Johansson
Johansson
Johansson
[1] Introduction
What kind of knowledge makes it possible to play a song by ear? How can a musician play a song that he or she has never played before, and maybe never even heard before? What happens in the moment of playing? These questions, delimited to harmony and to the field of rock music, will be addressed in a study consisting of two parts: a) a description of rock harmony, and b) an interview study with rock musicians.The description of rock harmony in itself consists of two parts: this study of Beatles harmony, and a later study of rock harmony in the 1990s. From literature about rock harmony, my primary sources have been Allan Moores Rock: The Primary Text (1993), Richard Middletons Studying Popular Music (1990) and Lars Lilliestams Gehrsmusik (1995), and Svensk rock. Musik, lyrik, historik (1998). Moore (1993) divides rock harmony into open-ended repetitive patterns and, citing Arnold Schoenberg, different pairings of harmonic phrases: open-closed, open-open, and closed-closeda closed phrase being one that ends on the tonic. Middleton (1990), in the chapter Change gonna come? Popular music and musicology (pp. 12326) treats methods for musicological analysis of popular music. Lilliestam (1995) submits a catalogue over common chord progressions in rock music (pp. 195200), while his Svensk rock (1998) has a section about modality in rock. Among the vast literature on the Beatles, Ive mainly used Wilfrid Mellerss Twilight Of The Gods (1973); Ian MacDonalds En revolution i huvudet: The Beatles inspelningar och 1960-talet (1994; original title Revolution in the Head); Terence OGradys The Beatles: A Musical Evolution (1983); and finally Allan Moores Sgt. Pepper (1997). Mellers (1973) consists of analyses of a number of Beatles songs, today somewhat dated but still containing valuable insights. MacDonald (1994) writes a short chapter on every song that the Beatles recorded, sometimes including comments on harmony. OGrady (1983) is a Ph.D. thesis on the music of the Beatles, discussing Style Characteristics in terms of Form, Melody, Harmony, Arrangements, and Lyrics. A common trait in the works mentioned above is that none of them studies the total musical output of the Beatles. Chord progressions are described as very common or fairly common, and conclusions are made by way of examples: e.g. the bassline so-and-so. To understand the harmonic language of the Beatles, it is necessary to study the whole picture. This study is made from a musicians perspective and attempts to answer the question: What chords are found in music by the Beatles, and how (in what order, for how long) are they used? In other words, what can someone who plays by ear expect from this music?
KG Johansson
The Beatles were chosen because of their large output and great influence on contemporary and later music. From their first single (Love Me Do, October 1962) to their last album release (Let It Be, May 1970, one month after their official disbandment in April 1970; cf. MacDonald 1994) their music can be seen as the ultimate barometer of stylistic change in the popular music of their time (OGrady 1983, p. 2). The Beatles recorded 211 songs during their time together as a group. One of the songs, Revolution 9 is a sound collage without chord progressions and was excluded from the material. The remaining 210 songs were studied, using the original recordings and also a book of transcriptions (Beatles Complete Scores, 1989). To facilitate comparisons, all the songs were transposed to C major or A minor. The form of each song was described in terms of intro, verse, chorus etc. The chord progressions for all form parts of the 210 songs were written into a word processing program (Microsoft Word).1 By using the search and replace functions of the word processor, it was then easy to answer questions like: how often is the Dm chord used? or: how often is the G7 chord followed by the C chord? The material was divided into major and minor songs. The form, harmonic rhythm and chord progressions were then analysed. Also, a study was made of the original keys, to see if different harmonic material was used in different keys.
