Folding Phish's Tweezer

At Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO, the rock group Phish is playing their last show of their 2016 summer tour as I post this. As phish.net says, "If there is a single Phish song that can be said to evolve with and exemplify Phish’s sound and artistry over the decades, it’s 'Tweezer.'" Below is a simplification of the famous opening lick, in "Tweezer Reprise"'s key of D. Here is a recording.

I've spent some time on this blog analogizing pitch and time. Here's one way that they are related:

The gamut of pitch register lays out linearly, from low to high, but it also circles back on itself via the concept of the octave: "do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti...do." Even though the second "do" is higher than the first, we still call them both "do." In fact, of all of these notes within the octave, this "do" is special: it is the tonic, the note toward which all of the others are oriented.

The expanse of chronological time lays out linearly, from earlier to later, but it also circles back on itself via the concept of the measure: "1-2-3-4...1." Even though the second "1" is later than the first, we still call them both "1." In fact, of all of these beats within the measure, this "1" is special: it is the downbeat, the beat toward which all of the others are oriented.

Now these five notes from "Tweezer"' have a rare property, and they have this property not only because of how far apart they are from one another in pitch and in time, but also because of what the tonic and the downbeat are.

This video describes this property.

This was the "one from rock music" I was referring to a year ago here. The first four notes of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" have the same property, but I hope I explained it better this time around. I can think of another song released in 2015 with a similar lick and the same tonal and metric orientation.