Chordplay - The Chords of Black Sabbath

[@sbrave]

Tony is absolutely THE riff master! I was waiting for that chugging riff in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which so many guitarists (myself included) have borrowed from. "Where can you run to, life is killing you..." Unbelievable for 1973!! No one was even close to that kind of heavy back then. Awesome video as always.

[@asbmud]

Annoys me that this video has only 366 likes. I love your channel, dude. I learn lots of you. Keep the great job. You are amazing.

[@thommyers3080]

Great lesson, I was 12 when I first heard War Pigs on am AM radio going in and out of range. I was totally hooked from then until now almost 50 years later. I would like to note,if I'm not mistaken the song Fluff was on the Vol. IV LP.

[@StudioBeast7575]

The first song I ever heard of Sabbath was Symptom of the universe. It was on a buddy's massive stereo cranked to 10. It sounded so incredibly powerful, I was a fan from then on. It was in the 70's when I first heard them. I also love Anthrax's version of SBS. Heard that as well when it first came out.

[@nncoco]

Great taste in riffs.

[@seekingthetruth304]

This was cool. I don't know anything about names of chords, but have tried to play a few rifts like these by ear. Thanks for the lessons.

[@joerobinson2538]

Great Halloween themed Chordplay David! Tony Iommi tuning down so he could bend strings easier (since he lost the tips of his fingers in an accident) was a magical discovery in heavy detune tone. If he wouldn’t have had his accident, he may not have been the heavy riff master he became. Amazing!

[@arturoromero1871]

Im learning N.I.B, and this lesson is like a motivation. Thanks bro🎸🤘

[@joefoster9303]

I am a Master’s of Reality guy myself

[@psilocybe_reptiliensis]

fucking awesome album!!

[@george25199]

First tape I ever bought at 12 years old found at a gas station on a family trip for 3.99 put it in my walkman and was hooked

[@delete.102]

After forever and children of the grave 2 best tracks

[@williamgainford9332]

Holtz the planet suite was a big influence on them for the song black sabbath - i got a lend of the cd from my brother to try and find it, and also found the whole intro to am i evil which had pretty much been lifted by diamond head lol - tony loved django rheinhart also - sabbath were so cool in what they were listening to - great lesson david id been playing symptom wrong for years - thanx alot

[@nathancloud6344]

I love the pic of Ace !!!

[@MikeStoddart]

I know it wasn't actually Sabbath, but I love Iommi's guitar work on Seventh Star.

[@Unexplained_Bacon]

Hey man, what's the amp you use in your vids? Sounds great. Also, any plans for a lesson on Neil Schon? 👍

[@LateNightLessons]

Thanks! Be sure to watch the 'Guitar Tone & Amps' episode from the Brewster's Millions of Rants series on this channel to learn more about the amp I use in these videos. \m/ ROCK ON \m/

[@protodiacre9458]

LOVE!

[@akaboo69]

have analyzed the dio erra riffs

[@nathancloud6344]

Their wealth of ignorance is astonishing. I love the term "demonic" Metal to me has and will always be freedom and empowering. The ones that condition can make clear paths foggy if allowed.

[@patrickmaline4258]

❤

[@dennydabbs9272]

And there was no "Something Like That." I definitely want the shirt with that on it

[@chriscullen6949]

try making the g chord in sabbath bloody sabbath a maj.7 ,hate to be that guy but i think its a maj.7 ,love your stuff

[@aiden_macleod]

Symptom of the Universe.

[@led-head4765]

Fluff is on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

[@lxathu]

While Tony is frequently mentioned as one who could tell the listener a lot with not too much, it was Bill who created magic with a drum set that would be hardly acceptable by a beginner today.

[@meteor09]

How so? Did he use very few pieces?

[@tony69em]

@@meteor09 yes

[@meteor09]

@@tony69em I guess that was self-explanatory seeing this now. But thanks!

