Before you point out that this song bears a strong resemblance to Don’t Worry Baby by The Beach Boys, realize that John wrote this song as a tribute to his heroes. Also, that ii V ii VI section in question becomes something entirely new (at least imo) when John descends to that flat five. Something can be cleverly borrowed without being blatantly stolen. Why diminish what John did, just because he may have had The Beach Boys in his ears? Don’t we all? 😍 Also, some people have commented that I’m making more out of these chords than I ought to. I absolutely know that Lennon didn’t PLAY a Bmi11 on the piano or with his guitar. As a jazz musician who has grown up playing jazz charts, this is how I frame harmony in my own mind. If you look at The New Real Book, for example - any time you see a G13 instead of a G7, you can almost certainly be sure that it’s because there is a 13 in the melody. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I will play the E in my piano voicing…but it means I recognize that the color is there and treat it accordingly. Just wanted you to know my mindset and the way I kind of frame things in my own analysis 🙌🏼
I don't hear any of the instruments harmonizing the song in this way. I just hear them playing the basic triads and 7th chords. The chromatic neighbor tones are nice, but they are just that.
@@Thoracius everybody needs good neighbours.. the triads are the mafia in japan.. only joking.. ive just subscribed to your channel.. see my community tab. you’re in it . Aimee knows her music theory and practical application.. stay positive
On first hearing (when I bought Double Fantasy the day after he died) Don't Worry Baby jumped right out at me. It is a pretty wholesale lift for sure. My head canon is that Lennon did not do this purposely and was likely unaware of the connection. As you said, borrowed but not stolen. Everybody borrows. Besides the Beach Boys not flattening the 5th, Lennon resolves it back to the root with they used it as a modulation to the new key for the chorus.
John Lennon was a true genius, a talented songwriter who was highly intuitive and original. I think he's still quite underrated as a musician too. In his short solo career he managed to accomplish so much. His assassination remains one of the greatest tragedies in music history.
as a guitar player, john once said "technically, i'm not very good- but i can make it fucking howl!" i have that quote written on the wall of my home studio. SO honest, and for today's rock and roll, so appropriate.
I absolutely love his work and genius. And yes, very underrated. I hate to say that it pisses me off when people compare him with Paul, sustaining the idea that Paul was better bc he played more instruments and things like that. Not putting Paul down at all, but Lennon’s instinct for nuances and artistic risks are fundamental in rock history imho
Based on several interviews, this is how they described their way of working. 'We had no formula. We just sat together, trying out things, completing and correcting each other, experimenting, until we got something.' Later on they also let a tape recorder run while doing that. Behind all this is a very close friendship, a tremendous talent and intuition for creating *melodies* with lyrics. Every true artist will recognize this: you just have an idea, hear something in your head, and that's it. No struggle or formalized writing technique. To quote another intuitive artist, guitarist Jimmy Raney: 'You start to improvise, let things flow from your subconscious mind. It's as if you stand there looking and listening to yourself, surprised, thinking: what am I doing?!.'
I'm lucky in that I've always been able to work out guitar chords to melodies without too much trouble. Playing by ear is something you are born with. As I got into my twenties I started to look at music theory and what I was actually doing subconsciously. I now have a basic level of knowledge of what notes make up chords which is useful, but what's in my head is what guides me. I believe The Beatles approached songwriting and performing in the same way. When I watched the Get Back documentary I could immediately identify with how they were working and writing.....very much like most bands I have played in.
John Lennon just like the majority of great artists of the past weren't trained musicians, they had a gift that's why they were able to write great songs. There were others who had training like Burt Bacharach for example. Brian Wilson said in an interview that writing songs was like letting a connection form between you and something out there and that today he would not be able to do it again because that connection to a particular song is gone. Richard carpenter has mental shortcuts to write songs with which he was able to beat even the pros in their own game. It's a gift it's that simple.
@topsyturvyy4558 they also nicked more melodies than any other band. Nearly every Beatles song has an American doppelganger... they just were BAD mimics... lol. They couldn't sound like Sir Douglas Quintet; so they sounded like the Beatles and Doug Sahm thinks huh... their new song sounds like our old one! And people said they were crazy...and teeny bopper girls accused THEM of copying the Beatles... lol. Bad mimicry =original genius. Lol
Phil Collins once said that when he's just messing around on the piano that he likes to play slowed down versions of the fast Beatles' songs because it always gives him a brand new appreciation of how genius their songwriting was.
those chord progressions- and the bass line paul plays in "all my loving"- such beautiful flow. and "fool on the hill"- i can NOT believe that those 2 guys could come up with something as imaginative and gorgeous as that- WOW!
Maybe my favorite John Lennon "Beatles" songs to play on acoustic. As you point out the chord progressions are sublime and the small intricacies of the melody that can be enhanced or just allowed to breathe make it one of his top 5 song melodies. Oh, and the story of a young lover's doubts about beginning a new love while leaving another, was a truly universal, yet unexpected theme for us all to learn from.
Paul once remarked that they were paying homage to those classic tin pan alley songs... that have forgotten intros... like whispering, or deep purple, in the still of the night, or Paul's version of Honey Pie... all of Cole Porter's songs... all of Gershwins'... all had intros, almost invariably in different keys to set up the refrain... second hand rose, someone to watch over me, getting to know you... there's hundreds of forgotten intros
Yes, Keith! I used to play that song, with intro, for many (dozen!) years, until discovering that the key change I was using was *not* the original one! But it works fine, either way! Fred
The intro is descending chromatic chords which sound as though it would be difficult to put a melody to without a bump because of the Chromatics however, the intro melody just ties it altogether so seamlessly and beautifully. It's masterful.
Reading music isn't always really necessary. It's a way of communicating music without having to listen to it. But good musician doesn't really need that. After years of playing you develop an understanding of music and an ear that can pick out chord changes and intervals and such like, without needing them to be written down. With regards to music theory he may not have had formal music education, like many pop and rock musicians, but again, with time you pick up about everything you need to know. You might not know some of the technical terms and such, but you will begin to understand the concepts anyway.
Didn't just magically fall into his lap. He studied songs. He learned hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs and then he wrote hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs. Music theory was discovered after pretty songs were discovered to explain why the pretty songs were built the way they were. That's like saying how can a French doctor save somebody's life when they don't even know the English words for what they're doing. They learned what they're doing. Words for it are useful but aren't the skill itself. I guarantee you he knew more music theory instinctively from learning hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs than people Who think they know music theory from learning which chords go together. The most comprehensive way of studying music is to do both which is what appears the creator of the channel has done here. I've loved this song for 30 years, but I must say that this piano rendition and seeing the chords written out like that was very eye-opening. I played versions of it on the guitar but this was a much better voiced arrangement and it sounds closer to the original. To our wonderful host here on this channel I must say I like your take on it and if you're listening to lots and lots of solo Lennon, album that is my very favorite that gets very much overlooked in terms of how much credit it's given is walls and bridges. I think if you like piano one of the things that is most amazing to me is a non-piano player. Long time listener no time player is the in the song Old dirt road there is this piano part that plays just one time halfway through the song that in anyone else's hands. If anyone else had written that song they would have ran that beautiful part to death and you'll know it when you hear it. It just sounds perfect and it just happens once in this song when it could have been like the main riff and that makes it even more precious. And I hope that you can listen to that because I'm sure you'll appreciate it. Probably even more than me you know with your skill on the keyboard. So thank you for sharing this insight and this video.
John said once that the best way to come up with a melody line and lyrics is to "Get out of the way and zone out while trying to do it." Like, don't try at all and it will come to you. It's like magic or waiting on God to tell you how to do it. lol. I'm always amazed at what he came up with.
