Rudy The 12-Bar Reindeer – Musical Form Makes It Easy!

Good morning and Merry Christmas. This is Duane and today I’d like to take a look at the role of form in music with Rudy The 12-Bar Reindeer – Musical Form Makes It Easy!. Let me just play it. Okay, that’s the first eight bars, okay. Now watch the second eight bars. Was there any difference? Only the last two notes. In other words, the first eight bars and the second eight bars and by bars, I mean measures, eight measures, the second eight bars is the same as the first eight bars, okay. Then the third section goes like this. Okay, then the fourth section goes like this. Recognize that?

Now, what advantage does that give you? Well, instead of having to learn 32 bars, all you really needed to learn is the first eight bars because that’s 3 course of the song. If you learn the first eight bars and the third eight bars, which is the bridge or the release, then you have the whole song learned, right? Instead of … look have to learn three, two bars, you really only have to learn 16 bars, okay. And that’s true not only in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer but of almost every, every popular song that leads that has ever been written, okay.

The role of form in music is really important. By the way, the form of that song would be A A B A. I know there is the first eight bars is called the theme, and we’ll call the theme section A. And then the theme is repeated for the next eight bars. So, that’s A again, and then the bridge, it’s the middle part, the different part is called B, and then the last part is the same is A. The form of that song is A A B A, and that’s a very common popular song form. You’ll find that song after song after song and I want you to look for that.

Other song forms are like A B A or A B A C A, but once you learned some of those common song forms, as soon as you see them achieve music or as soon as you hear them, you’ll recognize it right away, okay, and then it will save you lots of time worrying songs at song.

Now, my purpose is not to learn Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer but since we are doing it, let me just play the chords so you’ll know it. Okay, we do this and the key is C. First chord is C, second chord is G or G7. Okay, so the A section is made up of what? Just two chords, C and G7, okay. Of course you can dress it up with arpeggio or swing bass like that or … all kinds of styles you can use but it still comes down to two chords, right?
We’ve learned A and we know that A repeats. Now, the B section. F chord, back to C, D minor 7, G7, C, G, A minor 7 or D7 suspension, D7 and back to G7. Now, can you use course of intrusions? Yes, of course you can and you and I have talked about that many times but the basic strokes are very simple, aren’t they and then the last section of course is what, is A, so we are back in.

Okay, so have fun with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. That’s the basic outline, the basic skeleton of the song, A A B A. Apply that to other songs and look for that would you.

Here is the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDNu6yTfmOw

Okay, again Merry Christmas and we’ll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye for now.

For a complete course on playing Spectacularly Beautiful Christmas Carols on your piano for your family and friends this Christmas, click here to read all about it: https://www.playpiano.com/musical-courses/christmas-carols.htm
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