Breaking Down The "Minute By Minute" Piano Intro | Doobie Brothers Lesson
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- 💥 Learn how to play one of the most feared piano intros by the amazing Michael McDonald. It's NOT as bad as you think :)
💥pierrejpiscitelli@gmail.com for inquiries.
‼️ Go at your own pace! Don't forget that you can click on the little gear ⚙️ icon to slow down the video. You can always pause and restart as many times as necessary. We all learn differently! :)
‼️ New tutorials are coming EVERY WEEK! Comment down below and let me know what you would like to learn!
💥 pierrepiscitelli.com
📘 Books I’ve authored /co-authored:
📙www.amazon.com/Music-Lyle-May...
📙www.amazon.com/Eberhard-Lyle-...
Chapters:
00:00 Demo
00:35 Understanding the Time Signature
02:46 Demo With Drum Track
03:29 Left Hand
05:03 Right Hand
08:16 Both Hands SLOWLY
09:26 Both Hands SLIGHTLY Faster
09:45 2nd Part of Intro
11:53 Optional Michael McDonald Riff
13:06 Instrumental Groove
📷Gear that I used in this video:
Yamaha CP40
Yamaha MG12XU
Yamaha HS5 (S2)
MacBook Pro (Running LPX and FCP X)
Garritan CFX Piano VST
Sony ZV-E10
iPhone 14 Pro
Sennheiser MKE600 Shotgun Microphone
Neewer NL660 Lights (X2)
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Michael McDonald has always had an interesting personal idiosyncratic approach to his playing and harmonies. Add his simultaneous singing, especially during the verse, and u can see why its 'difficult' to parse this out. But thats exactly what makes it swing. And thats his unique gift and style. U always know MM when u hear him regardless of what context.
And Michael McDonald to my knowledge is self-taught and doesn't read music which gives hope to us all musicians who for whatever reason are also self-taught. You can still make magic happen while we're learning or not.
This is one of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen on UA-cam - and I’ve been watching them for a very long time. Outstanding video.
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I NEVER complained about hearing Mr McDonald! And after hearing this song a billion times and playing it (on sax) only a million times it’s cool to get schooled on the keyboard workings - thanks!
I’m old enough to remember when Congress mandated Michael McDonald get played at least every 22 minutes on every radio format.
Then came Duran Duran and we all wondered why we complained.
The "Hall and Oats" amendment cleared up all of that.
@@CraigLumpyLemke You guys are hilarious. Excellent.
Funny, funny comment.
I have to say you have to most clear teaching style! I'm just a lowly guitar player and I feel truly enlightened.
Hey. Even MM has been playing a little guitar lately. He shouldn’t quit the day job. Lol 😆
a man who keeps his word after the rhodes video! Just keep leaning on that beautiful epiano and get funky for us!!!
Always!!
From the last 20 some years: THANK YOU!
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I’ll see you and raise you about 24 years. I tried learning this on my first Rhodes 3 years after the album came out. But I gave up. THANK YOU!
Thanks for doing all the transcribing and analyzing. Then thanks all over again for putting it into such a comfortable learning format. Bravo sir!
"Minute by minute" is one of my all time favorite albums. Such fantastic music. Excellent lesson.
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This is probably the best lesson I've seen on this. Thanks!!!
It’s still so frikin weird.
I spent years never finding the “one”.
The right hand sucks you into 4/4 time but you never land in the right spot.
Thanks man
One of those songs that’s easier to pick up on by ear than it is to read, if you have that gift.😁
Facts
Students in music colleges have been learning to listen to and transcribe recorded music for at least half a century. That is exactly what our video host has done so well. Essentially the entire basis for advanced music education is to learn to "Hear it - Play it". Reading only serves to enhance that. Reading does not ritard or interfere with that.
Great breakdown! Looking forward to the followup Minute By Minute lesson, especially the quick and tricky passing chord sequence during the "I'll be holding on" part of the chorus
Something fun to think about: The intro is 10 chords repeated 3 times. The left hand is playing those octaves in eighth notes under those chords, so that means 20 left hand notes for each 10 chord sequence, thus 60 notes total in the bass groove for the intro. Why would MM do that over a 6/8 groove? Well, the song IS called "Minute By Minute." He set us up musically for the song's title....60 seconds in a minute. And great lesson BTW!
