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A transcription of "The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony" by Phish.
Music by Trey Anastasio
Transcribed by Theo Michelfeld
Posted:
March 12, 2008
Skill level: advanced
Phish's song “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony” is a great piece of music, and also a very instructive guitar exercise. Before we look at it, it's appropriate to offer some legal disclaimers. The song is composed by Trey Anastasio, published by Who is She? Music, and available from EMI records on the Phish album "Lawn Boy." If you're a guitarist, or if you play any instrument, you should own this album. It's full of thrilling musicianship. Meanwhile, please be aware, if you're looking to disemminate any version of the music in this lesson, you must first contact Trey Anastasio's publishing company Who is She? Music.
The entire transcription is given below, but first, if I may, I’m going to discuss some of the song’s finer points.
Trey Anastasio brings a jazz and bluegrass sensibility to his playing that certainly entertains the listener, but also can turn on some light bulbs for the studying guitarist. Of particular note is the way Trey fills out a melody with notes from the harmonic context of the song, i.e. the given chord over which the melody is playing. An example can be found in the very first phrase of “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony.” (See Diagram 1.)
Diagram 1.
This melody is crafted from a country-style AMaj6 arpeggio, accenting the 6th, 3rd, and root, and including the 2nd and 4th scale degrees as passing tones. A lazier version of the melody might have gone like this. (See Diagram 2.)
Diagram 2.
Note, however, that when Trey plays it he also throws in the 5th below the root. If there’s one inessential note in the whole phrase, it’s that 5th. And yet once you’ve tried it, there’s no going back. It paints some of the harmony into the melody and simply makes it all more interesting. The next time you encounter a major triad, or Major 3rd interval, in an improvisational setting, give Trey’s phrase a try. Here it is in the key of AMajor, first the Major 3rd interval and then the “Oh Kee Pa” style phrase. (See Diagram 3.)
Diagram 3.
Trey also makes whimsical use of jazz-style approach notes in this piece. Let’s take a look at measures 24-26, in which Trey again tweaks arpeggios to create his phrasing. Standard notation readers, please be reminded we're in the key of A with three sharps in the treble clef. (See Diagram 4.)
Diagram 4.
In measure 24, Trey describes a B9sus4 arpeggio over the B chord. (Note the prominent and very effective use of C#, the 9th scale degree.) Measure 25 begins by employing an E triad over the E, but Trey approaches the Major 3rd first from a half-step above and then from a half-step below. These kinds of approach notes are used extensively in jazz, but you can use them, as Trey does, in rock, bluegrass, and any other musical genre. The idea is to resolve the melody from a state of tension to state of stability. In this case the Major 3rd and root provide the stability. Here’s the phrase again, isolated. (See Diagram 5.)
Diagram 5.
In measures 25 and 26 above, Trey goes nuts with approach notes, all the while teasing a simple AMajor arpeggio. It’s worth noting that the repeating flat-5th and 5th in this phrase had previously been used as the 4th and 3rd of the B chord in measure 24.
Certainly the explosive run in measures 42 and 43 is one of this song’s more stimulating moments. This is due, of course, to Trey’s guitar work, but note also that the song transitions here from a half-time feel to a full-blown, high-speed country swing. Note also that the harmony shifts up a fourth as you’ll frequently hear in the bridge of a song. As for Trey’s phrasing, the run begins with a DMaj9 arpeggio over a D chord, followed by chromatic approaches to first the Major 3rd and then the 5th of D, before finally hitting the Major 3rd of G at the beginning of measure 44. Trey doesn’t stop there though, following up with some whimsical country guitar phrasing over G in measures 44 and 45. If these licks don’t convince you of the magic of the Major 9th and Major 6th intervals, nothing will. Note also the repeating use of the flat-3rd approaching the Major 3rd of G. Here are measures 42-45 complete. Standard notation readers, again you are reminded we're in the key of A with three sharps in the treble clef. When you practice this phrase, make sure you swing it. Straight eighths won’t do. (See Diagram 6.)
Diagram 6.
In measure 56 and 57 Trey transitions the song again, this time to E via its five-chord, B7. Once again we see a flat-3rd approach to the Major 3rd, and then the chromatic phrasing from the root of B up to the Major 3rd and back down again makes for a nice little guitar exercise in isolation. (See Diagram 7.)
Diagram 7.
Perhaps the song’s most whimsical moment takes place in measures 64-67. Trey pauses his blazing composition on the tense B7 chord and takes it briefly into outer space before returning to a country-swing feel, with everything suddenly phrased a register higher. From a guitar-playing standpoint, this sequence uses the same techniques we’ve been discussing: arpeggios, approach notes, and chromatics. But from a compositional standpoint, this passage illustrates Trey’s willingness to go the extra mile, and inject a bit of healthy irreverence into a beloved musical genre. Here’s the phrase. (See Diagram 8.)
Diagram 8.
Measures 83 – 90 illustrate Trey’s classic use of chromatics to create tension. Note also that when the tension breaks in measure 91, Trey employs the same motif, but lands on a note below the chromatic phrase instead of above it. The song wraps up with chromatic runs all over the place, as if every note in Western harmony has finally been unleashed. But take note of that lone, partially-bent flat 3rd in measure 93. It’s a wonderful little moment.
Reading this music off the page, analyzing it, and practicing it can be very useful for the studying musician. But there’s no substitute for hearing Phish’s recording of “The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony.” Trey’s incredibly light touch, his dynamic string bends, his nuanced vibrato, his unique and fabled guitar tone, and his general feel for the song are impossible to capture in a written transcription. Nevertheless, the transcription is provided below. (Note, it's a lot of music. If it fails to appear, try refreshing your browser.)
The text of this article copyright (c) 2008 Theo Michelfeld.