How's She Buying That Stairway To Heaven?
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- čas přidán 2. 02. 2017
- There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold, but, really, how is she buying that Stairway to Heaven? We may never know what exactly Robert Plant was singing about, but at least we can study what Jimmy Page was playing with it. The harmony of Stairway is rich, complex, and sometimes downright non-sensical, but today we'd like to take a look at what's going on under the hood and explain our take on why this rock classic works so damn well.
Also, special thanks to Patreon patron Susan Jones for suggesting this song! We're doing an analysis video every month based on suggestions from our patrons, and the next one could be yours!
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Next: • And The Bass Walks On
Last: • How Many Notes Are The...
Stairway To Heaven: czcams.com/video/IS6n2Hx9Ykk/video.html
Arpeggios video: • Arpeggios
What's A Key? video: • Building Blocks: The C...
Non-Harmonic Tones video: • Escapes, Neighbors, an...
Dominant Function video: • Dominant Function
Modes video: • Modes
Secondary Dominants video: • Secondary Dominants: A...
Huge thanks to our gold-level Patreon supporters:
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Jill Jones
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Ken Arnold
Nakarin: / jerom09666
And thanks as well to Henry Reich, José N., Logan Jones, Eugene Bulkin, Jody, Yan Han, Abram Thiessen, Anna Work, and Oliver! Your support helps make 12tone even better!
Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold and Inés Dawson for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!
Hey, folks! These analysis videos are based on suggestions from our Patreon patrons, so if you have a song you'd like to suggest, just head on over to www.patreon.com/12tonevideos and pledge at any level!
Please, do an analysis about the Soviet / Russian Anthem ¿WHY ITS SOOOO EPIC???
Did you have a look at Carolan's Dream when making this? It's a few centuries old, but the same melody.
12tone Have you ever noticed how well stairway and "while my guitar gently weeps" go together?
12tone The genius of Jimmy Page 👍👍👍😎
please bohemian please
Pretty much how I watch this: Hmm... "Intresting. Ah elephants, that's what makes this sound so melancolic. Oh, an Apple! Very Expensive!"
Elephants make everything melancholic!
Riku Falck almost melancholy hill....
Jewish Father hehe good one
Apple? Cheap in the long term, compared to the crap derived from it.
I think people are missing the fact that Jimmy Paige was probably stoned outta his mind while he wrote this
Probably, but the chemicals in his system don't change the notes he was playing!
maybe that´s what helped him , moron ...
Page not Paige.
nah he was watching Spirit from the side of the stage and taking notes ;)
No, his heroin episode begin much later. It was written at '71. It is just talent+knowledge.
"Someone sings over the chords for a while and then the song ends." - Most music
Wow this video blew my mind. Your ability to explain stuff like this really shocked me. I play piano and would never have thought to break down arpeggios the way you did in the beginning and say the chords were masked that way. I was also shocked by how engaging your cute little drawings make this explanation. I really like your style :) You are obviously very passionate about what you do.
Aw, thanks! That means a lot coming from a fellow creator!
joe satriani always with me always with you. Simple sounding. But a lot of tricky timing and nuances going on.
Matteo Allegra Exactly this.
and i loved the way you comment...
I always go to a chorale reduction the first time I look at something I'm analyzing
Yeah I have no idea what you're saying
Me neither!
set video speed to .75 so you have a chance to process what hes saying
Just study some music theory.
don't you have some bad guys to be cleverly insulting and destroying?
he took apart a 8 minute song in 6 minutes, thatll happen.
this cleared up some of the bustle in my hedgerow!
^_^
I’m a drummer. None of this makes sense😂😂
Sorry!
You stay in the back
Yeah stay in the back, however lays down the backbone that keeps the musicians together and in time.
I know what you feel, bro
hang around some people that have taken theory and it'll make some sense in relation to the drum parts!
"Life on mars" by David Bowie would be pretty cool to break down I think. Lots of chords in that.
Thanks for the suggestion! At this point, though, we receive so many song requests that we can really only focus on the ones from our Patreon patrons. We just don't have the time to look at every song that comes in, unfortunately. There's a link to our Patreon in the video description if you're interested, though!
Tom Milley Music Give it 7 months
Hardly.
not flutes but recorders
Yeah, I wasn't sure on that... I saw different sources call it different things, and it sounded to me like a flute with some effects on it but I could totally be wrong there.
12tone anyway you can do Deacon blues?
Mellotrone maybe?
