Music in this episode:

Dolly Parton - “Traveling Man” (1971)

Dolly Parton - “Jolene” (1973)

Dolly Parton - “9 to 5” (1980)

Dolly Parton - “Travelin’ Prayer” (1999)

Dolly Parton - “Marry Me” (2001)

Dolly Parton - “Stairway to Heaven” (2002)

Dolly Parton - “Don’t Think Twice” (2014)

Dolly Parton - “Purple Rain” (2023)

References:

I include excerpts of a couple of interviews with Dolly. There’s this one:

and this one:

I also include an excerpt of this excellent Paul Thompson video about the bassline in “Traveling Man”:

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Music in this episode, not counting my Suno output:

Fleetwood Mac - “Dreams” (1977)

Thelonious Monk - “Round Midnight” (1968)

Cordelia’s Dad - “Montcalm and Wolfe” (1998)

The Bee Gees - “Stayin’ Alive” (instrumental) (1977)

Catherine Sikora - “The Knowing of Sums” (2016)

Ethan Hein - “The Knowing of Sums remix” (2020)

The Velvet Sundown - “Dust on the Wind” (2025)

Neil Young - “Out on the Weekend” (1972)

Koji Kondō - “Super Mario Bros Underworld Theme” (1985)

References

I refer to Margaret Boden’s 2004 book, The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms.

I also refer to a study of a songwriting class that quotes a student talking about the difference between musicians and artists. You can read that study here:

Dweck, J. (2023). Children as songwriters: The social-emotional benefits of songwriting in the elementary grades. Research Studies in Music Education, 46(2).

Here’s the interview with Mikey Shulman where he says that people don’t enjoy the process of making music.

Here’s my summary of the research on the learning impacts of LLM use:

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Music in this episode:

Mormon Tabernacle Choir - “Old Folks At Home (Way Down Upon the Swanee River)” (1968)

Al Jolson - “Swanee River” (1950)

Bing Crosby - “Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1945)

Pete Seeger - “Swanee River” (1959)

Paul Robeson - “Old Folks at Home” (1930)

Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers - “The Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1937)

Ray Charles- “Swanee River Rock (Talkin Bout That River)” (1957)

The Honeys - “Surfin’ Down the Swanee River” (1963)

Fu-Schnickens - “Sneakin’ Up On Ya” (1994)

The Barbershop Singers - “Way Down Upon the Suwannee River” (2011)

Hugh Laurie - “Swanee River” (2011)

Al Jolson - “Swanee” (1945)

Judy Garland - “Swanee” (1954)

Aretha Franklin - “Swanee” (1966)

Matthew Morrison’s book Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States is a must-read.

Read more about the history of these songs and the music education challenges they pose.

Here’s my 20th century American popular music history syllabus.

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Music in this episode:

Julie Andrews - “My Favorite Things” (1965)

John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things” (1960)

Ethan Hein - “My Favorite Things jam track” (2026)

Mary Martin - “My Favorite Things” (1959)

Ariana Grande - “7 Rings” (2019)

John Coltrane - “Acknowledgment” (1964)

Miles Davis - “So What” (1959)

John Coltrane - “Giant Steps” (1960)

John Coltrane - “Chim Chim Cheree” (1965)

John Coltrane - “Spiritual (C)” (1961)

John Coltrane - “Greensleeves (B)” (1961)

John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things Live in Comblain-La-Tour” (1965)

References

Thembi Dunjana - “What McCoy Tyner does on My Favourite Things”

Sami Linna - McCoy Tyner, Modal Jazz, and the Dominant Chord

Cristinel Manascurta - “My Favorite Things - transcription”

Milton Mermikides - “‘Straight and Late’: Analytical Perspectives on Coltrane’s Time-feel”

Aimee Nolte - “Discovering McCoy Tyner: My Favorite Things Transcription”

Lewis Porter - John Coltrane: His Life and Music

John Seery - ““My Favorite Things” as Civil Disobedience: a Mingling Descant on Creativity and Contumacy”

Vinnie Sperrazza - “Raindrops on Roses”

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Music in this episode:

Paul Dukas - “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (1897) performed by the Moscow City Symphony

Claude Debussy - “Clair de Lune” (1905) performed by Alexis Weissenberg

Don Golding - “Untitled Goose Game Soundtrack” (2019) based on Debussy’s “Prelude No. 12: Minstrels” (1910)

Richard Wagner - “Ride of the Valkyries” (1870) performed by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Stockton’s Wing - “The Drops Of Brandy” (1978)

Bulg Folk - “Daychovo Horo” (2012)

Kibariye - “İllede Roman Olsun” (2014)

Kostas Tzampazis - “Karsilimas” (2012)

Balkan Beat Box - “9/4 The Ladies” (2005)

Orchéstre Baka Gbiné - “Kopolo” (2012)

Toumani Diabaté - “Konkoba” (1988)

Fodé Seydou Bangoura - “Konkoba” (2006)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - “Blue Rondo à la Turk” (1959)

Led Zeppelin - “The Crunge” (1973)

Paul Simon - “The Cool, Cool River” (1990)

Tortoise - “Magnet Pulls Through” (1994)

Sungazer - “Bird on the Wing” (2019)

Ethan Hein - “Clair de Lune - Jazz Mix” (2020)

Ethan Hein - “Clair de Lune jam track” (2026) - learn more about the jam tracks project

References

Kate Wagner - “adorned with delicate armouries spring subdues the world”

Nikolai Ruskin - “9/8 Rhythms Explained on Frame Drum: Karşılama & Turkish Rom”

David Bennett - “Songs That Use 9/8 Time”

Adam Neely - “How to Play Music in 9/8”

David Bruce - “Radiohead and the Rhythmic Illusion”

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Music in this episode:

Peter Gabriel - “Solsbury Hill” (1977)

Pink Floyd - “Money” (1973)

Dave Brubeck - “Unsquare Dance” (1961)

The Beatles - “All You Need is Love” (1967)

The Grateful Dead - “Uncle John’s Band” (1970)

The Grateful Dead - “Estimated Prophet” (1977)

Cordelia’s Dad - “Brother Judson” (2002)

Venetian Snares - “Szamár Madár” (2005)

Eleni Prodana - “Milo Mou Kokkino” (2014)

Gothart - “Jovano, Jovanke” (2000)

Şevval Sam feat. Onay Şahin - “Çay Elinden Öteye” (2008)

Vojko V - “Zovi Čovika” (2018)

Angine de Poitrine - “Fabienk” (2026)

Here’s Angine de Poitrine’s iconic KEXP performance:

References:

Ulf Olsson - Listening for the Secret: The Grateful Dead and the Politics of Improvisation

David Bruce - “Angine de Poitrine’s Math Rhythms Explained”

Andrew James Gustar - “The Closest Thing to Crazy: The Shocking Scarcity of Septuple Time in Western Music”

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Music in this episode:

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - “Take Five” (1959)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - “Blue Rondo à la Turk” (1959)

John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things” (1961)

Lalo Schifrin - “Theme from Mission: Impossible” (1966)

Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln - “Tears for Johannesburg” (1961)

Jaco Pastorius - “Portrait of Tracy” (1976)

Brad Mehldau - “Anything Goes” (2004)

The Beatles - “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)

Ethan Hein - “Eleanor Rigby Takes Five” (2026)

The Beatles - “Within You Without You” (1967)

Nick Drake - “River Man” (1969)

Tim Eriksen & Peter Irvine - “The Fitchburg Tragedy” (2026)

Béla Bartók - Mikrokosmos, Book 6, BB 105 No. 150. 6 “Dances In Bulgarian Rhythm III” (1940) performed by Jenő Jandó

Gustav Holst - “Mars” (1917) performed by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Led Zeppelin - “Four Sticks” (1971)

Sungazer - “Sequence Start” (2014)

Kendrick Lamar - “DUCKWORTH.” (2017)

Noname - “Don’t forget about” (2018)

Grateful Dead - “Playing in the Band” (1971)

Radiohead - “Everything in its Right Place” (2000)

Ethan Hein - “Hit Em” (2024)

Read more about Hit Em.

Read more about time signatures.

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Music in this episode:

Robert Johnson - “Terraplane Blues” (1936) (I said it was recorded 100 years ago, it was actually recorded 90 years ago, math is hard)

Stevie Wonder - “Superstition” (1972)

Dan Bubien & the Delta Struts - “Terraplane Blues” (2022)

Eric Clapton - “Terraplane Blues” (2004)

John Lee Hooker - “Boogie Chillen” (1948)

For a nuanced discussion of Robert Johnson and Eric Clapton, I recommend the episode on “Crossroads Blues” from A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs.

For a look at how musicologists are analyzing swing, check out this paper by Milton Mermikides on John Coltrane.

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Music in this episode:

Jamey Aebersold - “Fm Ebm Dm 8 Bars Each” (1967)

The Temptations - “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972)

Bo Diddley - “Bo Diddley” (1955)

Aretha Franklin - “Chain of Fools” (1967)

Eddy Grant - “Electric Avenue” (1982)

Mobb Deep - “Shook Ones Part II (Instrumental)” (1994)

Common/Slum Village - “Thelonius (Instrumental)” (2000)

The Grateful Dead - “Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain” (1977)

James Brown - “I Got To Move” (1970)

James Brown - “There Was A Time (I Got To Move)” (1970)

James Brown - “Soul Power” (1970)

James Brown - “Blind Man Can See It (Extended)” (1973)

Herbie Hancock - “Chameleon” (1973)

The Band - “The Weight” (1968)

The Beatles - “Dear Prudence” (1968)

John Coltrane - “Mr Knight” (1962)

(I mistakenly identified the bassist on this recording as Jimmy Garrison; it is actually Steve Davis.)

McCoy Tyner - “Contemplation” (1967)

Brad Mehldau - “Anything Goes” (2004)

Peter Gabriel - “Solsbury Hill” (1977)

The complete jam tracks collection:

References

George Howlett - One Chord Songs

Joseph Schloss - Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop

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Music in this episode:

The Orb - “Little Fluffy Clouds” (1991)

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports - “1/1” (1979)

Rickie Lee Jones - “Chuck E.’s in Love” (1979)

A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones (1989)

Ennio Morricone - “L’uomo dell’armonica" from C’era Una Volta Il West (1968)

Harry Nilsson - “Jump into the Fire” (1971)

Twin Hype - “Serious Attitude” (1989)

Pat Metheny - “Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast” (1989)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - “Gesang der Jünglinge” (1955)

References

Sound on Sound - Classic Tracks column on “Little Fluffy Clouds”

Justin Morey - “Ambient House: ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and the Sampler as Time Machine”

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