[2] Form
The music of the Beatles uses the form parts common to popular music: intro an introduction to the song; verse a form part that is repeated several times, with the same harmony and melody, but with different lyrics each time; chorus a form part that is repeated several times, with the same harmony, melody and lyrics each time; different from the verse at least as to lyrics, but almost always also as to harmony and melody, too; bridge a contrast to verse and chorus, containing new harmonic, melodic and lyrical material, in Beatles songs most often played twice; solo or instrumental interlude like the bridge, a contrast to other form parts, in Beatles music most often played on guitar. The solo mostly is played over another form part (e.g., solo over the verse), but sometimes uses new harmonic material; pre-chorus a form part after the verse, building up to the chorus, seldom used by the Beatles and their contemporaries but very common in rock music of the 1980s and 1990s; coda an ending to the song. Considering the relatively few types of form parts, the amount of variation in the Beatless music is striking. However, songs often start off with (intro)verseverse bridgeverse (57 cases) or (intro)versechorusversechorusbridge (23 cases); they then continue in many different ways. A common principle seems to be to repeat something twice: verseverse or versechorusversechorus, and then follow this by a contrast, either verseversebridge, verseversechorus, verseversesolo, versechorusversechorusbridge or versechorus versechorussolo. The form part first heard, excluding the intro, seems to be the home of the song. Since the Beatles most often started their songs with the verseonce again, excluding the intro the verse will feel like the home that the listener returns to after excursions to the chorus,
bridge and/or solo. Thus, a song with a verse in A minor and a chorus in C major will feel like an A minor song. The Beatless form parts most often follow the Western convention of being constructed of multiples of two bars, which means that most form parts are 4, 8, 12 or 16 bars long (Moore 1993, p. 40). However, there are many exceptions: e.g., choruses in Beatles music vary from 19 bars in length (Shes Leaving Home) to 2 bars (Come Together), with almost all possible variations in between (ibid.). In a few cases, notably Happiness Is A Warm Gun and You Never Give Me Your Money, collage forms are used. Such songs do not have the usual repetitions of verse, chorus etc, but instead consist of a string of different parts which may or may not be repeated. The song then gives the impression of a collage of musical ideas (Lilliestam 1995, p. 214).
KG Johansson
The v chord
The v chord is most often used in modulations to the subdominant key, e.g. verse ends in C; bridge begins Gm C7 F. In a few cases, the v chord also has the function of minor dominant, notably in Shes Leaving Home.
KG Johansson
In diagram 1, a sector shows the most often used chords in the key of C in traditional harmony: The I chord in the middle, IV to the left, V to the right and the relative minors inside the circle. Even in traditional harmony, there is a certain freedom in the use of the chords within this sector. When traditional harmony uses chords further to the right on the circle (e.g., an E7 chord in the key of C major), the way back to the tonic is regulated by descending fifths: E7 A D G C. Chords to the left of IV (like Bb, Eb and Ab in the key of C) are seldom used. Diagram 2 shows a circle of fifths with Beatle harmony.
The chords used in a freer way by the Beatles are the chords closest to the traditional sectorbVII and II, or the chords of Bb and D in the key of C. The bVII chord is used totally freely. The II chord also is used freely, although it can be said to retain a strong preference for moving to V and then to I. Combining chords freely in this way means that many songs seem modal, rather than tonal (Lilliestam 1998, p. 254). However, it is often a matter of taste if a certain chord progression is perceived as modal or tonal. A somewhat more radical approach would be to consider tonality as a special case of modality: among many musically meaningful ways of ordering e.g. the chords C, F, G and Am (in the Beatles music e.g. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill with Am C F G and Let It Be with C G Am F), there are a couple of cases where the chords have traditional functions: C Am F G and F G C Am. Its not a coincidence that its bVII and II, the two major chords closest to respectively IV and V on the circle of fifths, that are used more freely. There are two reasons for this: 1) The further away from the tonic one moves on the circle of fifths, the greater the risk that melody notes will collide with chords and create unwanted dissonances. Using for example a F# major chord in the key of C will mean a very great risk for clashing with the melodynot to mention the drastic contrast in the chords themselves. The closer to the tonic one stays on the circle of fifths, the lesser the risk for such clashes. 2) That Western musical instruments are built and tuned the way they are depends to great extent on the music they were built for. The piano is an obvious example, showing how Western music has disregarded microtonality (notes between the keys of the piano, e.g. the blue notes of blues, jazz and rock)while the Indian sitar, on the other hand, obviously is built for using microtonality. The six strings and standard tuning of the guitar mean that the five open major chords on the instrument (chords played without barring, in the first position, and using at least one open string) are C, G, D, A and E, and the three most easily played open minor chords are D minor, A minor and E minor. A comparison with the pictures above shows how the easiest and best-sounding chords on a guitar lie closely together on the circle of fifths. Another answer to the question why did the Beatless harmony turn out the way it did? thus will be instrument idiomatics. Different chords will to some extent be used more or less
KG Johansson