@@llroman7823 Well I think he was more sophisticated than that, because he was also the person who said once you've started a song, complete it in one sitting, if you can, and don't let your insecurities make you Brackets put it off. This indicates thatif he had originally waited to get decent insight, from intuition, then he would certainly ensure that diligence, Critical reasoning and nuanced evaaluation and breakdown to basics, would also come into play - it wasn't exclusively intuition. That's why he and Paul managed to put out so much Incredible high quality material so quickly and George tended to be much slower as songwriter. Simultaneously, that's 1 of the reasons why he and George ended up wanting to leave the band, becauuse record companies were exp constant timeliness with releasing material, but it was frustrating and making John unhappy. This culminated in them only having one side of masterpieces, on Abbey Road and a 2nd side with probably only 2 masterpieces "because" and "Golden slumbers?" and a load of other Unfinished works, which they managed to make look like something original, through the effect of the synergy of parts in the collage.
@@llroman7823 john once said that when you have an idea- keep at it until you finish it- otherwise all you have is just a "riff". great advice- and that's where most people stop- with the easy part. (i'm in that 99% myself!)
@@craigrheberling yes, that is true. It impresses me, how long he patiently waited until he had the right words for "Jealous Guy". It would have been such a waste if he had used some random lyrics to finish it.
🎹 John was fond of the tonic to augmented tonic (I to I+) change. He had used it ten years earlier in "Isolation," and 18 years earlier for the transition into the bridge of "Ask Me Why." I've always speculated that he learned it from Burt Bacharach. In early 1962, Jerry Butler had a minor hit with Bacharach's "Make It Easy On Yourself" which features that change rather prominently. As for the meter & tempo of "(Just Like) Starting Over," it's a safe bet that he was influenced heavily by Abba's hit, "I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do." 😎👍
That's the beauty of musical composition. Everybody borrows from everybody. John got it from Burt Bacharach and I got it from John. I also Incorporated the minor plagal cadence from listening to John. I'm not sure where he got it from, but obviously he'd heard it and incorporated it into his writing.
John Lennon was a master when it came to chord voicings. In the opening, ("our life...together) the third chord after Aaug is F#m/A or A6. So effortless and beautiful. I love analyzing his and The Beatles' music. And what is so mind-blowing is that none of them had any formal training in music theory. The music gods were good to these lads. Great review Aimee.
on a keyboard, if i play the bass lines of beatles songs- by ear, along with the tunes, what jumps out to me is how clever and sometimes simple the chord changes look. this works on beach boys tunes also- don't worry baby, catch a wave, etc so clever and melodic. THEN, if you get to a song like "girls on the beach", good luck- you're on your own! pure harmonic genius- right there!
Aimee,,, your hands, your hands… you are making that wood & metal pup bark so sweetly. Thanks cause I fall inlove with John Lennon all over again. To honor the Beatles, both collectively and individually, is a holy thing.. Those four gods deserve all our admiration - they certainly gave us (collectively) all their’s.
I remember being a young teen coming out of church on Sunday, getting in my brother's car and hearing this song debut there in the parking lot, and thinking "He's back!!!" A good song loves to translate, and in your hands this one translates as a piano ballad very beautifully. You've increased my respect for it and my appreciation of it.
Yes, it's easy to miss the greatness of this song because it sounds so effortless. As the great foursome he was part of could sound. And that's one of the reasons why, to this day, I'm still so sad about his senseless death: he was back after a 5-year absence with all his songwriting chops intact. And man, what chops those were! We've been deprived great songs, that's for sure, since 1980.
Starting over was the tune that was meant to signal the start of John's career into the 80s... I remember hearing it on Top Of the Pops in the UK back when it was released and always loved the harmonic movement. I had no idea how sophisticated it was... thanks for the rendition.. a beautiful melody and lovely chords... classic.
Paul had owned the 70s with his solo efforts and as the leader of Wings. John was inspired to return to recording in a serious fashion by Paul's output. The album "Double Fantasy" was something he worked on for a few years and it shows that he was already back in his prime when it came to producing wonderful and thought provoking music, just like he had years before. I will never stop missing John Lennon.
To my ear, the chords and the melody are reminiscent of classic American Songbook songs like All of Me and Beautiful Love. In addition to being great innovators in songwriting, John and Paul were both also deeply thoughtful students of past generations' work. Thank you for reminding me of this wonderful song, I'll add it to my book! Peace Kenny
“Lennon was a genius!” Freddie Mercury, Life is Real. Your review and lesson brought back memories from a more hopeful time… What a great talent, lost too soon! RIP John!
John and Paul have revolutionized modern music. Even though Rock and Roll came before them, they added a whole layer of sophistication to modern music.
@@moeb4348The Beatles wrote approximately 200 songs. Only 27 of those used straightforward I-IV-V progressions. Look deeper into what they did, musically speaking. Yes, it IS worth the admission!
Aimee did actually play the melody a bit somewhere up in there. lol. But I know what you mean. I think I would have known the song by the way she played it. But I'd have had to listen to the entire thing to catch it.
My ex wife and I listened to John in a Happy Hour in Bali. My wife cried when he had a day left to go home . The barmaid delivered my beer on her head as I'd saved her from two lascivious Austrian customers. Respect and leaning over them was all it took. Anyway the'd play John Lennon for us and peaceful pre- dinner drinks. Love your work Aimee.
Thanks Aimee for putting in the hard but satisfying work necessary to deconstruct Lennon's masterpiece and then create this lovely video for us. As a lifelong Beatles fan (I'm 72) I can only add that lightning strike of creativity must have struck the unlikely location of Liverpool, England in the mid-1950s. What were the odds of some teenage guys meeting at a random outdoor church festival that led to 2 of them becoming known as some of the modern era's greatest composers? And they both were known as some of the greatest rock singers of all time? And eventually a third one of them would author beautiful hits like Something and All Things Must Pass? It's beyond mind-boggling. Thanks again.
I went to the same school as John albeit a couple of decades later. We had one particular music teacher who would knock out beatles tracks on his electric piano and throw in a bit of teaching, those were the dreaded music periods we loved, and what a fond memory. Only mention this as watching this beautiful presentation took me right back ❤
In his career, Lennon often reworked songs from his influences. On this ascending cadence through augmented chords that fall to a minor, I hear echoes of Roy Orbison's Crying. Lennon, with the Beatles performed a Bus Tour of England with Orbison in 1963, and had talked about Orbison being an influence. I don't think that Orbison used extensions in the same way, but, the shape of the progression sounds familiar.
@@charlie-obrien You have misunderstood my point. By asking when in history has there been such a pairing, I am suggesting there may not be such a pairing in the future ... You didn't need to include your sour kvetching comment.
@@tjcint Then I guess we are in agreement on the proper Lennon/McCartney place in future history. I'm sorry about the Kvetching remark... It's actually more of a carping. Lol 🙂 See? It's getting better all the time.
those must have been some cool tours- and the beatles and roy would have to decide who followed who- once those boys started to get 'em screaming! btw, i just saw paul last april, and at one point in the show he said "alright girls, let's hear a "beatles scream" - i bent over and covered my ears- i'm 76- lol
When I watched the 2021 Peter Jackson Beatles documentary you notice how much John helped complete many songs which Paul needed him to. And then it occurred to me John was coming in daily with “Across the Universe” finished and in his pocket. One of the most incredible melodies ever written and recorded. 😮
Aimee - this is the first time one of your videos has come up in my feed. Loved what you have explored here. I had no idea there were so many complex chords going on here. I encourage you to look at the chord changes of two unreleased Lennon works from the late seventies - Now And Then, and She Is a Friend of Dorothy. Lennon was quite a master of the subtle chord progression and key change. He, Paul and George grew up listening to a ton of musical influences, including music hall and Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930's, which I think is what gave them the edge over many of their peers.
LOVE your take and understanding of this lovely melody. I'm a guitarist, but fascinated with piano. To my ears, Starting Over borrows from "Crying" alá Roy Orbison, but I could just be hearing things.
