CHAPTER2

from.. Craft" to ..Hrt"

formalStructure in the musicof theBeatles

JOHNCOVACH

OST HISTORIES OF cite early February 1964 as an important date in American ; the appearance of on the Ed Sullivan Show on two consecutive Sunday Mevenings ignited a craze for British-invasion pop that had a dramatic effect on the development of rock music, catching the American music business entirely by surprise. Reading from most accounts, one might easily conclude that early Beatles' music was very different from the American pop that it so effectively displaced. 1 Musical analysis reveals, however, that the music of the Beatles engages in a much more complicated relationship with the American pop that preceded it than most writers have thus far detected. and Paul McCartney were serious students of both American songwriting and performance traditions. The band covered dozens of American pop tunes dur- ing their early years, including many by the of the late 1950s and early 1960s.2 The BBC sessions reveal that most of the time the Beatles performed approximate versions of the tunes that they covered, working to get the vocal inflections, the accompaniment, and even the guitar solos as close to those on the records as possible.3 This chapter focuses on formal design and argues that as songwriters Lennon and McCartney were greatly influenced by American pop and that early Beatles music as a result uses 1950's and early 1960's American pop as its model, sometimes following its standard organizational practices closely 38 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 39

and at other times innovating within its constraints.• In the course of the Bea- craftsperson refers to an approach that privileges repeatable structures; tles' tremendous U.S. success in 1964, Lennon and McCartney began to show are written according to patterns that are in common use. When innovation signs of finding their own voices as songwriters; each began trying out new occurs within this approach, is no difficulty with the idea of duplicating ideas that would gradually lead them away from standard songwriting prac- this innovation in subsequent songs. Opposed in a loose way to the craftsper- tices; how these changes occur is the focus of this chapter. In the first inter- son approach is the artist approach. Here, the emphasis is on the nonrepeata- views of 1963-1964, both Beatles composers seem to stress the fact that they bility of innovations; the worst criticism that can be leveled against a creative consider themselves primarily songwriters; in response to questions with how individual according to this approach is that he or she is "rewriting the same they see their careers in music unfolding, McCartney states quite plainly that over and over." One can see quite readily how such criticism aligns he and Lennon will most likely continue as songwriters long after the Beatles squarely with modernist notions of artistic integrity, while making almost no 5 are no longer a top act. Importantly, initially almost everybody, including the sense in regard to Brill Building songwriting practices; indeed, evaluating band members themselves, saw the Beatles as a fad-a quirky pop group that songwriters such as Coffin and King according to the artist model is unfair- would rise and fall quickly, nothing more than the latest flavor of the week. or at least aesthetically misguided. The argument here is that Lennon and Although the group greatly admired the original rock 'n' rollers of the 1950s, McCartney move from the craftsperson model to the artist model increasingly and especially, they also admired Brill Building songwriters such and gradually from 1964 until 1968. When the group decides to return to as Gerry Coffin and , Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and Phil their roots in the wake of the failed project, both Spector. And even among the first wave of rock 'n' rollers, Chuck Berry and Lennon and McCartney strike a balance between these two seemingly con- Buddy Holly were especially important to Lennon and McCartney as per- tradictory aesthetic and poetic approaches. formers who wrote their own songs. The connection to the Brill Building To support this interpretation, this chapter depends primarily on an songwriters is particularly important with regard to early Beatles music, and account of formal design and its development, although one could also track in many ways their development after the initial splash of early to mid-1964 this evolution by considering aspects of harmonic, melodic, and text-music can be measured music-analytically by how closely each song models Brill relationships. The principal claim is that the Beatles' debt to the American Building practices. pop tradition can be seen clearly in the group's repeated use of a limited num- Lennon and McCartney begin their careers aspiring to be songwriters in ber of typical formal designs and arrangements in their early music. As the American pop tradition, and, accordingly, they view themselves as crafts- Lennon and McCartney begin to move away from the craftsperson model, people, using formal designs and arrangement schemes that are common to this tendency can be detected in singular innovations within this context that much of early 1960's pop. Most readers know where things ended up in just eventually begin to occur so frequently that they obscure the original stylistic a few short years for the Beatles, as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band context, and perhaps even transform it. (1967) made its mark as the album that-in the now-famous words of Wil- Because this chapter depends on formal analysis, introducing a number frid Mellers-elevates rock music from simple dance fare to serious listening of formal types and labels for them may prove helpful.7 In most rock music 6 music. From Sgt. Pepper forward, rock takes itself very seriously-at times up to the 1970s, four formal patterns occur (see accompanying list). The too seriously, we should acknowledge. Rock musicians no longer aspire so AA.BA form is clearly inherited from the thirty-two-bar AA.BA structure much to be professionals and craftspeople; rather, they aspire to be artists, common to pop of the first half of the twentieth century in adopting and adapting notions of inspiration, genius, and complexity that which each section tends to be eight bars in length. Tunes such as "Over the derive directly from nineteenth-century European high culture. And not only Rainbow" or "Misty" are good examples of a frequently used formal pattern.8 were musicians' attitudes changing, but after 1967 also began to Even in the years before rock 'n' roll, the AA.BA pattern had begun to exceed think of rock music as an aesthetic experience that might, at times, rise above the thirty-two-bar template. Sections can be found that are twelve or sixteen mere pop culture. bars in length, rather than the standard eight, making for designs that Hence, the space between 1964 and 1967 is an important time in pop exceed thirty-two bars but retain the AA.BA pattern. Playing once through music's developing sense of aspiration in general. Such stylistic and aesthetic the AA.BA pattern usually does not result in enough music for most situa- changes almost never happen overnight, and the change from pop songwrit- tions, and so the question arises regarding how much of the music needs to ers to songwriting artists occurs gradually in the Lennon-McCartney songs be repeated to fill out a given arrangement. If the entire AA.BA form is from that three-year period. To track this change, two general ideas will be repeated, this is termed a full reprise; when only part of the AA.BA form employed to organize the discussion. As the term has already been used here, returns, this is called an abbreviated reprise. 38 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 39