12tone Jimmy Page did say it was recorders and that Jonesy came up with it and he played them.
four33 damnit, you beat me by 5 months
Absolutely love your presentation style for this.
It's quirky and adorable yet gives a lot of interesting information and analysis.
Your ability to synthesis musical theory concepts into an actual functional analysis is impeccable.
I can't believe how well and how efficiently you explain this stuff! Really cool.
Thanks!
It is "SO" relaxing to hear your logic on the songs I've already listened to for years and years. I always knew this song was pretty deep. But I never understood that the music was telling a story three fold more deep than the words were. cheerio.
gosh you were Just what I was looking for on CZcams! I love the way you blend visuals with complex subjects. keep rockin!
Aw, thanks!
I have arpeggios so ingrained in me as an harmonic tool that I was actually confused when you said that no one is playing any chord.
Sweet video! Would love an Bohemian Rhapsody analysis! :)
Thanks! Rhapsody's on our list, but it'd be a pretty herculean task to analyze the whole thing... Maybe some day for like a big milestone or something. Don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely love to do it, it's just kinda insane, you know? But hopefully one day we'll get around to it!
12tone I was just thinking the same thing as soon as I saw the video title. Hope you get to do it someday. Just subbed, great content on the channel.
12tone
You guys could break it (Bohemian Rhapsody) into many parts (videos).
12tone You guys should do it now because of the movie ^~^
Feel free to break Rhapsody up into 2-3 episodes please!! Its a long and I guess complex song, so would do good with multi-episode treatment.
Thank you, these are very interesting!! I've only dabbled very lightly on theory (notes that make chords, etc)....but I'm learning interesting terms and ideas here....that make other explanations of music make a touch more sense.
I'm so, so glad I stumbled upon your channel. It's the first channel I find which digs as deep as I wanted to go with A LOT of music theory topics. The pace it's kind of insane for me, but I understand the difficulties in making videos and the time restraints of such a job. I guess I'll have to watch each video dozens of time, because they contain VERY, VERY useful information. I've been studying theory for a while and even your "building blocks" series, which is supposed to be very basic contains some new details that fill a lot of blanks for me. Can't thank you enough! I sincerely hope to be able to contribute in the near future. Cheers from Brazil!
Aw, thanks, that's really great to hear!
I don't have the first clue what you're talking about but its fascinating! I will definitely be considering donating!
Awesome video ! Great work guys :D
such wholesome content. Thank you!
Love your content!!!! Keep it up man!!!
I only recently discovered your channel and I love it. That this song entered my mind for the first time in ages and one of my first thoughts was wondering if you'd covered it yet is one thing; but to find it sitting here like "yeahhh, where tf you been?" just makes me really grateful, bro. I've got some catching up to do. 🤘🏻😎🎸
Great choice of song, and great analysis!
Thanks! As soon as we opened up suggestions we got multiple requests for this one, so we figured we sort of had to. It wound up a little long (Although not as long as the actual song...) but it was a really fun challenge!
As always, excellent stuff - I really enjoy your song analysis! :) I found this fascinating - and is something I'd never really thought about before!
Thanks! This one, as you may have picked up from my twitter feed, took way longer than normal 'cause it's almost 7 minutes, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Except for when the page drifted up, but that's my brother's fault so it doesn't count.
An explanation of the song that is very close to the heart, pretty much taught me all i know about guitar, given it took me ~4 years to learn the whole song. Mind you i couldn't play chords properly back then.
Much appreciated effort, you've just earned a subscriber! Cheers!
Aw, thanks!
I just discovered this channel, and you are a goddamn genius. I’m entering the “watch ever one of your videos” wormhole
3:18 Do you really like this one particular animal? I know my question is irrelephant, but I am just wondering...
That is a really great video. In times when almost everybody in CZcams is making videos about the same empty stuff I find this. Keep doing this kind of videos plesse
Thank you for doing this series. You gave me something to watch intently and take my mind off the world for minutes.
Thanks!
This is amazing my friend, probably the best music tutorial I've seen, and I've seen a lot
Aw, thanks!
From a musician - Thank you so much for these videos, I love them. keep it up!
Aw, thanks!
Very interesting and helpful! Never heard of your channel, but ill subcribe i love this video
Aw, thanks!
Awesome stuff, educational, funny and well presented. I learned a lot about music I cant get anywhere,
I am learning so much from your videos. Thanks! :D
Aw, thanks!
HOLY SLAM this had to have taken a long time for you to produce!
