Band Maid Giovanni Reaction Guitar Tutor First Time Hearing & Analysis

[@drogonr9318]

I'm just an amateur guitar player, and it blows me away what accomplished musicians can "hear" when they listen to music. I feel like an alien looking at the hood of a car unaware of this whole engine-thingy underneath it making the magic. Really fun breakdown, always learn a lot from your vids.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

I mean that's how I feel looking inside a car... or with anything non-music related really 🤣 Brilliant, really amazing to hear stuff like that, appreciate it bud!

[@YourMusicStore]

1:35 The pick scrapes are going in opposite directions. The left side is shorter going up whilst on the right goes lower for longer. They are incapable of just doing things "normally". 7:07 Kanami (main composer) loves her little transitions. One could write whole songs with one of those! She also has two, count TWO, Digitech DROP on her pedalboard! I believe one is for octaves and the other is for the drop C# they like so much! 😊 Another great breakdown!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Thank you! I couldn't quite hear what was happening, that totally makes sense! Oh wow, using the pedal for drop C#, will have to keep an ear out for that 🤘

[@JuanSan66]

"Sonic Juggernaut", that is!. What a great analogy sir. This has been a really deep analysis, the song deserves it. Right now I can't find another rock band that throws so many curveballs in every song EVERY time. It's insane when it comes to songwriting. I´ve enjoyed a lot.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Thanks Juan! Every so often amongst my rambling, something somewhat coherent slips through 🤣 🤘

[@madsstavang]

Haha, you actually went for Giovanni. Frantic stuff indeed! Can't wait for the next Band-Maid song to throw you off 😄

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

They throw me off with even dam song! Not that I'm complaining 🤣

[@mattdhorstman]

Two things I will absolutely never get tired of: 1) The sound of Band-Maid 2) Knowledgeable people breaking down exactly why #1 is true Thanks again for your insight. Also, kudos for leaving in the wrong part, correcting it, and showing the learning process.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Awesome Matt, great to hear that! Most of the time I catch that stuff before it gets filmed & edited in, but was a bit late to it here, good to know it was worth leaving it in 🤘

[@markmiranda4452]

Next analysis without holding back or blackhole ❤️

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Many thanks for those suggestions, not sure I've seen those requested much, so cheers for that!

[@YourMusicStore]

@@JbfMusicGuitar Another very prog sounding one from this same album is Sayonakidori. Get the neck brace ready, that's another whiplash inducing one!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@YourMusicStore Awesome.

[@MSIContent]

There’s an instrumental version of this that I like even more. If you can find it, watch it as the sound is much clearer and you can hear just how much Kanami is really doing. Epic.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Yeah, managed to find reactions to that and think I sorted out that insane picking part in the chorus!

[@Kevin-jb5ok]

The lyrics for this song are based on the novel "Night on the Galactic Railroad" by Kenji Miyazawa written 1927. There is a Wikipedia page and it's worth reading the plot summary. Not sure if there is a good English translation of the lyrics anywhere? When Unseen World was released there was a listening party and the band members tweeted comments on each track. On the r/BandMaid subreddit there are translations by user u/KotomiPapa. Hopefully it's ok to reproduce them here. Bracketed comments are u/KotomiPapa. Kanami: I often reduce the tempo when creating my demos... so when I brought it back to its intended tempo I got a shock! It was so fast! The guitar phrases are so fast! I made the drum part quite simple at first and shared it with the rest but... in the end everyone wanted it harder (more intense)! So I rearranged it and A-chan’s reaction to the rearranged drum parts was awesome. Akane: It was difficult to distinguish between the parts that build up momentum and the parts that reduce momentum, but it’s a song which is very satisfying to drum!! Like, “Ora!” [Something like “take that!”, I think...?] We can sing this song all together as well!! It will definitely be fun!!!!! Misa: I like it. I really love it. The structure of this song is so interesting, isn't it? The rumbling "DODO" before the chorus, is where I show off. Miku: This song is a movie-po. Kobato thinks that this song is like one full movie-po. Everything in this song is finely detailed. I was worried whether Sai-chan would be able to breathe-po. I was worried whether A-chan's feet would be ok-po. I like the feeling of folding heading towards the end of the song-po. [Note: Again not sure about the last part]. Saiki: My mouth was also very busy in this one. How the song unfolds is wonderful, isn’t it? While singing, I got a slight feeling of becoming a bad guy. Breathing? What is that? [Note: This is my interpretation of ブレスとはbased on how there seems to be no place to breath in the chorus. I don’t see this line in the lyrics. Any suggestion or correction is welcome.]

