Formal structure of "In My Life"
Intro (trans.) 0:00-0:09* Verse 1 0:09-0:28 Middle 8 0:28-0:46 Trans. 0:46-0:51* Verse 2 0:51-1:10 Middle 8 1:10-1:28 Solo 1:28-1:47* Middle 8 1:47-2:05 Trans. 2:05-2:10 Coda (m8, trans.) 2:10-2:25 Comments: Transition is intro halved. Solo replaces a verse. "In My Life" is the second Beatles recording to date to use transitional musical material in the introduction and coda - the first being [65] "Day Tripper". Both of these songs use this transitional lick (in "Day Tripper" it's the famous opening guitar riff, in "In My Life" it's the opening piano motive) cohesively, gluing together the sections of the song.
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Formal Structure of [66] "If I Needed Someone":
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:08* Verse 1 0:08-0:22 Verse 2 0:22-0:37 Middle 8 0:37-0:52 Verse 3 0:52-1:07 Break/Solo 1:07-1:22 Verse 4 1:22-1:38 Middle 8 1:38-1:53 Verse 5 1:53-2:08 Coda (verse) 2:08-2:22 Comments: Two-part intro (along with [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [62] "Run For Your Life", [63] "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", and [65] "Day Tripper"). Verses 4 and 5 share identical lyrics. Formal structure of [65] "Day Tripper":
Intro (trans.) 0:00-0:18* Verse 1 0:18-0:46 Trans. 0:46-0:53 Verse 2 0:53-1:21 Trans./Break/Solo 1:21-1:42* Trans. 1:42-1:49 Verse 3 1:49-2:17 Trans. 2:17-2:31 Coda (trans.) 2:31-2:46 Comments: Many Beatles recordings to date used two-part intros in which a single instrument starts, then after a few seconds the rest of the band joins in ([6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", [47] "Ticket to Ride", and [62] "Run For Your Life"). "Day Tripper" is similar, but doubles the intro into four parts: first we hear a lone guitar, then it's joined by the bass, followed shortly by the tambourine, and then finally the drum set. "Day Tripper" is the first Beatles recording to use and introduction based on transitional material, and also the first to use a coda likewise based on transitional material. In this case, that means the famous opening guitar lick, which functions as "musical glue" connecting the various formal components. The Trans./Break/Solo employs elements of all three, so exactly what to call it is uncertain - it really is a mix of all three. The verses employ a modified 12 bar blues structure. For more detailed analysis on that aspect, read my 14 January 2013 blog. Formal structure of "Drive My Car"
Intro (ind) 0:00-0:05* Verse 1 0:05-0:21 Chorus 0:21-0:36 Verse 2 0:36-0:52 Chorus 0:52-1:08 Solo 1:08-1:23* Chorus 1:23-1:39 Verse 3 1:39-1:55 Chorus 1:55-2:10 Coda (chorus) 2:10-2:28 Comments: The a-metric introduction is entirely musically independent of the rest of the song. The solo essentially functions as another verse, just with the lyrics replaced with a guitar solo. Formal structure of [63] "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:16* E major Verse 1 0:16-0:32 E major Middle 8 0:32-0:48 E minor Verse 2 0:48-1:04 E major Break 1:04-1:20 E major Middle 8 1:20-1:36 E minor Verse 3 1:36-1:53 E major Coda (verse) 1:53-2:05 E major Comments: Another two-part intro (along with [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", [47] "Ticket to Ride", and [62] "Run For Your Life") in which a single instrument - in this case guitar - is heard briefly before the rest of the instruments join in to create the backing track over which the lead vocals will be added at the start of the first verse. The song is in E major, but the Middle 8s switch from E major to E minor - a shift between the parallel major and minor, reminiscent of [33] "I'll Be Back" and [35] "Things We Said Today". Formal structure of [62] "Run For Your Life":
Intro (trans.) 0:00-0:08* Verse 1 0:08-0:19 Chorus 0:19-0:30 Trans. 0:30-0:35 Verse 2 0:35-0:46 Chorus 0:46-0:57 Solo 0:57-1:13 Verse 3 1:13-1:24 Chorus 1:24-1:35 Trans. 1:35-1:40 Verse 4 1:40-1:51 Chorus 1:51-2:02 Trans. 2:02-2:08 Coda (trans.) 2:08-2:18 Comments: Yet another two-part intro (along with [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", and [47] "Ticket to Ride") in which a single instrument - in this case guitar - is heard briefly before the rest of the instruments join in to create the backing track over which the lead vocals will be added at the start of the first verse. Both intro and coda are based on the transitions (neither of which has happened in any Beatles recording to date). Formal structure of [61] "Wait":
Verse 1 0:00-0:12 F# minor Chorus 0:12-0:21 A major Verse 2 0:21-0:33 F# minor Chorus 0:33-0:41 A major Middle 8 0:41-0:57 A major Verse 3 0:57-1:08 F# minor Chorus 1:08-1:17 A major Middle 8 1:17-1:32 A major Verse 4 1:32-1:44 F# minor Chorus 1:44-1:53 A major Verse 5 1:53-2:03 F# minor Coda (verse) 2:03-2:13* F# minor Comments: No intro - starts right up with the verse (just like [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", and [58] "I'm Down"). Coda is an extension of the verse. The formal structure of "Wait" is often delineated through tonality. The verses are all in F# minor, while the choruses and middle 8s are all in the relative major, A. [25] "And I Love Her" uses similar tonal dialogue between the relative major and minor, and [33] "I'll Be Back" and [35] "Things We Said Today" between the parallel major and minor. Formal structure of [60] "Act Naturally":
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:06 Verse 1 0:06-0:27 Middle 8 0:27-0:47 Verse 2 0:47-1:08 Solo 1:08-1:18 Verse 3 1:18-1:39 Middle 8 1:39-2:00 Verse 4 2:00-2:21 Coda (solo) 2:21-2:30 Comments: This one's about as straight-forward as musical structure can be - no ambiguity here. Formal structure of [60] "It's Only Love":
Intro (bridge) 0:00-0:10* Verse 1 0:10-0:27 Bridge 0:27-0:35 Chorus 0:35-0:52 Verse 2 0:52-1:09 Bridge 1:09-1:18 Chorus 1:18-1:39* Coda (bridge) 1:39-157* Comments: Last chorus extended to propel the song to its conclusion. Similar extensions served similar purposes in [11] Thank You Girl, [12] She Loves You, [18] All I've Got To Do, [21] I Want to Hold Your Hand, [41] "What You're Doing", [45] "I Feel Fine", and [54] "Tell Me What You See". The only other Beatles recording to date to use an introduction based on the bridge is [13f] "Please Mister Postman". No other Beatles recording to date uses a coda based on the bridge. Formal structure of "Yesterday"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:05 Verse 1 0:05-0:24 Verse 2 0:24-0:41 Middle 8 0:41-1:01 Verse 3 1:01-1:19 Middle 8 1:19-1:39 Verse 4 1:39-1:56 Coda (verse) 1:56-2:06 Comments: In a manner similar to [46] "I'll Follow the Sun", the formal layout of "Yesterday" is very simple and straightforward, just like the music. |
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