What key is Sweet Home Alabama in?

It's in D.
Thanks for watching!
Actually, it might be a bit more complicated than that. It, along with many other songs in Rock and Pop music, uses a chord loop vamp as its harmonic scheme, and because of that, it might show something that ethnomusicologist Peter Manuel calls "Dual Tonicity." So...it's kind of in both the key of D and G at the same time. Neat!
Ethan Hein’s Blog Post on Phillip Tagg
www.ethanhein.com/wp/2017/phil...
Phillip Tagg’s Everyday Tonality
scholar.google.com/scholar?q=...
Peter Manuel’s Paper on Dual Tonicity in Spanish/Latin American Muiscs
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Paul David's rock video
• Why ROCK music all SOU...
Twitter thread
/ 1200820755593912323
Sweet Home Alabama Live versions used
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet...
• Sweet Home Alabama ~ L...
Celia Cruz + Fania All Stars - Guantanamera
• Fania All Stars "Live ...

[@noelstefanson9600]

this new kind of anticlickbait is revolutionary

[@BeN-bn5yb]

We need more

[@sixthfloormemories1566]

Aside from the fact that he's been doing this for a long time already!

[@littlefishbigmountain]

I’ve always loved it! It instantly gained me so much respect for him as a content creator.

[@moshadj]

It's a different type of clickbait, "I want to know more!"

[@littlefishbigmountain]

Shawn Murals Exactly. It’s not saying, “Ooooh, I bet you wanna know! I bet it’s killing you! Go on, give it a click. You _knooow_ you want to!” It says, “Here’s the short answer. If you’re curious to know more, you can always check out the whole thing” Another consequence of it is that some people with take opposition to the short answer and click just to argue their point

[@Daily_Bassist]

Adam “It’s actually a bit more complicated than that” Neely

[@HocWeng]

or is it...

[@joeyhardin5903]

i t s a c t u a l l y s u r p r i s i n g l y s i m p l e

[@superduperjoi6800]

Facts

[@milessmith6611]

Daily "Referencing Joe Rogan and finding all the musician Joe Rogan fans" Bassist

[@Daily_Bassist]

Miles Smith Damn, you’ve caught me in the act of whatever the hell you’re talking about.

[@isaac9550]

TLDR: Sweet Home Alabama is the Yanny Laurel debate but for musicians

[@LittleWhole]

That’s a really good analogy

[@DaP84]

More like Schrödinger's cat

[@edenem]

The dress is gold and blue god dangit

[@SullyGoofs]

I hate that this is accurate

[@ZaneDalton]

I ruined 555 likes...

[@valve84]

Ed King wrote the guitar solo using the G major pentatonic and it sounds great. Ronnie sang the verses more bluesy so the producer mentioned that he thought the guitar solo should've been played in D minor. You can hear a version of it played in D minor when Steve Gaines played it on the One More From the Road live album.

[@PaulDavids]

Me: What key is Sweet Home Alabama in? Adam: In this Quantum Superimposition of the keys D and G in the extended tonal present. Me: ...alright imma head out

[@bukimari]

Makes perfect sense to me, what's the issue?

[@joevenables3393]

@@bukimari How do you manage to get around with your massive brain?

[@eoghanbishop9745]

Paul wins today's best KZbin comment award

[@obbeachbum69]

This is called sophistry. Even though he knows he's wrong, he muddies the water and confuses you by vomiting a never-ending string of obscure lingo at you as a distraction from the simple fact that Sweet Home Alabama is written in the key of G.

[@Erinyes1103]

The one and only time this meme format is acceptable.

[@pokemonpasta]

"sorry for all the theory nonsense" please, adam. theory nonsense is exactly why we're here

[@mikeciul8599]

Thank you for all the theory nonsense!

[@yoo571]

I love the theory nonsense

[@seiph80]

Keep them coming!

[@YAMMAS]

theory nonsense is better than no nonsense

[@63Baggies]

@@yoo571 Adam suffered si so we don't have to:-))

[@kaiserped]

Adam Neely: “It’s actually a bit more complicated than that” samuraiguitarist: "Never heard of this guy"

[@DeathBringer769]

Most of the video: It's in D End of the video: If you want to solo over it, use G Major Pentatonic and/or G Blues. That's why I've always thought of the song as a "G" song as a guitar player, lol. But yea, I can hear it in D mixo as well.

[@jamesoconnor1368]

Technically I suppose when improvising you can always think of playing in the G major pentatonic scale and always resolving on D. Modes are a bit blurred for us guitarists (i often think of modes as a "flavour" rather than a key for this reason)

[@steelyspielbergo]

I'm very sophisticated. The first chord is D, so the key is D.

[@GuitarMan22]

yes.. until you start to solo in D :-0

[@iagolinscavalcanti2507]

Very good hahahajaja

[@MauricioMaisterrena]

mike spence exactly

[@BlueAcidball]

mike spence And it also sounds like it’s in D

[@kaaiplayspiano7200]

*laughs in Just The Two Of Us*

[@Clapbox1]

Adam Neely: belive it or not, there are more than just chords in songs Every music-related lawsuit right now: that's where you're wrong, kiddo

[@captainalex8003]

Adam: No, you are wrong. I am right.

[@hazeldejesus]

we all make mistakes in the heat of passion Jimbo

[@endzoneproductions4732]

why is this so true?

[@SynthApprentice]

Ed Sheeran has entered the chat.

[@poison7512]

Ed Sheeran should've lost that case. It's not just chords.. when your key/tempo/phrasing/AND chord progression are exactly the same as someone else's.. that's a problem

[@aw3som3reczor39]

I need this level of analysis for Megalovania.