and at other times innovating within its constraints.• In the course of the Bea- craftsperson refers to an approach that privileges repeatable structures; songs tles' tremendous U.S. success in 1964, Lennon and McCartney began to show are written according to patterns that are in common use. When innovation signs of finding their own voices as songwriters; each began trying out new occurs within this approach, is no difficulty with the idea of duplicating ideas that would gradually lead them away from standard songwriting prac- this innovation in subsequent songs. Opposed in a loose way to the craftsper- tices; how these changes occur is the focus of this chapter. In the first inter- son approach is the artist approach. Here, the emphasis is on the nonrepeata- views of 1963-1964, both Beatles composers seem to stress the fact that they bility of innovations; the worst criticism that can be leveled against a creative consider themselves primarily songwriters; in response to questions with how individual according to this approach is that he or she is "rewriting the same they see their careers in music unfolding, McCartney states quite plainly that song over and over." One can see quite readily how such criticism aligns he and Lennon will most likely continue as songwriters long after the Beatles squarely with modernist notions of artistic integrity, while making almost no 5 are no longer a top act. Importantly, initially almost everybody, including the sense in regard to Brill Building songwriting practices; indeed, evaluating band members themselves, saw the Beatles as a fad-a quirky pop group that songwriters such as Coffin and King according to the artist model is unfair- would rise and fall quickly, nothing more than the latest flavor of the week. or at least aesthetically misguided. The argument here is that Lennon and Although the group greatly admired the original rock 'n' rollers of the 1950s, McCartney move from the craftsperson model to the artist model increasingly and Elvis Presley especially, they also admired Brill Building songwriters such and gradually from 1964 until 1968. When the group decides to return to as Gerry Coffin and Carole King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and Phil their roots in the wake of the failed Magical Mystery Tour project, both Spector. And even among the first wave of rock 'n' rollers, Chuck Berry and Lennon and McCartney strike a balance between these two seemingly con- Buddy Holly were especially important to Lennon and McCartney as per- tradictory aesthetic and poetic approaches. formers who wrote their own songs. The connection to the Brill Building To support this interpretation, this chapter depends primarily on an songwriters is particularly important with regard to early Beatles music, and account of formal design and its development, although one could also track in many ways their development after the initial splash of early to mid-1964 this evolution by considering aspects of harmonic, melodic, and text-music can be measured music-analytically by how closely each song models Brill relationships. The principal claim is that the Beatles' debt to the American Building practices. pop tradition can be seen clearly in the group's repeated use of a limited num- Lennon and McCartney begin their careers aspiring to be songwriters in ber of typical formal designs and arrangements in their early music. As the American pop tradition, and, accordingly, they view themselves as crafts- Lennon and McCartney begin to move away from the craftsperson model, people, using formal designs and arrangement schemes that are common to this tendency can be detected in singular innovations within this context that much of early 1960's pop. Most readers know where things ended up in just eventually begin to occur so frequently that they obscure the original stylistic a few short years for the Beatles, as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band context, and perhaps even transform it. (1967) made its mark as the album that-in the now-famous words of Wil- Because this chapter depends on formal analysis, introducing a number frid Mellers-elevates rock music from simple dance fare to serious listening of formal types and labels for them may prove helpful. 7 In most rock music 6 music. From Sgt. Pepper forward, rock takes itself very seriously-at times up to the 1970s, four formal patterns occur (see accompanying list). The too seriously, we should acknowledge. Rock musicians no longer aspire so AA.BA form is clearly inherited from the thirty-two-bar AA.BA structure much to be professionals and craftspeople; rather, they aspire to be artists, common to Tin Pan Alley pop of the first half of the twentieth century in adopting and adapting notions of inspiration, genius, and complexity that which each section tends to be eight bars in length. Tunes such as "Over the derive directly from nineteenth-century European high culture. And not only Rainbow" or "Misty" are good examples of a frequently used formal pattern. 8 were musicians' attitudes changing, but listeners after 1967 also began to Even in the years before rock 'n' roll, the AA.BA pattern had begun to exceed think of rock music as an aesthetic experience that might, at times, rise above the thirty-two-bar template. Sections can be found that are twelve or sixteen mere pop culture. bars in length, rather than the standard eight, making for designs that Hence, the space between 1964 and 1967 is an important time in pop exceed thirty-two bars but retain the AA.BA pattern. Playing once through music's developing sense of aspiration in general. Such stylistic and aesthetic the AA.BA pattern usually does not result in enough music for most situa- changes almost never happen overnight, and the change from pop songwrit- tions, and so the question arises regarding how much of the music needs to ers to songwriting artists occurs gradually in the Lennon-McCartney songs be repeated to fill out a given arrangement. If the entire AA.BA form is from that three-year period. To track this change, two general ideas will be repeated, this is termed a full reprise; when only part of the AA.BA form employed to organize the discussion. As the term has already been used here, returns, this is called an abbreviated reprise. 40 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 41

TABLE2.1 TABLE2.2 Formal Patterns in Rock in the 1950s and 1960s "From Me to You,"Thirty-Two-Bar AABA with Abbreviated Reprise (Recorded March 5, 1963) 1. AABE: thirty-two-bar and more, full or abbreviated reprises 2. Simple verse-chorus (harmonic pattern does not contrast between sections) Introduction 4mm. 3. Contrasting verse-chorus (harmonic pattern does contrast) A-verse 8mm. 4. Simple verse (verses only; no chorus) A-verse 8mm. B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 8mm. A-verse 8 mm., 4 mm. instrumental Standing in stark contrast with the AABA formal type are the two kinds + 4 mm. vocal of verse-chorus forms. The focus of an AABA is always on the verses (or A sec- B-bridge 8mm. tions), with the bridge (B section or middle eight) offering contrast to prepare A-verse with tag 12mm. listeners for the return of the verses. In a verse-chorus song, the focus is usu- ally on the chorus with the verses being used to separate chorus statements. When the verse and chorus employ the same harmonic pattern, the result is a simple verse-chorus form; when the harmonic pattern between these sections is TABLE2.3 "I Want to Hold Your Hand," Forty-Seven-Bar AABA different, a contrasting verse-chorus results. When no chorus at all occurs-only with Abbreviated Reprise, AAB Phrase Structure in Verse a repeated is called a simple verse form. For representative verse-this AABA (Recorded October 17, 1963) forms drawn from 1950's rock 'n' roll, consider Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire," Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill," and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have Introduction (4 mm. prolongation ofG: to Do Is Dream." Good examples of simple verse-chorus structures include V drawn from d) "Rock Around the Clock,'' "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," and "Johnny B. Goode." A-verse 12 mm., 4a + 4a + 4b Contrasting verse-chorus patterns can be found in Berry's "Rock and ,Roll A-verse 12mm. Music" and in Holly's "That'll Be the Day." Simple verse forms can be found B-bridge 11mm.,4c + 7d in Elvis's "Hound Dog," and "Heartbreak Hotel,'' and in Berry's "School Day." A-verse 12mm. As a general rule, professional songwriters tend to use AABA forms, B-bridge llmm. and simple verse and simple verse-chorus structures tend to derive from A-verse with tag 15 mm., 4a + 4a + 7e rhythm-and- (and even folk) practice. In the period before the mid- 1960s, contrasting verse-chorus patterns are in the minority, although not rare. In the period after the mid-1960s or so, contrasting verse-chorus forms become the norm and AABA forms tend to disappear from rock. To Let us now turn to some early Beatles music. Table 2.2 provides a for- generalize somewhat loosely, we find a constant presence of simple verse mal diagram for the Beatles' "From Me to You." Here, similarities with ear- and simple verse-chorus tunes in rock throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and lier American songwriting are clear: after a four-bar introduction, the song 1970s owing to its clear association with electric blues. We find, however, follows the standard thirty-two-bar template. An abbreviated reprise brings a marked move from AABA type forms to contrasting verse chorus struc- back an instrumental version of A, followed by the bridge and verse. A brief tures that occur in the mid-1960s. If the AABA form is marked as the pre- tag concludes the song. Table 2.3 shows another instance of the AABA form, ferred form of the professional -the Brill Building craftsper- but with "I Want to Hold Your Hand," the standard eight-bar verses are son-then the move away from that formal design at precisely the time in expanded to twelve measures (denoted as "mm." in Tables 2.2 and 2.3), which musicians were drifting toward an image of themselves as artists while the bridge expands from eight to eleven measures, making a forty- makes a good deal of sense. In this context, the argument for the Beatles' seven-bar structure. Again, the song begins with a brief introduction and development is approximately representative of a more general practice ends with a tag. The abbreviated reprise brings back only the bridge and the (and we will defer for current purposes the question of whether the Beat- last verse. "A Hard Day's Night" (not shown) is another example of the les' songwriting aesthetic is a principal cause of this change).9 twelve-bar verse scheme as found in "I Want to Hold Your Hand." In this 40 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 41