[@tony69em]

@@meteor09 you're welcome

[@70spacebird]

It's dope that you always pick off the beaten path tunes for chordplay. Spiral Architect 🤘🤘

[@donvanco3078]

It will be a miracle if Sharon Osbourne's wall of lawyers don't shut this one down :(

[@donvanco3078]

No, no one cares, spammer

[@chrissoares23]

Thanks David, this was great! Love that you pointed out that he plays his stuff up on the E string. I think when Zakk covers his stuff he plays it rooted on the A like you. Hey, I see Ace back there, hope we get some Ace licks at some point. Thanks again, great content, killer channel.

[@uncleremus5046]

Iommi my all time fave & greatest metal rhythm player ever. Nobody, maybe Page wrote as many iconic riffs? I love Sabbath especially with Dio!🤘

[@psilocybe_reptiliensis]

Sabotage was my first album..... Megalomania make an impact on my thoughts

[@nathancloud6344]

Without Tony......where would we be?

[@jonbigg7385]

I really enjoyed this. I'm an old guy (55) so this brings back memories. I always thought Symptom kicked ass. Ozzy's Speak of the Devil live album had a great version of that song with Brad Gillis on guitar.

[@gregc7227]

I remember that album. Randy had just recently passed.

[@jonbigg7385]

@@gregc7227 Yeah. The plane crash happened about 1 week before I was supposed to see Randy play live.

[@youtoo2233]

@@jonbigg7385 I hate that Randy got in that plane like that, flying around with a bunch of drunks in a plane buzzing trailers you're just looking for something tragic to happen and it did

[@samcuratolo3885]

hell im 69 and still dig sabbath.... been playing since 1965....sabbath brought on another way of looking at music

[@robertciaschini7625]

Brad did a smashing job on that record. It was an emotional period after Randy's death.

[@dangolguitartech]

Oh boy… Now you’ve gone and done it. This is the can of worms that I was waiting for you to open. Another great lesson as always, sir! Thank you very much for the wonderful content and educated insight.

[@chrishopkins209]

Planet Caravan is also based around the same Emin Add 9 from Sleeping Village

[@killingsleep]

Cool. I would like to see a video of Sabbath- The Dio Years.

[@montech5647]

I like also the 3 albums with Tony Martin: killing riffs like in "Hard Life to Love" in the Eternal Idol album (1987)...

[@patriotpizzaman]

Five studio albums and one live ;) The first three are the cream of the crop with Tony's time in Sabbath though.

[@montech5647]

@@patriotpizzaman , true. They had 5 albums. :) The first had Eric Singer on drums! Epic!

[@patriotpizzaman]

@@montech5647 I love the Eternal Idol disc. Have you heard the Ray Gillen demos? They released them on the Deluxe Edition. The Shining with Ray is stellar!

[@montech5647]

@@patriotpizzaman , Yes! Awesome Ray, too! I've been following these albums since their release in 1987 when I was probably the only teenager that didn't listen *only* to Thrash Metal. I recall most of my peers looking at these Sabbath cassettes with a bit of scorn, lol!

[@oscarolivera3711]

yes, Hard life to love, great song !!

[@zandig666]

Sweet !!! David thx 🤟🤟✝️✝️🤟🤟 For sabb bloody sabb on the 9th he up picks open 4th n 5th and down picks the 4th n 5th to chords on the 7th

[@voronOsphere]

Tritones from the root (or tonic) sound dark and sinister, or simply up to no good, but diatonic Tritones (like F & B within C Major/F Lydian) can be part of something that sounds beautiful and mysterious.

[@Scottocaster6668]

Ozzy "wrote" all the music for Sabbath, as he did during his solo career Hahaha 🤣🤣🤣. Awesome lesson, but then All these lessons are 👍👍

[@Scottocaster6668]

@Grip Condor HAHAHA So true.

[@christopherprim1973]

'Sabotage' is 'Friend of the Devil' on steroids. That was always the Sabbath metier. Ozzy's vocal is right in line with the accompaniment.

