I’m 72 years old. What people younger than I am can’t understand because they can approach the idea only through a historical or academic perspective, is the visceral jolt that the first exposure to the Beatles sent through people’s psyches. They arrived like an asteroid. Suddenly, Elvis was old fashioned. Popular music and popular culture can be divided, not arbitrarily, into before the Beatles and after the Beatles in the same way the art of painting can be divided into pre-Giotto and post-Giotto. The Beatles existed from the time I was 12 years old to the time I was 19. During that period, literally every new Beatles song was an event. “A Hard Day’s Night” was a phenomenon. Just as pop music has a pre- and post-Beatles era, the Beatles themselves had a pre- and post-Revolver era. Their music - not their look or their personae or their personal charisma - was the gravitational center of all virtually popular music, pulling it all into their orbit. People who are around 40 years old or younger like to say the Beatles are overrated. They say this having grown up in a musical environment of bands every single one of which owes at least something to the Beatles and every one of which would not exist in the way they do had not the Beatles existed.
All this is true, but add another layer to it. The Beatles composed their own music, played all the instruments used and had no lead singer. They weren't a harmony group, but they used that technique in many songs. They shared the lead part between three talented singers, but also harmonized with those same three voices. The Beatles interacted with their material in a way different from anyone else: they didn't sing over the instrumental part, they intertwined the lyrics with the instrumental because they were creating both. One last thing, The Beatles had a long gestation period as a group few others enjoyed. With the exception of Ringo, they had been working together for years.
If it wasn’t for the Beatles music wouldn’t exist as it does today. The genre would be completely different. They took rock and roll and turned it on its head. They were the first ones to write their own songs and write songs for others. Their music evolved as time passed. Young people don’t understand their true worth.
Anyone who says that The Beatles are overrated need to watch this. It’s these reasons exactly why they are my favourite band of all time. Especially the subtle key changes and their clever use of chords
@@Charlie-f4q4o Please learn how to spell. I would have thought that was a typo, but I see that you’ve done it more than once. Secondly, you have no taste.
I was 13 when I first heard "A Day In The Life" on the radio in headphones by accident, with no idea it was the Beatles. It lifted me out a deep dark depression in a dark room, and I could see colors and light, and felt like I was floating. Before it started, I felt like everything was bad and everyone hated me , and afterward, I was in a state of bliss. I was living in a small town in Florida in the 1980s and spent three years trying to describe this song to people and get the name of it so I could get a copy of it.
@@tjcint I have told this story a few times, and I've heard that reaction particularly from serious Beatles fans. I think it reminds them of a time before they knew the Beatles existed, and the moment when everything changed. I don't think the Beatles themselves had any idea what they had in their hands. Since then, maybe Sgt. Pepper's has dated and I make the kind of music I want to hear, but I still stand in awe of that song.
I was 13 in 1963. The perfect age to become a Beatles fan. Music had a seriousness and weight to it and then the very simple "Love Me Do" pulled everyone out of that with a lightness of spirit and unexplainable happiness vibe that turned my world from black and white to full color. It was like I saw the world for the first time. I can't explain it. You had to be there.
I was nine. You are absolutely correct when you say that you had to be there to understand the effect they had on music from their introduction to the world until they disbanded. Every record was fresh and revolutionary.
What you have to understand is that, back in 1963, when Please Please Me first hit the airwaves, most listeners, including this eight year old, had never heard anything like it before.
@colindant3410 Absolutely. They were like nothing we’d ever seen or heard. They were so fresh, such a great vibe and energy. Great melodies and harmonies. And they looked different from all the other bands with long hair and cool suits. Please Please Me, was a fresh new approach to pop music with the bass playing that steady 8th note groove, which was something you just didn’t hear at the time. And those harmonies were pure sweet ear candy. I’m happy that you got to hear it in real time also because it’s hard to explain. Beatles 👍♥️
Can't that be said for any era for any listener who is new to music. An 8 year old today will hear the Beatles for the first time and not have heard anything like it
Idk if they're still on UA-cam, but there used to be videos that played snippets of every single UK number 1 song of a decade. It's when you hear several minutes of very vanilla pop from 1960 to 1962 that once you hear the Beatles singles, you get that "holy shit, that's completely different!" feeling.
@@jprg1966 Oh yeah absolutely. They’re still on here. All those videos, either from the UK, or the US, from that period are all the same. THE BEATLES were on an entirely different plane than everybody else. It was B&W, opposed to Technicolor. It’s Night opposed to Day. Insert the metaphor of your choosing.
@@jprg1966 Yes, where the melody went, was unpredictable with them, but they always sounded in tune. It was like adding different colors to the rainbow.
Hearing She loves you yeah yeah yeah blaring out of every second shop in 1963 was a special time. The early Beatles songs really captured elation, a very rare musical achievement.
I found the Beatles White Album in my parents closet when I was 7 years old (1982). I knew absolutely nothing about them. I didn't know they were considered the greatest band of all time, who John Lennon and Paul McCartney were, or what "Beatlemania" was. But I played that album continuously for a month straight! Some of the songs were almost like children's songs. Bungalow Bill, Piggies, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, Rocky Racoon, ect. At 7 years old it was like the first record was the happy part, and the second record was the creepy part! Not sure why I thought of it like that, but the second record was a darker toned record, and songs like Cry Baby Cry, Long long long, and Helter Skelter had a creepy feel to them. Then there was Revolution 9, with Goodnight afterwards. Anyway, I guess my dad either got tired of hearing the White Album, or recognized that I had become a Beatles fan, because he came home from work one day with the Red and Blue albums! I found out who the Beatles were after falling in love with their music. That's what the real magic of the Beatles is. Their songs, creativity, and their work in the studio.
The red one was my first. I was 9. 1986 Easter trip from Detroit to Florida. Dad pit that cassette in the car stereo, and it would stay there the entire trip. I was HOOKED. I remember driving through the smokey mountains at night, waking up to the hauntingly eerie sound of She Loves You. Absolutely terrifying, but my God-like father at the wheel meant no harm could befall us. On the way home I asked who the cool guy was with different hair, and he asinit was Ringo Starr, the drummer. When we got home I dug out my sister's toy parade set. I took the snare drum, strung the cymbals up on the bottom of the top bunk, a small native American tom tom, and two suction tipped arrows that can with a Dues Of Hazzard archery set for drumsticks. Here I am thirty eight years later, still playing drums. All thanks to The Beatles.
I heard Eleanor Rigby when I was 7 years old and was immediately hooked. I asked Dad, “Who is that? It sounded unique. Nothing like the other songs playing on radio in 1972.
It was that, Octopus's Garden, Obli-Di and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds that really intrigued and hoked me as little kid. I remember thinking Lucy was about my grandmother Lucy who take citrus trees in her yard.
What a Brilliant video I am 81 years old ,In 1962 I played in a Band that supported the Beatles .I can honestly say you could not tell the difference between their record being played, and live on stage They were that GOOD
This is spot on. And yes, pop music has regressed. Chord progressions are half of writing music. Much of the music I hear today just drones on and on going nowhere. Something like tribal chants. A beat with lyrics applied to it.
I am not a musician, but I was able to understand this, thanks. Amazing to think Lennon, Mcartney and Harrison were still only in their 20s and had no formal training.
My sister was 14 when the Beatles hit America. I remember a group of her friends talking about how "She Loves You" literally gave them tingling chills that ran through every part of their body.
And also, the use of modes. Irregular time signatures. As already mentioned, the use of unusual chords, extension chords, unusual modulations. As well as different songwriting techniques, unusal sounds and effects, recording techniques and arrangements. A lot of creative, innovative, mind blowing level of cleverness going into their music. Their songs have layers of sophistication artistically and musically. But they make them sound so smooth, a lot of people don’t even recognise those techniques have been applied. 100 years later, musicians would still analyse their music, because the complexity is up there. But I don’t think 100 years later, musicians would analyse those 4 chords simple formulae music on today’s pop chart.
And also, people have overrated “technical skills” in music. The more music you listen you, the more you’d realise that a lot of mainstream pop (and hard rock bands’s music), are just four chords pop songs (with distortion). Maybe you are the type of person who think being able to play fast and difficult music means the music is better. But I can tell you, that is not the correct way to look at any music or art. How do you define talent? To CREATE? Or to PLAY? Through out the history. You can find famous dishes that are named after the chef who CREATED them. But you don’t hear the names of other top level chef anymore. You are familiar with famous composers who CREATED the music. But you don’t hear about who were the top pianist or violinist anymore. Bill Gates is not the best programmers, his employees are. Why is he rich? Because he CREATED the ideas. There are millions of extremely technical artist graduated from art school each year, but if they use their amazing art skills, to paint a painting exactly identical to Jackson Pollock’s, or if they take a photo of the real one and print a replica, will it worth as much as a painting that Jackson Pollock has CREATED, which doesn’t required much skills? The talent of the Beatles, is about creating something unique, innovative and clever, out of nothing, using sophisticated techniques, which other people can’t think of, or at least, wouldn’t use commonly outside of classical or jazz music. Anyone can be technically skillful after practicing and hardwork. But not anyone can come up with good ideas.
@@thierryhenry674 Bill Gates didn’t “create” anything! He used the ideas created by other people and took credit. I can’t stand that racist, eugenicist, drug pushing, murderer. 😡🤬
Well said @thierryhenry764 This is why for every 100,000 absolutely brilliant, technically superior executioner, you will have 1 CREATIVE genius AND technically superior artist. Any quality musician, whether you "got into the Beatles " or not back in the day, must recognize and marvel at the stunning, arguably unmatched range of music, even to this day.
When I was a teenager back in the 90s I liked The Beatles but I didn’t love them. I barely knew their hits. So I decided to expand and bought the Red and Blue 4 disc collection and started diving in their music. Wow. Songs like Michelle, Girl, Nowhere Man, Here There and Everywhere, which I never heard before, got glued in my brain after a single listen, like tattoos. Normally I need to listen to the same song around 3 times to start learning them. Not with The Beatles . Once is enough to never forget them.
Sir! My first ever comment on a UA-cam video! This is a truly inspirational video and has fired me up to look at music in a different way. I've always been attracted to funk styles; Nile Rodgers, Frusciante, Marr... but never really considered the points you've raised so well here. You've educated me and I'm really grateful!
Despite being raised by two Beatle fans, I had no opinion on them until I was 12 and heard the song "Hey Bulldog" in the Yellow Submarine film in music class. There are many things about them to love, but the music was always first. Thank you for explaining in layman's terms not only why they were such daring songwriters, but also how harmonically lifeless today's pop is.
Every musician needs to watch this!! The Beatles use of key changes, modes, borrowed chords, time signature changes etc. really set them apart. The quality of their songs was something else!!
Excellent vid. I am a guitar teacher also, and I insist that my students learn a few Beatles songs..I try not to overwhelm them with my awe of the brilliance of the chords. Don't forget to mention the Augmented chords they used. You used one at the end of From Me To You. What's funny is at a party someone always says "play some Beatles...their songs are simple." HA HA ..I bust into All My Loving and the other guitar players cry.
My favorite example of what I call "fake" key-changing is You're Gonna Lose That Girl: verse begins with E, bridge ends with F. And without a single "jarring" chord change anywhere ...
The Beatles grew up playing a lot of show tunes and jazz standards. For example, Til There Was You and Besame Mucho. This music is more chordally complex than the rock and roll and r & b they were also listening to and playing at the same time. Then throw George Martin in the mix with his classical/orchestral background.
@@Bryt25 A lot of Aug fifth chords in their music! I think they used free-written chord changes more subtly and beautifully than any group that's been. And I think not know a lot of music theory left them free to do what they wanted as long as they liked it, and that's what it's all about.
They changed a lot in that 7-8 year time stretch. Their early songs were very catchy and bright, but even then you could hear a taste of whats to come. A key change and/or borrowing from other keys makes for an interesting composition. And even with all their aeriousness to their craft, they could make some absolutely justbplain fun songs, like All Together Now or Yellow Submarine. I could go on and on, cause theres so much about them that made them unique and successful, but Id be remiss if I didnt say how much that little cover of Here There and Everywhere at the end was a perfect tail end to the video. You should make a full version of that. That was gorgeous mate. ✌️❤️ As always, great video!
