Stray Cat Strut - How Many Scales used in this one song?!

For today’s lesson we take an in depth look at Stray Cat Strut to ascertain what scales and ideas Brian Setzer used to make this song tick! Visit and consider my Patreon for the full transcription with study notes
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[@echocat7049]

Hey Adrian! That was just amazing, thank you so much! When I started playing guitar a couple of years ago Stray Cat Strut was the first thing I tried to learn, haha, had a pretty hard time with it, but spent days and days trying to figure out what was going on and to get those beautiful licks right. An interesting observation: once you get a taste of augmented, diminished and altered chords it really hard to go back and play vanilla harmony, got to get a little bit weird every time, even as a complete beginner. Anyways, thanks again for explaining why this song sounds so damn great, would love to see more videos in this format, there's not much content on KZbin going in depth on this kind of material. Cheers!

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey echocat, thank you so much! That’s wonderful to hear and exactly the sort of discussion I enjoy around music! This song for me was kind of a gateway into jazz for exactly the reasons you mentioned, I love colours!! I will endeavour to incorporate more of this into my tutorials, thank you!

[@davelogeman]

Brian Setzer is a genius. Thank you for breaking down how much he illustrates his knowledge in this song.

[@AdrianWhyte]

No worries David, thanks for commenting! Yeah it’s one of the songs that really changed my attitude and interest towards music, this just took my enthusiasm to another level!!!

[@5150show]

Exactly

[@andrewwatson4244]

He had lessons off a jazz teacher who taught him to play guitar, so I'd assume he did have the theory knowledge but having theory and writing this are worlds apart. Finally managed to see him on his UK tour and his tone is fucking spine tingling live

[@AdrianWhyte]

I totally agree, anyone can learn a scale, but implementing it the way he has in this song really makes for some brilliance! Thanks for that Andrew!

[@curtisbelyea3454]

This is the perfect supplement/compliment to Erich Andreas' tutorial set, especially since the "I don't bother chasing mice around" segment slipped his mind. I think you covered the nuances of it well enough that this is quite suitable as a tutorial on it's own. It really is amazing to think about how well-developed Setzer was as a guitar player by the age of 20. I saw him with The BSO twice, standing basically at the stage, and watching his right hand dexterity is mind-boggling.

[@dwightholland5067]

Nice analysis !

[@AdrianWhyte]

Thanks Dwight!! Hope you got something out of it :)

[@BlastbeatsRtreats]

This was great. I wondered if you could do Rings of Saturn margidda or giddim,there's instrumental versions of both Margidda and Giddim,or even Dingir would be great. Just an analysis for the theory.

[@samuelzetterman]

Cool, stray cats is my favourite band

[@juanater]

That was amazing Adrian! I gotta tell you I'm pretty new on listening rockabilly and psychobilly (and pretty old in terms of age jajajajaja) and this album was the very first that a friend of mine showed me. Love the song and love the analysis you made! Cheers mate and congrats for the little one!

[@AdrianWhyte]

Never too old!! Fantastic Juan, glad you’re enjoying and becoming a dad is amazing! Really enjoying it! Thanks for commenting, always appreciated!

[@vincewise855]

Adrian enjoyed the theory behnd the song.I can make a fairly good attempt at it but the theory really opened up the song.cheers keep rocking.Vince

[@AdrianWhyte]

That’s what I like to hear Vince! If you have any questions fire away! Apologies for the delayed response.

[@scottklandl488]

That augmented scale intro just reeks of Mark Ribot!

[@studiodespenates]

Can't go too long detailing Brian Setzer's style and techniques !!! Thanks a lot ! Makes me want to watch that old Hot Licks video he did long time ago. (Which I highly recommend to anyone digging into rockabilly) Thanks again.

[@AdrianWhyte]

I love that hot licks video, someone put that on vhs for me about 20 years ago, and I got my first job at a guitar shop a few years later playing “too hip gotta go!” It was heaven!! Hope you enjoy the analysis!

[@studiodespenates]

@@AdrianWhyte yes very much ! That's pretty much the kind of things I enjoy in a guitar lesson. I used to watch that hot licks video on youtube (it's only a few years since I started digging into rockabilly and co) but I can't find it anymore. I should try to find the DVD. maybe.

[@AdrianWhyte]

I reckon I might still have the vhs if it’s not rotten lol!!

[@Dennistcb78]

Classic Song. I Love the beard

[@77phong]

Hi Adrian. Great video and definitely got me to subscribe to your channel cuz I love the theory break down of my favorite songs. I'm a little confused on your explanation of the chord progression from Cmin down to Gmaj. If it's the chords from the Eb major scale wouldn't the G be Gmin instead of major as it in the song. Is it something to do with that b natural coming from the G augmented scale? Or is it that first he wanted a V chord resolving to a C (minor in this case). ...and then the appearance of the b natural lead him to think of using the aug scale in the intro?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey Phong, it would be a g minor in a diatonic sequence but consider the g Dom 7 being a substitution of sorts, raising the Bb to a B natural and creating tension to resolve back to C - just a semi tone away! This is an extremely common function over minor music, think of Fur Elise (Beethoven) as a classic example. You could also think of it as C harmonic minor bases although I’ve never liked this as an overarching concept because we still see the B flat elsewhere. Lastly, it’s worth mentioning the the B natural would work as an augmented against an Eb, not a G - augmented raises the fifth degree of the subject chord, although yes- a G augmented would have a B natural but this is due to the major third of the G chord! Hope this helps :)

