Contenidos
Believer — Imagine Dragons (2017)
Three chords, a three-note bass and drums that are everything. A stadium song about turning pain into strength.
🏷️ Ficha musical
Why it's in this book
"Believer" is the song for the year's first rotation, in October: the first time the band in the music room changes hands. We chose it because it is the easiest song in the book to put together: the drums are the song, and the bass plays only three notes. The voice also sings and shouts low down, right where a breaking voice feels comfortable at the moment. Its three chords, A minor, F and E7 in class, are cousins of the "Zombie" loop: they start in the same place, on a minor chord, but they head home with more tension. In the room with no instruments, the drums are played on your body; in the ukulele room, with three chords; and in the music room, with drums, ukebass and the riff on keyboard. On the record it sounds a semitone higher, in B flat minor: in class we bring it down to A minor so the chords are easy.
Why this song
If you had a Nintendo Switch when it came out, you might have heard this before anyone else: it was in the console's Super Bowl ad in 2017, during the most-watched game of the year in the United States.
Put the song on and do nothing but listen to the drums. Soon you will realise you can copy them with your hands on the desk.
The question on this page is: can you make a worldwide hit out of almost nothing but rhythm? Here the answer is yes, with three chords.
Historical context
Imagine Dragons are a band from Las Vegas, in the United States. Their singer is Dan Reynolds. They play rock with huge drums and choruses made for crowds to sing.
"Believer" opened their third album, Evolve, in February 2017. Reynolds has a spine condition that causes pain and inflammation, ankylosing spondylitis, and he has said the song comes from that experience. The lyrics deal with pain, depression and anxiety. But it is not a complaint: it is about someone who uses pain as fuel.
Foto: Sven-Sebastian Sajak, CC BY-SA 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Dan Reynolds at the Rock im Park festival in Germany, in 2013. Four years later he would write "Believer" with the band.
It was produced by two Swedes, Mattman & Robin, who specialise in pop. That is why "Believer" sounds like rock and like a radio hit at the same time. It reached number 4 in the United States and spent 29 weeks at the top of the rock chart. It was the fifth best-selling song of 2017 there.
In the video, Reynolds fights the actor Dolph Lundgren in a boxing ring. A fistfight for a song about standing up to pain.
Musical characteristics
The drums are the song. Listen to the opening. Before anything else happens, low drums repeat the same pattern again and again. A figure that repeats non-stop is called an ostinato. Here the drum ostinato is what you recognise before the melody. When a rhythm pattern makes your body want to move, we say it has groove.
Three chords. The harmony is minimal: B flat minor, G flat and F, in that order, in a loop. The third chord, F, creates the tension: it pulls back towards the first. That is why the song never relaxes. In class we play it a semitone lower, A minor, F and E7, because those chords are much easier on ukulele. Moving a whole song to another pitch without changing anything else is called transposing.
A three-note bass. The bass plays only the main note of each chord: three notes, over and over. It is the easiest part in the band and, at the same time, the one that holds everything up.
The riff. On top, one instrument repeats a short, catchy phrase. A phrase like that, which repeats and sticks in your head, is a riff. In the music room the keyboard plays it.
A voice that shouts low. Reynolds does not sing high. He sings and shouts in a middle-to-low range, with a lot of power. The one-word shouts in the chorus are the part we sing in two voices in class.
Hard facts: B♭ minor on the record and A minor in class, 4/4, 125 beats per minute, 3:24. The form: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, twice; bridge and final chorus.
Guided listening
Play the music video. At the first big start, hit the desk along with the drums. Try to copy the exact pattern, not just the beat.
In the first verse, listen to the bass. Hum its notes quietly: there are only three.
When the chorus comes, notice the one-word shouts. Count how many there are. Each one lands in the same place in the bar.
In the bridge the song changes for the first time: it sounds different, like a breather. Then the chorus comes back stronger than ever. Which instrument comes back first?
Trivia and curiosities
- Wikipedia quotes the sheet music published by Musicnotes, which writes the song in 12/8, while Hooktheory and our course plan write it in 4/4. Both can be counted over the same drums. A good question for class: what do you count, two or three for each drum hit?
- There is a separate version with the rapper Lil Wayne, fifteen seconds longer.
- The video was Dolph Lundgren's first appearance in a music video. Lundgren is famous for playing the rival boxer in Rocky IV.
- In the United States it sold 1,598,000 copies in 2017. In Spain it only reached number 39.
Classroom activities
- Drums on your body. In the room with no instruments: the drum pattern with hands on thighs and chest, the whole class together. Then half the class keeps the pattern and the other half sings on top.
- Three chords. Ukulele: A minor, F, E7, one chord per bar. Start with downstrokes, one per beat. The change from F to E7 is the hardest: practise it on its own.
