"I'm a Believer"

Backdated, archival post

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A couple days ago, I figured out the electric piano solo in "I'm a Believer."  I wanted to try to figure out the chords though, so I didn't have to record just the solo.  Yester-day, I got the chords and also the electric guitar part (most of it, at least; I'm not sure of the extent to which it doubles the acoustic guitar chords).  But the organ part is probably the most distinctive musical feature of the song, and it didn't seem right to record the song without it, so last night I learned that too.

I'm limited as far as organ sounds go (because I'm using my dad's old Yahama keyboard from the mid-1990s; I'm saving up for a Nord keyboard so I can use their sample library), so the organ part sounds more like a Hammond than a Vox Continental (which I think is what the original recording has).  I could have been more precise in the acoustic guitar part too; it stops short about a measure after "Not a trace / Of doubt in my mind," but I neglected to do that and instead let it ring out.

I found the electric piano solo really interesting.  It's only four notes, but they have the same intervals as the recurring phrase in "Money (That's What I Want)" (although I have to admit that I'm familiar only with the Beatles' version).  Here, the notes are D F F# G, and in "Money," there're E G G# A.  The rhythms are different, but the sequence of notes is somewhat similar.  I'm not sure if that's coincidental or not.