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I'm having a hex of a time figuring out the synth lead on Never Been Any Reason, by Head East. Any help out there. I got about three quarters of it figured out but the third part of the lead is giving me fits. Perhaps I'm just going deaf.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Sorry, if it don't have strings... I can't play it:)

(other than peck out tunes by ear, but that don't count)  LOL

Kappy plays, as does Odie. Maybe they'll mosie in here.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I knew it was a shot in the dark, maybe someone will feel kind. In the mean time I'm still plugging away at it, one note at a time. You could always figure it out on guitar for me and I'll transfer it over to this critter setting to the right of me called Yamaha Motif 6...people shouldn't spend money on things that just like to aggravate them at times.  :confused: have you listened to that song lately, thats an evil little lead.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

I'm a "play by ear" kinda person, so usually when I DO learn something, unless I look up tabs to it, it's strictly my "own" version anyhow, not technically correct;) ... and I gotta admit, I have never even HEARD that song...... but as I type, I have my Yahoo Music Jukebox popping up so I can look for it:)

You read sheet music? Tabs? Or just play by ear?

You got me curious anyhow (about the song) so I'm gonna listen to it. I came home with one of my infamous migraines today, so maybe a bit of music will help me feel better...... since a nap wasn't working:)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Hey....... I don't hear any banjos or fiddles in this song!!:)

I can totally hear my son playing this on guitar, he plays a lot of ACDC, Skynyrd, Metallica, Ozzy, stuff like that...

I like the lyrics, kewl song.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

ya, it is a pretty cool tune, i'm suppose to know it before practice tonight, I'm gaining on it I'm teaching myself to read sheet music for the keyboard but its a slow process, I can read music for pretty much anything made out of brass but these little black and white keys be another thing. If I had the sheet music I could figure it out eventually. No mam, there ain't a banjo in sight on that tune, I kinda wish there was though, perhaps it would be a good place for a banjo lead. yes indeed, Save my life i'm going down for the last time.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

(Are you talking about his analog break midway thru the song where he does his faster improv and ends his lead with the Bb-Gm-D chords (or something like that) ?
How'd I even convey that to you when I pick it out note for note ?  I'd need a block of about an hour to listen to the song, interpret it, and write it out key for key if you wish for his midway synth break.. Don't even have manu paper around anymore.
You aren't going deaf tho,  I succinctly recall that great A Cappella vocal chorus





I played guitar on that song around 1978, and 1979...I don't recall if that song was 75, or 78,  I was braindead in those days.  But that was a smoking rock song. It seemed biggest late 70's.
I could listen and pick out the synth part.. It was analog synth, probably a Voyetra, I could do it on my ARP (Didn't he have one of those wear around your neck synths like Edgar Winter used Yamaha, or now a Voyetra, maybe a Nord,,, dunno ?? I Can figure it out, but I don't have time tonight to sit at the keyboards and transcribe the lead not for note.. but unless it's his improv midway synth break, it Should be quite easy,  I think the synth is playing a diatonic line to the 4 chord beginning intro that's D-C-F-Bb at the very beginning Intro..  Guitar comes in on G chord with 1-IV-V type prog.

Guitar bass and drums have their intro w/o Synth and vocals now

1 measure each chord;  G-C-D-D
1 measure each chord:  G-C-D-D
1 measure each chord:  G-C-D-D-D-D and the vocals...on A "C" chord on the 15th measure of the Guitar intro...

Whole band with vocals

"Did you see any action"..
"Did you make any friends"

I take it you know the synth bridge..
something like

C-D-E (E holds for two beats)
E-F#-G-D (D holds two beats)
G-A-B-A (A holds for two beats)
E-D-G-F# (F# holds for two beats) :l Repeats
( second time slides up towards end) ...

Offhand, that's pretty easy to piece together.  If you want the intro synth part that starts on D descending, at the very beginning I'd need the piano to pluck it out over the bass progression, and I'd also need to go downstairs and see if I have the 33 around someplace.. and that'd mean getting off my butt of course.  Not sure if I have it at all anymore/ I assume you want the synth intro over the four chord intro pattern ?

