Intro to "Does anyone body know what time it is"?

[skykeys]

Perhaps the same method that helped create the original is the way to go

http://munsell.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1_pills-in-hand.jpg

 

LOL . . . That is very funny Steve. And probably pretty accurate as well.

[Reverend Rhythm]

A quick search gave me this: http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0082479

 

As far as transcriptions of every instrument, Ebay seems to be the best bet: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHICAGO-VOLUME-2-TRANSCRIBED-SCORE-by-Chicago-/262370407529?hash=item3d167eb469:g:9fwAAOSwjwlXA0~o

[Baldwin Funster]

Check all the live versions of DARKWTII on youtube. Lamm apparently never played the intro live and my guess is it was an edit on the album. No point at all trying to learn and cover this part.

[richforman]

That's a good point, pretty much no one in the audience is going to really want to hear it or have any idea what's going on even if you recreated it verbatim.

[Polkahero]

One of the bands I play in covers this tune. My advice for the piano intro? Skip it!

[Mr. Nightime]

Never Mind

[skykeys]

Entertaining responses.

 

From a practical standpoint, I do realize that you're all correct. It's not worth the effort. No one (but music fanatics like ourselves) would appreciate it, let alone remember it.

 

But since I am one of those fanatics, I just thought I would try to find out if there was a chart for it somewhere; if anyone every played it or knew anything else about it.

 

And what I've found is: no one seems to know a darn thing about it. It apparently has never been played live by Lamm (or anyone else), and no charts exist for it. I am a bit surprised that there is no back story to it; like how it came to be on the album, how he came up with it in the first place, etc. It remains an enigma.

 

Given how mysterious it is, you'd think that would be reason in itself for more information to have been uncovered about it.

 

So, I'm not going to obsess over it or anything, but I will continue to hunt and peck at it occasionally. If any of you ever find out anything about it, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know.

 

Thanks for your input.

[Musicale]

Lamm probably forgot it himself. Refer to the Steve Nathan post...

 

Musicale

[moj]

Lamm did play the prelude, but not exactly like the CTA album.

Texas Pop Festival 1969 @ 6:45 mark

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikefwWt7pas

Tanglewood 1970 a different, longer version

[video:youtube]

[area51recording]

Nail that thing note for note if possible.....then try not to listen to the drunk in the back of the room that screams out "Freebird!" when you're through w/the tune.... ;-)

[skykeys]

Lamm did play the prelude, but not exactly like the CTA album.

Texas Pop Festival 1969 @ 6:45 mark

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikefwWt7pas

Tanglewood 1970 a different, longer version

[video:youtube]

 

Thanks for posting that moj!

 

I have to say though, what Lamm is playing there sounds almost nothing at all like the original recording on the album. I don't find it anywhere near as interesting or as well conceived. Neither the melody nor the chord structures are the same. Perhaps part of the reason is that he's playing it on a Horner electric piano. But still, it doesn't sound similar to the original album version to me.

 

Also, it goes on way too long for my tastes. Kind of self-indulgent. I never felt that way about the original.

[Reezekeys]

Neither the melody nor the chord structures are the same

It seems obvious to me that this intro is improvised and probably was improvised every time he played it, including the album session. Hence no "same" melody or chord structures. We call this "jazz."

[Baldwin Funster]

Never the same melody or chord structure? Wow, I've been playing "jazz" all these years and didn't know it.

[Reezekeys]

See how easy it is?

[harmonizer]

I found the chords in Lamm's Texas Pop Festival version to be closer to the original, than the longer intro he played in the Chicago IV version (live at Carnegie Hall). But I had not listened to the Carnegie Hall version for many years, and hearing it again made me realize how good it was (I'm not a big fan of most of the rest of that album).

 

If our band had enough people to do this song live, we would probably start the intro where the horns come in.

[Outkaster]

This was an issue when I was with the Dukes. I had some stellar players and the Trombone player was huge into Chicago. He knew these songs in an out. I would have to go and work it out but we got close to the intro enough that we could play it with out starting from the part where the horns come in.

[skykeys]

Never the same melody or chord structure? Wow, I've been playing "jazz" all these years and didn't know it.

 

LOL , , , Me neither BF.

[skykeys]

I think it might be the case that some of the people who responded here (and thank you all for your input), aren't really sure of the piano intro part that I'm referring to.

 

So, to be clear, this link is from the original CTA album version of Does Anybody Know What Time It Is; as soon as it starts playing, the solo piano part is the part I'm talking about.