[@Thedavekable]

Looking at Setzer Live in Montreux, he does something I find really interesting at about 33:10. Starting from the Fm he goes briefly to some kind of Fm9 to Cm7 (with the added 9), then he goes back to Fm9 on the 1st fret position, and then he does basically what you do at 39:40 but using an Eb7 and a G7(b13). Hope I'm not too confusing. I love your vids Adrian. & I hope to come close to your mastery one day!

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey mate, I’m so sorry I haven’t got back to you - when I get a chance I’ll have to have a look :)

[@samuelzetterman]

Do you have any tips for improvising over this song? Or maybe try to figure out and teach the extra solo part in the acoustic version? Im having a hard time adding my own touch to it, would also love more content on the stray cats in general👍👍👍👍

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey man, cminor, c minor pentatonic/c minor blues will work well, and try sneaking in the B natural as the G chord arrives in the progression, and using the scales try and sing your ideas! There’s no shortcut to it, perhaps try and “write” a solo that you would like to improvise! It will have a similar effect to learning more of his solos but it will be from your own ideas :)

[@samuelzetterman]

@@AdrianWhyte thanks man! Ill keep that in mind👍

[@samuelzetterman]

@@AdrianWhyte one more thing, should i go to an F minor scale if improvising over the second verse? If so what other parts than the second verse are in F minor?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Great question! 👏 yes you can pretty much apply everything you did on the c minor to the f minor! You might find c minor blues still works as well, but try it and decide for yourself, I could be wrong!

[@FandeDS]

hello my friend you are going to publish a video (many are impatient) how to get the sound of brian sezter with the el capistan pedal gracié mille stellla

[@FandeDS]

hello my friend, congratulations .. too bad I do not speak english thank you for all the analysis .. what delay pedal do you use? you could give the settings of the pedal? thank you so much renata

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey man, I’ll be doing a lesson on my Patreon for the tone, I’ve actually got a lesson on there for psychobilly freak out too, it is for members but I will release to the public in good time! Thanks for your patience!

[@FandeDS]

@@AdrianWhyte gracié millé you are the best for guitare rockabilly

[@jeraldcoopersmith5104]

Ill bet he got a lot of these ideas from watching cartoons. if you listen to the music for heckle and jeckle and Casper the friendly ghost you can hear augmented and diminished scales being used in the background.

[@AdrianWhyte]

Good call!!

[@mrmeowcomeshome1300]

What model guitar is on stand behind you (black)?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey! It’s a duo jet 6128 from 2006

[@mrmeowcomeshome1300]

@@AdrianWhyte thank you

[@madgeniusmusic]

I'd love to see your tutorial too.

[@AdrianWhyte]

Ok cool, i didn’t go as in depth technically with this one, so I may look at doing a play through tutorial!

[@wolfmoon6931]

What kind of Dynasonics are they?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Hey man, they are standard dynasonics, the guitar is a 2006 if I remember correctly

[@wolfmoon6931]

@@AdrianWhyte ... Thank you sir!!!!

[@STEVEMcNEIL673]

Stray Cats,Bill, Hailey,Buddy,Holly,Ritchie Was My Go To When I Was Little. Very First Music ☠️ I Ever Fell in Love With&Still in love With. When I found Psychobilly MUSIC Is was over. How u like being a dad&how are you?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Steven, being a dad is great, very challenging at times of course but I’ve never shied away from challenge!!! It actually makes music seem more important than ever, but I haven’t pin pointed why, maybe you can help? 🤓 Great taste in music Steven, thanks for dropping by!

[@STEVEMcNEIL673]

If I can help you in anyway is always remember to come from love. I want thank you for always getting back to me. Your going be an awesome daddy. So happy for the both of you.🙏🏼

[@AdrianWhyte]

Great advice, I guess with most things it’s the way to go! Thank you for commenting, it really helps my videos. KZbin are now tougher than ever, they want to see people interacting with your content if they are going to help you spread it! So you’re helping me 🤓

[@remibailleul5956]

trop de parlotes

[@roccomanginelli9498]

Gretsch + Supro all the way!

[@AdrianWhyte]

It’s a great combo! Supro are quite underrated as a clean/rockabilly/jazz amp!

[@roccomanginelli9498]

@@AdrianWhyte i belive Setzer uses a supro on Rockabilly Riot vol.1 probably a thunderbolt, the newer Supros are very cool!

[@geoffallen1331]

too complicated too much chat just show us.

[@AdrianWhyte]

Geoff, I appreciate your point, but there are already some great videos teaching it, this video is for those that want to know a bit more than just the by rote way to play it. Most of my other videos are focused on teaching- give them a go!

[@DonIsadick-mf3gv]

Do you come from the land down under?

[@AdrianWhyte]

Where women glow amongst thunder? Yes indeed!