Chordplay - The Chords of Black Sabbath
Here's the next episode of Chordplay with The Chords of Black Sabbath.
Needless to say, Black Sabbath are the direct link between the blues-influenced rock heard in the late 1960s and the surge of hard rock/heavy metal that exploded in the 1970s, and Sabbath is widely considered the "Godfathers of Metal" as their music has influenced millions of musicians/listeners since their inception.
This lesson focuses on the unique style of Tony Iommi, centering on not only a few of his signature "hand of doom" metal riffs but also a varied selection of haunting chords, jazzy voicings, acoustic guitar ideas, and much more.
This lesson also features a brief section explaining a little of the mystery surrounding the tritone or "The Devil's Interval."
This interval is also known as the b5 and can be heard in classical, jazz, blues, rock, and a variety of other musical styles, but one style that consistently targets this sinister sound is (of course) metal.
I hope this lesson sheds some new light on Tony Iommi's guitar legacy and also provides some edgy doom-and-gloom riffs chords just in time for Halloween.
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Пікірлер: 205
Tony is absolutely THE riff master! I was waiting for that chugging riff in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which so many guitarists (myself included) have borrowed from. "Where can you run to, life is killing you..." Unbelievable for 1973!! No one was even close to that kind of heavy back then. Awesome video as always.
While Tony is frequently mentioned as one who could tell the listener a lot with not too much, it was Bill who created magic with a drum set that would be hardly acceptable by a beginner today.
@meteor09
4 жыл бұрын
How so? Did he use very few pieces?
@tony69em
4 жыл бұрын
@@meteor09 yes
@meteor09
4 жыл бұрын
@@tony69em I guess that was self-explanatory seeing this now. But thanks!
@tony69em
4 жыл бұрын
@@meteor09 you're welcome
It's dope that you always pick off the beaten path tunes for chordplay. Spiral Architect 🤘🤘
Iommi my all time fave & greatest metal rhythm player ever. Nobody, maybe Page wrote as many iconic riffs? I love Sabbath especially with Dio!🤘
Thanks David, this was great! Love that you pointed out that he plays his stuff up on the E string. I think when Zakk covers his stuff he plays it rooted on the A like you. Hey, I see Ace back there, hope we get some Ace licks at some point. Thanks again, great content, killer channel.
I play in a bar band, and you said it bro. Some of the most simple riffs are the ones that stay with us. Play something like Ac/Dc and watch the crowd go crazy. If you feel it, that's good music
. Wonderful riffage. Perfect late night lesson, thanks 🤘 .
“There’s something about Sabbath” Nuff said!! Great riffs, dynamics and imagery. It’s impossible to imagine metal without them. Unique and ridiculously ahead of their time. And yeah, the Anthrax cover just kills!! Thanks for jazzy chords from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath!!
very interesting point about Tony playing his power chords on the low e and a, great lesson
I saw them live in Milton Keynes in the UK. Awesome, awesome, awesome!!
Thanks for this David, I love Tony Iommis guitar work and ideas/creativity. Awesome! Keep up the lessons as well, grateful for your podcast/show! Rock on brother!
This was an incredible informative lesson, great flashback to the greatest original metal music recorded Tony Iommi definatly was an innovator ,i still have my 1980 Black Gibson SG and he was the reason i got it back in the day again thankyou for this great video !
It’s amazing how the guy could create incredibly evil sounds and then turn around and do these acoustic songs that are very beautiful.
Cool. I would like to see a video of Sabbath- The Dio Years.
Awesome lesson! Loved it. Been listening to this stuff since I was twelve, i.e. early 80's. It's still as iconic today.
Oh boy… Now you’ve gone and done it. This is the can of worms that I was waiting for you to open. Another great lesson as always, sir! Thank you very much for the wonderful content and educated insight.
IOMMI HAS ALWAYS BEEN AWESOME.
