Specific songs that exemplify specific scales.

[Barfy]

Hi, this is my first post in a long while. Starting over, you could say, because I dusted off my bass recently, and started making cracks in the wall by teaching myself scales.

My favorite scales so far: minor blues (minor pentatonic with filler), minor pentatonic (E = all day fun), phrygian (just love hitting that m2), and minor harmonic (M7 = priceless!). Yeah, I seem to prefer minor over major.

I hope this is the right sub-forum for this question. So, ummmm... how to ask this. It's a brain-straining chore plowing through abstract theory texts. What I need most is to hear specific examples of these modes/scales in action.

Here is a purely hypothetical entry (purely hypothetical because, to my knowledge, no such band or song existed in 1975):

Band: Joe and the Plumbers.

Bassist: Herbie Blitzstein.

Song: Snakin' Your Drain.

Year: 1975

Genre: Southern blues rock.

Exemplifies: Phrygian scale.

Listen for: between 2:10 and 3:03, clear out of the blue like lightning, Herbie suddenly switches to the Phrygian scale as the key changes from A to C#. The key stays at C# minor for this entire window but he works it all over the fretboard in a rapid melodic frenzy while the guitarists just strum the chord repetitively. The rest of the song--indeed, just about all their songs--sticks to the Major Blues scale. It's quite an unexpected contrast, and was one of the most famous (and striking) usages of Phrygian in 70s rock and roll.

(Okay, that's my meager attempt at abstract theoretical jargon.)

Errrrrrm... something like that.

If we could compile a big long list of such entries, that would be awesome possum.

I'm particularly interested in exemplary examples of:

Phrygian. I'm told it's used in "ethnic music", whatever that means. I'd really like to hear this one in action.

Minor Harmonic. To me, this scale sounds like "1950s horror movie soundtrack." For instance, I suspect that the Munsters theme was written in this scale. Am I in the ballpark?

Aeolian. I'm told it's used in "minor key ballads" but I can't think of any examples, and it's killing me. Are there any well-known acousticky hair metal power ballads (you know, like "More than Words" or something like that) from the 80s that are clearly and plainly in Aeolian?

Locrian: I've read that it's "rarely used" except in bridges/transitions. Hell if I can recall ever having heard an example of it in action.

Thanks! I hope this is doable, and on top of that, I hope this turns out to be very illuminating.

 

[Barfy]

Apparently this is a prime example of the Mixylodian (sp?) scale. "Food for Thought" by Dr. John. (It's funk.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1sW2ud4c4

What key's that in, btw?

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

"Our Man Higgins" by Lee Morgan

is based on the Whole Tone scale!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Airto Moreira - Wind Chant

Aeolian Mode

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Wiki modes. From what I remember many entries have song examples at the bottom. It might take some browsing, but I promise you that it's there.

 

[onlyclave]

1:04 - "Hello Goodbye Hello Goodbye..." The Major scale in effect!

 

[Barfy]

I'd love to hear a prime example of the Lydian scale in action. I've been tooling around with it but so far I can't connect it to anything I recall ever hearing, and I've read that it's a very common scale for jazz and whatnot.

"Our Man Higgins" by Lee Morgan

is based on the Whole Tone scale!

Neat! I remember looking at Whole Tone and wondering "what could anyone do with that?" Now I know.

 

[Barfy]

Wiki modes. From what I remember many entries have song examples at the bottom. It might take some browsing, but I promise you that it's there.

According to Wikipeida, "Tallis Fantasia" by Ralph Vaughan Williams is in the phrygian scale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y7nJL1hpUU

Also according to Wikipedia, regarding "Phrygian Dominant" (which uses Major 3rd instead of minor 3rd, I think):

Metallica's Kirk Hammett has been known to use the Phrygian scale, most notably in the solo for "Wherever I May Roam" and "Eye of the Beholder".

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's "Powerslave" uses both the Phrygian and Phrygian Dominant scales to emphasize the song's Egyptian theme.

"YYZ" by Rush uses the Spanish Phrygian scale in the solo.

Swedish Progressive Metal band Opeth uses the Phrygian Dominant scale throughout their song "Master's Apprentices" on their album Deliverance.

The main riff from Faith No More's 'Epic' uses this scale.

The solo in Ozzy's 'Over the Mountain' also uses this scale.

Spanish Phrygian = ?

Main riff from 'Epic' = the chorus? "Yooooouuuu wwwaant it alllll / but you can't haaaaaave it...."

Regarding the Aeolian mode:

In rock music, the guitar solo in Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand" is an example of the Aeolian mode.

Which one? All of them?

The article mentioned that a lot of Irish music uses Aeolian. I guess that's one thing that can be implied by "minor key ballads." Anybody have any good examples?