frequently, depending on how they feel and sound when played on a guitar. The fact that 165 of the Beatless 194 songs in major keys are in the practical guitar keys of C, G, D, A and E major in itself shows that the music very often was conceived using guitars (cf. Lilliestam 1995, pp. 171180, on how rock songs are composed) and Mellers (1973, p. 28) wrote: ...the wide-eyed, open-eared effects created in Beatle songs by mediant relationships and side-stepping modulations are the empirical product of ... the behaviour of the hands on guitar strings and keyboard. [8] It is a well-known fact that the Beatles had no traditional music education (Mellers 1973, p. 26). Unfortunately, there is no room in this paper for a discussion of rock music as opposed to music education, but quotes like The good thing about the guitar was that they didnt teach it in school (Jimmy Page of the group Led Zeppelin, quoted in Lilliestam 1995, p. 230), are telling; and Gullberg (in press) found clear differences in taste between young people in and outside music schools. The problem might not be education in itself, but deficient or incomplete education: A little learning is a dangrous thing, wrote Alexander Pope, and a little learning in this case might mean all the times when people have been taught that it is forbidden for instance to combine certain chords... without consideration of the fact that the question of how chords are combined together is a matter of style. Without a limiting little knowledge of traditional music theory, but with a great practical knowledge of how different popular music styles sounded, the Beatles composed their songs on guitar (and to some extent on piano). Its very likely that this might lead to situations like the following: We have learned, played and even written songs in the key of G, that have used for instance the chords G, Em, C and D; now we are writing a song in the key of A, and why not try the chords C and Em in this key too? They are easily within reach on the instrument, and depending on how they are used, they might create interesting colours. When the Beatless harmony leaves the I, IV and V chord and their relative minors to go further in the dominant direction on the circle of fifths it follows traditional conventions this holds true, as we have seen, for the chords vii (or in just a couple of cases VII7), III(7) and VI(7). Also, the iv and bVI chords are almost always used in a traditional way, even if the bVI chord also is used in other contexts. We may now draw a circle of fifths (diagram 3), showing which chords the Beatles used totally freely (in the top sector), versus which chords are governed by traditional rules. (Note that some chords are missing, e.g. the bIII chord; see below.)
Diagram 3: Chords used freely in Beatles harmony (top sector), and chords governed by traditional rules (outside top sector)
KG Johansson
It should be noted that music of the Beatles only shows tendencies to this new modality. Further research might reveal how commonly used it is in rock harmony. It is not impossible that it actually is rather uncommon, but that the characteristic sound of the bIII and bVII chords in a major key makes the listener react strongly to such songs. One explanation for using the chords I, bIII, IV, V and bVII might be that the root notes of the chords spell out a C minor pentatonic scale (C, Eb, F, G, Bb), and the chords could be seen as this scale, harmonised with major triads on each note (cf. Everett 1995, p. 221).
[10] Conclusions
What might someone who plays by ear expect in music by the Beatles and other, stylistically closely related music? Regarding form: that the song has a verse, that most often will feel like home, and that probably will be the first form part (after the intro, if there is one) to be heard. In relatively few cases, the first form part to be heard (after the intro) will be the chorus. Furthermore, a chorus and/or a bridge that have a contrasting function, often (in songs in major keys) beginning on one of the relative majors, and most probably occurring after two verses (bridge or chorus) or after two pairs of versechorus (bridge). Regarding harmony: that songs in major are a lot more common than songs in minor; that there will be an easily discerned tonic, or a chord that feels like home; that chord progressions to a very large extent will be built on I, IV and V, and in lesser degree on their relative minors vi, ii and iii and the bVII and II chords. Chords other than these will either
follow traditional functional harmony (i.e. chords in the dominant direction, plus the minor subdominant and its relative major) or imply a new modality, using the major chords I, bIII, IV, V and bVII. This means that the music of the Beatles and their contemporaries has its starting point in traditional functional harmony, but a functional harmony where the limits for what is allowed are slowly being expanded. Chords close to the tonic on the circle of fifths are combined totally freely; more chords in the subdominant direction appear in the music; and the II chord can be used in the traditional way, but also with a new freedom. In rock music, functional harmony has started a slow explosion, that continues to this day. In the 1990s, it is possible to compose using progressions like (in C major) C F#m (Fade Away by the English group Blur, from their CD The Great Escape, 1995) or C A F C# B (In Bloom by the American group Nirvana, from Nevermind, 1991) as the foundation of a song, without being too extreme. The Beatles and their contemporaries very seldom used that kind of chord progressions. In such latter-day cases it obviously gets more and more meaningless to think in terms of functional harmony: the explosion of functional harmony is completed. As mentioned in the Introduction, this description of Beatles harmony will be followed by a study of rock harmony in the 1990s. Then, an interview study will be made. The interview study will use recordings of three original songs: one song composed to be as simple as possible, using only the chords I, IV and V, combined in old and trustworthy patterns; one song containing some irregularities, i.e., unexpected or surprising chords; and one song written to consist as far as possible only of unusual chord patterns. Accomplished ear players will be asked to play these songs by ear and discuss the chord progressions, their impressions of them and their problem solving strategies.
