Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 24 Outline of Last Lecture I Motown cont a Diana Ross II Music and American Society in the Mid and Late 1960s a Vietnam b Civil Rights Movement c Economic Changes III British Invasion a British Bands i Liverpool ii London b The Beatles Outline of Current Lecture II The Beatles cont a Brian Epstein b Image III Musical Styles IV Vocal Styles V Rhythmic Styles Current Lecture The Beatles cont Brian Epstein their manager changed the Beatles appearance o Originally they wore leather jackets and jeans like the 50s rock and rollers o He encouraged new haircuts in a French style and matching suits to give them a polished and modern look o He also encouraged their press bantering Blend of cute pop teen idol singers and tough rock and rollers These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Would switch from giving charming answers to being smart alecks The image of them being 4 good friends was crucial o Central to movies and music o Bantered with press and each other 1960s was known as Beatlemania EMI originally refused to market them in the United States o Beatles made some records with Veejay Records in Chicago 1963 toured heavily in the UK o Didn t sell well mostly because Veejay didn t have the marketing power Gained a substantial fan base and caught EMI s eye December 1963 I Want to Hold Your Hand was the first single released by EMI to the United States on Capitol Records o Capitol Records was one of EMI s main labels in the U S o EMI heavily promoted them February 1964 Beatles went the U S to be on the Ed Sullivan show o This was the culmination of the intense marketing campaign Live shows were usually pretty short and it was often difficult to hear the music due to the huge amounts of screaming fans 1st movie A Hard Day s Night The Beatles third album was their first album with all original tracks Musical Styles of the Beatles Standard rock and roll band like Buddy Holly and the rickets o 2 guitars bass drums lead and backing vocals Beginning of their career eclectic drawing on various American styles o Weren t clear on all of the stylistic differences in the U S o Influenced mostly by mid 50s rock and roll and Motown Girl groups influenced their image of all being friends Most songs were based on chord progressions rather than riffs Vocal Styles Used vocal hooks in carefully crafted places Had several lead singers 3 of them could take the lead Lennon and McCartney used a raspy timbre in some of their songs influenced by R B blues Harmony vocals influenced by the Everly Brothers o Sweet blends with country nasality Dialect patter of speech by geographic region o Early on British Invasion bands attempted to sound American but didn t know which dialect to sound like so they ended up combining several of them and invented dialects o By the end of the 60s most British Invasion bands had dropped the American dialects Listening Twist and Shout by the Beatles Raspy vocals by McCartney Listening Taste of Honey by the Beatles Slow wide vibrato no raspiness Resonance More in the pop direction McCartney singing sounds like he s holding back a little Rhythm Drums are the driving force o Straightforward groove doesn t add showiness or fills follows the Motown tradition o Coordination between drums and the rest of the instruments o Ringo Starr was essential for the Beatles sound Bass was also played in the Motown tradition o McCartney would sync up with Starr with active busy bass lines to give interest to the rhythm Coordinated band hits all play the same part together to keep things interesting Harmony and form lots of song craft with sophisticated harmonies for a polished finished track Lyrics o Early on romance and teen experiences o Image of 4 friends hanging out o o Text tune relationship Words in lyrics reflected in music Built into structure of the songs Wordplay Particularly Lennon Rhymes puns surreal imagery Listening I Saw Her Standing There by the Beatles Early period Relatively straightforward Varied 12 bar blues at the beginning Bridge starts on IV chord then to V then on mine the chord lingers on the V while the vocals jump into falsetto like Little Richard o Falsetto gives melodic tension and V chord gives harmonic tension o Gives brief empty space in an otherwise dense and aggressive track o Vocals build higher and higher guitar plays in the back with reverb bass falls back to IV Accompaniment drums have the groove and use high hat cymbals for interest o McCartney plays one repeated riff from a Chuck Berry tune Adds staccato on 2nd note in measure to give subtle syncopation o 1st guitar chords rhythm and harmony o 2nd guitar reverb o Hand claps early 60s groove Vocals sometimes raspy some blues embellishments in the bridge Lennon and McCartney harmony sweet nasality Lyrics generate the image of friends hanging out Listening Please Please Me by the Beatles Contrast between sweet pop and aggressive rock o Seen in the beginning with the harmonica and the drums Lennon and McCartney sweet Everly Brother s vocal style o Then guitars come in aggressively with power chords Poppy melody with sweet country blends contrasted with aggressive guitars Track starts off with one released chord not much tension then a coordinated band hit then the melody line with the one chord again then a coordinated band hit then a series of chords with an unusual chord progression o Chord progression is more frequent and shorter Vocal melody going up and up gives melodic tension o Gives harmonic tension Call and response every couple of beats and the general arrangement of the song gives tension Drums adds fills coordinating with everyone else o Adds rhythmic tension Tension resolves into the hook Very polished song craft Harmony vocals o Lead up and down o Harmony one note throughout with scoops up and down o Seamless blended timbre Listening Do You Want to Know a Secret by the Beatles Written by Lennon George Harrison singing Rhythm sections work together o o Drums are straightforward Give groove and time High hat cymbals Towards the end of the verse beats are grouped into units of 3 to create syncopation Active bass lines give interest Bass lines shaped like vocals in some parts Vocals arch at the end of the lines Plays staccato notes to sync up with the guitar and drums Guitar plays riff When drums play in units of 3 bass plays straightforward to work with it Shape of