FLIP SIDE BEATLES: presentations, books, musical analysis
  • Beatles Minute
  • Pop Goes the Theory
  • Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Blogs
    • Beatles Blog
    • Pop Music Blog
    • Star Wars Blog
    • Origami Blog
    • Shakespeare Blog
  • Contact

Formal Structure in Beatles Music: [89] "I Want To Tell You"

5/30/2013

0 Comments

 
Formal structure of "I Want To Tell You":
          Intro         0:00-0:15*
          Verse 1    0:15-0:36*
          Verse 2    0:36-0:57*
          Middle 8  0:57-1:12
          Verse 3     1:12-1:33
          Middle 8  1:33-1:48
          Verse 4    1:48-2:12*
          Coda         2:12-2:27

Comments: "I Want to Tell You" is the second Beatles song to use a fade in - the first being [43] "Eight Days a Week".

Verses 1 and 2 are contiguous (as are [1] "Love Me Do", [6] “I Saw Her Standing There”, [7] "Do You Want to Know a Secret", [8] "Misery", [9b] "Anna (Go To Him)", [9c] "Boys", [9d] "Chains", [9f] Twist and Shout, [10] "From Me To You", [13e] "Till There Was You", [17] "Little Child", [19] "Not a Second Time", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [25] "And I Love Her", [26] "I Should Have Known Better", [28] "If I Fell'', [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [31b] "Matchbox", [32] "I'll Cry Instead", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want To Spoil the Party", [41] "What You're Doing", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", [44] "She's a Woman", [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", [46d] "Words of Love", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [49] "I Need You", [50] "Yes It Is", [51] "The Night Before", [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", [56c] "Bad Boy", [57] "I've Just Seen a Face", [59] "Yesterday", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [68] "We Can Work it Out", [71] "Michelle", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", and [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", [84] "Taxman", and [88] "Yellow Submarine").

Verse 4 is extended by using the guitar lick featured during the introduction.

The intro is again in two parts (similar to [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [62] "Run For Your Life", [63] "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", [65] "Day Tripper", and [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", and [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Rain, and [84] "Taxman"): First guitar alone is heard; then the piano and percussion are added; finally, the bass joins as the first verse begins.
0 Comments

Similar Chord Progressions at the Beginnings of the Verses in "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" and "Something"

5/29/2013

0 Comments

 
On May 26 I wrote a blog about similar chords progressions between "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Something". However, there is actually a stronger similarity between "Something" and BJ Thomas' 1970#1  hit "Raindrops Keep falling on My Head".
Picture
These two songs use the same scale degrees and chord qualities for the first 4 chords (whereas "Strawberry" used the same qualities but different scale degrees and only for the first 3 chords).
0 Comments

Beatles Giveaways, Part 2: "I Call Your Name"

5/28/2013

2 Comments

 
Though the Beatles released their recording of Lennon's "I Call Your Name" on the Long Tall Sally EP on 19 June 1964, it was first released by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas a year prior on 26 July 1963.
2 Comments

Formal Structure in Beatles Music: [88] "Yellow Submarine"

5/27/2013

1 Comment

 
Formal structure of "Yellow Submarine":
          Verse 1     0:00-0:18*
          Verse 2    0:18-0:36*
          Chorus     0:36-0:53
          Verse 3     0:53-1:06
          Break 1     1:06-1:10
          Chorus     1:10-1:27
          Break 2    1:27-1:45
          Verse 4    1:45-2:02
          Chorus/Coda  2:02-2:38*

Comments: Verses 1 and 2 are contiguous (an aspect also found in [1] "Love Me Do", [6] “I Saw Her Standing There”, [7] "Do You Want to Know a Secret", [8] "Misery", [9b] "Anna (Go To Him)", [9c] "Boys", [9d] "Chains", [9f] Twist and Shout, [10] "From Me To You", [13e] "Till There Was You", [17] "Little Child", [19] "Not a Second Time", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [25] "And I Love Her", [26] "I Should Have Known Better", [28] "If I Fell'', [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [31b] "Matchbox", [32] "I'll Cry Instead", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want To Spoil the Party", [41] "What You're Doing", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", [44] "She's a Woman", [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", [46d] "Words of Love", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [49] "I Need You", [50] "Yes It Is", [51] "The Night Before", [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [54] "Tell Me What You See", [56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", [56c] "Bad Boy", [57] "I've Just Seen a Face", [59] "Yesterday", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [68] "We Can Work it Out", [71] "Michelle", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", and [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", and [84] "Taxman")

In this case, the coda is simply repetitions of the chorus which are faded out.

