ANALYSIS OF THE BEATLES SONG "I'LL GET YOU" 1963
This is the second verse played three times.
(1) The studio version released on the album.
(2) The 1963 BBC performance, which is live but controlled like a studio recording. No audience.
(3) A live performance in England in the summer of 1963.
Here is the verse. The first line is D - D - G - A. The second is D - Bm - G - A.
I think about you night and day, I need you and it's true
When I think about you I can say, I'm never never never never blue
Two things to note.
(a) In the second line, Paul breaks the unison and sings harmony starting at "bout you."
John plays the surprising Bm right when he and Paul are singing: "I can say..."
That chord change does not make sense according to any music theory. But it is perfect.
(b) John and Paul, because of the "color" or tonal qualities of their voices, sounded like a single (third) person when singing in unison.
Their ability to become a "Third Voice" was most obvious in live performances. The third segment is a great example.
This ability to sound like a single person singing with himself made the break to the harmonies all the more powerful.
As music critics have noted, the "Third Voice" requires exact timing. Before becoming famous in England in 1963, the Beatles had
played in Germany at clubs where their gigs went for six or eight hours. They had a lot of practice. Already here in 1963,
they are seasoned veterans.
(1) The studio version released on the album.
(2) The 1963 BBC performance, which is live but controlled like a studio recording. No audience.
(3) A live performance in England in the summer of 1963.
Here is the verse. The first line is D - D - G - A. The second is D - Bm - G - A.
I think about you night and day, I need you and it's true
When I think about you I can say, I'm never never never never blue
Two things to note.
(a) In the second line, Paul breaks the unison and sings harmony starting at "bout you."
John plays the surprising Bm right when he and Paul are singing: "I can say..."
That chord change does not make sense according to any music theory. But it is perfect.
(b) John and Paul, because of the "color" or tonal qualities of their voices, sounded like a single (third) person when singing in unison.
Their ability to become a "Third Voice" was most obvious in live performances. The third segment is a great example.
This ability to sound like a single person singing with himself made the break to the harmonies all the more powerful.
As music critics have noted, the "Third Voice" requires exact timing. Before becoming famous in England in 1963, the Beatles had
played in Germany at clubs where their gigs went for six or eight hours. They had a lot of practice. Already here in 1963,
they are seasoned veterans.
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This is an instrumental played by someone in Japan.
He is playing John's part on guitar and Paul's on bass and he has both exactly right. This instrumental gives you a good sense of the contrast between D - D - G - A and D - Bm - G - A (in the music notation above, major chords are indicated by capital letters and minor chords by lower-case letters) |
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This is someone in 10th grade many years ago.
She is playing D - Bm - G - A throughout, instead of D - D - G - A for the first half of each verse and D - Bm - G - A for the second. She got many critical comments on YouTube. I think she does a great job. She understands the song. Guitar playing: excellent. She is finger-picking, not imitating the Beatles. Singing: also excellent. It would be a more powerful song if she got the first half of each verse right. You can see what a great songwriter John Lennon was. John would have said: Do not criticize her. She does a fantastic job. To each her own. |
CORRESPONDING FACULTY ASSEMBLY MINUTES - SEE SECTION E, FEB 24, 2015