I was 11 when I first heard the Beatles on "Saturday Club" on the radio and was hooked. I remember running home from Saturday morning football just to hear them for the second time - no hype involved
No one pressured me to become a Beatles fan. In 1977, people listened to punk, the new Bee "stayin' alive" Gees, hard rock. And I occasionally heard Beatles songs on the radio. I thought, I really like this. More than anything offered and brought the distinction of buying all the Beatles LP vinyls..one by one.
Hardly the first, 12 Days of Christmas beat them to punch by a few centuries. But definitely the the most successful, possibly the most prolific, and in my opinion the most natural.
Very well-done video. I think we should add, however, that nearly all of the songs, including those in the list at the front have another element that songwriters might want to consider. I believe they are all in the song form, AABA, which is never heard in today's pop music. The Beatles use of both AABA and Verse-Chorus forms also made their music more interesting. Since AABA is the basis for many jazz or American Songbook 'standards', I wonder if that form lends itself better to the use of clever key changes.
The Beatles were the first songwriters to bring things like time signature changes and key changes to pop music. These techniques were used in classical music but not pop music. The Beatles deserve all the credit they get. They changed what pop music was and influenced what it could be.
All very well to say that The Beatles changed pop music and influenced what it could be - I loved their music in the 60's and the following generation of singer-songwriters produced the greatest music I've ever heard on the back of the FabFour's brilliance - but then what happened? There were literally thousands of wonderful songs written from the inception of The Beatles until around 1990. Since then, it feels like I can count on one hand the number of songs that make me want to listen to them twice. Nowadays the popular music charts are filled with uninspiring drivel written by either a cast of thousands or computer-generated programs, performed by artists who want to make it all about themselves - not the song.
The first for key changes? What about Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Goffin & King) goes from (say) C to a bridge in (say) Eflat. Song was recorded in 1960 (can't find written date, but could be copyright 1960).?
Were they the first, or just the most popular band at the time to do it? These fuckers get credited with everything and Chuck Berry is barely even heard of despite inventing the genre The Beatles milked, until they got distracted and started doing incoherent and underwhelming crap in the late 60s.
@@keithwellerlounge74 I imagine you are responding to the original poster with your comment, but as I also commented on this thread, for what it's worth I will defend The Beatles influence on what I consider the best five artists of the post-Beatles era: Dan Fogelberg, ABBA, Eagles, BeeGees and Phil Collins. All of those at some point have credited The Beatles as their main influence in forging a career in music. Berry and other artists pre-Beatles clearly had an influence on the fabfour, but it was they who subsequently churned out a catalogue that impacted on the next generation of musicians - like it or not.
It’s really great that you did a known song without key changes to demonstrate what the key change does. It makes me think your channel might be really great for learning some important details about music making. I sound like I’m being paid to promote your channel or something, I know. So everyone else knows, I am not. I just really appreciate this lesson and I want to make sure others don’t overlook it.
Excellent, you showed how these " Pop" songs belied an understated complexity. It sounds beautiful, and when you see, played, the actual chord voicings and transitions, you have to be in awe. Here,there and everywhere is mind-blowing, and a whole generation was exposed to that daily on the radio. So today's " low information" music is intolerable to someone who grew up listening to that, and then listened to Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Rush, Jethro Tull, Yes, the Who, Hendrix and Stevie wonder. How lucky to be a teenager hearing the aforementioned on the radio, constantly, also seeing most of those bands LIVE, were they proved they were good enough to deliver it in person.
This was a really great breakdown that appeals to many levels of musical education. You managed to discuss these concepts: modulation, etc, in a way that I think is streamlined for the ones with less theory knowledge while being appealing to educated musicians who don't need hand holding. Way to balance those 2 scenarios. Great video man.
This is why I Cannot listen to rap! THERE IS NO MELODY!!! It's just a beat with a rambling word salad! To me, if it doesn't have a 'melody' it's not 'really music'!!🎶
@@garyahern7090Well rap the vocals are used more like percussion is why. Ironically this is why auto tuned mumble rap became popular because they would atleast attempt a melody. But I would recommend Bone Thugs n Harmony as rappers who know how to use melody very effectively. In fact you can just search Bone Thugs or Krayzie Bone/Bizzy Bone best melodies and find whole mixes of their hypnotic melodies.
I was fifteen when I first heard the Beatles 'Rain'. I was blown away by the sound, it was so different to anything I had ever heard before. People need to realise how completely unlike the Beatles were to anything we had heard before. It's impossible to go back from todays' perspective and judge this effect. They influenced everything that came after them, so peoples' ears today are used to sounds that were so original back then. You can get too technical about cord progression and all that other stuff, but it was more than that, it was the whole package, the drums, John Lennon's nasal voice, Paul McCartney's sweet tones, the harmonies, the musical sliding effects, the gaps in the music, the phrasing, and the energy. And they did this again and again, always original, always different.
'Rain' was what first blew me away too. I later found out that they recorded it faster and preferred it slowed down which of course change the key too (in those days).
It was unfortunate. This song was not on an album in the US. I think it was the B-side of paperback writer. The overdriven bass was the same technique on paperback writer. My favorite Ringo performance. Think of fast he had to play All those drum fills‘s on the original because they played a double speed and slow the tape down for the atmosphere.
One other thing the Beatles had besides hype and songwriting chops is their tight and flawless vocal harmony. When Dylan first heard them, he said the things that stood out were "the chords and the harmony."
This was very well presented. Short and straight to the point. I think you made this accessible for young songwriters. Too many songs sound like they are stuck in a loop or a groove. They don't go anywhere. Also I would add that what I call moving chords. Instead of staying on one chord for 4 beats try1 and 3 or 1 2 3 and 4 . Those chords are there you just have to find them. At a more advanced level I think Sting is a master of the Chord.
The main secret of the Beatles Music is The Spirit of Eternal Youth! I can't fathom how that yongsters could to know about Music without Special Music Education! They were Geniuses, for sure ! The Greatest Musicians of the Century! Thank you, Buddy for trying to explain this phenomenon over music theory!
@tangyorange6509 You don't know? Wild. It's done that way, so when you read it, the random capital words are spoken Or Read with enthusiasm. Think of it as an alternative to putting the word or words in quotations. It makes sense, And..Its ok😂
Well done! I’m 72 and still play The Beatles music on a nearly daily basis. I listen to all kinds of music. I played drums since I was 14. But playing with really good guitarists and keyboardist I was always astounded by chord changes. The thing about the Beatles is not only did their music grow at an astounding rate so did their harmonies which aided in those chord changes quite often. So well thought out. Great episode sir. Hope to see more soon.
Interestingly I went to a guitar class while working in LA in 1983. Laurence Juber from Wings was taking it and taught us the song in E, he also added a chord of his own in the 'bridge.'
Great video, James. When I started plaing guitar in the1970s, one of the biggest helps to me was a copy of The Beatles Complete songbook. At the time, it just seemed like they were picking chords at random but magically making them work. After a while I started appreciating that there was real purpose and method in what they were doing. This video, 50 years later, makes clear what it took me years to cotton onto!
It started for me in 1964 at the age of seven when they came on the Ed Sullivan show. We watched them on our small B/W television , and the first song I heard was All My Loving. My father, who had been an Everly Bros fan at the time, liked that one first. Later I received the Meet the Beatles album for my 8th birthday - in mono - I still have it. By that time, they were all over AM radio - I didn't have an FM band at that time but that wasn't really an option anyway in 1964 (which I later learned). As the years went by, I grew up alongside the Fab Four. One moment I'll always recall was when Sgt Pepper came out in 1967 - I would turn 11 years old around that time. It sounded like nothing I'd heard from them up to that point, especially Day in the Life. But from there, it seemed to go downhill, though when Abbey Road came out at the end of 1969 it was one great second side of the record. At the time, I didn't realize it was their last album as a group, but when it was announced a few months later that they would be splitting up, it seemed like the end of what had been a magical journey - a magical mystery tour, as it were. I will always have those memories as I now approach my 70th birthday in a couple of years. It was a great privilege to be alive during those times, and for those who came along later, I'm sorry you missed it....
The Beatles had such an incredible work ethic behind their music. It's hard to imagine learning all of this music theory before the age of Internet and big music. Also all of the nightly gigging they did in Germany. They worked their arses off to become as skilled as they were. They were my first favorite band. I listened to them on my dad's old records to boot!
I am no longer an aspiring rock star. However, I do believe that you have touched upon some very important point that I have never considered before. I think that this is a brilliant presentation. Thank you so much for doing it.
I wish someone had explained this to me the way you just did, when I was older than your mum. Which I still am. I mean, when I was at your kids' age, if you have kids. I mean, now I know! But the way you explain it is brilliant for someone at the level, I was on when I was older than... uhm... yeah! I think! What gets to me is the aspect of key changes being so subtle. I love the way Stevie Wonder is very cheeky about it. He shows us a little corner of the cake under the glazing, as if to let us know, that there is something called jazz. Same thing, only even more so with Danish Tim Christensen from Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, who is also about creating new music with chord progessions previously unhear (of). The subtlety you mention is really essential. The Beatles very often use a subdominant minor chord. This is, now that you have mentioned it, a regular but subtle key chance. I never saw/heard it like such, thinking about it as more of a spice. But you're absolutely right, and I have to thank you for making this clear to me! I'll Be Back is a song with a key change in the very first line, albeit in the seconc time it is played, I believe.
Pardon my California vernacular, but DUDE! Smashing presentation. I watch a fair amount of musical breakdowns and they tend to feel like I'm listening to a lecture in French after taking 2 years of it in secondary school. I get some of it, but much of it is beyond my current "vocabulary." Alternatively, they're dumbed down by steering away from the musical complexity altogether, and focusing on beginner-level instruction. In focusing on the complexity, but simplifying the presentation into language most fire ring hacks like me can understand, you're opening up creative opportunities I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to access. Thank you.
Good ways to explain why Beatles music is so good compare to music now..I m a music teacher and have been trying hard to explain to my student about it..thanks for helping me out. Peace out!!
Analyse the usual chords used relative to the key. What is so special about it? Analyse the key changes. Downwards modulation in PennyLane? Wow. In an unusual key change, what chords do they use to act as a bridge between the two keys. How is the modulation achieved? What modes have been used? Mixolydian and Dorian in one song. The time signature in All you need is love. Listen to every detail sounds, instruments, arrangements. The use of counter points and other songwriting techniques. There are lots of things for the students to analyse and trying to apply them into their own compositions. Once these students understand the complexity and start to write half decent songs, they would never go back to those simple 4 chords songs again. If you straight away say that the music they like are simple and rubsh, they will be so defensive and stop listening. Let them learn what is good and they will grow away from those rubsh.
I was introduced to The Fab Four in pre-school thanks to our music teacher playing "Yellow Submarine" on guitar & the simple yet unique melody & lyrics appealed to me. Later ,I had a friend who got to into the band ( especially John Lennon) & I was always blown away by their music; it just stood out against the bland,boring stuff that was being played on the radio in the early 80's . That & it sadly took the assassination of Lennon for there to be a new appreciation of The Beatles.. I play the keyboard & love their unique key changes ; they were truly one-of-a-kind👌
I agree...you IMPROVED Wonderwall!!! Thanks for making this video, it's nice to see their process laid out in that ladder rung form...it's also great that you pointed out that The Beatles were already incredibly sophisticated during the Please Please Me 1st album...you also could have mentioned the way used modes as well=their genius is fascinating and their timeless status is well deserved
At last! Within the first seven minutes of this video you are so accurate it's brought a grateful tear to my eye as I sit here nodding vigorously. Well said, mate!
A brilliant piece of exposition. Thanks. (Though you could have mentioned George was always probably the most prolific user of the diminished!). I hope a certain Mr Beato gets a chance to clock this and give you a name check. It's very in keeping with his regular rants about the dire state of the charts.
