Mahavishnu´s 'The Dance of Maya' intro/riff

[OMGitsthellamaking]

What are the frets?

[KingTabor]

@OMGitsthellamaking Yamaha's stock ones, not too high I mean

[OMGitsthellamaking]

@KingTabor I mean like the positioning on the frets.

for ex. 7th to 8th or whatever

[musiclifelove]

i love this riff too. great job. JM plays some crazy chords at the end and yours sounds fine so who cares if they're right

[ElDondro]

Its a 10/8 time signature

[ThreeLeggedMongoose]

great

[sci49]

5, 10, or 20 / 8 bc they're all the same thing. I find the most interesting part to be the drum entrance, which takes 3 8ths and plays 2 qrts in their place (3:2).

Every 10 8ths the drums restart to keep up though, so it sounds like 6 1/3 beats of 4/4 rock!! The harmony's interesting too, but they probably have set theory courses on youtube already.

[fkhodada]

does anyone know the time-signature?

[KingTabor]

I like to think it in some odd-meter when the riff is alone. WHen band enters with a shuffle then it´s like an usual 12/8 with syncopated notes (where the chord roots lies). Thanks!

[cdubable]

Ya the riff is a repeat of 1 bar 3/4, 1 bar 4/4, 1 bar 3/4 again. (3/8, 4/8, 3/8 repeated several times, I don't which way you would write it out, lil help?)

[fkhodada]

Very helpful, I wrote it out based on your input and it adds up to 10/8 signature at least for the first section.

[fkhodada]

A: .l.l.l .l.l.l.l .l.l.l :| repeats to me this is a 10/8 signature. Then after the bridge comes the part that rocks with an eight feel, if you count it out, B part adds up to 13 beats and I worked it out to be 13/8 one way to count it is 1,2, 3,. . . . .. , 12, 13 :| , but an easier way to count it is 1-ah, 2-ah, 3-ah, 4-ah, 5-ah, 6-ah, seven :| repeat either way it adds up to 13 distinct beats.

[sc06yl]

When I lifted it i wrote the A and B section as 3/4 3/4 4/4

then the chromatic decesending thing in 10/4.

Only because it makes it easier to read.

the shuffle section is a 20/8 shuffle.

I wrote it as 6/8,6/8,6/8,2/8.

Only because its easier to read that way.

I like to be nice to my bandmates.

[Fr3tsOnFir3]

10/8 then it goes to 20

[KingTabor]

OMG theoryheads had assumed control :-)

[Parvenu333]

To elaborate for anyone who might come by looking for an answer:

The riff is in 10/8 (each note is an eighth) phrased in eighth notes as 3/3/1/3

The drums enter playing a pattern in 10/8 phrased in sixteenth notes as 6/6/6/2. This is why it feels like a 12/8 shuffle.

[KingTabor]

Hi Junboy , yes I did change the neck one to a DM EJ Custom. I used a POD XT Live for all videos I put here (metal pack installed - that means more hi-gain models: Diezel, Bogner, Engl etc. The Quiet Riot solo with the AES I used the Peavy 5150. For the 'Battle Axe' song I used the Plexi Variac if I´m not wrong.

Thanks and keep tuned!

[junboymolave]

Great! DId you change pickups on your AES620? If so, to what? Also guitar processor do you typically use for your other videos. Especially the Quiet RIot one?

[JMMQOTSA]

man yamaha's aes line is so good. I have a blue 620, myself.

good job.

[KingTabor]

That´s right, they are amazing guitars for their cost. And a delight for the eyes also! Thanks!

[gonya33]

Me too, great axe.

[onetwothreeoclock]

love that riff. it's so dark. try tapping ya foot to it, lol.

I think mclaughlin picks it a bit harder to. A bit more aggressive.

good vid

[KingTabor]

Hi Mr o´clock! You´re right, John´s playing is harder and more distorted also. But I tried to play it Steve Morse´s style (there´s a version on Morse´s DVD Sects Dregs and Rocknroll). Thanks and keep tuned!

[Nabunatu]

Im maybe buying that guitar with 300euros!

[juancacamataperro]

well done!... can you tell me the model of your neck pickup? thanks, keep playing

[KingTabor]

Hi Juan, it´s an DiMarzio EJ Custom. Thanks for watching!

[juancacamataperro]

thanx!! keep rockin´!

[wnorcott]

Sounds good, nice job. The chord voicings at 0:48 are not the actual chords though. I made a recording of "Dance of Maya" that uses the real chords plus other guitar parts added. I had to slow the tempo about 5 BPM to nail the chords though. They are a bear to play because you have to voice the low E string about 5 frets lower than the rest quite a hand stretcher.

I saw Mahavishnu Orchestra play this live in 1973 one of the best concerts I ever saw.

[KingTabor]

You see, I would suspect the last chords are wrong. Actually I can´t hear what they´re playing (same with Dreg´s version), so I played what seemed right. Anyway, the 'airy' chords are what really matters to me. But I´d appreciate if you could spell the last chords. Thanks for your comment!

[wnorcott]

The best way I can describe it is, if you go to my version of Dance of Maya, and in the "About This Video" section I have added a link to the guitar tablature that shows the actual chords. So if you click on that link you will have the guitar tab for the song. If you listen to my recording you can hear it has the bass notes moving down on the low E string of those chords. You are a good guitarist and I hope you make some more videos for us.

[KingTabor]

Hey, Bill, many thanks! I figured out that I´ve played right - at least - 2 of each 3 notes from the chords. If I have time I will re-record my version.