Aimee, thank you for this deep look into Starting Over. You really guided us through those eight bars in ways and at a depth that many of us have never realized. There is so much here about how to choose chords to harmonize a melody that I'll have to go over some sections a few times. I had a great uncle who played trombone in English dance bands, and later with BBC orchestras, from the late 1920s into the 1970s. Gerry Arthur had first encountered The Beatles in Hamberg, when they were on stage just before the main act. He quickly decided they were rubbish. Perhaps they were on that occasion; Hamberg is where they're said to have gelled as a band so this may have been very early days. But Gerry Arthur never did alter his opinion. We had a slightly heated conversation about it the last time I saw him in 1970; I think we worried my Grandad a bit, though we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The way The Beatles' music grew in elegance and sophistication while staying true to their roots, from their beginnings in skiffle to the end less than a decade later, has always impressed me. I do wonder how much theory the Beatles came to know through those Abbey Road years with George Martin. It's widely known that never learned to read or write scores (they often said so themselves) but John, Paul and George at least certainly knew their way around the fingerboard and keyboard. They understood keys, chord extensions, how to write melodies and progressions, and had those years working in close collaboration with George Martin. Martin, of course, had formal classic music training, long experience in the industry and was a brilliant orchestrator. They could hardly have had a better mentor. Honestly, I think we sometimes underestimate just how much theory many composers, who never develop an ability or are even much interested in reading sheet music, can master. Anyway, thank you again for this; you're such a natural teacher and I always learn much from your very entertaining videos. Even those times where parts of your explanations go well over my head, I still find things I could wish someone had shown me decades ago.
Your "naked" version and analysis really showcase the beauty of the composition. I like to listen to Lennon´s piano demos, because you really hear how good his songs actually were. Some of his songs were "overproduced" in my opinion. He for example worked with Phil Spector who is famous for creating the "wall of sound". But the big sound overshadowed his brilliant song writing.
I pretty much agree. The album this particular song is from has way too slick AOR production for my taste. I do like many of the Spector productions, though.
"But when I see you darlin, It's like we both are are fallin'" has similarities to to Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby"- "when she looks in my eyes, she makes me realize". Beach Boys (1964) modulate there, but Lennon (1980) uses these beautiful altered tones. Interesting choices, both.
One of my very favorite songs of all time. I'll never forget when it came out, and when John left this earthly plane. The melody sounds so Viennese, and those neighbor tones sound like appogiaturas. In fact, they're really #4 leading tones going into the fifth in terms of the melody. Just incredible writing, and even hearing the unaccompanied melody brings tears to my eyes...
Could the Beatles explain theory in detail. No. They still had a working understanding of it. Anyone who writes songs in using theory even if they don’t know it. George Martin was their producer and I’m sure he helped them out given his classical background. David Bennett Piano on UA-cam goes into this question about their knowledge. All 4 Beatles had magnificent ears and their melody’s are what set them apart and makes them the greatest band.
@@joshuatavares2384 Exactly, it's amazing how things are zero-sum for some people, as demonstrated in this comment section. John was vastly experienced and obviously understood a lot about theory, if not everything explicitly. Also, He could play penny-whistle, harmonica, lead and rhythm guitar, Piano and bass (a few times when Paul wasn't around). If you look at some of the amazingly, technically competent Musicians around now, who have benefited from Learning off social media and have perfect technique.Have you noticed, that their work lacks originality, or passion, compared to artists of yesteryear, who learnt purely by feel and Copying peers. Technical capability, is overrated
I've come to believe he and McCartney and separately Harrison - DID understand theory or 'heard' it. Paul says he deliberately pushed it away as he was/IS convinced it would hinder his originality. No way to test that! Paul btw DOES now no some theory or maybe more than some as you here him on one of his endless appearances as a guest on various shows and music documentaries. The analogy maybe is writing; someone can be a natural writer with a pretty good command of grammar without having formally studied English?
Aimee, you've got a great voice. I think John stated he was trying to write a song like Roy Orbison. You can hear Roy's influence in this one. Yeah, one of my favorites of Johns. Love "Woman" also and that was written around the same period, I think. Always amazes me how they wrote such wonderful melody lines out of thin air it seems.
Agree 100%, Roy Orbison had wonderful melodies, and this Lennon number resonates with Roy's influence. Love it. Also love the way Aimee presents this so deliberately, appreciatively and deliciously !
I can't believe the magic in John's songs. Sometimes I think that all the melodies are already created or invented and that they are everywhere but only the angels can catch them and bring them to us, John is one of those angels.
Aimee I just love your channel. I'm not a musician, just a music lover so the mechanics and notations go over my head, but I love your insights and your sense of humor and your love for and appreciation of music. Thank you for what you do and please keep them coming!
A wonderful thoughtful and thought-provoking piece as usual Aimee. This really shows off what a brilliant, intuitive songwriter John was. John almost certainly didn't know what all those chords were - and knowing John's general bent from being a major fan since my youth in the 60s, he would have actively NOT cared what they were! :) But as you say, he wrote the melody, knew the basic chords, and added whatever notes worked. Natural songwriting genius. Paul, who was much more musically knowledgable than John (though also not a sight-reader) used to say that they were innovative BECAUSE they had no training - they didn't know what they were doing was "wrong." It's never lost on me that folks like the Beatles didn't have full time rock n roll radio as kids, so they were exposed to all varieties of popular music - building a deep repository of widely varied tones and melodies to unconsciously draw upon. Much different than us later pop/rock musicians, most of whom spent their entire youth listening almost exclusively to RnR stations. Sorry for the long post. As always, you make me think! :) Thanks Aimee.
Do you have to bring McCartney straightaway, 1st comment. This is Work from Johns solo stuff, where He and we should go to escape this pigeonholing.Can't you just enjoy the free-spirited, natural, brilliant originality of a Genius songwriter purely driven towards catharsis, effective and useful change and progression, rather than Bringing in irrelevance about a Controlling, Insecure, popularity driven, albeit genius songwriter
i always tried to imagine how many times george martin would have to fill in the blanks for both john and paul- like names of chords and how they fit together, since he had the actual trained ear.note- brian wilson had to explain by sound what he wanted to hear played in the studio, and he had no george martin. if "genius" exists, i think he's right there! you?
@Frederick Revalee idk, many of Paul's songs do a lot of other interesting things, including modulations (not necessarily with a descending chromatic line) - Martha, Blackbird, Penny Lane, Golden Slumbers for instance. I mean, obviously he had heard a lot of interesting songwriting tricks at this point (Brian Wilson, for instance) but yeah he had incredible facility in combining that with incredibly infectious melodies. I'm really not sure how Paul was not a 'natural' when John was - the chromatic lines were already present in much music they both knew in the early years
It would be interesting to listen to John’s work tracks on Starting Over just to hear the process of how it developed into the finished masterpiece it became. Your analysis of the chord structure in relation to the melody and chord voicing’s is harmonically enlightening. Spot on. Thank you.💜🎹
Brings a lump to my throat imagining looking over John's shoulder. What a loss. I love your enthusiasm, insight and passion. Obviously you enjoy the awakening you have as you make these discoveries.
That’s amazing! And i always though that the coolness of this song came from the groovy rythm, accelaration, accents, the vocal expression… Never imagined it had such a complicated harmony! it feels like straight rock and roll somehow!
Love it..thanks Aimee! More of Lennon's work pls. I don't know, every time I listen to John's songs, especially his demos, I feel strong and deep emotions that make me listen to them over and over again, I don't know why.
As usual you are amazing to show us the magic of chords and let us know how easy could be to play songs in the piano. Thanks for sharing your gift. God bless you. Yo
Thanks for the posting video. Of course is a jazzy touch but listening to the bass and backing vocals in the original track gives you the hints of a jazz progression. Been listening to this song and other Lennon solo tracks and they are superb. Do more Lennon tracks!! ❤ subscribed
Yes! Finally some respect for what has long been one of my favorite songs. Do a search for a Lennon demonstration called “My Life” and listen to it. That’s the genesis of (Just Like) Starting Over. Incidentally, the song was at No. 6 and rising on the Dec. 6, 1980 Billboard chart - the weekend before Lennon was murdered.
