May 23: "The Beatles: Band of the Sixties" at the Sun Prairie Public Library

Solos are sections where a single instrument (occasionally two instruments) is spotlighted. They're quite common, appearing in 92 (43.6%) of the Beatles' 211 songs.

The structural function of breaks are quite similar to that of solos (they're a 'break' for the singer, just like solos), but are far less common, appearing in just 13 (6.2%) of Beatles songs. Unlike solos, breaks feature no spotlighted instrument. Breaks can use either sections of instruments (as in 'Honey Pie' from 1:46-1:59), just the backing instruments (as in 'Wild Honey Pie' from 0:00-0:09, 0:14-0:24, and 0:29-0:38), or as an opportunity for crazy things (as in 'Only A Northern Song' from 1:12-1:33 and 2:12-2:29).

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The simplest (and most clumsy) way to deal with a solo/break is to make it musically independent from the rest of the song. This can be found in 13 Beatles songs (6.2%):

Independent solos:

• 'I Saw Her Standing There'
• 'All My Loving'
• 'Little Child'
• 'Any Time At All'
• 'Run For Your Life' (functions as bridge)
• 'Your Mother Should Know' (x2, functions as bridge)
• 'Octopus's Garden' (functions as bridge)

independent breaks:

• 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!' (functions as bridge, which is actually based on verse)
• 'Magical Mystery Tour'
• 'The Inner Light' (concluding)
• 'Good Night'
• 'Wild Honey Pie' (x3, function as verses)
• 'Glass Onion' (functions as bridge, also has refrain)

In such cases, the chord progressions heard during those solos/breaks are never found anywhere else in the song. And this is why independent solos/breaks can sound clumsy. Since they're unrelated to the rest of the music, they can have a "thrown together" quality
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But independent solos/breaks are relatively rare. It is far more common to feature solos/breaks which are based on music found elsewhere in the same song.

Of the 92 songs that use a solo, the overwhelming majority (74) use that solo during a verse iteration:

• 'Baby It's You' (partial)
• 'From Me To You' (partial)
• 'Till There Was You'
• 'Roll Over Beethoven'
• 'I Wanna Be Your Man'
• 'Don't Bother Me' (partial)
• 'Can't Buy Me Love'
• 'You Can't Do That'
• 'And I Love Her'
• 'I Should Have Known Better'
• 'Long Tall Sally'
• 'I Call Your Name'
• 'A Hard Day's Night' (partial)
• 'Matchbox'
• 'Slow Down'
• 'I'm A Loser' (and chorus)
• 'Mr. Moonlight' (partial)
• 'Every Little Thing'
• 'I Don't Want To Spoil The Party'
• 'What You're Doing'
• 'She's A Woman'
• 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey'
• 'I Feel Fine' (partial)
• 'I'll Follow The Sun' (partial)
• 'Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby' (2 solos: 1st = verse, 2nd = 2 verses)
• 'Words Of Love' (solo = 2 verses)
• 'Honey Don't' (plus chorus)
• 'The Night Before' (partial)
• 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away' (coda)
• 'You're Going To Lose That Girl'
• 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' (x2)
• 'Bad Boy'
• 'I've Just Seen A Face'
• 'I'm Down' (also chorus)
• 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'
• 'Drive My Car'
• 'If I Needed Someone'
• 'In My Life' (partial)
• 'Nowhere Man'
• 'Michelle' (also coda)
• 'Girl' (coda)
• 'And Your Bird Can Sing' (x2, also coda based on solo)
• 'Taxman' (partial)
• 'I'm Only Sleeping' (partial)
• 'For No One' (partial)
• 'Good Day Sunshine' (partial)
• 'Penny Lane'
• 'Good Morning Good Morning'
• 'Fixing A Hole'
• 'Lovely Rita'
• 'Within You Without You' (1 solo, lasts 2 verses)
• 'All You Need Is Love'
• 'The Fool On The Hill' (partial, x2)
• 'Hey Bulldog'
• 'Piggies'
• 'Honey Pie'
• 'Savoy Truffle' (partial)
• 'Martha My Dear'
• 'Revolution'
• 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'
• 'Yer Blues' (x2)
• 'Rocky Raccoon' (x2)
• 'Back In The USSR'
• 'Dig A Pony'
• 'Get Back' (x3: 1st and 3rd = partial, 2nd = full)
• 'For You Blue' (x2)
• 'Let It Be'
• 'One After 909'
• 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' (1 solo, lasts 2 verses)
• 'Old Brown Shoe'
• 'Something'
• 'Come Together'
• 'Polythene Pam'
• 'Because'

And 6 use a break based on a verse iteration:

• 'Twist And Shout'
• 'Tomorrow Never Knows'
• 'Yellow Submarine' (x2: 1st = partial, 2nd = full)
• 'Only A Northern Song' (x2, other based on bridge)
• 'Lady Madonna'
• 'Blackbird' (x2)

Notice that many of these "verse solos/breaks" are "partial", meaning they do not take up the whole verse but only part of it. This is often because the verse's refrain returns at the end of the verse, reestablishing the vocalist instead of the solo instrument(s), such as on 'A Hard Day's Night'. But sometimes the "partial" status is the result of the opposite arrangement (the vocals start the verse while the solo finishes), such as on 'For No One'.

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After solos based on verses, the next most common basis for solos are choruses:

• 'Boys'
• 'Baby's In Black'
• 'I'm A Loser' (also verse)
• 'Honey Don't' (plus verse)
• 'I'm Down' (also verse)
• 'What Goes On' (partial)
• 'It's All Too Much' (x2)
• 'Helter Skelter'
• 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'

Notice that 3 of these 9 songs ('I'm A Loser', 'Honey Don't', and 'I'm Down') feature solos during both the verse and chorus.

Curiously, not one Beatles song uses a break based on the chorus.

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On rare occasion, solos/breaks will be based on the bridge:

Solo based on bridge:

• 'Love Me Do'
• 'Not A Second Time'
• 'Act Naturally'

break based on bridge:

• 'Only A Northern Song' (x2, other based on verse)

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Sometimes the coda (ending) of a song will incorporate a solo:

• 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away' (based on verse)
• 'Michelle' (based on verse, also heard earlier as verse)
• 'Girl' (based on verse)
• 'Love You To'
• 'And Your Bird Can Sing' (coda based on solo)

This ending solo might be a reprise of a solo heard earlier (such as on 'Michelle' - it's heard from 1:26-1:38, and then again from 2:20-2:33 and 2:33-2:42), or it might be something heard only once at the end (such as the flutes on 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away', heard only from 1:48-2:09).

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Lastly, 3 songs feature solos/breaks used in a way that is unique to that particular song:

'Happiness Is A Warm Gun' employs a 5-part mosaic structure. Each of those 5 parts is largely unrelated to the other 4. The third section begins with a guitar solo (0:44-0:59) that anticipates note-for-note the subsequently sung melody (0:59-1:13).

After the initial chorus on 'Carry That Weight', a 4-measure brass break initiates the reprise of 'You Never Give Me Your Money', followed by a 4-measure guitar solo, and then the vocal reprise of 'Money'.

And 'The End' features solos from all four band members: First a 2-measure drum break from Ringo from 0:08-0:11, which foreshadows the full drum solo from 0:19-0:35. Then Paul, George, and John (in that order) alternate 2-measure guitar solos from 0:54-1:29.

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Tomorrow is the second of three consecutive "Band of the Sixties":

Monday, 23 May 2016, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Sun Prairie Public Library, 1350 Linnerud Dr, Sun Prairie, WI
The Beatles: Band of the Sixties
Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members.