The first break may well be considered a solo, and in that regard, it functions rather like a solo that serves as part of the verse, replacing the verse vocals (just as the Beatles did in [10] From Me To You, [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [51] "The Night Before", and [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [67] "In My Life", [84] "Taxman", [85] "I'm Only Sleeping", and [87] "For No One", except that in this case the vocals lead for 75% of the verse while the solo for only 25%, whereas the previous Beatles songs to use that trick were all 50% vocals and 50% solo).

Verse 1, verse 3, and break 2 all share strumming patterns (Lennon's rhythm guitar playing is the same in all three of those sections), but it's different in verses 2 and 4. In that way, rather similar to [87] "For No One", "Yellow Submarine" can be seen as three iterations of two verses plus chorus, but with the second of these three omitting one verse:
Verse 1
Verse 2
Chorus
Verse 3/Break 1
[here's the missing verse]
Chorus
Break 2
Verse 4
Chorus
1 Comment

Similar Chord Progressions at the Beginnings of the Verses in "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Something"

5/26/2013

0 Comments

 
The first three chords of the verses in "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Something" share a certain degree of similarity. Though in different keys ("Something" is in C Major; "Strawberry" in B-flat major) and using different chords ("Something" uses C; "Strawberry" F) based on different scale degrees ("Something" uses the tonic chord; "Strawberry" the dominant), the qualities of those three chords are the same: major, major 7, 7. Here's a graphic to illustrate the similarity (click to enlarge):
Picture
0 Comments

Formal Structure in Beatles Music: [87] "For No One"

5/25/2013

0 Comments

 
Formal structure of "For No One":
           Verse 1            0:00-0:24
           Middle 8        0:24-0:39
           1st half of Verse 2   0:39-0:49*
           Solo                 0:49-1:02*
           Middle 8        1:02-1:17
           Verse 3          1:17-1:40
           Middle 8        1:40-1:59

Comments: Begins with first verse instead of an introduction, as did [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", and [58] "I'm Down", [61] "Wait", [68] “We Can Work it Out”, [76] "Girl", and [85] "I'm Only Sleeping".

Similarly, rather than conclude with a coda (as most Beatles songs do), "For No One" simply stops after the final middle 8. No other Beatles recording to date concludes with the middle 8.

Lastly, verse 2 can be broken into two halves, with the first using vocals and the second using the french horn solo. Essentially, the solo replaces the vocals for half the verse, which is something the Beatles did rather frequently ([10] From Me To You, [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [51] "The Night Before", and [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [67] "In My Life", [84] "Taxman", and [85] "I'm Only Sleeping"). With that in mind, the macro-scale formal structure of "For No One" can be further abstracted to three iterations of one verse followed by a middle 8.
0 Comments

Complete List of Beatles Giveaways

5/24/2013

0 Comments

 
I should point out that in this series of blogs, I am concerned only with the first release of any given song. Many other recording artists have released covers of these songs, but those are not included here. Furthermore, I am only concerned with songs given away during the Beatles career. Those from after the break up are not included. There are a total of 25 songs in this list. I plan on dedicating one blog to each, so this blog series will consist of 25 parts (excluding this post).