I have been writing songs for my own pleasure since the early 1970’s. I am not musically trained and I would just whack out the chords. A few years ago I thought I would see what key I was playing in. To my surprise I was playing the levels you spoke of. I must admit I was a bit confused as to how I was getting away with playing that way as it did not seem to fit with the little bit of music theory I know. Thank you for clarifying. I think growing up as a child with Beatles music surrounding me I may have been subconsciously influenced.
Never trust anyone that doesn’t appreciate the Beatles for their musical genius. Anyone that can’t see it, either has no clue or is trying to hard to be edgy
I know some folks who dismiss the Beatles music, their writing, their musicianship and place in history. I also kicked those folks out of my life. Yes I am a fan, but even non-fans who appreciate music history never make the mistake of dismissing the Beatles. They may not like the band or their work, but smart enough to give them the respect they earned.
People who say they don’t like The Beatles are the same contrarians who would claim “Jaws 4” was the best in the “Jaws” movies. They are people who simply want to appear like they are able to see things none of the rest of us can see
Great breakdown, my friend. I'll add that a key part of the brilliance of the modulation used in Beatles' songs, predominately Paul's, is the ability to bridge the two keys by using common chords before switching back and forth. Great Gig In The Sky does this seemlessly, as well. Starts in one key, modulates to another unnoticed, and uses a common chord those two keys share in their scales to return to the original key without the listener being able to notice exactly what happened. Penny Lane is a great example of this, too.
I was 5 in 1968 when my dad brought one of the few non-classical records he owned into the house; Sgt. Pepper's! My favourite song was "When I'm 64", partly because my dad played the clarinet, and there was a really neat clarinet part in the song. I later discovered that this album was full of outliers among Beatles tunes, but hey, I was 5 and everything sounded new. In my mind, the Beatles just made good music, like Bach or Cannonball Adderley.
Thanks a lot for showing Macca telling the B7th story. I was beginning to think I had imagined it. Currently going through a book of all the Beatles songs to see what percent were key changers and the few that stayed in the same key. People talk about Paul being such a great bassist and while I think he's good I always felt it was their chord progressions that made the bass so interesting. Just doing root 5th on the bass their chord progressions would make it sound cool. I found in my own writing if I come up with a key change song just the chords alone will suggest a melody to me. As a matter of fact I just recently started writing my first song with just a melody. It was interesting then having to find out what chords went with the melody. Part of the songwriting influence on the Beatles was that they didn't grow up entirely on rock and roll. Lennon was 15 the first time he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" so he was exposed to non-rock stuff up to that point. Paul was exposed to a lot of music hall stuff via his dad, James. I agree that "Love Me Do" was great. I think it's one of the most revolutionary things they ever did because I can usually name an influence for their writing. Not sure there was anything that even came close to "Love Me Do". "Hey Baby" maybe since Delbert McClinton played harmonica on it and showed Lennon some stuff as well.
I figured out what I called the Beatles' sneaky key chnges when I learned to play their music. A song like Norwegian Wood seemed to start in a relative key, while John was singing the uncertain verses, but in the chorus, it starts two frets off the strongest correct key cadence, as he is singing of making up his mind. He even strongly emphasized the two fret move as if discovering and asserting thre correct key. Gordon Lightfoot did almost exectly the same thing with Carefree highway, although he fit some more chord movement into the lines around the same basic structure, from doubtful verse, to key revelation in the chorus. I had the same experience as a child in the sixties, liking only songs until I learned who the bands were, and it turned out that the same kind of bands kept coming up. I even instinctively saw the similarities between Norwegian Wood and Carefree Highway. Lyrically, when you are using the sneaky key change, you are expressing some kind of doubt or uncertainty, which is resolved in some way when you return to playing right in the key chords. I think there is a deliberate relation to mind control through music. In the sixties, they wanted to play around with the doubt and uncertainty - they wanted people to be made thoughtful by the music. They wanted to compel their attention to doubts and uncertainties - to make them think about things. Then they took the disturbing chord changes out. Doubts are no longer encouraged as part of your thoughts and emotions. They want us skipping or trudging along without doubts or anything to trouble our thoughts. Not that there's anything wrong with skipping along with no doubts. I'm just saying it is deep cultural and subconscious manipulation. They wanted to bring down the culture, so initially they didn't need to impose anything, only to get people excited and doubting, questioning, and challenging whatever they wanted to question. People would go off in all directions at first, but it would bring down the order, so they could begin to build the order they wanted. As they put their order in place, they don't want people doubting them or questioning them. They play music to build their order by. No musical ambiguities will be allowed.
I've been playing guitar and have been in bands for 30 years, and I've always said, "I don't care to become a great musician or singer, I want to be a great songwriter." This video explains what I have been exploring and applying, and reveals even more little secrets for me to exploit. Brilliant video, mate! Thank you!
This is a really excellent video! I don't know how many teens had my experience, but as someone who is 54, obviously I grew up hearing all the main Beatle's songs - i.e. the ones played on the radio. One day when I was probably 16 (1986), a friend whose dad had every single album lent the whole lot to me, and that was my first time hearing for example the whole of Sgt Pepper, the White Album etc. So although I knew it was them, I was still blown away the first time hearing many songs, such as Fixing a Hole which is my favourite Beatles song. It's really interesting nowadays with kids doing first reaction videos on UA-cam as I guess radio has changed a lot as well for them and they are not hearing many classic songs.
what a fantastic, informative and educational video this is! As a song writer myself it was so good to see someone break it all down in an uncomplicated and clear way. Thank you and i’ll be letting others know to watch.
I got an amazing book called 'the songwriting secrets of the Beatles ' its like my favourite book on music theory - 800 odd pages - Beatles built on what had come before and were at a real turning point in music - they kbew the bag of tricks and how to re-use them- they also were two genius level songwriters
Plus their harmonies and sound. The sound of the instruments and their vocals, they captured that era and it's energy. They also injected 'joy' 'enthusiasm' into the music at times. With so little, they did so much. Perfect songs in 2 minutes. Yesterday and In My Life are examples. I don't think this will be repeated.
@@MsAppassionata he was great too - maybe not a genius. I went to a show recently of all his songs, Beatles stuff was top notch but rest not so much. He definitely had moments of genius though too
Great demo. I studied music theory at age 16 thru 17 and it forever enhanced my enjoyment of listening and playing music. I’m 72 now and learning finger style guitar on a recently purchased Martin D-18. The Beatles are my all-time favorite group. Thanks for the hard work you put into this outstanding demo and explanation. One more thing: you never show how the capo gets mysteriously added and/or removed while you are playing. Did you have a ghost assistant? How would the Beatles have done that, live or during recording?
As underrated folk singer Phil Ochs once sang, "God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. So play the chords of love, my friend, play the chords of pain. If you want to keep your song, don't, don't, don't, don't play the chords of fame..." (and there's a recording of him playing this song with John Lennon by the way). But you don't necessarily need complex chords to make a brilliant song. Sometimes a beautiful melody, voice, and great lyrics will do. Phil Ochs wrote a lot of amazing and melodic masterpieces, hauntingly beautiful tunes that I think are as good the best Beatles songs like "When I'm Gone", "Changes", "No More Songs", "Rehearsals For Retirement", "The Highwayman", and "Crucifixion" with simple chords. I think his music would have gotten as big as his friend Bob Dylan's if the FBI and American music industry hadn't suppressed and blacklisted him for writing journalistic political "protest" songs (which he called topical songs) and he hadn't suffered from mental illness and alcoholism. All these factors led to his suicide in 1976 at age 35.
This is simply the best songwriting video I've seen to date, both as a document of Beatles techniques and a tutorial on how to incorporate these techniques in one's own writing.
I remember once walking though a shopping mall & hearing (what I didn't immediately recognise as) a Beatles instrumentalised song, thinking, "that's great, what is it?" It was the melodies that had a magic about them, the words, especially in the early days, were nothing special, in truth. As for trying to analyse that magic, it's impossible, it's just something that only the greatest writers - Porter, Berlin, Dylan - had.
Their words were special from the beginning. They used clever phrases, ideas, and rhymes that other people weren’t using in pop music. The thing is, everything mattered, everything was different, everything was better. That’s why they occupied the top five spots on the US Billboard charts when they burst onto the scene in 64. Clever lyrics, complex chords, interesting and invisible key changes, changing tempos, catchy melodies, perfect harmonies, the use of modes, extreme variety, and every style played authentically, the layering… even Ringo’s drumming. Pop music was for kids. It was simple and simplistic. After the Beatles arrived, critics began analyzing every word, and accomplished musicians and composers became interested in their work. They elevated pop and rock to real music status. No one ele in the pop world was writing an Elenore Rigby or Yesterday. Even She Loves You and J want to hold your hand were fresh and new when they hit the air waves. The Beatles gave us something new with each new album, starting with the very first one. All you have to do is listen to pop music before the Beatles. Lyrics were simple. Chords were simple and few. The Beatles elevated pop music and made everyone else work harder, giving us the greatest decade known pop music. Without them, the 70s would have been boring. The 80s would have been boring. The 90s… Many of the artists we know and love would never have been musicians or songwriters. Yes, they wrote great melodies, and you could love their music just hearing those. But every piece mattered, and every piece was uniquely, meticulously, and phenomenally perfect.
Truly fascinating! I'm from the U. S. and have been playing guitar in many bands for the past 45 years, I'm 60 now and you, my friend, have taught me something that I never knew about the Beatles or their songwriting! I was always fascinated by John and Paul's songwriting and agree with you about the infantile songwriting of today! I will owe you bunches for this lesson and will put this in my songwriting from here on out! Thank you and keep on, keeping on! I just stumbled on your page and I love what you are doing! I will be a subscriber for life!
I agree. I think we have just lived through a great era of music, as important as the Classical age, and the songs we grew up with and spent our pocket money on will be remembered forever. Hopefully a lot of the bands will be remembered (including the Beatles of course).
Excellent video sir. When I first learned that technique of the major minor switch I wrote a song using it the next day. I used AM7 EM7 on tbe first pass then Am7 Em7 on the next.
Uuuuugh, that oft-overlooked and left out diminished chord is the essence of cool, it needs to be included. In fact, we should be working it in, more. Hiding in plain sight...
So glad somebody has finally putting a spotlight on the CHORDS! I knew from a young age that there were something extra about Beatles songs. Something special that was just not present in a lot of other music. It took me a few years to figure out that it was the amazing chord changes, and the pure amount of different chords, even in the “simple” songs on the early albums.
Let me quibble because I'm a quibbla.... To me the technique I had never heard and believe me brother I had it easy as I was a kid and lived all these songs and the progression of such in real time when a month seemed like a year long but you got fed a new Beatle LP and a single seemingly all the time, lol whereas YOU have to sort of finger at out after the fact and may miss a couple subtle but key things. But middle 8s was my point; never really heard 'em before '64, don't hear 'em today and nobody did middle 8's like J & P. Having said that to me that's NOT a key change when they do the middle 8 on From Me To You because usually a middle 8 is a little journey that deviates from the base verse melody only to return - in this case the minor A of FMTY middle 8 is the start of a I-II-V-V-aug turnaround aka Am-D-E-A-A-aug back to home. Yeah it starts the middle 8 in a different "key" but really it's just one chord that sets up the II-V turnaround in home key otherwise why isn't the D chord a key change in the middle 8?I can't play a minor V w/o it being a "key change"? Never mind all that. They didn't know what they were doing half the time but they were fast, had very good ears and knew what they wanted, pragmatic had VERY GOOD TASTE to keep or throw away all the quick chord shape moves or middle 8s or phony chords or whatever it was , the equally important thing about them is not what they would finally call "done" but what they would abandon and say "No." Or when GM would suggest a re-write or tempo change "Okay" They knew when to pipe down. All the elements and techniques in the world won't make you a Beatle without that freakin' good taste (99% of the time) my 2¢ This doesn't cover other unique things like their unique UK male version of Detroit female harmony groups, totally unique and NOT the doo wop based Beach Boys harmonies and in fact was pre-Beach Boy Beatle influence. And what is the "Oh Yeah...Oh Yeah..." sung in octave unison to open up I'll Get You?? WTF IS THAT??? It was cool Unique is what it was. It's the ol' They Don't Make "em Like They Used To bit. Now excuse me, I'm going to have my AI write me a new John Lennon-Paul McCartney song and have them play on it. ☮
Yeah, a lot of the "key changes" are just a middle 8 in relative minor...classic go to because it always works. But I've never once thought of that as a key change.
