'Hey, Frederick' chords?

[PrayForPlagues]

Anyone have them? It's such a shame that there's little of the Airplane's music released on paper, although the recent tab anthology was good, it was mostly stuff everyone knew anyway.

[plasticfantastic]

Sorry, haven't attempted that one yet. I'm not sure.

It is a shame... that tab anthology was good and all, but there wasn't much. I was hoping for Aerie.... I've never gotten too far with that one.

[PrayForPlagues]

Yeah with the tab anthology i was pleased to find "Wooden Ships", "3/5 of a Mile"; but they put way too much stuff that has already been out (ie White Rabbit, Somebody to love). I'm hoping there will be a second book; since I have noticed that company does release multiple books for specific band anthologies.
As for myself, I've gotten a pretty good idea how to play "Ballad of you and me and pooneil", "If You Feel", "Other side of this life", and I have a decent arrangement for "Eskimo Blue Day" but I think the key i'm playing in might be wrong.

Yeah, Aerie is something I've had a hard time figuring out. "Twilight Double Leader" was easy though.

[plasticfantastic]

Another edition would be great, you're right. Well, hopefully.

And then there's How Do You Feel, which is actually two chords. I really want to learn Martha. And figure out Aerie. Hell, there's a lot I need to work on. Only been playing a year (almost), but SOMEDAY I will play Third Week at the Chelsea. Thank god summer's coming. School seems to have a vendetta against my having time for important things like figuring out Airplane songs.

[PrayForPlagues]

Martha is a great song. i've played it on bass but I can't get it to sound right on guitar. I really want to learn "Last wall in the castle" and "Wild Tyme".

[EmbryonicRabbit68]

Oh, I really want to learn Last Wall in The Castle too. Bass and guitar, bass especially though, it's so speedy yet so subtle. I think I almost got Aerie on bass, it's just hard to learn Jack's bass lines by ear sometimes.

As for this Airplane tab anthology, I've never seen it, and was unaware one existed.

[PrayForPlagues]

Oh the tab book is great if you want to know Jorma's solos exactly how they're done on the album, but the songs are mostly stuff we've already seen (Somebody to love, White Rabbit, Volunteers, Good Shepherd). And for the most part I think the key signatures were a bit off for many of the songs.
I think tonight I will try "Last Wall in the Castle" again.
Maybe all of us could make a list of all the JA songs we know how to play, and ask each other for help on any song?

[plasticfantastic]

Good idea! I'm afraid I won't be of much help... I'm good at totally dissecting and copying the vocal parts, but I'm not really good enough at guitar or bass to be too helpful.

3/5 of A Mile in Ten Seconds
Somebody to Love (Great Society and Airplane)
White Rabbit
(most of) House on Pooneil Corners
Greasy Heart (SO fun to sing)
Plastic Fantastic Lover
Lather
Coming Back to Me
Martha (WORKING ON IT-- FINALLY!)
Wooden Ships (also fun to sing)
Volunteers
We Can Be Together
Chauffeur Blues (been told I can sing it too, but I dunno...)
Mexico
Twilight Double Leader (VERY fun to sing)
Other Side of This Life
High Flying Bird (also very fun to sing)
Things Are Better in the East
Today

Those are the ones I can pick out bits of on guitar-- can't guarantee that any of them are really right though... someday, someday, I will actually play them correctly. I've only been playing a year as of this month. I've got time.

[PrayForPlagues]

I think I have

The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil (really fun to play)
Young Girl Sunday Blues (all of it but the coda)
Spare Chaynge (rough ideas of what Jack and Jorma are jamming in)
Two Heads
Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
If you Feel
Star Track
Mexico
Other Side of This Life
Son of Jesus (it needs some improvements)
House at pooneil Corners
The Farm
Eskimo Blue Day (sounds pretty good to me)
Meadowlands
Bear Melt (REALLY fun to jam with)
Fat Angel
Rock and Roll Island
War Movie (verse only)

Right now, I'm really wanting "Have You Seen the Saucers", "Last Wall in the Castle", "Share a Little Joke" and "Turn My Life Down".

plasticfantastic, could you help me with Things Are Better in The East?

Thanks! and I'd be glad to help on anything.
-Michael

[plasticfantastic]

Sure, but I don't know the entire thing yet.

The verse is basically just an Amaj7-- x02120, and then just the same form moved up a fret-- x03230, which I suppose would be some odd incarnation of Bb major7 or something. And then that repeats endlessly.

What happens after that, I'm still working on, but I believe that both a Dm and Am barred on the tenth fret come in. There are a lot of strange tensions and such that I'm still in the process of figuring out. I feel like I hear an open G, but I don't quite know how that would make sense.

I've never tried Ballad of. I can't imagine why not... How does that one go?

[PrayForPlagues]

Thanks!
The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil!
The main chord progression that Paul plays is D F D C.
D- x-5-7-7-7-5
F- x-8-10-10-10-8
C- x-3-5-5-5-3
Jorma is playing weird slidey riffs. On the album he is just on the D string sliding from fret 9 to 12. On live versions his slidey riff is usually something like

D|--5/15~\3~|

Or something similar. He uses his tremolo arm a lot on it, but my 335 doesn't have one so I can't replicate what he does exactly.
Then the "i need you around part" is based around 3 very commonly used blues/folk chords.

e|--------------------|
B|-4---5---7---5----|
G|-------------------|
D|-4---6---7---6----|
A|--------------------|
E|--------------------|

Then the "like a mountain springtime" part

e|-------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------------------|
D|----7---5---2~----7---5---9---5~----7---5---4~---7---5---2~--|
A|--0---0---0-----0---0---0---0-----0---0---0----0---0---0-----|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------|
and variations of that.

They repeat the verse, go back to the other parts and Jack has his solo which I have not tried to figure out. Jorma solos in D minor pentatonic. You can make it sound kinda like a raga solo by playing on one string and sliding around.

It's lots of fun.

[plasticfantastic]

Hey, thanks! Working on it as we speak.

[PrayForPlagues]

yep no problem! It's my favorite JA song, I think.
One of the most difficult things, I think, is getting the same sound as Jorma. He sound is so distinct and defining, but really difficult to achieve. I've heard tons of different things about how he got his sound (I've heard he used an Ampeg scrambler stompbox, a Big Muff (impossible, considering they first came out in 1971 which was near the end of the Airplane's career)) and in some interviews he has said that the only distortion he got was from playing so loud. I can see how that makes sense with early Airplane stuff, but on performances like the Fillmore 1968 CD you tell he is using some effect pedal.

[PrayForPlagues]

This morning I was messing around with Wooden Ships and accidentally came across what I think is the riff for "Pretty as You Feel". Sounds good if you solo over it in E minor.

e|--12-x-10~-10-10-10-12-10-12-10-10--|
B|--12-x-10~-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10--|
G|--10-x-10~-10-10-10----------------10--|
D|------------------------------------|
A|------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------|

[plasticfantastic]

Wow, cool! Yeah, that sounds just about right. Thank you! I figured out a little part of it a while ago, but I never really got anywhere with it.

True, he did use at least some distortion. If nowhere else, there's the wah-wah on Eat Starch Mom, Greasy Heart, etc.