A Day in the Life Flashcards
Who are the members of the beatles?
John Lennon- voice & rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney- voice, bass guitar & keyboard
George Harrison- lead guitar
Ringo Starr- Drums
Why were they successful?
Why were they successful
Four well-dressed, charismatic white musicians from England - contributed significantly to their initial success
Their talent, practice, personality, innovation and timing (and bootiful hairstyle)
Time frame and where
Had official line up in 1962
played together until 1969 (7 years)
Originated in Liverpool, UK
Stopped touring in 1966
Influences
Rock and roll of the 1950s - raw energy and excitement
Motown acts and early 1960s girl groups - vocal arrangements
classical music and classical avant - garde
Background
No British act had made it in the US
Beatles waited until their 1st US #1 hit before they moved
When they arrived ‘Beatlemania’ was in full swing
‘British Invasion’ saw a huge influx of bands
Beatles had staggering commercial achievements in the US and worldwide
Why were the beatles so important? (5)
Revolutionised the use of recording technology
- Many ideas & techniques used in recording were invented or advanced by the Beatles
- Recording voice through rotating speaker
- Looping- allowed for layering of music
- Artificial double tracking- made Lennon’s voice sound thicker
- Tea towels & sweaters- Ringo used to dampen the drums
Revolutionised the way that albums were recorded
- Beatles grown weary of travelling in 1966
- Began redefining how music was conceived and produced
- Experimented with sound, splicing, and reversing tape, maxing out the potential of a 4-track and eventually 8-track machines
Brought album covers to the next level
- Work of art
- First to display the lyrics on the packaging of an album
Kickstarted youth culture
- Generational awareness broke out
- Young people experimented with music, art, fashion, sexual desire, drugs, morality
- Advanced questions of identity and female liberation
- Opened minds to gay rights and environmentalism
Pivotal in the development of music videos
- First band to use the video clip as a PR tool
Album cover and recording studio
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967
recorded at Abbey road and took over 700+ hours
Album is influenced by
Indian music, jazz, WAM, pop, psychedelic rock
psychedelic movements- social, musical and artistic change influenced by psychedelic drugs, the era was defined by proliferation of LSD
Significance of the Album
Broke traditional rules surrounding a ‘rock album’
Record set new standards in expertise and innovation
Extended/altered musical form
Influenced others to experiment
Made a big difference in music culture as McCartney said “people played it safe in popular music and we realised that you didn’t have to”
Brought counter-culture values into mainstream
Album cover- lyrics and incorporation of figures
Use of technology was unique- pushed boundaries of a 1960s studio
Goal of album was to extinguish pre-conceived ideas about the beatles
Songs on record would blend into one another with no ‘3-second break’ in between
Album Cover
4 rows of many life-sized cardboard cut-outs and wax models of famous people
Included artists, writers, actors, athletes, scientists, political and spiritual leaders
Four wax models of their younger selves to show how they have evolved
Producer’s name and his job
George Martin - harmonium and organized the symphony orchestra of 40 players
Lyrics
5 lines in each verse which is atypical
Rhyming couple are every 4 + 5 lines
Verse 1 + 2
- Inspired by newspaper article JL read about a car crash
- Tara Brown was under heavy influence when driving and crashed and died
- He was heir to the Guinness inheritance (beer)
- ‘House of lords’ -> senate in UK
Verse 3
- Film JL was in called ‘How I was in the war”
Verse 4
- Talking about ‘thousand holes’ in Blackburn, Lancashire and ‘how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall’ - famous theatre
- About the poor condition of roads or
- ‘assholes’ of the audience or musicians or
Plastic holes being renovated in the roof
Possible Narratives
Tells the story of a person going about their daily routines
- Reveals struggles, joys, and pains of life
- Symbol for working man/woman or everyday person
- 3 verses are about lying in bed, wanting to fall asleep ad thinking of the day
- Contemplates the irony of life
- Can’t help but laugh at someone dying in such an absurd way after ‘having made the grade’ in the life
- Orchestral section- person begins to fall asleep- thoughts running through their head
- Last thing they think about is their loved one, ‘I’d love to turn you on’
- Middle section the person wakes up to an alarm clock and starts their daily routine
- They’re in a rush and only just catch the bus, they have a smoke and mind starts to wonder, ‘I went into a dream’ (could also be high)
Orchestral section- division between everyday world and dreamy world, section represent a sort of sleep when someone is consumed by their thoughts, emotions and life
Use of Technology (8)
Overdubbing / layering
- Adding other recorded sounds to an existing recording
- Achieves a fuller, more complex sound
Reverb
- Used to make studio recordings sound more realistic
- Creates lingering decay of sound
Artificial Double Tracking (ADT) / flanging
- John didn’t like the sound of his voice
- Producer came up with the idea to use 2 reel-to-reel tape decks
- They ran slightly out of sync so his voice was essentially double tracked
Recording of the drumkit
- Drums in verses sound like a huge, timpani-like sound
- Ringo tune his toms very low by loosening the skins on the drum heads
- Removed the skins from the bottom of the drums
- They wrapped a mic in a tea cloth, put it in a glass jug and put it on the floor under the drums
Orchestral crescendo
- 40-piece orchestra recorded twice
- 2 separate recording machines to achieve climax
- Faders were also used to take the sound from tiny beginnings to immense climax
The alarm clock
- Set an alarm clock off at the start of the 24th bar
- Recording tape picked up the alarm and they couldn’t eliminate it
Final piano chord
- 3 separate pianos and a harmonium
- Recording was overdubbed three times
Run-out groove
- Part on a vinyl record between the end of the music and the edge of the label
- After the final note, they put in a high pitch tone that drives dogs crazy
Followed by a loop of lyrics that sound like ‘never could see any other way’
Recognizing the different sections
Intro
- G major
- Guitar providing pulse
- No gaps between tracks on record
Verse 1
- John Lennon is singing
- Homophonic texture
- Descending base line reflects sad lyrics
- Standard instrumentation for a pop song
- Melody is dependant on the continuity of the bass line
- 10 bars and ends on rhyming couplet
Verse 2
- 9 bars
- Drum kit enters- doesn’t lay down beat or pulse- provides fills
- Unexpected unusual phrase
- Lowered 7th chord- common technique
- Ends on rhyming couplet
Verse 3
- Descending piano/bass line
- Lowered 7th chord and rhyming couplet
- 9 bars
Bridge
- Highly unusual, influenced by avant-garde
- Melisma-like vocals
- Orchestra joins
- Atonal- no tonal centre/key
- Mal counted the beats to measure time
Middle section
- Contrast in key, voice, style
- E major, Paul singing, double time feel, change in metre 2/4 - 4/4, alarm clock
- More clipped, less legato style, use of 3rds provides unity with verses
- New key established in piano, guitar & bass
- Drums lead in and changes to become more of a beat/pulse- keeper
Transition
- John singing, very unusual for a pop song, starts in C major
- Dream-like, high pitch, moving pan- ethereal quality
- Cycle of 5ths in chords
- Drums maintain pulse, linking sections
- Quick cadence leads back to G major in verse 4
Verse 4
- Johns vocals, similar pitch to end of verse 2, rhyming couplet
Bridge 2
- ‘turn you on’
- Bass gradually building up to final ‘E’
- Atonal section, repeat of orchestral section
- Orchestra instructed to end on E
- Brief silence before ending
Ending
- A huge E major chord
- Thunderous piano layering effect
- As the piano sound naturally decayed, the microphone were turned up to keep sound going for 35 seconds
Run out groove
- Usually left empty but they added a dog whistle
- Loop continues until record is removed from the player