Recording Artist                                        Song Title                                    Release Date
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas       "I'll Be On My Way"                26 April 1963
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas       "I Call Your Name"                 26 July 1963
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas      "Bad to Me"                                 26 July 1963
Tommy Quickly                                       "Tip of My Tongue"                30 July 1963
The Fourmost                                           "Hello Little Girl"                     30 August 1963
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas      "I'll Keep You Satisfied"      1 November 1963
The Rolling Stones                                  "I Wanna Be Your Man"      1 November 1963
The Fourmost                                           "I'm in Love"                              15 November 1963
Cilla Black                                                   "Love of the Loved"               27 September 1963
Peter and Gordon                                    "World Without Love"         28 February 1964
The Strangers with Mike Shannon    "One and One is Two"          8 May 1964
Peter and Gordon                                    "Nobody I Know"                   29 May 1964
The Applejacks                                         "Like Dreamers Do:               5 June 1964
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas      "From a Window"                   17 July 1964
Cilla Black                                                   "It's For You"                           31 July 1964
Peter and Gordon                      "I Don't Want to See You Again"  9 September 1964
P. J. Proby                                                  "That Means a Lot"               17 September 1965
Peter and Gordon                                    "Woman"                                  10 January 1966
The Chris Barber Band                           "Catcall"                                   20 October 1967
Cilla Black                                                   "Step Inside Love"                8 March 1968
Black Dyke Mills Band                           "Thingymabob"                    26 August 1968
Jackie Lomax                                            "Sour Milk Sea"                     26 August 1968
Mary Hopkin                                             "Goodbye"                              28 March 1969
Carlos Mendes                                          "Penina"                                   ? April 1969
Jotta Herre                                                 "Penina"                                  ? April 1969
Badfinger                                                    "Come and Get It"               5 December 1969
0 Comments

Formal Structure in Beatles Music: [86] "Eleanor Rigby"

5/23/2013

0 Comments

 
Formal structure of "Eleanor Rigby":
         Chorus      0:00-0:14*
         Verse 1     0:14-0:31
         Bridge      0:31-0:46*
         Verse 2    0:46-1:03
         Bridge      1:03-1:17
         Chorus     1:17-1:31
         Verse 3    1:31-1:48
         Chorus    1:48-2:00
         Coda (bridge)  2:00-2:05*

Comments: Opens with chorus (instead of introduction), just like [12] "She Loves You", [14] "It Won't Be Long", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [34] "Any Time at All", [36] "When I Get Home", [48] "Another Girl", [55] "You're Going to Lose That Girl", and [69] "Nowhere Man".

The first bridge does not lead to the chorus, but instead to verse 2. The other Beatles tunes to date that also pull this trick are [4] "Ask Me Why" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, and the second bridge leads to the middle 8 before the third bridge finally resolves to the chorus), [5] "There's a Place" (in which there is no chorus for the bridge to lead to), [12] "She Loves You" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, but each subsequent bridges leads to the chorus), and [78] "Got To Get You Into My Life" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, but each subsequent bridges leads to the chorus).

The coda consists of the same five melodic notes that conclude the bridge (g, e-flat, b-flat, a, g), but in slightly different rhythm
0 Comments

Formal Structure in Beatles Music: [85] "I'm Only Sleeping"

5/22/2013

0 Comments

 
Formal structure of "I'm Only Sleeping":
          Verse 1         0:00-0:21
          Chorus        0:21-0:35
          Verse 2       0:35-0:56
          Chorus        0:56-1:10
          Trans.         1:10-1:15*
          Middle 8     1:15-1:24
          1st half of Verse 3  1:24-1:33*
          Break/Solo  1:33-1:45*
          Chorus        1:45-1:59
          Trans.         1:59-2:04*
          Middle 8    2:04-2:13
          Verse 4      2:13-2:34
          Chorus       2:34-2:38
          Coda (ind.) 2:48-2:59

Comments: No introduction - it simply starts right up with the first verse (as did [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", and [58] "I'm Down", [61] "Wait", [68] “We Can Work it Out”, and [76] "Girl").

The break/solo  following verse 3 is simply the second half of the verse, just with the backward guitar playing replacing the vocals.

Verses 1 and 4 share identical lyrics.

Choruses generally share identical lyrics in each iteration, but in this case the first and fourth choruses are the same ("Please don't wake me, no don't shake me..."), which differ from the second and third choruses ("Please don't spoil my day, I'm miles away...").

Each of the transitions following the choruses are extensions of the chorus - the last two bars of those choruses are repeated (though the repetition is not exact). This alerts a listener that something different is happening, and propels the song into the the middle 8s.
0 Comments

Beatles Giveaways, Part 1: "I'll Be On My Way"

5/21/2013

0 Comments

 
 Inevitably, a certain percentage of any artist's creative efforts will be of inferior quality. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney frequently gave away songs they felt were not worth recording themselves. This posting will be the first in a series showcasing the songs the Beatles gave away.

