LYLE MAYS - CLOSE TO HOME: ANALYSIS 

Had to watch this again. Still reeling in sadness on Lyle’s passing. This is the song that first brought me into Lyle apart from Pat. Thanks again for your study, appreciation and explanation of his work. Please don’t stop. You are appreciated. Forever Lyle.

I'm actually shedding tears now. This tune speaks to how I feel at this moment trying to take on Lyle's passing. No composer's music has given my soul more peace, joy and contemplation. He left behind beauty for us all.

RIP Lyle Mays. A giant and legend has found his way home, yesterday. I’m feeling very sad this evening but so thankful for the gift he left me.

The most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard in my life

Guy, now he is close to home... for sure. What a big loss.. but his music will always be touching our heart and soul!

Chick Corea and Lyle Mays are two of my ALL TIME Favorites. So Creative yet so different. Two Greats, even though they are not with us anymore, their music remains with us forever. RIP Lyle and Chick.

i see a lot of videos on YT about music, and the technical knowledge they impart is great, BUT what places you way above those other "music analysts" is that you understand music not just from a technical standpoint but also emotionally and subliminally. and that's why I enjoy your videos more than others.

devasted by his passing. i've been listening to this tune for 35 years. it's simply sublime. i used it to put my daughter to sleep, and she's been listening to it now for over a decade. the music he and pat created...untouchable.

Thank you for honoring the genius of Lyle Mays. This is a huge loss in my heart.

Wow! You knocked it out of the park on this one, HOLY COW!

Guy, best tribute to Lyle, R.I.P

Guy fantastic job, this is one of the few songs in my life that brings me to tears. I will miss Lyle indeed.

I always wander how Lyle manage to express that little thing burried deep inside my heart. It's like he "knew". Very few pieces of music bring me to tears so much. It still does. Wow. This post is like a gift for me this morning. Thanks mr. Shkolnik for sharing your vision and analysis of this masterpiece. I guess it does that same magic on you too.

Your approach to the song is almost as fantastic as the song itself!! I'm amazed! Thank you for sharing it!

Best youtuber ever.

What you have made here is one of the most perfect analysis of a masterpiece. For several reasons. One is the Question and Answer approach which is underrated in analysis. That's the beginning to understand a good theme and often a good solo too. The second is the meaning of notes. You talk about the Cm7 on Bb which is the second degree instead of the first. But I would add that the Bb/D instead of D-7 that comes after is also a wonderful idea. Third is the little things that become obvious afterwards but at the moment of the composition it can takes hours or days to find the "good note with the good chord". I remember John Williams saying that he spent most of his time to the small details of notes when he worked on Star Wars and Harry Potter (whici is another masterpiece for me in terms of melody that brings you in a universe) for instance. But the most important lesson of your analysis is the spiritual meaning. It is linked with the Q&A approach but that is something every amateur or professional musician must do : what do I want to say with this melody and harmony ? What is my feeling ? The hesitation of the beginnng, the bridge and the final chords are full of meaning. The only thing I didn't understand in that composition is the last chord. It sounds a little bit like a "cliche" to end with this major one. Ok I am Home but it could end with the chord before in suspension... But it must mean something to Lyle so no problem :). That's why it is so important to mention Lyle Mays when he co-wrote the songs of the PMG. The details and sometimes some complete parts are his soul. By the way Thanks Guy, you have touched the Graal.

Indimenticabile uomo, in un unico, silenzio, riempito con il suo immenso suono; Lyle Mays ..❤️

The idea that this composition is a succession of questions and answers, has opened my mind on a sublime musical landscape, at an intimately human scale.

Great analysis. Glad that you used "The Way Up" to highlight his use of motif. You make music theory more palatable for a layman. Thank you

I cry every time I hear this song. I wrote a screenplay around this song. Hearing it makes me so sad Lyle May's is gone....

what I particularly like about your analyses is that they combine the technical and theoretical with the humanity and emotion of music. All the theory in the world doesn't help if it doesn't move us

I am not sure if this is the correct place to say this. But I just this second learned of the passing of Lyle Mays. Given how much of his contribution to music, is featured by Dr. Shkolnik, I immediately rushed here to express my sadness, but yet happiness. There is something becoming in all of this.... Thanks for the music Lyle. Your spirit lives on through the music, and through this channel. Condolences to everyone. G

Love your analysis .. I'm a huge fan of PMG and Lyle Mays. I play drums .... but not piano, but just adore your analysis! Thanks!!!

