How to Listen to Steely Dan Music

Walter Becker and Donald Fagan formed Steely Dan in 1972, after becoming disaffected with the traditional pop and rock bands with whom they'd been working. Their style includes elements of jazz and rock, along with ironic and often enigmatic lyrics. To get the most from the music of Steely Dan, listeners should listen for their complex signature chords, and focus on the lyrics.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Choose a Steely Dan album. Most people have a favorite, but Becker and Fagan see "Aja," released in 1977 and containing hits including "Peg," "Deacon Blues" and "Josie," as the highpoint of their musical careers. Their latest album, 2003's "Everything Must Go," is reminiscent of their earlier work but includes different rhythms and a more cynical tone.
2. Make sure that you have time to listen to the entire album without interruption. Turn off your phone and cell phone, and close your door. Steely Dan's albums aren't random collections of songs. They are songs carefully chosen to work together to make an album a single work.
3. Listen to the complexity of the music, with guitars, keyboards, horns and saxophones handing the melody back and forth. Listen closely for the chord that is a signature of Steely Dan. It's a major chord with a second note added to it, creating a jazz-influence dissonance. Becker and Fagan call it the Mu Major chord.
4. Compare the number of chords used by Steely Dan to those used by other bands. Most bands of their era (primarily 1971 to 1980) used three basic chords in their work, occasionally adding one more. Steely Dan's songs are rich in chords, key changes and harmonics.
5. Pay close attention to the lyrics. Steely Dan has very few songs that can be considered love songs. One often believed to be a love song is "Peg," on the "Aja" album. If you listen carefully to the lyrics, you may be surprised at what you hear. Most of their lyrics are filled with irony, and more likely to be about a prostitute than a lover, or a loser than a winner.

Tips & Warnings

• If you listen to a Steely Dan album several times in an evening or afternoon, you'll be better able to hear the chords and lyrics that separate them from other music of their time.
• A major chord contains the first, third, fifth and sometimes the eighth notes in a major scale. Adding the second makes it the first, second, third and fifth, creating a dissonance between the first, second and third. In Steely Dan's music, you usually find the added second chord as the second, third and fifth notes, or the second, third, fifth and eighth, or sometimes the third, fifth and ninth notes. Listen to how they play with the dissonance. Visit the Mu Major Chord website to hear examples.
• Visit the official Steely Dan website to learn more about the history and discography of the band.