Aw, thanks! A good rule of thumb is that one minute of final video is about 2 hours of work so... Yeah, this one was intense.
Yeeeeessss!! I love it! I never noticed the half step decrements in the intro :D great job. Glad I found your channel
Thanks! Yeah, those half steps are awesome. They're pretty much all that's holding the section together I think, but they do a great job at it!
I think the same. It also gives it its melancholich touch that it has.
slash58anilyo If I am correct, the descending chromatic motion in the bass is known as the lament bass due to its use in Dido's Lament.
one of your best videos.
I need to see this again but for now thanks.
Thanks! We were really happy with how it came out!
This channel is SO FREAKING GOOD!!!!
Thanks!
0.75 speed makes you sound like you had two full glasses, 0.5 makes you sound like you had the whole bottle.
I’ve always thought of those 1st arpeggios as chromatic elaboration of static harmony- all a minor chords with chromatically descending bass (Am Am9/G# Am/G Am/F#). The actual progression varies slightly... no A in the third chord, and a D major chord for the fourth... but I’ve always felt that’s the sound they were emulating. The D major is a nice touch, giving it a kind of Am-DM Dorian-type resolution. In the end, it can probably be summed up in two words: linear chromaticism
Awesome analysis, thanks so much!
Thanks!
Love the iconic duck/rabbit picture for uncertainty
I don't always get it all,but I love this channel!
great content.
you could make longer videos, people who look for this kind of information would just keep watching, specially when its high quality like this
Thanks! I'd love to do longer stuff, but I just don't really have the time right now: Every minute of final footage can represent around 2 hours of work, so there's a lot of incentive for me to keep things as short as I can.
I know this is old and will be buried, but I owe a comment. Every time I watch a 12tone breakdown, I stop every 3 minutes to listen to the song in full. It’s just proven for me at this point
The intro has a lament bassline, which is when the bass moves down in half-steps and eberything above it is harmonized. The chords at the begining are can actually be interpreted as Amin, Ab augmented, Cmaj. This is a pretty common in many beatles song if you listen carefully, and it's much more simple to understand. I hope this clears out any ambiguity that arpeggio has!
EDIT: wrong term
I saw the Ab+ analysis while researching thigs, and it's definitely reasonable, but I think it makes more sense as E for a couple reasons beyond the ones in the video. There's the fact that the C is the last note played in the arpeggio so you hear G#, B, and E first, which biases toward perceiving those as chord tones, and then there's the chromatic mediant relationship between E and C, which mirrors the obsession with D to F that we see all over the song. Ab+ is a fine analysis, and you can totally explain it that way too, but I prefer the E analysis.
12tone i think its e bc thats what happens when you pick up the guitar to write that song (thats what i guess, iwasn't there tho😉) you play a minor then dont change your fingers just put down the shape one string... and go with the e major. Re-naming it afterwards with some sophisticated music theory would not do justice to the heart of popular music in that case i think. If you understand what i mean.
@epicguitar2012 underrated. This is a very specific moment where we kinda can look inside the composer's mind and guess what HE was thinking when wrote it, and so it's interesting to analyse in this way. Good call!
How about interpreting that chord as )C+M7/G#? To my mind the tension created by an augmented chord is a key part of what makes that part of the progression work. Given that the second repetition has the recorders playing (enharmonic) C+E over that chord I don't think it's reasonable to pretend the note played as C isn't part of the "real" chord. While it would seem strange to have a C chord resolve into another C chord, the G# and B are both unstable notes with a very strong desire to resolve in opposite directions which is, of course, what they do.
Here's to the Nile Red of music! I might not have much of an idea what you're on about yet, but I'm slowly learning!
Love it! You should do some King Crimson! Three of a Perfect Pair would be unreal!
Thanks, and thanks for the suggestion! At this point, though, we receive so many song requests that we can really only focus on the ones from our Patreon patrons. We just don't have the time to look at every song that comes in. There's a link to our Patreon in the description if you're interested in checking it out, though!
Will do! Cheers!
"And then it just suddenly ends..." then you cut to the outro. Genius!
In the first phrase, I believe the jump down from the C to the lower voiced D is just because Jimmy could not easily keep the motion going in opposite directions on the guitar (bass descending, melody ascending). So, to keep the bass line he jumped down the position, giving us the D/F#. I love your analysis. Great stuff.
I love that the video analyzing the song is shorter then the song
I just fell in love with this channel
Thanks!
