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3.24pm
14 November 2014
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Thank you Ahhh Girl! The other posts are brilliant!
MOD EDIT: More discussion on the opening chord can be found at: https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..t/#p278783
3.19pm
26 October 2018
Offline After looking on the forum, this chord was discussed in length. Sorry for the extreme lateness in this post. It’s old hat by now.
Suffice to say, it was a wonderful concoction.
My vote is the Dm11 sans 9th. The important foundation note of D is where the chord must begin.
Since A Hard Day’s Night is in the key of G, the opening chord was designed to do 2 things:
a) establish a key foundation (Key of G),
b) create a sense of anticipation.
So a “D” chord of some kind makes perfect sense (being the 5th in the key of G), which is precisely what was done.
(For non-musicians, the 5th is the high point of a chord progression right before the verse comes back around from a chorus)
Whoever chose this particular chord had to be quite schooled in music theory, because the resulting chord is quite advanced.
In musical terms, the chord is called a Dm11 sans 9th. The D establishes key foundation, and the other notes in the chord provide
the suspense which I will articulate in a second.
The notes in a Dm11 are as follows, and they all serve a purpose.
D (root, provides key orientation)
F (third minor, sadness)
A (fifth – tonal support)
C (seventh – provides tension, bitterness, character)
E (ninth – provides extension and brightness)
G (11th – provides suspension, anticipation)
There is a LOT going on in this one chord, and was chosen for this effect.
Normally, it is difficult to play all these notes on one guitar (and the effect would not have been as good),
so it MADE SENSE to have different people play different parts so they, cumulatively, got the job done.
GM asked George to play the F add 9 chord – F A C G
GM asked John to play a Dsus4 chord D A D G
GM asked Paul to simply play a D note.
I don’t hear the E note. Making the chord a Dm11, no E.
The result was impressive… Confusion, anticipation, excitement. A chord talked about for 50 years.
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Beatlebug, The Hole Got Fixed4.22pm
Moderators
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20 August 2013
Offline “Whoever chose this particular chord had to be quite schooled in music theory…”
The Beatles were not schooled in music theory from what I understand. So the opening chord was George Martin brainchild?
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4.33pm
Moderators
27 November 2016
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That would make sense.
But let’s not forget the F A C on the piano and the subtle kick & ride.
Wouldn’t know where to find the E though….
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4.55am
11 September 2018
Offline Many articles have been written about the ‘opening-chord’ to A Hard Day’s Night , but my theory is that it isn’t just a chord at all, but a sound collage. I have used modern techniques to strip back each layer and conclude you can hear The Beatles play a particular chord (more on that in a minute), the jet-engine sounds later used on Back In The USSR and the screams from one of their concerts from earleir in the year. All of this was played through a rotating Leslie speaker to create an effect similar to a thousand monks chanting from a moutaintop.
The opening ‘chord’ was taught to Paul and George by a man who lived a bus ride away in Liverpool. The story goes that they took two buses to see this stranger, just to hear him go cchiinnggg. the two Beatles scribbled down the notes to the chord and returned to tell John. According to Paul in the Anthology series, the note said ‘there are seven levels’.
In the meantime, John had left his guitar leaning against an amplifier whilst he accidentally put the tape of the evening’s session on backwards at Kenwood. The combined feedback and backwards noises he heard whilst sitting in bed, campaigning for peace, convinced him that A Hard Day’s Night needed to start with a strong impact.
The following day, with John on one guitar, Paul on another, Ringo and Mal Evans sharing one between them, George on a sitar and George Martin playing a harmonium and piano (which he recorded at half-speed to create a Baroque effect on playback) at the same time, the band took several takes to record what has been called ‘the most debated chord since 10th July 1964’.
George Martin was reluctant to allow The Beatles to use such a corny opening to their next hit single, claiming Glenn Miller used to do it before the war. Fortunately for us, he relented and another ‘Paul is Dead’ clue was added to the canon.
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