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38 - Grace (Jeff Buckley) · Barracuda Breakdowns

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, I'm gonna do the thing and I'm gonna try to break down Grace by Jeff Buckley.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: And Gary Lucas.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Gary Lucas wrote virtually all the guitar parts in the song.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't Jeff Buckley, but Jeff Buckley wrote the melodies and the lyrics, and we're gonna talk about all these elements in the song.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: So huge shout out to Gary Lucas for writing this incredibly complex guitar piece right here.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so goddamn.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: So Grace, the title track, right?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's such an epic, epic, epic song, and it's mixed by one of my favorite mixers, Andy Wallace.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: It just sounds so pristine, and the production is amazing.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk a little bit about that.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Even from the get-go when the guitarist starts.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Listen closely.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's like a synth going like it's really a nice touch.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And there's acoustic guitar throughout the whole song, and like the phaser, like the flanger that happens in like the drums and the guitar, like later on, and like the epic scream.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's take it one step at a time.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we start in F minor.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm tuned to drop D, okay?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but it starts on the F minor chord with this kind of arpeggio kind of riff.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I can six A do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then it goes up a full step.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So F minor, like right away, my heart and my brain thinks we're in F minor, right?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Really nice, clever picking and fingering.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then we move up a full step.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, G minor.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then we get thrust to E minor.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like what a what a statement.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's already like so dark, and it's it's like a carnival of emotions.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because right after that we go to D major.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: F minor to G minor to E minor.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, he's like just kidding, we're here.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then just kidding about that too, because now we're here.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So this this is the first time that we hit a major chord, and we're like we're solidifying that we're now in D major.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like I don't trust this smile that I have right now.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's like we're happy right now.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: He's doing this like subtle, like that's a major right there, but so it's kind of like it's like one to five to one to five to one to five.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like happy.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's like taking flight, and then finally okay.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now we go to the verse, and now we're solidifying that we're actually in E minor.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So and so the way he's playing this is just two, two, two because we're in drop D, so it's E minor.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: With the open G string is the asking to stay long enough for the clouds to fly music.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about what he's doing here, like E minor, and he's further accentuating E minor by the vocal melody.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that's just the E minor pentatonic.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then haunting ass E flat power chord he's singing, like the fifth to the root.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, but look at this.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's the moon, he's like he's like a banshee, right?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: He's like a phantom hovering over like the acoustics like and the uh electric guitar is like just outlined in the like that that F is like a Phrygian move, Phrygian.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if we're an E minor, it should be But they're going Right by going to F there.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Phrygian is like a minor mode, just like a type of minor scale often used in flamenco music.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, whoa, haunting, long enough for the clouds to fly.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And this is even this is like even crazier.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: They go to the major seven, they go to it's just chromatics.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Going chromatic is just like just going down half steps.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Long enough for the clouds to fly me away.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: So haunting.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then they go to instead of going back to E minor to repeat it, they go the this they go to a full descension F E minor E flat F E minor E flat.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Watch.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, is my time coming now I'm not afraid and then they go to E minor, afraid to die, like so prophetic, right?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's my time coming.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not afraid, afraid to die, and then he dies, man.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: He drowns in the Mississippi River.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's like insane.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Afraid to die.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And now here's the pre-chorus, beautiful set of chords.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Look at the guitar part.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna play the guitar part real quick, just and then like a quick and then slight variation.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: What essentially we're highlighting is E minor, and then I like to think of this as B7 because it sounds like but it's like a but it's like a second inversion B7.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Second inversion just means the fifth is on the bottom.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you take B7, and that's on the bottom.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, or you can look at it as F minor six.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then G6 A6 B minor back down.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and then the same thing happens.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And look at that fingering, just just so that's like 4x424, and then 5x545.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Just full steps, and then this is B minor seven now.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Slight variation.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I just love what he's singing too.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And my fading voice.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The melody perfectly fitting that chord.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Voice sings of love and but she cries to the clicking of time.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's talk about his melody, right?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So he's outlining E harmonic minor, and it's harmonic minor because that B seven, that second chord, fading voice, that gives Jeff license to sing the major seven.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: So otherwise it'd be right, but it's sounds even more like phantom like a bit classical, especially with the movement.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: There's the minor seven.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then E minor.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, here's the chorus.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Back to that dissension in the verse, right?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then E minor.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Oh but that melody is so haunting.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it's like a banshee.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Again, just E minor.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's the minor sixth, the haunting minor six.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then that's the fifth.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Landing on the minor third, just outlining E minor there.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love So what a first leg of the song, right?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then back to the It's like that was chapter one, here's chapter two.