Chords for The MYSTERY Chord in Don't Look Back in Anger! | Friday Fretworks

Hey guys, I'm Chris Buck, a very warm welcome to Friday Fratworks, and this week one of
rock's most enduring mysteries finally solved, all thanks to that pedal show.
We are of course
talking about that chord, Don't Look Back in Anger. _
_ [Fm] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ [Fm] _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ [F] _
_ [C] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ So if you're a working guitar player, especially here in the UK, odds on at some point you
will have played Don't Look Back in [N] Anger, invariably to the drunkest people you've ever
seen all absolutely screaming the chorus back at you.
If you're like most guitar players
as well, you probably will have bluffed your way through that chord change in the bridge,
which depending on where you've learnt the song or your point of reference could be any
number of things.
It could be an E7, [G] _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ could have just sharpened the root in a power [G] chord, _
_ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ or it could be a G sharp [F] diminished, which for what it's worth is what the official Oasis
songbook tells you [G] it is. _ _
_ _ _ [Abm] _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ Now I'm certainly not the guy to delve too deeply into theory
or chord harmony, especially in today's video, [Abm] but it's a fairly natural question at this
point to say what on earth is a diminished chord?
Admittedly out of context they can
sound extremely discordant.
Now to simplify it, you can essentially [Gb] think of a diminished
chord as best used as a passing chord to inject a bit of tension and drama and forward motion
into a chord progression, very much leading your ear to that resolution chord.
Now there
are countless examples of diminished chords being used to incredible effect throughout
popular music, but in the case of Don't Look Back in Anger, which is in the key of C major,
it's interesting to see how the G sharp diminished is used as a passing chord between the 5 chord
of the key, G, and the 6th chord of the key, A minor.
Now hypothetically speaking Oasis
could have done away with that and stayed put on the G, but in this next simulation
that I've recorded you'll see how it's lost that expectation and [F] natural leading resolution
to the A minor when you simply don't play that G sharp diminished.
It just doesn't sound the same.
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [G] _
[F] So _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ if it is just a G sharp diminished, what's the mystery?
Now as much as that chord will
undoubtedly work if you're trying to replicate the track, to me at least it's never sounded
totally right.
But purely because of the sheer amount of instrumentation within the track,
it's hard to conclusively say at any [N] one point what Noel is playing.
There really is a lot
going on.
Of course bass, drums, innumerable guitar parts, the orchestration, the hammered
organ, the piano, the vocal layers, the percussion, it really is quite a busy song in that respect.
And despite What's The Morning Glory having propelled Oasis into being possibly the biggest
band in the world throughout the 1990s, there's surprisingly not really an abundance of footage
clearly showing what it is that Noel plays, always conveniently cutting away to the drummer
at that precise moment.
The best bit of footage I've been able to find is from an Oasis show
at Wembley Stadium in the year 2000 where, for all of [G] the world, it looks like Noel just
simply moves a G sharp major [Abm] shape up one fret.
[Ab] Which, if you play that, sounds like
this. _ _ _ _
[N] Now as a consequence there has been an insane amount of speculation over the years
in regard to what that chord actually is.
Videos made on the subject, magazine articles
written, you name it, it's probably been hypothesised.
But thanks to yesterday's episode of That
Pedal Show, where Dan and Mick interview Noel in his studio, we finally have conclusive
proof.
Speaking of that video, even if you're not necessarily an Oasis fan, I implore you
to go and watch it.
It is absolutely brilliant.
It's a treasure trove and seeing how enthusiastic
Noel still is about songwriting and music and guitar players and guitars and pedals
and amps truly is infectious.
And Dan and Mick just managed to get the best out of it.
It really is a joy to watch.
It's also quite funny to see Mick's reaction when Noel plays
this very chord.
Presumably, judging by his response, he's been playing it right for all
these years.
[C] Let's take a look.
_ [Fm] _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
_ _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [G]
So what [Am] is that chord?
Technically speaking, it is an E dominant 7 with a G sharp in the
bass, which on a fretboard and on a [Ab] chord diagram translates to this. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ Straight away,
that's it.
You can tell [Abm] that is that sound.
It's got that slightly jangly discordant quality
of those open strings ringing against those fretted notes.
Couple that with all of the
extra instrumentation and [Eb] orchestration, not least of which the bass guitar actually, with
that chromatic run up from G to G sharp to A minor.
But all of that together, you have
it.
You have that iconic sound and that iconic chord.
It's incredibly cool to say after so
many years of speculation and kind of educated guesswork to a degree, I guess, that we finally
can conclusively say what it is.
Almost makes me want to go back out in the South Wales
pubs and clubs just so I can play it correctly.
Almost anyway.
As ever, I'm Chris Buck.
This
is Friday Fretworks.
Please subscribe with the bell icon if you haven't [D] already.
And
I shall see you next week for another episode of Friday [A] Fretworks.
Cheers guys.
Take care.
[F] See you soon.
_ _ [Fm] _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ [Fm] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ [G] _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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