Something about Sabbath just puts me in a hypnotic trance! Straight to my soul, I become mesmerized. Only a handful of bands do this to me. Long live Sabbath!
under the sun/every day comes and goes is my fave. never gets mentioned
This lesson really inspired me. Thank you
great lesson. Im new to your channel but I'm really enjoying all the late night lessons I've watched. you have a great concept on teaching . it's not the same old here's a lick look how good I can play. I feel like we are chilling in the living room talking about our favorite riffs and bands . for someone like me I've been playing for 35 years and I've got a great bag of tricks already I've learned Jason Becker songs and don't get me wrong I still love playing for the love of god and nuno Bettencourt solos I'll always do that . but just reviewing great players like toni iommi and the others you choose is really beneficial to keeping things interesting. I like that you mention the contrast in toni's riffs that's a very important part of being heavy it makes the crushing riffs stand out better . it's an old trick but works so well . thanks for the cool conversations I love it. and by the way you are an excellent player we must be really close to the same age and have many similarities in our playing as far a the rock and metal goes. I like that you're not always showing off your fast licks because I k ow you can rip when you want to it shows maturity and confidence. you're a great teacher and make it fun and interesting. keep the video s coming. 🤘👍
How did I miss this?! Classic! Thanks for posting this edition!!
Awesome lesson as usual you've done it again . Brilliant snap shot of insight into Tongs style .Well done . Loved his work with Ronnie Duo too.
Annoys me that this video has only 366 likes. I love your channel, dude. I learn lots of you. Keep the great job. You are amazing.
love your channel man, your laid back and easy to listen to and have learned alot ,thank you
Chord play kicks ass!! Thanks for all the great stuff you cover. I really enjoy the material that you cover. I think that most metal guitarist really like to sound like the devil and an angel. Great stuff... long live metal!!
I really enjoyed this. I'm an old guy (55) so this brings back memories. I always thought Symptom kicked ass. Ozzy's Speak of the Devil live album had a great version of that song with Brad Gillis on guitar.
@gregc7227
4 жыл бұрын
I remember that album. Randy had just recently passed.
@jonbigg7385
4 жыл бұрын
@@gregc7227 Yeah. The plane crash happened about 1 week before I was supposed to see Randy play live.
@youtoo2233
4 жыл бұрын
@@jonbigg7385 I hate that Randy got in that plane like that, flying around with a bunch of drunks in a plane buzzing trailers you're just looking for something tragic to happen and it did
@samcuratolo3885
4 жыл бұрын
hell im 69 and still dig sabbath.... been playing since 1965....sabbath brought on another way of looking at music
@robertciaschini7625
4 жыл бұрын
Brad did a smashing job on that record. It was an emotional period after Randy's death.
Great lesson thanks for all your advice and Love from Scotland !!!
Great video man! Thanks for decoding the Sabbath magic, most people don't realize that it's actually the "slow" songs that make the heavy ones excel. In his book, Tony explains exactly the same, he wanted to create that contrast to make them feel even heavier, which is pretty smart. They were never afraid to eperiment with acoustic and jazz parts.
Great subject once again! Thanks !!!
Great job David! Tony had great tone and great riffs!!
Great lesson! So glad you branched out to some acoustic stuff. Long overdue.....Tony was THE metal player for years back then.
Another great Chord Play! Thanks, David!
Sabotage was my first album..... Megalomania make an impact on my thoughts
Great episode man. Thanks
Tritones from the root (or tonic) sound dark and sinister, or simply up to no good, but diatonic Tritones (like F & B within C Major/F Lydian) can be part of something that sounds beautiful and mysterious.
Hey Thanks dude, I'm glad I stumbled on to you channel. Thanks for "how" you do your vids. From a 62 year young 50 year player in NW Montana USA!!
Tony explains it as light and shade.
I mentioned on an earlier video to have you share some Iommi...I am interested in Computer God era !!! Much appreciation to you for such cool lessons !!! SO VERY INSPIRATIONAL!!!
Different album wall decor for each lesson, nice. Along with Many a plectrum in the frame. Love Iommi's live sound, the godfather of metal! Love this S**t 🤘😝
great lesson. im a HUGE Sabbath fan. love what you just did on the acoustic, it just opened some new doors. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath I wore out the album in my brothers room when I was in 4th grade. Maybe the best album ever in Rock, at least right up there. When I listen to it today its like im listening to it for the 1st time, Thanks again
During the second half of this lesson, I was reminded of the arpeggiation found in "Fractured Mirror" and then I noticed that Ace's solo KISS record was up on your wall. (Maybe I subconsciously "saw" it in my field of vision). Who knows? I love how that instrumental builds on itself. Great lesson as usual. Thanks, Dave.
