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A Hard Days Night Opening Chord 'Solved'
9 September 2012
9.27pm
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meanmistermustard
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Some clever person called Doctor Kevin Houston has claimed to have solved what the chords were for the opening chord of A Hard Days Night and its too convoluted a report to post a straight forward quote (I couldnt find a thread for either the song AHDN or its album for this post) but have done so for the main bits.

His believes George Harrison was playing a straightforward F add9 on his 12-string electric Rickenbacker guitar… at the same time, Harrison appears to have had his thumb curled round the neck of the guitar, pressing down the bottom E string at the first fret….

…Dr Houston also established that John Lennon was playing the same chord on an acoustic guitar. On the stereo track, Harrison and Lennon are heard on different speakers.

He also mentions that George Martin was playing the piano low down in the mix.

 

Im no musical person so others might have some idea what the heck is going on.

MOD EDIT: More discussion on the opening chord can be found at: https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..t/#p278783

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

10 September 2012
12.59am
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Into the Sky with Diamonds
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 … and McCartney plays a D on the bass. Many articles on this.

(see 6/10/11 post on   http://on.fb.me/jJiC0J    )

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10 September 2012
4.36am
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Von Bontee
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Isn’t GM plucking some piano strings rather than playing conventionally?

Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.

         

10 September 2012
6.53pm
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Into the Sky with Diamonds
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Considering how often this topic has come up since the day the record was released, I’m surprised that none of the principal parties has put his baby to rest!

"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)

11 September 2012
12.33pm
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fabfouremily
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I thought that George said in an interview in the 60´s what the mystery chord was. Maybe he was talking about something else.

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11 September 2012
4.19pm
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Joe
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This comes up surprisingly often. Whenever some musicologist with a computer publishes a research paper, certain parts of the media seem to go “Ooh, an expert! He’s used something called Fourier Transform,” without really understanding any of it, or questioning whether it breaks new ground.

Here’s my take on it: https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..ght-chord/

No doubt someone else will use computer analysis in six months, publish another article, point out a minor difference and the cycle will begin again. FWIW this is the best account I’ve yet read: https://sites.google.com/site/ahdnchord/ (have a good look around the various pages to see how the frequencies can be mis/interpreted).

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11 September 2012
5.17pm
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meanmistermustard
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I remember the last expert who claimed to have solved the chord, didnt have a clue what he was  talking about and i dont here. Just thought it would be worth a thread.

 

And yes in 6 months time another individual will have dissected it again thru the most modern technology and the results will be slighty different but similar. Expect a post about that too.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

11 September 2012
6.15pm
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Zig
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…and then there is discrete fourier transform – a mathematical process which determines the audio frequencies present in a recorded signal.

I wish I had this kind of time on my hands.

If someone discovers “ahs” in the opening chord, I will put a bullet in my head.a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

11 September 2012
7.29pm
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fabfouremily
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Yeah looking at the link that Joe posted I´ve remembered. He said it on his website after a fan asked him. So, if he´s said what chord it is, why are people saying that they´ve ‘solved it’? If it was ‘solved’ then.

Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.

(Passover - I. Curtis)

11 September 2012
10.43pm
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meanmistermustard
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Zig said

…and then there is discrete fourier transform – a mathematical process which determines the audio frequencies present in a recorded signal.

I wish I had this kind of time on my hands.

If someone discovers “ahs” in the opening chord, I will put a bullet in my head.a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

Maybe if someone analysed ADITL with all this fancy technology and its ahs we might finally get an answer. At the very least the machine could be used for smashing over peoples heads when the debates kick off afterwards.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

12 September 2012
4.14pm
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Inner Light
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Check this out regarding the opening chord for ‘A Hard Day’s Night

The further one travels, the less one knows

14 September 2012
2.52am
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Jackson
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meanmistermustard said

Zig said

…and then there is discrete fourier transform – a mathematical process which determines the audio frequencies present in a recorded signal.

I wish I had this kind of time on my hands.

If someone discovers “ahs” in the opening chord, I will put a bullet in my head.a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

Maybe if someone analysed ADITL with all this fancy technology and its ahs we might finally get an answer. At the very least the machine could be used for smashing over peoples heads when the debates kick off afterwards.

I must have missed that one, is the debate on whether John or Paul is singing the “ahs”?

14 September 2012
2.56am
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Inner Light said

Check this out regarding the opening chord for ‘A Hard Day’s Night

I wouldn’t trust a thing that comes out of Randy Bachmann’s mouth.

As if it matters how a man falls down.'

'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.

14 September 2012
2.42pm
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meanmistermustard
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Jackson said

meanmistermustard said

Zig said

…and then there is discrete fourier transform – a mathematical process which determines the audio frequencies present in a recorded signal.

I wish I had this kind of time on my hands.

If someone discovers “ahs” in the opening chord, I will put a bullet in my head.a-hard-days-night-ringo-14

Maybe if someone analysed ADITL with all this fancy technology and its ahs we might finally get an answer. At the very least the machine could be used for smashing over peoples heads when the debates kick off afterwards.

I must have missed that one, is the debate on whether John or Paul is singing the “ahs”?

Yes. There has been a few debates here on that chord. All very friendly, polite and never a raised voice or arguement.a-hard-days-night-paul-3

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

14 September 2012
3.37pm
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Von Bontee
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I wouldn’t trust a thing that comes out of Randy Bachmann’s mouth.

What kind of Canadian are you?! BTO rocks!

Truthfully, I can’t view the video here. What exactly does Bachman say?

Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.

         

14 September 2012
4.13pm
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Zig
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Von Bontee said
I wouldn’t trust a thing that comes out of Randy Bachmann‘s mouth.

What kind of Canadian are you?! BTO rocks!

So did The Guess Who. He also played guitar with Ringo’s ASB at one point, right?

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

14 September 2012
5.23pm
mr. Sun king coming together
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Zig – I want to say he played with Ringo in 1996, but I’m not sure.
Von – obviously you’ve never heard his CBC show, have you? It’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. And, The Guess Who was good because of Burton Cummings.
(Zig – just dialed up my Guess Who greatest hit CD on my iPod.)
Edit: Bachman played with Ringo in 1995. Burton Cummings played with Ringo in 1993

As if it matters how a man falls down.'

'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.

14 September 2012
5.59pm
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Von Bontee
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Never heard his radio show, no. And The Guess Who were great because of Cummings AND Bachman.

Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.

         

7 January 2015
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bassboy86
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Think I’ve found a definitive breakdown in the opening chord for A Hard Days Night! It’s all in the piano!! Sorry to anyone who may have seen this before!

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Mr. Kite
7 January 2015
5.44pm
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Ahhh Girl
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Hello and welcome to the Beatles Bible, @bassboy86. I moved your post to this thread. I hope you find the other post in this conversation interesting.

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