- The first rotation. In the music room: drums with the drum pattern, ukebass on three notes, the riff on keyboard and everyone else on ukulele. After two weeks, the band changes hands.
- Shouts in two voices. The one-word shouts in the chorus, half the class on one note and the other half on a note of the chord that the first half is not singing.
- Analyse. Is there any moment where the harmony changes? Listen to the bridge and answer in one sentence.
Key vocabulary
- Ostinato — ostinato: un dibujo que se repite sin parar
- Groove — groove: la sensación de que el ritmo te hace moverte
- Transposing — transportar
- Riff — riff: frase corta y pegadiza que se repite
Resources
Official music video — Dan Reynolds against Dolph Lundgren in a boxing ring.
Ukulele tutorial — U Can Uke. Easy version, with chords and strumming.
Guitar tutorial — Marty Music. An acoustic version with three chords.
Piano tutorial — PHianonize. Easy version.
Drum tutorial — LearnSomeDrums. The drum pattern, explained.
Body percussion — Music with the Dunlops. The whole song with hands and body, for the room with no instruments.
Por qué está en este libro
«Believer» es la canción de la primera rotación del curso, en octubre: la primera vez que la banda del aula de música cambia de manos. La elegimos porque es la más fácil de montar de todo el libro: la batería es la canción, y el bajo solo toca tres notas. Además, la voz canta y grita en la zona grave, justo donde ahora mismo está cómoda una voz en plena muda. Sus tres acordes, en clase la menor, fa y mi séptima, son primos del bucle de «Zombie»: empiezan en el mismo sitio, en un acorde menor, pero vuelven a casa con más tensión. En el aula sin nada, los tambores se hacen con el cuerpo; en el aula de ukeleles, con tres acordes; y en el aula de música, con batería, ukebajo y el riff en el teclado. En el disco suena medio tono más agudo, en si bemol menor: en clase la bajamos a la menor para que los acordes sean fáciles.
Por dónde entrar
Si jugaste con una Nintendo Switch el año que salió, puede que la oyeras antes que nadie: sonó en su anuncio de la Super Bowl de 2017, el partido más visto de Estados Unidos.
Pon la canción y no hagas nada más que escuchar la batería. Al poco notarás que puedes reproducirla con las manos sobre la mesa.
La pregunta de esta página es: ¿se puede hacer un éxito mundial casi solo con ritmo? Aquí la respuesta es que sí, y con tres acordes.
Contexto histórico
Imagine Dragons es un grupo de Las Vegas, en Estados Unidos. Su cantante es Dan Reynolds. Hacen un rock de tambores enormes y estribillos para cantar en grupo.
«Believer» abrió su tercer disco, Evolve, en febrero de 2017. Reynolds tiene una enfermedad en la columna que produce dolor e inflamación, la espondilitis anquilosante, y ha contado que la canción sale de esa experiencia. La letra habla de dolor, de depresión y de ansiedad. Pero no es una queja: es la historia de alguien que usa el dolor como combustible.
Foto: Sven-Sebastian Sajak, CC BY-SA 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Dan Reynolds en el festival Rock im Park (Alemania), en 2013. Cuatro años después escribiría con el grupo «Believer».
La produjeron dos suecos, Mattman & Robin, especialistas en pop. Por eso «Believer» suena a la vez a rock y a canción de radio. Fue número 4 en Estados Unidos y estuvo 29 semanas en lo más alto de la lista de rock. Fue la quinta canción más vendida de 2017 en ese país.
En el videoclip, Reynolds pelea en un ring de boxeo contra el actor Dolph Lundgren. Una pelea a puñetazos para una canción sobre resistir el dolor.
Cómo suena
La batería es la canción. Escucha el principio. Antes de que pase nada más, hay unos tambores graves que repiten el mismo dibujo una y otra vez. Una figura que se repite sin parar se llama ostinato. Aquí el ostinato de la batería es lo que reconoces de la canción antes que la melodía. Cuando un patrón de ritmo te hace mover el cuerpo, se dice que tiene groove.
Tres acordes. La armonía es mínima: si bemol menor, sol bemol y fa, en ese orden, en bucle. El tercer acorde, fa, es el que crea la tensión: pide volver al primero. Por eso la canción nunca se relaja. En clase la tocamos medio tono más abajo, la menor, fa y mi séptima, porque esos acordes son mucho más fáciles en ukelele. Pasar una canción a otra altura sin cambiar nada más se llama transportar.
Un bajo de tres notas. El bajo toca solo la nota principal de cada acorde: tres notas, una y otra vez. Es la parte más fácil de la banda y, a la vez, la que sostiene todo.