Great Pierre, MM is always brilliant, your breakdown is very clear and spot on, and the sound of the Rode's electric piano is always one of the best.
Many thanks!
Between your channel and the guys over on Open Studio, I am spoiled for choice with quality instruction! Awesome stuff.
When you play it isolated it sounds like a lost Steely Dan/Donald Fagan classic.
What an OUTSTANDING tutorial!!! This cannot be explained any better than what you did here. Thanks!
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For the drum intro, I never understood (until now) that resting for a full 6 measures in for the timing resolution to be set with McDonald's rhodes piano introduction, is critical to the song's beat and how the 2 bass eighth notes and quarter note chords both successfully complement each other in their carousel effect which gets us to the 6:8 timing throughout the remainder of the song
How cool is that little piece of musical-mathematics? That timing trickery here is smooth. pure genius! 😊
Excellent explanation - even for non-pianists. Big thanx!
I was just thinking about this a few days ago and wanted to learn how to finally play this. Thank you!
Simply amazing 👏
Thank you for this… would love to see the intro to ‘Here to love you’ from the same album.
Great video and of course, great intro! Thanks!!
Thank you Pierre. I’ve been trying to learn this for a while now and I have seen many videos but yours is the best for me. It’s seems to work with the way I learn.
this was an awesome lesson
Awesome, Pierre! You amaze me
Keep it up!
The intro chord sequence does not line up in 6/8. Instead, it hits beat 3 on the first repeat and beat 6 on the second repeat. But, it's also strange in a quarter note interpretation, requiring a 10/4 time signature. You can hear this by counting three bars of 10/4 before the song modulates to 12/8. Stravinsky would be proud.
Thanks for this demystifying tutorial! Happy I stumbled upon your channel, Pierre-I’ll be coming back for more!
Brilliant!
Great lesson!
Well done!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
this is super helpful - -amazing thank you
Thanks. That was awesome!
Really a great teaching experience! Thank you so very much! Blessings to you and your music ministry
Amazing instruction on one of my all time favorite grooves , by my hero . Thank you from bottom of my heart - will be practicing this for next month !
Great tutorial. I've been wanting to learn this. Many thanks for your hard work.
Awesome, thank you Pierre. Excellent lesson, well done!😎
I'm a guitars player but have to play keyboards on all my productions so this was a great lesson. You're a great player but mostly a great teacher with an easy to understand teaching style. Great work! Subbed...
Thank you Pierre. That was an amazing instruction of a song I long to learn. Can't wait for the next lession. I'll be watching. Thnak you again
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Wonderfully explained! Thank you!
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Thanks!
EXCELLENT tutorial vid! Well played and clearly presented...
Thanks! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I have never seen a better lesson in my life for any instrument. I'm going to throw a request out there which is way off the wall for your consideration. Do the solo Bill Murray plays in Groundhog Day. It's complex enough to be interesting.
You did that! 👏🏼
Excellent breakdown!
This is fantastic. Thanks so much.
Awesome Pierre, i just discovered your channel. I've always loved this into. Thanks for breaking it down so clearly. I can't wait to attempt to tackle this!
Thanks for this! Great piano sound, BTW.
Thanks! "The Famous E Electric Piano" is the plugin :)
Love it❤
A lesson on King of Pain by The Police. It's probably easy, but really cool.
Thanks, this prompted me to pull out my (virtual) Rhodes and learn it.
Lifetime bass/guitar player...lovin your videos. Keep it up!
Thank you 🙏🏻
Whooow!!! These first 5 Minutes finally cleared my view on one of my favorite songs ever....!!! [heading back to my keyboard again!!] *gg* Merci beaucoup & Thank you, Pierre!!!!
Glad it helped!!
Thank you!
