Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 24 Outline of Last Lecture I. Motown cont.a. Diana RossII. Music and American Society in the Mid and Late 1960sa. Vietnamb. Civil Rights Movementc. Economic ChangesIII. British Invasiona. British Bandsi. Liverpoolii. Londonb. The BeatlesOutline of Current Lecture II. The Beatles cont.a. Brian Epsteinb. ImageIII. Musical StylesIV. Vocal StylesV. Rhythmic StylesCurrent LectureThe Beatles (cont.)- Brian Epstein, their manager, changed the Beatles’ appearanceo Originally, they wore leather jackets and jeans like the 50s rock and rollerso He encouraged new haircuts in a French style and matching suits to give them a polishedand modern looko He also encouraged their press bantering Blend of cute pop teen idol singers and tough rock and rollersThese 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 crucialo Central to movies and musico Bantered with press and each other- 1960s was known as “Beatlemania” - EMI originally refused to market them in the United Stateso Beatles made some records with Veejay Records in Chicago Didn’t sell well mostly because Veejay didn’t have the marketing power- 1963 – toured heavily in the UKo 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 Recordso 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 showo 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 tracksMusical 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 styleso 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 riffsVocal 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 Brotherso Sweet blends with country nasality- Dialect: patter of speech by geographic regiono 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 dialectso By the end of the 60s, most British Invasion bands had dropped the American dialectsListening: “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles- Raspy vocals by McCartneyListening: “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 littleRhythm - Drums are the driving forceo Straightforward groove, doesn’t add showiness or fills (follows the Motown tradition)o Coordination between drums and the rest of the instrumentso Ringo Starr was essential for the Beatles’ sound- Bass was also played in the Motown traditiono 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- Lyricso Early on: romance and teen experienceso Image of 4 friends hanging outo Text-tune relationship Words in lyrics reflected in music Built into structure of the songso Wordplay  Particularly Lennon Rhymes, puns, surreal imageryListening: “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 tensiono Gives brief empty space in an otherwise dense and aggressive tracko 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 interesto 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 harmonyo 2nd guitar: reverbo 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 outListening: “Please Please Me” by the Beatles- Contrast between sweet pop and aggressive rocko Seen in the beginning with the harmonica and the drums- Lennon and McCartney sweet Everly Brother’s vocal styleo 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 progressiono Chord progression is more frequent and shorter Gives harmonic tension- Vocal melody going up and up gives melodic tensiono Call and response every couple of beats and the general arrangement of the song gives tension- Drums: adds fills coordinating with everyone elseo Adds rhythmic tension- Tension resolves into the hook- Very polished song craft- Harmony vocalso Lead – up and downo Harmony – one note throughout with scoops up and downo Seamless blended timbreListening: “Do You Want to Know a Secret” by the Beatles- Written by Lennon- George Harrison singing- Rhythm sections work togethero 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 syncopationo Active bass lines give interest Bass lines