Beatles Final

“Friends” Progression

bVII, IV, I

“Billy Shears” Progression

bVI, bVII, I

Walrus Progression

bIII, IV, V

Lucy Bassline

notes of the scale, not chords: I, bVII, VI, bVI

We can work it out

• Starts on flat 7 chord

• Appoggiatura (start on higher note and resolve to tonic)

• Triplet feel at the end of b minor section (fussing and fighting)

• D major

• Harmonium

Drive my car

• Home key difficult to feel

Norweigian wood

• Sitar in song

• Triplet feel

• Main hook is a descending line

• Bridge in parallel minor

Nowhere man

• Acapella opening

• Descending vocal line

• Flat 6th in backing vocals

Paper back writer

• Guitar riff song

• Delay on vocals

• Bring back intro a few times to build up riff again

Rain

• Backwards 1st verse at end of the song

• Johns vocals slowed down

Taxman

• A little political for the beatles

• Complaining about taxes

• No V chord

• Paul does guitar solo

Eleanor Rigby

• Strings (by George Martin

• Closed miked strings - unconventional

• Story about two unrelated characters who meet

• Darker than normal for beatles

Tomorrow Never Knows

• Opens with sitar

• Tape loops that each fade in and out throughout the song

• Backwards guitar solo

Penny Lane

• Chorus in key of A

• Goes to b minor 7 chord after b major

• Then does more weird chords

Strawberry Fields Forever

• Spliced 2 ideas together but they didnt match key so they changed speed to match

• Swordmandel

• Distorted vocals

• Backwards cymbals

With a little help from my friends

bVII, IV, I

• Starts with bVI, bVII, I (Billy shears)

• Ringo singing

• Song is him gaining confidence

• His friends help him during the chorus and do call and response during verses

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

• Alice in wonderland inspired

• Weird verse

• Synth intro, starts on same note that friends ends on

• Chorus completely different groove and chords than verses

• Descending bass line (I, bVII, VI, bVI)

Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite

• Idea came from poster they saw

• Harmonium sounds like calliope

• Circus sounds

• Electronic sounds and loops interlaid with traditional instruments

I am the walrus

• John heard people were teaching his lyrics in classes and wanted to write something nonsensical

• Alice in wonderland inspired (walrus and the carpenter)

• Distorted vocals

• bIII, IV, V

• String section for bridge

• They took a radio station and played it along with the tape recording

• Hamlet, it gradually fades in at the end of the song

• This is after geoff emerick dies, and the last thing you here is “is he dead?” “sit you down father, rest you”

Hey Jude

• Long outro

• Initially about julian lennon dealing with his parents divorce

• Hey jules Renamed Jude

• Unusual length for a single

• Feels hymn like

Revolution

• John wanted to be A side instead of hey jude

• Guitar tone achieved by plugging directly into recording and then getting the sound to clip, getting the distorted tone

• Billy Preston piano solo

• Scream at end

Back in the USSR

• Plane sound at beginning and end, fades into hey prudence

• Beach boys backing vocals

• Bluesy

Dear Prudence

• Starts with plane from USSR

• Prudence studied transcendental meditation with the beatles in india

• John lennon was worried about her being too into meditation so he wrote a song about her

While my guitar gently weeps

• Eric clapton guitar solo

• Written by george harrison

• May be about how he feels overshadowed by John and Paul

Happiness is a warm gun

• No section really repeats once it is over

• Essentially 4 different sections in a row

• The sections build on each other

• Starts very ethereal

Blackbird

• Metronome sound is pauls foot tapping

• Inspired by a bach piece

• 10ths all throughout

• Bird sounds

Julia

• Folk guitar picking

• About johns mother who died when he was 17

• Also about his new love for yoko ono

• Julia overlaps

Get Back

• Immigration was an issue at this point, could have been talking about that

• Wanted a more live feel for this album

Let it be

• Came to paul in a dream

• Gospel like

• Descending scale throughout whole song

• Two different guitar solos depending on which version

Come together

• Flat top from chuck berry song

• Ringo’s drum beat

• Each verse may refer to a different beatle and how they are coming together

Something

• Chromatic rise at beginning is the fall during the verses

• First time in a major, then "don't want to leave her now" in minor

• George harrison wrote

• Longest George harrison solo

I want you (She’s so heavy)

• Experiment with meter changes

• Lead guitar roughly doubling lead vocal

• Rise in intensity on repeat

• Billy preston organ solo

• Long outro, kinda dissonant, sounds like black sabbath

Here comes the sun

• Mogue synthesizer

• George harrison

• 11/8 and 7/8 in the bridge

Because

• Inspired by moonlight sonata

• Some spanish lyrics

• 9 voices

You never give me your money

• 3 sections that are compatible but unrelated

• Pauls theme of money

• Leads into sun king

Polythene pam

• Billy shears progression (bVI, bVII, I)

• Sister to mr mustard

Golden slumbers/carry that weight

• Drum fill connects the songs

• George on bass

• You never give me your money reprise

• Leads to the end

The end

• Each beatle gets a solo (even ringo, for his first time)

• Alternates between the rest a few times

• Where they say “love you” its the same as the love me do chords

• Some silence and the end before “your majesty”