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ModernRocker79 View Drop Down
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Points: 62 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: The Beatles Chord Progressions
    Posted: November 04 2008 at 11:36
 I keep reading that musicians were amazed back in the 60's of the Beatles strange chord progressions. Where that unique compared to what most rockers were doing in 1963-64?
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Points: 20032 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 11:45
Speaking as a (not very good) guitarist, most of their songs do contain some "weird" chords, although I would suspect that most of these came from George Martin.
There is a famous quote from William Mann of the Times
 
"one gets the impression that they think simultaneously of harmony and melody, so firmly are the major tonic sevenths and ninths built into their tunes, and the flat submediant key switches, so natural is the Aeolian cadence at the end of 'Not a second time' (the chord progression which ends Mahler's Song of the Earth)..."
 
and Lennon had no idea what he was talking about. Much of it came from The Beatles desire to find something new and different, and so came across these strange chords.
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Points: 8238 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 12:46
Just goes to show how easy it is to overlook the earth-shaking revolution they started.  I speak as one who was barely 14 at the time and it was like hearing music from another dimension.  Unlike some other "legends" from that era, they really do deserve the accolades they receive.
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Points: 570 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 13:25
I think the true genius of the Beatles lies in the simplicity of the chord progressions they were using back in 1963 -1964. For instance, a song like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" has a fairly simple progression (verse: G-D-E minor-B 7th) (chorus: C-D-G-E minor-C-D-G) (bridge: D minor-G-C-A minor-D minor-G-C-C-D-C-D-C-D) . There are no exotic diminished or augmented figures and certainly no intervals fancier than a traditional 7th. It's how they arranged the chord progression in unison with the incredible melody, which I think makes these simple chords sound more "strange", not to mention that they were drawing inspiration primarily from Tin Pan Alley rather than Beale Street.
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Points: 62 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 13:53
Originally posted by jimidom jimidom wrote:

I think the true genius of the Beatles lies in the simplicity of the chord progressions they were using back in 1963 -1964. For instance, a song like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" has a fairly simple progression (verse: G-D-E minor-B 7th) (chorus: C-D-G-E minor-C-D-G) (bridge: D minor-G-C-A minor-D minor-G-C-C-D-C-D-C-D) . There are no exotic diminished or augmented figures and certainly no intervals fancier than a traditional 7th. It's how they arranged the chord progression in unison with the incredible melody, which I think makes these simple chords sound more "strange", not to mention that they were drawing inspiration primarily from Tin Pan Alley rather than Beale Street.
 
 The songs I am talking about are "P.S I Love You", "Things We Said Today" or "If I Fell.  I get the Tin Pan Alley Connection but I do notice some folk influences that make them sound even different to the Beach Boys or any blues-based band that I have heard from that time.
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Points: 20032 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 16:45
"Things We Said Today" is one of the few Beatles' songs I can play. It does have an interesting switch from A minor to A major in the bridge.
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Points: 3449 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 04 2008 at 21:27
Many of those early Beatles songs were remarkably sophisticated for the time.  They obviously do not sound in any way innovative today, but just give a listen to the American Graffiti soundtrack (if it's still available) to understand what was typical at the time and just how groundbreaking The Beatles were.  Even something as primevally crude as Twist and Shout takes on an entire new dimension in the hands of The Beatles. 

Edited by jammun - November 04 2008 at 21:28
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