Man, I love your channel. As a self-taught guitar player now I can sound a lot smarter!
Thank you x
Great video.
Thanks!
This video helped me understand why I play stairway the way I do. Astounding.
That solo deserves a video on its own!
The title really got me.. i immediately pressed... And i didnt regret it
Hey 12 tone. I'd love for you to read this. I always wanted to find some sort of .. anything like your channel on the internet. I love theoretical analyses of music. I got seriously into theory around 4 years ago (12 years a guitar player now, 5 years bass) and its enriched my life so much, really man. I love listening to my favorite artists and figuring out what happens there or what evokes that really cool sound or emotion, and i've always wanted to find something that lends itself to analyzing music that is famous and already existing, not just talk about secondary dominants and modal interchange in a vacuum. So thank you dearly for doing this. I'm sure it can be tedious and hard, theorizing the music and then editing the videos, but we really do appreciate it. If you ever have the time to analyze anything by snarky puppy, i'd blow my shit man forreal. Looked everywhere on the internet and can't find anything. (Young Stuff is a great one. Beautiful bass solo and deeply powerful ending / chord progression)
Cheers from Cairo!
I do not quite understand what you said, but, you said it well and were rather educational
i honestly didn't understand anything you said, but i subbed!
Thanks! If you'd like to learn more, we've got a series called Building Blocks that covers everything from the bottom up: czcams.com/play/PLMvVESrbjBWplAcg3pG0TesncGT7qvO06.html
As a classical music student, writing with pen on manuscript paper makes my soul crumple...
I understand though you have to use it to make the writing easier to see
"...and then the song just ends.. Suddenly..."
I was thinking the same thing about this analysis!
20 seconds in and I'm lost... yet I still watch all his videos to procrastinate on studying or doing homework
Nice channel. Good luck!
Thanks!
Dam I just found your channel. I have 2 requests. Tools, wings for Marie. And the mars Volta. Cicatras esp.
One of the greatest episodes yet. Having a familiar song as the subject really helps.
Thanks! Yeah, we opened up suggestions and then immediately got this one from multiple people, so we knew we had to do it!
excellent job, thank you for sharing. I almost feel like I understand. ha!
Thanks!
I don't understand music theory, but, when you're explaining-it, it makes sense. And then of course when I try to suss-it-out it's all alien stereo instructions again. 🤕😆
A good mix of chromatic voice leading, modal interchange and functional harmony.
Hi Cory, at 1:28, where you describe the “non-standard” chord progression, amongst the scale degrees are a few chords with small 6s before them. Can you tell me what that represents please? Thanks!
I liked it&subbed
Thanks!
This is absolutely incredible. I love it so much. Btw, can you put it to original speed? It sounds like the video is under 1.5x speed.
Thanks! That's odd, it should be at normal speed. Maybe check your video settings? It might have gotten left on 1.5 from something else you were watching. Otherwise, not sure why that would be happening.
How many people have a grandma that lists Stairway to Heaven as her favorite song? (raises hand)
An instrumental version was played at her funeral when she passed back in '94.
That's awesome.
To me, the second chord represents a and sounds like an Ammaj9 chord. Seems the easiest way to name it as well. Just a classic descending bassnote progression similar to be found in George Harrison's 'Something'.
Great video though!
That's certainly reasonable. I like the E major analysis partly because it gives you the E-C chromatic mediant, which fits with the D-F one you hear later on, but that means calling the C (And, the second time through, the A from the recorders) a non-harmonic tone which is unideal. It's a complex chord either way.
Could you do a part 2 as an analysis of the solo?
Hey man, I had a mediocre music teacher in Highschool, so I understand almost nothing of music theory, but I love your videos :D
Aw, thanks! Have you checked out our Building Blocks series? It looks at music theory from the bottom up, maybe it'll help! czcams.com/play/PLMvVESrbjBWplAcg3pG0TesncGT7qvO06.html
Thanks I will check it out :D
Thw world needs more of this!
Thanks!
Hi 12Tone, a friend recently turned me onto your channel and I have to ask, why do you hold your pen like that?
Wow, for once CZcams recommandations are good !
Even though I can't understand half of what you're saying, I find it really interesting, nice video !
Aw, thanks! If you'd like to learn more we have a series called Building Blocks that dives into the basics: czcams.com/play/PLMvVESrbjBWplAcg3pG0TesncGT7qvO06.html
I am entirely musically illiterate - I'm a drummer - but I managed to understand the majority of this. I say kudos for the impressive explanation! May I also request something by Steely Dan? I'm sure that, with mu chords and other fancy stuff, something by the Dan - Deacon Blues, Aja, or perhaps I Got the News - would be a treat to analyse!
