by Lysander » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:50 pm
Lateralus!
Anyone who knows anything about music and knows of the song Lateralus has probably already figured out the cool rhythmical paterns that are in here, but just in case you don't, I'll outline a few of it, and maybe along the way explain just why I find this to be my favorit song of all time.
The chorus riff is, in fact, in three time signatures. If you're playing it, it's probably easiest to think of it as being five measures of 3/8, then one measure of 2/8 (or 1/4 if you like), two more measures of 3/8 and then a measure of 1/8. So: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 repeat. But how you're "supposed" to look at counting it out is in relation to the over-all song structure, by counting each of the main three phrases as its own measure. So, in that case, it consists of one measure of 9/8 time, then a measure of 4/4 (or 8/8), then a measure of 7/8. So: 1 2 3 4 5 6 (here the riff moves from D to G) 7 8 9 (moves to F; drums have just completed a fill) 1 2 3 4 5 6 (back to G) 7 8 (the stuttered pattern starts) 1 2 3 4 5 (riff moves to the C and then D an octave up) 6 7 repeat.
After this, the lyrics start. What's interesting here is that the lyrics are actually themselves being used as a rhythmical instrument; count the sylables. "Black, then, white-are, all-I-see, in-my-in-fan-cy, red-and-yel-low-then-came-to-be, reach-in-out-to-me, lets-me-see. There-is, so, much, more-and, bec-kons-me, to-look-through-to-these, in-fin-ant poss-a-bil-a-ties. As-be-low-so-a-bove-and-be-yond-I-im-ag-ine, drawn-out-side-the-lines-of-re-son. Push-the-en-ve-lope, watch-it-bend." So: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 8, 5, 3. What are these numbers, I know you are asking delightedly? Yes, these numbers actually have a significance outside of the song itself: they are the first few steps of the "Fibonacci Sequence," which is a spirally mathematical concept that involves taking two numbers and then adding the number previous to the second one to it and then continuing on down the line. So: 0, 1, 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, 5+3=8, 8+5=13, and so on, forever; this sequence actually occurs in nature in a few places, if anyone cares. Think that's cool? Well guess what: 987, the top numbers of the three-signature chorus section, is also a step in the same sequence; as it happens, #17.
I won't bother going into the paterns on the guitars because they're both pretty simple; the drum beat, however, is a bit tricky: bassbass high-tom high-tom bass mid-tom bass bass low-tom low-tom low-tom bass; mid-tom mid-tom bass mid-tom bass bass low-tom low-tom low-tom. And then, because that wasn't hard enough to remember, he ads a hihat chuck with the left foot on every eighth note. In the next section, while the bass and guitars are playing sixteenth notes on a measure of 5/8, the drum riff changes--while the hihat is still going--to: low-tom low-tom low-tom bass mid-tom mid-tom bass high-tom high-tom bass; low-tom low-tom low-tom bass high-tom high-tom bass mid-tom mid-tom bass.
But I'm not done yet! I won't bother going into diagraming the drum or guitar solos, because, really, no one cares, although there is one neat when the drums and bass are continuing the 9/8/7 patern while the guitar just plays a straight 3/8 Low-D, C, D patern. However, the bridge does do something rather interesting, which I will comment on.
First, it's the same part that's played at the very beginning of the song. SO they play their bridge first, which I find somewhat interesting. Anyway, it starts out with the bass playing 4 16th notes on the D in a 3/8 patern. But after that, the drummer comes in playing alternating 16th and 32nd hihat triplets in 5/8 time. Over this weirdness, the guitarest is playing in plain ol/ vanilla 4/4, starting with one two-note section of the riff, then adding another one the next time around, and so on until the very last repeat of the phrase he is playing the entire riff that you heard back at the beginning of the song. After this, the drum riff changes again to something ungodly complicated that I am almost completely incapable of playing and singing at the same time, because the lyrical rhythm is in following the guitar in 4/4 while the drum riff continues on in 5/8 time. (The bass changes also, but it's just going from D to G to F in the same time signature and amount of notes; not nearly as drastic, although sometimes it actually goes up to B-flat, which is just cool.) What's going on here is...
