The Pink Panther

One of  the lessons I generally teach is the

clever “Pink Panther” theme  by Henry Mancini.

In this video,  the “M’ Ventures perform the piece

 in the key  covered  in our lessons, so you can

 practice the notes you’ve learned with the band.

 The chords  in the main section of the song are

 Em, C7, F7, C7-B7.

The band does break away a bit  after the first

verse for a modulated blues jam in another

key for the second verse.   You can sit out here,

or if you’re studying  barre chords, sit in and give

 it a try! The chords in the modulated section are

 Gm, Eb7,  Ab7,  Eb7-D7.  They then return to

 the original chord pattern (Em, C7, F7, C7-B7) for an

 extended blues improvisation in verse 3.

Verse 4 is main theme notes and chords.

Mr. Mancini must have been a fan of the blues.

This piece and many of his film compositions

utilize blues chord structures.  “Pink Panther”

is the blues scale jazzed up. Slow down the notes

of the theme and you can use them for any blues

improvisation in E.

Also note the guitar player’s use of the tremolo arm

or whammy bar, and the cool surf music note bends

it creates.

Good luck!

~ Guitar Steve