That CM7/F# with the two major sevenths in it is possibly the most beautiful chord in pop music. Hearing that part of the song still makes me cry every time. It feels good to finally find another musician who has as much passion and appreciation for Randy Newman's brilliant arrangement and compositional talent as I do. Everyone talks about his wit as a lyricist (for very good reason - he's among the very best ever), but I don't think I've ever heard a composer/arranger with a voice as delicate, effective, sophisticated, interesting, inspiring and beautfiul as Randy Newman's. I hope to one day understand how he does these things, so I might passably imitate his immense talent. Thanks for the vid.
Well we feel the same. On the perhaps under-appreciated musical side of Randy Newman, that might be in part because lyrical appreciation has inherently a wider audience, because everyone can understood a great lyric; whereas a CM7/F# with two major 7ths requires a bit of formal training to really dig :) In any case, yeah, its the emotional quality of the musical side of the composition I love as much as anything else. Well that and I love his singing style too. Very 'true', for want of a better way to put it. I'm glad you got something out of this Nathan!
Generally if you see a dominant 7th chord that is not in the key (ie. the E7 or D7 at the tough part of the song) they are functioning as Secondary Dominants. So they are briefly acting as a V chord. The E7 would be a V of Am(iii). Written V/iii. It instead goes to F/C, which feels like a deceptive resolution but works because A minor and F share 66% of the same notes. The D7 functions as we would expect, leading to a G minor. So it would be V/ii (five of two). Hope this is helpful to someone out there! Great video, I'm looking forward to learning the song from this :)
This is so helpful, thanks for going through the theory. His suspensions definitely play into the ethereal aspect of his songs. Just constantly cycling a tension and release, with the melody floating through the harmony. Some beautiful use of irregular harmony too
Thank you so much for this video! I would probably analyse the C#maj7/F# chord as a Gbmaj9(#11). So basically, it's a b2 with some extensions. You can think of it as a C#maj7 in the right hand, but you're actually playing the 5, M7, 9, #11 of the chord, with the 1 in the left hand. Also as Sam G mentioned, the B section of the song (the tough part) is a series of 2-5-1's, pretty much your classic jazz progression. The F/C and C# dim chords both serve as really nice substitutions in that section that make the progression sound even cooler, in my opinion. Hopefully that helps someone that's interested in the analysis. Such a beautiful song, and your breakdown saved me a lot of time in learning it. Thank you!!
Beautiful tune. The piano's tone is perfect for his style. Randy Newman is a genius. Thanks for sharing your talents, Korby! Ok - and you got a pretty full marble jar, too! :) Keep up the good work -
I'm not much to talk to and I know how I look What I know about life comes out of a book But of all of the people, there are in the world She chose me Most of my life, been on my own Whatever I did, I did it alone And then she came alone, now I'm not alone Since she chose me Every night I thank the lucky stars above me That someone as beautiful as she could really love me And she really loves me From time to time, I ask myself Why was it I and nobody else? The most beautiful girl that I'd ever seen And she chose me And she really loves me From time to time, I ask myself Why was it I and not someone else? The most beautiful girl in all of the world And she chose me
The sub in the refrain is a #VM7/bII. I think it follows the melody, which went to the IV in the verse and then to V in the refrain, so the chord is a combo of IV sub in the RH and and V sub in the LH. The #VM7 is the parallel Maj of the IV, calling back the iv from the verse. The bII in the bass is a V sub. For example another parallel Maj of the IV would be the #VM6, which you could put over some other V subs like bVII, giving you #VM6/bVII, which have a similar quality!
Thanks for this really well presented video. Some great stuff on Randy's song construction too, and a tutorial that's so easy to follow. Hope you do more like this, really appreciated.
I really like how you play this but I found it hard to follow as I’m new to piano and the terminology is all Greek to me. I like your cheers tutorial, that one is in the bag.