Great lesson. I love Sabbath. I have an SG that I tune down to c# just to play black sabbath songs.
The first song I ever heard of Sabbath was Symptom of the universe. It was on a buddy's massive stereo cranked to 10. It sounded so incredibly powerful, I was a fan from then on. It was in the 70's when I first heard them. I also love Anthrax's version of SBS. Heard that as well when it first came out.
Great lesson, I was 12 when I first heard War Pigs on am AM radio going in and out of range. I was totally hooked from then until now almost 50 years later. I would like to note,if I'm not mistaken the song Fluff was on the Vol. IV LP.
Keep it coming, you're an excellent teacher/player. I have no formal training. But through evolution become unto myself as a player. I get it now. Took awhile, but I'm there.
This was cool. I don't know anything about names of chords, but have tried to play a few rifts like these by ear. Thanks for the lessons.
Great lesson, Children of the sea, is amazing to
Great taste in riffs.
Sweet !!! David thx 🤟🤟✝️✝️🤟🤟 For sabb bloody sabb on the 9th he up picks open 4th n 5th and down picks the 4th n 5th to chords on the 7th
Im learning N.I.B, and this lesson is like a motivation. Thanks bro🎸🤘
Dynamics and color is what Black Sabbath is all about.
The opening riff was killer! Love the Ace Frehley solo album pic! Can't wait until you cover Ace in the early years!,
Awesome!!
OMG dude you just made my day im soooo glad i found your KZread Channel here i definitely pressed Subscribe button quick i just commented on your Motley Crue video but Yesssss Tony Iommi , The Ozzy Years my man wow i could go on & on about the Love i have for Black Sabbath they are the Number #1 Coolest , That Riff there Symptom & Sweet Leaf Riffs are my Top favorites !!!!! Rock on 🎸 🤘
Great Halloween themed Chordplay David! Tony Iommi tuning down so he could bend strings easier (since he lost the tips of his fingers in an accident) was a magical discovery in heavy detune tone. If he wouldn’t have had his accident, he may not have been the heavy riff master he became. Amazing!
One of the reasons why Their Music was groundbreaking for the time, was the unique way they inter-played between dark and light textures in songs and on albums. Many emulated the flat 5th of the major scale, and power chords, but the way Tony Iommi used jazz/chords in songs was not carried on much in '80s metal, and became a lost art. Thanks! for doing a good job showing different aspects of this music, I find your perspective refreshing and insightful. A small minor error: the song "Fluff" is on the album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
Love the "drop tune" comment. I also recognized what you did, as I think you and I are of the same vintage. I also noticed Uriah Heep drop tuned a few, the Wizard comes to mind. Cheers man!
@aiden_macleod
4 жыл бұрын
Tony dropped tune out of necessity, for playing in standard was too uncomfortable on his sensitive fingers. People do it today because they think it somehow makes them Metal. So, the lower the tuning, the more Metal it is? I don't think so.
Great video. I think a part 2 with the Dio years is called for!
Planet Caravan is also based around the same Emin Add 9 from Sleeping Village
I also heard Sabbath Bloody Sabbath on the Anthrax EP first. It took some four or five years until I heard the original version. If I remember correctly Anthrax didn't play the clean jazz chords. Gotta give the vinyl a spin again! Great inspiring lesson as usual! 👍
I like also the 3 albums with Tony Martin: killing riffs like in "Hard Life to Love" in the Eternal Idol album (1987)...
@patriotpizzaman
4 жыл бұрын
Five studio albums and one live ;) The first three are the cream of the crop with Tony's time in Sabbath though.
@montech5647
4 жыл бұрын
@@patriotpizzaman , true. They had 5 albums. :) The first had Eric Singer on drums! Epic!
@patriotpizzaman
4 жыл бұрын
@@montech5647 I love the Eternal Idol disc. Have you heard the Ray Gillen demos? They released them on the Deluxe Edition. The Shining with Ray is stellar!