TABLE2.l TABLE2.2 Formal Patterns in Rock in the 1950s and 1960s "From Me to You," Thirty-Two-Bar AABA with Abbreviated Reprise (Recorded March 5, 1963) 1. AABE: thirty-two-bar and more, full or abbreviated reprises 2. Simple verse-chorus (harmonic pattern does not contrast between sections) Introduction 4mm. 3. Contrasting verse-chorus (harmonic pattern does contrast) A-verse 8mm. 4. Simple verse (verses only, no chorus) A-verse 8mm. B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 8mm. A-verse 8 mm., 4 mm. instrumental Standing in stark contrast with the AABA formal type are the two kinds + 4 mm. vocal of verse-chorus forms. The focus of an AABA is always on the verses (or A sec- B-bridge 8mm. tions), with the bridge (B section or middle eight) offering contrast to prepare A-verse with tag 12mm. listeners for the return of the verses. In a verse-chorus song, the focus is usu- ally on the chorus with the verses being used to separate chorus statements. When the verse and chorus employ the same harmonic pattern, the result is a TABLE2.3 simple verse-chorus form; when the harmonic pattern between these sections is "I Want to Hold Your Hand," Forty-Seven-Bar AABA different, a contrasting verse-chorus results. When no chorus at all occurs-only with Abbreviated Reprise, AAB Phrase Structure in Verse a repeated verse-this is called a simple verse form. For representative AABA (Recorded October 17, 1963) forms drawn from 1950's rock 'n' roll, consider Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire," Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill," and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have Introduction (4 mm. prolongation ofG: to Do Is Dream." Good examples of simple verse-chorus structures include V drawn from d) "Rock Around the Clock," "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," and "Johnny B. Goode." A-verse 12 mm., 4a + 4a + 4b Contrasting verse-chorus patterns can be found in Berry's " A-verse 12mm. 11mm.,4c + 7d Music" and in Holly's "That'll Be the Day." Simple verse forms can be B-bridge in Elvis's "Hound Dog," and "Heartbreak Hotel," and in Berry's "School Day." A-verse 12mm. B-bridge llmm. As a general rule, professional songwriters tend to use AABA forms, A-verse with tag 15 mm., 4a + 4a + 7 e and simple verse and simple verse-chorus structures tend to derive from rhythm-and-blues (and even folk) practice. In the period before the mid- 1960s, contrasting verse-chorus patterns are in the minority, although not rare. In the period after the mid-1960s or so, contrasting verse-chorus forms become the norm and AABA forms tend to disappear from rock. To Let us now turn to some early Beatles music. Table 2.2 provides a for- generalize somewhat loosely, we find a constant presence of simple verse mal diagram for the Beatles' "From Me to You." Here, similarities with ear- and simple verse-chorus tunes in rock throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and lier American songwriting are clear: after a four-bar introduction, the song 1970s owing to its clear association with electric blues. We find, however, follows the standard thirty-two-bar template. An abbreviated reprise brings a marked move from AABA type forms to contrasting verse chorus struc- back an instrumental version of A, followed by the bridge and verse. A brief tures that occur in the mid-1960s. If the AABA form is marked as the pre- tag concludes the song. Table 2.3 shows another instance of the AABA form, ferred form of the professional songwriter-the Brill Building craftsper- but with "I Want to Hold Your Hand," the standard eight-bar verses are son-then the move away from that formal design at precisely the time in expanded to twelve measures (denoted as "mm." in Tables 2.2 and 2.3), which musicians were drifting toward an image of themselves as artists while the bridge expands from eight to eleven measures, making a forty- makes a good deal of sense. In this context, the argument for the Beatles' seven-bar structure. Again, the song begins with a brief introduction and development is approximately representative of a more general practice ends with a tag. The abbreviated reprise brings back only the bridge and the (and we will defer for current purposes the question of whether the Beat- last verse. "A Hard Day's Night" (not shown) is another example of the les' songwriting aesthetic is a principal cause of this change).9 twelve-bar verse scheme as found in "I Want to Hold Your Hand." In this 42 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 43

TABLE2.4 Days a Week" the use of these longer verse sections expands the structure to "," Fifty-Six-Bar AABA with encompass fifty-six measures. An abbreviated reprise brings back the bridge Abbreviated Reprise, aaba Phrase Structure and final verse with a tag and codetta ends the arrangement. (Recorded October 6 and 18, 1964) Tables 2.2, 2.3, .and 2.4 provide a representative sample of the variations one can find in early Beatles music among songs employing the AABA form. Introduction 4mm. Contrasting verse-chorus forms can also be found, and "She Loves You" is A-verse 16 mm., 4a + 4a + 4b + 4a A-verse 16mm. perhaps the best-known early example. Table 2.5 shows that the song begins B-bridge 8mm. with an eight-measure introduction based on the chorus, followed by two six- A-verse 16mm. teen-bar verses and the eight-bar chorus proper. The song closes with the B-bridge 8mm. third verse and a chorus employing a long tag. Given that so much of the Bea- A-verse with tag 20mm. tles' early music used the AABA design, Lennon and McCartney may have ini- Codetta 4mm. tially thought of the song as an AABA form akin to that found in the later song "Eight Days a Week." The problem in that case would have been that the bridge was not a bridge at all, but rather a chorus-and a rather catchy one at that. So the faulty bridge was moved to the front of the song, creating in the TABLE 2.5 process one of the most striking opening moments in Beatles music. In the "She Loves You," Contrasting Verse-Chorus with Modified Chorus Introduction (Recorded July 1, 1963) process, they created two versions of the chorus, hardly a standard practice in contrasting verse-chorus forms and a formal design that we might call the Introduction 8mm. Beatles verse-chorus. Subsequent songs to employ the Beatles verse-chorus Verse 1 16 mm., 4 + 4, 4 + 4 design are "Can't Buy Me ," "I'm a Loser," and "Help!" which all begin Verse 2 16mm. with an altered version of the chorus. While trying to read an AABA source Chorus 8mm. into "She Loves You" may seem to be forcing things somewhat, it is never- Verse 3 16mm. theless clear that in 1963 and 1964 the Beatles employed AABA thinking as a Chorus with long tag 21 mm. kind of default mode in issues of form and arrangement. Also important to note is that Lennon and McCartney seemed to have no qualms about reusing the Beatles verse-chorus form after the success of"She Loves You," which fur- ther underscores their adherence to the craftsperson model during this time. 10 case, the bridge is the standard eight bars, making a forty-four-bar AABA As much as one can glimpse certain formal types clearly in use across structure. The formal layout of "A Hard Day's Night" employs an abbrevi- much early Beatles music, interesting innovations begin to emerge in Beatles ated reprise of the ABA. songs during 1965 and 1966 that show them innovating within the formal Note that Table 2.3 indicates that each verse can be heard in three conventions of standard pop songwriting. The Beatles verse-chorus is already phrases, each of four measures. A common pattern in Beatles verses is an AAB an innovation, but one can also identify a form based on the AABA structure phrase scheme in which the first four-bar phrase is repeated (often with new that we might usefully describe as a "brokenAABA" pattern. Thus far we have lyrics), and this second four-bar phrase is followed by a contrasting phrase. been thinking about the AABA as a form that could include either a full or an This last phrase often contains the melodic "hook" that is repeated with each abbreviated reprise of material. How much of the full AABA that returns in new verse; such a hook is often called a "refrain." Both "I Want to Hold Your each case is often determined by how closely a tune can be made to fit into Hand" and "A Hard Day's Night" employ the AAB phrase pattern, and in "I the length of about two minutes, the standard duration of a single played on Want to Hold Your Hand," the B phrase functions as a refrain. Table 2.4 illus- AM radio in the first half of the 1960s. After going through a single iteration trates another phrase pattern that often occurs in Beatles verses. "Eight Days of the AABA structure, there would only be one reprise of that material, a Week" uses sixteen-bar verses that break down into four four-bar phrases. whether full or abbreviated. In the broken AABA forms that begin to appear These phrases are arranged in an AABA pattern. When this phrase structure in 1965 and 1966, the initial statement of the AABA portion of the form is is used in the context of an AABA form, an intriguing structural replication followed by more than one repetition of some combination of A and B sec- arises between the phrase and sectional levels. Note as well that in "Eight tions, creating a design that is much less predictable. 42 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 43

