[HN Gopher] This is a Chord (2016)
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       This is a Chord (2016)
        
       Author : brudgers
       Score  : 50 points
       Date   : 2023-03-30 13:48 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (tumblr.austinkleon.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (tumblr.austinkleon.com)
        
       | thanatropism wrote:
       | Am-E-G would have been ii-V-I, the everpresent faux-jazz
       | progression (also common in actual jazz of a certain vintage).
        
         | ghostpepper wrote:
         | Modern jazz doesn't use ii-V-I?
        
         | tunesmith wrote:
         | That would be Am-D-G. This one is probably more like A major
         | with a flat seven since G major has two tones in common with
         | the ii.
        
       | veganjay wrote:
       | I first saw this in Sniffing Glue magazine - today I learned it
       | first appeared in Sideburn.
        
       | veganjay wrote:
       | Reminds me of this poster:
       | 
       | http://www.southendpunk.com/html/damnadv.html
       | 
       | "The Damned can now play three chords. The Adverts can play one.
       | Hear all four of them at..."
        
       | raincole wrote:
       | It's probably the first time I see a tumblr post on HN.
        
       | phkahler wrote:
       | Why didn't they put DOTs BETWEEN the frets?!? Arrrrrrgh!
        
         | brudgers wrote:
         | This is from the era when guitar tab was not so
         | ubiquitous...and I seem to remember a lot of the chords in pop
         | song books printed with dots on the fret 45 years ago.
         | 
         | But it has been awhile.
        
           | DonaldFisk wrote:
           | I have music books I bought in the 1970s, and those all have
           | dots behind the frets.
        
         | olnluis wrote:
         | You'd use a lined fretless bass this way, so it might have been
         | a lined fretless guitar on that drawing!
         | 
         | Also, when you're pressing a fret, the pitch isn't coming from
         | where you have your finger, but from the following fret which
         | is making contact with the string. You can actually press the
         | actual fret instead of the area between the fret and the one
         | before it, and it should sound the same.
         | 
         | Now if the person that drew this knew that, I don't know.
        
         | bmelton wrote:
         | I know it's not the convention, but I almost prefer it this
         | way.
         | 
         | As someone who is self-taught (read: bad) on guitar, I spent
         | literally years playing songs and suffering hand cramps before
         | realizing that it takes a lot less pressure to fret the note
         | closer to the fret.
         | 
         | All because I initially learned on tablature, and tablature
         | typically shows it "wrong." (or I read it wrong for a long time
         | -- feel free to blame me as much as you deem appropriate if you
         | are fond of tabs)
        
       | otikik wrote:
       | First draw two ovals.
       | 
       | Then draw the rest of the owl.
        
       | tylerFowler wrote:
       | > Why are the markings on the frets and not in between them?
       | 
       | Those aren't frets, those be strings.
        
         | d23 wrote:
         | I'm not sure how to word this, but he's not talking about the
         | strings, he's talking about the frets. Usually these diagrams
         | have the marking where the finger goes, not where the string
         | hits the fret.
        
       | sambapa wrote:
       | That's quite an unusual collection of chords, maybe because B
       | major chord is too hard for beginners. I-bIII-IV is some Bela
       | Bartok-level shit.
        
         | cramjabsyn wrote:
         | I guess D would make more sense than E, but also G E A sound
         | great in a progression
        
           | p_j_w wrote:
           | >I guess D would make more sense than E
           | 
           | Just learning to play the guitar myself and at least
           | personally, have found D to be a pain in the ass of a chord
           | shape. I can switch between A, E, and G all day long, but
           | throw a D in there and I have to slow down and be a little
           | more intentional. Muscle memory will happen, but for the
           | combination of my brain and that shape, it happens more
           | slowly. I don't think I'm the only one, either, because it
           | was called out specifically by the guy who did the video
           | lessons I'm using.
        
             | ghostpepper wrote:
             | Are you playing the open D in the "bar plus one finger"
             | style or the "3 individual fingers" style?
        
