Three notes and a chord. Get out of my head!
May 20, 2015 6:12 PM Subscribe
Please help me identify this musical trill/riff/thingy. I know three notes and a chord. It's been stuck in my head for days. I'll detail everything I can think of that may help.
This is either a slow song or a slow part of an otherwise fast song. I listen to a lot of rock music, blues, and older jazz. I'm pretty sure this is played on guitar, but it might be a fuzzed-out piano or keyboard - I think the chord is a bit distorted.
The three notes increment upwards, do-re-mi. They're not widely spaced in tone, but close together. Then the following chord sounds similar to the first do note. The three notes are all in one measure, the chord holds for the next three beats. The chord isn't a solid lengthened sound, it's strummed/hit rhythmically a few times to maintain it. There is no other sound going on while this bit of music happens.
(I did some basic music theory half my life ago. I hope you know what I mean here, with beats. I want to say it's a 3/4 beat but I can't be sure - I tap my foot on three when I think of this.)
If it helps, Concrete Blonde's "When I Was A Fool" is a song I thought it was from, but it's not.
This is either a slow song or a slow part of an otherwise fast song. I listen to a lot of rock music, blues, and older jazz. I'm pretty sure this is played on guitar, but it might be a fuzzed-out piano or keyboard - I think the chord is a bit distorted.
The three notes increment upwards, do-re-mi. They're not widely spaced in tone, but close together. Then the following chord sounds similar to the first do note. The three notes are all in one measure, the chord holds for the next three beats. The chord isn't a solid lengthened sound, it's strummed/hit rhythmically a few times to maintain it. There is no other sound going on while this bit of music happens.
(I did some basic music theory half my life ago. I hope you know what I mean here, with beats. I want to say it's a 3/4 beat but I can't be sure - I tap my foot on three when I think of this.)
If it helps, Concrete Blonde's "When I Was A Fool" is a song I thought it was from, but it's not.
This kind of thing happens to me often, so I sympathize. What your description calls to my mind is the opening riff of The Beatles' "You Won't See Me."
posted by knot of one mind at 7:09 PM on May 20, 2015
posted by knot of one mind at 7:09 PM on May 20, 2015
You don't have any way of playing this on a keyboard and recording it for us to hear?
What does "they're not widely spaced in tone, but close together" mean within the context of "do-re-mi"? Do re and mi are, by definition, not widely spaced in tone but close together.
And when the "do" chord plays for three beats, does it play in three even beats, or more syncopated, as in "YOu Won't See Me," as suggested above?
posted by DMelanogaster at 7:29 PM on May 20, 2015
What does "they're not widely spaced in tone, but close together" mean within the context of "do-re-mi"? Do re and mi are, by definition, not widely spaced in tone but close together.
And when the "do" chord plays for three beats, does it play in three even beats, or more syncopated, as in "YOu Won't See Me," as suggested above?
posted by DMelanogaster at 7:29 PM on May 20, 2015
Response by poster: Sorry if that was unclear. They're tonally close together, like an a-b-c series of notes.
The chord is played with the beat, I think.
posted by cmyk at 7:46 PM on May 20, 2015
The chord is played with the beat, I think.
posted by cmyk at 7:46 PM on May 20, 2015
I would be shocked if this is right but Tommy James' Draggin' the Line fits the bill.
posted by Miko at 8:01 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 8:01 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
My semi-random guess is "Under My Thumb" (since you're not positive it's guitar).
Good luck; you'll probably find it eventually. I once drove myself crazy for half a week thinking "what *is* this little piece of a Jimi Hendrix lick that's stuck in my head?" before realizing it was a bit of saxophone from a live Duke Ellington recording.
posted by uosuaq at 8:06 PM on May 20, 2015
Good luck; you'll probably find it eventually. I once drove myself crazy for half a week thinking "what *is* this little piece of a Jimi Hendrix lick that's stuck in my head?" before realizing it was a bit of saxophone from a live Duke Ellington recording.
posted by uosuaq at 8:06 PM on May 20, 2015
Best answer: Sounds to me like INXS Never Tear Us Apart (the bar in question is at about 1:30).
posted by nomis at 8:52 PM on May 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by nomis at 8:52 PM on May 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Could it be the beginning of Bringing on the Heartbreak by Def Leppard?
posted by mefireader at 9:47 PM on May 20, 2015
posted by mefireader at 9:47 PM on May 20, 2015
That Concrete Blonde intro sounds a lot like The Animals' House of the Rising Sun
posted by STFUDonnie at 10:04 PM on May 20, 2015
posted by STFUDonnie at 10:04 PM on May 20, 2015
The sheet music I purchased for that song last year is notated in 6/8 time, by the way. (Though they could just as well have used 3/4.)
posted by Coaticass at 1:05 AM on May 21, 2015
posted by Coaticass at 1:05 AM on May 21, 2015
FYI 3/4 and 6/8 aren't interchangeable -- 3/4 is three groups of two, 6/8 is two groups of three. 6/8 can sometimes be tough to distinguish from 12/8 (four groups of three), but that INXS tune is definitely 6/8.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:26 AM on May 21, 2015
posted by ludwig_van at 6:26 AM on May 21, 2015
Nomis' YouTube link didn't work for me, but this one does.
posted by LonnieK at 9:48 AM on May 21, 2015
posted by LonnieK at 9:48 AM on May 21, 2015
Dear ludwig van, I was referring to the fact that the groups of three eighth notes in 6/8 time can sound just like a group of three quarter notes and both notes are divisible by two. Yes 6/8 time makes clear that the two groups of three have a dominant and subordinate group, however as you (I am sure) know perfectly well, this effect is frequently found in music notated in 3/4 time as well. Especially frequent in music notated or arranged for novices (I am guessing you don't deal with beginners very much).
posted by Coaticass at 1:56 PM on May 21, 2015
posted by Coaticass at 1:56 PM on May 21, 2015
Response by poster: All this complexity is why I never went far with music. That, and I needed some foreign language credits and only had one slot I could free up.
posted by cmyk at 3:52 PM on May 21, 2015
posted by cmyk at 3:52 PM on May 21, 2015
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posted by bink at 6:20 PM on May 20, 2015