TABLE2.4 Days a Week" the use of these longer verse sections expands the structure to "Eight Days a Week," Fifty-Six-Bar AABA with encompass fifty-six measures. An abbreviated reprise brings back the bridge Abbreviated Reprise, aaba Phrase Structure and final verse with a tag and codetta ends the arrangement. (Recorded October 6 and 18, 1964) Tables 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 provide a representative sample of the variations one can find in early Beatles music among songs employing the AA.BA form. Introduction 4mm. Contrasting verse-chorus forms can also be found, and "She Loves You" is A-verse 16 mm., 4a + 4a + 4b + 4a A-verse 16mm. perhaps the best-known early example. Table 2.5 shows that the song begins B-bridge 8mm. with an eight-measure introduction based on the chorus, followed by two six- A-verse 16mm. teen-bar verses and the eight-bar chorus proper. The song closes with the B-bridge 8mm. third verse and a chorus employing a long tag. Given that so much of the Bea- A-verse with tag 20mm. tles' early music used the AA.BA design, Lennon and McCartney may have ini- Codetta 4mm. tially thought of the song as an AA.BA form akin to that found in the later song "Eight Days a Week." The problem in that case would have been that the bridge was not a bridge at all, but rather a chorus-and a rather catchy one at that. So the faulty bridge was moved to the front of the song, creating in the TABLE2.5 process one of the most striking opening moments in Beatles music. In the "She Loves You," Contrasting Verse-Chorus with Modified Chorus Introduction the chorus, hardly a standard practice in (Recorded July 1, 1963) process, they created two versions of contrasting verse-chorus forms and a formal design that we might call the Introduction 8mm. Beatles verse-chorus. Subsequent songs to employ the Beatles verse-chorus Verse 1 16 mm., 4 + 4, 4 + 4 design are "Can't Buy Me Love," "I'm a Loser," and "Help!" which all begin Verse 2 16mm. with an altered version of the chorus. While trying to read an AA.BA source Chorus 8mm. into "She Loves You" may seem to be forcing things somewhat, it is never- Verse 3 16mm. theless clear that in 1963 and 1964 the Beatles employed AA.BA thinking as a Chorus with long tag 21 mm. kind of default mode in issues of form and arrangement. Also important to note is that Lennon and McCartney seemed to have no qualms about reusing the Beatles verse-chorus form after the success of"She Loves You," which fur- ther underscores their adherence to the craftsperson model during this time. 10 case, the bridge is the standard eight bars, making a forty-four-bar AA.BA As much as one can glimpse certain formal types clearly in use across structure. The formal layout of "A Hard Day's Night" employs an abbrevi- much early Beatles music, interesting innovations begin to emerge in Beatles ated reprise of the ABA. songs during 1965 and 1966 that show them innovating within the formal Note that Table 2.3 indicates that each verse can be heard in three conventions of standard pop songwriting. The Beatles verse-chorus is already phrases, each of four measures. A common pattern in Beatles verses is an MB an innovation, but one can also identify a form based on the AA.BA structure phrase scheme in which the first four-bar phrase is repeated (often with new that we might usefully describe as a "broken AA.BA" pattern. Thus far we have lyrics), and this second four-bar phrase is followed by a contrasting phrase. been thinking about the AA.BA as a form that could include either a full or an This last phrase often contains the melodic "hook" that is repeated with each abbreviated reprise of material. How much of the full AA.BA that returns in new verse; such a hook is often called a "refrain." Both "I Want to Hold Your each case is often determined by how closely a tune can be made to fit into Hand" and "A Hard Day's Night" employ the MB phrase pattern, and in "I the length of about two minutes, the standard duration of a single played on Want to Hold Your Hand," the B phrase functions as a refrain. Table 2.4 illus- AM radio in the first half of the 1960s. After going through a single iteration trates another phrase pattern that often occurs in Beatles verses. "Eight Days of the AA.BA structure, there would only be one reprise of that material, a Week'' uses sixteen-bar verses that break down into four four-bar phrases. whether full or abbreviated. In the broken AA.BA forms that begin to appear These phrases are arranged in an AA.BA pattern. When this phrase structure in 1965 and 1966, the initial statement of the AA.BA portion of the form is is used in the context of an AA.BA form, an intriguing structural replication followed by more than one repetition of some combination of A and B sec- arises between the phrase and sectional levels. Note as well that in "Eight tions, creating a design that is much less predictable. 44 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 45

"Nowhere Man," written mostly by Lennon, provides a clear instance of TABLE2.6 this formal innovation. After a relatively clear statement of the AAB portion "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown)," of the form, the A that would complete the form includes a guitar solo, a fea- Twenty-Four-Bar ABA Form with Modal Shifts ture previously reserved for the reprise. This is followed by alternating A and (Recorded October 12 and 21, 1965) B sections that do not conform to either the AABA pattern or to the usual kinds of abbreviated reprises found in earlier songs. "Michelle," written mostly [Measures counted in 6/8, all numbers doubled in 3/4] by McCartney, employs a broken AABA scheme with slightly different results. Introduction 4 + 4 mm. (E Mixolydian) After a four-measure introduction, two six-bar verses are presented, and these A-verse 8 mm. (E Mixolydian) verses are followed by a ten-measure bridge (the last four bars of the bridge B-bridge 8 mm. (E Dorian with are used as the introduction and coda for the song). So far, then, the AAB Ionian cadence) components are present; what follows, however, is a succession of verses and A-verse 8 mm. (E Mixolydian) bridges that breaks the AABA pattern much as in "Nowhere Man." Interest- A-verse 8 mm., instrumental ingly, the harmonic structure of McCartney's verses paints him into a bit of a B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 8mm. corner with regard to providing a satisfactory closing for the song: in techni- Codetta 4mm. cal terms, each verse ends on the dominant, which compels the artist to con- tinue the song ad infinitum. Rather than altering the end of the last verse to arrive on tonic harmony, McCartney opts for a fade out, leaving the song to greater regularity. Perhaps the most conspicuous use of the standard contrast- loop verses and bridges into infinity as the music fades away. ing verse-chorus form can be found in Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your "Nowhere Man'' and "Michelle" provide instances of the artist approach Love Away'' {recorded in February 1965), although McCartney's "Every Lit- briefly emerging within an overall context of the craftsperson approach. Admit- tle Thing" {recorded in late September 1964) is also an early example. By the tedly, this phenomenon occurs in small ways in these two tunes, and making too fall of 1965, the Beatles' music included an amalgamation of traditional much of these details may seem to be stretching things. Bear in mind, however, AABA, contrasting verse-chorus, and broken AABA forms. that the argument is that the artist approach emerges gradually; as we move for- (released in early December 1965) blends the broken AABA forms of ward in the Beatles' music, the dialectic between standard practice and innova- "Nowhere Man' and "Michelle" and the MBA-derived "Norwegian Wood" tion becomes increasingly pronounced. What emerges most clearly from broken with the traditional AABA design of "I'm Looking through You" and the AABA forms is that the venerable AABA pattern serves as a basis for formal divergent verse chorus of"" and "The Word." By contrast, the designs that may not look much like that form after it has been modified. Table albums tracks and singles throughout the summer of 1965 consists primarily 2.6 shows the formal design of Lennon's "Norwegian Wood," which also has its of traditional AABA designs, the exceptions being Beatles verse-chorus tunes roots in the AABA form, although this might not be clear outside of the context and a few scattered instances of singular designs. of the other, more conventional songs that precede it. Note that the song has no After Rubber Soul, the band continued to blend this variety of forms and real chorus, but verse and bridge sections of eight bars' duration. This suggests developed a series of one-time formal designs that most clearly underscore that the form is, in fact, a modified AABA structure-an AABA pattern missing their increasingly artistic aspirations. Perhaps the use of E Mixolydian tonal- one of the usual A sections-that can be viewed as a twenty-four-bar ABA form ity in "Norwegian Wood" inspired the static C Mixolydian of "Tomorrow with full reprise. Here, one can clearly note a formal innovation that works for Never Knows" {see Table 2.7). In any case, the much-remarked-on use of tape this song but that is not repeated directly in subsequent ones. Unconventional loops on this track clearly indicate that the Beatles were heading into new ter- formal designs found in a few earlier Beatles tunes {such as "Ask Me Why," "It ritory in several domains. The harmonic stasis of the C Mixolydian tonality is Wont Be Long,'' and "I'll Be Back'') and repeatable formal innovations employ- matched by a kind of formal stasis because a succession of verses with no cho- ing the Beatles verse-chorus and broken AABA forms, but the design of "Nor- rus or bridge create a simple verse form that appropriately reflects Lennon's wegian Wood" is an important transitional step away from the craftsperson call-fashioned after the Tibetan Book ofthe Dead-to "turn off your mind, 11 approach and toward the artist one. relax, and float downstream." Very few simple verse forms are found in the When the Beatles were exploring new approaches to the AABA model in Beatles' music ("I'm Down' offers another example), and this one seems moti- 1965 and 1966, they had also begun increasingly to employ the standard con- vated entirely by the song itself. Here, the Beatles appear to leave the Brill trasting verse-chorus form {as opposed to the Beatles verse-chorus form) with Building-and the idea of using the standard AABA form-far behind. 44 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 45

