Simpedia

Leanne V., Australia

It is the blues in G with small variations I=G IV=C V=D

Essentially the first line is chord I – G ^ G G (with triangle black notes variation on the 2nd bar)
second line is C ^ G G (again with black note on 2nd bar – first bar has G and E in LH with C in RH which outlines chord IV (C))

Third line D C G G (Last two bars can be repeated for elongated ending )

Jennifer L., California

My perspective on Shoo-Fly is very similar to Leanne’s. This might be a bit heady for some… but it makes sense to me, and maybe it will to you too!

I view that second chord in the first line as a bVI being substituted for the IV chord.  The VI chord in the key of G is E, so bVI is Eb. The three notes of an Eb chord are Eb, G and Bb. The notes being played here are G and Eb w/ LH and Bb w/ RH. So you can think of it as an inversion of the Eb chord, or as Eb/G. When the LH changes the Eb to a Db, that’s just adding the 7 to the Eb chord.

So the first line is: | G | Eb/G Eb7/G | G | G |

(Also want to add here that this substitution – bVI for IV, that is – makes sense because Eb, G and Bb are the 3rd, 5th and 7th of a Cm7 chord. It especially makes sense when you see that Neil changes the IV chord to a IV minor in the second line. Read on!)

The second line begins with the IV chord (C/G), and then changes it to IV minor (Cm/G) – still a IV chord, just a variation – then goes back to the I chord for the second half of that line.

So the second line is: | C/G | Cm/G | G | G |

The last line does begin with V and IV, but it’s harder to see because the LH is doing a walking bass line, so the note that indicates which chord is being played is the very first note in each of those two measures, and the RH is only playing the 7th of the chord. The 3rd and 5th are MIA, so to speak. But, because of the context that’s been established, our ears are easily able to fill in the blanks. (Actually, the third of each of these chords is played by the LH on the fourth beat of each of those measures – the last note in the ascending walk up.)

So the third line is: | D7 | C7 | G7 | G7 |

And then there are a couple additional bars of G7 at the end (or you could see them as being in the middle, if they’re used to transition back to the beginning). So it’s a variation on the 12-bar blues. It’s 14 bars, but it definitely has enough structural similarity to a 12-bar blues to call it a blues.

Hope that makes sense. I don’t give this kind of explanation to my students until their really ready for it, which for most (almost all) is absolutely NOT when that song is first introduced. Way too much information.

There are probably other ways of analyzing the harmony here. This is what leaps out at me. But there’s often more than one correct answer when it comes to defining complex harmonies.

Terri P., Michigan

Also, if you look at the Shoo Fly arrangement in “Arrangements 3”, it is very clear that Shoo Fly is a blues piece.