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Very much appreciated, sounds like an interesting on wikipedia voyage 🤘

[@GaryHolloway-810]

When I visited the cretaceous period I got attacked by a T Rex. When he heard me playing B-M, he thought they were so awesome that he forgot to eat my other leg :)

[@crabuki1273]

I own the Crustacean Period... oh wait...

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@crabuki1273 Oh G.G That's hilarious.🤣. I've emailed Mr B a piece of art called "The Maids Prayer". I've asked him to give you a shout out for helping me with one of the lines. I'm good like that :)

[@tonygriffin_]

Coincidentally, I got attacked once, in 1975, at a T Rex concert.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@tonygriffin_ LOL. Small world, huh :)

[@crabuki1273]

@@tonygriffin_ So... someone tried to bang your gong?

[@tonygriffin_]

"Arctic Monkeys doing an Iron Maiden cover" is exactly the description I needed to hear. I was struggling to define the sound - is this Prog Rock, Nu-Metal or Heavy Metal influences I'm hearing? Of course, the real answer is - it's Band-Maid! Amazing analysis and, as ever, I learned a lot.

[@GaryHolloway-810]

Yep can't argue with any of that.👍

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Haha, cheers Tony, glad that one made actually made some sense! 🤘

[@stevehall5128]

Ditto, Arctic Monkeys doing Iron Maiden was a brilliant analogy. Also fits my feeling that if the arena rock that developed from classic rock had *evolved* instead of just getting infinitely refined into metal sub-sub-genres, I might not have turned so much to alternative/indie. Band-Maid is where I feel like mainstream rock *should* have gone, but because of them I can now better appreciate the talent of groups that took a narrower focus (or seemed to because of radio plsylists).

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@stevehall5128 Great comment Steve. The thing with arena/stadium, rock/Metal is that it's still dominated by the familiar names. They're the bands that got the whole formula right & so deservedly they fill those venues. And you're right, bands wanted to emulate & polish the same success formula so everyone started sounding the same. I guess that's why we all love B-M so much cos they've brought a new dynamic & reinvention to the classic rock structure that had been missing for decades. Jeez, me being serious, I must be I'll.🤒

[@weilima9316]

Thanks! Someone will probably bring up how there is actually an instrumental-only version of this song, and that there are MVs of that featuring all 4 as well as each individual instrumentalist (total 5 videos). It comes with the limited edition physical CD versions of the Unseen World album.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Cheers, I'd found people reacting to that, but not the original, I'm sure it'll be about somewhere though!

[@ranger_a6953]

@@JbfMusicGuitar Look up Band-Maid on bilibili

[@rossmudie9298]

Kamami is just a persistent badass player 🤘🤘

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

She sure is Ross! That's the toughest thing I've come across by her so far, aside from the speed there's a tricky rhythmic thing going on as well!

[@craigfenson]

finally, the 'juggernaut' descriptive has been dropped! thank you for another thorough breakdown of band-maid's music.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Cheers Craig, glad you liked this one, so much going on!

[@stevehall5128]

I LOVE the pauses, with great observations on each one. Also the chord shape you break down at 12:55, slowed down reminds me a lot of the Westminster clock chimes. Probably coincidence, but with Kanami who knows?

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Many thanks Steve! Took me a second to work out what you meant there, but that's actually a really great observation! It's more or less the same notes, just in a different order, that's would be a pretty incredible Easter egg 🤣

[@stevehall5128]

@@JbfMusicGuitar Aha! The Wikipedia article says: "Most schools in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea play the [Westminster] chimes to signal the end and beginning of classes." So even if not intentionally referenced, it's probably engrained in Kanami's brain. (My parents had a clock that chimed in that pattern, 96 times every day for the first 18 years of my life, so not surprising it sounded familiar.) And I'd like to claim this question as mine to ask Mincho at a North American tour meet and greet unless anybody has some objection : )

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@stevehall5128 Nice!