"Nowhere Man," written mostly by Lennon, provides a clear instance of TABLE2.6 this formal innovation. After a relatively clear statement of the AAB portion "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown)," of the form, the A that would complete the form includes a guitar solo, a fea- Twenty-Four-Bar ABA Form with Modal Shifts ture previously reserved for the reprise. This is followed by alternating A and (Recorded October 12 and 21, 1965) B sections that do not conform to either the AABA pattern or to the usual kinds of abbreviated reprises found in earlier songs. "Michelle," written mostly [Measures counted in 6/8, all numbers doubled in 3/4] by McCartney, employs a broken MBA scheme with slightly different results. Introduction 4 + 4 mm. (E Mixolydian) After a four-measure introduction, two six-bar verses are presented, and these A-verse 8 mm. (E Mixolydian) verses are followed by a ten-measure bridge (the last four bars of the bridge B-bridge 8 mm. (E Dorian with are used as the introduction and coda for the song). So far, then, the AAB Ionian cadence) components are present; what follows, however, is a succession of verses and A-verse 8 mm. (E Mixolydian) bridges that breaks the AABA pattern much as in "Nowhere Man." Interest- A-verse 8 mm., instrumental ingly, the harmonic structure of McCartney's verses paints him into a bit of a B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 8mm. corner with regard to providing a satisfactory closing for the song: in techni- Codetta 4mm. cal terms, each verse ends on the dominant, which compels the artist to con- tinue the song ad infinitum. Rather than altering the end of the last verse to arrive on tonic harmony, McCartney opts for a fade out, leaving the song to greater regularity. Perhaps the most conspicuous use of the standard contrast- loop verses and bridges into infinity as the music fades away. ing verse-chorus form can be found in Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your "Nowhere Man" and "Michelle" provide instances of the artist approach Love Away' (recorded in February 1965), although McCartney's "Every Lit- briefly emerging within an overall context of the craftsperson approach. Admit- tle Thing" (recorded in late September 1964) is also an early example. By the tedly, this phenomenon occurs in small ways in these two tunes, and making too fall of 1965, the Beatles' music included an amalgamation of traditional much of these details may seem to be stretching things. Bear in mind, however, AABA, contrasting verse-chorus, and broken AABA forms. Rubber Soul that the argument is that the artist approach emerges gradually; as we move for- (released in early December 1965) blends the broken AABA forms of ward in the Beatles' music, the dialectic between standard practice and innova- "Nowhere Man" and "Michelle" and the MBA-derived "Norwegian Wood" tion becomes increasingly pronounced. What emerges most clearly from broken with the traditional AABA design of "I'm Looking through You" and the AABA forms is that the venerable AABA pattern serves as a basis for formal divergent verse chorus of "Drive My Car" and "The Word." By contrast, the designs that may not look much like that form after it has been modified. Table album's tracks and singles throughout the summer of 1965 consists primarily 2.6 shows the formal design of Lennon's "Norwegian Wood," which also has its of traditional AABA designs, the exceptions being Beatles verse-chorus tunes roots in the AABA form, although this might not be clear outside of the context and a few scattered instances of singular designs. of the other, more conventional songs that precede it. Note that the song has no After Rubber Soul, the band continued to blend this variety of forms and real chorus, but verse and bridge sections of eight bars' duration. This suggests developed a series of one-time formal designs that most clearly underscore that the form is, in fact, a modified AABA structure-an AABA pattern missing their increasingly artistic aspirations. Perhaps the use of E Mixolydian tonal- one of the usual A sections-that can be viewed as a twenty-four-bar ABA form ity in "Norwegian Wood" inspired the static C Mixolydian of "Tomorrow with full reprise. Here, one can clearly note a formal innovation that works for Never Knows" (see Table 2.7). In any case, the much-remarked-on use of tape this song but that is not repeated directly in subsequent ones. Unconventional loops on this track clearly indicate that the Beatles were heading into new ter- formal designs found in a few earlier Beatles tunes (such as "Ask Me Why," "It ritory in several domains. The harmonic stasis of the C Mixolydian tonality is Won't Be Long," and "I'll Be Back") and repeatable formal innovations employ- matched by a kind of formal stasis because a succession of verses with no cho- ing the Beatles verse-chorus and broken AABA forms, but the design of"Nor- rus or bridge create a simple verse form that appropriately reflects Lennon's wegian Wood" is an important transitional step away from the craftsperson call-fashioned after the Tibetan Book ofthe Dead-to "turn off your mind, 11 approach and toward the artist one. relax, and fl.oat downstream." Very few simple verse forms are found in the When the Beatles were exploring new approaches to the AABA model in Beatles' music ("I'm Down'' offers another example), and this one seems moti- 1965 and 1966, they had also begun increasingly to employ the standard con- vated entirely by the song itsel£ Here, the Beatles appear to leave the Brill trasting verse-chorus form (as opposed to the Beatles verse-chorus form) with Building-and the idea of using the standard AABA form-far behind. 46 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 47

TABLE2.7 TABLE2.9 "," Simple Verse Form "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/With a Little Help from My Friends" (Recorded April 6, 7, and 22, 1966) (Recorded February-March 1967)

Introduction 4mm. Introduction 8mm. Verse 1 8mm. Verse 1 16mm. Verse 2 8mm. Bridge 10 mm. (brass band) Verse 3 8mm. Chorus 24mm. Interlude 16mm. Bridge 10 mm. (sung) Verse 4 8mm. Verse 2 16mm. Verse 5 8mm. Transition 6 mm. (introduces "Billy Shears") Verse 6 8mm. A-verse 1 with refrain 16 mm. (8 + 8) Verse 7 with tag 20mm. A-verse 2 with refrain 16mm. B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 3 with refrain 16mm. B-bridge 8 mm. TABLE2.8 only 11 mm. (with extension) "," Contrasting Verse-Chorus Form (Recorded December 1966-January 1967)

Verse 1 8 mm., in B Verse 2 8mm. trasting verse-chorus form as shown in Table 2.8, and although the verses are Chorus 8 mm.; in A in B-major, the choruses are in A-major. Harmonically, each chorus has a Verse 3 8mm. change of key back to B built into its final bars, and McCartney uses this Verse (instrumental) 8mm. structure to modulate to B for the last statement of the chorus, a move that Chorus 8mm. reconciles the conflict that might have been created by ending the song in A, Verse 4 8mm. rather than in the key of B in which it began. 8mm. Verse 5 The Beatles began to experiment with the idea of creating a medley of Chorus 8mm. songs with the Sgt. Pepper album in early 1967. Often cited as the first con- Chorus 9 mm., 8 mm. in B (with 1 m. added at end) cept album, the record began as a series of songs about growing up in Liver- pool, but after "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were released as a double-A-sided single, that idea had to be abandoned. The Beatles then came up with the idea of an album that would act out a live concert hosted by One often hears that whereas Lennon was a word person, McCartney a fictitious band and present the songs in as smooth a succession as possible, was a music person; and whereas Lennon was interested in pushing the enve- much as an in-person performance might. The group gave up this idea after lope with avant-garde ideas, McCartney was happy to write yet another the first two tracks, although the reprise of the title track before the last song charming tune. We should remember, however, that the tape loops on on the second side continues the "concept." These first two tracks, "Sgt. Pep- "Tomorrow Never Knows" were recorded at Paul's suggestion, and while per's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With a Little Help from My Friends," Lennon was at home most nights with his wife and son, Paul lived a bache- are placed together in an uninterrupted musical flow, creating a one-time for- lor's existence, attending concerts and art exhibitions around swinging Lon- mal design with some interesting features. The first track, "Sgt. Pepper," is not don. Many of the Beatles' most expansive conceptual ideas stemmed from a complete song, but rather a fragment. As Table 2.9 shows, the song seems McCartney; the Sgt. Pepper concept, the Magical Mystery Tour project, the to be based on the contrasting verse-chorus model that is broken off before aborted Let It Be film, and the medley on the second side of were the second appearance of the chorus. What makes the form peculiar is the all Paul's ideas. A revealing example of McCartney hitting on an innovative presence of a bridge section after the first verse (where Sgt. Pepper's brass one-time solution can be found in "Penny Lane." The song features a con- band is featured) and the repetition of this same material (now with singing) 46 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 47

