Chords for Jon Kimura Parker: Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Concerto Chat)
Tempo:
124.8 bpm
Chords used:
A
Am
Db
Eb
E
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[G] [A] [A]
[Db] [Eb] [E] [A]
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is based on the 24th Caprice of Paganini for solo violin,
which sounds basically like this.
[Am]
[Bb] [C]
[A]
Once Rachmaninoff gives you a hint of that theme and then gives you the theme,
he starts writing the variations, and [E] they're very engaging.
By the way, you're not expected to know when one variation ends and the next one starts,
because [D] some of them are very short and they just tumble [B] forward.
But [Am] once he's written six of these variations, [Dm]
it's almost [C] as though Rachmaninoff said to [Bb] himself,
[Gm] I'm going to need one more [E] contrasting theme here.
So he throws in one of his personal favorite themes, the Dies Irae,
which is a bummer of a chant, even by Gregorian standards.
Dies Irae, Dies Irae
[Ab]
With these two themes, there are all sorts of fantastic highlights along the way.
One of them is variation 15, inspired by Rachmaninoff's deep admiration for the jazz pianism of Art Tatum.
I'll give you an example.
[Am] [Bbm]
[Eb]
[Db]
[Dbm] You can [Ab] imagine after hearing [F] that, Rachmaninoff's inspiration for the 15th variation.
[Am] [Fm]
[Dm] [D] [C]
[F]
So now [Ebm] we come to the very famous 18th variation.
This is the variation that is often taken out of the Rhapsody on [Fm] a Theme of Paganini and performed on its own.
And [F] if you hear it on its own, it's absolutely beautiful,
[Gb] but you might be forgiven for not noticing [Gbm] that it [Am] came from this [Fm] Paganini Caprice theme.
[Am] But even if you hear it in the context of the work, you might not catch it.
So I'd like to show it to you, because it really is something special.
First, let's just take the tiny little kernel of an idea of that Paganini theme.
Now let's move it up to a different key.
[A] And [Db] now let's change it from minor to major.
And now let's turn it upside down.
And now, slow it down and add some harmony.
[Gb] [Db] [Gb] [Ab]
[Db]
[Gb] [Db]
[Bb]
[Ab] [Ebm]
[Bbm]
Voila!
[Fm] The work of genius.
There's the sort of equivalent of a finale, a set of variations that build and build and build and build,
and they get to several short cadenzas [Eb] in the piano part, one of which is just filled with octaves.
[Bb] [F]
[Eb] [Ab] [Eb]
[Am] [E] And then the Rhapsody keeps building even [B] further.
And then there's the [A] final big surprise.
[E] He ends with a wink and a question mark.
[A] [N]
[Db] [Eb] [E] [A]
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is based on the 24th Caprice of Paganini for solo violin,
which sounds basically like this.
[Am]
[Bb] [C]
[A]
Once Rachmaninoff gives you a hint of that theme and then gives you the theme,
he starts writing the variations, and [E] they're very engaging.
By the way, you're not expected to know when one variation ends and the next one starts,
because [D] some of them are very short and they just tumble [B] forward.
But [Am] once he's written six of these variations, [Dm]
it's almost [C] as though Rachmaninoff said to [Bb] himself,
[Gm] I'm going to need one more [E] contrasting theme here.
So he throws in one of his personal favorite themes, the Dies Irae,
which is a bummer of a chant, even by Gregorian standards.
Dies Irae, Dies Irae
[Ab]
With these two themes, there are all sorts of fantastic highlights along the way.
One of them is variation 15, inspired by Rachmaninoff's deep admiration for the jazz pianism of Art Tatum.
I'll give you an example.
[Am] [Bbm]
[Eb]
[Db]
[Dbm] You can [Ab] imagine after hearing [F] that, Rachmaninoff's inspiration for the 15th variation.
[Am] [Fm]
[Dm] [D] [C]
[F]
So now [Ebm] we come to the very famous 18th variation.
This is the variation that is often taken out of the Rhapsody on [Fm] a Theme of Paganini and performed on its own.
And [F] if you hear it on its own, it's absolutely beautiful,
[Gb] but you might be forgiven for not noticing [Gbm] that it [Am] came from this [Fm] Paganini Caprice theme.
[Am] But even if you hear it in the context of the work, you might not catch it.
So I'd like to show it to you, because it really is something special.
First, let's just take the tiny little kernel of an idea of that Paganini theme.
Now let's move it up to a different key.
[A] And [Db] now let's change it from minor to major.
And now let's turn it upside down.
And now, slow it down and add some harmony.
[Gb] [Db] [Gb] [Ab]
[Db]
[Gb] [Db]
[Bb]
[Ab] [Ebm]
[Bbm]
Voila!
[Fm] The work of genius.
There's the sort of equivalent of a finale, a set of variations that build and build and build and build,
and they get to several short cadenzas [Eb] in the piano part, one of which is just filled with octaves.
[Bb] [F]
[Eb] [Ab] [Eb]
[Am] [E] And then the Rhapsody keeps building even [B] further.
And then there's the [A] final big surprise.