[@dishwasherdetergent3366]

yeah, but megalovania is unquestionably in D minor. D minor, D minor/C, D minor/B (or Bm7b5), Bb, C, resolving back to D minor. The Bb to C to D minor has a very clear resolution to D minor, so the chords have no tonal ambiguity. They all fit into D minor, save for the Dm/B which serves as a chromatic passing chord. The melody is also, aside from beginning each repetition with the new bass note, composed entirely using the D blues scale, with a strong focus around the note D. With all this information, there's really no other key you could argue megalovania is in.

[@dazza2350]

Agreed

[@basserwoohoo]

everytime Adam says “It’s actually a bit more complicated than that” I get angry and excited all at once

[@ethandonnelly1973]

Would you say you're experiencing a series of events causing tension and release?

[@imnotnuggets]

"Its actually a bit more complicated than that" cut to vsauce song

[@rikerprime3508]

I heard it inside my head too

[@Asocial-Canine]

What key is Moon Men in?

[@sanny8716]

"But.. is it?"

[@DickEnchilada]

@@Asocial-Canine shut the fuck up about moon men

[@ModelCHP3Y]

Coincidentally, that Vsauce song is ALSO in D.

[@CRAY0NEAT3R]

"Sorry for all the theory nonsense" Adam Neeley out here apologizing for every video on his channel.

[@beansperkins]

It was a conditional apology haha

[@joshford256]

He was apologizing for the theory nonsense if you just wanted to know how to solo over it. Obviously he isn't sorry for everything on his channel

[@joshford256]

Josh Ford r/woooooosh

[@elecboy5126]

It seemed kind of snobby to me to bring up mixolydian when borrowing bVII is so ubiquitous in pop/rock

[@elecboy5126]

on a related note it irks me when people analyze despacito as i VI III VII, because then technically it’s not the four chords

[@StratKat1998]

Thank you for your authentic, rigorous but explorative content, that is paying respect to music as an expression, a science, a part of history, or even a meme. Your concrete approach, your love and your persistence in being precise make you a valuable point of reference and studying. An encyclopedia at what you do. You are valuable to people that love music, important for a huge community that you do not even know. We are admiring and making good use of what you do. Keep going! much love from Greece

[@garyreidmusic]

You saying the phrase, "It's in D Mixolydian" has explained Modes to me better than anything else in my 35 years of guitar playing, so thanks for that.

[@guitarsimon1]

Huh, so I guess Schrodinger’s Key is a thing then...

[@Billnyethesaxguy]

The vocalists had us the whole time!!

[@MiloshRistanovich]

i bet adam hates that he didn't come up with it

[@jmpsthrufyre]

Yes. So is triple toe-nicity. My neighbors kid has 30 toes.

[@n8thegreatest]

Thanks to the melody, it sounds like it's in D until you observe the chords--at which point it switches to G

[@robertofontiglia4148]

Oof, finally found it. Now we can open that box and find out what's happend to that cat...

[@NobodyWhatsoever]

(playing Guantanamera) "We're going to end it on the other tonic." "What the F?"

[@rjlchristie]

Exactly, wtf.

[@IReallyLikeMyNamexD]

I chuckled a little. I may even have snorted.

[@marcoscastaneda2567]

"Yes"

[@theoriginalheartstrummer]

Haha! Actually, he didn't account for the F chord that's thrown in there a couple of times. My cover band finishes the song with the F-C-D bit and that resolves nicely to D.

[@3THREEIII]

"What, the F?"

[@cjmskv]

WOW!! THAT was by far the most outstanding vid I have seen of yours, I think, EVER. I never considered the idea of multiple key centres, but after watching this - I can see that it is EVERYWHERE in contemporary music. You've given me a whole new field of vision in teaching children about music construction. Well done, Adam, Well done..

[@vittoprince]

Adam: What is the key to “Sweet Home Alabama”? Me, a drummer who doesn’t know jack about chords: *uh*

[@maddie_1122]

It's in DRUM AND STICK

[@tommyhaynes9157]

Drummers should learn to play in all keys

[@ethandonnelly1973]

@@tommyhaynes9157 shush, I'm a guitarist of ten years hiding my crippling lack of knowledge for musical theory, the drummer can be forgiven

[@danielthrasher]

When you hit 'em with the "it's actually a little bit more complicated than that" I was expecting Michael from V-Sauce to pop into frame. "WhAt iS mUsIc, eVeN?"

[@YannisManesis]

oh hi there

[@matheuscastello6554]

LMFAO

[@cashwarior]

insert "what key are you in" clips

[@trunkotunes1438]

Lol

[@YannisManesis]

*boat sound*

[@willowdotnet4772]

"what key is sweet home Alabama in?" "idk man but it definitely has one sharp"

[@TreyDieterich]

Which they negate temporarily when they love the governor F C D Oo oo oo

[@TreyDieterich]

@Michael Miller excuse my phrasing I was just taking an excerpt from the song to show which part the chords fell not their political affiliation Thanks for the history lesson... Jeez

[@TreyDieterich]

To explain further and completely ruin my little quip, they negate the F# and make it an F natural for the Boo boo boo

[@ohwhen7775]

