Untitled How Does It Feel – D’Angelo (Analysis)

Lesson Overview: D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)"

Okay, let's take a look at D'Angelo's Untitled (How Does It Feel) track. This track is in 6/8 time signature, so we've got six 8th notes in every bar. I'm going to feel this as two dotted quarter notes.

Feeling the Rhythm

Without getting too technical, you can feel the bar divided into these two even sections:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, boom, boom, boom.

Fortunately, it's a repetitive tune, a repetitive sequence of bars. It's really a case of just keeping a nice, steady time and feeling that lovely laid-back 6/8 feel.

The Drumming Style

The original drummer on this track, and D'Angelo's live drummer, is Questlove. If you listen to the original track, you'll notice a kind of lopsided feel.

"At times, it may sound like it's going slightly out of time, or the hi-hat might flam a little bit with the snare drum, but that's deliberate, it's just the style."

We're not going to do that. We're just going to keep really steady time and get that nice 6/8 feel.

Creating the Right Feel

Because it's a repetitive rhythm, I'm just trying to find a really nice 6/8 feel:

• Not too heavy on the snare
• Not too dynamic on the hi-hat

I think at these slow tempos, it's okay to play this kind of almost monotonic feel, but with a little bit more expression. So, not quite like a machine, but something like this.

"I'm really feeling every note there. I want to feel that time."

Notation and Practice

In terms of notation, it's a case of counting the bars and listening to the track. Make sure you:

• Count the right number of bars
• Finish off with the bass drum and hi-hat unison

Listen to the track in your Rock School material and don't forget to read the walkthrough to get a more detailed analysis of the tune and some history of the piece.

And then, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun just working through that track. Remember, it's a slow tempo, and sometimes slow tempos are trickier than the faster ones.

Great! Have fun with this track. See you soon!