I'll need to sit down at the keyboards to get the more intricate parts.. Can't right now

That was big around the time "Framptom Comes Live" was big. Rock was pretty good in those days

Which is the part you want ?  The two repetitions of the Synth intro over the bass progression that I think is  D, C, F, Bb ?   The first guitar chord I think was G on the 10th or 11th measure, don't recall... Not sure, I'd need to listen to the song again probably easy to do on the Arp Omni-2

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

OK,  Here's your synth part to the introduction.. Duple meter, perhaps signature would be 4/4 and a quarter note gets a beat.  Each letter represents one 1/8 note I suppose. I dl'd the song and listened to it twice, and had a few minutes to transcribe it for you..

SYNTH INTRO

D chord   (one measure)

Synth run is   D,C,B,C,B,G,A

C chord   (one measure)

Synth run is   G,A,B,C,B,D,D  <--- D's are lower D's

F Chord   (one measure)

Synth run is   F,G,A,C,B,G,A

Bb Chord  (one measure)

Synth run is   Bb, C, D, F, E, C, D

Repeat that four chord intro portion for second verse except as you know the run the second time on the final chord Bb repeats a sequence and you can pick out yourself assuming I'm off, I listened twice only to the synth part, I believe the final sequence on Bb is as follows after the first F,E,C,D repeats a few times as F,E,Bb,C
See the folling
Bb Chord  (starts off similar however the finale changes I believe from F,E, C, D you played first round and does as follows consisting of ONE time of F,E,C,D to---

Bb, C, D, F, E, C, D, F, E, Bb,C, F, E, Bb, C, F, E, Bb, C  Up to A minor diatonic descending scale (finale and seque to guitar beginning) which would have Bb and not B. Likely A minor scale..

Seque portion shifts up to A, and descends a diatonic type (all white keys)
Might be an A melodic minor descending scale, and this is the seque to the guitar beginning..
Key of A descending minor scale... All white notes however if it descends as far as the octave,  the B is not diatonic however the scale would be A-G-F-E-D-C-Bb-A  (and he gets some polyphonic rasp qualities in that ascending A minor scale likely by doodling with the VCF freq and resonance)

Guitar starts 1-4-5 prog in G now with bass and more cowbell

This is just listening and taking a few minutes,  some of it might be off by a note... Good luck.

(Keith Emerson will cost you $$$$$)  
And if you want the synth parts to Yes Album such as Perpetual Change,  I'm too old and retarded now-adays to play that stuff)

Next band practice you must now tack a piece of paper on your synth that reads
"Kappy was here"  :shock:

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Kappy, you either got a superior memory or you did dig down in the achieves and find that round thing that rotates at about 33 1/3, I haven't checked it out tonight note for note but it looks like it is very simular to what I came up with. I just got done with practice and the yamaha is still downstairs, but tomorrow I will be bringing it back upstairs and be checking it out. One thing I did figure out is that rascal has a seventh playing over the top of everything, I think that was what was messing me up, one time I listened to it I'd here a D for the first synth note, and the next time I'd hear an A. It was driving me crazy. I do very much appreciate your effort and input, you being a musician must appreciate how frustrating it can get sometimes. It's like do my ears deceive me or am I just stupider  LOL . Thanx much for the help thus far, I may be rattling your chain soon after I bring the synth back upstairs. The main lead I was talking about, I have the first three notes as being a G F# E, does that seem right to you?

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Actually that song has a lot of memories associated with it and I'm a synesthete.. Meaning one thing led to another, and before I knew it,  I was reliving the song and time period..  That aside, I have enough knowledge to visually know chord progressions BUT as stated NO I couldn't do the synth part without rehearing it regarding the actual intricate intro part not for note. I needed to rehear the song.


I downloaded the song and listened twice and recalled that he's playing in essence runs within the chordal block structure of the block major chord, quite simplistic but it works, (with one inverted exception I think).  I have a trained ear,  was playing by ear before I could speak as a toddler so I LOVE doing this,  it's a primary language for me, and I just interpret what I hear like a puzzle.  Keeps me busy..  Steely Dan is TOUGH however...HEHEHE...  I always liked that song, although they were pretty much one hit wonders weren't they ?  That's THERE only song I think that became classic rock history or really got airplay (as I recall) I think that other song was another bands they remade.. Originally all I could recall was the chorus,  than I recalled how it shifted keys.. and it has that interlude which is really a signature synth part similar to what the cars did a lot of, it's a memorable POWERFUL hard-rock song, my favorite style of sorts...  The A cappella chorus, and the crisp bass line Iduring the two measure solo are signature historic rock parts IMHO.).  If it's classic rock,  I'll remember it..  Molly Hatchet was REALLY tough however on guitar..  You'll tweak what In did to your liking, but I'll tell you, NOW I'm really missing gigging having gone back in my head !!

