xDoctor Who Theme
By Rob Grainer and Delia Derbyshire*, 1963
Arranged for electric guitar by Nigel Eastmond with assistance from Mark Dyson, Peter Ackers,
Deborah Eastmond and Mark McGuigan
This is the William Hartnell era version (i.e. the original)
A video of this version can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF2x5IKxmAQ
[Intro]
Delay and overdrive
E E G E (i.e. long on the E, short on the G)
E E G E (cool if you increase the number of strokes in the shuffle for this second
set of Es and Bs)
[Main melody] (with flanger, delay, overdrive, reverb and sustain!)
Equal measures of E and B
E B E B E B E B E B
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |--------------15-----------------------------------------------------------|
G |---17p16br-------17p16br----16---------------------------------------------|
D |14-----------------------------17------------------------------------------|
A |----------------------------------14--17--15-14-14p15-14p15-17p14-14p15----|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Add as many of these little
pull offs as feels right and
sounds sexy
Add a little bit of extra B on the rhythm now with a brief flick to A and back to
create that rumbling
rhythm before the key change.
[Key change]
Use the intro Tiny pause in rhythm
rhythm here before this C
G D G C G C
E |------------------------------------------12-------------12----------------|
B |12----12------12-----------------------15----15p13-15-------15p13-15-------|
G |---15------12----15-12p11h12--------------------------12-------------------|
D |------------------------------------12-------------------------------------|
A |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Back to bouncing
along on the E and B
G B E B E
E |----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |12--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G |---12/14---12p11-12-------------------16------------------------------------|
D |-----------------------------------------17---------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------14--17--15-14-14p15-14p15-17p14-|
E |----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Again, add a little bit of extra B now with a brief flick to A and back to create
that rumbling rhythm
before essentially starting the whole tune again.
Equal measures of E and B
E B E B E B E B E B
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |--------------15-----------------------------------------------------------|
G |---17p16br-------17p16br----16---------------------------------------------|
D |14-----------------------------17------------------------------------------|
A |----------------------------------14--17--15-14-14p15-14p15-17p14-14p15----|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
^
|
In the original recording, there is a break
in the melody here. We never play this as it
throws us off, but it goes E G B E G B, if you
fancy adding it back. Sorry, Mr Grainer.
Yet again add a little bit of extra B now with a brief flick to A and back to create that rumbling
rhythm before the second key change.
Second key change (identical to the first)
Use the intro Tiny pause in rhythm
rhythm here before this C
G D G C G C
E |------------------------------------------12-------------12----------------|
B |12----12------12-----------------------------15p13-15-------15p13-15-------|
G |---15------12----15-12p11h12-----------15-------------12-------------------|
D |------------------------------------12-------------------------------------|
A |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Back to bouncing
along on the E and B
G B E B E
E |----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |12--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G |---12/14---12p11-12-------------------16------------------------------------|
D |-----------------------------------------17---------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------14--17--15-14-14p15-14p15-17p14-|
E |----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Short break on E and B . . .
. . . and then back to the main melody with a bit added on the end:
E B E B E B E B E B
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |--------------15-----------------------------------------------------------|
G |---17p16br-------17p16br----16---------------------------------------------|
D |14-----------------------------17------------------------------------------|
A |----------------------------------14--17--15-14-14p15-14p15-17p14-14p15----|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E B E B E B E B E
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |--------------15---------------------------15------------------------------|
G |---17p16br-------17p16br--------17p16br ------17p16br----------------------|
D |14-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |-------------------------------------------------------------0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
*Derbyshire goes uncredited on the copyright for this tune because BBC rules prevented a member
of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from breaking anonymity. The truth is that a lot of tape
utting was done by her team to create the tune and Grainer offered her co-composership.
************************************
| p Pull-off
| br Bend release
| h Hammer-on
| / Slide up
| ~ Vibrato
************************************