 

 

I have seen several versions of charts that show the music from the part when the horns kick in, which is great; and thanks to everyone who sent me or posted a linked to that chart. The horn parts start around 1:14 of the recording.

 

But I still have never seen anything on the solo piano intro. As Reezekeys said, it is probably an improvised part and there may not be any chart for it.

 

Thing is, the album version intro is melodically well organized enough (imho) that I have to believe Lamm had played around with it several times and had a good idea of what he was going to play, when it was recorded. It's a darn shame that a chart for it doesn't exist, and that he apparently never was able to recreate it live.

[Joe Muscara]

The only reason a chart doesn't exist for it is because no one has bothered. Most of the time, the charts you get of other songs as well as the rest of this tune is because someone sat down and transcribed it. That's why they're so often "wrong," the person who did the transcription made an error. It's not the band's fault. Most bands don't write this stuff down, not in notation anyway. *Maybe* at some point, Chicago wrote out the horn parts, but that's hard to say.

 

Maybe the answer is for you to transcribe the intro. The first thing you'll have to do is... figure out what time it is! Seriously, where is the one? More likely, you should figure out what each note/chord is and feel it.

[skykeys]

The only reason a chart doesn't exist for it is because no one has bothered. Most of the time, the charts you get of other songs as well as the rest of this tune is because someone sat down and transcribed it. That's why they're so often "wrong," the person who did the transcription made an error. It's not the band's fault. Most bands don't write this stuff down, not in notation anyway. *Maybe* at some point, Chicago wrote out the horn parts, but that's hard to say.

 

Maybe the answer is for you to transcribe the intro. The first thing you'll have to do is... figure out what time it is! Seriously, where is the one? More likely, you should figure out what each note/chord is and feel it.

 

Thanks Joe. Yes, it sure seems that way. I tried to fish for it, just to see if anyone had run across a chart for it somewhere along the line.

 

Thing is, I have tried to figure it out, but it quickly became frustrating, because it's difficult to pick out precisely what he's playing. A combination of the lack of quality/clarity of the original recording and the dissonance of the piece, made it impossible for me to come up with anything meaningful. If I have an unlimited about of time to devote to it, maybe I could eventually come up with something close.

[Bobadohshe]

I think it might be the case that some of the people who responded here (and thank you all for your input), aren't really sure of the piano intro part that I'm referring to.

 

So, to be clear, this link is from the original CTA album version of Does Anybody Know What Time It Is; as soon as it starts playing, the solo piano part is the part I'm talking about.

 

 

 

Have never heard this! Wow. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out though writing it out would be a pain. You need to understand close jazz voicings and harmony to be sure. If you didn't have a background in that it would make the process much more difficult.

[skykeys]

I think it might be the case that some of the people who responded here (and thank you all for your input), aren't really sure of the piano intro part that I'm referring to.

 

So, to be clear, this link is from the original CTA album version of Does Anybody Know What Time It Is; as soon as it starts playing, the solo piano part is the part I'm talking about.

 

 

 

Have never heard this! Wow. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out though writing it out would be a pain. You need to understand close jazz voicings and harmony to be sure. If you didn't have a background in that it would make the process much more difficult.

 

Boda, I did have some basic study in jazz voicings as a younger lad, but not an extensive one. My step son has a Bachelor's and Master's in music theory and composition (piano major), and said he could not decypher that intro either; again, not without spending far too much time on it.

 

If you think you could figure it out, I would love to continue to discuss it with you, at your leisure. Thanks.

[JohnH]

It's those opening chords that continually stump me. I guess I need to really go after this one. The horn band I was in broke up a year ago but are getting back together so this song will be coming up again. The two handed piano section has never been an issue. What's funny I saw an amazing Chicago tribute- perfect in every way but the keys guy skipped the piano part at the end of the intro? What????? Weird.

[skykeys]

It's those opening chords that continually stump me. I guess I need to really go after this one. The horn band I was in broke up a year ago but are getting back together so this song will be coming up again. The two handed piano section has never been an issue. What's funny I saw an amazing Chicago tribute- perfect in every way but the keys guy skipped the piano part at the end of the intro? What????? Weird.

 

So JohnH, you mean the guy did play the beginning part of that solo piano intro (and maybe most of it?) - the part that you said stumps you (and certainly stumps me)? And you think he got it right?

