“Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin is a song I loved for many years just for listening and enjoying, but then I started to love it even more as a music theory teaching example. It’s emblematic of blues tonality, one-chord changes, and groove structure. The released version is edited down from its original arrangement, which …
Author Archives: Ethan
Oye Como Va
Santana’s recording of “Oye Como Va” is one of the most outrageous grooves I’ve ever heard. David Welna describes it as “a Cuban cha-cha composed by a Puerto Rican New Yorker and performed by a Mexican immigrant and his San Francisco rock band.” It’s red-hot from its opening seconds. As the organ starts the montuno, …
Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor
A passacaglia is a Baroque dance that is a lot like the chaconne. One of Bach’s greatest hits is his Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. Like the Chaconne, the Passacaglia is a long series of variations on a short, simple dance form. Also like the Chaconne, it’s pretty awesome. Bach got the first half …
What if the Bach Chaconne was modal jazz?
As I struggle my way through the Bach Chaconne on guitar, I’m having to work around the fact that I am great at music theory but terrible at note reading. So before I could play the piece, I had to completely understand it and be able to feel it by ear. The only way I …
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Deep dive into the Bach Chaconne
You can now read this post in Spanish on Deviolines I have been spending much of my free time during the pandemic learning how to play the Bach Chaconne on guitar, drawing heavily on Rodolfo Betancourt’s transcription. Here’s Christopher Parkening doing my favorite interpretation by a guitarist (I do not sound remotely like this): This …
Music Ed Tech Talk with Will and me
The current episode of Robby Burns’ podcast features Will Kuhn and myself talking about our book, our philosophy of music education, and our opinions about Star Trek. We talk a lot about Star Trek at the beginning. If you are not interested in Star Trek, feel free to skip ahead.
Green Onions
Is this the coolest music that has ever been recorded? I don’t mean cool in the sense of fashionable (though it is) or appealing (though it is), I mean it in the sense of laconic confidence in its bad self. Booker T and the MGs recorded the tune without a title, and then when the …
Conversation with Jim Frankel on the MusicFirst podcast
The Electronic Music School promotional tour kicks off with an appearance on the MusicFirst Podcast, hosted by our old friend and MusicFirst founder Dr Jim Frankel. Enjoy the mellifluous sound of my new Shure SM7B.
Music is not a universal language and this klezmer song proves it
My man Adam has a word: Music is the universal language the same way English is, in that it isn't — Adam Neely (@its_adamneely) May 3, 2021 I can prove this with an example from my own life. When I was younger I got interested in my Jewish heritage and spent a couple of years …
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Art of Fugue – Contrapunctus XI
Here it is, the most stupendous entry in The Art of Fugue. Its three themes are inversions of the ones in Contrapunctus VIII, meaning that they have the same rhythms and intervals but are upside down. Bach also added lots of subthemes and counterthemes. I used Ableton Live to visualize Angela Hewitt’s recording, drawing extensively …