         | naet wrote:
         | These are more or less the three easiest open guitar chords for
         | a beginner to learn, all major, so not very unusual IMO.
         | 
         | The roots fall on a pentatonic scale which works well with
         | basic rock music (see the referenced TNT song by AC/DC).
        
           | sambapa wrote:
           | Idk. C, am, F and G are as easy, if not easier, and you can
           | play with them a nice I-IV-vi-V instead of this modal
           | interchange shit.
        
             | qzervaas wrote:
             | Maybe swap F for Em. Beginners aren't (successfully)
             | playing F, no matter which variation.
        
         | adrianmonk wrote:
         | Just sing an E blues scale over an E G A G progression. Sing a
         | G over that E, and it's practically an E7#9.
         | 
         | Maybe change your E and A to E7 and A7 if you feel like it.
         | They're easier for beginner guitarists to play anyway.
        
       | max182 wrote:
       | I think this is a good way of approaching life. Learn the
       | absolute basics, then start making things.
       | 
       | Trying to learn everything first will keep you in the consumer
       | mindset. Be a producer.
        
         | grensley wrote:
         | I really like this explanation from Ira Glass on the gap
         | between taste and talent and how you just need to do a ton of
         | work to fight through it.
         | 
         | https://vimeo.com/85040589
        
           | max182 wrote:
           | This is amazing. Thank you.
        
           | jrm4 wrote:
           | Didn't have to click to remember this; no idea from anything
           | that wasn't a book has stuck with me like this has, it's
           | soooo good.
        
         | klodolph wrote:
         | I saw a post recently--a musician was asking for advice about
         | how to set up some super-complicated one-person performance
         | rig. They wanted guitar, bass, keyboard, synths, amps & pedals,
         | mic for singing, etc. This would be for their first live
         | performance, or something like that.
         | 
         | It's so tempting to do a ton of prep and try to blow people
         | away. I think it's a flavor of procrastination or perfectionism
         | that gets in the way of your real goals.
        
           | tyingq wrote:
           | Cam Cole is my favorite in the "one man band" niche. He
           | doesn't use that many instruments, and maybe isn't the most
           | talented of the lot technically. But he's one of the few
           | where I liked the songs just for the song itself, without
           | caring it was a one-man-band setup.
           | https://youtu.be/XnHT1nGJt78
        
         | spudlyo wrote:
         | Be a producer![0]
         | 
         | [0] https://youtu.be/a_0YDe1yZnY?t=36
        
       | r_transpose_p wrote:
       | Music aside, I believe the first place I saw a copy of this old
       | zine illustration was in the book "Getting Started with Arduino"
       | by Massimo Banzi (page 10 if you're curious :
       | https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Arduino-Electronics-P... )
       | 
       | Obviously the authors of the Arduino book were reprinting it
       | because they'd seen it somewhere else, where, in turn, it had
       | been copied because someone else had seen it in another source,
       | etc.
       | 
       | But I thought it was extremely poetically true to put that
       | illustration in the Arduino book. That made sense to me.
       | 
       | Now form a band!
        
       | jppope wrote:
       | Love this... and I agree with it
        
       | j-kent wrote:
       | those X marks are on the frets, they should be in the middle
       | between the frets...
        
         | klodolph wrote:
         | This is fine. The fret is the important part, it's the part you
         | want to communicate, the space between the frets is just where
         | you touch the strings if you want a clear sound, and your
         | guitar is fretted. You can place your fingers directly on the
         | frets, it just makes a different sound.
        
       | cramjabsyn wrote:
       | "One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and
       | you're into jazz." -Lou Reed
        
         | michaelcampbell wrote:
         | That reminds me of another yarn:
         | 
         | Rock Music: 3 chords played to 1000 people
         | 
         | Jazz Music: 1000 chords played to 3 people
        
           | cramjabsyn wrote:
           | Modern indie music: three 7th chords and a chorus pedal
           | played for 250 people
        
           | Blackthorn wrote:
           | The power of writing your music for people vs writing your
           | music for musicians.
        