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: E minor.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then back to the Oh, like it's like toying with my emotions, man.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Quit playing games in my heart.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and now I love the second verse, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And she weeps on my arm.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Walk into the bright lights in the sorrow.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Man, that e-fight really opens the door to and sorrow.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, drink a bit of wine.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: We both might go tomorrow.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And morrow.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my love.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Back to it.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a pre-chorus.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the rain is falling.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe my time has come.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe my time has come.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Just like knowing what happens to him.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like insane.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Especially this line.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of the pain of my leave.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: He just throws the voice out there and then.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like this descension to madness, just chromatic.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the bridge.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just look at this.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's like easy to play.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like this is wild.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, Gary Lucas.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's just one one one three one one.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so it's going up half steps.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, just going up full steps.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's technically E flat six sus two, okay?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then it becomes F six sus two to G six sus two.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then down chromatics, what back to E minor, finally kind of home, I think, and then I love the I love that.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: It only happens once in the whole song.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just going up the pentatonic scale.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that part is so sick.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's like beautiful harmonies blooming, and then there's this gorgeous like string plug.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm talking about.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's like such a beautiful touch.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I w I haven't figured out those notes, but I love that moment.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like this whole bridge is gorgeous.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of the pain.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's like what he says earlier, right?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like with like a megaphone or something.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it reminds me of the pain.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So bluesy.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I just love the way he like throws it.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that was like chapter two, right there.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: That included the bridge.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's like, alright, here's chapter three.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then I love that.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: A quick minor third.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then back to And they're playing like a little harder, right?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's like here comes like the showdown.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like really intense now.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: One final verse, and he comes in again, like just so prophetic, like what he's saying.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So easy to know and forget with this kiss.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not afraid to go.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not afraid to go.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: I love that ghost.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Let's figure that out.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not afraid to go.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's always like ghost go.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So he's singing like me re do for F, but he's playing it over E minor.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's crazy.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: That is wild, man.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Look at that.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Look at that.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're just here this chromatic distinction from here on out.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like it's giving birth.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Just like that part is so awesome, man.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's he turning into there, right?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then right here, he ends on E flat right here.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's how the song ends, like with that crazy E flat chord.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: That I love that so much because he's going.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like you would think to go just climbing up the minor triad.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: But instead of singing the fifth, it's this minor sixth.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Again, like a normal thing would be like But it's and it just gets whispered away.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's such a beautiful ending, like such a great way to wrap up the song in a very mystical and haunting way.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Ending on that chord.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And here's something that's like kind of confuses me.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: I thought we were in E minor, right?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because these are the same chords as the verse when he's like, this is Naskinstay.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: But by this point, when when it goes, like I think we should we're still in E minor, but he's outlining G minor.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, ah that sounds like the key of the song now.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: But that's G minor.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not E minor anymore.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's almost like this.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: These chords turned into like the seven of G.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Here's G.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Turn into the seven to like the sharp six to like the six.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like ending on the six of G minor.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's the king of the song.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: G minor.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: That kind of like freaks me out a little bit, like harmonically.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what happened there?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like at one it's like at one point, as soon as we went from like it's like we're actually in G minor.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Write it in the comments.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have other like facts about this song, like please write in the comments.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I remember the first time I heard it, I was like, what song is this, man?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the whole like that to the star case gonna stay.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously his voice is like absolutely insane.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed that deep dive into Grace.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hope you learned some new things about it.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like me to break down your song, your original music, check out learn.dambaricuda.com slash breakdown.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I love to get my two cents on the mixing, the songwriting, the production.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love to hear new music all the time, so please submit your song.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: I have two different types of breakdowns a reaction video breakdown and a more thorough Barracuda breakdown where I talk about the music theory of your song, and maybe you can learn a thing or two about what you did organically or subconsciously in your song.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: But thanks for tuning in to Barracuda Breakdowns, and I'll see you in the next episode.