Having completed my study of documented hours spend in the recording studio on each Beatles album, I can now compile my findings to produce a visual illustration: a bar graph comparing total documented studio time per Beatles album.

Using this example, it is very clear indeed that The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) took the longest time to record by far (about twice as much time as it took the band to record Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, or Abbey Road). This isn't surprising as The White Album is the only Beatles double album, so it makes sense that it would take about twice as long to record.

Lastly, notice that both Let it Be and Yellow Submarine have asterisks next to their number. This is because documentation for those two albums is incomplete. No doubt both albums took more time than shown (probably about twice those figures), but the number listed is what is documented. Any attempt to estimate precise numbers above those shown would be futile.

Following my catalogs of studio time required to create Sgt. Pepper and The White Album, now I'm wondering how long it took to create their other albums. This blog, then, will examine the documentation (according to Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions) for the band's first album, Please Please Me, including sessions dedicated to songs that were first released as singles, but also included on the album ("Love Me Do, "P. S. I Love You", "Please Please Me", and "Ask Me Why").

year.month.day   start time - end time = # of hours that day

1962.06.06   6:00pm-8:00pm = 2 hours
0962.09.04   7:00pm-10:00pm = 3 hours
1962.09.11   10:00am-1:00pm = 3 hours
1962.11.26   7:00pm-10:00pm = 3 hours
1962.11.30   unknown
1963.02.11   10:am-1:00pm, 2:30-6:00pm, 7:30pm-10:45pm = 9.75 hours
1963.02.20   10:30am-1:00pm = 2.5 hours
1963.02.25   10:00am-1:00pm = 3 hours

TOTAL: 26.25 hours


CITATIONS
Lewisohn, Mark. The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970. Harmony Books, a division of Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1988.

The Beatles' debut album Please Please Me functioned as a recording of a live show – its purpose to recreate what the Beatles did on stage, but in the comfort a listener's own home. Of course, as the band grew, they would develop into a studio band, and the beginnings of that evolution are first discernible in their sophomore album, With the Beatles.

Overdubbing is the process of recording different parts of the same song at different times. It would make absolutely no sense at all in a concert setting to have, say, Paul play his bassline to “Roll Over Beethoven” as a solo, then when he was done George could sing his lead vocals by himself, then when he done Ringo could play his drums alone, followed by John's rhythm guitar chords. It'd be the equivalent of eating a piece of cake but on the first bite you taste only flour, and on the next only eggs, and the next just sugar. Of course that wouldn't work – whether in music or baking, all of the ingredients must be combined to render the final product. But in the studio, you can do that because the tapes can be combined through overdubbing, the layering of these various components into the final product. While a few minor tracks were overdubbed on Please Please Me, on With The Beatles it was quite heavily. For example, the piano solo in “Not a Second Time” was overdubbed. The Beatles recorded the guitar, bass, and drums, leaving a space for a solo because they weren't sure what that solo would be. Overdubbing allowed the band to come back to the song later and add a solo, in this case played by George Martin.

Another recording tactic used frequently on With the Beatles was double-tracking, which is a particular kind of overdubbing in which the exact same thing is recorded twice, then layering on top of each other so they are heard simultaneously. The Beatles used this trick almost exclusively for lead vocals because the technique supplies reinforcement to whatever was double tracked, and lead vocals need to be strong. Obviously a singer can't sing his lines twice at the same time during a live show, but in the recording studio you can, and double-tracking is how that is accomplished. For example, Paul's singing on “All My Loving” is double tracked. You can tell because there are slight differences between takes – even though he's singing the same lyrics and notes. This is most noticeable on the word “I'll” as in “tomorrow I'll miss you”. The Beatles used double-tracking on 8 of the 14 tracks on With the Beatles ("It Won't Be Long", "All My Loving", "Don't Bother Me", "Little Child", "Please Mister Postman", "Roll Over Beethoven", "I Wanna Be Your Man", and "Not a Second Time")
and would continue to do so throughout the remainder of their recording career.

Additionally, the covers of the two albums showcase this change. Please Please Me's cover shows the four Beatles in a rather creative though quite "standard pop cover shot" pose.

The With The Beatles cover, by contrast, is much more stark and artistic - and heavily inspired by the photographs taken by Astrid Kirchherr in Germany several years earlier.

It's very subtle, but With the Beatles does show a significant change in direction from Please Please Me – a change that would eventually lead to the technical sophistication that so characterized the later Beatles albums.

My posting from 12/1 on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" piqued my interest a little bit in regards to the part where I wrote, "Structurally speaking, 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite' is unusual in that it has no chorus. This is strange because it is often the chorus that is the most catchy and easily recognizable part of a song". That got me wondering what other Beatles songs lack a chorus. So this posting will be the first in a series analyzing the formal structure of Beatles songs. Before digging too deeply into this idea, however, I first need to define a few terms. (How can I know if a song has a chorus or not if I'm not even sure what a chorus is?) So here are my definitions of the following structural terms in rough order of frequency of use in Beatles music:

Verse - the main part or "body" of the song. The energy of verses tends to be low, and the music is almost always repeated, but the lyrics usually change with each subsequent verse.

