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A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
with Pacifica).
Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
know. :-)
I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
BN
It's possible he's sneakin' in an A Major in the intro or elsewhere without
changing the key of the song from Am. It seems to me if he was throwin' in some
A Major chords, they certainly were'nt full strums. Possibly just muting a
couple of the bottom strings. Who knows.
Billy
---- Brian Neal <> wrote:
> A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
> Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
> still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
> with Pacifica).
>
> Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
> Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
> shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
> the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
>
> Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
> guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
> the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
> must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
> he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
> whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
> know. :-)
>
> I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
> Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
>
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
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I'm notorious (at least in my tiny world) for playing
minor chords when I should be playing major chords and
vice versa. When I first started playing and learning
open chords a few years back I heard WDR in my head
while strumming the A major, so there was never any
question for me until later on when I started trying
to pick up bits of theory...it seems from looking at
it (and every other surf song with that very same
progression in any key, of which there are many) that
it should be an Am, but it's never sounded right. I
don't know how it works but it's one of those things.
Richard
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
Maybe that's what made that tune a hit. The Ventures changed it up. Those
sneaky characters.............
---- Richard <> wrote:
>
> I'm notorious (at least in my tiny world) for playing
> minor chords when I should be playing major chords and
> vice versa. When I first started playing and learning
> open chords a few years back I heard WDR in my head
> while strumming the A major, so there was never any
> question for me until later on when I started trying
> to pick up bits of theory...it seems from looking at
> it (and every other surf song with that very same
> progression in any key, of which there are many) that
> it should be an Am, but it's never sounded right. I
> don't know how it works but it's one of those things.
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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>
Yes, the rhythm guitar plays A MAJOR through the intro, then switches to a
minor. Listen carefully to the record. Lots of folks make it an a minor
chord. The A major adds a very distinct flavor went he change hits.
_____
From: [mailto:]
On Behalf Of Brian Neal
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 8:14 PM
To:
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Walk Don't Run: A or Am?
A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
with Pacifica).
Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
know. :-)
I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
BN
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
A Major chord.......never a doubt here......eddie k
--- Brian Neal <> wrote:
> A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The
> Ventures appeared on
> Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl
> used to (maybe
> still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets'
> Cavalcade and close
> with Pacifica).
>
> Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of
> relationship with Brian
> Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him)
> so he was talking
> shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl
> was inspired to play
> the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
>
> Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle,
> but one of those
> guys made the statement along the lines of "most
> people don't realize
> the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most
> sheet music says". I
> must admit I don't remember all the details, and I
> can't remember if
> he was saying they play the intro A as A major
> versus A minor, or the
> whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A,
> but what do I
> know. :-)
>
> I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do
> remember the
> Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT
> being A minor.
>
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
A Major for sure. That major 3rd gives the chord progression more
punch.
Mike
Verrrrry Innneresting!
This has been the subject of many an argument in the bands I've been in over the
years, with me usually being the only one who maintains that the opening chord
in The Ventures Walk Don't Run (1960) was in fact A MAJOR. That's how I always
heard the song, and how I practiced the rhythm part when I was learning guitar
38 years ago.
Bruce D
Brian Neal <> wrote:
A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
with Pacifica).
Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
know. :-)
I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
BN
.
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Bruce D
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Ok. That does it.
With all these threads on music theory lately, I'm gonna have to repeat a really
bad joke I heard over the week-end.
There's this G, D, and Bb, and they decide to go have a beer. They walk into the
bar and the bartender says "Sorry, we don't serve minors"............
B-B-O
I told ya it was bad. ;D
---- bruce duncan <> wrote:
> Verrrrry Innneresting!
>
> This has been the subject of many an argument in the bands I've been in over
the years, with me usually being the only one who maintains that the opening
chord in The Ventures Walk Don't Run (1960) was in fact A MAJOR. That's how I
always heard the song, and how I practiced the rhythm part when I was learning
guitar 38 years ago.
