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    The Similarities Between Glenn Gould and Weezer

    What on earth does Weezer and Glenn Gould have in common? Here is a quote from the book, "Conversations with Glenn Gould."

    "...you could have a certain cluster [chord] and there would be one note absent from it that was the key to it's function as a cluster." What Glenn is saying is that a chord might still have the same effect even if it's missing a note. Of course, all I could think about were power chords.

    If you know about power chords, aka the ones that are used all over the place in rock including Spinal Tap as well as by Weezer, they have only two notes: The root and the fifth. The third is left out of a power chord. hmmmmm. Glenn Gould once again:

    "... you did not have to sound a root tone for that tone to be psychologically present."

    Again, Glenn is perhaps inferring that you do not need every single note of the chord, in this case the root, for the chord to have a psycological value. For guitarists, this question comes to mind: How can a song played completely with power chords still be silly and fun to listen to if these chords leave out the most defining note? And yet, this is what happens all the time. Power chords can sound sinister, fun, depressing, creepy, and outright joyful. It's all in the implication.

    It tickles me to no end to find funny little connections like this between classical music and rock.

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    Tags » Glenn Gould music theory power chords Weezer
    • 3 January 2010
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  • The School of Feedback Guitar Blog

    This blog is dedicated to the idea that learning and playing guitar should be as fun as possible. It is a fine read if you are starting to learn guitar from scratch and if you tend to search for ways to be more creative.

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  • About The School of Feedback Guitar Blog

    This blog is dedicated to the idea that learning and playing guitar should be as fun as possible. It is a fine read if you are starting to learn guitar from scratch and if you tend to search for ways to be more creative.

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