Revolution 1
insertion of 2/4 measure:
2/4 bar inserted at 0:06 right after the word "well" (from the White album, 1968)
Golden Slumbers
2/4 bar inserted in this song also at 0:06 following the word "home"; from Abbey Road (1969)
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Spotify playlist for this Musical Close-Up:
previously in rock, 4/4 meter was almost a "given" ... also tended to be uptempo, heavy backbeat w/duple subdivision
Revolution 1
insertion of 2/4 measure:
2/4 bar inserted at 0:06 right after the word "well" (from the White album, 1968)
Golden Slumbers
2/4 bar inserted in this song also at 0:06 following the word "home"; from Abbey Road (1969)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
alternates 3/4 (triple meter) in the verses & 4/4 (duple meter) in the choruses
from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
She's Leaving Home
3/4 throughout which is much less common in rock than quadruple or duple meter
from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Back in the USSR
insertion of 3/4 measures:
two measures of 3/4 bar inserted at 0:09 (followed by Beach Boys-like vocal countermelody: "oo-ee-oo"); occurs at 0:58 in the full track
from the White Album (1968)
Blackbird
alternates 3/4 (triple meter) & 4/4 (duple meter)
first four bars (guitar intro, then first vocal phrase) alternate (from the White Album, 1968)
All You Need is Love
alternating 3/4 and 4/4 bars (released as a single, then on Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)
Good Morning Good Morning
intro & chorus are in quadruple metter (4/4; from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Strawberry Fields Forever
alternates duple subdivision with triple subdivision (which is sometimes referred to as "compound meter")
8th note, temporal subdivision remains consistent throughout ... feel how the duple subdivision is set up by the first verse ("... 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields")?
Then, on the phrase "Strawberry Fields Forever" (at 0:19 in the excerpt above), the temporal separation between subdivisions remains the same, but they are grouped in threes (triple subdivision) rather than in twos (duple subdivision) as the verse had been up to that point.
A Day in the Life
syncopation
listen to the piano and bass following the lyrics "dragged a comb across my head" (just after 0:04 in the excerpt above); from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
hemiola (3 3 3 3 2 2)
Songs by the Beatles with slower tempos ... each of these three tracks is on Abbey Road (1969)
Come Together
"Come Together" has a slightly faster tempo than Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight" (a ballad); however, the Beatles' recording is arguably NOT a rock ballad.
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight
transition from a ballad feel ("Golden Slumbers") to mainstream rock ("Carry That Weight") at around 1:33 ... but the tempo is the same for both songs.
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
tempo = 45 beats per minute!! (compound meter; triple subdivision of the beat)
This tempo is much slower than even Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender"!!
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