>
> Bruce D
>
> Brian Neal <> wrote:
> A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
> Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
> still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
> with Pacifica).
>
> Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
> Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
> shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
> the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
>
> Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
> guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
> the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
> must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
> he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
> whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
> know. :-)
>
> I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
> Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
>
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
> Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> "There's no such thing as too much reverb"
> Bruce D
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! for Good
> Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
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>
when i learned walk don't run in,in 64.my guitar teacher who was a big chet
and ventures fan.taught me two versions the frist one was walk don't run
1960 witch starts with the bar cord A major then G,F,E.the classic ventures
intro.the other was walk don't run 64 with the surf pipeline intro with
starts with an A minor tag before the A,G,F,E,walk down.i do have the
ventures sheet music books, not only dose it start with a minnor cord but
its in e flat all well.i read music and its nothin like the ventures
version.i think they just threw jimy smith old version of the tune on to the
sheet music,lots old sheet music is like that
Timothy connor sullivan
the supertones
that's my feeling too, it's not really taht important, but what it does
is give the opening phrase of the melody an extra kick in the butt. or
at least that's how I hear it.
WR
--- In , "urbansurfkings" <surfkings@h...>
wrote:
> A Major for sure. That major 3rd gives the chord progression more
> punch.
>
> Mike
Oh and just for the record, The Ventures were playing/talking about
WDR '64, but I got the impression it applied to their previous version
of WDR as well. Maybe this belongs in their "Ask a Venture" page on
their website? :) It would be cool to get a definitive answer from
them.
BN
I've wondered for years why they played A major instead of A minor. I always
thought that it doesn't work because of the C note in the melody, but I don't
think the C is ever played against the A major chord, so hey, why not?
Dan
Brian Neal <> wrote:
A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show. (Dahl used to (maybe
still does) open his show with Los Straitjackets' Cavalcade and close
with Pacifica).
Dahl is a guitar player (and has some kind of relationship with Brian
Wilson...he's got lots of great stories about him) so he was talking
shop with The Ventures. Like so many people, Dahl was inspired to play
the guitar from The Ventures when he was a kid.
Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of those
guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't realize
the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet music says". I
must admit I don't remember all the details, and I can't remember if
he was saying they play the intro A as A major versus A minor, or the
whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to me in A, but what do I
know. :-)
I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
BN
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
---------------------------------
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Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Yahoo! for Good
Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- In , <scanman@a...> wrote:
> Ok. That does it.
> With all these threads on music theory lately, I'm gonna have to
repeat a really bad joke I heard over the week-end.
> There's this G, D, and Bb, and they decide to go have a beer. They
walk into the bar and the bartender says "Sorry, we don't serve
minors"............
> B-B-O
> I told ya it was bad. ;D
It's little more complicated the way I heard it. So much so, that I
had to search for it, and it involved a Bb minor:
A B-flat, a D-flat, and an F walk into a bar.
The bartender says to them, "I'm sorry; we don't serve minors."
The D-flat leaves and the B-flat and the F have an open fifth between
them.
Oh no, I found more:
The very next day, a C, an E-flat, and a G-flat walked into the very
same bar, and their minor problem had diminished.
But, what happened to the booze?
It went flat!
Later their drinking privileges were suspended.
I sure hope nobody's frettin' over our bad jokes.............;D
---- Jeff Leites <> wrote:
> Oh no, I found more:
>
> The very next day, a C, an E-flat, and a G-flat walked into the very
> same bar, and their minor problem had diminished.
>
> But, what happened to the booze?
>
> It went flat!
>
> Later their drinking privileges were suspended.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
Fret not, you're not in the doghouse (well, on a doghouse you would fret
not) I love bad puns -- got more???
(And for all who don't like puns, I'm sorry I'm encouraging them!)
_____
From: [mailto:]
On Behalf Of
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 8:40 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Walk Don't Run: A or Am?