Regarding Locrian mode:

The march from Three Fantastic Dances by Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the rare examples of a whole piece written in mainly Locrian mode.

Regarding the Mixolydian scale:

* "Old Joe Clark"[6]
* "Dear Prudence"[7] and "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"[8] by The Beatles
* "She Moved Through the Fair"[9]
* "Let It Loose"[10] and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"[8] by The Rolling Stones
* Star Trek: The Next Generation Theme[8]
* "The Visitors" by ABBA[8]
* "Dark Star" by the Grateful Dead[8]
* "China Cat Sunflower" by the Grateful Dead[8]
* "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd[8]
* "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses[11]

Couldn't find anything for Lydian or Harmonic Minor.

Regarding the Dorian scale:

* "Along Comes Mary" by The Association[4]
* "Drunken Sailor"[5]
* "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles[6]
* "Scarborough Fair"[5]
* "Milestones" by Miles Davis — The composition takes the form aabba with the a sections in G Dorian and the b sections in A Aeolian.[7]
* "The End" by The Doors[8][unreliable source?]
* "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple[8]
* "The Way I Feel" by Gordon Lightfoot[8]
* "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot[9][contradiction]
* "So What" by Miles Davis Written in D dorian and E♭ dorian.[10]
* The "Et incarnatus est" in the Credo movement of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.[11]

All of the above is courtesy of Wikipedia. In regards to Wikipedia, in general, "caveat emptor."

 

[Nashrakh]

I'd love to hear a prime example of the Lydian scale in action. I've been tooling around with it but so far I can't connect it to anything I recall ever hearing, and I've read that it's a very common scale for jazz and whatnot.

Lydian...

Here's two, I think:

The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Verse is in G Lydian. It goes G/A/B/C#, later altered to G minor I think

Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
Is in E Lydian, I think. At least there is an A# in the prechorus - wikipedia say the song is in B major which consists of the same notes as E Lydian, but the tonic isn't B... IMO

 

[Electric_Spank]

If you are into Rage Against the Machine at all, just about everything they play corresponds with a pentatonic blues scale.

Bombtrack(one of my favorites ) -

 

[LaminatedParrot]

For lydian, you can check out the Simpsons theme tune.

 

[Barfy]

What about Pink Floyd? Which scales might figure prominently in certain songs of theirs?

 

[Barfy]

For lydian, you can check out the Simpsons theme tune.

Awesome. I shall analyze it closely.

I wonder where I can find a transcription. Eh... guess I'll try Google.

 

[JimmyM]

if i can ever hear what sounds like identifiable scales in a song, i am immediately turned off. you can listen to any song and get an idea of what scales they're basing the song on (with pink floyd, it's almost exclusively blues scales and major/minor, since you asked), but if i can pick up on a scale, it takes me right out of the music.

 

[Barfy]

So less is more?

I have a Hal Leonard "Bass for Beginners" book. The guy who wrote it is named Glen something (too lazy to check; it's downstairs). He shows the two basic ways to arrange the fingers of your left hand: 1. "bunch of bananas"; 2. the four finger spread.

He said (paraphrased) "scale gymnastics are one thing. However, if I see 'the bunch of bananas' for the majority of the time, I know he's doing his job: holding down the low end. I'll be more likely to stick around for more than the first three songs if that's the case."

 

[JimmyM]

well if you want to play a bunch of notes and it works for you, why not? the key is knowing when to play what. sometimes less is more, sometimes less is just less. all depends on the music. acdc with victor wooten playing bass would suck, but so would bela fleck and the flecktones with cliff williams on bass.

anyway, as an academic exercise, tracing the scales used in songs is kind of fun. making it sound like scales, however, is a big no-no.

 

[megadan]

acdc with victor wooten playing bass would suck, but so would bela fleck and the flecktones with cliff williams on bass.

Jimmy, truer words may never have been spoken! That sums up a lot of arguments very nicely

 

[JimmyM]

thanks megadan!

 

[abstractart06]

I have a book called "Basses Loaded" by Rod Goelz. Here are examples from his book.

Major scale - Steve Miller's "The Joker"
Natural Minor - Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Californication"
Black Sabbath "NIB"
Mixolydian - The Animals "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Miles Davis "All Blues"
Dorian - Santana "Oye Como Va"
Doors " Riders of The Storm"
Major Pentatonic - Temptations " My Girl"
Fontella Bass "Rescue Me"
War "Low Rider"
Chromatic Movement - Van Morrison "Moondance"
Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe"
Major Triad - Bob Marley "Stir it Up"
Toots and the Maytals "Pressure Drop"