Search options (Page 6 of 7)

OK Jerome, here goes, and apologies for being a bit abrupt in my last reply.
Maybe I could explain why I think it goes in 3 or 6...
When I saw the word "poetry" I didn't immediately think of punk or rock!
For such a cultured ditty I thought more of a slow ballad or more reflective sort of song (thinking of Cohen, Paul Simon here)
Even a bit of a dirge in the minor key...
I also think there may be certain transatlantic linguistic differences in the way the speech patterns work. Who knows.
Taking the 1st line
You CAN not SALT the EA-gle's TAIL, nor LIM-it THOUGHT'S do-MIN-ion
This goes as: de DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM etc
That is unstressed-STRESSED unstressed-STRESSED etc (technically referred to as "iambic", I'm told)
with 2 beats on each STRESSED  "DUM", and 1 on each unstressed  "de".
This would be my way of speaking the poem and my natural speech rhythm.
This is more likely the way when you are looking at a nice slow, elegant style of song. Emphasis on the word SLOW.

On the other hand, if you see this as a bit of angry punk where you spit out the words then, yes, it goes in 2 or 4 (with one beat on the stressed syllable), rather than 3 or 6 (with 2 beats on the stressed syllable)
The faster you take it, the more it seems to prefer 2s. Slow it down and it goes nicely in 3s.
In a slow 6/8 it would be 4 measures per line, starting on an up-beat with the 1st syllable of the 2nd line where the X is
Thus (two beats on each stressed syllable)
You | CAN not SALT the | EA-gle's TAIL, nor | LIM-it THOUGHT'S do- | -MIN-ion  - - X |
So it's really a matter of how you approach the initial choice of style. After that the rhythm decides itself.
This is why music and songwriting is so fascinating. Look how we can see two totally different interpretations of the same text.
Hope I have made myself clearer this time.
Regards

Chris

Good advice, Zurf. I'd just like to point out a small inadvertent error here.
In the 3rd example it should be DGDA. (not DADG) I'm sure it's just a typo, but might confuse the poster a bit when trying to work back to the I, IV, I, V on that one.

That database is very much "a work in progress", and is in its early stages. None of my guitars is listed there!
Thanks for the link, though.
It should be good when it's finished.

Scruff, do you mean the guitar chords on the verse at the end of each line?
I mean, where it goes "da da, da da, daa daa"?

Church house gin house. da da, da da, Daa Daa?
School house out house. da da, da da, Daa Daa?

Did your friend give any reason for you not doing it yet?

Yes, but not at the very start. When you first pick up a guitar (I'm not referring to classical training)  you want to learn chords. (To accompany a song). It really doesn't matter how they relate to the scales initially. I said "if you are just starting out". The scales can come later.
I also said that the scales relate to melody while the chords relate to harmony. Clearly the two exist together.
There isn't much to disagree with really. If you want to learn the theory, you need to understand both. There are many guitarists (and other musicians) who have no idea how the theory (of harmony and melody) works. And don't need to. In my experience, most technical talk of scales and chords simply serves to confuse and discourage the beginner. And, after all, that is what this thread is about. A beginner who has been confused by premature and probably unnecessary talk of scales at this stage.

What is the chord shape you are trying to play? You can get the 7th by playing an open D string and not bothering with the D played on the 3rd fret on the B string.
3   = #9
0
1
0   = 7
2
0

How does that sound?

Thanks flester.
There was meant to be irony in my question about getting it "wrong".
Maybe it didn't come across. It there one of those little emoticon things for "irony"?

The point I was making was that there must be many who have used a teacher or had more formal guitar tuition. (My brother is going for lessons next month with a guitar teacher.)
Were any of you taught that the "correct" fingering is as I described, or were you taught that either is correct. Or what?

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. It is interesting to hear people's different experiences.

The "Chordie" chords are those that Cohen plays and are correct as far as I can see and agree with those in a book of Cohen songs I bought back in 1970. Teddy is not sticking to those exactly in his version. The chord he plays at the end of those lines is A. Cohen doesn't at that point.

The very first time, and in the breaks he plays a straight barre B7 chord, but after that in the verses he plays a B7 chord with E in the bass. ( Often written B7/E ) I can hear the bass guitar holding the E while the B7 chord sounds. The tab above is just a B7 chord with the E bass string sounding.
It can sound a bit discordant to some. You can play a straight B7 if you want.

It sounds like he plays a straight A to me. However, the tab above could be called A9 (or Asus9) chord. In the key of E, it's an A chord but holding the B over from the E chord.
The point is, he is doing his own version of the Cohen song and it sounds very different in tone to the original, and uses a different chord at that one point. Cohen's version uses a rather fast picking style, Teddy strums.
Make your version how you want it - but close to Teddy's. Teddy hasn't kept so very close to the original - you needn't keep so close to Teddy's.
Nice song. One of my favourite Cohen's

There's another thread somewhere about this notation. The /Eb means that the "bass" or lowest note you play is an Eb. This note is part of (the 5th) an Ab chord so in this case, it's a straight Ab chord shape (barre on 4th fret) but not playing the lowest string.