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Author Topic: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?  (Read 253 times)

Offline abstamaria

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Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« on: July 01, 2012, 09:09:24 am »
This is probably old knowledge, but could someone please confirm whether The Ventures' first version of "Walk Don't Run" (in the Walk Don't Run album) is played at a higher pitch than standard?

It may be the recording was speeded up, resulting in a slightly higher pitch?  Or it could be just my ears.

Andy
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Offline wstagner

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Re: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2012, 02:49:03 pm »
Andy.....
who knows if it was intentional or equipment variations that caused pitch changes in a great many recordings of the Ventures in the 1960's.  Just lissen to many of the live Japanese recordings of the day and you'll hear what I mean.
Many CD players have had a pitch control for many years.  If your guitar is properly tuned, with the pitch control it's EZ to tune the CD to your guitar.  Once this is done, the speed of the recording will also change.  In the case of those early live recordings that's a GOOD thing.  I've read (maybe in Del's book) someplace that the recordings were sped up to make them sound more Xciting.

The Ventures played most of their toons in A, Am, G, C or E.

The Shads, OTOH, played a few of their popular tunes in the rarer keys of F (Atlantis) or B flat (Zambeesi).

Speeking of keys, that Cliff Richard guy is quite a talented singer.  If you lissen to the 2009 Reunion Concert he sings in quite a wide variety of keys.  I think this is one of the reasons that the songs are more intresting/fun to lissen too, ie they're not all in the SAME key!  Many of them lend themselves to the instrumental genre as well.  Specific examples:  I Could EZ Fall In Love w/you and The Young Ones.

This is a fun topic, Andy. ;)

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Offline wstagner

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Re: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2012, 04:15:42 pm »
If you have a turntable with pitch control OR a CD player with pitch control you can adjust for proper pitch THEN xfer the recordings to the digital domain either with a recorder like this:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H4N/ that even has a built-in pitch control and phrase trainer.

or by copying to your computer with some sort of addon device and software.

This needs to be done in real-time, of course.  No shortcuts here.

Let me know if you need some specific help. :)
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Offline cockroach

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Re: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2012, 09:24:50 am »
I read an interview with Del Shannon years ago where he said Runaway was speeded up in the final mix from A to Bb, to make him sound more 'teenage'...

Maybe they sped up WDR to make them sound as if they could play it fast? ;D
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Offline wstagner

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Re: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2012, 10:16:37 am »
Many of those early recordings were sped up. 

Some years ago there was a joke in Vfan circles that the Ventures played all
their 60's live stuff as fast as they could so they could get off-stage quicker
and hide from the fans. :o ;D
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Offline Gandy Dancer

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Re: Walk Don't Run - non-standard pitch?
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2012, 04:17:26 pm »
If anyone else has the old Ventures songbooks published by Electron Music you'll notice that the majority of the tunes in Vol. I are a half step higher than they should be including "Walk, Don't Run" (they also give the first chord incorrectly as a minor). I'm assuming these were transcribed from the records on which The Ventures tuned either sharp or were somehow sped up slightly in the mastering process.
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