Song structure analysis and terminology | Page 8 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

 Oh I’m not on about Lovely Rita . It’s very 30’s sounding. Again, it’s kind of … wrong, to discuss Beatles chord progs as if they are separate in some way…. I mean, Sweet Georgia Brown, and a raft other tunes, are D7/G7/C7/F/. LOTS of tunes…

Right String, Wrong YoYo. A weird Jimmy Campbell song I ran into last night… and oodles others.

Not to forget – when the Beatles emerged, they were in direct competition with the 50s songwriters, heavyweight company songbirds, writing for largish orchestras. Not like The Stones, for ex. who stuck perty much to R n B.

 Really, what’s so cool about Fab4 stuff, is the melodies. Sounds obvious but there you go, it’s that simple. The same exact progressions can, and do, sound trite in less inspired hands.

 I will babble on … Last nite I wanna Hold Yer Hand came on, and there is 1-6-2-5 in there somewhere, but sneaky! Not obvious at all, and when you play that sequence it usually stands out like a sore thumb, as half of the fifties popSongs used it. The vocal groups used it to death. It used to be called ‘We Want Cantor’.

 For guitarists… if u play this progression straight, 1-6-2-5, be aware that its really actually only two chords, the one and five. You will see a lot of 1-6-4-5 as well, same deal.

Or you can think of it that way. Then, when playing away modally on the root major scale, try and separate it, via arps, into two four note groups. Much more ‘melodic’ playing should ensue, as you will be on top of the actual changes, without a lot of thinking, which can muddy the waters. (*) 

Paul is a very good bass player. Very good, so he uses lines all over the place, I’m still looking for someone like him to start a band with. * )

 Remembering the 50s books we had, way back when. Mickey Baker, who I think Paul mentions, and Mel Bay and Nick Manoloff.

The Manoloff book came with a ‘chord wheel’, I still have one around somewhere. You turn the wheel and all the relative chords show up, in every key. Sub-dominant etc.

 Did I say Paul was a ‘very good’ bassplayer? Better clarify that. What I liked, was the old tunes, like a couple of Fats Waller songs they did. The basslines for those had to be adapted somewhat, for rock bass, but he did a very nice job.

Mainly tho, Paul was/is a rock bassist, and that means a few things. First it means you have to be able to play well on one chord. Given an E7 that runs on for a minute or two, McCartney always played great. That’s a big part of ‘rock’ as opposed to rockNroll. Bass players never got much attention, it was primarily a support role. Paul doesn’t get many ‘solos’ in Beatles music but he did a lot of jamming and, to my ears, was better at simple rockin’ stuff than more technically advanced players. (End McCartney aggrandizement section)****

Watched a Joe Pass instructional vid, he is quite entertaining. AND he explains everything there is to know about playing melodic chord patterns on the guitar. Ted Green’s books contain more cool chord changes than my brain can hold. Don Mock is another terrific teacher. We had nothing like this, just books, so stop complaining about how hard it is.)