21 - Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses)

Where do we go now? The solo kicks off at an immediate key changes from D Major to E minor. Burst of color! Iconic licks all around. 

Let Me Break Down Your Song: https://learn.danbarracuda.com/breakdown

Private 1:1 Sessions: https://learn.danbarracuda.com/sessions

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Okay guys, let's talk about Sweet Child of Mine. So this is a classic, a classic song. It currently has two point six billion streams. Um but it's really a beautiful song. And I just wanted to break down the musicality, and I have my electric here, so we'll get into the solo as well. I'll play it nice and slow and we'll talk about what's going on. The song has two halves, and so does the solo. Um but the song is in D major, and this is a really good use of Mixolydian. So here's D major. And that's what the riff is outlining. It's outlining the chords. So we got right, so beautiful riff. I think Slash came up with it when he was like just coming up with like a finger exercise. He just kind of improvised it, right? I got the rhythm uh pick up the sorry the neck pickup on, right? So when it goes to that, that's outlining C major. Now C major in the context of D major is a flat seven. So now we've entered Mixolydian territory because we got the key of D major and C is not in the key. We got right? D major has got that C sharp in it, but when you flatten it to a C, has like a really big open sound, often bluesy, and uh in this case it's just like really, really great, and it's like the the whole song, the whole first half of the song really builds off this feeling. And then it goes to the four. Just G. Again, by the way, I'm gonna drop a half step tuning, so I'm just gonna call it like as if we were in standard. So D major, C major, G major. All major chords, and in Roman numerals this would be one, major one to the flat seven, and to the four. G is the four chord. Now this is the same chord progression as like the end of Hey Jude. Besides, I mean, except that's an F major, but it's the same like chord progression. So it's like one na na na na na na na. And then here's the four chord.

unknown 2:13

Hey jude.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

So this chord progression sounds really like big and it's happy, it's uh bright. Mixolydian often sounds like it's like open. That's like the word I always use. It has a very big open sound. Um, and so the riff outlines that. And then over C, this is a flat seven. And then the G, before we got and then back to D. Now the bass riff is insane.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

It goes It's so lyrical.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

It's so musical. He's like singing, it's almost like he's singing like Axel Rose's vocal melody. He's like playing around with like the melody of this, like introducing the melody of the song. The that's a big melodic theme in the song, right? And so when the singing starts, we got She's got a smile that it seems to me reminds me.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Things really open up in the seventh chord, right? Reminds me of childhood memories when everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky. That's that's when you go from the perfect fourth to the major third. Right? And repeat. Now and then when I see her face, she takes me away to that special place, and if I stare too long, I'd probably break down and cry.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

Right? There's so many things that are like hinting at the melody. The riff does, the bass line does, and of course the vocal is singing the melody. Uh, it's really nice. And then finally, when it goes to the chorus, sweet child of mine. That goes to the five chord, which is A. Really nice sound, just and then the other two chords are already in the verse as well, but it's a different order. We got A C D.

unknown 4:42

Right?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

So those are the two sections. The first half of the song has an A section and a B section. The A section is D C G D, and the B section is the chorus, and that's A C D D. And uh, of course, the there's two like mini solos before the big solo. So in the first half of the song, which is like the child kind of part, we got now. I love how in the second time around he goes this. It's so tasteful. There's so much like tastefulness going on in this song. It's very inspired, like that they probably just came up with this whole thing, like, just so naturally, it seems like it like the song it seems like it like poured out out of them, and then like so so melodic. Now, when Axa goes, ah, right here. That moment is so cool because he's singing D. And then Slash is playing, which is F sharp, and then A. So D F sharp A, that's the major chord. They're playing D major. They're playing a they're all they're outlining a D major chord there. It's so cool. It's so like huge.

unknown 6:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Okay, now we are approaching the second half of the song. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

I just love when he goes, Oh, oh, oh, oh, sweet child of mine. Ooh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

The bass goes Okay, here's the second half of the song. The solo enters right when the key changes. The solo enters right when the second half begins, and we modulate from D major to E minor. Okay, so I I feel like it's like the child is like is growing up, and then after the solo, it's like, where do we go? Where do we go now? Like we're in like adulthood or something, you know? It's like so we're in E minor, it goes. It's such a nice uh Spanish chord progression, Spanish sounding. We got E minor, and we go to the six, very dark with the C, right? E minor to C, and then B seven. Maybe they're just doing power chords, but it's essentially B7, and then A. And they hint at A minor due to slash's melody. So it's like minor one to six to five, the major five, tension, and it lands on the minor four. Really nice. Like, listen to that chord progression. So Spanishy. Okay, so this is the first half of the solo, right? And he starts with this beautiful bend, and he does have the wa engaged. I I want you guys to tell me if I'm wrong. Is there like an interview? I don't know what Slash has said about the song, but he a lot of people say that a lot of people seem to think that his wa only becomes engaged in the second half of the solo, but I kinda hear it, and I saw a video of him playing it live, and he he did have the wa on in the beginning. Uh I think it's in like a certain position, but I got my neck pickup on right here. And it starts with that beautiful bend that I love this right here. Beautiful rhythm. Now he's he's playing the major seventh there. That's right over the B. Right? Because when you play that major five chord, that opens the door for the major seventh. And that gives it such a Spanish flair. That's just going. That's just going down the E minor scale, and then harmonic minor and then it's like a snake. He's snaking all over the place, right? Everything is like so clever, like it's so inspired. And then there's so many of these little half-step bends, right? And I love this jump. Great! And he jumps from here straight down here. Major seventh again. Because he's playing that over the B, right? The major five chord.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