It was #2 this week in 1981 (Casey Kasem's American Top 40) and rightfully so! Just an amazing composition and very poignant in light of the tragedy which befell him and his family and all his fans around the world...😥 Here's an incredible rock doc to check out -- "Composing Outside The Beatles" ☮️+💜+🎶 💪😎👍 ua-cam.com/video/95DMGzdauWI/v-deo.html
Great video. Being a guitar player I have often tried to shoehorn melodies into progressions that I would create, until sometime ago when I discoved what you're talking about in this video...harmonize the melody...great stuff.
I don't even play piano, but i love your channel. I love the way you present things and make them more or less understandable to a fairly basic guitarist like myself. And your warmth and passion for the music is obvious to anyone. Cheers!
From the first time I heard "Starting Over" when it came out in late 1980... I saw it as John paying homage to the 1950's rock & roll that he grew up with. It has that flavor.
Wow mind blown. Great intro to your page. First impression. Always loved johns chords and melodies especially his pitch. Brilliand being a singer he heard the notes in his head. This is one of my favorite songs.having lost her it remind me everyday was starting over..
Well, I was there when Starting Over was new and the tragic event that followed afterward. Still the largest loss not just in music but in pop culture generally. Lennon was poised to make a comeback that would have shook the world like the Beatles did earlier. Now I was going to comment on the Beach Boys connection but you beat me to it. That was known even when the song was new. And as far as the harmonic structure don’t sell Lennon short. In the 70s he hung out and worked with a lot of competent musicians and people knowledgeable in production. In other words he picked up a trick or two. Look at the string of hits on Double fantasy. I’m still of the opinion that he was taken out by the powers that be who thought he presented a threat with a return to the limelight. A la JFK for example. Imagine was a theme for a new world order and lots of people believed in it. The war mongers couldn’t have been happy. Amy you are a great musician. Keep up the work and realize there is a wealth of music out there to dig into.
Notice that John Lennon made his career by telling people to take brain damaging drugs, and one of the people who damaged his brains on those drugs then shot him. Not quite Instant Karma.
@@firstlast4874 No, he wasn't taken out by "the powers that be". John Lennon SERVED the powers that be, he destroyed leftists by getting their brains friend, and he fried his own brain. He died a Reaganite.
lennon had an image and a following that no other person had, imo. i've often wondered, like in your theory- since there was such a government dislike for him- and his outspoken attitudes, about peace, pot, etc. the whole thing reminded me of the james caan movie- "rollerball", from the 70's. no time limit, no substitutions- houston! houston! the sports hero was getting too big for his britches-lol
There is a real spiritual quality to this song. I actually have goosebumps thinking about it. The words, melody and harmony......it was like Lennon knew his time was short and left this for us.
I play that one on electric guitar, and I never realized what you said, nor have I heard it on piano. I try to mimic how it is played on the released version. It is absolutely my favorite song of John's, and Woman comes a very very close second. Sometimes Woman is my favorite, depending on my mood. I just play by ear, but I love hearing the music theory behind it. I am totally fascinated by these little backstories you share, as they give it depth, and reason. If you listen to the studio version, I love it when John says right at the beginning, "this one's for Gene, Eddie, and Elvis...And Buddy!" Very obvious who he is referring to, and you can catch him actually mimicking their vocal style in the song Starting Over. "It's been too long since we took the time" is definitely John imitating Elvis. I just love it!
Thank you very much for this Aimee! Your interpretation at the opening of this video with your singing is exquisitely beautiful. If you cut a full length recording of this and other songs with melodies you like, it will be on my favorites playlist for years to come.
This one kept showing up in my feed for weeks and I kept taking my time to get to it. Wow, what a dumb dumb I am. Those chords sound amazing. I'm going to try and make my own little fancy arrangement after I review all this a few more times. Good stuff, thx!
Before you point out that this song bears a strong resemblance to Don’t Worry Baby by The Beach Boys, realize that John wrote this song as a tribute to his heroes. Also, that ii V ii VI section in question becomes something entirely new (at least imo) when John descends to that flat five. Something can be cleverly borrowed without being blatantly stolen. Why diminish what John did, just because he may have had The Beach Boys in his ears? Don’t we all? 😍
Also, some people have commented that I’m making more out of these chords than I ought to. I absolutely know that Lennon didn’t PLAY a Bmi11 on the piano or with his guitar. As a jazz musician who has grown up playing jazz charts, this is how I frame harmony in my own mind. If you look at The New Real Book, for example - any time you see a G13 instead of a G7, you can almost certainly be sure that it’s because there is a 13 in the melody. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I will play the E in my piano voicing…but it means I recognize that the color is there and treat it accordingly. Just wanted you to know my mindset and the way I kind of frame things in my own analysis 🙌🏼
I don't hear any of the instruments harmonizing the song in this way. I just hear them playing the basic triads and 7th chords. The chromatic neighbor tones are nice, but they are just that.
@@Thoracius everybody needs good neighbours.. the triads are the mafia in japan.. only joking.. ive just subscribed to your channel.. see my community tab. you’re in it . Aimee knows her music theory and practical application.. stay positive
On first hearing (when I bought Double Fantasy the day after he died) Don't Worry Baby jumped right out at me. It is a pretty wholesale lift for sure. My head canon is that Lennon did not do this purposely and was likely unaware of the connection. As you said, borrowed but not stolen. Everybody borrows. Besides the Beach Boys not flattening the 5th, Lennon resolves it back to the root with they used it as a modulation to the new key for the chorus.
I will never hear this song the same. Thank you.
@@Thoracius You don't understand this video.
John Lennon was a true genius, a talented songwriter who was highly intuitive and original. I think he's still quite underrated as a musician too. In his short solo career he managed to accomplish so much. His assassination remains one of the greatest tragedies in music history.
as a guitar player, john once said "technically, i'm not very good- but i can make it fucking howl!" i have that quote written on the wall of my home studio. SO honest, and for today's rock and roll, so appropriate.
I totally agree with you
I absolutely love his work and genius. And yes, very underrated. I hate to say that it pisses me off when people compare him with Paul, sustaining the idea that Paul was better bc he played more instruments and things like that. Not putting Paul down at all, but Lennon’s instinct for nuances and artistic risks are fundamental in rock history imho
I agree with everything you say. The day of his assignation is one of the saddest of my life..
As a musician, he was amazing. Iv always been a fan of his music and will be until I die. Unfortunately, he wasn't a very nice man.
Based on several interviews, this is how they described their way of working. 'We had no formula. We just sat together, trying out things, completing and correcting each other, experimenting, until we got something.' Later on they also let a tape recorder run while doing that. Behind all this is a very close friendship, a tremendous talent and intuition for creating *melodies* with lyrics. Every true artist will recognize this: you just have an idea, hear something in your head, and that's it. No struggle or formalized writing technique. To quote another intuitive artist, guitarist Jimmy Raney: 'You start to improvise, let things flow from your subconscious mind. It's as if you stand there looking and listening to yourself, surprised, thinking: what am I doing?!.'
Jimmy Raney quote for the win!!
I'm lucky in that I've always been able to work out guitar chords to melodies without too much trouble. Playing by ear is something you are born with. As I got into my twenties I started to look at music theory and what I was actually doing subconsciously. I now have a basic level of knowledge of what notes make up chords which is useful, but what's in my head is what guides me.
I believe The Beatles approached songwriting and performing in the same way. When I watched the Get Back documentary I could immediately identify with how they were working and writing.....very much like most bands I have played in.
Great songwriters are masters of artifice, and, like magicians, never reveal everything about what they do.
John Lennon just like the majority of great artists of the past weren't trained musicians, they had a gift that's why they were able to write great songs. There were others who had training like Burt Bacharach for example. Brian Wilson said in an interview that writing songs was like letting a connection form between you and something out there and that today he would not be able to do it again because that connection to a particular song is gone.