@@c.mccool1123 I like the fact that a lot of middle 8s basically are a smoke break from the verses with a resolve to get back to verses but the Beatles on say No Reply would make the middle 8 "If I were you..." a self contained song that resolves with it's own climax and then goes back to the verse. Stupid cool. 1964- 60 years ago cool
I started studying guitar and songwriting seriously as a 13 year old in 1964. About that time I had a "fake book" that wedding bands used to be able to quickly pull off some requested song. I was shocked that most of the songs were written in Eb or Bb. My poor little hands trying to formulate those chords! It forced me to learn about transposing so i could play them with "regular" guitar chords. The even more important book that came soon after featured Beatles songs. All those glorious chords! I studied them for hundreds of hours until the logic of their compositions started to make sense. I wish you'd make another video explaining the complexity of their harmonic structures. They are almost unmatched in popular music. And don’t get me started on their orchestrations!
Sorry I missed an important sentence. "Fake books" favor Eb and Bb charts because those are important keys for horns like saxophones. Also if you want to make your head spin look at the correct chord charts for McCartney's song Maybe I'm Amazed...
I tend to think arrangement is super-important, myself. One thing about the Beatles is how varied their music was, here's a selection of completely different songs: Within you and without you Yesterday Strawberry Fields Day in the life Back in the USSR I am the Walrus Something One could easily go on with this list. Each song above could be by a different band. More so than Zeppelin or Floyd though they managed a few styles
@@AndyMangeleThe Beatles get full credit for music they created. No matter who their manager was, it was their music that made them famous. Managers ride on the coat tails of the artists, no the other way around.
"No amount to technological pyrotechnics can make up for the song itself." That "subbed" ne to this channel. I'm a drummer who will no longer be quantized. I put all my band leaders on notice. Nit that I don't "need" it, but I want the bands to sound how we sound, win lose or draw. Also, have you checked out the Stone Temple Pilots side project called Talk Show? You'll probably love it. It was basically STP with another vocalist. Dave Coutts he's kind of a mix of Lennon and Mercury. Their top single was Hello Hello, but you also might like Behind, Fill The Fields, and Morning Girl. He also released Saturday, which was only performed live by Talk Show. I'm actually playing drums on that one. Love the channel! I'm excited to see what I find here. My first video was on God Only Knows. I was SO hoping that would be the song of topic! Rick Beato recently did that to me with the Sergio Mendez song breakdown of Never Gonna Let You Go.
Not well known quote of John who claimed trance state from youth " I used to go into trance like state and words and music were given to me!!! Can I really say I wrote those songs"!!
A week ago i was in a cruise and one of the shows there was the Beatlestory.Yes the kids covering the Beatles songs were fantastic and because of this i am now more appreciative of this epic band !
I was just listening to the chord progression of "Midnight at the Oasis" which came out in the 70s. You aren't going to hear those jazz voices in today's top 100.
"We can't read or write music" Paul McCartney. "They arrived with about hundred songs of their own but they were rubbish" George Martin on first working with The Beatles.
The Number One Thing that catapulted the Beatles to fame was that John and Paul were not just songwriting partners, but songwriting competitors. They kept trying to top each other. They pushed each other to excellence. They pushed themselves to excellence by trying to be better than each other. When Paul wrote Lady Madonna, John decided to write a piano heavy song called Hey Bulldog. They were also competing with all the other bands out there. They were an experimental band. Most experimental music was unlistenable. But they were turning out experimental hits. Their variety made it so there was something for everyone. Young and old liked the Beatles. Like the layers in their music, there are layers in their popularity. There are many reasons behind their wild success.
@thevguy, Yes so true. But never forget their voices too! Any band would have been super stoked to have just one of them as a lead singer! The Beatles had both of them! So yeah not only were John and Paul phenominal songwriters... Some would say the greatest songwriters of all time, but they were also both world class singers too! Then there was George... Although I wouldn't classify George as a truly standout lead singer his voice blended perfectly with John and Paul's.
I was 9 years old when the Beatles hit America. In all the years since, only a few artists/groups struck me so hard. James Taylor with his finger style, CSNY electric boogie, Joni Mitchell, and the Grateful Dead. In each case, They brought me into a new realm of Music, causing me to redefine my concept of music. In all these cases, the music wasn't the same old 7 chords. Thanks, James, for pointing out what was going on. 🙂
This is a fascinating video. Right from being a small child I enjoyed the Beatles music. Initially I listened to them on a small Mono tape recorder. Before I understood the words and song meanings I enjoyed the music and the songs. This video had helped me understand an element of their lifetime appeal. I think really they had it all. The lyrics themselves, the key changes illustrated in this video and the production of George Martin. I remember the experience of listening to the Beatles for the first time on stereo headphones and it was like listening again for the 1st time. Sometime ago one of my hifi speakers broke. Due to the way the Beatles songs were produced a broken speaker actually means losing part of the sound completely. When i got my new speaker it restored the proper listening experience that so many elements come together to make.
1. **Musical Innovation**: The Beatles were pioneers in the music industry, pushing the boundaries of what rock and pop music could be. They introduced new recording techniques, experimented with different genres, and incorporated unconventional instruments, which significantly influenced future music production. 2. **Cultural Impact**: The Beatles had a profound impact on global culture during the 1960s and beyond. Their music became the soundtrack for the countercultural movement, and they influenced fashion, language, and social attitudes. 3. **Songwriting and Compositions**: The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, along with contributions from George Harrison, produced an extraordinary catalog of songs. Their ability to craft memorable melodies, innovative harmonies, and meaningful lyrics set a high standard in the music industry. 4. **Commercial Success**: The Beatles' commercial achievements are unparalleled. They hold numerous records for album sales, chart-topping singles, and concert attendance. Their commercial success is a testament to their broad appeal and enduring popularity. 5. **Critical Acclaim**: Over the years, The Beatles have received extensive critical acclaim. Their albums, such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Revolver," and "Abbey Road," are frequently listed among the greatest albums of all time by critics and music historians. 6. **Longevity and Relevance**: Decades after their breakup, The Beatles' music continues to be relevant and influential. New generations of listeners discover their music, and their influence is evident in contemporary artists and music. 7. **Innovation in Album Format**: The Beatles helped popularize the concept of the album as an artistic statement rather than just a collection of singles. Albums like "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" showcased thematic coherence and innovative production techniques. 8. **Impact on the Music Industry**: The Beatles' success changed the music industry in terms of how music was marketed and consumed. Their popularity led to the rise of the album as the dominant format, the importance of artist-driven creative control, and the global reach of pop music.
Listen to the Beth Gibbons, Jane Weaver, The Libertines new albums. Some songs from the new albums of Steven Wilson, Noel Gallagher, Blur, Paul Weller, Tears For Fears are great also.
@@thierryhenry674 Cheers for the tips dude, appreciated, although these days I'm more interested in musicians that have something to say, the only problem is most of them are too scared to say ANYTHING even borderline controversial for fear of them getting 'cancelled' or ostracized, and that's a HUGE problem as I see it So, to sum up, I'm looking for musicians with balls really ha ha
Because there are people out there writing good songs. But no one is promoting good songs. The record companies wanted to promote poor songs with the lowest common denominator so most people who don’t understand anything about music can listen to it. James is educating people with no or little musical background on how to enjoy good music. He is promoting good music. That’s why we need people like him talking about these matters. Lyrics is just a very small part of a song. There are so many songwriting techniques, recording, mixing techniques, so many different tracks, how they interact with each other, the use of different sounds and effects. The use of modes, modulation, creative chord progression. There are so many artistic choice, beauty and cleverness that can go into a song. If people want “message”, they would get a lot more from reading a book.
And the great thing about the Fab 4, is that they couldn't read/write music. But then again, who cares. They were/are the greatest pop group ever & non other come remotely close. Those of us who lived through that era were given a gift from heaven - something we still thoroughly enjoy. Excellent video - Ta!
I grew up with the Beatles. What a gift! And because of the Beatles, I quickly learned how to play the guitar, I started writing my own songs. I always loved singing and now with a guitar in hand, my music started to develop. Later on I formed a band, all because of the Beatles. I'm now a retired, 70 year old and I'm still learning from the Beatles. What a gift!
I'm 64 and play in a gigging band. My bandmates struggle learning Beatles songs because of complexity and time signatures changes, such as in Here Comes the Sun. The drummer reversed his opinion after attempting several songs. I Feel Fine was a stumbling block for him with the Bossa Nova beat.
I’m 72 years old. What people younger than I am can’t understand because they can approach the idea only through a historical or academic perspective, is the visceral jolt that the first exposure to the Beatles sent through people’s psyches. They arrived like an asteroid. Suddenly, Elvis was old fashioned. Popular music and popular culture can be divided, not arbitrarily, into before the Beatles and after the Beatles in the same way the art of painting can be divided into pre-Giotto and post-Giotto.
The Beatles existed from the time I was 12 years old to the time I was 19. During that period, literally every new Beatles song was an event. “A Hard Day’s Night” was a phenomenon. Just as pop music has a pre- and post-Beatles era, the Beatles themselves had a pre- and post-Revolver era. Their music - not their look or their personae or their personal charisma - was the gravitational center of all virtually popular music, pulling it all into their orbit.
People who are around 40 years old or younger like to say the Beatles are overrated. They say this having grown up in a musical environment of bands every single one of which owes at least something to the Beatles and every one of which would not exist in the way they do had not the Beatles existed.
All this is true, but add another layer to it. The Beatles composed their own music, played all the instruments used and had no lead singer. They weren't a harmony group, but they used that technique in many songs. They shared the lead part between three talented singers, but also harmonized with those same three voices. The Beatles interacted with their material in a way different from anyone else: they didn't sing over the instrumental part, they intertwined the lyrics with the instrumental because they were creating both. One last thing, The Beatles had a long gestation period as a group few others enjoyed. With the exception of Ringo, they had been working together for years.
And George Martin the fifth beatle
If it wasn’t for the Beatles music wouldn’t exist as it does today. The genre would be completely different. They took rock and roll and turned it on its head. They were the first ones to write their own songs and write songs for others. Their music evolved as time passed. Young people don’t understand their true worth.
You got that right✌😏👋❣
And the Beatles owe a lot to George Martin… his impact is without measure
Anyone who says that The Beatles are overrated need to watch this. It’s these reasons exactly why they are my favourite band of all time. Especially the subtle key changes and their clever use of chords
@@Charlie-f4q4o Please learn how to spell. I would have thought that was a typo, but I see that you’ve done it more than once. Secondly, you have no taste.
@@Charlie-f4q4o Please learn how to spell before offering criticism of other people.
@@Charlie-f4q4o Says you who can't spell and doesn't know grammar!
George learned well from Paul and John, and used key changes masterfully. "Something" is a great example.
The people who say the Beatles are "overrated" are just trying to appear smarter than they actually are.
I was 13 when I first heard "A Day In The Life" on the radio in headphones by accident, with no idea it was the Beatles. It lifted me out a deep dark depression in a dark room, and I could see colors and light, and felt like I was floating. Before it started, I felt like everything was bad and everyone hated me , and afterward, I was in a state of bliss. I was living in a small town in Florida in the 1980s and spent three years trying to describe this song to people and get the name of it so I could get a copy of it.
Wow. That is amazing.
I remmember being mesmerized by Revolution.
@@tjcint I have told this story a few times, and I've heard that reaction particularly from serious Beatles fans. I think it reminds them of a time before they knew the Beatles existed, and the moment when everything changed. I don't think the Beatles themselves had any idea what they had in their hands. Since then, maybe Sgt. Pepper's has dated and I make the kind of music I want to hear, but I still stand in awe of that song.