And then that's so nice.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

And then this guitar goes, it goes, it goes. Like one guitar does that as the next guitar enters. It's like you can tell it's two separate tracks because you hear one go, I think it actually goes. I think he bends up to it and then it comes down. And that's when like the bridge pickup becomes comes on and the wa starts getting some more action going on, and he does this really cool rise where he goes, he goes, Okay, so very slowly and with the wah not engaged, he goes But with the wah, again, very slowly. You hear that? Now here, when he gets to the top of this lick, that's when the second half of the solo starts, right? The wall is fully engaged. Now the chord progression has now changed. We're still in E minor, but it's a more like rock E minor, less Spanish-y and more rock. But one last time, that rise is so awesome. It goes And right when we get that epic bend up Oh my god. Right when we get there, the chords go. And this chord progression now lasts until the end of the song. So it's one minor one to three to four. And those are like the three main rock notes, right? The right, just one, three, four. So and then you get the six, like the very dramatic six. Right? Six to seven back to the three. Just beautiful. So to recap, we got the Oh my gosh. So it's like I love that. He's he's doing the over the four chord. So beautiful. Like listen to the journey of feelings in that chord progression where it's always rising, right? Very rock bass, and then we got this is epic and dramatic. And it shoots back down. So it's so epic with the this is very reaching the ninth. That's the ninth, because we're in the key of E. And we got it's the major second, but the major ninth is just an octave above, right? And then thew, that's just the root, right? So much like dignity right there. It's so powerful, and then that is so awesome because he has he's just doing two notes, right? Like two frets, the 12th fret and the 14th fret. He's doing he's saying so much with just those two frets. Every like moment is different. So he's like starting here. Oh my god, and then I love the So I'm gonna shut the wall off so you can really hear the notes, right? Um That is like this is like the center of the solo, right here. That part is like so sick. The crucial part is the is the right the muse. It's like it's it's like it's like it's just like a typical blues lake, but it's like perfectly placed in like the middle of the solo, like it's like the payoff, right? And then from here he does this beautiful rise. He goes, Oh my god, but with Wall, right? Like So now we're that we're at the time, he's just rising up the pentatonic scale, and then he finally touches the A only in like the natural minor scale with that F sharp. So one more time. That note right there, that's like now we've exited the minor pentatonic scale for a second, and he just hits like the like the natural minor. And then now it's just another payoff, just very fast, but with wa it just sounds like atrocious, but like in a great way, right? It's just like it's so it's so fast, and then he does this huge bend, he goes like he's he's like goes up to like it's either like the minor third bend or a major third bend, it's super high. So he's like uh That part is sick. He's uh very slowly he goes Even slow with even slower without wa and with Wa and then Where do where do we go now? We as adults we're grown up now. What do we do now? That's like what I take away from it. I don't know what they're trying to say with that. Um but slash is doing like but again they're like Yeah, they changed the rhythm there instead of going they go Where do we go?

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Sweet child, where do we go now?

unknown 18:36

Where do we go? I love when it goes I love when it goes.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

That is like the rock statement right there. We got That is just descending the minor blues pentatonic scale. We got root seven root seven fifth flat fifth or the tritone, that's the blues note four, three, one sweet chuck, and then it lands on the floor sweet chuck and then as it goes he's he's going up Right, he dips down to the minor seventh and goes back up an octave. And I didn't realize it, but the song has a pickardy third. A pickardy third is when you end on a major chord, on like a major tonic, because it's like we're essentially an E minor, right? It's a lot of power chords, but you hear a chord go it's super distant, it's at the very very end, and I think it's on one ear. I never had never really heard it before, but now like before I break these down, I really listened to it uh very intently. Um but I caught I caught a Pickerty third at the end. You know, and I lover by the Beatles has uh Pickardy third, so does uh Down in a Hole by Allison Chains. Uh it's like a cool little technique to do, it gives it like a bright ending. But yeah, this song is like so epic. The solo is like really beautiful, the dynamics and everything. It's such a story. And I never really thought about it before as like a child with like the innocent major chords, like Mixolydian, and then it goes to like E minor, right? And it has that like the sophisticated Spanish-y kind of touch to it, and then it goes like all out rock, but then it's like, where do we go now? Where do we go?

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Where do we go? Where do we go now?

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Axel sounds amazing in the recording. Um I just can't believe this is like their first album. Like their first album is insane. I know it's like one of the most uh uh successful debut albums of all time, Appetite for Destruction, but the track list is insane. Huge kudos to them for putting this song together like so early on in their career. First album that they really made such a statement. Um and the wall really does so much to like just the frenzy and like the excitement of the of the solo. I hope you enjoyed that, guys. Please leave a rating and a review. It helps the podcast immensely, helps me keep doing what I'm doing. I only have a couple open spots right now for private breakdown sessions, so if you're seeing this in time, just check out learn.dambaricuda.com slash sessions for some private one on ones with me. And um I'll see you guys in the next episode. Uh thanks so much for tuning in.