Richard carpenter has mental shortcuts to write songs with which he was able to beat even the pros in their own game. It's a gift it's that simple.
@topsyturvyy4558 they also nicked more melodies than any other band. Nearly every Beatles song has an American doppelganger... they just were BAD mimics... lol. They couldn't sound like Sir Douglas Quintet; so they sounded like the Beatles and Doug Sahm thinks huh... their new song sounds like our old one! And people said they were crazy...and teeny bopper girls accused THEM of copying the Beatles... lol. Bad mimicry =original genius. Lol
Phil Collins once said that when he's just messing around on the piano that he likes to play slowed down versions of the fast Beatles' songs because it always gives him a brand new appreciation of how genius their songwriting was.
those chord progressions- and the bass line paul plays in "all my loving"- such beautiful flow. and "fool on the hill"- i can NOT believe that those 2 guys could come up with something as imaginative and gorgeous as that- WOW!
@@craigrheberling There are thousands examples of creative musical genius all throughout the Beatles!
@@BeatlesCentricUniverse you are absolutely right! Amazing band! 🚶🚶🚶🚶🎸🎸🎸🥁
#facts
If I Fell is one of John’s most beautiful chords progressions……The song actually changes key on the intro!
Maybe my favorite John Lennon "Beatles" songs to play on acoustic.
As you point out the chord progressions are sublime and the small intricacies of the melody that can be enhanced or just allowed to breathe make it one of his top 5 song melodies.
Oh, and the story of a young lover's doubts about beginning a new love while leaving another, was a truly universal, yet unexpected theme for us all to learn from.
Paul once remarked that they were paying homage to those classic tin pan alley songs... that have forgotten intros... like whispering, or deep purple, in the still of the night, or Paul's version of Honey Pie... all of Cole Porter's songs... all of Gershwins'... all had intros, almost invariably in different keys to set up the refrain... second hand rose, someone to watch over me, getting to know you... there's hundreds of forgotten intros
Yes, Keith! I used to play that song, with intro, for many (dozen!) years, until discovering that the key change I was using was *not* the original one!
But it works fine, either way!
Fred
The intro is descending chromatic chords which sound as though it would be difficult to put a melody to without a bump because of the Chromatics however, the intro melody just ties it altogether so seamlessly and beautifully. It's masterful.
@@MICKEYISLOWD Yes.... beautiful. That and God Only Knows are two of my favourite songs....goose bumps!
Legendary musical genius who couldn't read or formally write music and definitely never taught music theory but was touched by talent gods
Very well said ...
Reading music isn't always really necessary. It's a way of communicating music without having to listen to it. But good musician doesn't really need that. After years of playing you develop an understanding of music and an ear that can pick out chord changes and intervals and such like, without needing them to be written down. With regards to music theory he may not have had formal music education, like many pop and rock musicians, but again, with time you pick up about everything you need to know. You might not know some of the technical terms and such, but you will begin to understand the concepts anyway.
@paulgordon6949 McCartney and Lennon.. clearly great examples for your case. What is amazing is how prolific and inventive they were
Didn't just magically fall into his lap. He studied songs. He learned hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs and then he wrote hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs.
Music theory was discovered after pretty songs were discovered to explain why the pretty songs were built the way they were. That's like saying how can a French doctor save somebody's life when they don't even know the English words for what they're doing. They learned what they're doing. Words for it are useful but aren't the skill itself.
I guarantee you he knew more music theory instinctively from learning hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs than people Who think they know music theory from learning which chords go together.
The most comprehensive way of studying music is to do both which is what appears the creator of the channel has done here. I've loved this song for 30 years, but I must say that this piano rendition and seeing the chords written out like that was very eye-opening. I played versions of it on the guitar but this was a much better voiced arrangement and it sounds closer to the original.
To our wonderful host here on this channel I must say I like your take on it and if you're listening to lots and lots of solo Lennon, album that is my very favorite that gets very much overlooked in terms of how much credit it's given is walls and bridges. I think if you like piano one of the things that is most amazing to me is a non-piano player. Long time listener no time player is the in the song Old dirt road there is this piano part that plays just one time halfway through the song that in anyone else's hands. If anyone else had written that song they would have ran that beautiful part to death and you'll know it when you hear it. It just sounds perfect and it just happens once in this song when it could have been like the main riff and that makes it even more precious. And I hope that you can listen to that because I'm sure you'll appreciate it. Probably even more than me you know with your skill on the keyboard. So thank you for sharing this insight and this video.
@@chatsidefires Great comment.
John was such an incredibly talented composer by intuition.
John said once that the best way to come up with a melody line and lyrics is to "Get out of the way and zone out while trying to do it." Like, don't try at all and it will come to you. It's like magic or waiting on God to tell you how to do it. lol. I'm always amazed at what he came up with.
@@llroman7823 Well I think he was more sophisticated than that, because he was also the person who said once you've started a song, complete it in one sitting, if you can, and don't let your insecurities make you Brackets put it off. This indicates thatif he had originally waited to get decent insight, from intuition, then he would certainly ensure that diligence, Critical reasoning and nuanced evaaluation and breakdown to basics, would also come into play - it wasn't exclusively intuition.
That's why he and Paul managed to put out so much Incredible high quality material so quickly and George tended to be much slower as songwriter. Simultaneously, that's 1 of the reasons why he and George ended up wanting to leave the band, becauuse record companies were exp constant timeliness with releasing material, but it was frustrating and making John unhappy. This culminated in them only having one side of masterpieces, on Abbey Road and a 2nd side with probably only 2 masterpieces "because" and "Golden slumbers?" and a load of other Unfinished works, which they managed to make look like something original, through the effect of the synergy of parts in the collage.
@@llroman7823 john once said that when you have an idea- keep at it until you finish it- otherwise all you have is just a "riff". great advice- and that's where most people stop- with the easy part. (i'm in that 99% myself!)
@@craigrheberling yes, that is true. It impresses me, how long he patiently waited until he had the right words for "Jealous Guy". It would have been such a waste if he had used some random lyrics to finish it.
Intuition ...
takes me there ...
Intuition...
takes me everywhere!
The greatest composer of all time. Only Paul could be his equal.
It’s really beautiful that John’s last batch of songs are so good. The muse was still there and the invention.
Yes, beautiful. And sad at the same time
He had his melodic talent back, his best was yet to come....
that A+ chord is one of the best chord placements in any song
🎹 John was fond of the tonic to augmented tonic (I to I+) change. He had used it ten years earlier in "Isolation," and 18 years earlier for the transition into the bridge of "Ask Me Why." I've always speculated that he learned it from Burt Bacharach. In early 1962, Jerry Butler had a minor hit with Bacharach's "Make It Easy On Yourself" which features that change rather prominently. As for the meter & tempo of "(Just Like) Starting Over," it's a safe bet that he was influenced heavily by Abba's hit, "I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do." 😎👍
You nailed it ---- and you know your Beatles
Russian romantic composers were the masters of it's many varied uses. So much so it typifies the whole oeuvre.
That's the beauty of musical composition. Everybody borrows from everybody. John got it from Burt Bacharach and I got it from John. I also Incorporated the minor plagal cadence from listening to John. I'm not sure where he got it from, but obviously he'd heard it and incorporated it into his writing.
Wonderful comment. Very insightful. Thank you.
So glad you mentioned Isolation one of his least know most beautiful songs
I've always been fascinated by John's chord selections.
clever comes to mind, doesn't it? with his musical mind, john could take a few simple chords and sing magical images over them.
That's what I like from him the most, what an ear he had
@@JulioLeonFandinho so many tunes. the way he sang "girl" - soft and pretty...
@hungfao, I am in total awe of his creativity with chords .. always have been ...