TABLE2.7 TABLE2.9 "Tomorrow Never Knows," Simple Verse Form "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/With a Little Help from My Friends" (Recorded April 6, 7, and 22, 1966) (Recorded February-March 1967)

Introduction 4mm. Introduction 8mm. Verse 1 8mm. Verse 1 16mm. Verse 2 8mm. Bridge 10 mm. (brass band) Verse 3 8mm. Chorus 24mm. Interlude 16mm. Bridge 10 mm. (sung) Verse 4 8mm. Verse 2 16mm. Verse 5 8mm. Transition 6 mm. (introduces "Billy Shears") Verse 6 8mm. A-verse 1 with refrain 16 mm. (8 + 8) Verse 7 with tag 20mm. A-verse 2 with refrain 16mm. B-bridge 8mm. A-verse 3 with refrain 16mm. B-bridge 8mm. TABLE2.8 only 11 mm. (with extension) "Penny Lane," Contrasting Verse-Chorus Form (Recorded December 1966-January 1967)

Verse 1 8 mm., in B Verse 2 8mm. trasting verse-chorus form as shown in Table 2.8, and although the verses are Chorus 8mm.,inA in B-major, the choruses are in A-major. Harmonically, each chorus has a Verse 3 8mm. change of key back to B built into its final bars, and McCartney uses this Verse (instrumental) 8mm. structure to modulate to B for the last statement of the chorus, a move that Chorus 8mm. reconciles the conflict that might have been created by ending the song in A, Verse 4 8mm. rather than in the key ofB in which it began. 8mm. Verse 5 The Beatles began to experiment with the idea of creating a medley of Chorus 8mm. songs with the Sgt. Pepper album in early 1967. Often cited as the first con- Chorus 9mm.,8mm.inB (with 1 m. added at end) cept album, the record began as a series of songs about growing up in Liver- pool, but after "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were released as a double-A-sided single, that idea had to be abandoned. The Beatles then came up with the idea of an album that would act out a live concert hosted by One often hears that whereas Lennon was a word person, McCartney a fictitious band and present the songs in as smooth a succession as possible, was a music person; and whereas Lennon was interested in pushing the enve- much as an in-person performance might. The group gave up this idea after lope with avant-garde ideas, McCartney was happy to write yet another the first two tracks, although the reprise of the title track before the last song charming tune. We should remember, however, that the tape loops on on the second side continues the "concept." These first two tracks, "Sgt. Pep- "Tomorrow Never Knows" were recorded at Paul's suggestion, and while per's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With a Little Help from My Friends," Lennon was at home most nights with his wife and son, Paul lived a bache- are placed together in in uninterrupted musical flow, creating a one-time for- lor's existence, attending concerts and art exhibitions around swinging Lon- mal design with some interesting features. The first track, "Sgt. Pepper," is not don. Many of the Beatles' most expansive conceptual ideas stemmed from a complete song, but rather a fragment. As Table 2.9 shows, the song seems McCartney; the Sgt. Pepper concept, the Magical Mystery Tour project, the to be based on the contrasting verse-chorus model that is broken off before aborted Let It Be film, and the medley on the second side of Abbey Road were the second appearance of the chorus. What makes the form peculiar is the all Paul's ideas. A revealing example of McCartney hitting on an innovative presence of a bridge section after the first verse (where Sgt. Pepper's brass one-time solution can be found in "Penny Lane." The song features a con- band is featured) and the repetition of this same material (now with singing) 48 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 49

TABLE2.10 TABLE2.11 Day in the Life," Compound ABA "Lady Madonna," Broken AABA (Recorded January-February 1967) (Recorded February 3, 1968}

A Introduction 8 mm., entire section in G Introduction 4mm. Verse 1 8mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 2 12mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 3 8mm. B-bridge 8mm. Verse 4 12mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 5 8mm. A-verse 4 mm. (horns) Verse 6 llmm. B-bridge 8 mm. (sax solo) Interlude 23 mm., orchestral build-up A-verse 4mm. B .Introduction 4 mm., entire section in E A-verse 4 mm. (horns} Verse 1 9mm. B-bridge 8mm. Verse 2 9mm. A-verse 4mm. Bridge 20mm. Coda 4mm. A Verse 7 8 mm., entire section in G Verse 8 llmm. Interlude conclusion: 24 mm., as before; 1 m. with fermata at end on E tion starts out like an AABA pattern, but breaks off after the bridge to return to the A section. The twenty-three-bar orchestral build-up that con- nects the A section to the B section returns to end the track, the final chord of which is a heavily compressed E-major played on three grand pianos.12 after the chorus. The form thus emerges as a kind of hybrid of contrasting Although we might be able to spot traces of earlier tunes and practices, the verse-chorus andAABA forms. After the transition, "With a Little Help from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/"With a Little Help from My My Friends" unfolds as an AABA form with abbreviated reprise. Although Friends" medley and "A Day in the Life" represent unmistakable steps away ending each verse of an AABA with a catchy refrain is common, in this case from the craftsperson model. The specific formal details cannot be the refrain is just as long as the other verse material that precedes it, tempting repeated, and any attempt by the Beatles (or even Oasis) to do so is bound one to view the refrain as a chorus. After the bridge is heard the second time, to ring hollow. the song ends with an A section that omits the first eight measures of the verse The Beatles' music after the disappointing reception of Magical Mystery but includes the eight measures of the refrain, extended by three measures to Tour--or at least the next two successful McCartney-penned singles-returns create a sense of closure. The medley of these two tracks creates the most to the AABA and broken AABA forms that had delivered so many hits for the complicated Beatles formal structure that the band had attempted up to that band in their prepsychedelic years. As Table 2.11 shows, "Lady Madonna" uses point, although in this case this complexity clearly arises largely from the a broken AABA form. "" employs an AABA form with an abbreviated segue that unites the two tracks. reprise (BA) to which a long coda is attached. Lennon's contributions to the "A Day in the Life" is perhaps one of the most important single tracks White Album, on the other hand, include some of his most formally complex in the history of rock music; clocking in at only four minutes and forty-five songs, including "Happiness Is a Warm Gun'' and "Glass Onion." McCartney seconds, it must surely be among the shortest epic pieces in rock. Table 2.10 generally tended to work from standard formal models during this time much shows that this track is in a compound ABA form. This composite form is more than Lennon did. McCartney, however, took the lead in designing and the result of putting a Lennon song (section A) together with a McCartney arranging the medley that comprises most of the second side of Abbey Road, fragment (section B). In contrast with the first two tracks on the album, an impressive extension of the formal experimentation that he and Lennon these two songs are not combined to form a smooth link between two had begun with the "Sgt. Pepper" medley and "A Day in the Life."13 Lennon tracks, but rather they are merged together to form a single piece. Section also worked with standard formal models during this time; his "Sexy Sadie" is A is a simple verse form, similar to "Tomorrow Never Knows." The B sec- an AABA form, whereas "Revolution" is a contrasting verse-chorus form. In JOHN COVACH 48 FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 49

TABLE2.10 TABLE2.ll "A Day in the Life," Compound ABA "Lady Madonna," Broken AABA (Recorded January-February 1967) (Recorded February 3, 1968)