[@jkkansasband7056]

I'm not a musician but your analysis and breakdown just sounds right. Thoroughly enjoyable. I love the song but I do love the instrumental much more. Peace.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Glad to hear it! I definitely need to hear the full instrumental version for sure!

[@dhrh0591]

i've noticed in their live performances Kanami has a pedal board in front of her that must have 6-8 different pedals on it, and if as i suspect , she understands with all her mind and soul exactly what everyone of them does to the music, well, i've said ir before and i'll say it again, she is a f'ing musical genius

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Pedals area load of fun, but you can spend the whole gig tap dancing if you get carried away with them!

[@drvijil]

Band Maid has many songs that have heavy distortion/compression in the studio originals, but they clean up nicely in the live versions. I was surprised how well they recreated the sound in “Rinne” & “Blooming” in live their live performances.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

I wonder how much of the production choices are to do with knowing which platform that version will be consumed the most on?

[@technopsychobedlam]

Thanks, a great analysis. :-)

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed it, hopefully some interesting bits somewhere in there!

[@perrinklumpp4664]

Thanks for another Band Maid reaction. I learn something new each time I listen to you break down the songs... and I'm not even a musician. :) OK, I played the lute many years ago and it helps as much as you would expect.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Brilliant! Can't expresses how great that is to hear and I'm sure you could craft some awesome Band Maid covers on the lute 🤘 🎶

[@falkarios2944]

Nice analysis, this is definitely one of the harder songs to break down in my opinion. Between the KZbin compression and the song being very busy, it's hard to pick out exactly what's going on. There's an Instrumental video for this song floating around on KZbin, it shouldn't be hard to find if you're interested. It's a lot easier to hear everything and you can actually see what they're doing. Aside from that, check out "Honkai" if you haven't yet. It's one of my favorite songs from this album. "H.G.K" is another option if you want a very tricky guitar song to analyze. Kanami herself said it was one of the most difficult songs to perform on this album.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Brilliant! Appreciate those suggestions, got to admit I'm pretty intrigued by H.G.K!

[@JFrancoDrums]

Another fantastic analysis! This was one of those songs i had to listen a few times before it sunk in. Love this chorus so much! And Akane once again showing just how amazing she is! 🙂 I'll leave a suggestion for their song "Manners" also from their new album!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Thanks Jorge, yeah I definitely need to spend a bit more time with this song to digest it more 🤘

[@MetalZelda32]

I NEED to hear your analysis of Black hole!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Cheers Jared, I'll add another vote next to that song!

[@michaelhall9845]

In case you don't know, there is an instrumental video version of this as an extra on the album. It would make analysis much easier for you.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Cheers Michael! I found some reaction video to the instrumental, so managed to tidy up some of my interpenetrations of what was going on!

[@dicodec]

Should join us on twitch sometime! One of my favorites off the album.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Sounds fun! I am a total twitch noob, don't think I ever even watched anything on it, need to get with the times, haha! 🤣

[@Dtagcity]

Kanami tweeted that she came up with this song while listening to lofi and Hiphop. Not sure how she ended up with this craziness though 😅

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Oh wow, I'd never have made that connection! 🤣 🤘

[@thunderchild7137]

A juggernaut: A huge, powerful and overwhelming force. Yeah that's right. What Band Maid has been since the beginning and they are only getting more powerful and creative with each album.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut! 💪

[@thunderchild7137]

@@JbfMusicGuitar Hope you are seeing why we Madiacs (what we call ourselves) are so loyal and smitten with this band. Please keep up the reactions. They are so informative and spot on. As a guitar player It helps me to learn more of what Kanami is doing. Thanks.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@thunderchild7137 Brilliant! Makes it all worth while when I hear stuff like that 🙌

[@JWPanimation]

I would say an earthquake created by Akane's drums and Misa's bass followed by the Tsunami of Kanami and Miku's guitar. If you can stand up against the gale of Saiki's voice, hold up your bottle to catch the lightning.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@JWPanimation Very eloquently put John, nice! 🤘

[@viaverde3153]

Instrumental version? Hint - bilibili.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

I have no idea what this hint means, but I'm sure I can figure it out, cheers!

[@YourMusicStore]

@@JbfMusicGuitar It's sort of the Chinese version of KZbin where copyright doesn't exist so people upload stuff there that never gets taken down.