What an eye opener. As a drummer I knew it was six eight but the way he plays the intro, particularly that Doobies open air Santa Monica concert, is just SO two four with the changes it immediately throws me off. Even with a click it’s hard to stay rooted. Gonna give your idea of grouping the intro vamp into threes and see if my brain grasps it. Thank you! 🙏 Liked and subbed. 😎
Exactly right! Glad it was helpful, and thanks!
GThanks for this!
Thank you! Phew.
You do a wonderful job on Your Videos 👍🎶
Thank you very much!
Superb lesson…I will never have that much coordination in my life 😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫
It takes years-- keep going!
“What A Fool Believes” next, please!
It'll happen! :)
@@pierrejpiscitelli yes please.. I'm a guitar player who bought a piano just to learn What a Fool Believes.. and the title says it all. Brutal piano piece.. I've always dreamed of Beato breaking it down but they didn't even touch it in the interview. My favorite pop song ever.. Thank you in advance and I'm loving this video.. McD is my all time favorite.
Fantastic breakdown of this awesome and heretofore mystifying intro! Just discovered your channel & subscribed immediately!
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The hemiola - a feeling of "two" within a piece in "three". Brahms used it a lot.
Great man. Aloha from Maui
fantastic...
I would love it if you did the same with the Doobie brothers/Michael McDonald tune
"Here to love you"
it's got a great piano intro
Excellent lesson. There was something crazy familiar about you I couldn’t put my finger on until I caught your name. I used to work with your parents for years. I actually remember when you were born. Yeah, I’m old. Give your folks my best, Doug Winters
Wow, Doug! I remember you very well. I was at your son's bar mitzvah (I think?) and made many trips to your office as a kid. I will say hello. Thanks for watching, and welcome to the channel!
The hard part about getting the groove is that the song fades in, and it's hard to hear when it starts, so it's hard to get it in sync unless you turn your volume up (to eleven) :) to catch the beginning of the intro.
Great job and explanation Pierre! Can you do a tutorial on I can let go now from Michael McDonald that’s a great piece of music
I'd love to!
Great stuff! Would love to see a breakdown of the organ intro on Led Zep “Your Time Is Gonna Come”, seems like you can figure out anything!
really well explained, also the chord pattern I think may be 10 long ( not 9 which would make it feel more natural) and accenting bass notes 1 the 7, then 13, then there are 7 more bass notes in the pattern before it repeats. ( i think gulp). or right hand, 123 123 1234 123 123 1234 123 123 1234 Dm lol great post we appreciate you!
Nice tutorial - Thank you & Cheers from Seattle!
very cool stuff; thanks brother...'what a fool believes' might be another good one?
Totally!
@@pierrejpiscitelli your choice/taste in material and ability to explain are indeed awesome...maybe someday we can share notes regarding burt bacharach or stevie wonder songs/chord structrues also ha...blessings to you always amigo ✌😎
Great tutorial and easy to follow! One quick question if you don’t mind. What Rhodes emulation or Rhodes model are you using for that sound? I’ve tried several, but can’t seem to find a similar sound? Thanks
Thanks! I'm using "The Famous E Electric Piano." It's by far my favorite!
I'm not great at counting but I tried to figure that out a few years ago while I was driving in 4/4 time or 4/8 time and there was always some left over like half measure or some short. I was like what is that partial measure it does LOL
Very cool, thanks! I lifted this one, "What a Fool Believes" and a few others when this album first came out, and I was much younger and had much better ears. Recently, I did some drums for it just for fun, using an Alesis SR-16. Ended up doing it as a shuffle in 4/4, it was just easier, but the end result is the same. I was wondering what you are using for a phase shifter, it sounds great! I always assumed Michael used a Mu-Tron BiPhase originally.
Absolutely, 12/8 or triplets in 4/4 are fine! I used 6/8 since I’ve heard Michael McDonald say that a few times, and wanted to be respectful towards him. I would bet he used a Phase 90, Mutron, or small stone. I used a Phase 90 here! Thanks again for watching.
@@pierrejpiscitelli Thanks for the quick reply. I only did the 4/4 thing to make it easy on the drum machine but agree with it being 6/8. Michael has been one of my keyboard heroes (along with Rick Wakeman) for a very long time.
