Superstition: approximating the horn rundown

I'm in a cover band with no horns and we do superstition (in E, not Eb). I had been playing chords on the horn rundown at the end of the chorus, but am now thinking about using a fuzz pedal (and a few effects) to approximate the horns a bit better.

What do you think about this?

Diads as follows for each horn 'stab' on g and b string

Gstring + Bstring
D# + F# (like a B major)
E + F# (like a C7b5)
D# + F#
D + E
C# + E (like an A major)

I give the g string a little micro bend to get a 'horn' type dissonance.

Does that seem right to you? 

I have got a few other ideas, but any other tips for filling out the horn type sounds on this one?

I used to play unison bends with some overdrive as it helps to fill out the sound a bit.

monquixote said:

I used to play unison bends with some overdrive as it helps to fill out the sound a bit.

This is exactly how I do it 

So just

B
C
B
Bb
A

on E and B strings

?

Ah, you're talking about the chromatic bit under the "when you believe in things..." part.  Unison bends would be for the descending horn line after the "superstition ain't the way" line

I just play those chromatics as octaves I think. Maybe power chords depending on how busy the keyboard player is being

Yes, that's it.

I'm just playing single notes for the 'superstition ain't the way' run down. But unison bends are a good idea.

stickyfiddle said:

Ah, you're talking about the chromatic bit under the "when you believe in things..." part.  Unison bends would be for the descending horn line after the "superstition ain't the way" line

I just play those chromatics as octaves I think. Maybe power chords depending on how busy the keyboard player is being

I play that as unison bends and all the other bit as octaves, but in 16th so it's like a Chic type thing.

monquixote said:

I used to play unison bends with some overdrive as it helps to fill out the sound a bit.

This ^ and EDIT - Danny1969 has covered it really well and I just play those last unison bends higher up on the G & B strings from the 15th fret

I did a little series of vids years ago called dep players guide to and Superstition was one of the songs. It's a quick and dirt guide to how to quickly get a playable gist of a song .. like you need when you are dep''ing 

Horn parts are at  2:50 

Started sketching it out and the thread moved on a bit! Here it is anyway ;)

This is all great chaps, but we are all talking about the wrong bit.

My fault for calling it a rundown.

It's the bit under 'when you believe in things...'

Which I notice Phil X plays in a similar style to what I'm suggesting (different fingering), with the M7b5 thing going on.

By the way, there is a hell of a lot easier way of playing the horn riff for the second part of the verse than Danny is suggesting. Again, more like the PhilX style. 

allen said:

This is all great chaps, but we are all talking about the wrong bit.

My fault for calling it a rundown.

It's the bit under 'when you believe in things...'

Which I notice Phil X plays in a similar style to what I'm suggesting (different fingering), with the M7b5 thing going on.

By the way, there is a hell of a lot easier way of playing the horn riff for the second part of the verse than Danny is suggesting. Again, more like the PhilX style. 

I see a lot of people play the horn line in a a chromatic fashion so in the key of E they will play 

E E 
A A# B D B D E

But I hear the horns on the record doing this 

E E 
G A B D B D E 

It's a small distinction and either way sounds fine but if you want to roll the right notes then that's the only way you can do it really, 
Phil is playing the same notes as me it's just he slides the first 2 notes. I have a really wide stretch on my left hand so I can just hammer on across 6 frets with 3 fingers

fnpt said:

This is a great version:

Everytime someone posts that I have the urge to mention what a brilliant bass sound it is.

Thick and chewy, little bit of drive to help the richness and thickness, and it doesn't sound empty when it's bass alone.
Add a few little changes to the original arrangement and it just works beautifully.

I love that version.

Danny1969 said:

I see a lot of people play the horn line in a a chromatic fashion so in the key of E they will play 

E E 
A A# B D B D E

But I hear the horns on the record doing this 

E E 
G A B D B D E 

It's a small distinction and either way sounds fine but if you want to roll the right notes then that's the only way you can do it really, 
Phil is playing the same notes as me it's just he slides the first 2 notes. I have a really wide stretch on my left hand so I can just hammer on across 6 frets with 3 fingers

Off the top of my head I'm playing...

E-D-E
A-A#-B
D-D-E
and then
E-D-E
A-A#-B
B-G-E

For the 2nd half of the verse horn section

allen said:

So just

B
C
B
Bb
A

on E and B strings

?

Yes, exactly. Well, B7, C7, B7, Bb7, A7. You can use any strings or notes you like. The more the juicier. But it will work on the two strings you suggest.

A pile of dominant 7 chords can be very forgiving...unless you have to solo over them in close succession ;)

Try:
x-x-7-8-8-x (B7#5)
x-x-8-9-8-x (C7)
x-x-7-8-8-x (B7#5)
x-x-6-7-8-x (Bb13)
x-x-5-6-8-x (A7)
x-x-7-8-10-10 (B7#9)

Holding that G on top keeps the voicings more cohesive while making spicier dominant chords happen for free.

Superstition is in our set list for this Friday. We’ll do it in Eb. I’ll play the clavinet part on guitar using a Wah, with a bit of envelope filter for modulation. @paulmapp8306 will play the brass parts on keys.

for the when you believe in things bit just grab the b5 on the B7 (i.e. F note) - that's what the horns do. 
so your voice leading notes (top note of the chord if you like) is F, F, F and then Eb (no chromatic passing down from F to Eb). 

I used to play Bb7, B7b5, Bb7, Ab7, 3-note voicings starting from the 7th. 
7 3 5, 7 3 b5, 7 3 5. Sounds less horn-y (pun) but you got that b5 and a bit of guitar body vs bending unisons

Must-watch version here: 



You may wish to throw your guitar in the lake after watching Adam's version and take up the piano-accordion, or maybe it will inspire you. 

Plenty of great suggestions already, but here’s my usual choice (in E)…

B7 - 7X787X
C7 - 8X898X
B7 - 7X787X
Bb13 - 6X678X
A7 - 5X565X

then B7#5 - 7X788X