@@thepagecollective 'A Day In The Life' towers above pretty near every song composed in the last one hundred years.
It does indeed
I was 13 in 1963. The perfect age to become a Beatles fan. Music had a seriousness and weight to it and then the very simple "Love Me Do" pulled everyone out of that with a lightness of spirit and unexplainable happiness vibe that turned my world from black and white to full color. It was like I saw the world for the first time. I can't explain it. You had to be there.
Great comment.
I was nine. You are absolutely correct when you say that you had to be there to understand the effect they had on music from their introduction to the world until they disbanded. Every record was fresh and revolutionary.
@@jjnolan So true.
what about Elvis and buddy holly? They didn't have the harmonies of course of the Beatles.
Everly brothers did though@@mdarrenu
I'm now 59; The Beatles have been part of my soul since I was four years old. Thank you for helping to explain why.
Same here, same age.
What you have to understand is that, back in 1963, when Please Please Me first hit the airwaves, most listeners, including this eight year old, had never heard anything like it before.
@colindant3410 Absolutely. They were like nothing we’d ever seen or heard. They were so fresh, such a great vibe and energy. Great melodies and harmonies. And they looked different from all the other bands with long hair and cool suits.
Please Please Me, was a fresh new approach to pop music with the bass playing that steady 8th note groove, which was something you just didn’t hear at the time. And those harmonies were pure sweet ear candy.
I’m happy that you got to hear it in real time also because it’s hard to explain. Beatles 👍♥️
Can't that be said for any era for any listener who is new to music. An 8 year old today will hear the Beatles for the first time and not have heard anything like it
Idk if they're still on UA-cam, but there used to be videos that played snippets of every single UK number 1 song of a decade. It's when you hear several minutes of very vanilla pop from 1960 to 1962 that once you hear the Beatles singles, you get that "holy shit, that's completely different!" feeling.
@@jprg1966 Oh yeah absolutely. They’re still on here. All those videos, either from the UK, or the US, from that period are all the same. THE BEATLES were on an entirely different plane than everybody else. It was B&W, opposed to Technicolor. It’s Night opposed to Day. Insert the metaphor of your choosing.
@@jprg1966 Yes, where the melody went, was unpredictable with them, but they always sounded in tune. It was like adding different colors to the rainbow.
Hearing She loves you yeah yeah yeah blaring out of every second shop in 1963 was a special time. The early Beatles songs really captured elation, a very rare musical achievement.
I think “captured elation” perfectly describes those songs
Yes captured elation good way but Paul practiced it for hours in tiny loo closet😊😊 in his house according to him!!
This was one of the best music lessons I have ever received, and I have been into music for over 60 years. What a wonderful teacher!
I found the Beatles White Album in my parents closet when I was 7 years old (1982). I knew absolutely nothing about them. I didn't know they were considered the greatest band of all time, who John Lennon and Paul McCartney were, or what "Beatlemania" was. But I played that album continuously for a month straight! Some of the songs were almost like children's songs. Bungalow Bill, Piggies, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, Rocky Racoon, ect. At 7 years old it was like the first record was the happy part, and the second record was the creepy part! Not sure why I thought of it like that, but the second record was a darker toned record, and songs like Cry Baby Cry, Long long long, and Helter Skelter had a creepy feel to them. Then there was Revolution 9, with Goodnight afterwards.
Anyway, I guess my dad either got tired of hearing the White Album, or recognized that I had become a Beatles fan, because he came home from work one day with the Red and Blue albums! I found out who the Beatles were after falling in love with their music. That's what the real magic of the Beatles is. Their songs, creativity, and their work in the studio.
The red one was my first. I was 9. 1986 Easter trip from Detroit to Florida. Dad pit that cassette in the car stereo, and it would stay there the entire trip. I was HOOKED. I remember driving through the smokey mountains at night, waking up to the hauntingly eerie sound of She Loves You. Absolutely terrifying, but my God-like father at the wheel meant no harm could befall us.
On the way home I asked who the cool guy was with different hair, and he asinit was Ringo Starr, the drummer.
When we got home I dug out my sister's toy parade set. I took the snare drum, strung the cymbals up on the bottom of the top bunk, a small native American tom tom, and two suction tipped arrows that can with a Dues Of Hazzard archery set for drumsticks.
Here I am thirty eight years later, still playing drums. All thanks to The Beatles.
I heard Eleanor Rigby when I was 7 years old and was immediately hooked. I asked Dad, “Who is that? It sounded unique. Nothing like the other songs playing on radio in 1972.
And a string quartet played it. Just incredible.
It was that, Octopus's Garden, Obli-Di and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds that really intrigued and hoked me as little kid. I remember thinking Lucy was about my grandmother Lucy who take citrus trees in her yard.
What a Brilliant video I am 81 years old ,In 1962 I played in a Band that supported the Beatles .I can honestly say you could not tell the difference between their record being played, and live on stage They were that GOOD
Did sounds wonderful, so that means you saw them in the flesh?!
This is spot on. And yes, pop music has regressed. Chord progressions are half of writing music. Much of the music I hear today just drones on and on going nowhere. Something like tribal chants. A beat with lyrics applied to it.
Tribal chants. Perfect analogy.
I am not a musician, but I was able to understand this, thanks. Amazing to think Lennon, Mcartney and Harrison were still only in their 20s and had no formal training.
The Songwriting Secrets of The Beatles is a fantastic book. I read that and it took my songwriting to another level immediately.
James produces a masterclass in the simplest of terms in how the Beatles DNA changed and transformed music.Inspiring work James.
@@taggart8 odd reply
@nigelmartin3339 Dang its like 300$ haha
@@spearitscottie1 I got the kindle ebook version and read it on my ipad using the kindle app. Its still there for $23.00
My sister was 14 when the Beatles hit America. I remember a group of her friends talking about how "She Loves You" literally gave them tingling chills that ran through every part of their body.
And also, the use of modes.
Irregular time signatures.
As already mentioned, the use of unusual chords, extension chords, unusual modulations.
As well as different songwriting techniques, unusal sounds and effects, recording techniques and arrangements.
A lot of creative, innovative, mind blowing level of cleverness going into their music.
Their songs have layers of sophistication artistically and musically. But they make them sound so smooth, a lot of people don’t even recognise those techniques have been applied.
100 years later, musicians would still analyse their music, because the complexity is up there.
But I don’t think 100 years later, musicians would analyse those 4 chords simple formulae music on today’s pop chart.
And also, people have overrated “technical skills” in music.
The more music you listen you, the more you’d realise that a lot of mainstream pop (and hard rock bands’s music), are just four chords pop songs (with distortion).
Maybe you are the type of person who think being able to play fast and difficult music means the music is better. But I can tell you, that is not the correct way to look at any music or art.
How do you define talent? To CREATE? Or to PLAY?
Through out the history. You can find famous dishes that are named after the chef who CREATED them. But you don’t hear the names of other top level chef anymore.
You are familiar with famous composers who CREATED the music. But you don’t hear about who were the top pianist or violinist anymore.
Bill Gates is not the best programmers, his employees are. Why is he rich? Because he CREATED the ideas.
There are millions of extremely technical artist graduated from art school each year, but if they use their amazing art skills, to paint a painting exactly identical to Jackson Pollock’s, or if they take a photo of the real one and print a replica, will it worth as much as a painting that Jackson Pollock has CREATED, which doesn’t required much skills?
The talent of the Beatles, is about creating something unique, innovative and clever, out of nothing, using sophisticated techniques, which other people can’t think of, or at least, wouldn’t use commonly outside of classical or jazz music.
Anyone can be technically skillful after practicing and hardwork. But not anyone can come up with good ideas.
@@thierryhenry674 Bill Gates didn’t “create” anything! He used the ideas created by other people and took credit. I can’t stand that racist, eugenicist, drug pushing, murderer. 😡🤬
Well said @thierryhenry764
This is why for every 100,000 absolutely brilliant, technically superior executioner, you will have 1 CREATIVE genius AND technically superior artist. Any quality musician, whether you "got into the Beatles " or not back in the day, must recognize and marvel at the stunning, arguably unmatched range of music, even to this day.
I don't know any of those technical music terms, but my ear knows that magic is happening when I listen.
@@thierryhenry674 Bill Gates didn’t create anything. He used the ideas created by others and took credit.
When I was a teenager back in the 90s I liked The Beatles but I didn’t love them. I barely knew their hits. So I decided to expand and bought the Red and Blue 4 disc collection and started diving in their music. Wow. Songs like Michelle, Girl, Nowhere Man, Here There and Everywhere, which I never heard before, got glued in my brain after a single listen, like tattoos. Normally I need to listen to the same song around 3 times to start learning them. Not with The Beatles . Once is enough to never forget them.
I was teenager in the 90s as well and had the red and blue greatest hits double cd. But I LOVED IT!!
Want to see what the world would be like withe the Beatles music. Watch the movie " Yesterday ." Oh, it is so good!
As a lifelong musician, I began to love the Beatles thanks to the beauty and complexity of "If I Fell".
Sir! My first ever comment on a UA-cam video! This is a truly inspirational video and has fired me up to look at music in a different way. I've always been attracted to funk styles; Nile Rodgers, Frusciante, Marr... but never really considered the points you've raised so well here. You've educated me and I'm really grateful!
Despite being raised by two Beatle fans, I had no opinion on them until I was 12 and heard the song "Hey Bulldog" in the Yellow Submarine film in music class. There are many things about them to love, but the music was always first. Thank you for explaining in layman's terms not only why they were such daring songwriters, but also how harmonically lifeless today's pop is.
Every musician needs to watch this!! The Beatles use of key changes, modes, borrowed chords, time signature changes etc. really set them apart. The quality of their songs was something else!!
Excellent vid. I am a guitar teacher also, and I insist that my students learn a few Beatles songs..I try not to overwhelm them with my awe of the brilliance of the chords. Don't forget to mention the Augmented chords they used. You used one at the end of From Me To You. What's funny is at a party someone always says "play some Beatles...their songs are simple." HA HA ..I bust into All My Loving and the other guitar players cry.
My favorite example of what I call "fake" key-changing is You're Gonna Lose That Girl: verse begins with E, bridge ends with F. And without a single "jarring" chord change anywhere ...
The Beatles grew up playing a lot of show tunes and jazz standards. For example, Til There Was You and Besame Mucho. This music is more chordally complex than the rock and roll and r & b they were also listening to and playing at the same time. Then throw George Martin in the mix with his classical/orchestral background.
Yes and they were using those augmented 5th chords that we had heard on earlier 50s dance music.
Yes, this guy left that huge part out, for some lame reason!
@@Bryt25 A lot of Aug fifth chords in their music! I think they used free-written chord changes more subtly and beautifully than any group that's been. And I think not know a lot of music theory left them free to do what they wanted as long as they liked it, and that's what it's all about.
They changed a lot in that 7-8 year time stretch. Their early songs were very catchy and bright, but even then you could hear a taste of whats to come.
A key change and/or borrowing from other keys makes for an interesting composition.
And even with all their aeriousness to their craft, they could make some absolutely justbplain fun songs, like All Together Now or Yellow Submarine.
I could go on and on, cause theres so much about them that made them unique and successful, but Id be remiss if I didnt say how much that little cover of Here There and Everywhere at the end was a perfect tail end to the video.
You should make a full version of that. That was gorgeous mate. ✌️❤️
As always, great video!
Much appreciated 😎🍻
I was 11 when I first heard the Beatles on "Saturday Club" on the radio and was hooked. I remember running home from Saturday morning football just to hear them for the second time - no hype involved
No one pressured me to become a Beatles fan. In 1977, people listened to punk, the new Bee "stayin' alive" Gees, hard rock. And I occasionally heard Beatles songs on the radio. I thought, I really like this. More than anything offered and brought the distinction of buying all the Beatles LP vinyls..one by one.
This was pretty much my experience as well at almost the exact same time.
Hardly the first, 12 Days of Christmas beat them to punch by a few centuries.
But definitely the the most successful, possibly the most prolific, and in my opinion the most natural.