@montech5647
4 жыл бұрын
@@patriotpizzaman , Yes! Awesome Ray, too! I've been following these albums since their release in 1987 when I was probably the only teenager that didn't listen *only* to Thrash Metal. I recall most of my peers looking at these Sabbath cassettes with a bit of scorn, lol!
@oscarolivera3711
3 жыл бұрын
yes, Hard life to love, great song !!
Without Tony......where would we be?
My mother used to love Fluff! I remember when she asked me who played it and she couldn't believe it! I had to show her the album cover as proof. She asked me to play the rest of the album and she was like wtf? She didn't dislike it though but she didn't understand the contrast. But I could tell my friends that my mother liked Black Sabbath LOL!
Today! the band of my life....
Symptom of the universe. Sabotage was my dads fav sabbath album. I have a sabotage shirt, I love it
AWESOME dave I love tony iommi can you tell he's the godfather of metal also he's a very jazzy player!!! ...thank you again keep shreddin'!!! \m/ \m/
The Sabbath Bloody Sabbath riff actually starts with the open A & D strings then hammered on the 7th & 9th frets respectively. The open A & D (F# & B) provide an inverted B5 (being that we're tuned down to C#).
*These series are very interesting. You should totally do a serie on the great Scorpions. On their non hit material indeed, as you would. Their heavy side, melodies, chords and harmonies. Please make it happen.*
I love the pic of Ace !!!
Great job again. Sabbath was the Godfathers of Metal. I read that Randy hated playing these songs however.
Excellent episode....as always - you pick the good stuff ! One very slight correct, if I may: for Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Tony did not slide from D5 to E5 for the intro - he appears to hammer on to E5 from open strings. I spotted him doing this in a live clip recently and it surprised me (I thought it was a slide from D5 to E5 also !). Looking forward to the next episode and thanks for hosting a great channel.
Holtz the planet suite was a big influence on them for the song black sabbath - i got a lend of the cd from my brother to try and find it, and also found the whole intro to am i evil which had pretty much been lifted by diamond head lol - tony loved django rheinhart also - sabbath were so cool in what they were listening to - great lesson david id been playing symptom wrong for years - thanx alot
Great job! There are some obscure chords in albums like Born Again and Seventh Star, that show a another side to his playing, and the Tony Martin albums too. But the tritone was the bedrock of heavy metal! Thanks for your videos, they are great! Could you do a Chordplay on Bill Connors (specially his 80s "AH influenced" - albums) someday? It would be great! :)
My favorite Iommi chords are during the Neon Knights solo.
If I recall correctly, Tony, Geezer, and Bill were jazz guys first, and you can really hear it in Bill's drumming, and especially as a band in the last part of Air Dance. Sabbath is tied for my favorite metal band (along with Iron Maiden), followed closely by '70s Judas Priest. I would like to suggest a chord play episode for Judas Priest, especially for Dissident Aggressor, which was released in '76 (recorded in '75). It is one of the songs that really defined metal, and was way ahead of its time with its riffs and drumming (IMO). There were other heavy songs out before it, but they were quite "metal", except for some Sabbath that came out around the same time. Keep up the great work, your channel rocks!
I would love an episode of the softer chords of Tony Iommi, for example the soft part of Heaven & Hell, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Back Street Kids... There is a lot of them! It's often a softer part / bridge that sound so incredible good to me...
Hey David, I’ve been binge watching your videos. Great job by the way. As a guitar player I really appreciate how you reference all the chords and notes by name and not just numbers. I have a question, what’s with all the picks on your wall? Just curious. Thanks again for another insightful video. Can’t wait for the next one for METAL MONTH!
Cool you did some acoustic stuff!
Man, this is one class approach to guitar study, very interesting. How bout some Robin Trower Chordplay?
I am a Master’s of Reality guy myself
@psilocybe_reptiliensis
4 жыл бұрын
fucking awesome album!!
@george25199
4 жыл бұрын
First tape I ever bought at 12 years old found at a gas station on a family trip for 3.99 put it in my walkman and was hooked
@delete.102
4 жыл бұрын
After forever and children of the grave 2 best tracks
He did play a lot of stuff using the low E as much as possible. If you've ever played Sabbath on an SG, you'll realize playing the root 6 chords up high is a LOT easier than on a Les Paul -- it even starts to sort of make sense to do it that way. Tony was also one of, if not the first guys to have a 24 fret guitar -- a custom SG. And one of the reasons he originally tuned down was to make it easier to bend strings with his plastic fingertips (he also used really light strings -- 8s, for the same reason). The fact that it sounded heavier was a side benefit, but I think he was tuning down even when the band was a blues band called Earth.