[@JazzFatcho]

bilibili band-maid giovanni.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@YourMusicStore Ahh, I see, there are pretty loose copyright laws in China; from what I understand anyway; so that makes sense, cheers!

[@YourMusicStore]

The thumbnail says it all. 😂

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Haha, pretty much! 🤣🤘

[@rockingoutdudetoo5275]

React to the instrumental, every section stands out in this song. It will give you a true breakdown analysis.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

For the snippet I heard the mix was way clearer, probably well worth checking out!

[@Mikupigeon]

Someone has uploaded an instrusmental version of this song before, not sure if you can still find it or not.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

I had a quick look, but didn't find it, happened across it more by mistake than anything else!

[@frankgonzalez4853]

@@JbfMusicGuitar i could send it to you thru gmail or create a link to it on my drive if you like. i have instrumental vids for giovanny, no god, after life and without holding back

[@hidekadokawa17]

I recommend you their another song "Don't be long". That is one of my most favorite song of them.

[@me262talon2]

Cool!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Awesome, I'm happy you liked it 🤘

[@killerpeaches7]

they've got a video of an instrumental playthrough of this that really makes everything stand out. It's interesting how you mention the tone on the opening chord, I always thought it had an L7 feel. (also sadly Band Maid has a hostory of... less than stellar studio mixes, which often end up even less so on KZbin).

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

It's a tad on the muddy/bass heavy side, which is a bit odd because the live stuff has been really quite crisp!

[@killerpeaches7]

@@JbfMusicGuitar I think that is one of the reasons (plus the added intros, mid section breakdowns, etc) so many Madiacs promote the live stuff, plus Misa's godly live bass tone. A truly terrible example is the album version of the "Dragon Cries" which has Death Magnetic level compression. I literally have to skip it because it grates my ears. Unseen World as a whole is pretty frenetic, almost exhausting listen, and I think the compression (not on every track either which is what's really weird on their albums) adds to that. Glad you found the Instrumental too, as the mix seems different on there, to me. Cracking great stufdf you're putting up here mate! Great technical insight, plus Band Maid will always get me watching. Now just need to get ya back on some Lovebites, too! Subscribed on both my KZbin channels now.

[@stujamieson3944]

@@killerpeaches7 The compression of Unseen World is a personal bugbear of mine. I adore this album but, man, I wish it were mixed better. I live in hope for a 5.1 mix to give it the space it deserves. 😊

[@killerpeaches7]

@@stujamieson3944 so much this. At first I thought my slightly burned out feeling after listening was jsut how nonstop the pacing was. And that was part, for sure, the album would have benefitted from a couple Daydreaming/Page/Start Over type tracks for a breather. But it was really the compression. I'm autistic and have superman hearing with sensory overload issues, so stuff like that kills me. I really hope Band Maid maybe also learns from Lovebites' example and considers releasing some live albums, like the Zepp Tokyo 2018, etc, where they had such a gorgeous mix. Misa's bass was pure eargasm.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@killerpeaches7 Many thanks dude! On the plus side, with different versions/mixes of the songs it's like bonus material! Can't thank you enough- it's so amazing to hear stuff like that, and yes! I do have Swan Song, with some sort of piano intro in my sights!

[@enol8603]

The instrumental to Giovanni is my favorite.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

It's so cool that they release loads of bonus stuff and instrumental versions!

[@stujamieson3944]

Good work, sir! Best song on the album, imo. One thing you didn't talk about is Saiki's vocal which subtly moves through multiple emotions; through rage, frustration, desperation and empathy. It's quite subtle but very moving, I find, and some of her very best work. 😊 Also, may I make a listening suggestion for you? Have you given the bassist, Kiyoshi, a listen? I always though Misa was a fabulous bassist (and she is!) but Kiyoshi is off the chart mad talented! Her song "Hero" is a good one to start on.😊

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Thanks Stu! I'll have to give it another listen, didn't pick up that- sounds really cool! Sure, I'll add that to my list of things to look at, cheers for mentioning them!

[@falconsooner]

Would love to see you switch it up and do an overall song breakdown. I don't know if Different is on your list but I think you would enjoy listening to it. Catchy while being very musically interesting and an unusual riff. BTW...I have no idea what Giovanni's structure is...sounds to me like Chorus,Bridge,Chorus,Bridge, Chorus. I'm sure there are verses but don't know which parts are the verses.