The most beautiful song ever heard... and I loved your analysis. RIP, Lyle Mays!!!! And you, Dr Shkolnik, you've got a new subscriber. Congratulations. I am a brasilian flutist and love PM & Lyle Mays works.

RIP Lyle...the hairs on my spine were electrified the first time I saw you with Pat in London many moons ago. And thank you Dr Guy for this video. Your playing & thoughts resonate with me Sir

Hi Dr. Guy , I just want you to know how “right on“ and intuitively and analytically correct you are , with your teaching of Lyles music and also Pats I was a composition student of his, and Lyle was a houseguest on two separate occasions. One time for five days. I could easily write six pages of “Lyle moments” . Chess, mathematics, architecture informed everything he did from the ground up. Keep up the incredible powerful work Dr. guy. What a contribution, your making... KB

Yes..he's remembering home..his Parents and family..and he can't wait to get there..

Ten months later and I'm still coming back to listen and re-listen to your breakdown and interpretation. I would love...LOVE to hear you play this piece in your style and flair in it's entirety. This brings tears to my eyes even though it is a technical analysis...it does not matter to my ears or to my heart. Thank you again. xo

I was trying to study for an exam and really avoided doing it for a number of months. I know that people listen to music while studying or reading, but I couldn’t find anything that rested my mind sufficiently. I listened to Dvorak, Symphony No 9 for The New World, which my mother introduced to me as a child. I played the Largo on the cello in 6th grade. When the Largo came on I sang along, because there are lyrics written as a Spiritual, “ Going Home”, which I sang at my father!s funeral. I realized, that I couldn’t study to this as background. Close to Home ( again the theme of being en route to Home, or a final resting place) came to mind. I put Lyle Mays on from RU-vid,and saw a live performance of Close To Home with Lyle and Pat Metheny ( previously I had only heard the CD) and again tried to simmer my mind down to study, but the performance was so magnificent, I could only listen and studying became the distraction to my enjoyment of Lyle’s piece. I stopped what I was doing again and next, as you tube can be random, there you were Dr., with your analysis of my favorite Lyle Mays composition. I don’t have the musical vocabulary for the analysis which I found enlightening, but I feel what Lyle was communicating went straight to the heart and soul of me. I listened to you play those phenomenal chords. I would be interested in your compositions, especially as you are a Lyle aficionado. I also happened upon Lyles’s composition with Bonnie Hermann entitled “Moses The Lawgiver” and “Mars. I was completely floored-so cosmic, so deeply spiritual and warm. I put down my book, listened to Lyle for a few hours, his music was the energy and peace that I needed to get me to focus. After listening to The Way Up, Part III, I turned off the music and studied seamlessly, taking my exam ,knowing that I would listen to the music again-my reward and dessert after having eaten my vegetables! Thank you! MariaBT 4/2/2024

What a fantastic analysis ... but still magic. Thank you for these insights. Rest in love Lyle. Forever.

Every time I listen to this ... crying rivers😢deep pain .. still very heart broken. Rip magic Lyle

Lyle May is home. Rest in peace. Play your beautiful jazz up in heaven.

Thanks so much for bringing Lyle closer to us now in our time of grief. Missing him profoundly. You are home now Lyle.

Merci Père Noel !!! merci pour cette analyse ; il se trouve que je travaille ce morceau en ce moment. Quel magnifique cadeau. Vous n'imaginez pas l'intense plaisir que votre travail me procure !!!