@@KorbyLenker I managed to piece it all together from your video and it’s a pleasure to play. The cheers tutorial was great as that show reminds me of my childhood. I used to curl up on the chair in the living room with my mums cardigan and Rosanne and cheers would come on. I was too sleepy to watch cheers but I loved the theme tune. Thanks for teaching it. It means a lot to me. Take care brother.
![You've Got a Friend in Me [Part One] - Piano Tutorial](/img/1.gif)
That CM7/F# with the two major sevenths in it is possibly the most beautiful chord in pop music. Hearing that part of the song still makes me cry every time. It feels good to finally find another musician who has as much passion and appreciation for Randy Newman's brilliant arrangement and compositional talent as I do. Everyone talks about his wit as a lyricist (for very good reason - he's among the very best ever), but I don't think I've ever heard a composer/arranger with a voice as delicate, effective, sophisticated, interesting, inspiring and beautfiul as Randy Newman's. I hope to one day understand how he does these things, so I might passably imitate his immense talent. Thanks for the vid.
Well we feel the same. On the perhaps under-appreciated musical side of Randy Newman, that might be in part because lyrical appreciation has inherently a wider audience, because everyone can understood a great lyric; whereas a CM7/F# with two major 7ths requires a bit of formal training to really dig :) In any case, yeah, its the emotional quality of the musical side of the composition I love as much as anything else. Well that and I love his singing style too. Very 'true', for want of a better way to put it. I'm glad you got something out of this Nathan!
Generally if you see a dominant 7th chord that is not in the key (ie. the E7 or D7 at the tough part of the song) they are functioning as Secondary Dominants. So they are briefly acting as a V chord. The E7 would be a V of Am(iii). Written V/iii. It instead goes to F/C, which feels like a deceptive resolution but works because A minor and F share 66% of the same notes. The D7 functions as we would expect, leading to a G minor. So it would be V/ii (five of two). Hope this is helpful to someone out there! Great video, I'm looking forward to learning the song from this :)
I love your tutorials man, you explain things right at the level I'm at with chords and voicings. thanks for doing this
Glad they're helpful man. Good luck with your playing!
i literally came here trying to learn this song from your video! thank you for inspiring me jon!
This is so helpful, thanks for going through the theory. His suspensions definitely play into the ethereal aspect of his songs. Just constantly cycling a tension and release, with the melody floating through the harmony. Some beautiful use of irregular harmony too
Thanks Bevan. Glad it was helpful!
Fantastic! I can also imagine Tom Waits doing this song
Well done Korby! And you're right, he's a genius and he looks like my grandfather. Thanks for breaking down this masterpiece.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this video! I would probably analyse the C#maj7/F# chord as a Gbmaj9(#11). So basically, it's a b2 with some extensions. You can think of it as a C#maj7 in the right hand, but you're actually playing the 5, M7, 9, #11 of the chord, with the 1 in the left hand. Also as Sam G mentioned, the B section of the song (the tough part) is a series of 2-5-1's, pretty much your classic jazz progression. The F/C and C# dim chords both serve as really nice substitutions in that section that make the progression sound even cooler, in my opinion. Hopefully that helps someone that's interested in the analysis. Such a beautiful song, and your breakdown saved me a lot of time in learning it. Thank you!!
Awesome man, you're a better theory head than me! Glad it helped!
This was my thought too, but when you listen to the record the chord is actually more like Ab/Gb. There is no F when Randy plays it.
Thanks very much for breaking down some of this mystery Randy chords. Nice vocals too, man.
thank you , I didn't notice that beatiful crazy C#maj7/F#
crazy chord for a crazy emotion
Kudos on a lucid exploration of this masterful composition. Thank-you!!!
Thanks!
Beautiful tune. The piano's tone is perfect for his style. Randy Newman is a genius. Thanks for sharing your talents, Korby! Ok - and you got a pretty full marble jar, too! :) Keep up the good work -
Thanks Libby! Randy is amazing.
I really appreciate your passion behind this! Your kind of doing this is very lovely :-)
glad to help!
Great cover Korby, and thanks for the tutorial. Well done, really appreciate it man.
glad it was helpful!
you are a fantastic gem on the web!!!
