Moondance | How Does This Song Work?

🎸 What do you SPECIFICALLY need to do in order to play guitar better? Visit GuitarMusicTheory.com - answer the questions about your playing and get FREE custom video instruction calibrated to your current level.
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In this free guitar lesson, I have another installment of How Does This Song Work? featuring “Moondance" by Van Morrison. This song is in the general key of A minor and mixes chords from parallel scales including Aeolian mode (natural minor), Dorian mode, and harmonic minor. It is also played using a swing feel, which is based on the triplet shuffle rhythm. Learn to play the basic chord changes and follow the three sections of the song; verse, pre-chorus, and chorus.
GEAR
PRS SE Angelus acoustic/electric
Fishman Aura Spectrum DI box
Epiphone Dot with PRS 57/08
Kemper Profiling Amplifier
Empire Profile Pack from Tone Junkie

[@desisernaguitar]

🎸 What do you SPECIFICALLY need to do in order to play guitar better? Visit GuitarMusicTheory.com - answer the questions about your playing and get FREE custom video instruction calibrated to your current level.

[@1963murf]

Absolutely brilliant! There's enough information to keep me playing for months and all laid out so succinctly !

[@johnfust4652]

Desi, I was just starting to learn this song when I came across your video. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad I could help!

[@bernietmusic]

Excellent! This was very helpful.....thank you!

[@Chrisorocks]

As usual, the best lessons from Desi!

[@desisernaguitar]

Wow, thanks!

[@stephengilbert5612]

Great tutorial of a great song .Nice options of how to play . Many Thanks , 👍😊

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you liked it!

[@jodojodo8558]

Keep them coming 😊

[@RT-wl4jr]

Thanks very much for this video Desi! You're a natural at this.

[@desisernaguitar]

Thank you!

[@anthonythornhill8715]

Thanks for breaking that down!

[@demorewealthmanagementllc922]

Great way to teach, nice job! You hit every detail of this song. Best on KZbin IMO.

[@desisernaguitar]

Thanks!

[@neiletherington9439]

Hello Desi, great content, plenty to work on , thanks for taking the time to produce this video.

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jonpage4029]

Very well done. The explanation of the different minor modes.

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you liked it!

[@isseyrox]

Life changing lessons, thanks SO much for these brilliant videos and all the quality work you put into making them.

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you think so!

[@staceybrann4148]

Excellent analysis and lesson! Thank you!

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad it helped!

[@daveweigand5935]

Awesome lesson and breakdown ! Very complete !

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you liked it!

[@bennettamplification]

Stunning information here! Thank you so much!

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kurtdrumheller8048]

Such great content. Have played this song for years. Really want to move beyond basic pentatonic and explore some of the suggested A minor scale and modal patterns. Thank you !

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad to help!

[@14TacomaDR]

Best and clearest explanation of this song I have seen

[@desisernaguitar]

I'm glad you think so!

[@kevin17py]

Enjoyed that very good tutorial

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad it was helpful!

[@joecallahan2230]

Excellent!

[@guitargetlessons9725]

Congrats Desi! This guitar lesson for Moondance is ranked BEST and featured on our website. Thanks for your hard work in producing this top tutorial for guitar players.

[@desisernaguitar]

Elf: "Congratulations! You did it!"

[@ronaskew]

Lots of rock players made the jump to jazz via this tune.

[@wibblelee]

I already knew the basic chord outline but was watching a local band and guitarist play this last night and noticed he was using some of the alternate forms of the chords (e.g. mini barres) and wondered if I was playing it the right way. Your lesson answered this question completely and it's one of those things seasoned guitarists seem to go to, to make the songs more interesting or add a different dynamic. Many instructional videos don't tend to show these variations. Thank you so much, I have lots more to study in this video but it explains so much and very clearly laid out. You definately have an new subscriber here and I'll be checking out your other videos and content. Keep up the good work.

[@desisernaguitar]

With many things, there is no "right way." There are often different ways to finger a chord or different positions you can play in to create the same essential sound.

[@markmartin3221]

Cool lesson, a lot of things I didn’t know. Quite a lengthy lesson for a short simple song, however anything you really want to do well, is worth the time

[@jamescoleman9941]

Great lesson!

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad you liked it!

[@romannumeral5547]

Great lesson! I'm learning to play this song on piano and guitar and this lesson really helped me understand the song's structure. I struggle understanding modes yet I understood your explanation. This is such a great way to explain theory by relating it to a song. Thanks for doing this.

[@desisernaguitar]

Glad it helped!

[@matthewcasey892]

Your way is very often a very good way!

[@desisernaguitar]

Ha. It's "a" way. The important thing is to have some type of understanding, whatever it may be.

[@bj21666]

Fantastic lesson, theory was easy to understand the way you explained it. Chords right on, scales right on! The only thing is I hear an E7 #9 Hendrix chord. But your E7 in C shape fits very well. I will definately subscribe. Great job!

[@desisernaguitar]

I don't hear that in the music but #9 is a common type of V7 in a minor key. You can also try a b9 or an augmented.

[@dharmaofdog7676]

I found the changes using Dorian Mode Am7 Bm7 the ONLY way to keep Chord Changes & the Rhythm smooth. Trying to play the Open Am down to the Bm7 is exhausting! lol. Loved the more in-depth explanation here & it totally deepened my understanding of what I'm playing when I just copy Chords. Thank you - fantastic Lesson!

[@nckwlch]

That’s all you need to know about Moondance!

[@10tendogsdonie]

Fab,,

[@richardersek6845]

Great video, Desi! I'll need to go through this several more times :-). A lot of jazzy m7 and 7 chords in here - I know this is a lead-in to your barre chord series but it would also be great to see something from you in the future on playing songs with jazz shell chords (yes, I did see some of those in here). Regarding those, I'm working to get a grasp of moving between them as well as connecting my knowledge of intervals with them. (Learning much of this through the Fretboard Theory vI and vII books!)

[@desisernaguitar]

Thanks for the suggestion, Richard. I may touch on jazz shell chords at some point.

[@richardersek6845]

@@desisernaguitar Looking forward to it if you do! I always learn something new from your videos!

[@leonardpoindexter5289]

This a good theory breakdown but I wonder if Van thought that deeply while writing it. Thanks for the video.

[@desisernaguitar]

Van Morrison may have viewed the music differently than I do, but there's no question he (as well as the musicians on the track) knew what he was doing.

[@kennethmilfordII]

Of course I’ve been playing this song wrong for 40 years… Thank you

[@johnnylockard8207]

Amazing video I wish you had one overall solo for the whole song the minor pentatonic just don't do it justice like the dorian mode does

[@neilmarsh7437]

get the 9 in on top of that last Am7 chord for a classy finish ;-)

[@desisernaguitar]

Yes, that's an Am9. 👍

[@user-gs6zr7fk7t]

is there a tab for the solo?

[@desisernaguitar]

The paid version of ultimate-guitar has tab. tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/van-morrison/moondance-official-2631969

[@safme]

You are a a great teacher and I enjoy your books and videos. However, I think it takes away from your videos when you tell us it’s a free video. We know it’s free. It’s on KZbin.

[@desisernaguitar]

That's in the script because it's a keyword people search on Google.

[@rolanddoucet458]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much blah blah, and useless theory.

[@desisernaguitar]

What else would you expect from a video that aims to discuss the song's music theory?