[@timothyholmes4588]

great lesson. Im new to your channel but I'm really enjoying all the late night lessons I've watched. you have a great concept on teaching . it's not the same old here's a lick look how good I can play. I feel like we are chilling in the living room talking about our favorite riffs and bands . for someone like me I've been playing for 35 years and I've got a great bag of tricks already I've learned Jason Becker songs and don't get me wrong I still love playing for the love of god and nuno Bettencourt solos I'll always do that . but just reviewing great players like toni iommi and the others you choose is really beneficial to keeping things interesting. I like that you mention the contrast in toni's riffs that's a very important part of being heavy it makes the crushing riffs stand out better . it's an old trick but works so well . thanks for the cool conversations I love it. and by the way you are an excellent player we must be really close to the same age and have many similarities in our playing as far a the rock and metal goes. I like that you're not always showing off your fast licks because I k ow you can rip when you want to it shows maturity and confidence. you're a great teacher and make it fun and interesting. keep the video s coming. 🤘👍

[@blackmirror5559]

. Wonderful riffage. Perfect late night lesson, thanks 🤘 .

[@mtmayhem933]

I mentioned on an earlier video to have you share some Iommi...I am interested in Computer God era !!! Much appreciation to you for such cool lessons !!! SO VERY INSPIRATIONAL!!!

[@bassethoundgang2800]

Great lesson. I love Sabbath. I have an SG that I tune down to c# just to play black sabbath songs.

[@tonyrodriguezjr5232]

Fluff is actually on SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH 😳

[@jonbodin]

Symptoms of the Universe!

[@reedhannon1984]

Right after that punches you in the face...... bahahaha.. so fucking awesome brother....

[@johnbostrom9165]

I saw them live in Milton Keynes in the UK. Awesome, awesome, awesome!!

[@dennydabbs9272]

Awesome lesson! But the Cat is driving me CRAZY.

[@robertkestner9241]

I play in a bar band, and you said it bro. Some of the most simple riffs are the ones that stay with us. Play something like Ac/Dc and watch the crowd go crazy. If you feel it, that's good music

[@sonicmojo]

Loved it! Hey bro... How about the chords of Dio? Including the first few records with Sabbath, and perhaps a lil' Rainbow too. I loved those first two Sabbath records with Dio so much and they seem to be a bit over looked. Or perhaps you could do a Sabbath Dio thing, even though they started calling it Heaven and Hell. Smells of Sharon Osbourne! Lmao. Anyhow, don't talk to strangers! Ha ;)

[@currentriverpat]

Love the "drop tune" comment. I also recognized what you did, as I think you and I are of the same vintage. I also noticed Uriah Heep drop tuned a few, the Wizard comes to mind. Cheers man!

[@aiden_macleod]

Tony dropped tune out of necessity, for playing in standard was too uncomfortable on his sensitive fingers. People do it today because they think it somehow makes them Metal. So, the lower the tuning, the more Metal it is? I don't think so.

[@teddyvanhalen814]

My favorite Iommi chords are during the Neon Knights solo.

[@nonrevnosnibormetalbeerrev6251]

Where did your Boston picture go, it is now kiss 🤔

[@davidbaron8330]

He did play a lot of stuff using the low E as much as possible. If you've ever played Sabbath on an SG, you'll realize playing the root 6 chords up high is a LOT easier than on a Les Paul -- it even starts to sort of make sense to do it that way. Tony was also one of, if not the first guys to have a 24 fret guitar -- a custom SG. And one of the reasons he originally tuned down was to make it easier to bend strings with his plastic fingertips (he also used really light strings -- 8s, for the same reason). The fact that it sounded heavier was a side benefit, but I think he was tuning down even when the band was a blues band called Earth.

[@davetaperek2206]

Just got an SG (I own 4 Les Pauls), I totally agree!!

[@drax13]

Yeah, it was all about making it easier to deal with how much it hurt to play after his accident. Tuning the guitar down and playing in the upper register where the tension was slightly easier on his fingertips made a huge difference, and helped create his signature sound. As screwed up as it is, I think that machine shop accident was probably one of the best thing that happened for 20th century music.

[@TreatzTMA]

“There’s something about Sabbath” Nuff said!! Great riffs, dynamics and imagery. It’s impossible to imagine metal without them. Unique and ridiculously ahead of their time. And yeah, the Anthrax cover just kills!! Thanks for jazzy chords from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath!!