John Lennon was a master when it came to chord voicings. In the opening, ("our life...together) the third chord after Aaug is F#m/A or A6. So effortless and beautiful. I love analyzing his and The Beatles' music. And what is so mind-blowing is that none of them had any formal training in music theory. The music gods were good to these lads. Great review Aimee.
both "real love" and "free as a bird" -SO smooth!
on a keyboard, if i play the bass lines of beatles songs- by ear, along with the tunes, what jumps out to me is how clever and sometimes simple the chord changes look. this works on beach boys tunes also- don't worry baby, catch a wave, etc so clever and melodic. THEN, if you get to a song like "girls on the beach", good luck- you're on your own! pure harmonic genius- right there!
@@craigrheberling Real Love piano demo by John is a masterpiece of key changes, melody and harmony
Yes. They actually “wrote” nothing
Aimee,,, your hands, your hands… you are making that wood & metal pup bark so sweetly. Thanks cause I fall inlove with John Lennon all over again. To honor the Beatles, both collectively and individually, is a holy thing.. Those four gods deserve all our admiration - they certainly gave us (collectively) all their’s.
I love it when trained musicians analyse The Beatles…..It always amused them too. Especially John!
I remember being a young teen coming out of church on Sunday, getting in my brother's car and hearing this song debut there in the parking lot, and thinking "He's back!!!" A good song loves to translate, and in your hands this one translates as a piano ballad very beautifully. You've increased my respect for it and my appreciation of it.
She made it into a jazz song...her chords were EXCELLENT!...made it into a new song!!!👍
I assume you mean her chords only when she is Roofing in her right hand. These are not chords She Wrote.
That’s a beautiful rendition Aimee.
Yes, it's easy to miss the greatness of this song because it sounds so effortless. As the great foursome he was part of could sound. And that's one of the reasons why, to this day, I'm still so sad about his senseless death: he was back after a 5-year absence with all his songwriting chops intact. And man, what chops those were! We've been deprived great songs, that's for sure, since 1980.
Starting over was the tune that was meant to signal the start of John's career into the 80s... I remember hearing it on Top Of the Pops in the UK back when it was released and always loved the harmonic movement. I had no idea how sophisticated it was... thanks for the rendition.. a beautiful melody and lovely chords... classic.
Paul had owned the 70s with his solo efforts and as the leader of Wings.
John was inspired to return to recording in a serious fashion by Paul's output.
The album "Double Fantasy" was something he worked on for a few years and it shows that he was already back in his prime when it came to producing wonderful and thought provoking music, just like he had years before.
I will never stop missing John Lennon.
It was top 10 in UK and USA, and Woman even better....by 1983 he wud prob have had 5 more big hits and caught up with Mccartney....
Wow, I just discovered a whole new world in that song. Thank you so much.
To my ear, the chords and the melody are reminiscent of classic American Songbook songs like All of Me and Beautiful Love. In addition to being great innovators in songwriting, John and Paul were both also deeply thoughtful students of past generations' work. Thank you for reminding me of this wonderful song, I'll add it to my book!
Peace
Kenny
“Lennon was a genius!”
Freddie Mercury, Life is Real.
Your review and lesson brought back memories from a more hopeful time… What a great talent, lost too soon!
RIP John!
I learnt to play this on guitar and was amazed by how many chords there are and the way he used them. It's an amazing song
John and Paul have revolutionized modern music. Even though Rock and Roll came before them, they added a whole layer of sophistication to modern music.
Even if these two just rocked 1-4-5 progressions, it's worth the price of admission.
@@moeb4348The Beatles wrote approximately 200 songs. Only 27 of those used straightforward I-IV-V progressions. Look deeper into what they did, musically speaking. Yes, it IS worth the admission!
THAT FIRST COVER WAS SO BEAUTIFUL 😭😭😭
PLEASE MAKE A COMPLETE VERSION 😭🥺🙏
Yes..id like to hear that too.
Yes, we all really need it
I would have thought you were soloing over a Jazz era song from the 1930s and not 'Starting Over'. You are a genius.
Aimee did actually play the melody a bit somewhere up in there. lol. But I know what you mean. I think I would have known the song by the way she played it. But I'd have had to listen to the entire thing to catch it.
After watching this, I’m gonna learn this song for sure. It’s like a classic jazz standard! Great video 😊
Let's not forget that Yoko Ono was a classically trained pianist. John had used her knowledge before for the song "Because".
Yoko was fine as long as she didn't try to sing.🤔
@@ravensbrood3544 You got that right. I'd rather hear a 🐈 cat caterwauling.
@@ravensbrood3544 Yoko is an acquired taste.😮
@@ravensbrood3544 So true. "Sing" is a bit of a stretch. Wail or shreek might be better.😁
My ex wife and I listened to John in a Happy Hour in Bali. My wife cried when he had a day left to go home . The barmaid delivered my beer on her head as I'd saved her from two lascivious Austrian customers. Respect and leaning over them was all it took.
Anyway the'd play John Lennon for us and peaceful pre- dinner drinks. Love your work Aimee.
Thanks Aimee for putting in the hard but satisfying work necessary to deconstruct Lennon's masterpiece and then create this lovely video for us.
As a lifelong Beatles fan (I'm 72) I can only add that lightning strike of creativity must have struck the unlikely location of Liverpool, England in the mid-1950s. What were the odds of some teenage guys meeting at a random outdoor church festival that led to 2 of them becoming known as some of the modern era's greatest composers? And they both were known as some of the greatest rock singers of all time? And eventually a third one of them would author beautiful hits like Something and All Things Must Pass?
It's beyond mind-boggling. Thanks again.
I went to the same school as John albeit a couple of decades later. We had one particular music teacher who would knock out beatles tracks on his electric piano and throw in a bit of teaching, those were the dreaded music periods we loved, and what a fond memory. Only mention this as watching this beautiful presentation took me right back ❤
Maybe start a video series of your memories of that....do you feel that?
The type encouragements carry you all life though.
Thank you for taking the time to "name those chords" on screen and you're right, it is a beautiful melody and chord progression!
In his career, Lennon often reworked songs from his influences. On this ascending cadence through augmented chords that fall to a minor, I hear echoes of Roy Orbison's Crying. Lennon, with the Beatles performed a Bus Tour of England with Orbison in 1963, and had talked about Orbison being an influence. I don't think that Orbison used extensions in the same way, but, the shape of the progression sounds familiar.
I have heard this song! I am not alone. It can bring tears to my eyes. Thank you for your appreciation of it.
What a beautiful voice you have!
The man just had talent pouring out of him... And what a last single to put out.
Lennon and McCartney arguably 2 of the greatest melody writers of all time
Someday there may be a pairing of equal talents...
But it will be a very long time coming.
@@charlie-obrien When in history has there been ? I am not aware of any pairing that compares .. ever ...
@@tjcint
John, please read my reply again and note the first word...."someday".
Thanks for kvetching, though.
@@charlie-obrien You have misunderstood my point. By asking when in history has there been such a pairing, I am suggesting there may not be such a pairing in the future ...
You didn't need to include your sour kvetching comment.
@@tjcint
Then I guess we are in agreement on the proper Lennon/McCartney place in future history.
I'm sorry about the Kvetching remark...
It's actually more of a carping.
Lol 🙂
See? It's getting better all the time.
Another song that goes to the augmented on the root chord is Crying by Roy Orbison, who the Beatles warmed up for in the early days.
was just going to say. Sounds like he was going for Roy Orbison at Christmas.
those must have been some cool tours- and the beatles and roy would have to decide who followed who- once those boys started to get 'em screaming! btw, i just saw paul last april, and at one point in the show he said "alright girls, let's hear a "beatles scream" - i bent over and covered my ears- i'm 76- lol
The overall sound and feel is similar to Crying.
@@zebrapares Right! He stated he was trying to do a Roy type thing with this, and succeeded, no doubt.
He says he was being Roy in writing this. .