Just a sublime piece of music, I feel like talking forever about it and at the same time not saying anything to just listen to you play it. Thanks for the video on this one, it's really needed. His choice for the more American Em7 sound was probably for voice leading yet I prefer the flatter sound of the C in that chord regardless of voice leading, it's one of those interesting situations where perfect voice leading (in my opinion) isn't needed as the C just makes the chord more expressive for that brief moment, even with it sharing a common tone with the following chord. I hear "two" keys in total - Bb & F, (though I kinda think it's F predominantly). What else to say, the fact that the main melodies all land on warm, stimulating intervals - m7ths, b6ths, 11ths, really sets the mood for the piece. The signature Ocarina/Pan Flute synth that comes doubling the melody with its infamous soaring or howling like expressiveness, along with the pitch bends for those timeless blue notes meandering outside of the temperament that the acoustic piano can't do. All those details matter so much in the studio recording.

Oh my. It is a work of an angel by a mere man called Lyle. Thanks Guy, you are inside his mind and the way he composes. So much beauty in one song it is overwhelming to me. Yes ECM where they recorded some of this stuff. Interesting history. Do you remember John Surman, Miroslav Viteous. I was listening to this stuff when it was the 70's 80's. Some of these albums seem to be lost or like gold dust to find. No one has even posted much on youtube. Stuff I have been looking for for years not there.

The first time I heard this, I stopped what I was doing and just stared at the sky. The path to home was somewhere before and now. Incredible composer, so sad he's gone. His music lives on in me.

this song definitively breathtaking...and takes you "far from home"...wishing to come back to what your real home is...

This is a new piece of music for my ears. I have to admit being a total Pat Metheny and PMG devotee, I only have one Lyle Mays album, and honestly have only listened to it a few times. This piece makes me want to wade into the waters of his collection and see what is there. I had a lovely conversation with Lyle after the 'We Live Here' concert in Portland years ago. Thank you for this video Guy. They are always, always appreciated.

Beautiful song and explanation.

tears in my eyes...

Now THAT was a wonderful lecture! I subscribed of course. Commentary about Lyle was fascinating and needs to be listened to again. Thank you Dr. Shkolnik. Спасибо !!

Thank you. You have actually brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for your beautiful understanding of the piano/keyboard and for channeling Lyle's romanticism in musical form. Your explanation of this wonderful music is amazing. I am such a huge fan of Lyle Mays and you have done an amazing job of, among other things, demonstrated his wonderful phrasing. I'll never forget that Lyle once said that, " instrumental music has its' own syntax". I have always loved the stories that Lyle told.

I love this whole LYLE MAYS album! It's like a life's journey, and other worldly. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Real artists challenge the boundaries of what is, take us someplace that did not exist, and inspire creativity.

My absolute favorite Lyle composition. The perfect piece to end an amazing album. He keeps repeating the same motif with subtle differences in the harmonic movement which builds so much emotion. Wonderful video on this piece.

I think this song is more touching and beautiful played simply on the piano. The full treatment by the PMG is wonderful but this version just makes it more intimate.

Brings tears every time. You need to talk about how certain chords hit THAT spot. And if you have it , you know, and I'd you do not, I'm truly sorry

Sometimes we never really truly appreciate the contributions of the greatest musicians until they have returned home to Source Energy. I always knew that he was present, a member of Pat's group, a creator on a plane of his own, but only now that he has decided to leave us with his absence can I truly appreciate his corpus that he has left us to ponder, to love, to appreciate. This song has been played by me everyday at least 20-30 times and I still can't get enough of it. I have listened to versions by Uwe Karcher, Andre Mehmari, Dr. Guy Shkolnik, Alex Sill on guitar seemingly holding back tears as he played this song, by himself and with Pat' group. I had the pleasure to see him perform at the Greek Theatre in around 1994-1995, the entire show was nothing less than Heavenly. You are missed only in person but we have your catalog to keep us "Close to You".

brilliant l shed a tear ..so unique so atmospheric your understanding and interpretation inspirational

the section at 9.50mins had a flavour of Dave Grusin. So interesting to watch, thank you Dr Guy

That tune breaks my heart

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! this is exactly the explanation of the language of Lyle. What a master and how many masterpieces he left us. Thank you for this Mr. Shkolnik!