Very well-done video. I think we should add, however, that nearly all of the songs, including those in the list at the front have another element that songwriters might want to consider. I believe they are all in the song form, AABA, which is never heard in today's pop music. The Beatles use of both AABA and Verse-Chorus forms also made their music more interesting. Since AABA is the basis for many jazz or American Songbook 'standards', I wonder if that form lends itself better to the use of clever key changes.
The Beatles were the first songwriters to bring things like time signature changes and key changes to pop music. These techniques were used in classical music but not pop music. The Beatles deserve all the credit they get. They changed what pop music was and influenced what it could be.
The influence of George Martin - "The Fifth Beatle".
All very well to say that The Beatles changed pop music and influenced what it could be - I loved their music in the 60's and the following generation of singer-songwriters produced the greatest music I've ever heard on the back of the FabFour's brilliance - but then what happened? There were literally thousands of wonderful songs written from the inception of The Beatles until around 1990. Since then, it feels like I can count on one hand the number of songs that make me want to listen to them twice. Nowadays the popular music charts are filled with uninspiring drivel written by either a cast of thousands or computer-generated programs, performed by artists who want to make it all about themselves - not the song.
The first for key changes? What about Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Goffin & King) goes from (say) C to a bridge in (say) Eflat. Song was recorded in 1960 (can't find written date, but could be copyright 1960).?
Were they the first, or just the most popular band at the time to do it? These fuckers get credited with everything and Chuck Berry is barely even heard of despite inventing the genre The Beatles milked, until they got distracted and started doing incoherent and underwhelming crap in the late 60s.
@@keithwellerlounge74 I imagine you are responding to the original poster with your comment, but as I also commented on this thread, for what it's worth I will defend The Beatles influence on what I consider the best five artists of the post-Beatles era: Dan Fogelberg, ABBA, Eagles, BeeGees and Phil Collins.
All of those at some point have credited The Beatles as their main influence in forging a career in music.
Berry and other artists pre-Beatles clearly had an influence on the fabfour, but it was they who subsequently churned out a catalogue that impacted on the next generation of musicians - like it or not.
It’s really great that you did a known song without key changes to demonstrate what the key change does. It makes me think your channel might be really great for learning some important details about music making. I sound like I’m being paid to promote your channel or something, I know. So everyone else knows, I am not. I just really appreciate this lesson and I want to make sure others don’t overlook it.
Excellent, you showed how these " Pop" songs belied an understated complexity. It sounds beautiful, and when you see, played, the actual chord voicings and transitions, you have to be in awe. Here,there and everywhere is mind-blowing, and a whole generation was exposed to that daily on the radio. So today's " low information" music is intolerable to someone who grew up listening to that, and then listened to Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Rush, Jethro Tull, Yes, the Who, Hendrix and Stevie wonder. How lucky to be a teenager hearing the aforementioned on the radio, constantly, also seeing most of those bands LIVE, were they proved they were good enough to deliver it in person.
This was a really great breakdown that appeals to many levels of musical education. You managed to discuss these concepts: modulation, etc, in a way that I think is streamlined for the ones with less theory knowledge while being appealing to educated musicians who don't need hand holding.
Way to balance those 2 scenarios.
Great video man.
Melody. You never even mentioned MELODY. THAT - was their secret. Every song they wrote had a strong MELODY which new artists have forgotten about.
I totally agree! They created melodies you found yourself singing or humming repeatedly ( to this day, in my case!)
Yes, it helps that John and Paul were the two greatest melodists that ever lived. Consistently strong melodies, even in their minor songs.
This is why I Cannot listen to rap! THERE IS NO MELODY!!! It's just a beat with a rambling word salad! To me, if it doesn't have a 'melody' it's not 'really music'!!🎶
@@garyahern7090Well rap the vocals are used more like percussion is why. Ironically this is why auto tuned mumble rap became popular because they would atleast attempt a melody.
But I would recommend Bone Thugs n Harmony as rappers who know how to use melody very effectively. In fact you can just search Bone Thugs or Krayzie Bone/Bizzy Bone best melodies and find whole mixes of their hypnotic melodies.
You're absolutely right!
I was fifteen when I first heard the Beatles 'Rain'. I was blown away by the sound, it was so different to anything I had ever heard before. People need to realise how completely unlike the Beatles were to anything we had heard before. It's impossible to go back from todays' perspective and judge this effect. They influenced everything that came after them, so peoples' ears today are used to sounds that were so original back then. You can get too technical about cord progression and all that other stuff, but it was more than that, it was the whole package, the drums, John Lennon's nasal voice, Paul McCartney's sweet tones, the harmonies, the musical sliding effects, the gaps in the music, the phrasing, and the energy. And they did this again and again, always original, always different.
Perfect summary
True. It was the whole package. And the joy! They had it ALL!
'Rain' was what first blew me away too. I later found out that they recorded it faster and preferred it slowed down which of course change the key too (in those days).
100% agreed with everything you wrote
It was unfortunate. This song was not on an album in the US. I think it was the B-side of paperback writer. The overdriven bass was the same technique on paperback writer. My favorite Ringo performance. Think of fast he had to play All those drum fills‘s on the original because they played a double speed and slow the tape down for the atmosphere.
One other thing the Beatles had besides hype and songwriting chops is their tight and flawless vocal harmony. When Dylan first heard them, he said the things that stood out were "the chords and the harmony."
This was very well presented. Short and straight to the point. I think you made this accessible for young songwriters.
Too many songs sound like they are stuck in a loop or a groove. They don't go anywhere. Also I would add that what I
call moving chords. Instead of staying on one chord for 4 beats try1 and 3 or 1 2 3 and 4 . Those chords are there you
just have to find them. At a more advanced level I think Sting is a master of the Chord.
The main secret of the Beatles Music is The Spirit of Eternal Youth! I can't fathom how that yongsters could to know about Music without Special Music Education! They were Geniuses, for sure ! The Greatest Musicians of the Century! Thank you, Buddy for trying to explain this phenomenon over music theory!
Why do you capitalize random words
@@tangyorange6509 Because they need Special English Education? Just a Random Guess, I suppose.
lmAo
@tangyorange6509
You don't know? Wild.
It's done that way, so when you read it, the random capital words are spoken Or Read with enthusiasm. Think of it as an alternative to putting the word or words in quotations. It makes sense, And..Its ok😂
Well done! I’m 72 and still play The Beatles music on a nearly daily basis. I listen to all kinds of music. I played drums since I was 14. But playing with really good guitarists and keyboardist I was always astounded by chord changes.
The thing about the Beatles is not only did their music grow at an astounding rate so did their harmonies which aided in those chord changes quite often. So well thought out.
Great episode sir. Hope to see more soon.
Here there and everywhere is one of the greatest songs ever written.
Interestingly I went to a guitar class while working in LA in 1983. Laurence Juber from Wings was taking it and taught us the song in E, he also added a chord of his own in the 'bridge.'
Great video, James. When I started plaing guitar in the1970s, one of the biggest helps to me was a copy of The Beatles Complete songbook. At the time, it just seemed like they were picking chords at random but magically making them work. After a while I started appreciating that there was real purpose and method in what they were doing. This video, 50 years later, makes clear what it took me years to cotton onto!
It started for me in 1964 at the age of seven when they came on the Ed Sullivan show. We watched them on our small B/W television , and the first song I heard was All My Loving. My father, who had been an Everly Bros fan at the time, liked that one first. Later I received the Meet the Beatles album for my 8th birthday - in mono - I still have it. By that time, they were all over AM radio - I didn't have an FM band at that time but that wasn't really an option anyway in 1964 (which I later learned). As the years went by, I grew up alongside the Fab Four. One moment I'll always recall was when Sgt Pepper came out in 1967 - I would turn 11 years old around that time. It sounded like nothing I'd heard from them up to that point, especially Day in the Life. But from there, it seemed to go downhill, though when Abbey Road came out at the end of 1969 it was one great second side of the record. At the time, I didn't realize it was their last album as a group, but when it was announced a few months later that they would be splitting up, it seemed like the end of what had been a magical journey - a magical mystery tour, as it were. I will always have those memories as I now approach my 70th birthday in a couple of years. It was a great privilege to be alive during those times, and for those who came along later, I'm sorry you missed it....
The Beatles had such an incredible work ethic behind their music. It's hard to imagine learning all of this music theory before the age of Internet and big music. Also all of the nightly gigging they did in Germany. They worked their arses off to become as skilled as they were. They were my first favorite band. I listened to them on my dad's old records to boot!
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" really knocked me out the first time I heard it.
I am no longer an aspiring rock star. However, I do believe that you have touched upon some very important point that I have never considered before. I think that this is a brilliant presentation. Thank you so much for doing it.
I wish someone had explained this to me the way you just did, when I was older than your mum. Which I still am. I mean, when I was at your kids' age, if you have kids. I mean, now I know! But the way you explain it is brilliant for someone at the level, I was on when I was older than... uhm... yeah! I think!
What gets to me is the aspect of key changes being so subtle. I love the way Stevie Wonder is very cheeky about it. He shows us a little corner of the cake under the glazing, as if to let us know, that there is something called jazz. Same thing, only even more so with Danish Tim Christensen from Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, who is also about creating new music with chord progessions previously unhear (of).
The subtlety you mention is really essential. The Beatles very often use a subdominant minor chord. This is, now that you have mentioned it, a regular but subtle key chance. I never saw/heard it like such, thinking about it as more of a spice. But you're absolutely right, and I have to thank you for making this clear to me!
I'll Be Back is a song with a key change in the very first line, albeit in the seconc time it is played, I believe.
Pardon my California vernacular, but DUDE! Smashing presentation. I watch a fair amount of musical breakdowns and they tend to feel like I'm listening to a lecture in French after taking 2 years of it in secondary school. I get some of it, but much of it is beyond my current "vocabulary."
Alternatively, they're dumbed down by steering away from the musical complexity altogether, and focusing on beginner-level instruction.
In focusing on the complexity, but simplifying the presentation into language most fire ring hacks like me can understand, you're opening up creative opportunities I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to access. Thank you.
Good ways to explain why Beatles music is so good compare to music now..I m a music teacher and have been trying hard to explain to my student about it..thanks for helping me out. Peace out!!
Analyse the usual chords used relative to the key. What is so special about it?
Analyse the key changes. Downwards modulation in PennyLane? Wow. In an unusual key change, what chords do they use to act as a bridge between the two keys. How is the modulation achieved?
What modes have been used? Mixolydian and Dorian in one song.
The time signature in All you need is love.
Listen to every detail sounds, instruments, arrangements. The use of counter points and other songwriting techniques.
There are lots of things for the students to analyse and trying to apply them into their own compositions. Once these students understand the complexity and start to write half decent songs, they would never go back to those simple 4 chords songs again.
If you straight away say that the music they like are simple and rubsh, they will be so defensive and stop listening. Let them learn what is good and they will grow away from those rubsh.
Now THAT'S a nice way to nail it! Very well done and encouraging, too - thanks James ...
Very welcome
I was introduced to The Fab Four in pre-school thanks to our music teacher playing "Yellow Submarine" on guitar & the simple yet unique melody & lyrics appealed to me. Later ,I had a friend who got to into the band ( especially John Lennon) & I was always blown away by their music; it just stood out against the bland,boring stuff that was being played on the radio in the early 80's . That & it sadly took the assassination of Lennon for there to be a new appreciation of The Beatles.. I play the keyboard & love their unique key changes ; they were truly one-of-a-kind👌
I'm Only Sleeping has such an incredible feeling it evokes. I don't know how to describe it but I often say it's my fav Beatles song.
That’s floaty, unresolved feeling.
I agree...you IMPROVED Wonderwall!!! Thanks for making this video, it's nice to see their process laid out in that ladder rung form...it's also great that you pointed out that The Beatles were already incredibly sophisticated during the Please Please Me 1st album...you also could have mentioned the way used modes as well=their genius is fascinating and their timeless status is well deserved
At last! Within the first seven minutes of this video you are so accurate it's brought a grateful tear to my eye as I sit here nodding vigorously. Well said, mate!