​@@TreyDieterich Except those aren't key changes/modulations, those are what guitar legend Ted Greene referred to as notes of the "Expanded Diatonic Key". To this day he still has to me the most basic, laymen's terms way of explaining it. Basically, western music evolved to have more than 7 notes in the major scale. How? At the very least, BECAUSE of how people played guitar, especially in the 60's & 70's with say, The Beatles, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, The Who, Led Zeppelin etc etc. The fact that guitar has chords so easily transposable, you know, the fact that a simple power or barre chord is easily shifted up & down the neck, means that coming up with simple triads moving in nondiatonic ways is pretty easy to play and implement in songs. The least offensive and noticeable way of doing this is by placing said "nondiatonic" notes in the bass as root tones, which is what power & barre chords will do by default. This makes every one of these root tones as plagal, and because they're major in tonality/color, they're "major plagal" relative to the key center. Some interesting tidbits as well, these can be easily seen on the Circle of Fifths on the left hand side of the circle relative to key center, and every major 3rd of these Expanded Diatonic/Major Plagal root tones are actually diatonic to the key center, so in the key of D that's left = plagal root tones / in brackets = Maj3rd - *D(F#) G(B) C(E) F(A) Bb(D) Eb(G).* Tritone not included since it's the most distant key harmonically, though of course it's not exempt. So F C D is really just *bIII bVII I* more than anything. Here's the video of Ted Greene talking about it at 42 minutes in, only he's talking about A as the key - kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4ukqKummNRjeqc&t=2522 *EDIT: had previously made the mistake of calling the F bIII a bii, corrected now.*

[@TreyDieterich]

@@ohwhen7775 I didn't say it was a modulation.... Honestly the fact that they do that makes me think it's more in D than G

[@eddie-st.james1]

What happens in this song is the following; all 1-4-5 progressions (no matter how it's arranged, e.g. V-IV-I) are also the inversion of a 1-b7-4 „Mixolydian Mode“ or „Modal Chord Sequence“. Half of the song is in D Mixolydian (as all the vocal melody does center around the D chord) BUT it also goes in and out of the GMaj. key, e.g. all the guitar solos including the piano solo at the end are in G major and the way LS ends the song live in G is also a possibility to leave the Mixolydian mode and/or stay in GMaj., and imply that the song may (also) be in the key of GMaj. Since all of the solos (in GMaj.) play a significant role in the song (about 1/2 the song) will determining if it’s in a key or a mode (or both). Half of the song is in D mixolydian- which is NOT a key but a mode (built from the parent D Maj. key) and the other half in GMaj. This is a prime example of the difference between KEY based music vs. MODAL music, the G major scale (from 1-7 / not incl. the extensions 9-13) are exactly the same notes as D Mixolydian Tonal Sequence (1-7 / does NOT contain any extended intervals- can be played in any octave BUT is still limited to that 1 octave range) BUT produces a completely different sound (texture / atmosphere-etc.) still using the exact same notes of the major subdominant KEY (G)- Mr. Paul Davids even did a video on exactly this song, playing the solos in both Dmixo vs. G Maj., where there is a very distinct audible difference in sound/feel-etc. Also keep in mind (1) that there is no separate or special musical notation that shows a piece is modal or a combination of Modal (NO key) and Tonal (Key based), same goes for the other 2 types of minor keys: Melodic / Harmonic, it will simply be notated in reference to it’s actual or (Modal)parent / perceived key- in this case the GMaj. since the song switches at the end to GMaj. (regardless of fade out). A more exact notation would be e.g. D/GMaj. or Dmix./GMaj.-etc. (2) That the modal I-chord (in this case=D) is NOT a tonic chord but is called a „Finalis“ because the mode has no resolution as it simply returns to the Modal I chord (whichever note that the mode centers around). This also means that there is no „Chord Progression“ in this case, it’s a (Modal) „Chord Sequence“ because it’s static and doesn’t progress towards any resolution. Conclusion: „Dual Tonality“ (a harmonic function theory concept that applies only to "Tonal" music) implies 2 definite tonal centers or Major keys, which is not the case here, it’s a combination of a Mode (NO tonal center) and a Key (WITH a tonal center) as both play a substantial role in this piece (each ca. 50%), IF the (switch to G Maj.) had only occurred for a bar or 2 it would be negligible and this would simply be a piece in D Mixolydian. The real „problem“ or dilemma here (or in such cases) is that there is no standard way of notating this type of music in the present notation system, If you say just GMaj. or DMixolydian- in either case your only half right.

[@plodaerte]

literaly the video

[@lqr824]

I agree with you more than the video, actually, from the point the video starts talking about two tonics.

[@lqr824]

@@plodaerte no he's saying the second half of the vid is bollocks

[@ubuedro]

I loved this video because you centered in a "simple" matter, which allowed you to go way deeper in the explanation

[@nobodyeverinhistory]

When you're so southern even your key center is scuffed:

[@stephendonovan9084]

*fried confusion*

[@CooperAATE]

@@stephendonovan9084 DEEP FRIED confusion

[@loganstroud7357]

Chicken fried confusion

[@craigstephenson7676]

Roll Tide

[@proximityclockworkx1572]

Adam: It's in D UMG: D stands for demonetization

[@EthanDyTioco]

HEHEh

[@lakejizzio7777]

D stands for D*ck

[@mari_.silvano]

They demonetized one of my vids on my other channel

[@jacktyler6475]

I had the opportunity to attend Jeff Carlisi's "Camp Jam" in Atlanta, GA several years ago. Jeff was the lead guitarist for .38 Special, and Camp Jam has grown since then to be a big operation. But when I attended, it was just getting started. Jeff always had a "featured artist", and the year I went, the artist was Ed King, the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist that wrote the music to "Sweet Home Alabama". Ed was a really nice guy, and a heck of a guitarist. The camp was for wanna be rock stars and ran from Friday evening to late Sunday afternoon. On Saturday morning around 10am, Ed sat down and played "Sweet Home". I was sitting in a folding chair about 10 feet away, and I confess, the hair stood up on the back of my neck-it sounded that good. When he finished, someone asked him what key the song was in. It was obvious from the scowl that developed on Ed's face that he had been asked this question many times in the past. His reply was, "i wrote the music to "Sweet Home" in "G" and that's the key it's in." If you look at the sheet music for "Sweet Home", it shows only one sharp in the time signature-which is for the key of "G".