As previously mentioned, the drums are playing in a 5/8 signature; the easiest part of this is the sticking of the hihat, which is just straight sixteenth notes all the way through. The snare drum patern is also quite easy: it's played once on the 5 of each measure. the bass drum, meanwhile, is playing the same rhythm of four sixteenth notes that Justin is playing on his bass guitar. However, the two of them are playing in rather different time signatures, the result being that for every time Danny plays the patern, Justin plays it twice and then one note more. SO they start in sync but rapidly go out of it--but it's all very musical and exciting and rott. Trying to keep a 5/8 signature over the bass's 3/8 AND the vocal/guitar's 4/4 is hard enough, but there's one more wrinkle in this that makes this section a nightmare if you're trying to concentrate on anything other than the drumming; though I said, earlier, that the sticking of the hihat was the easiest part, the foot patern is probably the hardest part. Since the stick is tapping sixteenth notes, you must open it precisely the length of one sixteenth note and then close it again before the second one; this requires precise control of the foot to be able to lift up and push down exactly the right amount, lest you open it too early or close it too late. What's worse, is that the notes that the open hats fall on--again, durring a 10/16 sziganture--are 1, 3, 6, 8. So while one arm is dotting out sixteenth notes, the other arm is hitting the snare on teh fifth eighth note, the right foot is thudding out four sixteenth notes at the beginning of each measure--while the vocals are singing in 4/4 and the bass is playing in 3/8, your left foot has to be: up down up down down up down up down down.
As you can see, the drums in this song are quite complex; Danny gets two solos which, while i did not bore you all with them here, rest assured they are quite difficult to play. I am a drummer. I am already going to fall in olve with any song that has difficult drumming. On top of that, there's fun with numbbers in the Fibonacci sequence, as previously mentioned; one phrase is in three different time signatures which adds up to the 17th step in the sequence, the vocal melodies as previously mentioned, as well as: 5+3 (the two dominant signatures durring the bridge)=8; 5+8=13. WHile i have no doubt that this was unintended durring hte creation of the song, it's still damn cool. On top of that, the lyrics contain nuggets such as: "There is so much more that beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities", "Reaching out ot embrace the random; reaching out ot embrace whatever may come. Embrace my desire to: feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widdow; to feel enspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty", "With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sound and open wide to suck it in, I feel it move across my skin. I'm reachin' up, and reachin' out; I'm reachin' for the random or whatever will bewilder me. We'll ride the spiral to the end, we may just go where no one's been. SPiral out; keep going." It's hard to argue with the good-ness of lyrics like these, and I think it's important in a musical world full of people with a morbid fascination with death, killing people, and writing song after song after boring, repetative song about such to take a moment and remember that life is worth living for. That Tool can make a song that has just as many "loud" moments as any run-of-the-mill murder death kill hate destroy metal band yet talk about such a joyful thing as transendence is what makes them one of my favorit bands and this song my favorit song of all time. Thank you and goodnight.
Lateralus!
Anyone who knows anything about music and knows of the song Lateralus has probably already figured out the cool rhythmical paterns that are in here, but just in case you don't, I'll outline a few of it, and maybe along the way explain just why I find this to be my favorit song of all time.
The chorus riff is, in fact, in three time signatures. If you're playing it, it's probably easiest to think of it as being five measures of 3/8, then one measure of 2/8 (or 1/4 if you like), two more measures of 3/8 and then a measure of 1/8. So: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 repeat. But how you're "supposed" to look at counting it out is in relation to the over-all song structure, by counting each of the main three phrases as its own measure. So, in that case, it consists of one measure of 9/8 time, then a measure of 4/4 (or 8/8), then a measure of 7/8. So: 1 2 3 4 5 6 (here the riff moves from D to G) 7 8 9 (moves to F; drums have just completed a fill) 1 2 3 4 5 6 (back to G) 7 8 (the stuttered pattern starts) 1 2 3 4 5 (riff moves to the C and then D an octave up) 6 7 repeat.
After this, the lyrics start. What's interesting here is that the lyrics are actually themselves being used as a rhythmical instrument; count the sylables. "Black, then, white-are, all-I-see, in-my-in-fan-cy, red-and-yel-low-then-came-to-be, reach-in-out-to-me, lets-me-see. There-is, so, much, more-and, bec-kons-me, to-look-through-to-these, in-fin-ant poss-a-bil-a-ties. As-be-low-so-a-bove-and-be-yond-I-im-ag-ine, drawn-out-side-the-lines-of-re-son. Push-the-en-ve-lope, watch-it-bend." So: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 8, 5, 3. What are these numbers, I know you are asking delightedly? Yes, these numbers actually have a significance outside of the song itself: they are the first few steps of the "Fibonacci Sequence," which is a spirally mathematical concept that involves taking two numbers and then adding the number previous to the second one to it and then continuing on down the line. So: 0, 1, 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, 5+3=8, 8+5=13, and so on, forever; this sequence actually occurs in nature in a few places, if anyone cares. Think that's cool? Well guess what: 987, the top numbers of the three-signature chorus section, is also a step in the same sequence; as it happens, #17.