But WOW,  this was the first time I heard the song on something other than an older two channel system and on the computer the separation and mix was gorgeous !!  Really nicely mixed for digital separation !!!  Since I'm a multinstrumentalist and write arrangements this isn't tough, but remembering lyrics to simple songs such as Behind Blue Eyes takes me a month.. I cant recall lyrics, just melodic flow, and complex polyphony. I was looking forward to freeing up a small amount of time to do this tho,  I really enjoy it BUT I was afraid you might want the mid-way solo note for note.. and that'd be time consuming..

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Sorry, Main lead ?  Are you talking his synth solo in the middle of the song around the halfway point ?  or the short interlude he takes that I posted. Which I believe is..


The part I'm talking about is where he towards the end REALLY changes the wave form of the last note in typical Arp Odyssey form and gets almost a WOW type affect that drives the dogs in my neighborhood bizerk.. and he obviously uses a slider on his synth changing the wave compression.I'm not the most technical person in the world but I could do it on the ARP,  I just forget the names on the sliders the moment I walk away from the synth

If I am correct, you were thinking of a descending pickup rather than the above..
While it sounds like G, F#, E  I believe he is playing

The pickup to this part is  C, D, E  (held)  
followed by    E, F#-G- D
G, A, B, A
E,D,G, F#

I'd need to relisten tomorrow.  I'm laying in a darkened room now recovering from the trip bacl to the 70's  LOL

He really slides either his resonance, or something around changing the wave-form of his sound towards the end.... Sounds like that might be an ARP synth he's using.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Unless you and I are listening to two separate recordings.  I suppose it's likely assuming this to be the case he's not playing the exact same part.  I don't know how many recorded renditions there are of this song..



Depending on how cluttered my mind is absolutely.  If I'm not feeling particular up to putting the pieces of a puzzle together and would rather be doing something else, it's not fun, that's for certain..  If I'm in the right mood,  which usually just requires a little challenge for me..  I love it.. But it DOES take a cup of coffee or two.. and a semi-relaxed almost clear head.. Analog synth can be tough to decypher because the wave form isn't always quite so clear especially whem modulating.  I sat down with someone and pieced together the synth part to L.Z's  "All of my love", a few months back, although I knew the part in 79 or 80 I forgot it.. and that was a similar type situation.. It's not that it's difficult..  It just requires focus and at times NONE of us feel up to intricate stuff...



Not at all.  I think as we get into our 50's a certain amount of acuity picks up BUT energy level drops.. It was easier (as much as I hate to say this) to do some of this when I had a few beers in me, and was stoned..  Kinduh became the flow and I really DON'T like to admit that certain things just aren't as easy as a straight old fart... It's taxing on the brain cell

OK, let me take those last sentences back.. and remind myself that what I just did was "Stinkin thinkin", and I must not allow me to go there... Because I'm good enough, and I'm smart enough... and gosh darn..  People are really sick of my superfluous banter on these boards..

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I think this is the part I'm thinking of, it's the longer of the two Synth rides, I'll check out your suggestions on this tomorrow, but I got a feeling you could be right.  Ah yes the good old analogs, stupid me sold my analogs several years ago, I sure would like to have at least one of those back right now. I sure used to love tweaking those knobs, but I hated tuning the oscillators. I do have a Novation that I will probably use on this tune that should do the job but not as good as that good old Korg I used to have. Thanx again for all the help you've been. I don't know any other keyboard players around these parts.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

I have the X-3,  I love Korgs patches.. Wasn't costly, and does pretty much what I need, BUT, I do like the ease of nobs and sliders. Setting parameters and searching for stored presets isn't quick enough.  The two buttons do it all stuff just doesn't work.. Nobs really had advantages.. Agreed.  I need to look up the Novation, I forgot about it, well, never really knew much about it.. Novotron, sort've but that's a Mellotron of sorts whole different animal.. I never got into the more costly synths because I just had TOO many things I had to buy in the way of other stuff.. I'd love to have a few or even one.. But the vintage stuff that was less costly worked for me. In fact I know shamefully little about the nicer analogs..  I hear folks talking about their Access Virus, Nords, Novations, even Motifs.. REALLY nice upper end synths and workstations.. I just know nothing about them.. Sort've like in my case for my needs, if it sounded good for music up til the early 80's it's still state-of-the -art .  You see that after 30 years Hammond reissued the B-3 in digital.. Mahogany cab and all 400 lbs of it ?  I have the final year of original production pre-Suzuki which was 1975 B-3 and Leslies