Middle 8 - a section (almost always) in the middle of a song, and typically (but not always) 8 measures in duration. The primary structural function of the middle 8 is to contrast with the verses.

Chorus - the catchy and high energy part of the song that features both the same music and lyrics on each iteration. As the name implies, this section usually features a thicker texture than in any other section. (Often several singers are heard on the chorus, whereas other sections tend to feature a single lead vocalist.)

Refrain - when used (and not all songs do), it is found at the end of the verse. Due to its location, it could well be interpreted as part of the verse (depending on the level of structural analysis). Consequently, I will often use the single label “verse + refrain” rather than separating them into two independent sections. Where the verses use different lyrics set to the same music in each iteration, the refrain always uses the same (or at least very similar) lyrics set to the same music.

Introduction - the beginning of a song, as distinct from other structural sections (although it is often but not always based on one of those other sections)

Coda - The ending of a song, as distinct from other structural sections (although it is often but not always based on one of those other sections)

Break/Solo - an instrumental section (a "break" for the singer), usually in the middle of a song (and sometimes reprised in the coda)

Transition - reserved for passages that segue from one section to another that do not fit better into another category

Tag - a brief but distinctive melodic snippet that appears periodically throughout the song. Often also called a riff, or a motive.

Also, these diagrams will illustrate two levels of analysis (macro and micro), because within each macro section there is often a phrase pattern that is just as structured on a smaller scale as the whole song itself if on a larger scale. This micro structure analysis will use Walter Everett’s “SRDC” form, as described in The Beatles as Musicians.
          Statement: an expository phrase.
          Restatement: a repetition of S
          Departure: a contrast with S
          Conclusion: a closing gesture, often based on S



FORMAL STRUCTURE OF SONGS ON PLEASE PLEASE ME

[6] "I Saw Her Standing There": AABA with solo and partial reprise
          Introduction 0:00-0:07 based on verse (4 m)

          (A) Verse 1 0:07-0:32
                    statement (8 m)
                    departure (4 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)

           (A) Verse 2 0:32-0:56

           (B) Middle 8 0:56-1:10
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (4 m)

           (A) Verse 3 1:10-1:35

           (C) Solo (ind.) 1:35-1:59

           (B) Middle 8 1:59-2:14

           (A) Verse 4 2:14-2:37

           Coda (verse)     2:37-2:51
                    conclusion (4 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)


[8] "Misery": AABA with partial reprise                                        
          Introduction 0:00-0:10 based on verse (4 m)

          (A) Verse 1 0:10-0:25
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)

          (A) Verse 2 0:25-0:39

          (B) Middle 8 0:39-0:53
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)

          (A) Verse 3 0:53-1:08

          (B) Middle 8 1:08-1:22

          (A) Verse 4 1:22-1:37

          Coda 1:37-1:45 based on verse (6 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)


[9b] "Anna (Go To Him)": AABA with partial reprise         
          Introduction 0:00-0:09 based on verse (4 m)

          (A) Verse 1 0:09-0:37
                    introduction (2 m)
                    statement (2 m)
                   restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)

          (A’) Verse 2 0:37-0:57
                    introduction (2 m)
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)

          (B) Middle 8 0:57-1:31
                    statement (8 m)
                    retransition (8 m)

           (A) Verse 3 1:31-1:49

          (B) Middle 8 1:49-2:24

          (A) Verse 4 2:24-2:53
                    introduction (2 m)
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    conclusion (8 m)


[9d] "Chains": AABA with partial reprise
          Introduction 0:00-0:07 based on verse (4 m)

           (A) Verse 1              0:07-0:29 12 bar blues

           (A) Verse 2              0:29-0:51

           (B) Middle 8           0:51-1:06
                    statement (4 m)
                    partial restatement (2 m)
                    retransition (2 m)
          
           (A) Verse 3         1:06-1:28

           (B) Middle 8            1:28-1:43

           (A) Verse 4          1:43-2:06

           Coda (verse)    2:06-2:23


[9c] "Boys": Simple Verse-Chorus
          Introduction    0:00-0:07 based on verse (4 m)

           Verse 1 + Refrain 0:07-0:27 12 bar blues

          Verse 2 + Refrain        0:27-0:47

           Chorus         0:47-1:06 12 bar blues

           Solo           1:06-1:27 12 bar blues

           Verse 3 + Refrain 1:27-1:47

           Chorus         1:47-2:08

           Chorus 2:08-2:23


[4] "Ask Me Why": AABA with full reprise                                
          Intro (verse, 2 m)   0:00-0:03
          
          (A) Verse A1             0:03-0:26
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    inconclusive departure (5 m)

          (A) Verse A2        0:26-0:50
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    conclusive departure (4 m)