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How many times did we play this in a row? I'm your biggest fan!!!
Maybe 7,000 times? ❤️
Jackson Brown solo acoustic "sombody's baby" please
Jackson Brown solo acoustic Vol 2 "somebody's baby" that is, thanks
Can you say how your Rhodes is set up for that sound?
I'm using a plugin here called "The Famous E Electric Piano." But normally my Rhodes just goes in directly into an SSL interface with a bit of reverb. That's it!
@@pierrejpiscitelli thank you
Sounds great
It sounds and looks like you throw in a little slide-up on some of the inner notes of that intro sequence and also on the vamp - or maybe the reverb is messing with my ears! Either way, the whole thing is just too dang cool.
Definitely some "grease" in there :)
More accurately the song is in 12/8. Listen to the melodic phrasing once the drums begin. Even more logically, the song is in 4/4, with an emphasis on eighth note triplets. The intro is quarter note triplets (which land on every other eighth note triplet). With that mindset, the transition from keyboard intro to groove with drums sounds completely natural. Now what did the Doobies do to mess with the minds of listeners? They faded in the start to create ambiguity, so you're likely unmoored when the drums kick in.
You know, I prefer 12/8 or 4/4 as well. Just respecting Mike McDonald and the Doobies who repeatedly claim that their thinking and intent are 6/8. I agree with you though.
@@pierrejpiscitelli
Cool Pierre, thanks for the response. Our musical minds think alike. Also, I just amended my post to correctly mention eighth and quarter note triplets. Love your channel ♥
@tedl7538 thank you for mentioning the quarter note triplet feel of the intro-really helped my classical brain to hear what’s happening.
Nice ! But It seems that there is a little mistake at 7:23. The second chord BFG …
Actually its CEG, as you play it when adding the left hand 😅
Anyway, love your vid !
Good ear! I like to do BEG (E minor) sometimes instead of C major (CEG). You can hardly hear the difference, but I tend to go between the two randomly. Sorry if it was confusing, my bad!!
@@pierrejpiscitelli
It’s a matter of taste for sure ;) It’s just that this intro is typical the Michael’s gospel background . Anyway, I’m happy to learn how you play the few groovy notes at the end, since that my main instrument is the guitar and my way to play keyboard is very basic, and not easy to play other things than chords.
His Autiobiography just ou js a great Audio Book listen. He reads it. If the author reads it the audio book is always > the actual book
It's on my reading list for sure!
Rhodes. Is about $10,000?
Can you make a Nord sound like a Rhodes?
No, you can find a decent used Rhodes for 2-3k. Nord sounds great too.
Thank you
This is not in 6/8. Its shuffle or 12/8. the accents in the intro is quarter note triplets.
Of course, it could be written as triplets in 4/4! It could be 12/8 as well. The composer, Michael McDonald very clearly states that his thinking is 6/8. Evidence of this is everywhere, which is why I chose to respect him.
I watch a fair number of piano tutorials and something I’ve never understood is how much time is spent going over the rhythm of a song. Not only at the beginning of a video but frequently within a video. It’s weird. It’s like people can’t hear a song and be able to reproduce it. I can understand if you’re sitting down to attempt a Mozart piece which never gets recorded or you’re a session musician and Brian Wilson just handed you some scribblings with the title “Good Vibrations.” But this has a recording. You listen to it and then you just learn the parts based on sheet music or watching you go over chords or tricky fingerings. I’m no musical genius, btw. What am I missing?
If you spend some time teaching music, you’ll understand quickly. Some can pick up a song instantly, others sit in 6 months of lessons with me and still can’t do it. The gulf between the two is enormous! Everyone learns differently.
@@pierrejpiscitelli Ok. Makes sense. Btw, I like you and your content…wasn’t criticizing you.
@@michaelsilveradventure5712 Thanks for checking out that video! I didn’t see it as criticism at all, I 💯% get what you are saying. It seems odd unless you hang out with students thousands of times!
"instance to instance" - "minute by minute" ...
Thanks!
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