Music Appreciation
Related: About this forumLuckiest Music Generation: Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl
It seems like a standard rock song, but when you listen more closely, you hear weird things going on, like the two-part harmony in the verse lines, and that relentless dual guitar riff that seems to sound the same for the entire song...but doesn't, not when you listen to it closely. This duality seems to be a nod to the off-kilter love song lyrics, sort of an "inner-outer" voice thing about what he's thinking versus what he's saying (or not) regarding the mysterious girl, but what do I know? Maybe I'm overthinking that.
My son the music genius guitar junkie told me when we were listening to "Cinnamon Girl" one evening that Neil Young used a particular guitar tuning here that was in some of his other songs, too. I'm a dolt about music theory, so he commended me for picking up on how "Ohio" was one of those songs. It just has the same guitar "feel" to it, to my ears. The real musicians here can do the explaining for how that all works.
Anyway, here's the song itself:
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)Double drop D is mentioned just after 5 minutes in.
Genki Hikari
(1,766 posts)I don't know music theory, but I can pick up stuff like how the guitars in "Ohio" and "Cinnamon Girl" sound similar.
Thanks for the instruction videos. I won't retain any of it, but it's interesting to hear the explanations.
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)Look for the block of songs listed under DADGBD.
More info on double drop D here, including a list of some songs by other artists using this tuning.
https://theacousticguitarist.com/double-drop-d-tuning-dadgbd/
Genki Hikari
(1,766 posts)But then I shrieked at the list of songs using that tuning. Way back in the 70s, my family laughed at me when I heard "The Chain" the first time, and asked, "Why does parts of it sound like Black Water?"
Now I know I was right that they sounded similar! I didn't know why they did, but they "felt" the same, somehow.
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,425 posts)I very seldom use drop D, but I have messed with it.
It's a nice tuning when a song is heavy on D & G chords, because letting it drone in the bass gives a tonic or a 5th. The fifth as the low string adds no dissonance so it's still a pleasant sound.
A song I messed with it on is Sweet Jane. Just have to be careful to not play the 6th string on the A chords which come 3rd & 5th in the main progression. The advantages, of course, are the G chord becomes only 2 frets and I can use my left thumb to deaden that dropped D.
I doubt I'd use it for anything other than messing around, even though I play with alternate tunings fairly often.
Here's one example where I work on fingerstyle using a tuning that goes (1st to 6th) E, C, G, C, A, C.
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-velvet-underground/sweet-jane-chords-268690
Btw, I really love that song...
ProfessorGAC
(64,425 posts)I've only messed around with drop D on that song. Never would perform it that way.
Not worth it. My hands are on autopilot when I play it. I don't to have to think about it.
highplainsdem
(48,731 posts)And I think I'll add the link for the OP you posted about this last year
https://democraticunderground.com/103453356
and that link you have for that set at your SoundCloud acount:
https://soundcloud.com/user-134084288/sets/home-recording-2021
And the main link there:
https://soundcloud.com/user-134084288