Beatles Flashcards
What genres do they draw on?
rock and roll
blues
folk
what album was revolver?
7
Was this a new phase?
yes
When was revolver released and what singles are in it?
August 5th, 1966
yellow submarine
eleanor rigby
How many weeks was revolver in the charts?
34
How does revolver differ from previous albums?
more studio- based
What experimental production aspects are included?
automatic double-tracking variable tape speeds tape-loops playing recorded sounds backwards dubbed sound effects
Why is the album notable?
classical performance forces e.g string quartet Indian influences Avoidance of traditional structures Presence of 'psychedelic' elements wide range of subjects
Who produced the album?
George Martin
recorded/mixed by Geoff Emerick
(Eleanor Rigby) describe the string quartet
string group drawing on eight individual performers
doubled string quartet
(Eleanor Rigby) what is the structure?
strophic
(Eleanor Rigby) describe the overall structure
intro verse and refrain bridge verse and refrain coda
(Eleanor Rigby) how many lines does each verse consist of?
Two five-bar lines
Sometimes with a loose rhyme-scheme
(Eleanor Rigby) What’s the tonality and what’s striking about it?
Em
striking modal inflections
(Eleanor Rigby) what’s striking about the melody?
modal ambiguity
(Eleanor Rigby) what’s the melody composed of?
repeated rising and falling melody
(Eleanor Rigby) what implied Lydian mode?
Fsharp
(Eleanor Rigby) name four interesting things about the vocal line
mode is Dorian bu the final bar is Aeolian (Cnatural)
final bar tragic descent highlights the names of characters
descending sequences and syncopation
final bar of the verse highlights the situation/message e.g ‘who is it for?’
(Eleanor Rigby) How does the refrain highlight despair?
only involves the first, third, fourth and fifth notes of the scale
upwards octave leap followed by a rapid descent to tonic
second phrase leap of minor 10th then closing on mediant
(Eleanor Rigby) How many chords is the song built on?
two
Em and C
(Eleanor Rigby) describe the overall harmonic rhythm
slow
(Eleanor Rigby) How do chords function in the introduction
alternate every two bars starting on C major
(Eleanor Rigby) Describe the harmony of the verse
opens with Em for three bars followed by two bars of C
(Eleanor Rigby) what is the refrain built on?
Em with sustained E in cellos and a chromatic counter-melody in violas featuring Db
(Eleanor Rigby) what contributes to the pessimism?
relentless, closed-in harmonic scheme
(Eleanor Rigby) what is the tempo?
fast quadruple
(Eleanor Rigby) Is the tempo maintained throughout?
yes apart from an unmarked rit at close
(Eleanor Rigby) What is the song built on?
insistent repeated crotchets enlivened by quavers
(Eleanor Rigby) What appears in the cellos in refrains?
sustained notes
(Eleanor Rigby) Where does syncopation occur?
vocal part
(Eleanor Rigby) who wrote the string arrangement and how is it reminiscent of psycho?
George Martin
aggressively staccato with mechanical-sounding figurations
(Eleanor Rigby) How were the strings recorded?
Non-vibrato
microphones close
(Eleanor Rigby) describe the texture
homophonic
repeated staccato chords frequently off-set by sustained notes
(Eleanor Rigby) what variations in texture is there?
doubling
contrapuntal
(Everywhere) describe the sonority
sung by McCartney with automatic double-tracking lead guitar bass guitar acoustic guitar drums vocals
(Everywhere) What is the texture?
Mel-dom-hom
(Everywhere) What does the guitar alternate between?
block and broken chords
(Everywhere) What form is the piece?
binary with an intro and coda
(Everywhere) Describe the vocal line
syllabic
(Everywhere) What does the intro outline?
broken triads
closing on the dominant
(Everywhere) Is there parallel movement?
yes
(Everywhere) Is the harmony regularly phrased?
yes
2+2+1+1+1+1
(Everywhere) how is the melody counterphrased against the background?
1+2+2+3
(Everywhere) what is the melody characterised by?
wide range (9th) free movement between monotone passages, conjunct movement and leaps
(Everywhere) name four harmonic/melodic features
appoggiatura
dissonance
false relation
harmonic sequence
(Everywhere) What is the key?
Gm
(Everywhere) describe the coda
Rising line with plagal cadence to close
(Everywhere) what’s the tempo?
Moderate
84cpm
(Everywhere) is there rubato?
Yes - intro before the steady pulse is established
(Everywhere) what’s the metre?
4/4 with one bar of 7/8
(Everywhere) How does the word setting have a conversational quality?
flexible rhyme schemes carries over the starts of beats
scotch snaps
syncopation
(I want) What does the song express?
avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to transmit
(I want) How is the sense of frustration evident?
dissonant harmony
(I want) list the instruments
Harrisons double tracked vocals lead guitar bass guitar piano drum kit tambourine maracas handclaps
(I want) describe the harmonisation
three-part vocal harmonisation
Lennon and McCartney supporting Harrison
(I want) what is the texture?
melody-dominated-homophony
(I want) what’s the key?