          (B) Middle 8      0:50-1:04
                    statement (4 m)
                    conclusive restatement (4 m)

          (A’) Verse B1          1:04-1:15
                    conclusive statement (6 m)

          (A) Verse A3       1:15-1:38
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    inconclusive departure (5 m)

          (A’) Verse B2           1:38-1:49

          (B) Middle 8         1:49-2:03

          (A’) Verse B3   2:03-2:24
                    conclusive statement (5 m)
                    inconclusive S fragment (2 m)
                    conclusive S fragment (2 m)


[3] "Please Please Me": AABA                    
          Introduction 0:00-0:07 based on verse (4 m)
                    tag (2 m)
                    tag (2 m)

          (A) Verse 1 + Refrain   0:07-0:35
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    departure (4 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)

           (A) Verse 2 + Refrain        0:35-1:02

           (B) Middle 8          1:02-1:19
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    tag (2 m)

          (A) Verse 3 + Refrain 1:19-1:50
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    departure (4 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)
                    conclusion + tag (2 m)
                    conclusion + tag (2 m)
                    Coda (independent) 1:50-1:57


[1] "Love Me Do": AABA with partial reprise                             
          Introduction    0:00-0:13 based on refrain (8 m)

          (A) Verse + Refrain     0:13-0:34
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (3 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)

          (A) Verse + Refrain     0:34-0:55

          (B) Middle 8              0:55-1:09
                    statement (4 m)
                    conclusive restatement (4 m)

          (A) Verse + Refrain     1:09-1:30

          (B) Solo (middle 8)    1:30-1:49
                    statement (4 m)
                    conclusive restatement (4 m)
                    extension (4 m)

          (A) Verse + Refrain    1:49-2:19
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (3 m)
                    conclusion (9 m)


[2] "P. S. I Love You": AABA with partial reprise and an extra B at the start           
          (B) Middle 8   0:00-0:14
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)

          (A) Verse 1 + Refrain (10 m) 0:14-0:32

          (A) Verse 2 + Refrain 0:32-0:50

          (B) Middle 8                 0:50-1:04

          (A) Verse 3 + Refrain 1:04-1:22

          (B) Middle 8                 1:22-1:37

          (A) Verse 4 + Refrain (14 m) 1:37-2:01


[9e] "Baby It's You": Simple Verse                            
          Introduction 0:00-0:13 based on refrain (6 m)

           (A) Verse 1 + Refrain 0:13-0:58
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    departure (9 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)

           (A) Verse 2 + Refrain 0:58-1:43

           (A) Solo/Verse 3 + Refrain 1:43-2:35

NOTE: The statement and restatement phrases of Verse 3 are the solo, while the departure and conclusion of Verse 3 are sung.


[7] "Do You Want To Know A Secret": AABA   
          Introduction   0:00-0:14 musically independent (5? m)
          
          (A) Verse 1                  0:14-0:41
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    inconclusive conclusion (4 m)

          (A) Verse 2 0:41-1:08
          
          (B) Middle 8            1:08-1:20
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    transition (2 m)
                    
          (A) Verse 3     1:20-1:55


[6b] "A Taste Of Honey": ABAB
          Introduction    0:00-0:15 based on refrain (8 m)

          (A) Verse 1 + Refrain 0:15-0:43
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (4 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)
                    extension (4 m)

          (B) Middle 8    0:43-1:03
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)
                    extension (4 m)

          (A) Verse 2 + Refrain 1:03-1:32

          (B) Middle 8        1:32-2:00
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    conclusion (4 m)
                    extension (4 m)


[5] "There's A Place": AABA                    
          Introduction 0:00-0:06 based on verse (4 m)

          (A) Verse 1 + Refrain 0:06-0:31
                    introduction (1 m)
                    statement A (2 m)
                    restatement A (2 m)
                    restatement A (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    statement B (2 m)
                    restatement B (2 m)
                    inconclusive departure (2 m)

          (A’) Verse 2 (no Refrain)     0:31-0:54
                    introduction (1 m)
                    statement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    restatement (2 m)
                    departure (2 m)
                    transition (4 m)

          (B) Middle 8    0:54-1:09
                    statement (4 m)
                    restatement (5 m)

          (A) Verse 3 + Refrain 1:09-1:35
          
          Coda (verse) 1:35-1:48 based on verse (7 m)


[9f] “Twist And Shout": Simple Verse                       
          Introduction   0:00-0:08 based on same chords found throughout (4 m)

          (A) Verse 1   0:08-0:38
                    statement (8 m)
                    restatement (8 m)

          (A) Verse 2   0:38-1:09
          
          (A’) Break           1:09-1:36
                    guitar solo (8 m)
                    retransition (6 m)

          (A’’) Verse 3    1:36-2:32
                    statement (8 m)
                    restatement (8 m)
                    extension (6 m)
                    retransition (4 m)
                    conclusion (2 m)