[JohnH]

Yea maybe he layed out on the whole thing including the beginning. I just thought it was weird he didn't do the last section, I don't think it's that hard.

[MusicFox]

Hello, all. I've been following this post for a while, and I have some good news and bad news.

 

Good news: I have in fact transcribed the piano intro (all 1:15 minutes of it from the original Transit Authority album) in its entirety.

 

Bad news: I cannot release it... yet.

 

I contacted Chicago's Facebook page asking if I could release the sheet music. They replied, asking for my contact info and they'd 'pass it on'. That was a couple months ago, and I haven't heard from them since. I don't know whether or not I'd be violating any copyrights by giving away the sheet music, but I am not taking any chances.

 

Why did I even transcribe it? Well, a while back, I bought a book called Chicago Volume 2 (Transcribed Scores). DARKWTII was in it, and the book advertised that it had 'complete note-for-note' transcriptions. However, the song starts at the part where the brass enters in.

 

Out of desperation, I e-mailed the guy responsible for the book's piano transcriptions. He replied saying he had the piano intro transcribed and that he'd send it to me the next day. However, when the time came, he replied saying he didn't have it like he thought he did.

 

My excitement (as you can probably guess) diminished (NPI) and I got pretty enraged. I asked him if he'd want to help me transcribe it, and (as you can probably guess, again), his replies sounded like he just wasn't interested so I decided to leave him alone. This was an itch that would not stop, so I had no choice to do it myself. I *had* to know what exactly was being played. It took a long time, and I did 10-20 seconds of it a day and finished it by the end of the week as a MIDI file.

 

I was hoping for a reply from Chicago, but it doesn't look like I'm going to get one, unfortunately. However, if I do, you guys will be the first(?) to know.

 

On another note, out of even more desperation, I bought an extremely old book called Chicago Transit Authority (Complete Sketch Score). What they do is take a single staffline, and fit as many instruments into it as possible. I bought a copy, hoping the piano intro would be in it, but all it says is "Free form solo piano" with a multirest in it.

 

And yes, this story seems crazy, but if nobody believes I transcribed it, I do have proof of it.

 

Hope this helps, and sincere apologies if I disappointed anyone.

Take care, God bless.

~Nick

[JohnH]

Oh geez I just listened to the link I didn't realize there's a fuller version of this song with a whole one minute plus piano part before the horns start. Yikes. My band starts with the horns and that's the part that I get stuck on before the piano arpeggio, which I'm not stuck on.

[skykeys]

Hello, all. I've been following this post for a while, and I have some good news and bad news.

 

Good news: I have in fact transcribed the piano intro (all 1:15 minutes of it from the original Transit Authority album) in its entirety.

 

Bad news: I cannot release it... yet.

 

. . . . . . .

Hope this helps, and sincere apologies if I disappointed anyone.

Take care, God bless.

~Nick

 

Musicfox - outstanding that you have transcribed the intro. I'm very impressed, and excited, even if I'll have to wait - perhaps months? Hopefully no more. I mean, if no one from Chicago management gets back to you, and given that the song (and related intro) is so old, I have to believe (want to believe) that it would be okay to pass it around.

 

I don't blame you for being cautious. But ultimately I can't believe anyone would care. How much money do they think they would be missing out on? I mean, who but a handful of piano fanatics like us would be interested. Who even knows about that intro at this point in time?

 

Since I am the one who started this thread - originally 9 years ago, I give you a big "THANK YOU" for taking the time to figure it out. And thanks for letting us know.

 

Regards,

skykeys

[skykeys]

Oh geez I just listened to the link I didn't realize there's a fuller version of this song with a whole one minute plus piano part before the horns start. Yikes. My band starts with the horns and that's the part that I get stuck on before the piano arpeggio, which I'm not stuck on.

 

Every band that plays the song starts with the horn part. I mean, I've never heard anyone play the part in question. As far as I know, that album version is the one and only edition of the piece; and it could be that Lamm never played it again. Other live "intros" Lamm played that I've seen/heard video of, don't come close to the original.

[MusicFox]

Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad I've helped you. I don't have the song in sheet music form, but I do have it as a MIDI file. And I do think you're right, that Chicago probably couldn't care less about me giving it out, but I don't want to take chances. I'm especially cautious because the band I'm in just produced our first CD. Again, I'll keep you updated. If they don't get back to me within the next few months, I might just go ahead and release it. Or if Robert Lamm dies. I mean, this IS 2016: Death of the Talented Musicians.