When I watched the 2021 Peter Jackson Beatles documentary you notice how much John helped complete many songs which Paul needed him to. And then it occurred to me John was coming in daily with “Across the Universe” finished and in his pocket. One of the most incredible melodies ever written and recorded. 😮
Aimee - this is the first time one of your videos has come up in my feed. Loved what you have explored here. I had no idea there were so many complex chords going on here. I encourage you to look at the chord changes of two unreleased Lennon works from the late seventies - Now And Then, and She Is a Friend of Dorothy. Lennon was quite a master of the subtle chord progression and key change. He, Paul and George grew up listening to a ton of musical influences, including music hall and Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930's, which I think is what gave them the edge over many of their peers.
I can't wait for Beatles - Now and Then......
Lest we forget, bars 5-8 of this beautiful melody owe a lot to Brian Wilson's "Don't Worry Baby".
People who say that the Beetles (and John and Paul) were over-rated are never musicians. Their use of harmony is so sophisticated and beautiful.
The Silver Beetles?
They weren’t literally insects
George Martin had a lot to do with that.
@@douglasj.arcuri1370 The Beatles had incredible harmonies before Martin arrived.
LOVE your take and understanding of this lovely melody. I'm a guitarist, but fascinated with piano. To my ears, Starting Over borrows from "Crying" alá Roy Orbison, but I could just be hearing things.
'Please, Please Me' his first number one started out with an Orbison influence, so it makes sense he would start over with Roy.
I love this song so much; the total do wop shine he put over can really mask the sophistication and color in the beautiful melody.
Aimee, thank you for this deep look into Starting Over. You really guided us through those eight bars in ways and at a depth that many of us have never realized. There is so much here about how to choose chords to harmonize a melody that I'll have to go over some sections a few times.
I had a great uncle who played trombone in English dance bands, and later with BBC orchestras, from the late 1920s into the 1970s. Gerry Arthur had first encountered The Beatles in Hamberg, when they were on stage just before the main act. He quickly decided they were rubbish. Perhaps they were on that occasion; Hamberg is where they're said to have gelled as a band so this may have been very early days. But Gerry Arthur never did alter his opinion. We had a slightly heated conversation about it the last time I saw him in 1970; I think we worried my Grandad a bit, though we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
The way The Beatles' music grew in elegance and sophistication while staying true to their roots, from their beginnings in skiffle to the end less than a decade later, has always impressed me. I do wonder how much theory the Beatles came to know through those Abbey Road years with George Martin.
It's widely known that never learned to read or write scores (they often said so themselves) but John, Paul and George at least certainly knew their way around the fingerboard and keyboard. They understood keys, chord extensions, how to write melodies and progressions, and had those years working in close collaboration with George Martin. Martin, of course, had formal classic music training, long experience in the industry and was a brilliant orchestrator. They could hardly have had a better mentor.
Honestly, I think we sometimes underestimate just how much theory many composers, who never develop an ability or are even much interested in reading sheet music, can master.
Anyway, thank you again for this; you're such a natural teacher and I always learn much from your very entertaining videos. Even those times where parts of your explanations go well over my head, I still find things I could wish someone had shown me decades ago.
Your "naked" version and analysis really showcase the beauty of the composition. I like to listen to Lennon´s piano demos, because you really hear how good his songs actually were. Some of his songs were "overproduced" in my opinion. He for example worked with Phil Spector who is famous for creating the "wall of sound". But the big sound overshadowed his brilliant song writing.
I pretty much agree. The album this particular song is from has way too slick AOR production for my taste. I do like many of the Spector productions, though.
Beautifully done Aimee
A heart smiles when YOU teach! The key of A is so pretty!
I love your rendition! Made me appreciate this song even more
"But when I see you darlin, It's like we both are are fallin'" has similarities to to Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby"- "when she looks in my eyes, she makes me realize". Beach Boys (1964) modulate there, but Lennon (1980) uses these beautiful altered tones. Interesting choices, both.
Oh my God you’re smart.
Great video.
One of my very favorite songs of all time. I'll never forget when it came out, and when John left this earthly plane. The melody sounds so Viennese, and those neighbor tones sound like appogiaturas. In fact, they're really #4 leading tones going into the fifth in terms of the melody. Just incredible writing, and even hearing the unaccompanied melody brings tears to my eyes...
Thank you for showing us just how complex this lovely song is.
Beautiful analsis of a song I didn’t really take to in October 1980. Thank you for opening my ears.
I think he just had a genius feel for music without understanding all the theory of it.
Could the Beatles explain theory in detail. No. They still had a working understanding of it.
Anyone who writes songs in using theory even if they don’t know it.
George Martin was their producer and I’m sure he helped them out given his classical background.
David Bennett Piano on UA-cam goes into this question about their knowledge.
All 4 Beatles had magnificent ears and their melody’s are what set them apart and makes them the greatest band.
That's it!
@@joshuatavares2384 Exactly, it's amazing how things are zero-sum for some people, as demonstrated in this comment section. John was vastly experienced and obviously understood a lot about theory, if not everything explicitly. Also, He could play penny-whistle, harmonica, lead and rhythm guitar, Piano and bass (a few times when Paul wasn't around).
If you look at some of the amazingly, technically competent Musicians around now, who have benefited from Learning off social media and have perfect technique.Have you noticed, that their work lacks originality, or passion, compared to artists of yesteryear, who learnt purely by feel and Copying peers. Technical capability, is overrated
Add2 or add9?
I've come to believe he and McCartney and separately Harrison - DID understand theory or 'heard' it. Paul says he deliberately pushed it away as he was/IS convinced it would hinder his originality. No way to test that!
Paul btw DOES now no some theory or maybe more than some as you here him on one of his endless appearances as a guest on various shows and music documentaries. The analogy maybe is writing; someone can be a natural writer with a pretty good command of grammar without having formally studied English?
Just BEAUTIFUL!!!
Aimee, you've got a great voice. I think John stated he was trying to write a song like Roy Orbison. You can hear Roy's influence in this one. Yeah, one of my favorites of Johns. Love "Woman" also and that was written around the same period, I think. Always amazes me how they wrote such wonderful melody lines out of thin air it seems.
Agree 100%, Roy Orbison had wonderful melodies, and this Lennon number resonates with Roy's influence. Love it. Also love the way Aimee presents this so deliberately, appreciatively and deliciously !
OMG - this is just so good. Great song, great breakdown. Am inspired. Thank you.
To this day I'm amazed on what beautiful music they created. They left it up to us to do the complicated analysis to what was natural to the fab 4 🤩.
Thanks for the analysis. John Lennon was like a magical dream for me. I was 7yo growing up in the NYC suburbs and loved this song when he was killed
I can't believe the magic in John's songs. Sometimes I think that all the melodies are already created or invented and that they are everywhere but only the angels can catch them and bring them to us, John is one of those angels.
That was really great. Thank you for sharing with all of us!
Aimee I just love your channel. I'm not a musician, just a music lover so the mechanics and notations go over my head, but I love your insights and your sense of humor and your love for and appreciation of music. Thank you for what you do and please keep them coming!
A wonderful thoughtful and thought-provoking piece as usual Aimee. This really shows off what a brilliant, intuitive songwriter John was. John almost certainly didn't know what all those chords were - and knowing John's general bent from being a major fan since my youth in the 60s, he would have actively NOT cared what they were! :) But as you say, he wrote the melody, knew the basic chords, and added whatever notes worked. Natural songwriting genius. Paul, who was much more musically knowledgable than John (though also not a sight-reader) used to say that they were innovative BECAUSE they had no training - they didn't know what they were doing was "wrong." It's never lost on me that folks like the Beatles didn't have full time rock n roll radio as kids, so they were exposed to all varieties of popular music - building a deep repository of widely varied tones and melodies to unconsciously draw upon. Much different than us later pop/rock musicians, most of whom spent their entire youth listening almost exclusively to RnR stations. Sorry for the long post. As always, you make me think! :) Thanks Aimee.