A major
(I want) what is the song built on?
limited amount of material
fades in with guitar riff in which dominant 7th is prominent
(I want) How do the chords alternate?
between I and IV
(I want) How is desperation conveyed?
fragmentary nature of melodic setting
dislocated phrases of varying lengths
(I want) how do the vocal ranges vary?
lead = major 7th
harmonising voices rise higher at the end of each statement
(I want) How does the harmony hint at the difficulty of transmitting thoughts?
Its limited number of chords
Acciaccaturas
Jolting effect of sudden shift to the B7
Jarringly dissonant Em 9th chord
(I want) When does the vocal line become more narrow?
Bridge
more monotone
(I want) When is melisma used?
Coda
(I want) Describe the tempo?
124cpm
brisk quadruple time
(I want) what’s present in the guitar riff?
jazz quavers
triplet crotchets
(I want) what propels the music into the next verse?
triplet quavers
(I want) What’s typical of verses?
insistent crotchets on piano
vocals heavily syncopated
(Tomorrow) What’s the song based on?
Psychedelic Experience
manual based on the Tibetan book of the dead
(Tomorrow) How does the unique sound quality develop?
complex studio engineering
(Tomorrow) What studio engineering’s used?
Automatic double-tracking on Lenins voice
Closing verse distorted using a revolving Leslie speaker
Tape-loops
(Tomorrow) What is the closing distorted voice meant to sound like?
Tibietan monks
(Tomorrow) How many many loops are used?
16
(Tomorrow) How are tape loops used?
‘seagull’ effect
orchestral chord of Bb major
Electric guitar phrased reversed and played at double speed
Sitar-like sound, reversed and played at double speed
(Tomorrow) What is solo voice supported by?
Drone C along with a bass guitar riff
(Tomorrow) What hints at Eastern meditation?
Sitar and Tambura
(Tomorrow) What produces polyphony?
web of tape loops
(Tomorrow) What is the key?
C with prominent flattened 7th hinting at Mixolydian mode
(Tomorrow) What’s the structure?
strophic
(Tomorrow) Describe the overall structure
Faded-in intro 3 verses instrumental four verses coda outro
(Tomorrow) What do the opening chords outline?
tonic broken chord of C
(Tomorrow) How do the two last phrases move?
from the fifth degree up to the flattened 7th then the tonic
(Tomorrow) What’s wider and more random in range?
melodic material of the tape loop
(Tomorrow) describe the overall tempo
vocal part is moderate and contrasts with feverish activity in other parts
(Tomorrow) Name four rhythmic devices
syncopation
triplet crotchets
triplet quavers in guitar solo loop
dotted rhythms and scotch snaps in guitar solo loop
(Here There And Everywhere) What are the key chords in the intro?
G, B, Bb, Am, D7
(Here There And Everywhere) What are the key chords in A?
G, Am, Bm, C
(Here There And Everywhere) What are the key chords in B?
I, VI, II, III/V7, I
(I Want To Tell You) What chord is common?
A7
Other examples of a musique concrete
Pierre Schaeffer, invented it, Etude auxcheming de ter 1948’ - train sounds
Radio head ‘paranoid android’ - tack piano
Bride over troubled water
Simon and Garfunkel Ballad verse-chorus repetitive interesting harmony e.g dim plus sus 4 chord Eb major syncopated tonic pedal syllabic word painting vietnam
Waterloo sunset
Kinks 1967 four-peace beat combo (typical band) Homophonic with some layering heterphonic when the bass plays a simple melody an octave below AABA E major Diatonic and functional harmony Conjunct and repetitive with the main hook using a 5 note cell - Csharp, B, E, Csharp, B 4 bar rhythm and medium tempo drum fills
Don’t look back in anger
Oasis Guitar-based line-up Piano simple root position quaver chords High tessitura syllabic double-tracking mel-dom'hom variety from guitar licks verse-chorus narrow rsnge of a 6th pentatonic blues notes continuous quavers syncopation
A day in the life context
1967 album sergeant
beatles
concept album about loneliness
A day in the life sonority
four track technology panning overdubbing mel-dom-hom orchestral section
A day in the life structure
modified structure
A day in the life tonality
G major focus on submediant (E major) No use of dominant (D) circle of fifths Atonal section
A day in the life harmony
I-III-VI7-IV
plagal cadence
descending bass line spans a minor 7th
fifths
A day in the life melody
diatonic
pentatonic
disjunct
repetition
A day in the life rhythm
4/4 mostly crotchets and quavers few syncopations triplets sextuplet semiquavers
You can get it if you really want it
Desmond Dekker and the Aces close harmony backing trumpets homophonic homorhythm Db major - no mmodulations three diatonic primary chords of Db major main hook = 3 pitch figure which dominates the song strong quadruple rhythm
Beatles context
Beatlemania
1966
three months at EMI with producer George Martin and sound engineer Geoff Emerick
multi-tracking
Indian influences, psychedelia and musique concrete
