The Genius of Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine | Musicians React & Analyze

[00:00:00]Hey guys, welcome to Peak Uber. We watch and talk about music as classical musicians. Today's song is Marvin Gaye, I Heard It Through The Grapevine. This is the winner of our most recent poll.

[00:00:11]We want to remind you guys that our next poll is going to go up tonight, so make sure you go and vote in that. So, the theme for that poll was Motown. We did The Temptations a few weeks ago. We can link it here for you guys, but we are very excited to explore more of this.

[00:00:26]And since a lot of you guys wanted this song, we are even more excited about it.

[00:00:35]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Wow, it's every time in the I think we listen to this style of music two times and this is the second time, but again, it's surprises me how complicated and how classically complicated it is. Like really the the composition and the polyrhythm and the also the polyphony that the voices make is really really like classically taught composition.

[00:02:13]It's actually that the beginning of it it's reminded me of the exam that I had a couple days ago. It was an ear training exam at the university and you had to it was a written dictation and you had to hear and write the written four different percussion with like make a loop and and the rhythms are they're also not really like classic class they they had a little bit of like I don't know African Latin written into it and at least the loop would make the polyrhythm would make like that.

[00:02:49]And it the beginning reminded me of like that a little because I think the first loop that started was on downbeat or I'm now I'm confused even and then the second thing that started or the third thing that started was on different like upbeat or downbeat and then at some point you lost even which one was upbeat which what is upbeat what is downbeat because of the loop and the polyrhythm that they make together and it's really interesting. It's like really like a brain scratch it scratches your brain to to listen to it.

[00:03:30]>> Be my baby.

[00:03:34]I know a man ain't supposed to [music] cry.

[00:03:38]But these tears I can't hold inside.

[00:03:42]Losing you what in my life you see.

[00:03:45]>> [music] >> How you mean that much to me.

[00:03:50]You could [music] have told me yourself.

[00:03:54]>> You that you love someone [music] else.

[00:03:58]Instead, I heard it through the grapevine.

[00:04:03]Not much longer would you [music] be mine.

[00:04:06]Oh, I heard it through the grapevine. [music] And I'm just about to lose my mind.

[00:04:16]>> [music] >> People say believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. [music] But I can't help being confused.

[00:04:43]If it's true, please tell me [music and singing] then.

[00:04:47]Do you plan to let me go [music] for the other guy you love before?

[00:04:55]Don't you know I heard [singing and music] it through the grapevine?

[00:05:00]Not much longer would you be [music and singing] mine.

[00:05:03]Baby, I heard it through the grapevine.

[00:05:09]I'm just about to lose my mind.

[00:05:11]>> [music and singing] [music] >> Honey, honey, I know that you let me go.

[00:05:28]>> [singing] [music] >> And I heard it through the grapevine.

[00:05:33]>> [singing] >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, through the grapevine.

[00:05:35][music] >> Wow, that was really, really nice, actually. I I really enjoyed it, yeah.

[00:05:43]It had so much, as you said, like with this, >> [music] >> uh, so much complexities. I was trying to like listen to each section a little bit each and so I was trying to not really focus, for example, necessarily on the bass even though the bassline was really interesting. It had like a complete different counter melody throughout like it had a full melody and then it had like some interesting syncopation, but I was also trying to focus on the strings that they would respond different textures layers, but also his voice. There was a lot going on and I think that's what makes it very interesting because I think every time you listen to it there's new things to to discover. The thing that once I shifted my focus to his voice because I was like, "Okay, just listen. Listen to his voice as well, not just the lyrics that you see."

[00:06:32]His voice had an extraordinary ability to switch different kind like different parts of the voice so smoothly. Like we heard so much falsetto in like specific words and then he would go from his chest voice or like his other like the male part part of his voice all the way to falsetto for just one word and would come back, but it would it was so effortless that it took me a minute to really realize. It sounded so natural as if it was just like, "Oh, just so normally that's the extension of my voice going up [music] and going down."

[00:07:07]So that was a Once I realized it, then I could not unhear it, but it took me a second because I was also mesmerized by all these different layers that were going on.

[00:07:17]>> of it or every second of it was really like a brain >> [music] >> scratcher to think about and and also not not just to analyze it like mathematically or musically, just also the enjoyment [music] that it was giving you. It was it wasn't it wasn't just technical. It was also musically pleasant and I specifically uh, loved that part with strings, or specifically with the violins that they're making tremolo with with this, uh, voice effect that is just Yeah. Like really fast. It makes this effect. And suddenly the the music, which wasn't that minimal, uh, was more empty, and it was like, uh, it gave you this space to breathe. And also even though there were like not really less instruments, I think there were even like, uh, two violins playing, or at least two layers, like two voices.

[00:08:20]And also other instruments, but the the how they composed this part was really give you free space.

[00:08:28]>> [music] >> Even, uh, like the tremolo technique is a technique or is is a voice effect that >> [music] >> gives you this hallucination of like really a open, uh, space, or like really like a like a free I don't know it it gives you like it's it's, uh, >> [music] >> not really narrow space, and everything is together. It It gives you this, uh, feeling of openness so or emptiness, like it's a it's an empty room, and it's just like like that voice. [music] Uh, so I really love that part that suddenly it was, uh, like a like a I don't know, like a empty room between the all of these layers and all these things that were happening in the music.

[00:09:13]And also the thing that came after with other strings, I think, uh, cello also came like a little like lower strings.

[00:09:21]Also it was, uh, really satisfying, and it was like like such a nice usage of string section in the in the song. Yeah. Something else that I I really wanted to like just touch a little bit on is the harmony. I was trying to figure out what chord is it that it suddenly like sounds very surprising and the first time that we hear that chord is actually on the word surprise. So again, it's [music] very interesting because we're in D minor. I know the original it says we're in E flat minor, [music] but apparently you do something to the guitar that I don't understand. But so the notation is D minor here, but just imagine everything half a step higher than that. So we're [music] in D minor and then we're in C minor and then just just imagine it like transit yeah, transfer it a little bit. And then so that's that's [music] our key. So kind of we're in this uh and then we have A obviously like the normal thing. We have G [music] always and then on the word surprise we hear >> [music] >> B minor for the first time. So from from here we go to B minor.

[00:10:31]Whatever voicing I'm not sure [music] about the voicing. And that's really surprising because you would not necessarily expect that. And it comes back again uh when he says you could have told myself you have told me yourself, sorry.

[00:10:45]And then again on that again. So every time that he's talking about [music] I don't know like surprising or like kind of like regret or something. It's just so interesting that that harmony just shows [music] up and for a little tiny second it feels like we're out of that uh D minor space and then we're back and we're like do you plan to let me go? Like something in that it comes in the bridge like right [music] before the chorus every time. So that was just like a very nice surprise a little bit.

[00:11:14]That's why I'm saying it's just like challenging to like listen to because there are like some moments to really as you said scratch your mind, but at the same time so accessible because it's just very also fun to listen to and it doesn't really like it doesn't require you to analyze it to really enjoy it. So I think to enjoy it. So, it's I I think that's what I got from this style of music so far, which is very I think that's very admiring to [music] be like accessible, but at the same time challenging. So, I I thoroughly enjoyed the the songwriting or the songs that have that approach. So, it's just like those songs are like the full package to me. That they're like they have like the fully balanced everything is fully balanced. And I think this one was one of them because everything from the instrumentation, the responses, like the the moments that as you said the strings, for example, respond and the what melodies they had were so interesting because every layer of instrumentation was very independent, but at the same time all in all it was very uh like cohesive at the same time. So, it did sound like an ensemble. Before wrapping this video up, uh we just want to talk a little bit about the lyrics.

[00:12:25]The lyrics were interesting in that uh first of all the story, but also how like he is telling us because it's not for sure for sure. It's because it's just all speculation. But also it had so many different emotions in the lyrics because it's it's as if you are just also experiencing the way that he's telling you that oh this happened this happened is actually like just you're just listening to the story or hearing it for the first time. And every part of story is like oh my god, like you're shocked, but then you're sad, you're heartbroken, you're angry. Like the story telling through the lyrics had all these emotions. And it was so uh so amazing that his voice had also all these different like emotions and characters.

[00:13:11]>> [music] >> You could really I feel like I don't know if he actually experienced that or not. I don't think so because he didn't write this song. But it was it really felt like he's experiencing all that in the moment and then he's retelling [music] us the story and every part when he gets to the part that he is, for example, angry, You can really feel that when he is shocked or feel he when he feels like he's betrayed, you can really feel all these different emotions. So, that was definitely interesting, but also the first interesting topic for the lyrics. I actually like that.

[00:13:41]And that just like always, like the story was kind of like heartbreaking and sad, but then the the music itself, I think we come across those songs a lot that the the music is like very uplifting and very upbeat, but the the lyrics is [music] like, "Oh. Oh, okay."

[00:13:57]>> [laughter] >> So.

[00:13:58]So, all in all, I think it's just perfect package for me. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for more Motown songs to listen to and like get to know more of the artist of that genre or style. So, we would really appreciate your comments and your suggestions on that. We want to thank you guys for watching this. We also want to thank whoever voted in the poll. Again, don't forget our next poll is going to go up tonight. So, go ahead and vote in that.

[00:14:23]But anyway, don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel if you haven't already. Totally free. It will help us a lot, so please consider doing that. If you want to support us more, there's a buy me a coffee link in the description box, and we'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye. Bye.