Hi Dr Shkolnik. I never studied music, but I deeply understand Lyle's music on an emotional level. As far as I am concerned, together with Milton Nascimento, they are the most creative musicians of our time, in their genre. What you do, thankfully, allows me (us) to appreciate the highly complex originality of Lyle's music. Thank you.

Soulful performace and heartful commentary for Lyle Mays! It make me moved!

I absolutely love this piece, an all time favourite, and I also love your flawless performance and intriguing analysis. Thank you once again.

That's great, Guy! This is one of my all-time favorite compositions and your work does it justice. Your analysis and playing keep delighting all of us Metheny/Mays fans. By the way, your piano is sounding amazing!

Pat Metheny grew up in the Midwest and having grown up in the Midwest listening to his music, the message being conveyed was unmistakable. Last Train Home conjures up the sense of hearing a train and the thought of traveling to faraway places. Honest composers convey the message they themselves possess from their background and experience and is the reason I respect Metheny. Thank you for your interest in Pat Metheny and examining below the surface of his music.

Absolutely his best composition. I always get goosebumps when I hear it. It's so deep an beautifull. You can even play it to people who never heard it before and they will react with visible signs of emotions when hearing it

Great video. You really know this work and performed an excellent job. Especially for new people that have not "experienced" Close To Home.

Love this video. Having been Lyle's fan over years, this is the by far most informative assessment of the masterpiece. I am sure I am gonna watch this again tomorrow and many more..

Deeply saddened by Lyle's passing, so discovering your channel is like discovering an oasis.

One of my favourite compositions ever ... you see it exactly the same way as I do. Thank you for this Guy.

You do so much more than understand, describe and analyse what Lyle composes, but, crucially, you feel it. That makes all the difference. Thank you. You add to the Lyle experience.

This is such great teaching. :) It doubles as music appreciation.

Lyle = Pat's Alter Ego

So wonderful! Metheny and Mays will be studied for generations. What a tremendous body of stellar work they'll leave behind. Too bad its all over.

My absolute favorite Lyle Mays composition. Beautifully broken down. Thanks 🙏🏻 ❤️

Your thorough examinations of Mays and Matheny's work are so rich and incredibly valuable. Thank you so much for taking the time to make such excellent and informative videos. RIP Lyle.

Hi Guy, Lyle's ability to evoke feelings reminds me a lot of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Using simple yet deep motifs which can transport anyone to another dimension. What makes Lyle so special is he does this seemlessly and using chord and harmony more appropriate for our time. I think the improvisation part (which was not completely covered in the analysis) is perhaps portraying his journey home. This chord progression transmits a feeling of movement/travel. Thanks so much Guy for your analysis. RIP Lyle.

Your taking apart this song, the question and answer description has opened another level of appreciation of you and Lyle's contribution to this world. 2020 has brought us many challenges, but you and Lyle have found a way to remove the pain, sadness and confusion and allow us to transcend the mundane and retreat to a place that is truly 'Close To Home" Love, appreciation and gratitude for your patience and time to show us the depth of this work.

Thank you for this upload. As a fan of Pat and Lyle for many years, I appreciate their contribution to the art. RIP Lyle. You will be missed.

My gosh, I adore your analysis of Lyle Mays and his works. All I can do is to encourage you to present more of your wonderful musical analysis that goes far beyond the notes. You really feel the music. Of course you play like an expert. But you also present a story, your own interpretation of what the composer is trying to say.

Thank you Dr. Shkolnik! You made the wonderful mystery of Lyle's music comprehensible now. Feels like I've been shown an insight to a personal problem I can't begin to understand and solve.

When at about 1985 i heard this album and this piece, that touched me deeply, Wow! It was a new horizon. Thanks Lyle for all wonderful music.

thank you for explaining the mystery in Lyle's composition Close to Home.. greets Andreas

Thank you for this channel ! You are so talented for playing great music perfectly and speaking about it. Please hold on. You’re giving us emotion and understanding, soul and mind, -thanks again.