[@cheemo48]

I'm so glad you did your video on Sweet Home Alabama. As a working musician from AL, I have played this song even more than other musicians around the world, and have had the conversation about the tonal center with MANY professional musicians. We all came to the same conclusion as you, finally, around the same time you dropped your video. That being said... I recently brought up a similar situation with the song "I Love It" by Iconapop. Not a single one of my colleagues was on fully board with my hot take analysis, and I feel more strongly about this than I ever did about either proposed key for S-H-A. I believe the one and only logical interpretation (upon really letting my ear take it in and feel the implied resolution of the melody etc) of the progression, is 5 to 1, while others perceive it as 1 to 4. The bridge reinforces this, but everyone around me chalks this up to key change or modal interplay. Am I taking crazy pills?? If you disagree I think it is time to admit myself to a psych ward.

[@barlitone]

Best moment for me in a band ever: my brother plays the opening lick to Sweet Home Alabama, and right on cue and with perfect pitch, rhythm, and inflection of tone, our drummer says, "Turn it off."

[@TheMusicalSchizo]

Ha ha ha - I totally do this EVERY TIME I play the song.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

That’s the best way to cover the song………..don’t.

[@DBruce]

Really nice, my brain struggles to escape from 'classical' views of harmony, even though my soul is clearly desperate to :-) The thought of dual tonics is another useful tool to chisel away at that mundane wall of classical certainty, thanks!

[@littlefishbigmountain]

I know you don’t need any advice from me! BUT to try and maybe help you a bit, don’t even look at the theory at first. Completely forget you know any theory at all. Use your ear to hear the tensions and resolutions, which will ultimately reveal the tonic to you according to your ear, giving you the cornerstone to analyze the theory Of course, this gets much more complex when songs (or pieces) frequently modulate or do other even trickier things, like this dual-tonicity idea or even things like poly-chords. In any case, it’s all about how your ear hears it _in context_ without even considering the theory Because you will still hear tensions and resolutions even if you don’t think about it; that’s inevitable

[@christophercheck1590]

I feel like all the best composers are like that. They're not looking to totally ignore the rules, just look for those little holes they can slip through and subvert them.

[@joetowers4804]

Hey, one of my other favorite music teachers!

[@FlyingsCool]

Ahh, so still stuck in Newtonian-Einstein physics, eh? We'll bring you round 😏 😁

[@PaytonPierce]

I'm about to watch it, but from playing the song before I'd imagine D mixolydian, but also a G Mixolydian for the G, because I like to use the flat 3rd over major for the bluesy feel. I never learned the solo but I remember some Em pentatonic in there After:wasn't expecting the whole dual tonic thing but I guess it makes sense I guess. After all, sometimes more than one place can feel like home.

[@tonygairomusic911]

Great stuff! I loved this and I love your perspective and insight. Thank you for this channel.

[@djeparker99]

Fun fact: many old trad Irish and Scottish fiddle tunes are also classified as "double-tonic" (the more usual name in these circles for "dual-tonic"), for example going between G and D mix, as here, or E dorian and D major, C and D dorian, etc., etc., etc. While many tunes do unambiguously resolve to a tonic, some don't, and the result is wonderful. I'm not sure why I never thought to extend that concept to songs like these, but it makes total sense.

[@soylentkris]

I just cited this. Thank you for making me feel less alone, lol. I guess we are the only Celtic players here...

[@chrismills7703]

The video “doesn’t have a satisfying conclusion”... kinda like not knowing which chord to end a progression with... I see what you did there

[@malavoy1]

If you write the song, you can end it on any chord you want ;P

[@brandonbryson3317]

Been listening to this guy for years. Still no idea what he’s talking about lmao

[@denjr10]

I understood about 20% of the video and still liked it too!

[@LeglessWonder]

Same. But it's still entertaining lol

[@FrashOnTV]

HAHAHAHA yup

[@tipdub]

Lolol!

[@chiara9721]

Actually this is one of the few videos where I felt like I could almost understand the whole thing

[@aaron234567890987643]

Ive literally spent years looking for a term to describe this. Thank you!

[@frankbradford8365]

Great video Adam! you sold me on D by looking at the melody....I bought the sheet music back in 1974 and it is written in G. Two keys at the same time is a brilliant explanation....it is hard to solo with just one scale as you probably already know. I never thought of using G blues but I can see how it works very well for the C and G of the chord progression. I used to try to use D Blues which worked for D and C but not G. Then a fellow guitarist showed me that he used G major pentatonic and then I started thinking in G. Al Kooper the producer of the song explained in his book that he argued with Ed King the guitarist who wrote it that he (Al Kooper) thought it was in D. The guitarist mainly soloed in G major pentatonic and argued he wrote it in G. Again, well done!!!

[@dynoburger]

“Dual Tonicity of our city, of our ciiittttyyyyy...”

[@Daily_Bassist]

YOU! HOW DO YOU CHANGE THE KEY!

[@KoZmaj]

@@Daily_Bassist NOW! SOMEWHERE BETWEEN D MAJOR, D MAJOR AND GGGG

[@youtuberjoe4729]

THIS ORDER! THIS ORDER!

[@gavinoh7132]

G MAJJJOOOOORRRR!!!! IN THE SACRED CHANGE OF THE KEYS!!

[@jaxxzero5734]

SEEKING KEYS IS A PASTIME ACTIVITY

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

Adam Neely (a.k.a Everything Music Theory Guy): Sweet Home Alabama is in the key of D Google: Sweet Home Alabama is in the key of G Major Me: Let me go with that "Play Sober/7/11/4/20/The Lick/Chill Vibes" guy!

