Really???
Maybe if I said it was different for cowboys in Latvia? Then I'd be insulting Latvian cowboys?
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Really???
Maybe if I said it was different for cowboys in Latvia? Then I'd be insulting Latvian cowboys?
The chord in the 6th bar of Happy Birthday is a lydian as is the melody note. Also the theme from the Simpsons.
Sorry I missed your question. I misinterpreted "Eh" as a comment, rather than a question.
I guess everyone was too intimidated by the b9 wars to answer my question back in post no. 105,
Wanted to, but was worried about offending Latvians.
(I'm sure my answer isn't too cryptic).
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Earth. Are you dialing in from Uranus?On what planet is "Happy Birthday" a Lydian modal melody?
Pure comedy gold in this thread.
On what planet is "Happy Birthday" a Lydian modal melody?
Pure comedy gold in this thread.
I sometimes have to play happy birthday, not sure it would be appreciated with a #4 lol.
Actually, I may be wrong about this. Hold on.
There is a #4 in the 6th bar, 1st beat. In the key of C, it's F Lydian, 6th bar.
Hmmm, must pay attention in class!
Way to go, IamGroot!
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I had to page back to see what it was. ooh, ooh, I know! You flat the 5th? Do I win? More importantly, is my prize taxable?
I think it's cool that you could even admit you may have been wrong about something. And subsequently learned something new
That pretty much NEVER freaking happens here. I mean people post stuff ALL the time that is wrong on nearly every level and will go to war defending it.
I salute you, sir
In the key of C, "Happy Birthday" uses the C Major scale. B natural is used instead of Bb in the 6th bar because it's in the C Major key signature. If you are playing "blues harmony" then you might use Bb in that measure, but songs like Happy Birthday use what's called "tonal harmony" so it would sound weird to use Bb in the 6th bar.
There's a lot of misconception in this thread about what "modes" are and what constitutes a "modal" composition. There's no rule that music has to start from the 1! If you play "Eb Major scale starting on G" (note the bolded phrase) then you aren't playing a "mode," you are still playing Eb Major scale. And if you play a song in C Major that uses the chords CMaj, FMaj, GMaj, you aren't playing "F Lydian modal composition," you're just playing "I-IV-V in C."
The simplest answer is usually correct.
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Yes, and the chord in bar 6 is F maj7+4 which is Lydian.
For the OP.
Basically there is no commonly accepted chord symbol for the Phyrgian chord, but Esus b9, E Phryg, or G7/E are used.
Example
McCoy Tyner - intro on Coltrane "After the Rain".
There are more if you want. Source, Mark Levine, The Jazz Piano Book.
To be clear, you're referring to the B note on the syllable "Mush" in the line "Happy Birthday Dear Mush-roo"?
B is the 3rd of the V chord (GMaj) and then on the next syllable goes down by whole step to A, the 3rd of the IV chord FMaj.
No "Lydian mode" is necessary to explain the melody of "Happy Birthday." It's simply "I IV V in C."
The tune was written in 1893 so it's unthinkable that "FMaj7#11" was the composer's intent.
The original arrangement does have a pedal note in the bass in m. 6, so maybe that's what's throwing you off? Or maybe you heard a jazzy/modern arrangement and it's stuck in your head?
Well, I checked the way I play it, and the Bass would play a F note on the 1st beat, bar 6th, and the melody is B natural, so there is evidence of a flat 5 or a aug 4th (please lets not debate that). So, I could understand the reference to the Lydian scale as the Happy birthday scale, but anyway, it's not a big deal to me.
I don't tend get hung up on the minutiae, but maybe that's the nature of the medium of internet forums.
Here's the original arrangement from 1893, in the key of G. The chord on the downbeat of m. 6 is (low to high) C G D F# aka D/C aka V7. Then on beat 2 it moves to C G C E aka CMaj aka IV. And the chord on the last beat of m.5 was B G B D aka G/B aka 1st inversion I chord. It's simply a I-V7-IV progression, although if you haven't studied "pedal" harmony, I can see how C and G in the bass on beat 1 might throw you off.
Beginning the measure with a modern and jazzy chord, like FMaj7#11, would have been harmonically unthinkable in a popular children's song from 1893.
I've had some weird conversations in Talkbass General Instruction, but I never thought I'd be forced to defend that "Happy Birthday" is a major-scale melody using tonal harmony.
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F#11 = F# (A#) C# E (G#) B
Not sure what that has to do with "Happy Birthday" but your F#11 is another good example of a chord one would not expect to find in a 19th century popular children's song.
I'll repeat: The B note in measure 6 of "Happy Birthday in C" is not functioning as the #11 of FMaj. It's the 3rd of G7/F (the V chord in 3rd inversion).
G with a major 3rd. V7 in the key of C.
"Happy Birthday" in its original form doesn't have any #11 chords, and it isn't in Lydian mode.
I will certainly concede that modern performers often reharmonize the tune, in all sorts of interesting ways.
You know, you're not supposed to eat all types of mushrooms. Some types can be quite disturbing and make you hallucinate.G with a major 3rd. V7 in the key of C.
"Happy Birthday" in its original form doesn't have any #11 chords, and it isn't in Lydian mode.
I will certainly concede that modern performers often reharmonize the tune, in all sorts of interesting ways.