I sure hope nobody's frettin' over our bad jokes.............;D
---- Jeff Leites <> wrote:
> Oh no, I found more:
>
> The very next day, a C, an E-flat, and a G-flat walked into the very
> same bar, and their minor problem had diminished.
>
> But, what happened to the booze?
>
> It went flat!
>
> Later their drinking privileges were suspended.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
_____
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
* Visit your group "SurfGuitar101
<> " on the web.
* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
<mailto:?subject=Unsubscribe>
* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
<> .
_____
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
If they are, they're strung too tight :-)
--- In , <scanman@a...> wrote:
> I sure hope nobody's frettin' over our bad jokes.............;D
>
>
> ---- Jeff Leites <jeff_leites@y...> wrote:
> > Oh no, I found more:
> >
> > The very next day, a C, an E-flat, and a G-flat walked into the very
> > same bar, and their minor problem had diminished.
> >
> > But, what happened to the booze?
> >
> > It went flat!
> >
> > Later their drinking privileges were suspended.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > .
> > Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
Brian,
As already pointed out, the melody uses the Am scale, and that
sounds pretty disharmonious against the Amaj chord. However, the
opening eight bars do use the Amaj (yes, I'm transposing here)
and again after the drum solo/bridge. For the rest of the tune
it's Am. Don was right (it was Don), the book (and I have it right
in front of me, as well as the original lp to check against) does
call for the Am. Indeed, the Learn Guitar with The Ventures Vol 1
album also shows Am as the first chord in the Rhythm progression.
And I'd be willing to bet shekels to kroners that no one in the
audience who hasn't played the tune his/her own self will ever know
the difference if you played all Am throughout the whole thing. <g>
BTW, I'd also lay odds that Johnny Smith's version is using Am
for the whole thing. Just the way it sounds to me.
unlunf
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bgneal@g...> wrote:
>
> A few years ago when I lived in Illinois, The Ventures appeared on
> Chicago celebrity DJ Steve Dahl's radio show.
>
> Anyway, I can't remember if it was Wilson or Bogle, but one of
> those guys made the statement along the lines of "most people don't
> realize the song starts in the key of A, not Am like most sheet
> music says". I must admit I don't remember all the details, and I
> can't remember if he was saying they play the intro A as A major
> versus A minor, or the whole song in A. It doesn't sound right to
> me in A, but what do I know. :-)
>
> I'm probably just adding to the confusion, but I do remember the
> Ventures being vehement about the opening A NOT being A minor.
>
> BN
>
Richard,
Theory is good. <g> Am is the relative minor of C, and when you
stop to think about it, Am, G, F, and E are the relative minor,
the dominant, the sub-dominant, and the mediant of the Cmaj
scale. Expressed another way, the E and G are the 3rd and 5th
tones of the scale, and form the basic triad we all know and love.
The F is, of course, the 4th tone, and is always an acceptable
tone to our western-trained ears. That's why that 6th note (A)
has to be a minor, in order to be relative. And just as soon as
you figure that out, they go and change the rules on you, for this
one tune. <lol>
But adding a little "something extra" to a tune is what separates
the artists from the technicians, right? <g>
unlunf
--- In , <scanman@a...> wrote:
>
> Maybe that's what made that tune a hit. The Ventures changed it
> up. Those sneaky characters.............
>
>
> ---- Richard <errant_jedi@y...> wrote:
>>
>> I'm notorious (at least in my tiny world) for playing
>> minor chords when I should be playing major chords and
>> vice versa. When I first started playing and learning
>> open chords a few years back I heard WDR in my head
>> while strumming the A major, so there was never any
>> question for me until later on when I started trying
>> to pick up bits of theory...it seems from looking at
>> it (and every other surf song with that very same
>> progression in any key, of which there are many) that
>> it should be an Am, but it's never sounded right. I
>> don't know how it works but it's one of those things.
>>
>> Richard