[@markopolo2224]

the key isn't that important

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

@@markopolo2224 That's right

[@ursanotsomajor]

7/11 and 4/20 are made for each other 🌚

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

But still.....

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

#playsober #4/20 #7/11 #AdamNeely

[@pierresmusic]

This was my first video of yours I’ve watched. So good! You have a new subscriber!

[@JonI-vc5mm]

I love how clear it is which parts you recorded before the twitter debate and after the twitter debate

[@pszypulski]

"Google is wrong, I win. Case closed." Life summed up in 7 words.

[@T4gProd]

Antivax parents can summarize their kids 7 year life with the exact same words.

[@DragonWinter36]

“You’re biased, I win, bye bye.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson

[@TheStompboxer]

“Google” is neither right nor wrong. It’s a search engine. I’d wager this very video could be found with Google.

[@richardbonnette490]

@@TheStompboxer Google still hides it's search results for some biased results, though. During the Ireland case where Abortion was being decided to legalize or keep illegal, it was purposefully hiding all pro-life results for Irish google searchers, so only pro-choice articles appeared. This naturally skewed election results in favor of abortion, which shows the political bias of Google itself. It is not really trying to be a search engine anymore. Google has been known for hiding conservative sites, like Breitbart news, for political purposes, often refering searchers to worthless mainstream medias like CNN (who couldn't even admit that the protests weren't "peaceful"). Even when Breitbart has more views, Google will still favor politically biased sites like CNN over conservative news. Whenever I use it for school searching, it is fine. But when it comes to politics, Google is biased for democrats and for abortion, which isn't real honesty for any search engine. So, yes, it can be wrong, since it will only show fake news, even when it is not scientific!

[@TheStompboxer]

@@richardbonnette490 What evidence do you pretend to have for that horseshit?

[@WeyounSix]

OR OR OR, sometimes ending a song on a IV chord just makes the ending more bluesy, and the song is still in D.

[@rycengac]

I had the same thought. Gospel music does this a ton as well.

[@otavio048]

And the plot thickens

[@G.B.P.]

The song is in D and ends in the 4th degree, end of story

[@lennonsteeler]

yeah, that's actually all this is. It's just in D.

[@strumdynasty3050]

rycengac This is the problem with music theory sometimes. There are no actual rules in music and things don’t always resolve themselves tonally, for instance. There’s no reason why an artist can’t randomly go off of the key pattern at the end as long as it sounds okay. People really need to get rid of this concept of music having to work itself out or something when in reality people write whatever they think sounds good

[@outernationalstudios]

Aaahhh. The question answered at the end. What key to solo in- ""(just making sure I haven't been doing it "wrong" for 20 years!) Thanks. This was a super necessary and much needed video posing the question as old as time- what key is sweet home al actually in. It's been debated forever... and the answer- both...... I guess. Dual tonicity. Pretty cool concept.

[@JordonRenn93]

I just made my first song the other day with a key change. Starts in G and goes to Bm, I had a vocal sample in Bm I used in both sections. I'm no theory expert but it sounded good and made the key change feel really natural.

[@ClearWaterRising]

NIce going from stuff with G, D, and C to B minor feels good. Try out a B7 somewhere in there to an E minor. Then Go C to D to give a burst of momentum. and then go to back G with whatever your main progression is.

[@laszlonator]

Still loving your anti-clickbait thumbnails!

[@littlefishbigmountain]

Aren’t they the best? I hope other content creators start trying to emulate that, as opposed to just using regular clickbait and saying, “It’s the only way to grow my channel!”

[@stijnjanssens1785]

I praise you for your superior anti-click bait thumbnails

[@sdsskyapp]

Adam I've actually thought of this before! I play this song live on piano at gigs, and during the guitar solo section, I do an improv solo, and sometimes I catch myself soloing in the key of G while other times I catch myself soloing in the key of D! And it sounds good in both!

[@NicDunn]

I played servitude by Kendall jones for my senior percussion ensemble (video on my channel) and I didn’t know if I was supposed to solo in db harmonic minor or ab Phrygian dominant because we used the notes for both. The Melodies and ostinatos pointed towards ab, but during the solo section, the ensemble was giving me a db pedal tone. I just went with db because the pedal tones made it sound better, but at the end we didn’t know whether to finish on a db or ab, and we went with ab for that. Fun piece, I was the only one who knew the theory because I’m the only nerd in my section

[@glottalstop2080]

In which key is this song? Adam Neely: *YESN'T*

[@thomasgadd6438]

So what you’re saying is, basically Sweet Home Alabama is the musical equivalent of the blue and black dress vs gold and white dress debate

[@littlefishbigmountain]

Thomas Gadd A sort of auditory illusion

[@gj4312]

No. Because there one is actually correct from the beginning.

[@littlefishbigmountain]

George Jensen Different people will hear the same harmonies in different ways sometimes. What _your_ ear tells you is how _you’re_ hearing it, but some music is more ambiguous than other music Like an illusion. Like the dress. Or the old/young woman, duck/rabbit, or what have you. Any illusion around duality, which is exactly what Adam describes here. As he repeatedly states over and over, “buuuut... it’s a _little_ more complicated than that.”

[@Arti9m]

No, it is not an equivalent. With that blue/gold dress at least you can RGB-probe the image file and see that there is no dominant amount of color blue in it. To this day I still cannot comprehend how people were able to see blue and black on that particular image. Perhaps my brain is unable to 'restore' colors of an over-exposed photo.With the keys it's different, because there is nothing to probe. It's more like that Yanny/Laurel audio, where there is actually both things at once and your brain just picks one. Or you can choose which one to hear if you're trained enough.