[@Morgoth_the_Tyrant]

very interesting point about Tony playing his power chords on the low e and a, great lesson

[@thall6842]

Fluff was on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Orchid was on Master of Reality. Thanks for the Video!

[@andrewpaton6075]

Great lesson thanks for all your advice and Love from Scotland !!!

[@rogerweafer2179]

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,Sabotage and Technical Ecstasy stayed in my tape deck for years, but you HAD to make copies from the originals because 2nd or 3rd play they'd start to squeak! I had the same problem with Pink Floyd cassettes.Thank God those days are behind us.

[@bluefenderboy]

My mother used to love Fluff! I remember when she asked me who played it and she couldn't believe it! I had to show her the album cover as proof. She asked me to play the rest of the album and she was like wtf? She didn't dislike it though but she didn't understand the contrast. But I could tell my friends that my mother liked Black Sabbath LOL!

[@guitarkis4969]

Great lesson! So glad you branched out to some acoustic stuff. Long overdue.....Tony was THE metal player for years back then.

[@remembertheblacksabbath]

Tony explains it as light and shade.

[@chrisdeleo800]

This lesson really inspired me. Thank you

[@josephwilliams710]

OMG dude you just made my day im soooo glad i found your KZbin Channel here i definitely pressed Subscribe button quick i just commented on your Motley Crue video but Yesssss Tony Iommi , The Ozzy Years my man wow i could go on & on about the Love i have for Black Sabbath they are the Number #1 Coolest , That Riff there Symptom & Sweet Leaf Riffs are my Top favorites !!!!! Rock on 🎸 🤘

[@guitaroholic4365]

Hey David, I’ve been binge watching your videos. Great job by the way. As a guitar player I really appreciate how you reference all the chords and notes by name and not just numbers. I have a question, what’s with all the picks on your wall? Just curious. Thanks again for another insightful video. Can’t wait for the next one for METAL MONTH!

[@NoLegalPlunder]

It’s amazing how the guy could create incredibly evil sounds and then turn around and do these acoustic songs that are very beautiful.

[@stevenramer7961]

Thanks for this David, I love Tony Iommis guitar work and ideas/creativity. Awesome! Keep up the lessons as well, grateful for your podcast/show! Rock on brother!

[@TheSterlingSound]

All good except for Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. He does play it on the A and D strings, put he does a hammer on from the open A and D strings. Equally crushing and nobody plays it that way.

[@jerkerjansson386]

I also heard Sabbath Bloody Sabbath on the Anthrax EP first. It took some four or five years until I heard the original version. If I remember correctly Anthrax didn't play the clean jazz chords. Gotta give the vinyl a spin again! Great inspiring lesson as usual! 👍

[@chrismorgan7494]

The Sabbath Bloody Sabbath riff actually starts with the open A & D strings then hammered on the 7th & 9th frets respectively. The open A & D (F# & B) provide an inverted B5 (being that we're tuned down to C#).

[@styrmugnsell4560]

I would love an episode of the softer chords of Tony Iommi, for example the soft part of Heaven & Hell, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Back Street Kids... There is a lot of them! It's often a softer part / bridge that sound so incredible good to me...

[@Respecttheriff]

Call me anal, but Fluff is on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath not Master of Reality. Also, Tony doesn’t play SBS on the low E and A, he uses a hammer on style approach on A and D strings rather than sliding from C power chord to D power chord, he uses open A and D strings hammering on to the fretted D power Chrord, then the A and D power chords to walk the progression up. Similar to your first demonstration but definitely not played on low E and A. Granted many times he did use that approach, like on Paranoid and Ironman, etc...

[@robertritzenthaler6618]

I think Iommi plays Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in the position you play it but he doesn't hang on the low E octave or slide from a D power chord to an E. If you listen to the intro closely, it sounds like he's playing slightly muted open A and D strings and then going to the E power chord (or C# in this case) He does this same thing in Snowblind during the verse. It sounds like he's going between a standard E power chord and sliding down to the D power chord, but I'm fairly certain he's just letting off his fretting hand and playing the A and D strings open ala Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. It's technically the same notes, but having the A be an octave lower totally changes the tonality. Once I started playing it like that I was like "ah ha." It sounds way more "Iommi" now. Great channel!