Super cool man I've been playing since I was 12 I'm 64 and you have a wonderful way of explaining things brother nice job

Thank you for another incredible video! You open my eyes to things that have been in front of me for decades. You make these concepts so accessible in how you describe them, yet also in how you play this piece (and others) it is very easy to hear what you are talking about. I think it's so funny you bring up that Hans Zimmer commercial. I see it all the time too. I'm not a fan of his music, but I think he makes a great point there. Still, he's never told a story anywhere as meaningful as Lyle tells with Close to Home (or any other piece of his, for that matter). Zimmer needs to watch your videos!

Remarkable that this was posted only a month before Lyle May's passing. Very perceptive analysis of the song.

I’ve been missing him terribly since Feb. 10, 2020. I have many favorite Lyle tunes but this one is so, so special. In a way, your insights and analysis are comforting. They are also musically enlightening. Many thanks. 🙏

I don't know if I have ever heard a more beautiful composition. I think this is his masterpiece ✨️

Close to Home aka Mars always brings a tear to my eyes. I don't know why. probably because Lyle and I are both Martians who are far from home. :)

the tune to me is an evocation of the rural world, feeling at home in a rural world, and that's almost a theme to the album too, as well as a vibe to some pmg tunes. maybe that's why the music can be tinged with a nostalgic mood.

Tears ! Tears ! just say it now ! ... Hugs from Brazil !

Your Love of Music and Soulful, Intelligent Insights are like a glass of pure Water. Thank you!

What a great piece! Never heard someone Playing so soulful and artisticly. I love this open sounding classical "german" Voicing. Would like to have some insights into drop 2 voicings, the basic voiceleading rules, a lesson would be fine :) Thank you very much. What was the ending home chord, somewhere in heaven I believe :D

Such heartfelt complete music is that of Lyle Mays. So well thought out and with an organic constant of integrity !! Thank you !!

It's beauty. This song is damn near perfect.

Wow Guy... Congratulations. Excellent analysis of this song. The first time I listened this song was during a late night flight Lima (Peru) - Santiago (Chile) in May of 1987 using the LAN Chile music onboard of that time. I immediately fell in love of this song. it moved me. Believe me, during the flight probably around 3AM I repeated this song more than 3 times with eyes closed. I remember that magic moment very well as if it were yesterday. When I saw the name LyIe Mays in the music onboard listing (several musicians) I immediately selected this song because in that time I already knew Lyle Mays because of PMG, but this was the first song I listened as a solo piano player (Album Lyle Mays).

If you like the video, don't forget to like it and subscribe - Let's grow this channel! :) Thanks, Guy.

“So special”……indeed 🎹 🎼 ✨

thank you for this - i am immersing myself in Lyle today on this birthday of his after his passing. I love how you are breaking this down.

Love your talent and depth of knowledge, Guy. It is always a privilege and an honor to listen and -somehow- participate intimately in your videos. I can only say 'thank you' for your contribution to us musicians everywhere. To those that matter, these acts of love do not go undetected.

I've always regarded Lyle as the inheritor of the legacy of Bill Evans, but where Bill often asked musical questions he could not answer very well, Lyle always came up with perfect answers. I literally know of no musician, no writer, no composer, whose work was more consistently beautiful, interesting, and, dare I say it, PERFECT, than Lyle Mays. And when it comes to his partnership with Pat Metheny, a legendary pairing in music, honestly while I'm a huge fan of Metheny, the best and most beautiful music to come from the Pat Metheny Group was always Lyle's parts.

Merci beaucoup, maître Shkolnik. On sent votre passion. D'Ottawa (Canada).

Thank you for your insights on this brilliant man and brilliant tune!

Love this review of Lyles work thanks for sharing. I have been a PMG fan for many years but only recently sought out his solo material. Some great melodies and feel he left for us to enjoy for many years!

Watched this again today on 'Self-imposed Quarantine Day Five' and cried. Bawled. Thank you.

Thanks. I can only imagine being able to play like that.

I am so grateful that you shared this sublime exploration of Close To Home, music that is very dear to me. So Namaste, I see you and send you my respect! Well done, very well done! ❤️ My path in life was altered by Lyle’s music and I was fortunate to meet him as a result. We played 9-ball. ❤️