A Little Help From My Friends Flashcards
John Lennon
DOB: 4th October 1940
Died: 8th December 1980
Role: played rhythm guitar and sang
Facts: He was the leader
Paul McCartney
DOB: 18th June 1945
Role: Main song writer, vocals, bass guitarist and rhythm guitar
George Harrison
DOB: 25th February 1943
Died: 29th November 2001
Role: Guitarists, songwriter and singer
Ringo Starr
DOB: 7th July 1940
Role: Drummer,singer and songwriter
Melody and lyrics in a little help from my friends
- Melody-Based around the hook in the chorus used sequence
- Melody in repetitive moves by steps in the chorus
- Close harmonies to melody in backing vocals
- Lyrics- it was going to be called “bad finger boogie”
- Speculations is also about drugs
- call and response
Structure in a little help from my friends
Intro Verse1 Chorus Verse 2 Chorus Middle 8 Verse3 Chorus Verse4 Chorus Middle8 Chorus Outro
Instrumentation in a little help from my friends
Drum kit Male voice Guitar Bass guitar electric guitar Rhythm Male backing voice
Harmony and tonality in a little help from my friends
Verse chords
E , B ,F#m , A , B , Ex2
Chorus chords
D , A , Ex2 , A , E , Bx2
Middle 8 chords
E , C#m , F#m7 , E , D , Ax2
Rhythm tempo and metre In a little help from my friends
Receptive Simple patterns Allegro Fast 4/4
With a little help from my friends is the ____ song in the album
2nd song on the album
Who the song written by??
Music was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Who was the lead singer??
Ringo Starr was the lead singer
The song ask questions about what ??
Asks questions about:
Meaning of friendship
Stress the importance of community
Why was the song specifically written for Ringo Starr??
He has a small vocal range
He has a range of only 5 notes
What are the 4 instruments heard in verse1?
Piano Guitar Bass & Drums
What is another word for ‘perfect cadence’
Sounds finished
What 2 instruments are used to overdub the piece?
Tambourine and cowbell
What are harmony’s above Ringo’s voice??
Harmony’s abound his note in either 3rds , 4ths or 7ths
What are the main things that happens in the bridge?
Call and response format
The note values are longer
The accompaniment returns to just piano,guitar & drums
What happens in verse3
Continues the call and response format with john and Paul asking the questions in harmony and Ringo providing the answer
What happens in the second bridge?
The same music and lyrics are used for the second bridge, with the one small change.
What happens in the final chorus?
After the 3 usual chorus , the are 6 conclusion tit he song, using repeats of the final melody
The last note is E sung by Ringo
There is a defending melody sung by the remaining members
The final cadence is a type of alternative perfect cadence
The symbol is struck
With a little help from my friends
The song is an example of pop rock
Question1
What is unusual about the opening of a little help from my friends?
It in G major, while the rest of the song is in E major
Question2
How do we know that this song was written specifically for Ringo?
Because Ringo Starr had a limited vocal range and haritone voice
What is melisma?
Give and example of a melisma
It’s a singing technique where two or more notes are sung on the same symbol
And example of melisma is in verse2 when it says “lone” and “own”