Thanks Tim. I wish you the best!
great work Korby
Thank you for doing this. I hope to get to your skill level to be able to figure out some of Randys other genius work.
thank you lenker for video lesson. i like ur sound
I do. @korbykorby
I'm not much to talk to and I know how I look
What I know about life comes out of a book
But of all of the people, there are in the world
She chose me
Most of my life, been on my own
Whatever I did, I did it alone
And then she came alone, now I'm not alone
Since she chose me
Every night I thank the lucky stars above me
That someone as beautiful as she could really love me
And she really loves me
From time to time, I ask myself
Why was it I and nobody else?
The most beautiful girl that I'd ever seen
And she chose me
And she really loves me
From time to time, I ask myself
Why was it I and not someone else?
The most beautiful girl in all of the world
And she chose me
sweet i don't hafta remember these lyrics anymore !
I can’t thank you enough for this, great tutorial! Did you figure out the songs by ear or did you buy Randy’s songbook?
Thanks Vince! Glad it was helpful. I figure em out by listening to the record, yep.
such a great analysis
A great lesson and a beautiful appreciation of this song! Thanks!
Would love to see a tutorial on Marie. Great stuff !
I would love to do that. Give me a few weeks. I'll probably put it on my patreon.
Korby Lenker let me know I’ll sub for that
Hi Korby. This is a great tutorial, really helped me out on some of the voicing's. Many thanks.
The sub in the refrain is a #VM7/bII. I think it follows the melody, which went to the IV in the verse and then to V in the refrain, so the chord is a combo of IV sub in the RH and and V sub in the LH. The #VM7 is the parallel Maj of the IV, calling back the iv from the verse. The bII in the bass is a V sub. For example another parallel Maj of the IV would be the #VM6, which you could put over some other V subs like bVII, giving you #VM6/bVII, which have a similar quality!
amazing analysis man thank you!
Beautiful voice brotha, thanks for the lesson!
Thank you!
Thanks for this really well presented video. Some great stuff on Randy's song construction too, and a tutorial that's so easy to follow. Hope you do more like this, really appreciated.
thanks Bill I'm glad it was helpful! Maybe I'll do some more here soon.
Great video
Great video, but I can't learn it from that, unfortunately!! Is there a piano score anywhere for this song?
I’m so frustrated that they don’t sell sheet music for this song!! 😭
You can get the music for this in Randy Newman Anthology vol 2. It’s in the key of G tho.
Man, I would love some sheet music for this. Any idea where to find it officially?
I do not!
I really like how you play this but I found it hard to follow as I’m new to piano and the terminology is all Greek to me. I like your cheers tutorial, that one is in the bag.
thanks for the feedback! I don't do too many of these tutorials anymore but I'll keep your requests in mind if I get back into them.
@@KorbyLenker I managed to piece it all together from your video and it’s a pleasure to play. The cheers tutorial was great as that show reminds me of my childhood. I used to curl up on the chair in the living room with my mums cardigan and Rosanne and cheers would come on. I was too sleepy to watch cheers but I loved the theme tune. Thanks for teaching it. It means a lot to me. Take care brother.
@@thebigredwagon yeah man that tune is the soundtrack of my childhood
Great job. Do you have one for Wandering Boy I hope?
Peter Morris I’ll make one
you got a beatiful particular piano with short keyboard, what is it?
Short scale Melodigrande!
❤
Can you give us the chords? I can't play piano so I'll convert it to guitar. Thanks
I think the mad chord on “that I’ve ever seen” might just be an Ab triad stacked on top of a Gb triad
Yes but how to analyze it is the question! flat III maj over flat II? it hurts my brain
@@KorbyLenker I see it as a bII borrowed Lydian chord from F Phrygian.
There it is.. the nerdiest thing I've ever said.
@@PentUpPentatonics MAN’S GONE MODAL
as soon as you played the tenth i was out lol i need finger extensions
haha yeah man you gotta stretch!