Fun song name fact: Dean is Joe Dart's nickname and the name is also a reference to the song teen town. I also heard it was written by Woody Goss of all people
I feel like "don't be afraid of triads" is something every jazzer needs to hear once in a while. Thank you Professor Goss for this important and necessary lesson.
@@unitoftemp well, triads are the most basic form of a chord, consisting of the root (of that chord, not the scale it's set in), a major or minor third and a fifth. They are the butter notes, and most jazz musicians try to find a way to avoid them by creating tension with other harmonical choices in their chord progression, adding a seventh, using a sixth or another spicyer interval instead of the fifth, or playing a different bass note for the root. My theory knowledge is a bit half-assed, but that's what i got down logically. But Woody's right, triads are the basis after all, using them bare in a piece like dean town will sound very smooth and subtle.
i've always thought a lot of jazz boils down to triads on top of different bass notes imposing different sounds and contexts for functionality - just pure experimentation baby
All the evidence you need that triads are the way is the last interview with Michael Brecker, where he was asked, "what are you working on right now?" And he replied, "Triads."
Every great Jazz/Funk/Soul bass player knows their chords, really really well. Dudes like Jamerson and Pastorius are really just outlining chords and hitting chord tones the entire time. Totally unlocks the bass when you think of it that way!
Ha! Same here, but for me, guitar - play it every day. The first time I heard that keyboard refrain, I immediately thought of Moby's Extreme Ways (the Bourne Identity theme song), especially the second 'string' part Woody uses to add to the triads. Sweet!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. I'm a huge fan of yours and trying to delve deeper into music and music theory and your music really inspires me ;) Greetings from Germany ^^
Ahhhhh yeah! A deeper glimpse into Vulfness that is Dean Town. Love it! That melody is seared into my brain and I've been humming that tune for MONTHS! Change as little as possible, Professor G.
I have officially, finally popped my "hearing Woody's voice" cherry. Does not disappoint. I love you equally as much now that the veil has been lifted.
This is actually so helpful. I just started learning piano 2 months ago and learning the notes as well as your reasoning behind them is super interesting
As much as the sick bass line stands out, I always found the structural harmony absolutely wonderful and now I understand why. I've heard some rumours that you actually wrote the song, if that was the case, congratulations because it's a master piece and I'm absolutely obsessed with it.
Gotta say my heart and my soul feel blessed with these videos, my dear Woody. A kind soul, outstanding musician, sharing some of the tastiest and already legendary chords to a legendary song for everyone to funk away. In these times we really need this, thank you, buddy, truly.
what a wonderful man you are, You don't know how much I appreciate this kind of videos and even more from the composer himself! I love this not-actually-a-song with a passion and I play it on bass all the time but I struggle a lot with the chords
Thanks for this, Woody! :) Really happy to see that my full-score transcription wasn't TOO far off in regards to the chords (there's a scrolling sheet music video of it on my channel). For some reason I thought the bass note was doubled in the right hand for a few of those chords which is obviously wrong, but otherwise I had both the chords and the voicings correct, including the ending part.
Every time I meet another Vulfpeck "fan", I tell them, "Hey, did you know that Woody Goss wrote Dean Town?" I'm still yet to get back, "Yeah mum, you tell me that every time we hang out"
Hey woody thanks for these great videos! I had a question, which is your favorite electric piano? Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Yamaha cp 70, clavinet? Thanks again.
Professor Goss - firstly - wow. What a crackin tune!. Hopefully you can answer a few questions. 1. Do you play bass or guitar, or does the tune land under the fingers so well by pure coincidence? 2. Does it bug you that there are so many "transcriptions" of it out there that are wrong? (I saw one today that had a 6/4 and 3/4 bar in it - bloke tried to tell me it's easier to read that way!) Any chance you might put it to bed and put the "definitive" one up? 3. Were you deliberately paying homage to Jaco when (before and during) you composed it? Hope you answer these and thanks for being such an awesome, minimalist player. Its just what is needed on Rhodes for that style and you do it magically. Thanks from a new (and old) bass playing fan.
I love your playing on the song, especially the MSG live version! Can't wait to hit the keys when I get home....thanks! And please come to Monterey Jazz Festival!!!
So F#m, Bsus4/Db, Bm/E, B7 or thereabouts? Also this is an exceptional tutorial not only on how to do the keyboard accompaniment to Dean Town, but how to accompany songs in general when you aren't the lead part, which is an invaluable skill.