Do you have to bring McCartney straightaway, 1st comment. This is Work from Johns solo stuff, where He and we should go to escape this pigeonholing.Can't you just enjoy the free-spirited, natural, brilliant originality of a Genius songwriter purely driven towards catharsis, effective and useful change and progression, rather than Bringing in irrelevance about a Controlling, Insecure, popularity driven, albeit genius songwriter
i always tried to imagine how many times george martin would have to fill in the blanks for both john and paul- like names of chords and how they fit together, since he had the actual trained ear.note- brian wilson had to explain by sound what he wanted to hear played in the studio, and he had no george martin. if "genius" exists, i think he's right there! you?
@@Rowlph8888 lol
@Frederick Revalee idk, many of Paul's songs do a lot of other interesting things, including modulations (not necessarily with a descending chromatic line) - Martha, Blackbird, Penny Lane, Golden Slumbers for instance. I mean, obviously he had heard a lot of interesting songwriting tricks at this point (Brian Wilson, for instance) but yeah he had incredible facility in combining that with incredibly infectious melodies. I'm really not sure how Paul was not a 'natural' when John was - the chromatic lines were already present in much music they both knew in the early years
Wow, thanks. That has always been one of my favorite songs.
I really wanted you to do the whole thing! Never thought I would hear that wonderful song played in that way. It was just beautiful
Really enjoyed that. You make the theory behind songs really enjoyable.
It would be interesting to listen to John’s work tracks on Starting Over just to hear the process of how it developed into the finished masterpiece it became. Your analysis of the chord structure in relation to the melody and chord voicing’s is harmonically enlightening. Spot on. Thank you.💜🎹
Just like starting over cane from 3 different demos & he put them together.
Beautiful chords indeed, love the way you present them and slowly let us enjoy the sublime musicality. I am also a great Lennon fan. Thanks Aimee !
Brings a lump to my throat imagining looking over John's shoulder. What a loss. I love your enthusiasm, insight and passion. Obviously you enjoy the awakening you have as you make these discoveries.
Beautiful. Thank you for making this Aimee
That’s amazing! And i always though that the coolness of this song came from the groovy rythm, accelaration, accents, the vocal expression… Never imagined it had such a complicated harmony! it feels like straight rock and roll somehow!
Absolutely true…and I never noticed…surprisingly. Thank you for pointing it out. Now, to the piano!
Love it..thanks Aimee! More of Lennon's work pls. I don't know, every time I listen to John's songs, especially his demos, I feel strong and deep emotions that make me listen to them over and over again, I don't know why.
This girl has a style! 😘
As usual you are amazing to show us the magic of chords and let us know how easy could be to play songs in the piano. Thanks for sharing your gift. God bless you. Yo
Thanks for the posting video. Of course is a jazzy touch but listening to the bass and backing vocals in the original track gives you the hints of a jazz progression.
Been listening to this song and other Lennon solo tracks and they are superb. Do more Lennon tracks!! ❤ subscribed
You are right I can hear the harmony just from the melody! Those chords are so beautiful. Brilliant vid Aimee very inspiring!
Yes! Finally some respect for what has long been one of my favorite songs. Do a search for a Lennon demonstration called “My Life” and listen to it. That’s the genesis of (Just Like) Starting Over. Incidentally, the song was at No. 6 and rising on the Dec. 6, 1980 Billboard chart - the weekend before Lennon was murdered.
It was #2 this week in 1981 (Casey Kasem's
American Top 40) and rightfully so! Just an
amazing composition and very poignant in
light of the tragedy which befell him and his
family and all his fans around the world...😥
Here's an incredible rock doc to check out --
"Composing Outside The Beatles" ☮️+💜+🎶
💪😎👍 ua-cam.com/video/95DMGzdauWI/v-deo.html
Beautiful tune beautifully analyzed. Greatness!!!
Great video. Being a guitar player I have often tried to shoehorn melodies into progressions that I would create, until sometime ago when I discoved what you're talking about in this video...harmonize the melody...great stuff.
Smashing Aimee!!
I don't even play piano, but i love your channel. I love the way you present things and make them more or less understandable to a fairly basic guitarist like myself. And your warmth and passion for the music is obvious to anyone. Cheers!
Thank you so much, Aimee!
From the first time I heard "Starting Over" when it came out in late 1980... I saw it as John paying homage to the 1950's rock & roll that he grew up with. It has that flavor.
Fantastic, bravo....
Srdjan from Serbia
Wow mind blown. Great intro to your page. First impression. Always loved johns chords and melodies especially his pitch. Brilliand being a singer he heard the notes in his head. This is one of my favorite songs.having lost her it remind me everyday was starting over..
Well, I was there when Starting Over was new and the tragic event that followed afterward. Still the largest loss not just in music but in pop culture generally. Lennon was poised to make a comeback that would have shook the world like the Beatles did earlier. Now I was going to comment on the Beach Boys connection but you beat me to it. That was known even when the song was new. And as far as the harmonic structure don’t sell Lennon short. In the 70s he hung out and worked with a lot of competent musicians and people knowledgeable in production. In other words he picked up a trick or two. Look at the string of hits on Double fantasy. I’m still of the opinion that he was taken out by the powers that be who thought he presented a threat with a return to the limelight. A la JFK for example. Imagine was a theme for a new world order and lots of people believed in it. The war mongers couldn’t have been happy. Amy you are a great musician. Keep up the work and realize there is a wealth of music out there to dig into.
Sorry I misspelled your name. Wasn’t paying enough attention.
Notice that John Lennon made his career by telling people to take brain damaging drugs, and one of the people who damaged his brains on those drugs then shot him. Not quite Instant Karma.
" I’m still of the opinion that he was taken out by the powers that be who thought he presented a threat with a return to the limelight" This
@@firstlast4874 No, he wasn't taken out by "the powers that be". John Lennon SERVED the powers that be, he destroyed leftists by getting their brains friend, and he fried his own brain. He died a Reaganite.
lennon had an image and a following that no other person had, imo. i've often wondered, like in your theory- since there was such a government dislike for him- and his outspoken attitudes, about peace, pot, etc. the whole thing reminded me of the james caan movie- "rollerball", from the 70's. no time limit, no substitutions- houston! houston! the sports hero was getting too big for his britches-lol
There is a real spiritual quality to this song. I actually have goosebumps thinking about it. The words, melody and harmony......it was like Lennon knew his time was short and left this for us.
Thank you. Gorgeous melody.You're terrific.
AMAZING INSIGHTS, and beautiful songs that are such CLASSICS, thank you . SWEET !
One of my favourites..love the false ending too ..lovely video
I play that one on electric guitar, and I never realized what you said, nor have I heard it on piano. I try to mimic how it is played on the released version. It is absolutely my favorite song of John's, and Woman comes a very very close second. Sometimes Woman is my favorite, depending on my mood. I just play by ear, but I love hearing the music theory behind it. I am totally fascinated by these little backstories you share, as they give it depth, and reason. If you listen to the studio version, I love it when John says right at the beginning, "this one's for Gene, Eddie, and Elvis...And Buddy!" Very obvious who he is referring to, and you can catch him actually mimicking their vocal style in the song Starting Over. "It's been too long since we took the time" is definitely John imitating Elvis. I just love it!
Thank you very much for this Aimee! Your interpretation at the opening of this video with your singing is exquisitely beautiful. If you cut a full length recording of this and other songs with melodies you like, it will be on my favorites playlist for years to come.
I REALLY appreciate this video! I've always loved this song and its melody. One of his absolute best.
Lovely! Thanks so much.
This one kept showing up in my feed for weeks and I kept taking my time to get to it. Wow, what a dumb dumb I am. Those chords sound amazing. I'm going to try and make my own little fancy arrangement after I review all this a few more times. Good stuff, thx!
Your voice is incredibly beautiful. I always liked this song and especially the introduction. Thanks for your intriguing insights 😊!
i love the harmony analysis on any tune you are good at it