Hi Lee,
I’ve now worked through the entire Guitar Theory book and feel I’ve got to a better place to understand and break down many parts of songs. I have a question that is quite general regarding many of the 80’s rock and hair bands type of music.
The song I am working on in transcribed with a key signature of A (3 sharps). The intro begins with a riff using D5, A5, G5, D5 repeat and then the verse goes into A5, D/A, G/A, D/A, A5
Overall the tonality is definately A, and thats where the opening riff seems at rest. If its transcribed in the key signature of A, and the tonality is A, the opening riff is IV, I, bVII, I. I don’t understand why the G is not a G#. It sounds better as as a G, and many early AC/DC songs are use these three chords (A, D & G) and are in the key of A, but if the key signature is A, why is the seventh chord flattened. As you mention in the text, many people say its Mixolydian – but that does not seem correct! I thought perhaps the song would have better been transcribed in C with an A tonality (relative minor) and that fits because all the chords are essentially V chords.
Cheers
Hi Lee,
Here is an image of the transcription. I like what you have said above – I bet its actually in D, but when then software transposes that to A before publication (perhaps!). Hope the transcription is above to help in explaining why we have a G5 instead of a G#dim for a simple hair band song. Same chords as AC/DC Rock N Roll Damnation, so whatever is going on here works for many other songs that are transcribed in A, but fit better with a I-IV-V if in D.
Got a lot happening at the moment so I’ll come back and check this song out next week some time.