@davetaperek2206
4 жыл бұрын
Just got an SG (I own 4 Les Pauls), I totally agree!!
@drax13
4 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it was all about making it easier to deal with how much it hurt to play after his accident. Tuning the guitar down and playing in the upper register where the tension was slightly easier on his fingertips made a huge difference, and helped create his signature sound. As screwed up as it is, I think that machine shop accident was probably one of the best thing that happened for 20th century music.
the contrast in SABS music is what drew me in, when I first heard songs like Planet Caravan and Solitude I though how cool as the less tolerable distorted songs became more and more addicting. Fluff off of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (believe you said MOR) was their "Mello" tune for that LP which it seemed they always had to throw something on their LP's that even Grandma would love. Sleeping Village, Laguna Sunrise, Supertzar ?" , She's Gone and Air Dance. are like taste my honey and then come inside to hear some mind blowing riffs.
Cool take on Sabbath. P.S. that is a dope-ass cobra t-shirt!
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,Sabotage and Technical Ecstasy stayed in my tape deck for years, but you HAD to make copies from the originals because 2nd or 3rd play they'd start to squeak! I had the same problem with Pink Floyd cassettes.Thank God those days are behind us.
I saw the Ace Frehley poster behind you and IMMEDIATELY started singing, "New York Groove". HAHAHA!!
Yes!!
LOVE!
Great content.Could You do symptom of the universe as a full lesson?I've searched it but they are not complete.Thanks.
Maestro Dave, Since you like the "Jazz chords" so much (As we all do too) check out Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush.....It'll make your head spin the way he throws 'em into the mix!.....LOVE what you do sir.....
Awesome lesson! But the Cat is driving me CRAZY.
It will be a miracle if Sharon Osbourne's wall of lawyers don't shut this one down :(
@donvanco3078
3 жыл бұрын
No, no one cares, spammer
The fathers of heavy metal!!!!
Loved it! Hey bro... How about the chords of Dio? Including the first few records with Sabbath, and perhaps a lil' Rainbow too. I loved those first two Sabbath records with Dio so much and they seem to be a bit over looked. Or perhaps you could do a Sabbath Dio thing, even though they started calling it Heaven and Hell. Smells of Sharon Osbourne! Lmao. Anyhow, don't talk to strangers! Ha ;)
Sabbath rules!
Actually Fluff is off the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album. 70s Sabbath is definitely in my top 5 bands. Man you're a great player and teacher, I've learned a lot from your videos!
@LateNightLessons
4 жыл бұрын
Yep, you're totally right - 'Fluff' was on SBS and 'Orchid' was the "pretty song" on Master of Reality - GOOD CALL! My bad - I mixed them up! : ) Thanks and ROCK ON!
Fluff was on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Orchid was on Master of Reality. Thanks for the Video!
I think Iommi plays Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in the position you play it but he doesn't hang on the low E octave or slide from a D power chord to an E. If you listen to the intro closely, it sounds like he's playing slightly muted open A and D strings and then going to the E power chord (or C# in this case) He does this same thing in Snowblind during the verse. It sounds like he's going between a standard E power chord and sliding down to the D power chord, but I'm fairly certain he's just letting off his fretting hand and playing the A and D strings open ala Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. It's technically the same notes, but having the A be an octave lower totally changes the tonality. Once I started playing it like that I was like "ah ha." It sounds way more "Iommi" now. Great channel!
Hey Brewster, what are you using to capture these guitar sounds ? You really come close to the sounds of the bands you explain. Man I really dig your vids man, keep it crackalackin brother
A fresh take on a Sabbath tutorial is no easy feat. Nice job, dude! Btw, I tuned my acoustic down for Spiral Architect. And, like you said, it totally freaked out😵. But I immediately put on a Simon & Garfunkel record, and kept assuring it that everything was going to be alright, til the morning light