[@scotplane]

@@Arti9m The dress was blue and black tho...

[@vaughnhale7903]

I love the not clickbait. It’s in most of your videos, and it’s great.

[@JesseFischer]

Hey Adam, always enjoy your videos. I've often thought the Blues itself has a kind of dual tonicity. An "F Blues" kinda has an "F mixolydian" feel but not exactly. But it also has this really strong drive to the "IV chord" of Bb... almost to where I feel like the whole thing might actually be in the key of Bb, and what makes it so irresistible is the delayed (and fleeting) resolution for bars 5-6. "Sex Machine" or any one-chord funk tune (or church shout, for that matter) has the same feeling. When James Brown takes it to the IV chord on the bridge, maybe that's actually the tonic and the whole time when he was on the I he was actually on the V and that's why it's so damn good. Klezmer music has the same kind of addictive repetitiveness and a lot is also built around a scale that's kind of "5th mode harmonic minor" and also resolves to the "iv" on the bridge... I think it may have the same dual tonicity thing going on. Thoughts?

[@PanikingCamel]

I always assumed "D" because a lot of songs in the 70s utilize the flat 7.

[@mrbouncelol]

How is it not just D mixolydian lol

[@marcospintor1333]

It’s still being used today. But we don’t call it Flat 7, we call it the IV chord....in this case in the key of G....which it was it is...or D mixolydian

[@obamna666]

Marcos Pintor or the IV/IV for that classic double plagal cadence sound

[@marcospintor1333]

David Kilbridge mmmm yes. Now you’re speaking my language

[@G.B.P.]

mrbouncelol it is totally in D mixolydian

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

It's in D. But play G Major over it. While avoiding playing the root G.

[@Max-cb2ro]

Thanks

[@juanf1009]

Or just play D mixolydian

[@TheNomios]

Exactly how I internalise this videos massage when playing xD

[@AndyDion]

One thing that wasn’t mentioned was the turn around chord used a bunch in the sweet home Alabama is F Major like during “in Birmingham they love the governor boo hoo ooo” That F is in G Mixolydian. Which makes think that this song could actually be in G mixolydian.

[@AndyDion]

Brad Bowers I was talking a music professor and he said the turnaround chords are from borrowed relative Minor- D minor

[@kenkinnally6144]

This actually answers something I've occasionally wondered about over the years, what key am I really in here? So it can be two different keys, sort of. Glad to see it's not just me. Had to learn this song with a lot of others for a cover band and think my first impression of it was, okay it starts on the V chord. It was helpful to think of it that way at the time, just to start memorizing and working out a keyboard part for yet another song. Might have changed my mind after playing it so many times. But thinking about it now, if Alabama is in G, then that first note of both the verses and choruses, F sharp, would be the major 7th to the tonic. And somehow that seems odd to have a major 7th as such a key (no pun) part of a simple melody in a blues rock song like this. I say simple because if your verse melody is only 4 notes and the chorus is basically the same melody with different words, as it is in Sweet Home Alabama, then each of those only 4 notes is crucial in determining the feel of the overall song. It seems like a dominant 7th feel is much more common for a blues rock song like this one. That major 7th is too lush jazzy, to be dwelled on as only one of four notes in both verse and chorus. So D major does seem to be a more likely key for the melody in this song. That way the F sharp is just a major 3rd. And the melody in verse and chorus can keep going from the maj 3rd to the root D or the 6th B (which is the relative minor of D and implies it is the same or easily resolves to it) and everything stays bouncy and major bluesy. Major 3rd bluesy that is. Even though that occasional piano boogie woogie riff on the G chord makes it feel like you have arrived home. That might be why they end it on G for live shows.

[@bernieross1241]

Wow! This is so great! Really enlightening. Thanks!!

[@ElleInStitches]

Google: the song is in G major Adam Neely: welll yes but actually no.

[@EthanPerales.]

*but actually somewhat.

[@ElleInStitches]

@@EthanPerales. even better 🤣

[@iagolinscavalcanti2507]

Yes. He knows its right probably because, when Google says key of G, adam knows it means the harmonic field,.not the key exactly.

[@DMSProduktions]

SO says the composer!

[@andrewwheelerguitar]

But actually yes

[@andrew4282]

Watch KZbin demonitise this cause he’s spitting facts against google lmao

[@JamieClark]

John Coltrane can’t monetize with copyrighted material in it anyway, too many actual recordings in this video - I was shocked that he actually included the concert footage

[@jazzerson7087]

Before you know it they'll be following him around highlighting his comments and replies. I love you Google! :-)

[@mosesramirez6330]

Google is only citing Desi Serna's article on guitarmusictheory.com, and from what I've seen, Google never points to a video as a source for its answer. How can we convince Google to point to another source that says it's in D?

[@bluesdealer]

I clicked thinking “it’s D mixolydian, duh,” but that bit about Tagg’s analysis and dual tonality was really cool and eye-opening. Thanks!

[@turosfagyi]

Also, unlike other youtubers, he doesn't deliberately stretch out the video to make it longer than 10 minutes to get more ad revenue, even though he only would have had to add 10 more seconds of banter. Class.

[@chriscoxofficial]

"Sweet Home Alabama" is the "Hey Jude" of Southern Rock.

[@babayaga1767]

Free bird is

[@tommyhaynes9157]

@@babayaga1767 Indeed Freebird is very much like Hey Jude . They both have a melodic first part with a heavier jam out second part

[@ethandonnelly1973]

@@tommyhaynes9157 And they're all soul killing to play at frequent gigs :D

[@Relflow]

This has the energy of a jazz meme. I can feel it.

