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Tracks from "Revolver" by the Beatles (HARMONY/TONALITY ('…
Tracks from "Revolver" by the Beatles
HARMONY/TONALITY
'Eleanor Rigby'
E minor/dorian
built on 2 chord: Em and Cmaj
exception = bar 61: Am7 used instead of Cmaj (notes in common)
refrain has chromatic countermelody all over Em chord: Em7 - Em6 - Cmaj7/E (inner voice mvt)
relentless, limited harmony = pessimism
'Here, There and Everywhere'
frequent parallel movement: I - ii - iii - IV
ends with plagal cadence
short cycle of fifths bars 9-10: F#m - B7 - Em - Am - D7
teritary modulation for bridge
WL: China boy, I Got Rhythm, etc.
intro chords include Bb - hints at bridge modulation to come
false relation in bar 9: C# in F#m chord + vox Cnat
'I Want To Tell You'
Amaj, but with added dissonance
reflects mood of frustration
limited number of chords: A7, B7, E7, A
dissonant E7b9 chord - jarring
bridge: use of Bdim chord gives claustrophobic feel
much use of sus4 chords too - Dsus4
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
C mixolydian
WL: Within You Without You by The Beatles -
khamaj thaat
drone + 2 chords: Bb and C
Indian influence - Harisson had been to India prior to album for 6 wks and studied with Ravi Shankar
WL: I Feel The Earth Move by Carole King - tonic bass pedal
TEXTURE
'Eleanor Rigby'
homophonic chordal accompaniment
WL: Cloudbusting by Kate Bush
sustained notes in other parts e.g. syncopated viola line (bar 33)
bar 59 cello doubles vocal line 8vb
counterpoint created by combining upper bvox from intro with refrain
'Here, There and Everywhere'
mel dom hom, guitar alternating between block chords & broken chord figuration
3-part bvox 'oo-'
'I Want To Tell You'
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
solo voice over continuous C tambura drone & bass guitar riff
drums throughout
web of tape loops - electric polyphony
occasional homophony: Bb and C chords
TEMPO, RHYTHM & METRE
'Eleanor Rigby'
4/4 crotchet = 136
strong sense of pulse maintained by moto perpetuo crotchets
frequent syncopation in voice to contrast with accompaniment
'Here, There and Everywhere'
4/4 crotchet = 84
single bar of 7/8 in intro - rubato before bar 4 steady pusle established
WL: All You Need Is Love by The Beatles - verse uses 2x 7/4, 1x 8/4 then 1x 7/4 and back to 4/4 for chorus
last bar of 6/4 to signal start of next verse
speech-like rhythms = flexible
'I Want To Tell You'
4/4 crotchet = 124
swung quavers
WL: Waterloo by ABBA
insistent crotchets on piano in verse
use of crotchet triplet in intro
vox syncopation
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
STRUCTURE
'Eleanor Rigby'
modified strophic
intro
verse & refrain x2
bridge: based on intro
verse & refrain
coda
each verse consists of two x 5 bar lines
phrase structure: each 5 bars = 1+3+1
'Here, There and Everywhere'
intro
verse 1
verse 2
bridge 1
verse 3
bridge 2
verse 4
coda
strophic verses separated by bridges - sort of like binary form (with intro & coda)
'I Want To Tell You'
intro
verse 1
verse 2
bridge 1
verse 3
bridge 2
verse 3 :||
coda
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
strophic
faded-in intro
3 verses: 8 bars each
instrumental: 16 bars
4 verses: 8 bars each
Coda: based on repetitions of final bars of verse
outro (fades)
PERFORMING FORCES
'Eleanor Rigby'
doubled string quartet
arranged by George Martin, inspired by Hermann's 'Psycho'
non-vibrato, recorded with mics very close to give raw/intense sound
WL: Mr Blue Sky by ELO - string block chords
voice & bvox
'Here, There and Everywhere'
vocals: McCartney
automatic double-tracking
he played acoustic guitar, bass and vox so would have taken blending of multiple takes
lead guitar
acoustic guitar
bass
drums
bvox
in style of American close harmony barberhop
WL: Bohermian Rhapsody by Queen
WL: Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA - chorus
mandolin (B section)
WL: Losing My Religion by REM
'I Want To Tell You'
double-tracked vocals - George Harisson
lead guitar - George Harisson
bass guitar - Paul McCartney
piano - Paul McCartney
drums, tambourine, maracas, hand-claps
3-part bvox harmonisation: 'my head is full with things to say'
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
use of the studio
automatic double-tracking
verses after instrumental: distorted by being put through revolving Leslie speaker (found in Hammond organ)
Tibetan monk effect
based on "The Psychedelic Experience"
tape loops
seagull effect: sped up tape of McCartney laughing
WL: And Dream of Sheep by Kate Bush - shipping forecast sample
electric guitar phrase reversed & played double speed
same with sitar sounds
techniques based on
musique concrete
and
elektronische Musik
(Schaeffer, Stockhausen)
WL: Gesang der Junglinge by Stockhausen - combines idea of musique concrete with electronic music
'aleatoric music' = chance plays role; rhythmic freedom/experimentation is allowed with performers
Indian influence
tambura: drone throughout
sitar: pre-recorded fills between verses
WL: Within You Without You by The Beatles
MELODY
'Eleanor Rigby'
modal ambiguity
F#s heard over Cmaj in opening suggest lydian, but neglected when chord changes to Em
verse: dorian implied by C#s, but then replaced by Cnat (aeolian) in final 1 bar phrase
dorian:
WL: Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd; Losing My Religion by REM
descending syncopated sequence: D - C# - B - A
triadic idea emphasises names 'Father MacKenzie' and 'ER'
similar to first refrain phrase
8ve leap then rapid descent; minor 10th then fall to mediant
reflects despair
'Here, There and Everywhere'
almost entirely syllabic word setting
unusual phrase structure in verse: 1 + 2+ 2+ 3
relatively wide range: 9th
often monotone phrases e.g. 'wave of her hand'
'I Want To Tell You'
triadic guitar riff in intro, prominent use of b7th
fragmented melody with varying phrase lengths
1 bar
3.5 bars (end of each verse)
WL: Thriller by Michael Jackson - 7 bar intro, verse is 4 bars then 3, 5 bars after chorus
lead vocal range: maj 7th (E-D#)
monotone B in bridge to F# then also repeating A
melisma in coda - chant-like call to prayer
'Tomorrow Never Knows'
opening bars of verse outline tonic broken chord of C
final 2 vox phrases move from dominant to b7th to tonic
tape loops: more random/disjunct; include b3rd
WL: Within You Without You by The Beatles - triotne interval enhances spiritual dissonances of lyrics
melodic phrasing = 4 + 2 +2 bars
C mixolydian
guitar solo uses blues scale
WL: Sonnymoon for Two
WL: Sweet Home Alabama by Lynryd Skynyrd
WL: Within You Without You by The Beatles - uses 'Khamaj thaat' = Indian equivalent of mixolydian mode