” That’s the sound of a happy cash register! Do people even use cash registers anymore?)

Next, it’s important to be fairly familiar with the song. Before I even get out my guitar, I make sure I know how the song goes. I don’t need to know all the lyrics, but I do need to be able to hum the melody and recognize the structure of the song. If I do know the lyrics, I will already have them written out. The first song we’re going to puzzle out is Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby from the new Counting Crows album, This Desert Life. And, of course, without further adieu, let me present the official disclaimer:

This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of the song. It is intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

Okay, having decided that this song pretty much follows the verse/chorus format and, decoding Adam Duritz’s lyrics, I set the first verse and chorus out in the following manner:

Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby - Counting Crows

Verse 1:

Well I wake up in mid-afternoon ’cause that’s when it all hurts the most
I dream I never know anyone at the party and I’m always the host

If dreams are like movies then memories are films about ghosts

You can never escape you can only move south down the coast

Well I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame
I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame
If you’ve never stared off in the distance then your life is a shame
And though I’ll never forget your face sometimes I can’t remember my name

CHORUS:

Hey Mrs. Potter don’t cry
Hey Mrs. Potter I know why but

Hey Mrs. Potter won’t you talk to me

The reason I’ve written it out this way is twofold. One, I’ve left some spaces in which to fill in the chords and two, I’ve deduced from listening to the song that, musically, the verse is essentially a set of four lines that gets repeated twice. The first two lines are musically the same, so there’s no need for me to figure them out a second time. Likewise, the first two lines of the chorus are the same. Good listening can help eliminate needless work.

Now, we have to figure out what key the song is in and what key we want to learn it in. That may sound strange to you, but trust me, you’ll quickly see what I mean. The chords in the introduction, and most of the song, sound like major chords. Now it’s time to find out which ones.