[@falconsooner]

Oh...also think the most recent video No God Live you would enjoy. Very interesting song. Idk if you like rock ballads but Daydreaming is a fan favorite. A real masterpiece of a ballad

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Thanks, yeah I'm pretty up for it, I reckon I'll check out a few more of their songs then pick one of them that I've looked at already, so there's a starting point!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Awesome, No God is on the list for sure! I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, I enjoy a good rock ballad now and then though 🤘

[@falconsooner]

@@JbfMusicGuitar Just watch Daydreaming sometime on your own. Many of us think it is Kanami's most powerful and emotional solo. Personally my favorite rock ballad solo this side of Maybe I'm Amazed.

[@curtisrrobles7885]

MISA!!! MISA!!! MISA!!! 🥃🥃🥃

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Nice to see the Misa crowd representing! 🙌

[@curtisrrobles7885]

@@JbfMusicGuitar always representing our favorite Badass Bass Assassin 😉🤙🏼

[@TheApilas]

Check also the instrumental version to hear the instruments even better :)

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Cheers! Must really get round to doing that one of these days!

[@crabuki1273]

Pretty sure rather than tapping/pulling off Kanami is picking like a madwoman... as is her wont. I liked that you left in some of the process where you got something wrong. Captain Planet would be proud of you.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Yeah, pretty sure you're spot on there! Think I got it more or less the right way in the end! 🎸🎶

[@GaryHolloway-810]

I'm more impressed every day G.G. How do you know these things?

[@crabuki1273]

@@JbfMusicGuitar You did! I really like that you're willing to show the process. That's a little like how I think of when BAND-MAID drop in their half time spots. It prunes back the density so you can really hear a few things before the wall of sound comes back. It's a bit like an anatomy book with slide windows where you can see down into the musculature or bones.

[@crabuki1273]

@@GaryHolloway-810 About Captain Planet? Oh I asked him last week, he said JBF was the coolest. ;-)

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@crabuki1273 Hmm🤔 & I willingly walked right into that one without a care in the world. Lol

[@DavidMISAMISAMISACook]

MISA MISA MISA!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

🤘 🎸🔥

[@gaborberkes468]

Kanami said in a interview her most difficult song was H.G.K. from this album...I just say ;) /I wait that reaction :) / I am sure will be great as usual.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Added! 👍

[@deth2munkies]

There's an instrumental video of this song out there where you can see/hear the guitar a lot better. I think they copyright nuked it off youtube, but it's still out there. Aaaand that's what I get for not watching the whole video before opening my big, dumb mouth.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Haha, that what I get for not doing my homework properly! Appreciate it dude, you're being helpful, nothing wrong with that 🤘

[@KMASCII]

The note progression of the lick you're analyzing here gives me a late baroque feel. That was neat. It's actually a nice melody. So yeah, rather than a rock song, one could write a whole movement with that theme. Regardless Giovanni's a great song. :)

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Nice observation!

[@rockyetsx70]

Someone might have already posted a link to the instrumental, when you see what Kanami is doing through the whole song, it is truly instruMENTAL, completely bonkers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gH-6ineYotGZZ68

[@ElfInflicted]

First off, I'm digging your in-depth analysis and demonstrations. However, I happen to be listening/watching as I'm playing Star Citizen, so your explosion sound effect is a little startling at times, lol.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

Lmao, that's brilliant! Hope they didn't cause too much grief!

[@powbobs]

Really don’t like this song. Still love the maids though.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

I'd reckon it's more of a grower song, where you enjoy it the more you listen to it, less catchy than their other stuff I've heard, but really jam packed full of ideas!

[@GaryHolloway-810]

@@JbfMusicGuitar The instrumental is better. Without the vocal layers it sounds like a completely new song & the instruments shine thru :)

[@markyg236]

Perhaps try doing with this ne and Black hole and turn the speed down to .75. Some things sound just a bit "off", but it helped me with the "Wait, what was that?" issues I had at some spots. Kinda had to train my ear-brain connection. FWIW I didn't like Different the first 3-4 times I heard it. It's grown on me since, though still not a favorite.

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

@@markyg236 The 75% speed trick is a life saver! they've even added a custom speed bit now, which is even more awesome

[@powbobs]

5 months later and I still hate it. LOL