Chapter 15

Question 1

Answer 1

Question 2

But the vocal interest is multiplied when the two parts still track each other in terms of the contour and rhythm of the phrase - but now above or below the original line, ie. at a higher or lower series of pitches. This may be an obvious, primitive description of how to ‘harmonise a tune’ , but it is one that raises an interesting point. McCartney himself describes how the presence of more than one
vocal part creates a paradox as to the very nature of melody and harmony :

Answer 2

Question 3

It is important to remember that , as a line unfolds in harmonised thirds, the interval at any given point might consist of either a
major or a minor third (i.e., distances of both 3 and 4 semitones will be involved over the course of a line in order to keep the harmony diatonic, or to accommodate a non -diatonic effect in one of the lines). ‘Baby’s In Black’ demonstrates both situations particularly clearly in the second part of the verse:

Answer 3

Question 4

Answer 4

Question 5

Answer 5

Question 6

Answer 6

Starting with a unison sound where both John and Paul, for once, sing the same opening note (‘Last .. .’), the moving line drops against the upper E, moving first to a jarring minor second (,night’). This is created by the major-seventh -against-tonic that rings out dissonantly, if briefly, before the descent continues down the scale, widening to an interval of a sixth (‘to’) before settling on that final fourth (‘girl’)

Question 7

Answer 7

Question 8

Answer 8

Question 9

The principle of multi- part weaving of harmony reached an awesome peak on ‘Because’, the ultimate case study for further dissection by ambitious readers. But the principle of extreme independence of vocal lines can also be appreciated in Beatles songs from many years earlier. Take the intro to the 1965 single, ‘Paperback Writer’, where an uplifting multilayered vocal, delivered as a
sinewy, carefully plotted prologue, creates a subtle take on the title theme. Here’s a rough resume :

Answer 9

Question 10

Answer 10

Question 11

This isn’t the first time that minor third intervals resulting from chromatic excursions in one of the vocal lines have implied non-diatonic chords. The A7 of ‘Baby’s In Black’ is an obvious example, even if it was just a standard, bluesy tonic embellishment on its way to IV. The diminished gesture in ‘ If I Fell’, which occurs purely as a welcome accident of two independent melody lines passing like ‘ships in the night’, marks a degree of sophistication in a pop song that is light years removed from the standard
b 7th blues effect

Answer 11