A brilliant piece of exposition. Thanks. (Though you could have mentioned George was always probably the most prolific user of the diminished!). I hope a certain Mr Beato gets a chance to clock this and give you a name check. It's very in keeping with his regular rants about the dire state of the charts.
I have been writing songs for my own pleasure since the early 1970’s.
I am not musically trained and I would just whack out the chords.
A few years ago I thought I would see what key I was playing in.
To my surprise I was playing the levels you spoke of.
I must admit I was a bit confused as to how I was getting away with playing that way as it did not seem to fit with the little bit of music theory I know.
Thank you for clarifying.
I think growing up as a child with Beatles music surrounding me I may have been subconsciously influenced.
Post a song Graham!
@@cian_jacob Thank you for the encouragement.
Never trust anyone that doesn’t appreciate the Beatles for their musical genius. Anyone that can’t see it, either has no clue or is trying to hard to be edgy
I know some folks who dismiss the Beatles music, their writing, their musicianship and place in history. I also kicked those folks out of my life. Yes I am a fan, but even non-fans who appreciate music history never make the mistake of dismissing the Beatles. They may not like the band or their work, but smart enough to give them the respect they earned.
People who say they don’t like The Beatles are the same contrarians who would claim “Jaws 4” was the best in the “Jaws” movies. They are people who simply want to appear like they are able to see things none of the rest of us can see
Nobody is questioning the music, just who actually wrote them.
@@md-ps2hxJohn and Paul wrote the lyrics and they all pitched in ideas for the music. It's well documented. There's no question.
@@MelissaR784 It's ALSO well documented there's a LOT of questions.
Great breakdown, my friend. I'll add that a key part of the brilliance of the modulation used in Beatles' songs, predominately Paul's, is the ability to bridge the two keys by using common chords before switching back and forth. Great Gig In The Sky does this seemlessly, as well. Starts in one key, modulates to another unnoticed, and uses a common chord those two keys share in their scales to return to the original key without the listener being able to notice exactly what happened. Penny Lane is a great example of this, too.
And now I see you essentially covered this, making my comment a great example of the "commenting-before-the-end" sin.
@@DCfromBCDon't you hate when that happens....lol
@@MelissaR784 😄 🤣 😂
I was 5 in 1968 when my dad brought one of the few non-classical records he owned into the house; Sgt. Pepper's! My favourite song was "When I'm 64", partly because my dad played the clarinet, and there was a really neat clarinet part in the song. I later discovered that this album was full of outliers among Beatles tunes, but hey, I was 5 and everything sounded new. In my mind, the Beatles just made good music, like Bach or Cannonball Adderley.
Thanks a lot for showing Macca telling the B7th story. I was beginning to think I had imagined it. Currently going through a book of all the Beatles songs to see what percent were key changers and the few that stayed in the same key. People talk about Paul being such a great bassist and while I think he's good I always felt it was their chord progressions that made the bass so interesting. Just doing root 5th on the bass their chord progressions would make it sound cool. I found in my own writing if I come up with a key change song just the chords alone will suggest a melody to me. As a matter of fact I just recently started writing my first song with just a melody. It was interesting then having to find out what chords went with the melody. Part of the songwriting influence on the Beatles was that they didn't grow up entirely on rock and roll. Lennon was 15 the first time he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" so he was exposed to non-rock stuff up to that point. Paul was exposed to a lot of music hall stuff via his dad, James. I agree that "Love Me Do" was great. I think it's one of the most revolutionary things they ever did because I can usually name an influence for their writing. Not sure there was anything that even came close to "Love Me Do". "Hey Baby" maybe since Delbert McClinton played harmonica on it and showed Lennon some stuff as well.
I figured out what I called the Beatles' sneaky key chnges when I learned to play their music.
A song like Norwegian Wood seemed to start in a relative key, while John was singing the uncertain verses, but in the chorus, it starts two frets off the strongest correct key cadence, as he is singing of making up his mind. He even strongly emphasized the two fret move as if discovering and asserting thre correct key.
Gordon Lightfoot did almost exectly the same thing with Carefree highway, although he fit some more chord movement into the lines around the same basic structure, from doubtful verse, to key revelation in the chorus.
I had the same experience as a child in the sixties, liking only songs until I learned who the bands were, and it turned out that the same kind of bands kept coming up.
I even instinctively saw the similarities between Norwegian Wood and Carefree Highway.
Lyrically, when you are using the sneaky key change, you are expressing some kind of doubt or uncertainty, which is resolved in some way when you return to playing right in the key chords.
I think there is a deliberate relation to mind control through music.
In the sixties, they wanted to play around with the doubt and uncertainty - they wanted people to be made thoughtful by the music.
They wanted to compel their attention to doubts and uncertainties - to make them think about things.
Then they took the disturbing chord changes out.
Doubts are no longer encouraged as part of your thoughts and emotions.
They want us skipping or trudging along without doubts or anything to trouble our thoughts.
Not that there's anything wrong with skipping along with no doubts.
I'm just saying it is deep cultural and subconscious manipulation.
They wanted to bring down the culture, so initially they didn't need to impose anything, only to get people excited and doubting, questioning, and challenging whatever they wanted to question. People would go off in all directions at first, but it would bring down the order, so they could begin to build the order they wanted.
As they put their order in place, they don't want people doubting them or questioning them.
They play music to build their order by.
No musical ambiguities will be allowed.
Hardly any humor is allowed - not even in music.
I've been playing guitar and have been in bands for 30 years, and I've always said, "I don't care to become a great musician or singer, I want to be a great songwriter." This video explains what I have been exploring and applying, and reveals even more little secrets for me to exploit. Brilliant video, mate! Thank you!
This is a really excellent video! I don't know how many teens had my experience, but as someone who is 54, obviously I grew up hearing all the main Beatle's songs - i.e. the ones played on the radio. One day when I was probably 16 (1986), a friend whose dad had every single album lent the whole lot to me, and that was my first time hearing for example the whole of Sgt Pepper, the White Album etc. So although I knew it was them, I was still blown away the first time hearing many songs, such as Fixing a Hole which is my favourite Beatles song. It's really interesting nowadays with kids doing first reaction videos on UA-cam as I guess radio has changed a lot as well for them and they are not hearing many classic songs.
what a fantastic, informative and educational video this is! As a song writer myself it was so good to see someone break it all down in an uncomplicated and clear way. Thank you and i’ll be letting others know to watch.
I got an amazing book called 'the songwriting secrets of the Beatles ' its like my favourite book on music theory - 800 odd pages - Beatles built on what had come before and were at a real turning point in music - they kbew the bag of tricks and how to re-use them- they also were two genius level songwriters
Plus their harmonies and sound. The sound of the instruments and their vocals, they captured that era and it's energy. They also injected 'joy' 'enthusiasm' into the music at times. With so little, they did so much. Perfect songs in 2 minutes. Yesterday and In My Life are examples. I don't think this will be repeated.
Three. Don’t forget about that “dark horse” George Harrison.
@@MsAppassionata he was great too - maybe not a genius. I went to a show recently of all his songs, Beatles stuff was top notch but rest not so much. He definitely had moments of genius though too
@@thesingingaccountant1 Well, not all of Paul’s solo stuff has been great either. Doesn’t mean he’s not a genius.
@@MsAppassionata fair point
I remember when the Beatles started getting airplay. Even my Grandfather said “I like those Beatles, Yeah Yeah Yeah!” :)
A gag we use in a music act I'm in: "Capo, that's an Italianate word. It trandlates to, 'I don't know this key.'"
Great demo. I studied music theory at age 16 thru 17 and it forever enhanced my enjoyment of listening and playing music. I’m 72 now and learning finger style guitar on a recently purchased Martin D-18. The Beatles are my all-time favorite group. Thanks for the hard work you put into this outstanding demo and explanation. One more thing: you never show how the capo gets mysteriously added and/or removed while you are playing. Did you have a ghost assistant? How would the Beatles have done that, live or during recording?
As underrated folk singer Phil Ochs once sang, "God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. So play the chords of love, my friend, play the chords of pain. If you want to keep your song, don't, don't, don't, don't play the chords of fame..." (and there's a recording of him playing this song with John Lennon by the way).
But you don't necessarily need complex chords to make a brilliant song. Sometimes a beautiful melody, voice, and great lyrics will do. Phil Ochs wrote a lot of amazing and melodic masterpieces, hauntingly beautiful tunes that I think are as good the best Beatles songs like "When I'm Gone", "Changes", "No More Songs", "Rehearsals For Retirement", "The Highwayman", and "Crucifixion" with simple chords. I think his music would have gotten as big as his friend Bob Dylan's if the FBI and American music industry hadn't suppressed and blacklisted him for writing journalistic political "protest" songs (which he called topical songs) and he hadn't suffered from mental illness and alcoholism. All these factors led to his suicide in 1976 at age 35.
This is simply the best songwriting video I've seen to date, both as a document of Beatles techniques and a tutorial on how to incorporate these techniques in one's own writing.
I remember once walking though a shopping mall & hearing (what I didn't immediately recognise as) a Beatles instrumentalised song, thinking, "that's great, what is it?" It was the melodies that had a magic about them, the words, especially in the early days, were nothing special, in truth. As for trying to analyse that magic, it's impossible, it's just something that only the greatest writers - Porter, Berlin, Dylan - had.
Their words were special from the beginning. They used clever phrases, ideas, and rhymes that other people weren’t using in pop music.
The thing is, everything mattered, everything was different, everything was better. That’s why they occupied the top five spots on the US Billboard charts when they burst onto the scene in 64.
Clever lyrics, complex chords, interesting and invisible key changes, changing tempos, catchy melodies, perfect harmonies, the use of modes, extreme variety, and every style played authentically, the layering… even Ringo’s drumming.
Pop music was for kids. It was simple and simplistic. After the Beatles arrived, critics began analyzing every word, and accomplished musicians and composers became interested in their work.
They elevated pop and rock to real music status.
No one ele in the pop world was writing an Elenore Rigby or Yesterday. Even She Loves You and J want to hold your hand were fresh and new when they hit the air waves.
The Beatles gave us something new with each new album, starting with the very first one.
All you have to do is listen to pop music before the Beatles. Lyrics were simple. Chords were simple and few.
The Beatles elevated pop music and made everyone else work harder, giving us the greatest decade known pop music. Without them, the 70s would have been boring. The 80s would have been boring. The 90s… Many of the artists we know and love would never have been musicians or songwriters.
Yes, they wrote great melodies, and you could love their music just hearing those. But every piece mattered, and every piece was uniquely, meticulously, and phenomenally perfect.
Truly fascinating! I'm from the U. S. and have been playing guitar in many bands for the past 45 years, I'm 60 now and you, my friend, have taught me something that I never knew about the Beatles or their songwriting! I was always fascinated by John and Paul's songwriting and agree with you about the infantile songwriting of today! I will owe you bunches for this lesson and will put this in my songwriting from here on out! Thank you and keep on, keeping on! I just stumbled on your page and I love what you are doing! I will be a subscriber for life!
I am a 65 years young Man...The Beatles are the "Bachs and Beethovens" of our time, they will never be topped.
I agree. I think we have just lived through a great era of music, as important as the Classical age, and the songs we grew up with and spent our pocket money on will be remembered forever. Hopefully a lot of the bands will be remembered (including the Beatles of course).
I amn75.I was there on day 1....They took over. They will never be topped.
I told my music teacher that and he scoffed. I was right.
Excellent video sir. When I first learned that technique of the major minor switch I wrote a song using it the next day.
I used AM7 EM7 on tbe first pass then Am7 Em7 on the next.
A timeless song is gold . No matter who sings it.
Uuuuugh, that oft-overlooked and left out diminished chord is the essence of cool, it needs to be included. In fact, we should be working it in, more. Hiding in plain sight...
Brilliantly explained and spot on! Thank you.
So glad somebody has finally putting a spotlight on the CHORDS!