The first such giveaway was the song "I'll Be On My Way", written by Paul (Sheff page 180) and recorded at EMI Studios by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas on 14 March 1963, and released the following April 26 (Lewisohn page 105).
The Beatles never created a studio recording of "I'll Be On My Way", but on 4 April 1963 (after Kramer had recorded his version, but before it was released) they played a live concert at the BBC Paris Studio in London, which was recorded and broadcast via television on June 24 (Lewisohn page 105). That recording was released commercially on the album Live at the BBC in November 1994.
CITATIONS
Sheff, David, G. Barry Golson ed. The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon & Yoko Ono. The Final Testament. Berkley Books, New York, NY, 1981.

Lewisohn, Mark. The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Hamlyn, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Limited, London, UK, 2003.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Beatles Blog

    This blog is a workshop for developing my analyses of The Beatles' music.

    Categories

    All
    12 Bar Blues
    Abbey Road
    Abbey-road-medley
    Ab Road Bootlegs
    Across The Universe
    Act Naturally
    A Day In The Life
    A-hard-days-night-album
    A Hard Days Night Film
    A Hard Days Night Song
    All Ive Got To Do
    All My Loving
    All Together Now
    All You Need Is Love
    And I Love Her
    And Your Bird Can Sing
    Anna Go To Him
    Another Girl
    Any Time At All
    Ask Me Why
    Astrid Kirchherr
    A Taste Of Honey
    Avant Garde
    Baby Its You
    Babys In Black
    Baby Youre A Rich Man
    Bach
    Back In The USSR
    Bad Boy
    Bad To Me
    Ball State University
    Barry Miles
    Beatlemania
    Beatles
    Beatles For Sale
    Because
    Beethoven
    Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
    Billy J Kramer
    Birthday
    Blackbird
    Blue Jay Way
    Bootlegs
    Boys
    Buddy-holly
    Cadences
    Cant Buy Me Love
    Carl Perkins
    Carry That Weight
    Catcall
    Chains
    Chuck Berry
    Collage
    Come Together
    Come-together
    Cry Baby Cry
    Cynthia Lennon
    Day Tripper
    Dear Prudence
    Devil In Her Heart
    Dig A Pony
    Dig It
    Dizzy Miss Lizzy
    Doctor Robert
    Dominant Chord
    Dont Bother Me
    Dont Let Me Down
    Dont Pass Me By
    Do You Want To Know A Secret
    Drive My Car
    Eddie-cochran
    Eight Days A Week
    Eleanor Rigby
    Electronic Music
    Electronic Sound Harrison Album7660042653
    Elvis-presley
    Everly Brothers
    Everybodys Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
    Everybodys Trying To Be My Baby
    Every Little Thing
    Fixing A Hole
    Flying
    Formal Structure
    Formal-structure
    For No One
    For You Blue
    From A Window
    From Me To You
    George Harrison
    George-harrison
    George Martin
    Get Back
    Getting Better
    Girl
    Giveaways
    Glass Onion
    Golden Slumbers
    Goodbye
    Good Day Sunshine
    Good Morning Good Morning
    Good Night
    Good Vibrations
    Got To Get You Into My Life
    Hamburg
    Happiness Is A Warm Gun
    Harmonic Analysis
    Hello Goodbye
    Hello Little Girl
    Help-album
    Help Movie
    Help Song
    Helter Skelter
    Here Comes The Sun
    Here-comes-the-sun
    Here There And Everywhere
    Her Majesty
    Hey Bulldog
    Hey Jude
    Hold Me Tight
    Honey Dont
    Honey Pie
    How I Won The War
    I Am The Walrus
    I Call Your Name
    I Dont Want To See You Again
    I Dont Want To Spoil The Party
    I Feel Fine
    If I Fell
    If I Needed Someone
    Ill Be Back
    Ill Be On My Way
    Ill Cry Instead
    Ill Follow The Sun
    Ill Get You
    Ill Keep You Satisfied
    Im A Loser
    Im Down
    I Me Mine
    Im Happy Just To Dance With You
    Im In Love
    Im Looking Through You
    Im Only Sleeping
    Im So Tired
    Indian Songs
    Indica Gallery
    I Need You
    In My Life
    In-spite-of-all-the-danger
    I Saw Her Standing There
    I-saw-her-standing-there
