A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BEACH BOYS: The Beach Boys are an American Surf Rock band from the early 1960's The Steve Miller Band are a The bands line up, for this particular song, consisted of five members: 1. Brian Wilson - Chief songwriter/co-lead vocalist. 2. Dennis Wilson - Singer, songwriter and Drummer. 3. Carl Wilson - founding member, lead Guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. 4. Mike Love - songwriter and co-lead singer along side Brian Wilson. 5. Al Jardine - singer, songwriter and Guitarist. (The bass is done by the guitarists.) Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson are the only two members that have officially been replaced. Due to sadly passing away. The Beach Boys are a hugely successful surf rock band (1961-Present, that's over FIVE decades! 50 years!?)
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SONG 'HELP ME, RHONDA': Help me, Rhonda is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The song is telling a story about a male who was attracted to a girl (Rhonda), but she has found another man. To get over the fact the she's (Rhonda) found someone else and to help him with the healing process, the male begs Rhonda to help him. It is one of many hit singles by The Beach Boys. For this particular song Al Jardine is the lead Vocalist. Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and Mike Love were all backing vocalists in this song. Seven different bands have covered this song. In fact, Al Jardine recorded a cover with Steve Miller for his solo album! The Steve Miller Band was my previous genre! Small world.
WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE USED?: Vocals - The lead vocals are one of three instruments to start the song. It is the first single by The Beach Boys to feature Al Jardine as the lead vocalist. The vocals are throughout the whole song with only really short breaks every now and then. The part where the vocals aren't in it for the longest is the piano/guitar solo towards the end (1.47 - 2.09). I would probably say that Al Jardine has a Tenor vocal range. Throughout the song it sounds like he stays on one note, obviously with a few higher or lower parts. I think the best part, vocally, in this song are the last three bars of the choruses. During the verses the lead vocals sing very quaver based melodies. During the choruses the lead vocals sing very crotchet based melodies. Bass Guitar - The bass guitar is the second of the three instruments to start of the song. The bass is very prominent in this song. It follows the guitar chords exactly but goes - Root, Third, Sixth, Fifth, Fifth, Third, Second. This phrase is done throughout the whole of the verses but just moves to different chords. The choruses just play Root, Flattened Fifth (or sharpened forth), Fifth. And this is played on each chord as well. I would say that both the bass and treble are set to about half way. It also sounds like this song is being played with a plectrum. Tambourine - The tambourine is the third instrument. It is played throughout the whole song and acts as a sort of metronome. It is shaked on every beat of the song. Guitar One - I guess this would be classified as the 'lead guitar.' This guitar does the short fills in the intro verse. The fills are at 0.04 and again at 0.11. This guitar is the one that also plays the short guitar solo after the piano solo. Those three parts are the only time where the guitars are split apart. Other than that, the guitars play the same thing. The guitar is very 'twangy' during it's solo parts. During the guitar solo, there is definitely a little bit of distortion. The guitar is played very lightly throughout the rest of the song. Guitar Two - This guitar is played very lightly as well. It does the same as the lead guitar during the choruses and verses. During the guitar solo, this guitar just does the same thing as the bass. The way the guitars are both being played is in a very loose bluesy style. Drums - The drums enter at 0.15 which is on the start of bar 5. From there on out, the drums are played continuously throughout the whole song. They sit on a 4/4 swing groove. Rather than using a full size drum kit, they just use the hi-hat, bass drum and snare drum. The beat is the same throughout the whole song.. There aren't any variations with the drums. Backing Vocals - The Beach Boys have so many backing vocals in their songs. It's what makes them so iconic. During the choruses of this song there are so many different voices doing completely different things. Below is the lyrics t o the song, the words highlighted white are when the backing vocalist are also singing:
Well since she put me down I 've been out doin' in my head Come in late at night and in the mornin' I just lay in bed
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you look so fine (look so fine) ("fine" is held behind lead vocals) And I know it wouldn't take much time ("heart" is held behind lead vocals) For you to help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart
Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda yeah Get her out of my heart
("oh's" behind lead vocals) She was gonna be my wife (bo, bo, bo's) And I was gonna be her man (come on Rhonda) ("oh's" behind lead vocals) But she let another guy come between us (bo, bo, bo's) And it ruined our plan (come on Rhonda)
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you caught my eye (caught my eye) ("eye"is held behind lead vocals) And I can give you lotsa reasons why ("heart" is held behind lead vocals) You gotta help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart (bo, bo, bo's)
Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda yeah Get her out of my heart
(INSTRUMENTAL)
Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda Help, help me Rhonda Help me Rhonda yeah Get her out of my heart
WHAT WE CAN'T LOSE?: Instrumentally this song is very simple. You can hear everything you need instrumentation wise but the vocals is definitely the toughest part to this song. I think we kept just about everything. 1.) The drums were kept exactly the same. The verses and choruses has a very 4/4 swing drum beat. Before the choruses and the instrumental there is a little pause but then the drums build up with crotchet hits back into the swing groove. 2.) The guitars were also kept the same. They enter 16 bars into the song and sit on a swing (dotted quaver, semi-quaver) rhythm. They do this throughout the whole song. The are very faint. The instrumental 64 bars in sits on a 12 bar blues. The 'solo' kicks in on the 8th bar and plays off beat hits on bar 11. 3.) The bass is very prominent in this song. It was kept exactly the same. I had to hear out the bass line to this song. There isn't any variations. The verses are F, Bb, F Bb, F, F, F, F Bb, F. The choruses are C, C, F, F, C, C, F, F, Bb, Bb, F, F, G, C. 4.) The lead vocals must be kept the same. The lowest note sung is middle C. The highest note sung is a D above the octave of middle C. 5.) The backing vocals are the most important thing in this song. There are so many different backing vocals/harmonies in this song. The first verse doesn't have any backing vocals. Both pre-choruses are mostly made up of "oh's" and "ah's." The choruses have a lot of different things going on. The two obvious things are "Rhonda" and the "Bo Bo's." On top of that, there are harmonies.
The aim of what we have to do is basically replicate our chosen song. And to replicate something, it means to make an exact copy/reproduce something. So in order to do that we obviously can not lose anything! Not one single thing.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG: The basic information of the song are things like structure, key, tempo etc.
The original key to this song is F Major.
The structure to this song is very basic. It contains the usual verse, chorus and instrumental. - VERSE (0.00 - 0.14) 8 BARS - PRE-CHORUS (0.14 - 0.28) 8 BARS - CHORUS (0.28 - 0.56) 16 BARS - VERSE 2 (0.56 - 1.09) 8 BARS - PRE-CHORUS (1.09 - 1.24) 8 BARS - CHORUS (1.24 - 1.50) 16 BARS - INSTRUMENTAL (1.50 - 2.11) 12 BARS - CHORUS (2.11 - 2.38) 16 BARS - OUTRO (2.38 - 2.47) 4 BARS
The tempo for this song is a moderately fast (medium rock) tempo. BPM - 140.
WHAT'S MAKES IT SO ICONIC? The thing that makes this song so iconic, without a question, are the vocals/backing vocals. That's why the Beach Boys are such an iconic surfer rock band. Another thing that makes this song iconic is the lyrical content. As well as their close vocal harmonies. Their known for their lyrics usually referring to surfing, cars and romance.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STEVE MILLER BAND: The Steve Miller Band are a Psychedelic Rock band from the late 1960's. The bands original line up consisted of five members (Steve Miller - Guitar/Vocals, James Cooke - Guitar, Lonnie Turner - Bass, Tim Davis - Drums and Jim Peterman - Organ.) The band has a completely different line up now (six members) with Steve Miller being the only continuous member (1967-Present.) The band has had 32 past members. The Steve Miller Band are a very successful psychedelic rock band (1967-Present, that's over FOUR - nearly FIVE - decades!)
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SONG 'TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN': Take the money and run is obviously a song created by the Steve Miller Band. The song is telling a story about a guy called Billy Joe and a girl named Bobbie Sue (the lyrics are extremely easy to follow.) Them two characters are described in very similar manner to Bonnie and Clyde (So the song could be written around them... but it doesn't say whether it is or isn't.) It is one of the many hit singles made by the Steve Miller Band in the 1970's. People say that the claps that come after the two lines "They headed down to, ooh, old El Paso" and "Billie Mack is a detective down in Texas" are very similar to the 1941 song "Deep In The Heart Of Texas."
WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE USED?: Drums - This is the first instrument to make a statement with its short groovy intro. The drums just sit on a basic 4/4 rock rhythm with the hi-hat hitting on every beat, the bass drum twice on beat one (two quaver notes) and the snare on beat three, throughout the whole song. The drummer throws in a hit on other cymbals (probably just the crash) every now any then. He also has a lot of snare fills throughout the song. Vocals - The vocals are the next thing to enter the song. The vocals are continuous up until the end of the song (2.10 - 2.25). I think the vocals in this are very mono tonal, they don't really vary, it just sounds like they sit on one note throughout most of the song. I think the most memorable vocal parts are the little fills towards the end, such as the little growl at 2.00 in. The Two Electric Guitars - The guitars start at about 0.10 and from there on they play the same thing, G F C C throughout the whole song. The verses, chorus', it's all the same. Each chord last for two beats so, G for two beats, F for two beats and then C for four beats (So that's two bars all together). The guitars are played very loosely/strummy with sixteenth notes played throughout. Bass Guitar - The bass player starts at the same time as the guitars. It does the exact same thing as the guitars - G F C. Instead of sixteenth notes the bass plays: G - quaver quaver crotchet F - quaver quaver crotchet C - quaver quaver crotchet C - quaver quaver crotchet In the second C which is always half way through the second bar. The bass has a few little fills (mostly on just them three notes.) Backing Vocals - The vocals are being accompanied a lot in this song. You can really hear the backing vocals in the song. Below is the lyrics tho the song, the words highlighted white are when the backing vocalist are also singing:
This here's a story about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue Two young lovers with nothin' better to do Than sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose
They headed down to, ooh, old El Paso That's where they ran into a great big hassle Billy Joe shot a man while robbing his castle Bobbie Sue took the money and run
Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run
Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas You know he knows just exactly what the facts is He ain't gonna let those two escape justice He makes his livin' off of the people's taxes
Bobbie Sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away Billy Joe caught up to her the very next day They got the money, hey You know they got away They headed down south and they're still running today Singin'
Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run Go on take the money and run
WHAT WE CAN'T LOSE?: This is a very simple song, you can hear everything that's 'going on' so it's easy to get everything we need. I think we kept everything. 1.) The drums were kept exactly the same (obviously our drummer had his own fills) but the intro groove was near enough replicated. We can't add insane drumming, we've just got to keep it how it is... basic and simple. The complete opposite of our previous song. 2.) Same with the guitars, they have got to be loose and relaxed. Just sitting on the four simple chords (well three.) And we can't add any crazy guitar solo, in fact, we can't add any guitar solo because there isn't any. 3.) The bass, exactly the same as the guitar, sitting on the three chords just playing a simple groove. With the occasionally - not too fancy might add - little bass fills. 4.) The vocals are easy enough to keep the same. Just sitting on the one note singing with ease. However it's the little vocal fills every so often that make this song what it is. I think that's what the singers should replicate before even working on the harmonies. The little yells and growls add so much to the song, you take them away then the song becomes, well... boring. 5.) If we were to take out the backing vocalists, the singing would definitely become very 'samey' and the listener would get bored (well I know I would.) Which is why the have to say and can;t be over done with anything to fancy, just keep it how it is and where it is.
The aim of what we have to do is basically replicate our chosen song. And to replicate something means to make an exact copy/reproduce something. So in order to do that we obviously can not lose anything! Not one single thing.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG: The basic information of the song are things like structure, key, tempo etc.
The original key to this song is G major, However we moved it up two semi tones. So we were playing it in A Major.
The structure to this song is very basic. It contains the usual verse, chorus and instrumental. - INTRO (0.00 - 0.11) 4 BARS - VERSE 1 (0.11 - 0.51) 16 BARS - CHORUS (0.51 - 1.10) 8 BARS - VERSE 2 (1.10 - 1.49) 16 BARS - CHORUS (1.49 - 2.08) 8 BARS - INSTRUMENTAL (2.08 - 2.27) 8 BARS - CHORUS - Fade out (2.27 - 2.51) 8 BARS
Me and my brother tried to work out the tempo for this song and we thought is was around - BPM 100. But again when you try to click to it (or even put on a click to it) it feels like the song varies in tempo.
WHAT'S MAKES IT SO ICONIC? The thing that makes this song so iconic, I think, are two things. The first thing being the drums. That intro the drummer plays is probably the most memorable part of the song. And the way he holds the simple, groovy beat throughout the song. The second thing being the vocals. When I say vocals I don't mean the main melody that is sung throughout the song, I mean the little vocal fills every now and then (yeah's, oh's, growls etc.) I know it's such a little thing in the song but I think them little vocal fills are what makes the song what it is today!
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WHO: The Who are a Rock band from the 1960's. The band consisted of four members (Rodger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon). They are one of the three most popular and successful bands of all time (The Beatles and The Rolling Stones being the other two). The Who have had many members, but are most known for their line up of the four musicians listed above. I would say that they were probably most successful during the years !960 (mid-late) to !980 (late).
The song is 2 Minutes 58 Seconds.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SONG 'PINBALL WIZARD': The song was written by the guitarist Pete Townshend. The song was written about a Pinball Champion called the 'Local Lad' in the Tommy Libertto book. Pete Townshend said "It was the most clumsy piece of writing I've ever done." Evidently it was a huge success and is one of The Who's most recognised songs. This song has and is almost played at every The Who concert since 1969.
WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE USED?: Acoustic Guitar - The acoustic guitar is used throughout the whole song (from start to finish). This guitar is on its own from 0.00 till 0.24 then again has a solo part from 2.14 till 2.17. Electric Guitar - The guitar starts at 0.25 but from there on is very 'gappy.' Meaning it starts and stops, starts and stops throughout the whole song. It is also very simple with only one repeated harmonic through the verses. Bass Guitar - The bass guitar starts at 0.32 and from there on, it's in the whole song. The bass mostly uses a broken (one note played at a time) power chord (Root, Fifth and the Octave). Vocals - The vocals start at the same time as the bass guitar. The song has a few little breaks in it, and the vocals and bass always come in at the same time. I think Rodger Daltrey has quite a good range. When you listen to his other songs, he has many different sounds to his voice. However in this song he stays at the same 'pitch' throughout the whole song. Backing Vocals - The backing vocals only accompany Rodger in the chorus'. I think they sing slightly higher to give the chorus' a much better feel, and to add some change to the song.
WHAT EFFECTS ARE USED?: Acoustic Guitar - I think the effects used on this are Reverb and Chorus. Which gives it that distant, happy sound. Electric Guitar - There is definitely Distortion on this guitar! It's what gives the aggressive, distorted sound. Bass Guitar - There aren't any effects on the bass, it's just very... Bassey. So I had the bass on my amp, quite high up. This is what gives the full sound. I think it really goes well with the vocals. There isn't any effects on anything else. There isn't a lot of effects being used in the first place. But it's these little things that make the song sound so good.
WHAT WE CAN'T LOSE?: This is a song by The Who, a four member band who made incredible music. So I think we can't lose a lot, if not nothing! 1.) I would say the main element of this song is the acoustic guitar, so we can not lose that! And it can't be 'simplified,' the way the acoustic is being played is very important. It starts of very calm, easy and softly played, but then we need to keep the crescendo to build up the power of the song. After the acoustic build up, I think the guitar needs to be played with a lot of power and 'aggression.' 2.) Even though the Electric Guitar isn't doing anything crazy in the song, It's a must have! The way the guitar comes in for the first time really adds a lot to the song. It must be distorted and overpowering when it first comes in. Also we can't take out the harmonics during the verses, it really does justice to them. 3.) During rehearsals I would deliberately not come in with the bass just to see how it would sound. And without the bass, it sounds very empty. It really does sound fuller with the bass. 4.) Like Dot said, the drumming needs to be crazy for The Who. And just like with any song, the drums can never be taken out, it's what holds everything together! 5.) How (the range) the vocals are sung is up to the singers obviously. But the WAY there being sung has to stay. We can't add in very melodic lines everywhere because then it won't sound like a Who song.
Just like I said we can't lose anything when dealing with The Who's songs! Everything is doing something different and when you take out something, change something or even add something, it is very noticeable. Even how everything sounds has to stay the same. We need to keep the distortion on the electric guitar. We need to keep the reverb on the acoustic guitar. When you break it down, there isn't a lot happening. But when everything is put together it sounds like so much different things are going on and that's why we can't lose anything.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG: The basic information of the song are things like structure, key, tempo etc.
The original key to this song is D major, However we moved it up three semi tones. So we were playing it in F Major.
The structure to this song is pretty basic because it contains the usual verse, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus etc. But for a relatively short song, there are a lot of different parts in the structure: - INTRO (0.00 - 0.31) - VERSE (0.31 - 0.46) - PRE-CHORUS (0.46 - 0.56) - VERSE (0.56 - 1.09) - CHORUS (1.16 - 1.35) - VERSE (1.35 - 1.51) - PRE-CHORUS (1.51 - 1.58) - CHORUS (1.58 - 2.10) - SONG MODULATES (2.25 - 2.40) - OUTRO (2.40 - 2.58)
I tried figuring out the BPM for this song but I have a feeling that it varies during the song because I had to keep adjusting my metronome when I was listening to it.
WHAT'S MAKES IT SO ICONIC? The thing that makes this song so iconic is the acoustic guitar riff. After this song was released it became one of the most iconic riffs of all time to be played on the Acoustic Guitar. Obviously now a days it's so iconic because it's by The Who, and they are one of the biggest bands of all time, everybody knows them. But back in them days (1970's) the guitar riff was incredibly popular, every guitar player knew it and would play it... I think that's probably still the case today.
This Blog page is for the year 2013 (Aug) - 2014 (May). This is for my Higher National Diploma (HND) music course. Here is where you will see how I progress as a musician and all the classes I'm in. Enjoy!