[Smt-talk] Yesterday & Proud Mary (was I-II-IV as a progression)

Mon Aug 31 07:54:28 PDT 2009

A few comments [- this reminds me of that extended thread we had 6 years ago regarding precedents for I-bVII-IV (or the clichéd--  I Can't Explain, Lovely Rita, Manic Depression, Communication Breakdown, Sweet Home Alabama, Takin' Care of Business etc progression).]

1) Like many here on this list (refer to my comments I posted some years ago) it has been my intuitive position as well as that of the many "illiterate" self-taught guitarists with whom I have played (now in their 50s and 60s), these structures are idiomatic to the way these chords (or power chords (the "chess Knight move") appear on the guitar fretboard, BUT

2) A few thoughts regarding Walt Everett's note that "Yesterday" was composed on piano.  
I recently taught "Yesterday" to some of my students.  In the process, two other works came to mind
a) CONFIRMATION (Charlie Parker 1953) - the opening progression - This tune (and/or similar ones from Be-Bop and Musical Showtunes, Jazz, etc.) could easily be rendered on piano and do not idiomatically transfer to the "BB's Box" pentatonic structure used by most blues influenced guitarists. 
b) BOURREE from Suite in E Minor (BWV 996) accompanying the lyric, "...had to go I don't..." - This might be something he applied while at the piano, but perhaps because of his familiarity with the Bourree (as Paul stated in an interview, that was the ONE classical lick that everyone learned how to play) he may have been transferring his "guitar ear" to the keyboard instrument.

Note, BB's Box is not the only structure that has a visual or tactile idiomatic influence.  As an electric bassist for the past 26 years (who only begrudgingly plays guitar and then usually only with "Power Chords") I have found the relationship from F to C to G7 very easy and natural, likewise C-E7-am -- I'm certain other guitarists here could provide better examples. 

ANYWAY - Perhaps we would all benefit by watching Paul play the concluding I-II-IV riff on guitar. Check out this beginning at 1:57 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONXp-vpE9eU
Notice:
a) he is using more or less basic chord voicings, not "BB's Box" inspired blues pentatonic "power chord" voicings 
b) the occasional use of thumb for bass (common among self-taught guitarists) 

3) PROUD MARY - as a bassist who long ago supplemented payment for his undergrad Philosophy & Classical Languages BA by playing weekends in Southern Rock / Biker bands across Northeastern Iowa, I tended to play the "V-IV-bIII" all on the same string so that, 
a) I could use more or less the same finger pattern between "bVII - V" as I did for "bIII - I"
b) keeping bIII on the same string as IV and V provides a more consistent tone color and is less likely to cause false accents. 

Sincerely,
K. Christian McGuire, 
Instructor of Music History and Music Theory
Studio Artist: Electric Bass
Director of Rock & Improv Ensembles
Augsburg College
Music Department
2211 Riverside Avenue
Mpls MN 55454
mcguire at augsburg.edu
http://www.augsburg.edu/music/

International Society of 
Hildegard von Bingen Studies, Treasurer & Webmaster
http://www.hildegard-society.org/

Musicologist & Electric Bassist
http://www.grianeala.com
kmcguire at bitstream.net / cell: 651-270-5807
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Walt Everett 
  To: smt-talk Talk 
  Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 7:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] I-II-IV as a progression

  On Aug 30, 2009, at 6:18 PM, Paul Steinbeck wrote:

    [. . .]  I think that the indigenous-ness of I-II-IV to the rock idiom can better be explained by guitar chord shapes and the importance of the guitar in rock composition. Guitar-influenced tonal practice, of course, also dominates many styles of classic and contemporary blues, but has not resulted (as far as I know) in any blues songs featuring I-II-IV (or transposed versions such as bVII-I-bIII).

  A few thoughts on this . . . Guitar voicing sometimes plays a role in these progressions, and sometimes the ear guides the hand.  "Yesterday" (the refrain of which concludes I - II - IV - I) has been mentioned in this thread.  This song was composed at the piano but recorded on guitar.  The song's opening sounds are a thirdless tonic sonority moving down a half step to a thirdless ii of vi.  It's an easy hand motion on guitar (played in G major on an instrument tuned a whole step low), but it was created on the piano.  It lies equally well on either instrument, but I know of no other pre-metal rock song that moves from a thirdless I to a thirdless VII, even in a power-chord context, so it's hard to say whether this progression is "idiomatic" on guitar.  No other chord succession in "Yesterday," including the germane II - IV motion, takes advantage of parallel guitar voicing.  "She's Leaving Home" is another McCartney use of II-IV, and I would speculate that this was written at the piano as well.

  The guitar voicing in "Proud Mary," which I mentioned in my previous post, likewise dispenses with parallel chording in the bVII - V and bIII - I motions, thus emphasizing the modal scale-degree respellings through the changing hand positions. I do play the intro riff with parallel voicings in moving from IV to bIII (barring G to F)--can any other guitarists comment on this?  --walt everett

  Walter Everett
  Professor of Music
  Chair, Department of Theory
  The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
  1100 Baits Dr.
  Ann Arbor, MI  48109-2085

  weverett at umich.edu
  voice: 734-763-2039
  fax: 734-763-5097

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