Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 May 12

= May 12 =

So I heard a song on the radio just now...
Based on the station, the song is a classic rock song that probably is/was popular with an extremely long electric guitar solo. During the electric guitar solo, something that sounds like sound like "GEAG" is played a few times in a row... The E is very short to the point it practically blends into the first G, and the final G is quite long. The whole 4 note motif thing plays at rather quick pace. Any ideas? 96.253.255.206 (talk) 02:50, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * You mean that riff is part of the solo, or it is part of the underlying rhythm, played by another guitar? Adam Bishop (talk) 03:07, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Part of the solo. Oh I should mention those are chords and not single notes, but I went with the single note that best represents the chords. I don't play guitar, so I don't really know how to express this properly. 96.253.255.206 (talk) 03:09, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Hmm...I would guess the E is an E minor if those are the chords but who knows. Did you hear any of the lyrics? Or even better, do you know what station it was? Their websites often have a list of the songs they have just played. Adam Bishop (talk) 04:13, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I checked the website, but their list of last songs played didn't have it. I went back at least 1 hour's worth of songs despite it playing only ten minutes ago and listened to anything they updated the list with for the next hour after. I think if you simply play those 4 notes with the right beat, even on a piano, you'll pick it up if you know the song. It is from a recognizable part. I didn't catch any of the lyrics, or I would have plugged them into google instead of picking the collective mind of the ref desk. 96.253.255.206 (talk) 04:45, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * You might want to check out Guitar World's 100 greatest guitar solos. I admit 100 can be a repressively huge number when you are looking for just one song, but at least you get to listen to some great guitar music while you are doing it, and maybe even discover something new you like. Since you mentioned that is was a lo-o-ong solo, I will risk one guess: Gary Rossington's solo at the end of "Free Bird" is a classic, and he does a lot of rapidly-repeating-the-riff type soloing. ---Sluzzelin talk  06:50, 12 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Those aren't the chords to Free Bird though. I tried playing them in various rhythms but nothing sounded familiar, at least in the way it was described. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The OP didn't say whether the song was instrumental or not. If it is, the classic rock song which immediately springs to mind is the Allman Brothers band 1973 song Jessica; if it has lyrics it could be their hit Ramblin' Man, also from 1973.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 08:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I went by the notes, and missed the part about the notes representing chords, though apparently not necessarily representing the roots of the chords. I'm afraid I have no idea either. It would perhaps help, if you (96.253...) could characterize the beat, tempo, or genre, or the sound of the guitar a bit more. ---Sluzzelin talk  08:50, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The only classic rock songs I can think of off-hand with long, final guitar solos are Free Bird, The Stones' Can't You Hear Me Knocking, and as I mentioned before Ramblin' Man; although the latter doesn't end with a solo but rather the guitarists Dickey Betts and Les Dudek trading licks. It would help if the OP could remember a few of the lyrics or the style in which it's sung. If this helps, the last song I mentioned (Ramblin' Man) was heard in the 1974 film The Exorcist.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 09:16, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Didn't Pink Floyd, Yes and Rush all have a song or two that ended with a lengthy solo? 10draftsdeep (talk) 13:21, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't think the original questioner specified that the solo was at the end of the track - perhaps it was in the middle? Ghmyrtle (talk) 06:54, 14 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah....then it could be The Allman Brothers Band's song Blue Sky. Call it women's intuition or ESP, but as soon as I read this question The Allman Brothers Band immediately leapt into my mind!--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 07:59, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

It doesn't really sound like anything. The chords don't work together, and generally solos don't use chords that quickly, just single notes. The only thing that I can think of that could resemble if played quickly using these notes (not chords) is Hotel California. It has a solo at the end. But even then, it's off. Aaronite (talk) 16:43, 13 May 2010 (UTC)