KG Johansson
Endnotes
This is a short version of the book Beatles harmoniska sprk (Johansson, 1998). 1. As in this example: C.Dm^tEm.Ebo^tDm7^tG7^tC.Dm^tEm.Ebo^tDm7^tG7^tC^tFm.G7 (If I Fell, verse; original key: D major) Here, (.) means space and (^t) tabulation. A space was used when there were two or more chords in one bar; a tabulation meant a new bar. 2. Rock music is very often composed without conscious regard to concepts such as bars or periods; indeed, one might ask with Moore (1993, p. 40): In a music that is not notated, how long is a bar? Of course, not a modality in the traditional sense; but still, the chords seem to be used in a modal way.
3.
Discography
The following 15 LP or CD albums are the 13 records that the Beatles released during their time as a group, plus two compilations. Together, they contain the 210 songs used in this study. Please Please Me. Parlophone. PCS 3042. March, 1963 With The Beatles. Parlophone. PCS 3045. November, 1963 A Hard Days Night. Parlophone. PCS 3058. July, 1964 Beatles For Sale. Parlophone. PCS 3062. December, 1964 Help!. Parlophone. PCS 3071. August, 1965 Rubber Soul. Parlophone. PCS 3075. December, 1965 Revolver. Parlophone. PCS 7009. August, 1966 A Collection Of Beatles Oldies... But Goldies. Compilation. Parlophone. PCS 7016. December, 1966 Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Parlophone. PCS 7027. June, 1967 Magical Mystery Tour. Parlophone. SMMT1. November, 1967 The Beatles (the White Album). Apple. PCS 7067/8. November, 1968 Yellow Submarine. Apple. PCS 7070. December, 1968 Abbey Road. Apple. PCS 7088. September, 1969 Let It Be. Apple. PXS 1. May, 1970 Rarities. Compilation. EMI/Parlophone. PSLP 261. October, 1979 The following website (Beatles CDography) indicates which albums individual songs are on: http://netnow.micron.net/~mrolig/
Other recordings
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Creedence Gold. Fantasy. 9418. 1972 Blur: The Great Escape. Parlophone. LC 0299. 1995 Nirvana: Nevermind. Geffen. GED 24425. 1991 Wilson Pickett: Greatest Hits. Duchesse. CD 352048. 1990 The Pretenders: Learning To Crawl. Sire. 23980-1. 1983
Literature
Beatles Complete Scores (1989). Transcribed by Tetsuya Fujita, Yuji Hagino, Hajime Kubo and Goro Sato. London: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation Everett, Walter: The Beatles as Composers: The Genesis of Abbey Road, Side Two. In Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz since 1945: Essays and Analytical Studies. Edited by Elizabeth West Marvin and Richard Hermann. New York: University of Rochester Press Gullberg, Anna-Karin (1999): Formsprk och spelregler. En studie i rockmusicerande inom och utanfr musikhgskolan. Masters thesis. Musikhgskolan i Pite Ingelf, Sten (1982): Jazz- och popharmonik. Stockholm: Reuter & Reuter Johansson, KG (1998): Beatles harmoniska sprk. En beskrivande underskning av harmoniken i Beatles musik. Musikhgskolan i Pite, rapportserie 1998:01 Lilliestam, Lars (1995): Gehrsmusik. Gteborg: Akademifrlaget Lilliestam, Lars (1998): Svensk rock. Musik, lyrik, historik. Skrifter frn Institutionen fr musikvetenskap, Gteborgs universitet, nr 53. Gteborg: Bo Ejeby Frlag MacDonald, Ian (1994): En revolution i huvudet. The Beatles inspelningar och 60-talet. Translated by Erik Andersson from Revolution In The Head: The Beatless Records And The Sixties. Gteborg: Bo Ejeby Frlag Mellers, Wilfrid (1973): Twilight Of The Gods. The Music Of The Beatles. New York: Schirmer Middleton, Richard (1990): Studying Popular Music. Milton Keynes: Open University Press Moore, Allan (1993): Rock: The Primary Text. Developing a Musicology of Rock. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press Moore, Allan F. (1997): The Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press OGrady, Terence J. (1983): The Beatles: A Musical Evolution. Boston: Twayne Publishers Pope, Alexander (1711): An Essay On Criticism Schoenberg, Arnold (1978): Theory of Harmony. Translated by Roy E. Carter. London: Faber & Faber. Originally published in German as Harmonielehre (1911); Vienna: Universal Editions STM-Online 2 (1999) KG Johansson, 1999 http://www.musik.uu.se/ssm/stmonline/vol_2_1/Johansson.html