22 - Pinball Wizard (The Who)

Even on my favorite table - he can beat my best! Very imaginative song. Other than the intro, we've got all major chords. Strong, powerful, and colorful. Super creative.

Transcript

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Pinball Wizard is a blast of color. This song is so cool, man. It has a very sophisticated intro, okay? So we're playing around with B minor. Then we just lift that pointer finger. Keep it nice suspended, but we still we're still playing the minor third though. So it has the minor third and the fourth. And then we got really nice. That's like a sus two. But also sus four. It's like it's like very crazy. And then that's F sharp. That's the five chord, but it's major, right? F sharp seven. And then we got this uh now. We got F my F sharp minor. I love that. That's just four open open open. Four open open open. Yeah. Like we're just descending down. This is the only minor part of the whole song. The rest of the song is all major chords, okay? Wild. And then we got this a quick G, but it's uh just two notes. Okay, and that so that's so the intro is mainly outlining like B minor and different like flavors of B minor and then to the five chord, and then that's cool. We go to the five chord major, but then then we go to five chord minor, and then like just dissonant, but then this is the six to the five, and the five wants to lead so bad to back to B minor, and it goes to B, but it's B major. Okay, so it goes and then we go So awesome! So this is a really good lesson in suspended chords, okay? So because there's a lot of suspended chords in this riff. So we go goes to B major, but it's B sus four to start. So we got So on the D string that's nine nine seven, okay, starting in the D string. So that maybe like the thumb on the low seven, and then we go to B major. So the first chord is essentially B major, but we're replacing the third, like the happy note of B major, the note that makes it a major chord, we're replacing that with the fourth. So it sounds very like magical. And the strumming pattern. And then that second guitar with a beautiful touch. Like I I love how it's on the opposite ear, and it's just like it's such a great touch. And then um the vocals come in, and that's um Roger Daltrey hitting the Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball. So he just jumps up to the fifth and then descends down the major scale. Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball. From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played them all. We're just moving down half steps, right? So we go B sus four to B major. A sus four to A major. Another full step. We're going down full steps. I don't know if I said half steps, we're going down full steps, right? B to A down to G. G sus four to G major, and then we go down a half step to F sharp. So we're like kind of going down the Andalusian cadence, right? But except with a major tonic. Like hit the road jack, does that too, right? Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball. But I ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall. That deaf, dumb, and blind kid. Sure plays a mean pinball. Those notes are really cool. And then so together it's like nice. That's really cool. Shaw plays a mean pinball. And look, I haven't played any minor chords except in the very intro of the song. But he goes, yeah, uh Shaw plays a mean pinball. Great rhythm change, like it's so colorful, it's like a burst of color. And this is just one, that's a major one. That's like a mixolydian move, right? B A D to E. That's like the major, we're doing the major four chord, really nice. And the song is always like introducing something new. So we just introduce this riff, right? And then we go back to it, introduces something new, and then it goes back. So now we just did that riff, and then we go back to the verse. He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine. Feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean, plays by intuition. I love that. The digit counters fall. That deaf, dumb, blind kid sure plays a mean, sure plays a mean pim. Okay, now when we go back to this drive, riff. Now we gotta introduce something new, right? And they go to this next section, which only happens once in the song, right? Or hold on. No, sorry, this this happens again later, but this is a new riff, right? Uh he's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist. A pinball wizard's got such a simple wrist. Really nice. So it's cool because we start on the four. And we go to the five, and then one. So four, five, one. Pin bow wizard. Like every word is almost like the a chord, right? A pin ball wizard, there has to be a twist. A pinball wizard's got such a supple. Now this part only happens once in the song. Only happens once. It's such a gem. It's the how do you think he does it? I don't know. I watched a video of just Pete Townsend. I think it was like a solo show. He he played it on stage and like he just went, How do you think he and the whole audience went, I don't know, and like you see him grinning, it's so cool. But that's a really cool rip. Just it's cool because this this is like the this is like a D mixolydian. Like, we're like in D for a second, and I know that D is that relative major of B, but we're also in B major, so it's all kind of ambiguous. Like we're in B major, and then we're in D major. It's cool. But Roger Adultry's like, how do you think he does it? Like he really just sorry. Right? How do you think he does? I don't know what makes him so good. Now right away we transport back to the next verse. Ain't got no instructions, can't hear no buzzes and bells, don't see no lights aflashin, plays by sense of smell. A love that always gets the replay. Never seen him fall. The deaf tongue and blind kid sure plays a mean pimb. I thought I was the ballet table king. The ballet table king. I love that. But I just handed my pimple crown to him. That G to D is really nice. Kind of like really accentuating that we're in like D major right now. Okay, now right here, this is really cool because it doesn't go back to the instead it like it still stays in D, but it does the main riff, but in D. So now we go. Which the original riff was in B, it was right. So it's like that right here. It's so much higher, it's three steps higher than before. Right? And now Roger Daltrey has this has to sing the fifth above that, which is way higher. Before he was singing an F sharp, but now he's just singing A. So he's like soaring in the sky. He's like, or here. He's like, even on my favorite table, he can be my best. I love that. Even on my favorite table, he can be my best. Even on my favorite table, he can be my best. Disciples lead him in, and he just does the rest. He's got crazy flipper fingers, never seen him fall. That deaf ton blind kid. Shaw plays a mean pim. And then we got that's so cool. Right here. That's such a cool move. Like we're in D major, right? D mixalidian. That's the one C F. So that's the one to the flat seven to the third, and then we go to the flat six. And then there's like cool like electric guitar highlights. And uh in that video I saw of Pete Townsend playing it live, I was like, how is he gonna end this song? Is he's not gonna like fade it out and just go. He doesn't, of course, because like the six wants to like resolve back many times. So we got and then he goes building up and he ends on D major. But I like how like the recording is like way more magical than that. Really nice. It's such a colorful song, like what a blast of color! Where like the song started with right? B minor. We were like in the B minor territory, and then we burst into B major, and then it goes, it ventures off into D major, comes back to B major, and then ventures off back into D major. Very cool, very cool. I love this song, man. I'm so glad I like really dove into it and like learned it, and like now I'm making a video on it. But thanks for tuning in, guys, and check out my show links for some you know private breakdowns or if you want to some free ear training. I appreciate it, guys. I'll see you in the next episode.