[@jeffhutchins6874]

Just to clear up a misconception, although it's widely believed, it is NOT true that the Catholic Church ever banned any form of music. It makes a cool story, but that is all it is. A cool story.

[@sudicalwig]

When I listen to the melody of Fluff it reminds me of Peter Green. Fluff is Sabbath's Albatross. It just feels the same if you know what I mean?

[@thommyers3080]

well I was wrong too it was on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath...Apologies and laughs...and awesome lesson and yes their music was always fantastic and I personally always liked both the heavy and the lighter acoustic stuff. It was great contrast

[@isolateddemon9438]

Great content.Could You do symptom of the universe as a full lesson?I've searched it but they are not complete.Thanks.

[@mayniac5.09]

under the sun/every day comes and goes is my fave. never gets mentioned

[@remembertheblacksabbath]

If you watch videos of him playing Sabbath Bloody Sabbath he plays it open to hammer on at the first part of the riff.

[@stephenscharff6358]

Some of my favorite songs from Black Sabbath I'm a big fan of Black Sabbath only with Ozzy though... songs like dirty women.. hole in the sky.. rock and roll doctor.. The wizard.. Tony...geezer..bill and Ozzy were the ultimate. Never really got into the Dio years of Black Sabbath just didn't seem to fit for me the original group oh don't forget changes

[@gregc7227]

The opening riff was killer! Love the Ace Frehley solo album pic! Can't wait until you cover Ace in the early years!,

[@DavidMartin-ms6fc]

I taught myself to play guitar by teaching myself how to play their first album note for note…wore that vinyl out…

[@philheath9854]

How come Tony's picture isn't in the back ground instead of Ace ?

[@briansbrain426]

I saw the Ace Frehley poster behind you and IMMEDIATELY started singing, "New York Groove". HAHAHA!!

[@polobluesman]

Great job! There are some obscure chords in albums like Born Again and Seventh Star, that show a another side to his playing, and the Tony Martin albums too. But the tritone was the bedrock of heavy metal! Thanks for your videos, they are great! Could you do a Chordplay on Bill Connors (specially his 80s "AH influenced" - albums) someday? It would be great! :)

[@robertciaschini7625]

Great job again. Sabbath was the Godfathers of Metal. I read that Randy hated playing these songs however.

[@imacprousersam7306]

When musicians play they create a song or album When Tony Immomi plays 🔥 he creates a new music genre

[@MatsDagerlind]

Someone may already have mentioned it in the comments, but Fluff is from the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album, not Master of Reality. I grew up with Sabbath (alongside Purple and Zeppelin) but unfortunately I never saw them live back then. One of the greatest heavy bands ever and they practically wrote the manual for heavy metal, while Zeppelin and Purple had more bluesy influences. Iommi did know the blues as well but didn't make use of it much in his songwriting, even if you can hear it in some of his solo phrasing. The thing is also that those old Sabbath record don't sound dated. Of course metal sounds very different today, but it's not like with some of the 80's stuff that often have a horribly dated production sound. The Sabbath records from the 70's sound just natural and organic.

[@fredrikvrang532]

Awesome lesson! Loved it. Been listening to this stuff since I was twelve, i.e. early 80's. It's still as iconic today.

[@FortessofShred]

Tony Iommi is a Blues/Jazz player. Just very loud

[@LocoDirewolf]

If I recall correctly, Tony, Geezer, and Bill were jazz guys first, and you can really hear it in Bill's drumming, and especially as a band in the last part of Air Dance. Sabbath is tied for my favorite metal band (along with Iron Maiden), followed closely by '70s Judas Priest. I would like to suggest a chord play episode for Judas Priest, especially for Dissident Aggressor, which was released in '76 (recorded in '75). It is one of the songs that really defined metal, and was way ahead of its time with its riffs and drumming (IMO). There were other heavy songs out before it, but they were quite "metal", except for some Sabbath that came out around the same time. Keep up the great work, your channel rocks!

