Tomorrow Never Knows Flashcards
This song is in strophic form. What does this mean?
The verses are set to the same music
The tambura plays throughout the song. What part does the tambura play?
Drone
Describe the drum kit part.
Rock rhythm
How is the drum kit part different in “Tomorrow Never Knows’ than in the other 3 Beatles songs?
It is more prominent
What studio technique is used to alter the sound of the drum part?
Reverse cymbals
Which two Indian instruments are included in the song?
Sitar & Tambura
Describe a tambura.
4 stringed instrument without frets
Why does the tambura not play the melody line?
It doesn’t have frets
How is a tambura played?
Plucked
What was John Lennon under the influence when he wrote the song?
The hallucinatory drug LSD
Where have the lyrics been taken from?
The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead
What do the words “Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream” refer to?
The effect of the drug
What recording technique has been used on the vocals?
Double tracking
How does the song start?
An instrumental introduction (6 bars)
Which chord is heard throughout most of the song?
C
Which one other chord is heard within each verse?
Bb (with an added C)
Which section is heard in between verses 3 & 4?
Instrumental
Which instrument plays a fill in between each verse?
Sitar
What does the bass guitar play?
Bass riff that does not change
What is the time signature of the song?
4/4 (common time)
Which rhythmic device is used at the start of each verse?
Anacrusis
Which rhythmic device is created when the vocals sing triplets?
Cross rhythms
What mode is the vocal melody based on?
Mixolydian in C
Which recording technique is used on the guitar solo?
Recorded and reversed
Which scale is the guitar solo based on?
Blues scale on C
The guitar solo is based on a variation of another scale. What is the scale?
Pentatonic
Which rhythmic device is heard at the start of the guitar solo?
Scotch snap (lombardic rhythm)