    I Should Have Known Better
    Its All Too Much
    Its For You
    Its Only Love
    It Wont Be Long
    Ive Got A Feeling
    Ive Just Seen A Face
    I Wanna Be Your Man
    I Want To Hold Your Hand
    I Want To Tell You
    I Want You Shes So Heavy
    I Will
    Jane Asher
    Jerry-lee-lewis
    John Lennon
    Julia
    Kansas City Hey Hey Hey Hey
    Lady Madonna
    Lecture-tours
    Let It Be Album
    Let It Be Song
    Like Dreamers Do
    Little Child
    Little-richard
    Long Long Long
    Long Tall Sally
    Lonnie Donegan
    Love
    Lovely Rita
    Love Me Do
    Love-me-do
    Love Of The Loved
    Love You To
    Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
    Maggie Mae
    Magical-mystery-tour-album
    Magical Mystery Tour Song
    Mahler
    Martha My Dear
    Matchbox
    Maxwells Silver Hammer
    Maxwells-silver-hammer
    Mean Mr Mustard
    Michelle
    Misery
    Modulations
    Money Thats What I Want
    Moog Synthesizer
    Mother Natures Son
    Mr Moonlight
    Nobody I Know
    No Reply
    Norwegian Wood
    Not A Second Time
    Nowhere Man
    Numbering System
    Obladi Oblada
    Octopuss Garden
    Oh Darling
    Old Brown Shoe
    One After 909
    One And One Is Two
    Only A Northern Song
    Otis Redding
    Panning
    Paperback Writer
    Paul Mccartney
    Paul Mccartneys Bass Playing
    Penny Lane
    Peter Asher
    Piggies
    Pinky And The Brain
    Please Mister Postman
    Please Please Me Album
    Please Please Me Song
    Polythene Pam
    Power Puff Girls
    P S I Love You
    Quarrymen
    Rain
    Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
    Revolution
    Revolution 1
    Revolution 9
    Revolver
    Ringo
    Rock And Roll Music
    Rocky Raccoon
    Roll Over Beethoven
    Rubber-soul
    Run For Your Life
    Savoy Truffle
    Sexy Sadie
    Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Album
    Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise
    Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Song
    She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
    She Loves You
    She Said She Said
    Shes A Woman
    Shes Leaving Home
    Slow Down
    Snow White
    Solos
    Something
    Song-structure
    Sour-milk-sea
    Step-inside-love
    Stereo Panning
    Strawberry Fields Forever
    Sun King
    Taxman
    Tell Me What You See
    Tell Me Why
    Thank You Girl
    That Means A Lot
    The Ballad Of John And Yoko
    The Beatles Album
    The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
    The-continuing-story-of-bungalow-bill
    The End
    The Fool On The Hill
    The Inner Light
    The Long And Winding Road
    The Night Before
    The One After 909
    Theres A Place
    The Word
    Things We Said Today
    Thingumybob
    Think For Yourself
    This Boy
    Ticket To Ride
    Till There Was You
    Timeline
    Tip Of My Tongue
    Tomorrow Never Knows
    Tonality
    Twist And Shout
    Two Of Us
    Wait
    We Can Work It Out
    What Goes On
    What Youre Doing
    When I Get Home
    When Im Sixtyfour
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    White Album
    Why Dont We Do It In The Road
    Wild Honey Pie
    With A Little Help From My Friends
    Within You Without You
    With The Beatles
    Woman
    Words Of Love
    World Without Love
    Yellow Submarine Album
    Yellow-submarine-album
    Yellow Submarine Film
    Yellow Submarine Song
    Yer Blues
    Yes It Is
    Yesterday
    Yoko Ono
    You Cant Do That
    You Know My Name Look Up The Number
    You Like Me Too Much
    You Never Give Me Your Money
    You Really Got A Hold On Me
    Youre Going To Lose That Girl
    Your Mother Should Know
    Youve Got To Hide Your Love Away
    You Wont See Me

    Archives

    May 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Beatles Minute
  • Pop Goes the Theory
  • Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Blogs
    • Beatles Blog
    • Pop Music Blog
    • Star Wars Blog
    • Origami Blog
    • Shakespeare Blog
  • Contact