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I've still got an X3 myself, I just can't get myself to sell any of my synths off, they all seem to have a niche they fill. Thinking back I think the Korg Mono/Poly and a Roland MKS70 are the only synths I sold off over the years. Yes, that mean's i'm kinda keyboard poor gawd those B3's are heavy, I used to have to help load one of those pups up on the back of an old school bus.....I mean our luxury traveling accommodations. Hard to beat those draw bars though. The main boards I use on stage these days are a Kurzweil K2VXS, Yamaha Motif and an Ensoniq ESQ1 module. All three of those just has at least one thing about them I can't get out of anything else. Once in awhile, if i'm in the mood I include an old Yamaha TX802 module if I need some of those DX7 FM sounds. I enjoy the challenge of keyboards but it's still more fun to play guitar on stage.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

  Yeah,  You can't get much closer to "The Ritz" than sitting on slabs of carpeting on the floor between PA bins with that great suspension of those old orange school buses.   I LOVED 6 hour road trips with the great neck support provided by the curve on a guitar case and the calf support of a side-lying 8X10 SVT cab Ottoman.  Rattling drum parts, heavy smoke, and SO much sleep.. I'm getting all teary-eyed from the scenic nostalgia !

Yeah,  Hopefully the B-3 didn't have the pedals with the razor tynes.. Sad what one trip would do to the cab of a B-3,  or one small landing, and a narrow doorway.. Between the weight of the B, Yamaha electragrand type Keyboards.. Rhodes. Tube stuff, Fiberglass, metal and wood cabs with 2X15 inch EV SRO's  or Altecs such as the Sunn Coliseum 2X15 cab that could house the drummer, a few bags of hypodermic needles, a hooker,  and everything else that a percussionist needs for 10 minutes of relaxation... and the Altec VOTT bins, sound boards.. Cables that are coated with lovely dirt and the weight of beer and harder liquour I think 25 Mph was top speed on the freeways.. It wasn't the easiest life-style for me.. Every gig I'd fall in love with something that I knew I'd never see again..Half the time the women took off with some other guy too, you just watch and play.. It really wasn't any type of hedonism on gig nights.. It was like working a 2 1/2 shift job setting up, knocking down, daylight meant almost bedtime, and a few hours later it was something else.. I couldn't do it year after year, but there wasn't anything else I was cut out to do either.. Never felt so lonely in my life, Homesick, Really makes you realize what these Carnies go thru.. Circus type life-style and for what in return ?   But as a hobby, there's nothing better. Takes a certain type of person..and most artistic people aren't really tough enough inside to handle that brutal and unhealthy an existence day in/out. I think eventually I'd like to try it small scale again,  but the school bus better be a nicer color than Yellow, have better shocks.. Air mattresses today could absorb some of the bump, and if I knew then what I now know, the drummer would have to be castrated and strapped to a place away from females where you could find him when he's needed...  I'd have gone with beanbag chairs in the bus,  never thought of it.. Since I'm now straight and off substance and alcohol,  I'd just down a bunch of Ativan and the trip would be easier..  I feel so reformed in my old age. I've come such a long way .. Not using Trace ir Tranny gear.. Still the heavy tube amps.. Anyway, these days no more school bus.. My equipment and lifestyle lacks that type open space.. I've downgraded to a Condo

Speaking of which, it's after 6 AM here EDT,  daylight so time for a few cups of coffee, days over... need to get a good nights sleep catch you around 10 when I'll be working

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Wow, Mr Kaplan, when you set out to help somebody figure out a song, you really give it your all doncha?  :D

Cool that you did this though.  :wave:


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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

As long as it's not an algebra equation it's easy ! It's easy for me to do.  I just need to get one of those computer USB keyboards in time..  Running back and forth between rooms is a pain in the butt..  In fact I think I even lost a lb !  But the separation anxiety when I leave the computer is immense

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I hear yah!

Doc says respiridone should work for it

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".