El riff. Por encima, un instrumento repite una frase corta y pegadiza. Esa frase que se repite y se te queda es un riff. En el aula de música lo toca el teclado.
Una voz que grita en el grave. Reynolds no canta agudo. Canta y grita en una zona media-grave, con mucha fuerza. Los gritos de una sola palabra del estribillo son la parte que en clase se canta a dos voces.
Datos duros: Si♭ menor en el disco y La menor en clase, 4/4, 125 pulsos por minuto, 3:24. La forma: estrofa, preestribillo, estribillo, dos veces; puente y estribillo final.
Escucha guiada
Pon el videoclip. En el primer arranque, golpea la mesa a la vez que los tambores. Intenta copiar el dibujo exacto, no solo el pulso.
En la primera estrofa, escucha el bajo. Canta en voz baja sus notas: solo hay tres.
Cuando llega el estribillo, fíjate en los gritos de una palabra. Cuenta cuántas veces aparecen. Cada uno cae en el mismo sitio del compás.
En el puente, la canción cambia por primera vez: suena distinta, como un respiro. Después vuelve el estribillo con más fuerza que nunca. ¿Qué instrumento vuelve primero?
Curiosidades
- Wikipedia cita la partitura publicada en Musicnotes, que escribe la canción en 12/8, mientras que Hooktheory y nuestra programación la escriben en 4/4. Los dos compases se pueden contar encima de la misma batería. Es una buena pregunta para clase: ¿tú qué cuentas, dos o tres por cada golpe de tambor?
- Hay una versión con el rapero Lil Wayne, publicada aparte, que dura quince segundos más.
- El videoclip fue la primera aparición de Dolph Lundgren en un vídeo musical. Lundgren es famoso por hacer de boxeador rival en Rocky IV.
- En Estados Unidos se vendieron 1.598.000 copias en 2017. En España no pasó del número 39.
Para hacer en clase
- Batería con el cuerpo. En el aula sin instrumentos: el patrón de los tambores con las manos en los muslos y en el pecho, toda la clase a la vez. Después, la mitad hace el patrón y la otra mitad canta encima.
- Tres acordes. Ukelele: la menor, fa, mi séptima, un acorde por compás. Primero con golpes hacia abajo, uno por pulso. El paso de fa a mi séptima es el más difícil: ensayadlo solo.
- La primera rotación. En el aula de música: batería con el patrón de tambores, ukebajo en tres notas, el riff en el teclado y el resto con ukelele. Después de dos semanas, la banda cambia de manos.
- Los gritos a dos voces. Los gritos de una palabra del estribillo, mitad de la clase en una nota y la otra mitad en una nota del acorde que no cante la primera.
- Analizar. ¿Hay algún momento en el que cambie la armonía? Escuchad el puente y responded con una frase.
Vocabulario fundamental
- Ostinato — Un dibujo musical que se repite sin parar. Aquí, los tambores del principio.
- Groove — La sensación de que un ritmo te obliga a moverte.
- Transportar — Pasar una canción entera a otra altura. Aquí, de si bemol menor a la menor.
- Riff — Una frase corta y pegadiza que se repite. Aquí la toca el teclado.
Recursos
Videoclip oficial — Dan Reynolds contra Dolph Lundgren en un ring de boxeo.
Tutorial de ukelele — U Can Uke. Versión fácil, con los acordes y el rasgueo.
Tutorial de guitarra — Marty Music. Versión acústica con tres acordes.
Tutorial de piano — PHianonize. Versión fácil.
Tutorial de batería — LearnSomeDrums. El patrón de tambores, explicado.
Percusión corporal — Music with the Dunlops. La canción entera con las manos y el cuerpo, para el aula sin instrumentos.
Why it's in this book
"Believer" is the song for the year's first rotation, in October: the first time the band in the music room changes hands. We chose it because it is the easiest song in the book to put together: the drums are the song, and the bass plays only three notes. The voice also sings and shouts low down, right where a breaking voice feels comfortable at the moment. Its three chords, A minor, F and E7 in class, are cousins of the "Zombie" loop: they start in the same place, on a minor chord, but they head home with more tension. In the room with no instruments, the drums are played on your body; in the ukulele room, with three chords; and in the music room, with drums, ukebass and the riff on keyboard. On the record it sounds a semitone higher, in B flat minor: in class we bring it down to A minor so the chords are easy.
Why this song
If you had a Nintendo Switch when it came out, you might have heard this before anyone else: it was in the console's Super Bowl ad in 2017, during the most-watched game of the year in the United States.
Put the song on and do nothing but listen to the drums. Soon you will realise you can copy them with your hands on the desk.