           | marcodiego wrote:
           | I play the classical guitar. My version for this line is: If
           | you are a pop musician, you play a few chords for a hundred
           | people; If you are a jazz player, you play hundreds chords
           | for a few people; If you are a classical guitar player, you
           | play thousands of notes for yourself.
        
           | andrei_says_ wrote:
           | And then someone like Jacob Collier comes along and we don't
           | know what to say anymore because language just does not apply
           | to such a phenomenon.
        
             | arrakeen wrote:
             | had to look this guy up and watched the video for "All
             | Night Long". with audio only, this is pretty much just a
             | sample-heavy jazz-pop cover that would be indistinguishable
             | from just a regular multi-track recording.
             | 
             | i'm assuming what makes him special is his video approach
             | where all the "samples" are shown as video clips of the
             | musicians performing them. i'd probably describe the
             | approach as "an actually talented version of pomplamoose"
             | 
             | not really my thing, but definitely interesting. thanks for
             | the mini rabbithole
        
               | jrajav wrote:
               | Jacob Collier won a grammy for each of his first four
               | albums, has a massive following, is known for pushing the
               | boundaries of practical application of music theory, and
               | is well respected by musicians of every kind. There's a
               | bit more to what makes him special than what can be
               | reduced to a single gimmick or reductive comparison.
        
               | sambapa wrote:
               | He leaves me totally cold. IMO he's very unmusical, like
               | a guitar shredder but 100000x worse.
        
               | medler wrote:
               | Collier has an impressive knowledge of music theory but
               | for me music is about emotion and expression, and I've
               | never been able to find much of either in his
               | compositions or performances. Just my 2 cents.
        
               | tasty_freeze wrote:
               | I'm with you -- I find his dozen layer vocals
               | unenjoyable. However, it can play many instruments really
               | well. Here is a video from a jazz trio rehearsal though
               | that I keep coming back to every few months simply
               | because I enjoy the sausage being made. Keep in mind he
               | was 19 or so at the time.
               | 
               | Anacona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIaL4Q1LnuA
        
               | mtinkerhess wrote:
               | Jacob Collier is a legit next level musician. He does a
               | lot of overdubbing of himself but he does other styles
               | also. His recordings like Moon River and Flintstones are
               | incredible both in terms of arrangement and performance.
               | In a very different style, his Piano Ballads record is
               | great, Let it Be is great on that one.
               | 
               | Totally understand if none if it is your style!
        
               | Slow_Hand wrote:
               | Seconded, regarding his cover of 'Moon River'. The
               | harmony in the final three minutes is out of this world.
               | 
               | Though I wouldn't recommend watching the music video.
               | It's a bit corny and distracting.
        
         | jancsika wrote:
         | That's a fine motto for land-based music making.
         | 
         | But with anything less than three chords you cannot generate
         | sufficient lift to even get off the ground.
        
       | neonscribe wrote:
       | Hot take: the third chord should be D, not G.
        
       | grensley wrote:
       | The real punk rock thing is: "here's a power chord, slide it
       | around, NOW FORM A BAND"
        
         | Hamuko wrote:
         | I thought punk rock was "here's a guitar, play it loud".
        
         | gaudat wrote:
         | Like 0-4-5, 0-4-6-5, 0-4-5-4-0? It may be off by a step or two,
         | it has been years since I last touched a fretboard.
        
           | Eavolution wrote:
           | 0-3-5, 0-3-6-5, 0-3-5-3-0
        
       | joduplessis wrote:
       | Bootstrap for life, yo.
       | 
       | Side-note: don't start a band with those chords.
        
       | danray wrote:
       | Makes me think of the second verse of "Joyride," from one of
       | Built to Spill's first, punkier albums.
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gncB-kQUUgQ&t=72s
       | 
       | "This part of the song is called the second verse
       | 
       | Sounds just like the first verse but with different words
       | 
       | But all it has is three chords and they are A D E and D
       | 
       | There are A D and E and D
       | 
       | There goes the Dm D A E D"
        
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       (page generated 2023-03-30 23:01 UTC)