Man. I'm glad I didn't think about allthat as I learned it on the guitar lol, I would have never gotten it
the second chord in the intro is a Aflat aug(add#9)
Brillant and so entertaining 👍🎉
Thanks!
And people say Math is complicated.
Loved the way you explained it, by the way.
Thanks!
love that E chord in the opening, everyone who thinks they know theory can't really pin that one down yet the chord sounds perfect
I know, right? Like, I'm settling on E, but it takes a lot of bending over backwards to reach anything resembling a coherent chord. It sounds exactly right for the line, though!
The sheet music looks like my math homework. Covered in pointless doodles
thank you for blowing my mind
^_^
I'd love to see any Rush song. I suggest Tom Sawyer, 2112 or YYZ.
Great video!
Cool! Thank you for the reply! I'll check that out!
2112, Natural Science, Cygnus X-1: Book One, La Villa Strangiato, or any of the other long ones would be incredible. I'd also like to see Circumstances, YYZ, something from Fear, or something off of Grace Under Pressure or Signals.
oh my head hurts so bad now
Sorry!
I remember when music theory used to make me feel that way; but it's a good thing bc it's actually pushing back the wall of your mind and expanding your skills and reasoning.
+12tone I know you probably have a long list of requests, but I've always been interested in Coma by Guns n Roses, it's the only song I really thought of analyzing before finding your videos today. It has the same riff repeated throughout in 2 different keys creating a chaotic sort of feel, but no repeating verses or choruses. There's a bit of controversy over who arranged it as well (beyond the fact Slash wrote the music and Axl wrote the lyrics) and what the the lyrics are embodying (an experience Axl had himself or his perspective of Slash). Cheers ! I'll support you on Patreon
Interesting, I'll have to check that out! At this point, though, we receive so many song requests that we can really only focus on analyzing the ones from our Patreon patrons. We just don't have the time to look at every song that comes in, unfortunately: It's really been quite a lot recently. If you do wind up pledging, just send us a message on there to let us know. Thanks!
Two points I want to make. The second chord arpeggiated in the intro sounds more like a Cmaj7 than an E chord. The G# does not obfuscate this fact -- it's just a color tone in that particular context. G# is also the leading tone in A minor, so the descending bass line is sort of setting up an expectation of resolution. My other point is that at 5:04 you say that the progression from A- to D sounds dorian, but it actually sounds more like mixolydian to me. That's because of the cross-relation of the tritone (C to F#) between the two chords, which forms the third and seventh tones of a dom7 chord in G. It just feels like a dominant. That's why I say the song briefly passes through the key of G -- not exactly a modulation, but you get the point.
Interesting! I'm not sure I agree on the Cma7 analysis, especially since it moves to C right after and that feels like a chord change to me, but it's ambiguous as heck so you could certainly be right! On the second point, I see what you mean. I still hear it as Dorian 'cause I don't really feel the tonic changing, but A dorian and D mixolydian are obviously very similar keys, so I could certainly see some ambiguity there too. Thanks for sharing!
12tone Yes, well I suppose it could also be a Cmaj7 with an augmented fifth, a chord commonly used in jazz for "emotional amiguity." That would make it a III7 in A harmonic minor?? Idk, just an interesting thought. A lot of Bach's music had rapidly modulating lines, as well. Speaking of which, I would love to see you do a video about one of the Bach chorales! Before I started studying music theory, I could not appreciate the hidden layers of complexity within them. In fact, they kind of seemed simple and boring at face value. People must know the truth!
MY GOD! I just met this page, its beautiful
Brilliant
Diary of a Madman would be a great one to do
Hey, new subscriber here! I just wanted to say I like your video style and it would be really cool if you could do Hotel California by the Eagles if you haven't already! If you have I'll probably find it soon, keep up the great work!
When I read the title I thought, that this video is about how expensive a stairway to heaven would be. I am not sure if this is clickbait... awesome video though.
Thanks! Yeah, I'm not sure how much that stairway would cost, depends on how high up heaven is, I suppose.
Hey I love your videos can you do Jeff buckley last goodbye.
these videos are great, I was wondering what the origin behind all the elephants is?
Thanks! Mostly, they're just cute and easy to draw, and I didn't feel like just doing stick figures, ya know?