A Introduction 8 mm., entire section in G Introduction 4mm. Verse 1 8mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 2 12mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 3 8mm. B-bridge 8mm. Verse 4 12mm. A-verse 4mm. Verse 5 8mm. A-verse 4 mm. (horns) Verse 6 llmm. B-bridge 8 mm. (sax solo) Interlude 23 mm., orchestral build-up A-verse 4mm. B .Introduction 4 mm., entire section in E A-verse 4 mm. (horns) Verse 1 9mm. B-bridge 8mm. Verse 2 9mm. A-verse 4mm. Bridge 20mm. Coda 4mm. A Verse 7 8 mm., entire section in G Verse 8 llmm. Interlude conclusion: 24 mm., as before; 1 m. with fermata at end on E tion starts out like an AABA pattern, but breaks off after the bridge to return to theA section. The twenty-three-bar orchestral build-up that con- nects the A section to the B section returns to end the track, the final chord of which is a heavily compressed E-major played on three grand pianos. 12 after the chorus. The form thus emerges as a kind of hybrid of contrasting Although we might be able to spot traces of earlier tunes and practices, the verse-chorus and AABA forms. After the transition, "With a Little Help from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/"With a Little Help from My My Friends" unfolds as an AABA form with abbreviated reprise. Although Friends" medley and "A Day in the Life" represent unmistakable steps away ending each verse of an AABA with a catchy refrain is common, in this case from the craftsperson model. The specific formal details cannot be the refrain is just as long as the other verse material that precedes it, tempting repeated, and any attempt by the Beatles (or even Oasis) to do so is bound one to view the refrain as a chorus. After the bridge is heard the second time, to ring hollow. the song ends with an A section that omits the first eight measures of the verse The Beatles' music after the disappointing reception of Magical Mystery but includes the eight measures of the refrain, extended by three measures to Tour--or at least the next two successful McCartney-penned singles-returns create a sense of closure. The medley of these two tracks creates the most to the AABA and broken AABA forms that had delivered so many hits for the complicated Beatles formal structure that the band had attempted up to that band in their prepsychedelic years. As Table 2.11 shows, "Lady Madonna" uses point, although in this case this complexity clearly arises largely from the a broken AABA form. "Hey Jude" employs an AABA form with an abbreviated segue that unites the two tracks. reprise (BA) to which a long coda is attached. Lennon's contributions to the "A Day in the Life" is perhaps one of the most important single tracks White Album, on the other hand, include some of his most formally complex in the history of rock music; clocking in at only four minutes and forty-five songs, including "Happiness Is a Warm Gun'' and "Glass Onion." McCartney seconds, it must surely be among the shortest epic pieces in rock. Table 2.10 generally tended to work from standard formal models during this time much shows that this track is in a compound ABA form. This composite form is more than Lennon did. McCartney, however, took the lead in designing and the result of putting a Lennon song (section .A) together with a McCartney arranging the medley that comprises most of the second side of Abbey Road, fragment (section B). In contrast with the first two tracks on the album, an impressive extension of the formal experimentation that he and Lennon these two songs are not combined to form a smooth link between two had begun with the "Sgt. Pepper" medley and "A Day in the Life."13 Lennon tracks, but rather they are merged together to form a single piece. Section also worked with standard formal models during this time; his "Sexy Sadie" is A is a simple verse form, similar to "Tomorrow Never Knows." The B sec- an AABA form, whereas "Revolution" is a contrasting verse-chorus form. In 50 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 51

TABLE2.12 That most Beatles experts will accept the notion that by the time of Sgt. "Here Comes the Sun," Compound AABA Form Pepper, the band's music tended to break with the conventions of previous rock (Recorded July-August 1969) and , or even that it was composed according to the artist approach Introduction 8mm. articulated here, is probably safe to assert. The principal aim in this chapter has Chorus 7mm. been to show a kind of gradual movement in that direction between 1963 and A Verse 1 8mm. 1967, that in the next few years a kind ofbalance is struck between increasingly Chorus 9mm. innovative formal designs and the use of a range of standard pop-song forms, A Verse 2 8mm. and that musical analysis reveals some of the specific ways in which this change Chorus 9mm. in compositional approach occurs in the domain of formal design. The Beatles' B Bridge 37 mm. (7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 9 willingness to modify or even discard the formal templates that they inherited with changing meter) from the U.S. pop tradition (without generating new templates, no less) may A Verse 3 8mm. be attributed to an adherence to the artist approach to music. And what goes Chorus 7mm. for the Beatles across the 1960s can be found also in the music of other groups Chorus 13 mm. (with extension such as or the Beach Boys. Dan Harrison, for instance, has shown and changing meter) how Brian Wilson's approach was increasingly motivated by a search for novel solutions to musical problems that he set for himsel£ 14 Although speculating about whether the Beatles led this drive in artistic aspiration in pop music or were rather swept up in a kind of pop-culture Zeitgeist that they both rode and 1968 and 1969, then, Lennon and McCartney each found a balance between fueled is tempting, the mid-1960s clearly saw a general shift away from the for- conventional pop formal patterns and novel formal solutions suited to a spe- mulaic and toward the experimental. cific song. Thus far discussion has focused on the songs of Lennon and McCartney, but a survey of 's songwriting for the band shows that it par- tially aligns with the tendencies of]ohn and Paul's work. Early songs such as NOTES "Don't Bother Me" (1963), "I Need You" (1965), and "If! Needed Someone" (1965) employ the AABA form, whereas "'' (1966) and "Within You This chapter benefited greatly from my many discussions on this topic with Paul Har- Without You" (1967) use simple verse form, and "Blue Jay Way" (1967) uses ris during an independent study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. contrasting verse-chorus patterns. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (1968) employs an ABA form derived from the AABA model, much as "Norwegian 1. Mika! Gilmore elegantly represents the idea expressed by many writers over Wood" had done earlier. Of Harrison's two contributions to Abbey Road, the years that the Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show performances marked an important "Something" uses AABA form, whereas "Here Comes the Sun" employs a moment of change in the history of popular music: "Virtually overnight, the Beatles' form that became standard in 1970's rock. As Table 2.12 shows, an introduc- arrival in the American consciousness announced not only that the music and times tion and chorus begin the song, which then descends into a compound AA.BA were changing, but also that we were changing. Everything about the band-its look, pattern, with each A section comprising a verse and a chorus, and a bridge sound, style, and abandon-made it plain we were entering a different age, that young made up of five statements of a phrase employing changing meter. The verse people were free to redefine themselves in completely new terms" (68). See Gilmore's and chorus here could be viewed as a verse with a refrain as in "With a Little chapter entitled "The Sixties" in : The Decades ofRock and Roll. Help from My Friends," although in "Here Comes the Sun" the focus on the 2. For a discussion of the Beatles' cover repertory, see Walter Everett's The Bea- chorus/refrain in the beginning of the song, combined with its repetition at tles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (141). See also Michael the end, probably tips the balance toward hearing the "Here comes the sun'' Brocken's "Some Other Guys! Theories about Signification: Beatles Cover Versions." phrase as a chorus. The articulation of an AABA structure without reprise 3. The Beatles' Live at the BBC (1994) provides only a sampling of the many ses- makes that aspect of the overall form clear in this instance. Later rockers sions that the band performed for the BBC, but even on that two-CD set one can hear would further clarify this compound AABA structure, allowing for little ambi- how much American pop the Beatles covered, as well as note how carefully they imi- guity regarding the chorus. tated it. 50 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 51