Definitely what Woody's playing, notewise, but I'm not sure that's how I'd notate it, harmonically speaking. The second and third chords are definitely variants of C#m and E. So, and bear in mind I'm a bit crap at this: F#m, C#m7add4 (???), E7sus2, B7. That third chord absolutely isn't a Bm chord with an E in the bass; definitely an E-chord of some kind. I originally thought it might be a "ninth (no3)", but that's nonsense (because the 3rd is what determines if it's maj/min)... whereas E7sus2 implies the missing third. I mean, what this is all showing us is the importance of voicing - all those inner melodies moving around!
@@infov0re I would say F#m C#m11 E9(no3) B7. Bsus4/C# and Bm/E would probably be better descriptions of those exact voicings, though (if you wanted to be more specific about the voicings - if I had to tell someone to play these exact voicings, I would say "Bsus4 over C# in bass" and "Bm over E in bass"). When it comes to the E9(no3), the bassline actually includes the third in it. I really don't think 7sus2 is any more or less correct than 9(no3). Both are saying the same thing with a bit different ways. But the way I'm hearing it is as a dominant 9th chord that is missing the third, not as a dominant 7th with the 2nd replacing the 3rd. I don't think 9(no3) is implying major or minor BTW. But also, in this context, it's definitely functioning as a major chord.
I specifically avoided giving them correct names more so it wasn't a jumbled mess of extensions just in case someone wanted a basic road map of the chords If I really did have to name them I would say F#m, C#m11, E9, B7. I say those as full names because the full harmonic idea is filled out by the melody. I do not know why I called it Bm whatever over Db because that's a really dumb name for it
@@oldgoat381 _nods_. Almost certainly what I'd write down for myself to make a fist of! Though I'd forget the fourth in the C#m11 if I didn't remind myself. (Hence why I find it useful to see the difference between what I'd notate, and what gets voiced, and why I have a loong way to go, still, on voicing)
@@MaggaraMarine i know that sometimes Cory Wong plays e triad on the third chord, literally G# B E, i think the whole bane think as a 9dominant chord. And they move around voicings that work for the song
Thanks for this Woody. Your piano chops inspired me to get back into piano! I use the bass line to Dean town as a warm-up! Would be so grateful if you could do something like this for it gets funkier? Jack does a great tutorial for the main lick but would love to know what your doing on that ol' time piano when you lay on the improvisation in the later verses. Huge fan.
Heya Woody!! Thanks so much for this video! :) I'm currently working on a composition for my GCSE's and intend to do it in a similar style to Vulfpeck so this video is incredibly helpful. Is there any advice you could possibly give to anyone trying to compose in a funk/jazz style? Thank you! :)
@@Endhog it's still a work in progress and it sort of changed into a tango actually. I was messing around with electric bass and then switched it to double bass and it kinda sounded cool so adjusted the style and yeah now I've written a whole damn tango
Thanks for creating this jem Professor! The more I listen to it the more I have the feeling it tells a story in a secret language... so what is it all about? By the way I assume the funky high double stops that Cory plays are more or less the same as the ones you play but rhythmically different? Cheers from Paris.
also, the ever so slight differences in your bass riff stick out like crazy to my brains. I think the added notes to the bass in the full band amped the original up. Love you guys.
Thank you for that point about not thinking about chord professions as like theory but as melody. I’ve been playing piano and keyboard for like 10 years now, and I really needed to hear that. Please make a tutorial for tee time I’ll give u a hug :)) thank u professor goss ur a huge inspiration for me and I hope u enjoy ur simple bird watching/funk life
I hope you are not referring to my keyboard tutorial or my cover of Dean Town at 0:17 :P Took me months to transcribe it and learn to play it in full tempo. Would be a lot easier with this video.
Really cool tutorial! I think the chords are C#11, E9, B7 and F#m, but as he says, it's the voice leading that makes the difference. It's an incredible tune, I didn't know he was the composer, I assumed it was written by Joe Dart! Thanks for the explanation!
1:37 That sound took me straight to "Select Time Theme" from F-Zero (SNES) great, funky soundtrack, highly underrated. Woody I think you'd dig it, some real gems, "Silence", "White Land", etc.
The second chord really struck me the first time I heard the song. While it's certainly at home in funk, something about the whole arrangement takes my brain to early '90s west coast hip-hop. I don't know specifically what artist or what song has that essence.
