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Reading up on the Beatles' use of chords.


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I ran across this bit while reading on article of chords and how the Beatles utilized them.

 

Most melodies of the Beatles came as a surprise for those who heard them for the first time. Even experienced cover bands often had hard times to replicate them to the same effect. There are several reasons for that. First, the Beatles frequently treated blue notes in a "British," "Northern" way, resolving them to adjacent notes rather than jumping toward flat-thirds according to "Blues" conventions

 

Resolving them to adjacent notes? So rather than doodling a flat third, what adjacent notes do they mean? I'm pretty sure I have an idea, I'm just so dumb when it comes to these terms. :facepalm: Any examples in songs?

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well... i think what they are saying is that generally the 'blue note' (which is between standard tones) is most often implied by the use of the minor 3rd (for example), but the Bee-uhls would play the chord with a major 3rd, rather than a minor 3rd.

 

i could be wrong...

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It'll be interesting to read someone's explanation of this one. I read somewhere that most of the Beatles had very little music knowledge and they just used what sounded good.

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It'll be interesting to read someone's explanation of this one. I read somewhere that most of the Beatles had very little music knowledge and they just used what sounded good.

 

 

Gareth, that is true. They even admit it themselves. Maybe that's what made them unique.

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Gareth, that is true. They even admit it themselves. Maybe that's what made them unique.

 

 

nah, but they were creative and talented - which is the most important thing. you can know everything about music, but if you are a {censored} composer, you are a {censored} composer.

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I can't verify but this is an urban legend I heard about the Beatles use of chords and why:

 

Every few days, Paul, George and John would get together and play. If one of them learned a new chord, they would show it to the others. Right away, they would write a song that used the new chord. They did it so they wouldn't forget the chord they learned. Inadvertantly, they taught themselves how to write songs that use unusual harmonies.

 

I could be wrong, but that explanation makes a lot of sense.

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nah, but they were creative and talented - which is the most important thing. you can know everything about music, but if you are a {censored} composer, you are a {censored} composer.

 

 

Pretty much. It's well known that Brian Wilson didn't write music score for the Wrecking Crew when he was working on Pet Sounds. He'd sing string parts and other instrument parts and someone else would write it down. Hal Blaine wrote a lot of the actual music scores themselves but it was Wilson's music.

 

I'm pretty sure Jason Pierce of Spiritualized can't read music. I'm remembering an interview where he said he wrote most of Ladies and Gentleman... on a piano and painstakingly wrote down every note. I don't think anyone could doubt the musicality there.

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I was under the impression that they played up all that 'We don't even know what the chords are called' angle in order to look cool, I'm also pretty sure that Paul did have lessons or something when he was younger, from Wiki:

 

 

McCartney's father was a trumpet player and pianist who had led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s. He encouraged his two sons to be musical.[14] Jim had an upright piano in the front room that he had bought from Brian Epstein's store, and McCartney's grandfather, Joe McCartney, played an E-flat tuba.[15][16] Jim McCartney used to point out the different instruments in songs on the radio, and often took McCartney to local brass band concerts.[16] After the death of his wife, Mary, Jim McCartney gave McCartney a nickel-plated trumpet, but when skiffle music became popular, McCartney swapped the trumpet for a

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I can't verify but this is an urban legend I heard about the Beatles use of chords and why:


Every few days, Paul, George and John would get together and play. If one of them learned a new chord, they would show it to the others. Right away, they would write a song that used the new chord. They did it so they wouldn't forget the chord they learned. Inadvertantly, they taught themselves how to write songs that use unusual harmonies.


I could be wrong, but that explanation makes a lot of sense.

 

 

I think this is true..I'm sure I've also read that the guitar store that they used to visit in Liverpool was owned by a guy who would occasional show them "jazz chords" as Paul has described them. IIRC, one example was the augmented chord used in the bridge of "from me to you"...that is a really simple, catchy pop song with quite a sophisticated chord progression, for pop music at that time certainly..

 

Cmaj/Amin/G7/F7/Amin/Cmaj/Amin/Cmaj...very bluesy with the G7/F7...then the bridge, which Paul described as "going to a minor, was new for us":

 

Gmin/C7/FMaj/D7/GMaj/G#aug

 

If you record yourself playing this progression, and then pick out the vocal line as a lead guitar line...it's a really good lesson I think in how chords/melody work.

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nah, but they were creative and talented - which is the most important thing. you can know everything about music, but if you are a {censored} composer, you are a {censored} composer.

 

 

Exactly. Theory is nothing but a way of talking about and explaining things guys like the Beatles (and any other truly talented musicans) do, not the basis for it. All the Beatles needed was the music,which speaks for itself. And love.

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I know it's cliche to say so, but it's fascinating that after 40+ years, we're all still amazed at the damn near magical quality that band had.

 

Just when you think you've exhausted every Beatles-related topic, something new will come along to make you shake your head in amazement. God, what a group!

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