The question on this page is: can you make a worldwide hit out of almost nothing but rhythm? Here the answer is yes, with three chords.
Historical context
Imagine Dragons are a band from Las Vegas, in the United States. Their singer is Dan Reynolds. They play rock with huge drums and choruses made for crowds to sing.
"Believer" opened their third album, Evolve, in February 2017. Reynolds has a spine condition that causes pain and inflammation, ankylosing spondylitis, and he has said the song comes from that experience. The lyrics deal with pain, depression and anxiety. But it is not a complaint: it is about someone who uses pain as fuel.
Foto: Sven-Sebastian Sajak, CC BY-SA 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Dan Reynolds at the Rock im Park festival in Germany, in 2013. Four years later he would write "Believer" with the band.
It was produced by two Swedes, Mattman & Robin, who specialise in pop. That is why "Believer" sounds like rock and like a radio hit at the same time. It reached number 4 in the United States and spent 29 weeks at the top of the rock chart. It was the fifth best-selling song of 2017 there.
In the video, Reynolds fights the actor Dolph Lundgren in a boxing ring. A fistfight for a song about standing up to pain.
Musical characteristics
The drums are the song. Listen to the opening. Before anything else happens, low drums repeat the same pattern again and again. A figure that repeats non-stop is called an ostinato. Here the drum ostinato is what you recognise before the melody. When a rhythm pattern makes your body want to move, we say it has groove.
Three chords. The harmony is minimal: B flat minor, G flat and F, in that order, in a loop. The third chord, F, creates the tension: it pulls back towards the first. That is why the song never relaxes. In class we play it a semitone lower, A minor, F and E7, because those chords are much easier on ukulele. Moving a whole song to another pitch without changing anything else is called transposing.
A three-note bass. The bass plays only the main note of each chord: three notes, over and over. It is the easiest part in the band and, at the same time, the one that holds everything up.
The riff. On top, one instrument repeats a short, catchy phrase. A phrase like that, which repeats and sticks in your head, is a riff. In the music room the keyboard plays it.
A voice that shouts low. Reynolds does not sing high. He sings and shouts in a middle-to-low range, with a lot of power. The one-word shouts in the chorus are the part we sing in two voices in class.
Hard facts: B♭ minor on the record and A minor in class, 4/4, 125 beats per minute, 3:24. The form: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, twice; bridge and final chorus.
Guided listening
Play the music video. At the first big start, hit the desk along with the drums. Try to copy the exact pattern, not just the beat.
In the first verse, listen to the bass. Hum its notes quietly: there are only three.
When the chorus comes, notice the one-word shouts. Count how many there are. Each one lands in the same place in the bar.
In the bridge the song changes for the first time: it sounds different, like a breather. Then the chorus comes back stronger than ever. Which instrument comes back first?
Trivia and curiosities
- Wikipedia quotes the sheet music published by Musicnotes, which writes the song in 12/8, while Hooktheory and our course plan write it in 4/4. Both can be counted over the same drums. A good question for class: what do you count, two or three for each drum hit?
- There is a separate version with the rapper Lil Wayne, fifteen seconds longer.
- The video was Dolph Lundgren's first appearance in a music video. Lundgren is famous for playing the rival boxer in Rocky IV.
- In the United States it sold 1,598,000 copies in 2017. In Spain it only reached number 39.
Classroom activities
- Drums on your body. In the room with no instruments: the drum pattern with hands on thighs and chest, the whole class together. Then half the class keeps the pattern and the other half sings on top.
- Three chords. Ukulele: A minor, F, E7, one chord per bar. Start with downstrokes, one per beat. The change from F to E7 is the hardest: practise it on its own.
- The first rotation. In the music room: drums with the drum pattern, ukebass on three notes, the riff on keyboard and everyone else on ukulele. After two weeks, the band changes hands.
- Shouts in two voices. The one-word shouts in the chorus, half the class on one note and the other half on a note of the chord that the first half is not singing.
- Analyse. Is there any moment where the harmony changes? Listen to the bridge and answer in one sentence.
Key vocabulary
- Ostinato — ostinato: un dibujo que se repite sin parar
- Groove — groove: la sensación de que el ritmo te hace moverte
- Transposing — transportar
- Riff — riff: frase corta y pegadiza que se repite
Resources
Official music video — Dan Reynolds against Dolph Lundgren in a boxing ring.
Ukulele tutorial — U Can Uke. Easy version, with chords and strumming.
Guitar tutorial — Marty Music. An acoustic version with three chords.
Piano tutorial — PHianonize. Easy version.
Drum tutorial — LearnSomeDrums. The drum pattern, explained.
Body percussion — Music with the Dunlops. The whole song with hands and body, for the room with no instruments.