🔷 Fourth of July chords and lyrics chart! echocitymusic.activehosted.com/f/129 🟡 SUPPORT NATE'S CHANNEL 🔷 5-Level Piano Course: www.pianochordbreakthroughs.com/ 🔷 Give Nate a Tip: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YWK4H7C57P2VE
I know why the chords are deconstructed. I've been a huge Sufjan for almost twenty years and loved this song since the day it came out. But last weekend I lost my father and I understand this song a bit better. These lefthand chords and the alternate bass notes are not the root of the chord, giving the feeling of being uncentered... unmoored. This is how I feel now, similar to when Sufjan lost his mother 10 years ago. This song approaches being timeless and universal. God bless Sufjan. And you, Nate, for this video! :)
I'm noticing that the roots are missing in alternate verses. This correlates to the verse's alternating perspectives of earthly grieving son and ethereal deceased parent. Ironically, the ethereal spirit of the deceased has more foundation, or root, than the grieving person still bound to the earth.
Hi Nate. A fan of Sufjan Stevens here. Thank you for this Tutorial. I am an absolute beginner but I have no trouble following your lesson. I have learned the whole song!
Dear god I love you Nate, you've covered so many of my favourite songs by so many of my favourite artists! I'd never expected you have a tutorial on this song.
I am a noob at playing the piano & i don’t understand why we’re not playing the root key of the chord, we just play the other two notes?! I’m sure I missed something in my research to learn but if you could kindly explain that to me or tell me what to look up that’d explain this to me, i’d appreciate it 🙏🏼
Hi! It's a good question. There are a few parts to my answer to this. First, I am playing it this way (especially in the intro: just two notes in the right hand, leaving out the root in the left hand) because that is the exact way Sufjan played it. If you were to just play the chords ie. Bm7 E, etc. in their most basic way with all 3 (or 4 for 7th chords) notes in the right hand, or strum those chords on guitar in their most common form, that would still work for a cover of this song it just wouldn’t sound *exactly* like what Sufjan recorded. Contextual clues help our brain “fill in” the missing parts and we still perceive the chords to be and function as the chords that appear on the chord chart. For example, other than maybe the first time you ever hear the song, for the intro our ear knows that just the D and A together in the right hand is a Bm7 (rather than D major triad) because subsequently when that part happens the left hand adds a B bass note which “fills it in” The bottom line is, with pop music I think the best way to understand it is to break it down this way and think of it as a movement between being in the “space” or “world” of a particular chord for however many beats and then moving to a new harmonic space. It shows the underlying skeleton of the song even if the chords are inverted, deconstructed. ALL OF THAT SAID… I think in places in this particular song the cords are so deconstructed that it's pushing the boundaries of whether it makes sense to teach it in this way. The fact that you were confused by it is good feedback for me. Thank you for your comment!
I've written my own answer to your question... before I read your question (serendipity). It is personal and unique to the circumstance of the song. I think Sufjan's choices have less than about keyboarding or music theory, and more about songwriting. The music is directly tied to the idea it expresses, i.e. losing someone so close the center of one's psyche.
🔷 Fourth of July chords and lyrics chart! echocitymusic.activehosted.com/f/129
🟡 SUPPORT NATE'S CHANNEL
🔷 5-Level Piano Course: www.pianochordbreakthroughs.com/
🔷 Give Nate a Tip: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YWK4H7C57P2VE
I know why the chords are deconstructed. I've been a huge Sufjan for almost twenty years and loved this song since the day it came out. But last weekend I lost my father and I understand this song a bit better. These lefthand chords and the alternate bass notes are not the root of the chord, giving the feeling of being uncentered... unmoored. This is how I feel now, similar to when Sufjan lost his mother 10 years ago. This song approaches being timeless and universal. God bless Sufjan. And you, Nate, for this video! :)
I'm noticing that the roots are missing in alternate verses. This correlates to the verse's alternating perspectives of earthly grieving son and ethereal deceased parent. Ironically, the ethereal spirit of the deceased has more foundation, or root, than the grieving person still bound to the earth.
This is beautiful insight and very well said. I'm sorry for your loss 💜 I hope playing this song has brought you some joy
Hi Nate. A fan of Sufjan Stevens here. Thank you for this Tutorial. I am an absolute beginner but I have no trouble following your lesson. I have learned the whole song!
Wow awesome!!!
Dear god I love you Nate, you've covered so many of my favourite songs by so many of my favourite artists! I'd never expected you have a tutorial on this song.
💜
The best piano tutorial i've seen so far, good job man
Wow, thanks!
This is what I needed an easy way to learn it
Awesome!
best tutorial everrrrrr!!!!
🙏🙏🙏
Yesss, thank you for this!
Super super useful and accurate! thank you 🥰
So glad!
This is so good I love you
💜🙏
Thanks for this!!
You bet!
Can you make a tutorial on Death With Dignity by Sufjan Stevens please?
Hey Nate can you please make tutorial on exile by Taylor swift
That one I've done!! 🤗 ua-cam.com/video/kACxWAb2PHM/v-deo.html
Hey Nate can you please make tutorial on wildest dreams by Taylor swift please
I am a noob at playing the piano & i don’t understand why we’re not playing the root key of the chord, we just play the other two notes?! I’m sure I missed something in my research to learn but if you could kindly explain that to me or tell me what to look up that’d explain this to me, i’d appreciate it 🙏🏼
Hi! It's a good question. There are a few parts to my answer to this.
First, I am playing it this way (especially in the intro: just two notes in the right hand, leaving out the root in the left hand) because that is the exact way Sufjan played it.
If you were to just play the chords ie. Bm7 E, etc. in their most basic way with all 3 (or 4 for 7th chords) notes in the right hand, or strum those chords on guitar in their most common form, that would still work for a cover of this song it just wouldn’t sound *exactly* like what Sufjan recorded.
Contextual clues help our brain “fill in” the missing parts and we still perceive the chords to be and function as the chords that appear on the chord chart. For example, other than maybe the first time you ever hear the song, for the intro our ear knows that just the D and A together in the right hand is a Bm7 (rather than D major triad) because subsequently when that part happens the left hand adds a B bass note which “fills it in”
The bottom line is, with pop music I think the best way to understand it is to break it down this way and think of it as a movement between being in the “space” or “world” of a particular chord for however many beats and then moving to a new harmonic space. It shows the underlying skeleton of the song even if the chords are inverted, deconstructed.
ALL OF THAT SAID… I think in places in this particular song the cords are so deconstructed that it's pushing the boundaries of whether it makes sense to teach it in this way. The fact that you were confused by it is good feedback for me. Thank you for your comment!
I've written my own answer to your question... before I read your question (serendipity). It is personal and unique to the circumstance of the song. I think Sufjan's choices have less than about keyboarding or music theory, and more about songwriting. The music is directly tied to the idea it expresses, i.e. losing someone so close the center of one's psyche.
May be visions of Gideon ?
👍🏽❤️
brotha u canot sing