I knew from a young age that there were something extra about Beatles songs. Something special that was just not present in a lot of other music. It took me a few years to figure out that it was the amazing chord changes, and the pure amount of different chords, even in the “simple” songs on the early albums.
Let me quibble because I'm a quibbla.... To me the technique I had never heard and believe me brother I had it easy as I was a kid and lived all these songs and the progression of such in real time when a month seemed like a year long but you got fed a new Beatle LP and a single seemingly all the time, lol whereas YOU have to sort of finger at out after the fact and may miss a couple subtle but key things. But middle 8s was my point; never really heard 'em before '64, don't hear 'em today and nobody did middle 8's like J & P. Having said that to me that's NOT a key change when they do the middle 8 on From Me To You because usually a middle 8 is a little journey that deviates from the base verse melody only to return - in this case the minor A of FMTY middle 8 is the start of a I-II-V-V-aug turnaround aka Am-D-E-A-A-aug back to home. Yeah it starts the middle 8 in a different "key" but really it's just one chord that sets up the II-V turnaround in home key otherwise why isn't the D chord a key change in the middle 8?I can't play a minor V w/o it being a "key change"? Never mind all that. They didn't know what they were doing half the time but they were fast, had very good ears and knew what they wanted, pragmatic had VERY GOOD TASTE to keep or throw away all the quick chord shape moves or middle 8s or phony chords or whatever it was , the equally important thing about them is not what they would finally call "done" but what they would abandon and say "No." Or when GM would suggest a re-write or tempo change "Okay" They knew when to pipe down. All the elements and techniques in the world won't make you a Beatle without that freakin' good taste (99% of the time) my 2¢ This doesn't cover other unique things like their unique UK male version of Detroit female harmony groups, totally unique and NOT the doo wop based Beach Boys harmonies and in fact was pre-Beach Boy Beatle influence. And what is the "Oh Yeah...Oh Yeah..." sung in octave unison to open up I'll Get You?? WTF IS THAT??? It was cool Unique is what it was. It's the ol' They Don't Make "em Like They Used To bit. Now excuse me, I'm going to have my AI write me a new John Lennon-Paul McCartney song and have them play on it. ☮
Ha great post
I totally agree!
Take your point - but you gotta find the paragraph key!
Yeah, a lot of the "key changes" are just a middle 8 in relative minor...classic go to because it always works. But I've never once thought of that as a key change.
@@c.mccool1123 I like the fact that a lot of middle 8s basically are a smoke break from the verses with a resolve to get back to verses but the Beatles on say No Reply would make the middle 8 "If I were you..." a self contained song that resolves with it's own climax and then goes back to the verse. Stupid cool. 1964- 60 years ago cool
I started studying guitar and songwriting seriously as a 13 year old in 1964. About that time I had a "fake book" that wedding bands used to be able to quickly pull off some requested song. I was shocked that most of the songs were written in Eb or Bb. My poor little hands trying to formulate those chords! It forced me to learn about transposing so i could play them with "regular" guitar chords. The even more important book that came soon after featured Beatles songs. All those glorious chords! I studied them for hundreds of hours until the logic of their compositions started to make sense. I wish you'd make another video explaining the complexity of their harmonic structures. They are almost unmatched in popular music. And don’t get me started on their orchestrations!
Sorry I missed an important sentence. "Fake books" favor Eb and Bb charts because those are important keys for horns like saxophones.
Also if you want to make your head spin look at the correct chord charts for McCartney's song Maybe I'm Amazed...
I tend to think arrangement is super-important, myself.
One thing about the Beatles is how varied their music was, here's a selection of completely different songs:
Within you and without you
Yesterday
Strawberry Fields
Day in the life
Back in the USSR
I am the Walrus
Something
One could easily go on with this list. Each song above could be by a different band. More so than Zeppelin or Floyd though they managed a few styles
I often turn to the intro of If I Fell, which is in a different key from the rest of the song! It's so brilliant.
Brian May once said in an interview: "The Beatles were our bible". That alone speaks volumes!
Totally - all the tricks you will ever need are present in their tunes
@@thesingingaccountant1 The Beatles and George Martin were one of the best (if not THE best) combinations in music. ❤️
@@AndyMangele They were the best. No contest.
100%
@@AndyMangeleThe Beatles get full credit for music they created. No matter who their manager was, it was their music that made them famous. Managers ride on the coat tails of the artists, no the other way around.
"No amount to technological pyrotechnics can make up for the song itself."
That "subbed" ne to this channel.
I'm a drummer who will no longer be quantized. I put all my band leaders on notice. Nit that I don't "need" it, but I want the bands to sound how we sound, win lose or draw.
Also, have you checked out the Stone Temple Pilots side project called Talk Show? You'll probably love it. It was basically STP with another vocalist. Dave Coutts he's kind of a mix of Lennon and Mercury. Their top single was Hello Hello, but you also might like Behind, Fill The Fields, and Morning Girl. He also released Saturday, which was only performed live by Talk Show. I'm actually playing drums on that one.
Love the channel! I'm excited to see what I find here. My first video was on God Only Knows. I was SO hoping that would be the song of topic! Rick Beato recently did that to me with the Sergio Mendez song breakdown of Never Gonna Let You Go.
Two all time geniuses in one band was their ‘secret’ imho
Not well known quote of John who claimed trance state from youth " I used to go into trance like state and words and music were given to me!!! Can I really say I wrote those songs"!!
Not to mention they both had class "A" lead vocal voices too!!
A week ago i was in a cruise and one of the shows there was the Beatlestory.Yes the kids covering the Beatles songs were fantastic and because of this i am now more appreciative of this epic band !
I was just listening to the chord progression of "Midnight at the Oasis" which came out in the 70s. You aren't going to hear those jazz voices in today's top 100.
I found the 2-5 transition method explanation fascinating, need to try it out on keys
"We can't read or write music" Paul McCartney. "They arrived with about hundred songs of their own but they were rubbish" George Martin on first working with The Beatles.
i am the same as you james, i had to see them play and talk in interviews and get their vibe before i could let their music permeate my consciousness.
The Number One Thing that catapulted the Beatles to fame was that John and Paul were not just songwriting partners, but songwriting competitors. They kept trying to top each other. They pushed each other to excellence. They pushed themselves to excellence by trying to be better than each other. When Paul wrote Lady Madonna, John decided to write a piano heavy song called Hey Bulldog.
They were also competing with all the other bands out there. They were an experimental band. Most experimental music was unlistenable. But they were turning out experimental hits.
Their variety made it so there was something for everyone. Young and old liked the Beatles.
Like the layers in their music, there are layers in their popularity. There are many reasons behind their wild success.
@thevguy, Yes so true. But never forget their voices too! Any band would have been super stoked to have just one of them as a lead singer! The Beatles had both of them! So yeah not only were John and Paul phenominal songwriters... Some would say the greatest songwriters of all time, but they were also both world class singers too! Then there was George... Although I wouldn't classify George as a truly standout lead singer his voice blended perfectly with John and Paul's.
I was 9 years old when the Beatles hit America. In all the years since, only a few artists/groups struck me so hard. James Taylor with his finger style, CSNY electric boogie, Joni Mitchell, and the Grateful Dead. In each case, They brought me into a new realm of Music, causing me to redefine my concept of music. In all these cases, the music wasn't the same old 7 chords. Thanks, James, for pointing out what was going on. 🙂
Too much entertainment now for anyone to focus like they did back then
This is a fascinating video. Right from being a small child I enjoyed the Beatles music. Initially I listened to them on a small Mono tape recorder. Before I understood the words and song meanings I enjoyed the music and the songs.
This video had helped me understand an element of their lifetime appeal.
I think really they had it all. The lyrics themselves, the key changes illustrated in this video and the production of George Martin.
I remember the experience of listening to the Beatles for the first time on stereo headphones and it was like listening again for the 1st time.
Sometime ago one of my hifi speakers broke. Due to the way the Beatles songs were produced a broken speaker actually means losing part of the sound completely. When i got my new speaker it restored the proper listening experience that so many elements come together to make.
1. **Musical Innovation**: The Beatles were pioneers in the music industry, pushing the boundaries of what rock and pop music could be. They introduced new recording techniques, experimented with different genres, and incorporated unconventional instruments, which significantly influenced future music production.
2. **Cultural Impact**: The Beatles had a profound impact on global culture during the 1960s and beyond. Their music became the soundtrack for the countercultural movement, and they influenced fashion, language, and social attitudes.
3. **Songwriting and Compositions**: The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, along with contributions from George Harrison, produced an extraordinary catalog of songs. Their ability to craft memorable melodies, innovative harmonies, and meaningful lyrics set a high standard in the music industry.
4. **Commercial Success**: The Beatles' commercial achievements are unparalleled. They hold numerous records for album sales, chart-topping singles, and concert attendance. Their commercial success is a testament to their broad appeal and enduring popularity.
5. **Critical Acclaim**: Over the years, The Beatles have received extensive critical acclaim. Their albums, such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Revolver," and "Abbey Road," are frequently listed among the greatest albums of all time by critics and music historians.
6. **Longevity and Relevance**: Decades after their breakup, The Beatles' music continues to be relevant and influential. New generations of listeners discover their music, and their influence is evident in contemporary artists and music.
7. **Innovation in Album Format**: The Beatles helped popularize the concept of the album as an artistic statement rather than just a collection of singles. Albums like "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" showcased thematic coherence and innovative production techniques.
8. **Impact on the Music Industry**: The Beatles' success changed the music industry in terms of how music was marketed and consumed. Their popularity led to the rise of the album as the dominant format, the importance of artist-driven creative control, and the global reach of pop music.
ChatGPT generated crap, get it out of here.
Thanks ChatGPT 👍
Absolutely brilliant analysis. Popular music may mostly be crap these days but at least we'll always have The Beatles.
Instead of just waffling on about songwriting, why don't people just cut the crap and write some good songs?
Listen to the Beth Gibbons, Jane Weaver, The Libertines new albums.
Some songs from the new albums of Steven Wilson, Noel Gallagher, Blur, Paul Weller, Tears For Fears are great also.
@@thierryhenry674 Cheers for the tips dude, appreciated, although these days I'm more interested in musicians that have something to say, the only problem is most of them are too scared to say ANYTHING even borderline controversial for fear of them getting 'cancelled' or ostracized, and that's a HUGE problem as I see it
So, to sum up, I'm looking for musicians with balls really ha ha
Because there are people out there writing good songs.
But no one is promoting good songs. The record companies wanted to promote poor songs with the lowest common denominator so most people who don’t understand anything about music can listen to it.
James is educating people with no or little musical background on how to enjoy good music. He is promoting good music. That’s why we need people like him talking about these matters.
Lyrics is just a very small part of a song. There are so many songwriting techniques, recording, mixing techniques, so many different tracks, how they interact with each other, the use of different sounds and effects. The use of modes, modulation, creative chord progression. There are so many artistic choice, beauty and cleverness that can go into a song.
If people want “message”, they would get a lot more from reading a book.
@@MrCheswickMusic Mr Cheswick likes balls 😂
@thierryhenry674 well said Thierry
This is amazing.
It was enthusiastic!! Drive Mt car was a lesser of their incredible experience in knowing what to write and how to put the music on it.
And the great thing about the Fab 4, is that they couldn't read/write music. But then again, who cares. They were/are the greatest pop group ever & non other come remotely close. Those of us who lived through that era were given a gift from heaven - something we still thoroughly enjoy. Excellent video - Ta!
I grew up with the Beatles. What a gift! And because of the Beatles, I quickly learned how to play the guitar, I started writing my own songs. I always loved singing and now with a guitar in hand, my music started to develop. Later on I formed a band, all because of the Beatles. I'm now a retired, 70 year old and I'm still learning from the Beatles. What a gift!
Rick Beato has also explained how modern music has become boring and formulaic. Really enjoyed your video demonstrating this. Subscribed.
I'm 64 and play in a gigging band. My bandmates struggle learning Beatles songs because of complexity and time signatures changes, such as in Here Comes the Sun. The drummer reversed his opinion after attempting several songs. I Feel Fine was a stumbling block for him with the Bossa Nova beat.