prior to the Beatles (with the exception of perhaps the Beach Boys), there
had been little innovation in harmonic or tonal aspects of rock
Musical characteristics of typical late 50s & early 60s rock
lots of 12-bar blues and I-vi-IV-V progressions
melodies drawn from simple major scale or blues scale (diatonic)
Innovations by the Beatles - heavily influenced
by Brian Wilson's work, especially Pet Sounds (1966) and Smile
(unreleased except for bootleg versions; then released in 2004 as a re-recorded solo version by Brian Wilson)
Beatles began using notes outside of the scale (chromatic)
art music example: compare Mozart's Piano Sonata in C Major to Chopin's Prelude in E minor
Beatles avoided the common 12-bar and I-vi-IV-V forms
inserting unexpected chords
Music of the Beatles: Chromatic Chords & Nontraditional Progressions
Chords marked with an asterisk (*) are "outside of the key" (adventurous harmonies)
Help!
from Help! (1965)
In My Life
from Rubber Soul (1965)
Michelle
the song is composed in a minor key, but it beings on a MAJOR tonic
chord!!; from Rubber Soul (1965)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite
the chords are so chromatic that the key is extremely ambiguous at
beginning; from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Strawberry Fields Forever
released as a single, then included on Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Other Interesting Harmonies in Music of the Beatles
I Saw Her Standing There
from Please Please Me (1963)
bVI on "Oo" (0:17 in the excerpt above)
Penny Lane
released as a single (1967)
starts like a typical I-vi-IV-V form, but on the second time through
goes to minor tonic!! (at 0:07 in the excerpt above)
Songs that use the bIII chord ("flat three"), a triad built on the lowered third of the blues scale
Back in the USSR
bIII chord at 0:03 in the excerpt above (on the words "didn't get to sleep"); from the White album (1968)
the major chord contains a MAJOR 3rd, but the bIII chord is built on a root that is a half-step lower (on the MINOR 3rd)
Birthday
from the White album (1968)
two interesting things about this track:
the verses are in the 12-bar blues form (common in 1940s R&B and in early rock, but rarely used by the Beatles)
the bIII chord occurs at 0:48 in the excerpt above (just before the lyrics "I would like you to dance"), alternating with the bVI chord (another chromatic harmony! ... "outside the key")
It is worth noting that what seemed harmonically "fresh & innovative" in 1960s rock was "old hat" in classical music, jazz, & even show tunes from the 1940s and 1950s!
Ambiguity of Key
Can't Buy Me Love
intro & chorus in major key, but verses form a minor key version
of the 12-bar blues; I have included two verses in the excerpt above, so that you can practice hearing the 12-bar form
Come Together
minor key almost throughout, but turns major on the phonemes "-gether" in the phrase "Come
Together" (the "hook line"), then it goes right back into the minor key on the word "me" in the phrase "... over me"; the beginning of the excerpt above is at 0:36 in the original recording
She Loves You
composed in Eb (a major key) with considerable emphasis on Cm (the relative minor key of Eb major) on the word "bad" (0:16 in the excerpt above) in the phrase "... and you know that can't be bad"
Yer Blues
altered 12-bar blues (though a common form in R&B and rock, the Beatles relied on this form infrequently)
used bIII instead of IV for the chord progression in the second phrase of each chorus of the blues form
occurs on the word "dead" in the phrase "If I ain't dead already ..." (0:22 in the first chorus and 0:52 in the second chorus)
insert two 4/4 bars (a 14-bar blues?!!)
the two inserted bars begin on the word "why" in the phrase "Girl, you know the reason why" (0:28 in the first chorus and 0:57 in the second chorus )
