Chords for Joe Satriani - Dream Song

_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
It's a bit of a trick, I guess, because there's the arpeggios of the two chords, the D over
E, [C#] you know, [D] play, _
_ [E] _ it's going on and on.
First over a D [E] bass, _ _ _ _ then the [B] E, and then the B
minor.
_ And this melody sort of drifts around through those three chords, but they're arranged
in four sections, so the second chord winds up being the fourth chord.
And then of course
it modulates where the E major chord then becomes the fourth chord of the B minor key,
which is where the chorus comes in.
So arranging compositions like that is something I really
enjoy doing, I like seeing that way.
And then of course the melody goes from, it's played
in a more of a legato feeling, and it almost seems as if it's straddling more D Lydian
and E Mixolydian than the B minor, or in this case B Dorian.
But then when the chorus comes
in, I'm playing very different, so as the melody [F#] is, you know,
_ _ _ [A] _ going very linear, when [G] the chorus comes I'm _ _ [Bm] _ _
[E] _ _ _ [G#m] _ _ playing a lot of idiomatic blues licks around it.
So there's a bit of a shift there, I like that kind of night and day shift.
And then
to add to the confusion of it, [E] most of the time there's this, _ _ _ _ there's an E note that
travels through the whole [N] thing.
Now, you know, I dreamt this song, that's why it's
called Dream Song, so I obviously put it together without thinking about it, and then when I
woke up and realized I was dreaming this song, I tried to frantically remember all
the parts that were part of the dream, and I was pretty surprised to find out that that's
what I was thinking about.
And _ it's a really odd thing to try to reconstruct a dream in
your head, you know, but it's great when you get to hear it back.
I wish someday they could
do that with images, you know, so you could see your dreams back, that would be fun.
But
in this case, Dream Song is the audio equivalent. _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
That free part I was talking about is the
second part.
[B] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ [F#m] _ _
_ [G#] _ [B] _ _ _ _ [C#] _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
[G#m] _ _ [Am] It almost has no [N] timing to it, it's a very, it's really just floating on
top of the groove.
But the groove is so repetitive that I think the two of them together create
excitement. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Dm] _ _ _ [G#] _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ [B] _ [D#] _ _
_ [E] _ And then basically, I'm playing these octaves, right?
[C#] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[C#] Picking [D] them, _ [Em] and then
[G] sometimes I slide down a position, [G#m] _ _ and then other times [C#] I'll even, _
_ [G#] and then sometimes
I cross [G] over, _ [F#] _ _
_ [D] sliding _ [D#m] _ _ _ _
[N] up and down.
So alternating picking, you've got to use your fingers to
keep things quiet, you know, because it's kind of a noisy affair on the guitar. _
And
yeah, it has a different effect because the _ chord patterns, when it starts, make you think
it's in a Lydian mode, and then it steps up to mixolydian, and then it goes to Dorian.
So the mood of it sort of is changing underneath your feet, so to speak.
But the line itself
kind of has this continuation sound, like it's playing in one scale only. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ In that particular
song got a lot of its start in my home studio.
So I would have created, using the BFD program
in Pro Tools, I created a simplified drum pattern that [G] repeated for, you know, six or
seven minutes.
And then I probably played the organ [C#] _
first.
So I played the organ.
I
don't play piano too well, so I probably do a performance and go back and correct the
timing and anything else that I couldn't quite get my fingers [E] to.
And then I might
balance it out with a [F#] piano part that sort of follows the [N] bass chord changes.
Not necessarily
the rhythm of it, but maybe just where they start and end, maybe using whole notes.
Then
I would add the bass.
I think I used a 1973 P-Bass, Fender P-Bass on there. _
And then,
and so those, my organ and my bass wound up on the record.
Obviously the drums were replaced.
I added a lot of rhythm guitars and, you know, the wah-wah and solo and the melody.
So would
have probably, I think the wah-wah was the last thing I put on there, though.
So after I did the
organ, I think I _ did some rhythm guitar work.
I think I used a 50-watt Marshall for the dirty
guitar that's off on the left side.
And then used a cleaner guitar sound that sort of goes
in between the bass guitar and the rhythm guitar.
It doesn't follow the bass guitar exactly,
but sort of hangs out with.
[Dm] _ _
_ [G#] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ [G#] _ _ [D#] _ _ [F#] _ [E] _
And then basically I'm playing these octaves, right?
[C#] _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ [C] _ _ [N] _ _ _