2112 is a landmark Rush album and a defining epic song by the band. The song has seven parts – Overture, The Temples of Syrinx, Discovery, Presentation, Oracle: The Dream, Soliloquy and Grand Finale.
The Overture is 4 and half minutes long and is musically arranged as a clever combination of other parts of 2112 as follows:
0:46 – The Temples of Syrinx
1:18 – Oracle: The Dream
1:31 – The Temples of Syrinx
1:58 – Presentation
2:31 – Oracle: Dream
2:45 – The Temples of Syrinx
2:58 – Soliloquy
3:34 – The Temples of Syrinx and Grand Finale
If you want to know how to play the Overture, the guitar chords are roughly the same as each of these corresponding parts. For example, 0:46 begins with the chords A minor, C major, G major and D major. 1:58 begins with A major, B minor, D major and C# minor. And 2:58 leads to A minor, C major and F major and a guitar solo.
A brief look at Rush’s 2112: Overture
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My 10 favorite Rush songs
I am greatly influenced by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It's no easy task to come up with 10 Rush songs which are my favorite, let alone order them in any way. However, these are songs which have strongly struck a chord with me for the longest period of time.
Xanadu
The Red Barchetta
2112
Spirit of Radio
Limelight
Tom Sawyer
Working Man
Anthem
Mission
Jacob's Ladder
Xanadu
The Red Barchetta
2112
Spirit of Radio
Limelight
Tom Sawyer
Working Man
Anthem
Mission
Jacob's Ladder
Recording a new song, "Utopian Dreams"
This song is in 6/8 time signature and features a 12-string acoustic guitar. I want to try something different in sharing this song with you: let you hear how it sounds in three separate stages of recording.
First, I'll play just the rhythm guitar tracks. Then, I'll add the bass guitar and drum tracks to the rhythm guitar. Finally, I'll complete the song by adding the vocals, guitar solo and keyboards to all the other tracks.
First, I'll play just the rhythm guitar tracks. Then, I'll add the bass guitar and drum tracks to the rhythm guitar. Finally, I'll complete the song by adding the vocals, guitar solo and keyboards to all the other tracks.
How I arranged "Auld Lang Syne"
This song is based on a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788. Auld Lang Syne literally means "old long since" and is meant to celebrate days gone by.
It took me some time to decide how to approach covering it as a guitar solo instrumental. I finally settled on making it a "rock polka." The basic beat is an alternating bass drum and snare drum in a quick 2/4 time. I combined that with a melodic rock style and just a tad of punk influence.
I divided the song into two main parts. The first part is in the key of F major. The second part after the break is in G major. The chords in the intro with cymbal crashes are F major, C major, B flat major, C 7th and G minor. I played D minor and B flat minor instead of G minor in the first polka section. In the second section, I played G major, D major, C major, E minor and C minor.
So here it is:
How I arranged "Greensleeves" and "Silent Night"
These are two of the oldest and most widely known Christmas carols. “Greensleeves” dates from the 1580s and “Silent Night” from around 1816.
My inspiration for arranging a medley of these tunes came almost abruptly in December of 2009. It was not something I planned for, as I usually do.
At first, I wasn’t sure whether I could satisfactorily pull of a rock guitar solo rendition of these classic tunes. Then, as with “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” three years ago, I started hearing recurring melodies of these songs in my head. That’s when I decided to give it a go.
Both songs are in 6/8 meter, which translates to a rock ballad. I had to do some experimenting to get the tempo right. A happy coincidence is that the songs are typically played in a similar key: “Greensleeves” in F minor and “Silent Night” in F major. So, the transition between the two worked out well.
The walk-down chords in “Greensleeves” -- F minor, E flat major, D flat major and C minor -- had a distinctly 1960s music feel. I decided to build on that and added more melodies in the intro and middle parts of the song. I did the same with the outro after “Silent Night.” Finally, I harmonized parts of both “Greensleeves” and “Silent Night.”
This pretty much sums up how I composed the medley. I recorded the music and finished the video in about a week.