TABLE2.12 That most Beatles experts will accept the notion that by the time of Sgt. "Here Comes the Sun," Compound AABA Form Pepper, the band's music tended to break with the conventions of previous rock (Recorded July-August 1969) and pop music, or even that it was composed according to the artist approach Introduction 8mm. articulated here, is probably safe to assert. The principal aim in this chapter has Chorus 7mm. been to show a kind of gradual movement in that direction between 1963 and A Verse 1 8mm. 1967, that in the next few years a kind ofbalance is struck between increasingly Chorus 9mm. innovative formal designs and the use of a range of standard pop-song forms, A Verse 2 8mm. and that musical analysis reveals some of the specific ways in which this change Chorus 9mm. in compositional approach occurs in the domain of formal design. The Beatles' B Bridge 37 mm. (7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 9 willingness to modify or even discard the formal templates that they inherited with changing meter} from the U.S. pop tradition (without generating new templates, no less) may A Verse 3 8mm. be attributed to an adherence to the artist approach to music. And what goes Chorus 7mm. for the Beatles across the 1960s can be found also in the music of other groups Chorus 13 mm. (with extension such as the Byrds or the Beach Boys. Harrison, for instance, has shown and changing meter) Dan how Brian Wilson's approach was increasingly motivated by a search for novel solutions to musical problems that he set for himsel£ 14 Although speculating about whether the Beatles led this drive in artistic aspiration in pop music or were rather swept up in a kind of pop-culture Zeitgeist that they both rode and 1968 and 1969, then, Lennon and McCartney each found a balance between fueled is tempting, the rnid-1960s clearly saw a general shift away from the for- conventional pop formal patterns and novel formal solutions suited to a spe- mulaic and toward the experimental. cific song. Thus far discussion has focused on the songs of Lennon and McCartney, but a survey of George Harrison's songwriting for the band shows that it par- tially aligns with the tendencies of]ohn and Paul's work. Early songs such as NOTES "Don't Bother Me" (1963), "I Need You" (1965), and "Ifl Needed Someone" (1965) employ the AABA form, whereas "Taxman'' (1966) and "Within You This chapter benefited greatly from my many discussions on this topic with Paul Har- Without You" (1967) use simple verse form, and "Blue Jay Way' (1967) uses ris during an independent study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. contrasting verse-chorus patterns. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (1968) employs an ABA form derived from the AABA model, much as "Norwegian 1. Mikal Gilmore elegantly represents the idea expressed by many writers over Wood" had done earlier. Of Harrison's two contributions to Abbey Road, the years that the Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show performances marked an important "Something" uses AABA form, whereas "Here Comes the Sun" employs a moment of change in the history of popular music: "Virtually overnight, the Beatles' form that became standard in 1970's rock. As Table 2.12 shows, an introduc- arrival in the American consciousness announced not only that the music and times tion and chorus begin the song, which then descends into a compound AA.BA were changing, but also that we were changing. Everything about the band-its look, pattern, with each A section comprising a verse and a chorus, and a bridge sound, style, and abandon-made it plain we were entering a different age, that young made up of five statements of a phrase employing changing meter. The verse people were free to redefine themselves in completely new terms" (68). See Gilmore's and chorus here could be viewed as a verse with a refrain as in "With a Little chapter entitled "The Sixties" in Rolling Stone: The Decades ofRock and Roll. Help from My Friends," although in "Here Comes the Sun'' the focus on the 2. For a discussion of the Beatles' cover repertory, see Walter Everett's The Bea- chorus/refrain in the beginning of the song, combined with its repetition at tles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (141). See also Michael the end, probably tips the balance toward hearing the "Here comes the sun'' Bracken's "Some Other Guys! Theories about Signification: Beatles Cover Versions." phrase as a chorus. The articulation of an AABA structure without reprise 3. The Beatles' Live at the BBC (1994) provides only a sampling of the many ses- makes that aspect of the overall form clear in this instance. Later rockers sions that the band performed for the BBC, but even on that two-CD set one can hear would further clarify this compound AABA structure, allowing for little ambi- how much American pop the Beatles covered, as well as note how carefully they imi- guity regarding the chorus. tated it. 52 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 53

4. perhaps to the consternation of those who insist on the nov- recording engineer is able to make the pianos sustain far longer than they ever could elty of this repertory-one can almost claim that most British-invasion music of naturally. 1964-1966, including that of the more blues-influenced Rolling Stones, is essentially 13. For a detailed analysis of the medley, see Everett's "The Beatles as Composers: American music. I will stop short of making that claim, and instead focus on the role The Genesis of Abbey Road, Side Two." that American pop played in the development of Lennon and McCartney as song- writers during the 1960s. 14. See Daniel Harrison's "After Sundown: The Beach Boys' Experimental Music." 5. These interviews appear in the television documentary (1995).

6. See Wilfred Mellers's Twilight ofthe Gods: The Music of the Beatles (86). 7. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see my chapter entitled "Form in Rock Music: A Primer" in Music Theory in Practice. 8. For a detailed overview of formal schemes in popular music among America's foremost songwriters of the first half of the twentieth century, see Allen Forte's The American Popular Ballad ofthe Golden Era, 1924-1950, especially chap. 6. 9. Timothy E. Scheurer's "The Beatles, the Brill Building, and the Persistence of Tin Pan Alley in the Age of Rock" and Jon Fitzgerald's "Lennon-McCartney and the 'Middle Eight'" explore the Beatles' use of the AABA form. Although both Scheurer and Fitzgerald offer much helpful music-analytical insight into the band's use of the AABA form, neither focuses on how the use or avoidance of the form figures into the songwriters' development. 10. With regard to the Beatles verse-chorus form discussed here, Martin has remarked that when the Beatles brought "Can't Buy Me Love" into the studio it did not begin with a version of the chorus, but rather with the verse. See Martin with Jeremy Hornsby, Al/ You Need Is Ears (133). It may be that Martin is remembering "She Loves You" and not "Can't Buy Me Love." The latter of these is closely modeled on the former, not only in terms of form, but also in terms of the opening chords and melody. A melodic ascent to G supported by an E-rninor harmony is common to both, and although "She Loves You" continues with an A-major chord, "Can't Buy Me Love" follows with an A-minor chord. Admittedly, the tunes are in different keys thereafter, but the opening similarities and the common formal design strongly suggest that the later song was directly modeled on the earlier one. 11. Although it is not an aspect of the argument concerning form being devel- oped here, it is nonetheless interesting that the topic of the song is uncertainty (will our protagonist sleep with the woman or not?), and to that end the modal shifting- I from Mixolydian to Dorian and Ionian-in both the verse and chorus sections cap- I tures this attitude. The verse is primarily Mixolydian and the bridge shifts to Dorian while using an Ionian ii-V to return to the verse in both cases, which is marked in Table 2.6. 12. Compression is an electronic process whereby the volume of a sound is increased to offset its natural decay. By compressing the sound of the three pianos, the f \IJ' lif' 52 JOHN COVACH FROM "CRAFT" TO "ART" 53

4. Ironically-and perhaps to the consternation of those who insist on the nov- recording engineer is able to make the pianos sustain far longer than they ever could elty of this repertory-one can almost claim that most British-invasion music of naturally. 1964-1966, including that of the more blues-influenced Rolling Stones, is essentially 13. For a detailed analysis of the medley, see Everett's "The Beatles as Composers: American music. I will stop short of making that claim, and instead focus on the role The Genesis of Abbey Road, Side Two." that American pop played in the development of Lennon and McCartney as song- writers during the 1960s. 14. See Daniel Harrison's ''.After Sundown: The Beach Boys' Experimental Music." 5. These interviews appear in the television documentary The Beatles Anthology (1995).

6. See Wilfred Mellers's Twilight ofthe Gods: The Music ofthe Beatles (86). 7. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see my chapter entitled "Form in Rock Music: A Primer" in Music Theory in Practice.

8. For a detailed overview of formal schemes in popular music among America's foremost songwriters of the first half of the twentieth century, see Allen Forte's The American Popular Ballad ofthe Golden Era, 1924-1950, especially chap. 6. 9. Timothy E. Scheurer's "The Beatles, the Brill Building, and the Persistence of Tin Pan Alley in the Age of Rock'' and Jon Fitzgerald's "Lennon-McCartney and the 'Middle Eight"' explore the Beatles' use of the AABA form. Although both Scheurer and Fitzgerald offer much helpful music-analytical insight into the band's use of the AABA form, neither focuses on how the use or avoidance of the form figures into the songwriters' development. 10. With regard to the Beatles verse-chorus form discussed here, Martin has remarked that when the Beatles brought "Can't Buy Me Love" into the studio it did not begin with a version of the chorus, but rather with the verse. See Martin with Jeremy Hornsby, Al/You Need Is Ears (133). It may be that Martin is remembering "She Loves You" and not "Can't Buy Me Love." The latter of these is closely modeled on the former, not only in terms of form, but also in terms of the opening chords and melody. A melodic ascent to G supported by an £-minor harmony is common to both, and although "She Loves You" continues with an A-major chord, "Can't Buy Me Love" follows with an A-minor chord. Admittedly, the tunes are in different keys thereafter, but the opening similarities and the common formal design strongly suggest that the later song was directly modeled on the earlier one. 11. Although it is not an aspect of the argument concerning form being devel- oped here, it is nonetheless interesting that the topic of the song is uncertainty (will our protagonist sleep with the woman or not?), and to that end the modal shifting- from Mixolydian to Dorian and Ionian-in both the verse and chorus sections cap- tures this attitude. The verse is primarily Mixolydian and the bridge shifts to Dorian while using an Ionian ii-V to return to the verse in both cases, which is marked in Table 2.6. 12. Compression is an electronic process whereby the volume of a sound is f increased to offset its natural decay. By compressing the sound of the three pianos, the I 1 11- llf'