[@mc5869]

Excellent episode....as always - you pick the good stuff ! One very slight correct, if I may: for Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Tony did not slide from D5 to E5 for the intro - he appears to hammer on to E5 from open strings. I spotted him doing this in a live clip recently and it surprised me (I thought it was a slide from D5 to E5 also !). Looking forward to the next episode and thanks for hosting a great channel.

[@ZedChuva]

I've always wondered something, coming from a guy who knows pretty much no theory. When you say 1 1/2 steps down, why do you say C# and not Db? I know it's the same note, but is there a technical reason why so many theory knowledgeable guys say C# instead of Db? Maybe it's cause I'm a simpleton, but I view it like, tuning down, would mean down to a flat. When you tune a half step down, it's universally called Eb and not D#, so why C# instead of Db? I assume it's semantic, but it's always kinda bugged me in a way. haha

[@LateNightLessons]

This is an interesting point and thanks for this comment! I've noticed this too and it's funny, because when I see a C#/Db I almost always call it a C#. But other notes, such as an A#/Bb, I almost always call it a Bb (just a habit I guess). I've also noticed that rock/metal players seem to call these notes by the sharp name (usually), while jazz players tend to call them by the flat name - mainly since a lot of jazz music is in flat keys due to the horns preference for flat keys. I think you nailed it when you mentioned semantics, because I think it's just whatever the person that's naming the note calls it at that moment in time. The key and key signature actually dictate these specific names for printed sheet music, but when you're just pointing to one note and not really in a specific key, I guess it's whatever "naming habit" the musician uses will dictate what they call it. Thanks again for this comment and for watching too! Take care!

[@siskokidd]

@@LateNightLessons Playing guitar/bass (rock/fusion) for umpteen years, I've always preferred referencing sharp over flat, except for some usual suspect references such as b flat and e flat. I don't recall there being any confusion, or someone trying to be different. The common references were always the same. True, if I was playing with more horn players, then I'd probably hear more flat references. Either way, my brain and fingers would know what to do :)

[@cheycasters]

Hey Thanks dude, I'm glad I stumbled on to you channel. Thanks for "how" you do your vids. From a 62 year young 50 year player in NW Montana USA!!

[@lambdintodd]

Great lesson! How 'bout some Poison/C.C. Deville?

[@Kamy.GG.Official]

*These series are very interesting. You should totally do a serie on the great Scorpions. On their non hit material indeed, as you would. Their heavy side, melodies, chords and harmonies. Please make it happen.*

[@theloaner4378]

Man, this is one class approach to guitar study, very interesting. How bout some Robin Trower Chordplay?

[@plantagenant]

Sabbath dont sound like all the bands that came after them...they wrote the main text, all the others just added footnotes.

[@timpenfield5]

Great lesson, Children of the sea, is amazing to

[@michaelmorike2942]

hi Brewster, like your channel a lot. Maybe you should be the one to first include a band into your videos, that is completely unmentioned on any of all guitar- and reaction-channels. I´m talking about Psychotic Waltz and their guitar duo Dan Rock and Brian McAlpine. Never heard of them? they got 4 amazing and praised albums but are stuck so deep in the underground, sometimes I feel happy that I kind of have them still for myself. Anyway, they truely derserve some attention. check out: 1. and the devil cried, showoff track from the 1st album, 2. into the everflow, their magnum opus from the 2nd album by the same name. 3. Shattered sky from 3rd album, change of style only 2 chords droning back and forth creating an intense atmosphere,, 4. locust from their last album, very remarcable how guitarists who can play anything they want let one chord just stand there for about a minute and let the singer carry the load. Great singer by the way.... best regards

[@DannyBoi2112]

Am I the only one who noticed Ace Frehley staring down at us in this video.

[@alibobsmarland9572]

Apparently Tony had to tune down due to him losing his finger tips as it made the strings a bit looser and easier to play.