[@drumsettheater]

Great analysis. As a working musician who has played this song dozens.....or maybe hundreds of times (albeit as a drummer) I found this really fascinating :)

[@lqr824]

yeah because drummers can't do their job until they analyze the harmonic progression 😀

[@Jesse_Johnson]

Thank you. I have been scratching my brain on this one.

[@sharpphilip]

"Teutonics" got me choking on my lunch.

[@rokkaltnekar2672]

I couldn't belive it after just having watched a T90 video.

[@drbokchoi3]

So glad to see an AOE2 reference!

[@svartsjokolade]

@@drbokchoi3 Adam said in a FAQ that he likes to watch competitive AoE II matches. :D

[@JamesLindsayMusic]

The aoe reference worth stopping by for alone

[@lunchpin403]

@@svartsjokolade I had no idea competitive AOE was a thing

[@larrimos]

I’m starting a southern rock disco band...yup, the dee gees.

[@MusicForTheBroken]

Is your first single staying dead?

[@tomm_katz]

@@MusicForTheBroken staying in D

[@fivetimesyo]

I will give you a like for this but I don't want you to be proud of what you did here.

[@larrimos]

fivetimesyo no worries, I had to watch again to remember what slice of genius I had decided to share with the world....cute, but nothing to proud of you’re right.

[@richaxes]

@@tomm_katz stay in G in D - see what I did there?

[@gavinmackinney8484]

Excellent explanation. I love the reference to Guantanamera too

[@sashakindel3600]

Reminds me of what my college music theory course referred to as "the reciprocal process": when you oscillate between a major triad and the minor triad whose root is a fourth higher, whether the progression is I-iv or V-i can be ambiguous.

[@pabloponce72]

Me: Sweet Home Alabama is in the key of G or key of D? Adam Neely: Yes

[@chroni3659]

Whoa there Nelly ;p

[@TheMusicalSchizo]

Now I'm picturing Adam with a band-aid on his face, rapping. Nice.

[@austincox1709]

nelly

[@tungtobak]

AHAHAHAHAHA, this joke format is so funny and not done to death at all.

[@jblen]

"so is it in G?" "Well yes, but actually no"

[@Diax1324]

I love fucking with the band when I play it by doing the first solo properly like the record (Regarding the key as G major), and then doing a second improvised solo towards the end that is in D major. I never knew why that worked until this video. Keyboard players (Usually the only ones with any musical education in a bar band) always ask me what key we're in and get irritated by it.

[@willritter4076]

who really thinks that Sweet Home Alabama is in G?? I have never, ever heard any musician make this claim. It's a 3-chord, single-progression song that repeats endlessly over about 60 bars. Everybody knows where the tonic is.

[@jblen]

@@willritter4076 Google says G, the fact that there is an argument about the key implies many people also say G

[@Diax1324]

@@willritter4076 The original band thought it was in G, hence why both guitar solos are in the relative minor of G.

[@TheCraftero]

VSauce song comes in

[@jeffgoblue]

I definitely hear it in D mixolydian. When Adam played that sample of Skynyrd finishing it on a G, I felt like I was left hanging, waiting for the IV to resolve back to I.

[@mr7clay]

After the big ending on G they should do another big ending on D.

[@5hyguy42]

D feels like home to me and even the F chord in one of the later verses emphasizes the D being home

[@flufffmcfluff]

How does an f natural emapsise the key of d, which has an f# in it?

[@5hyguy42]

F C D progression sounds like it leads nicely to D I know it’s not exact but my brain hears a kind of two five one for some reason I’m learning music theory right now and this is just an observation based off of what I hear rather than what is logical

[@Frederatormusic]

Argument: It's in D, and ending it on a G chord is deliberately ending on the subdominant, rather than G major (or involving quantum physics lol). Fading out a song doesn't allow for a sense of definite resolution, and when you're performing live, leaving the song unresolved is probably the closest you can get to fading out!

[@timli41]

8:12 "I've played it many hundreds of time on bar gigs & wedding gigs" who the hell plays Sweet Home Alabama on their wedding considering the memes surrounding it

[@anticface]

Siblings

[@jimmyostler8946]

@@anticface best answer ever

[@DanThomasUK]

every UK wedding band. That, Superstition and Mr Brightside are legally mandated wedding songs

[@turingmachine8831]

@@DanThomasUK 'September' would like a word

[@abelknecht4943]

If your wedding is a meme?

[@KazKasozi]

I have always thought of it in D mixo. Seems obvious but I had never thought of it deeply the way you have here.

[@CIA-m1v]

I studied music and popular music at Liverpool University and Phil Tagg was one of my lecturers. Cool guy and insightful.

[@trenthollingsworth2817]

I've always thought of the song in D with a flat 7. I've seen it a lot of older rock and southern rock especially. Midnight Rider does it too, for example.

[@igmusicandflying]

Mixolydian is the major scale with the flat 7, so that's pretty much what Adam said.

[@Ricocossa1]

I've always heard it in D mixolydian. Imagining G as the root is weird to me

[@WarrenPostma]

Some people literally mean "what key signature do I write" not "what key is it in".

[@jaredtinkham3974]

Same dude, but people have definitely argued with me about it. They're like, it's a 5-4-1 in G, and I'm like, that makes sense, but D sounds like home. And then they said the last chord is G, and the solo is in G, and I'm like fuck, that also makes sense, BUT D STILL SOUNDS LIKE HOME!!!!!!

[@jaredtinkham3974]

M. S. Dude, I am a guitarist.....

[@jaredtinkham3974]

Austin Martín Hernández I Agree!