[E] He ends with a wink and a question mark.
[A] [N]
Key:
A
Am
Db
Eb
E
A
Am
Db
_ _ [G] _ _ [A] _ _ [A] _ _
_ [Db] _ _ _ [Eb] _ [E] _ _ [A] _
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is based on the 24th Caprice of Paganini for solo violin,
which sounds basically like this.
_ [Am] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Once Rachmaninoff gives you a hint of that theme and then gives you the theme,
he starts writing the variations, and [E] they're very engaging.
By the way, you're not expected to know when one variation ends and the next one starts,
because [D] some of them are very short and they just tumble [B] forward.
But [Am] once he's written six of these variations, [Dm]
it's almost [C] as though Rachmaninoff said to [Bb] himself,
_ [Gm] I'm going to need one more [E] contrasting theme here.
So he throws in one of his personal favorite themes, _ the Dies Irae,
which is a bummer of a chant, even by Gregorian standards.
Dies Irae, Dies Irae
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ With these two themes, there are all sorts of fantastic highlights along the way.
One of them is variation 15, inspired by Rachmaninoff's deep admiration for the jazz pianism of Art Tatum.
I'll give you an example.
_ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ [Bbm] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ [Dbm] You can [Ab] imagine after hearing [F] that, _ Rachmaninoff's inspiration for the 15th variation. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Am] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [C] _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ So now [Ebm] we come to the very famous _ 18th variation.
This is the variation that is often taken out of the Rhapsody on [Fm] a Theme of Paganini and performed on its own.
And [F] if you hear it on its own, it's absolutely beautiful,
[Gb] but you might be forgiven for not noticing [Gbm] that it [Am] came from this [Fm] Paganini Caprice theme.
[Am] But even if you hear it in the context of the work, you might not catch it.
So I'd like to show it to you, because it really is something special.
First, let's just take the tiny little kernel of an idea of that Paganini theme. _ _
_ _ _ Now let's move it up to a different key.
_ [A] And _ [Db] now let's change it from minor to major. _ _ _ _ _
_ And now let's turn it upside down. _ _
_ _ And now, _ slow it down and add some harmony. _ _ _ _ _
[Gb] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ [Ab] _
_ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ [Db] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bbm] _ _ _
_ Voila!
[Fm] The work of genius. _
There's the sort of equivalent of a finale, a set of variations that build and build and build and build,
and they get to several short cadenzas [Eb] in the piano part, one of which is just filled with octaves.
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ [F] _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _
[Am] _ _ [E] _ _ And then the Rhapsody keeps building even [B] further.
And then there's the [A] final big surprise.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [E] He ends with a wink and a question mark.
[A] _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Db] _ _ _ [Eb] _ [E] _ _ [A] _
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is based on the 24th Caprice of Paganini for solo violin,
which sounds basically like this.
_ [Am] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Once Rachmaninoff gives you a hint of that theme and then gives you the theme,
he starts writing the variations, and [E] they're very engaging.
By the way, you're not expected to know when one variation ends and the next one starts,
because [D] some of them are very short and they just tumble [B] forward.
But [Am] once he's written six of these variations, [Dm]
it's almost [C] as though Rachmaninoff said to [Bb] himself,
_ [Gm] I'm going to need one more [E] contrasting theme here.
So he throws in one of his personal favorite themes, _ the Dies Irae,
which is a bummer of a chant, even by Gregorian standards.
Dies Irae, Dies Irae
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ With these two themes, there are all sorts of fantastic highlights along the way.
One of them is variation 15, inspired by Rachmaninoff's deep admiration for the jazz pianism of Art Tatum.
I'll give you an example.
_ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ [Bbm] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _
_ [Dbm] You can [Ab] imagine after hearing [F] that, _ Rachmaninoff's inspiration for the 15th variation. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Am] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [C] _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ So now [Ebm] we come to the very famous _ 18th variation.
This is the variation that is often taken out of the Rhapsody on [Fm] a Theme of Paganini and performed on its own.
And [F] if you hear it on its own, it's absolutely beautiful,
[Gb] but you might be forgiven for not noticing [Gbm] that it [Am] came from this [Fm] Paganini Caprice theme.
[Am] But even if you hear it in the context of the work, you might not catch it.
So I'd like to show it to you, because it really is something special.
First, let's just take the tiny little kernel of an idea of that Paganini theme. _ _
_ _ _ Now let's move it up to a different key.
_ [A] And _ [Db] now let's change it from minor to major. _ _ _ _ _
_ And now let's turn it upside down. _ _
_ _ And now, _ slow it down and add some harmony. _ _ _ _ _
[Gb] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ [Ab] _
_ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ [Db] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bbm] _ _ _
_ Voila!
[Fm] The work of genius. _
There's the sort of equivalent of a finale, a set of variations that build and build and build and build,
and they get to several short cadenzas [Eb] in the piano part, one of which is just filled with octaves.
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ [F] _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _
[Am] _ _ [E] _ _ And then the Rhapsody keeps building even [B] further.
And then there's the [A] final big surprise.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [E] He ends with a wink and a question mark.
[A] _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _