Video: Diga Diga Doo

This time, we visit "Diga Diga Doo." 

Again the set up is my ES-150 through the EH-160, and playing over backing tracks the I've published here and that can be found at www.soundcloud.com/campusfive. 

"Diga Diga Doo" is oe of the first songs I learned when I started learning Swing guitar playing, and it's been a staple of the Campus Five's repitoire since the band's first gig. The A sections are basically a Dminor vamp. Simple chords can be "easy" on one level - there's nothing to "mess up" - but on another level, it's al the more difficult because static chords provide no new stimulus, and it's on you to make something happen, melodically. Here is a PDF: "Diga Diga Doo" (PDF)

click to enlarge

The first four bars of the A section are sometimes played as simply Dminor, but other times there is a line cliche: Dm, Dm/C#, Dm/C, Dm/B - two beats each, repeated twice. Don't feel the need to outline the line cliche - it's just a texture underneath whatever you play. 

As for the bridge, it's another common sequence that can be found in "Swing, Brother, Swing", among others. The sequence C7-F, D7-Gm-A7 feels sort of like a "Honeysuckle" bridge (I7-IV-II7-V7), but dropped a step. I wrote a D7b9 on the leadsheet as a warning to somebody who's not reading ahead that the D7 resolves to a Gminor, rather than a Gmajor.