[@xwinglover]

Treating the modes as their own scales then it’s easier to understand it. D mixolydian makes more sense when describing the key because of the flat 7 and home Being on D major.

[@s_l_i_c_e_]

I just realized you are the Alton Brown of music lessons.

[@rowanbelt3612]

Awesome video, thanks. I've noticed things like this for a while. They seem to also show up in Eastern European folk music.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

What key is Sweet Home Alabama in? Inside its cousin.

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Lmao

[@noelstefanson9600]

jesus shit

[@markopolo2224]

yes

[@LonkinPork]

"Case closed." [checks tracking bar and sees that there's still 2/3 of the video left] _ooooooo dis gon be gooooood_

[@CrapZackGames]

I read this right when I got to this part.

[@gustavhegandersen5720]

Cool studio bro, looks fresh

[@stringchild]

I think the way you're looking at it is completely correct much in the way a musician might tonicize the relative minor chord in a major key hence all modes of major are all relative to each other.

[@thegreatgambeeno]

Todd in the Shadows is so good. Love that dude's channel.

[@christophercheck1590]

He seems to have a better grasp on theory than many music reviewers, especially in the pop sphere, so his perspective as an actual musician is always very interesting.

[@TheMusicalSchizo]

He's the TITS for sure

[@Moonwizard420]

It's in D mixolydian. They end on a G live which is perfectly valid as ending on the IV is always a sweet sound, but it would sound even better if they resolved to D (the real tonic)

[@dougnulton]

Ending on the IV is definitely a thing, but it doesn’t “feel like a IV” when they end on it, in this instance. It sounds a lot more “tonic-y” than your typical IV would. That’s why I think it’s a brilliant example for Adam to have used to start this discussion! edit: especially once the singer throws the F natural and Bb in there at the end-really solidifies the “G blues” feeling of the finale.

[@Moonwizard420]

@@dougnulton I guess, to me personally, it feels completely like a IV. It's so unresolved and a D fixes that feeling. Also, I was just testing it and G major pentatonic soloing sounds wrong. Not dissonant or anything, just very "empty". I tried playing between D Major pentatonic, D mixolydian and D dorian and to my ears it was far more consonant and gave me a good sense of home. I feel like so many things in the video pointed towards D, but then it just got hung up on the fact that they end on a G live. I think that one factor alone isn't enough.

[@yuichituba]

Awesome topic and material, Adam! This topic reminds me of Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No.1.

[@norbert6966]

For your next Q&A: What is your opinion on self-taught musicians/instrumentalists, both in and outside of the music industry. Love your vids BTW, keep on going.

[@nazv9]

that "age of empire" reference made my day !!!

[@smoothguitarforever]

I never thought I'd see such a relevant use of quantum mechanics in a music theory video you're something else Adam.. love it

[@josearcanjo5079]

It's a tad bit obscure, but check out Happy End track 'Jyuni Gatsu Ame no Hi'. There's a similar vibe: Intro is a solid D mixolydian, verse is a vi - III - II progression (in the key of G), bridge is a I - V - vi (G) and modulates to a chorus in D after C - F - A progression. Chorus is a I - V - vi - IV - V - I progression (in D).

[@Anthony_Marquis]

Thank you, Adam Neely, for giving the answer for the title's question in the video's thumbnail. You're the real MVP!

[@thatnon-competelawyer5313]

Adam, I was with you to the end when you said use G maj pentatonic or G blues to solo. I think D maj pentatonic or D blues sounds better. That's why it's in D!

[@joe1hundred]

i came to find this comment!

[@sergiorodriguez6889]

D min pentatonic sounds best!

[@shaneshort2599]

I'm with you on that. I've always used Dm pentatonic to improvise over this song.

[@lambsauce9404]

@@shaneshort2599 If the song is in D major then it makes no sense to improvise in D minor, those are two different keys.

[@shaneshort2599]

@@lambsauce9404 D minor pentatonic sounds great over that song try it and see. If I said D minor I'm sorry I was talking D minor pentatonic.

[@textblogrnroll]

The composer of the song Ed King said on his forum it's in the key of G. meaning what scale using for soloing (he gaves example of piano solo at the end). But as said in the video we can also say it's in D mixoyldian, as it's basically the same notes

[@muimuhadresh3986]

another very good and interesting video. thx

[@gibusgamer93]

"We're kind of in this quantum superimposition of the keys of D and G..." I can't believe Adam Neely is Ant Man

[@Subparanon]

"What key is the song in?" - Is the color purple closer to the color blue or the color red? :)

[@zildtinio6250]

This comment is fucking me up way more than the vid

[@user-zg6xb3kv3i]

Purple closer to blue, pink is centered, violet very close to blue

[@dabj9546]

@@user-zg6xb3kv3i No! There is no blue in pink it's just a lighter red and violet and purple are the same.

[@mastod0n1]

Based on RGB values it's exactly in the middle between red and blue. Based on color theory it would probably be considered closer to red because it's a non spectrum color and generally defined as shades falling between red and violet.

[@user-zg6xb3kv3i]

this is epic.

[@ErayAltin]

Another aspect of popular music where the tonic becomes ambiguous is the practice of using Aeolian and its relative Major tonality (like A Aeolian and C Major) in combination, to a point where it becomes tricky to put Roman numerals only by looking at chords. The concept of dual tonics could be useful in such cases as well.

[@rachelkaraoke7461]

Excellent as usual I laughed so hard when I heard that live end I can’t wait for my son to wake so I can play it to him

[@Morganstudios]

You don't always have to end on the tonic!! I remember suggesting to my college band we end on a bII chord for a song just for fun. We did it and I always thought it sounded neat. I think the G chord at the end of SWAlabama sounds like a fun surprise non-tonic ending.