I won't bother going into the paterns on the guitars because they're both pretty simple; the drum beat, however, is a bit tricky: bassbass high-tom high-tom bass mid-tom bass bass low-tom low-tom low-tom bass; mid-tom mid-tom bass mid-tom bass bass low-tom low-tom low-tom. And then, because that wasn't hard enough to remember, he ads a hihat chuck with the left foot on every eighth note. In the next section, while the bass and guitars are playing sixteenth notes on a measure of 5/8, the drum riff changes--while the hihat is still going--to: low-tom low-tom low-tom bass mid-tom mid-tom bass high-tom high-tom bass; low-tom low-tom low-tom bass high-tom high-tom bass mid-tom mid-tom bass.
But I'm not done yet! I won't bother going into diagraming the drum or guitar solos, because, really, no one cares, although there is one neat when the drums and bass are continuing the 9/8/7 patern while the guitar just plays a straight 3/8 Low-D, C, D patern. However, the bridge does do something rather interesting, which I will comment on.
First, it's the same part that's played at the very beginning of the song. SO they play their bridge first, which I find somewhat interesting. Anyway, it starts out with the bass playing 4 16th notes on the D in a 3/8 patern. But after that, the drummer comes in playing alternating 16th and 32nd hihat triplets in 5/8 time. Over this weirdness, the guitarest is playing in plain ol/ vanilla 4/4, starting with one two-note section of the riff, then adding another one the next time around, and so on until the very last repeat of the phrase he is playing the entire riff that you heard back at the beginning of the song. After this, the drum riff changes again to something ungodly complicated that I am almost completely incapable of playing and singing at the same time, because the lyrical rhythm is in following the guitar in 4/4 while the drum riff continues on in 5/8 time. (The bass changes also, but it's just going from D to G to F in the same time signature and amount of notes; not nearly as drastic, although sometimes it actually goes up to B-flat, which is just cool.) What's going on here is...
As previously mentioned, the drums are playing in a 5/8 signature; the easiest part of this is the sticking of the hihat, which is just straight sixteenth notes all the way through. The snare drum patern is also quite easy: it's played once on the 5 of each measure. the bass drum, meanwhile, is playing the same rhythm of four sixteenth notes that Justin is playing on his bass guitar. However, the two of them are playing in rather different time signatures, the result being that for every time Danny plays the patern, Justin plays it twice and then one note more. SO they start in sync but rapidly go out of it--but it's all very musical and exciting and rott. Trying to keep a 5/8 signature over the bass's 3/8 AND the vocal/guitar's 4/4 is hard enough, but there's one more wrinkle in this that makes this section a nightmare if you're trying to concentrate on anything other than the drumming; though I said, earlier, that the sticking of the hihat was the easiest part, the foot patern is probably the hardest part. Since the stick is tapping sixteenth notes, you must open it precisely the length of one sixteenth note and then close it again before the second one; this requires precise control of the foot to be able to lift up and push down exactly the right amount, lest you open it too early or close it too late. What's worse, is that the notes that the open hats fall on--again, durring a 10/16 sziganture--are 1, 3, 6, 8. So while one arm is dotting out sixteenth notes, the other arm is hitting the snare on teh fifth eighth note, the right foot is thudding out four sixteenth notes at the beginning of each measure--while the vocals are singing in 4/4 and the bass is playing in 3/8, your left foot has to be: up down up down down up down up down down.
As you can see, the drums in this song are quite complex; Danny gets two solos which, while i did not bore you all with them here, rest assured they are quite difficult to play. I am a drummer. I am already going to fall in olve with any song that has difficult drumming. On top of that, there's fun with numbbers in the Fibonacci sequence, as previously mentioned; one phrase is in three different time signatures which adds up to the 17th step in the sequence, the vocal melodies as previously mentioned, as well as: 5+3 (the two dominant signatures durring the bridge)=8; 5+8=13. WHile i have no doubt that this was unintended durring hte creation of the song, it's still damn cool. On top of that, the lyrics contain nuggets such as: "There is so much more that beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities", "Reaching out ot embrace the random; reaching out ot embrace whatever may come. Embrace my desire to: feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widdow; to feel enspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty", "With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sound and open wide to suck it in, I feel it move across my skin. I'm reachin' up, and reachin' out; I'm reachin' for the random or whatever will bewilder me. We'll ride the spiral to the end, we may just go where no one's been. SPiral out; keep going." It's hard to argue with the good-ness of lyrics like these, and I think it's important in a musical world full of people with a morbid fascination with death, killing people, and writing song after song after boring, repetative song about such to take a moment and remember that life is worth living for. That Tool can make a song that has just as many "loud" moments as any run-of-the-mill murder death kill hate destroy metal band yet talk about such a joyful thing as transendence is what makes them one of my favorit bands and this song my favorit song of all time. Thank you and goodnight.