Reading Paul’s biography, his father was a pianist who could entertain a party all night with the type of complex musical structures seen in popular music of the pre-war years. He taught Paul all these so that Paul could deputise for him - and in an age without TV (or computers), Paul proved a quick study. That put him way ahead of the competition in the beat generation - as we now understand through this analysis. But what I love so much about this story, is that Paul’s incredible success ultimately derives from his goodness at the heart of a good family background. They were humble folk who held onto strong moral and ethical values. It paid off - and it almost always does.
Oh well hell, at my age I thought I didn't need to know or learn anything else about anything, nothing. Now just playing my guitars will never be same. After watching your enthusiasm about whatever the hell you were saying, has got me, now I need to look into this and take time learning something new, oh well hell. Very few people inspire me to do anything except what I want to do, play golf and my guitars, now look what you have done. Wonderful video, truly, I guess, thank you..
Brilliant stuff..I remember my Spanish Guitar teacher calling them "Happy" and "Sad chords to make it easier for us. The major chords were happy/bold, the minors sad/soulfull and his tip was to make your song "Happy/Sad" . Thanks for this viddy, great teacher!
I rarely sign-in to subscribe to a channel, but this great video made it absolutely necessary. I have been playing and studying for 45 years, including studying music theory with a famous professor, and have studied many songwriting books, and have learned and played thousands of pop songs, but I have never...really...got...it. I remember all the stuff about the II Major chord, and the "V of" manipulations, but hearing an explanation related to one of the most famous songs of all time, is just brilliant! Keep up the GREAT work!
It's called V / V in standard music theory. The almost immediate appearance of the E minor chord going to an A7 would be ii / V / i in D minor which is quite fascinating in itself. There are many wonderful things about this song. It starts on a suspension 2 - 1 (yesterday) and again on (far away) and 4-3 on (here to stay) and uses throughout creating a feeling of longing. In McCartney's writing (especially early on) he frequently uses the V / V to the IV. It's in "You Won't See Me," "Eight Days a Week" and "Baby's in Black" among others. Though his harmony is always wonderful, I think his sense of melody is the most outstanding element of his writing. Thank you for exploring what he does.
The chord sequence (F-Gmaj-Bb-F) contains the descending sequence of notes C-B-Bb-A which make a nice counterpoint with the ascending chord sequence, and harmonizes nicely with the vocal. Try playing just the notes C-C-B-B-Bb-Bb-A, then play the chords again F-Gmaj-Bb-F and you'll hear what I mean.
Absolutely correct, and known as chromatic tonal motion. Here is another little secret, since your comment is "upscale". The song "Yesterday" is really in the keys of D minor and D major. The Beatles fooled around with movement between a major and a minor mode, having the same root note -- a Renaissance invention. D minor is the relative scale of F major, which changes the scale note, B to Bb, and subsequently uses the Bb chord in the song, and apparent key of F major.
In your final example, F to Cm7 to F7 to Bb, my ear felt a pull from Bb to Bbm. My brain wanted to hear another ii-V, only this time starting on the iv minor, Bbm, to its secondary dominant, G7. Ah ha, the II7 of F! I’ve seen that a lot in Jazz Standards and 20th century Pop, ii-V7’s moving up or down a whole step from the previous ii-V. All your lessons are awesome. Thank you! You’re a great music teacher!!
I don't know if it helps other people, but when I listen to you tell this, I have the circle of 5ths up and trace the moves you made on it. It helps me. Great stuff.
Hahaha, at 10:02 -- "told ya" !! Yes you did and you were right. I've written many songs with interesting chord progressions etc and I realize that I use the ii --> V a lot without realizing what I was doing. Most of your material is not new to me. but today I learned something!!! Thanks
The Beatles famously are quoted many times saying they took their chord progressions from old blues numbers. What i find fun and good about their tunes is the lyrical melodies. You can't copyright a chord progression. But when you lay lyrics and a melody on top, it becomes a song, copyrightable. They reused old progressions in a very smart way, making beautiful music that most people love!
"The Beatles famously are quoted many times saying they took their chord progressions from old blues numbers. " Never heard that, and I've watched a lot of Beatles interviews. Do you have a source for that claim? I'd say that 95 percent of their original songs don't use a blues progression. Here's a few I can think of that do use it - "Why don't we do it in the road?" "Birthday" ( but only in the verse part), "You can't do that" ( only in the verse, not in the chorus). So I could only think of one.
@@spindriftdrinker You've named a few, and the song discussed in this video is another. You're well on your way to agreeing with me lol. BTW a band I was in many years ago played Birthday just for the hell of it, and would throw it out at gigs, seeing as it's ALWAYS somebody's birthday, right? Fun tune, thanks for reminding me of it.
@@JeromyBranch "Yesterday" a blues progression?! That's an odd claim. A blues progression is like I IV I V IV I. "Yesterday" looks nothing like that. So far I have exactly one ORIGINAL Beatles song with a blues progression out of hundreds. There might be a couple more at most - can you name another? Oh, here is one more "Flying". And "Yer Blues". That makes a total of three.
I am 72. I started teaching myself how to play in 65. Sometimes I will meet a youger person who will say something idiotic like "The Beatles are over-rated" The arent RATED high enough. I am lucky enough to live in the same time period as them.I always ask them, 'Do you play a musical nstrument? Any instrument....Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet! Accordion. I dont care. If you do, and you have any kind of curiosity..You woulld never say that.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. I need to take some music theory classes. Because all of this flies over my head when we talk about it. When we put fingers to strings and play chords it actually makes sense
I think of the chord you call a II (G in the key of F) a "V of V." It's only two ticks away from the tonic on the Circle of 5ths. Back in the 1920s a song called "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" went way around the Circle. If played in C it would be C E7 A7 D7 G7 C, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" from the 60s uses this progression, also. I to V of V of V of V to V of V of V to V of V to V to I. A progression of dominants that push your ear to the next chord. It's commonly used. McCartney's use of it preceding to the subdominant (Bb) is what makes it so notable. The Beatles frequently used the IV - I (plagal) progression (Eight Days a Week et al).. I like your video.
double-Dominant (secondary) - the rememberance of the happier times are expressed in a major chord from another key… only to go back to the original key of the present. Also, a IV-I cadence shows that the story is not over, not resolved as the thoughts if the singer cannot rest yet. Similar thing happens „Sailing“ in the second part.
I like the chord progression from II to V to I ( say, C to D (maybe D7 or even D9) to G and back to C. That gives us a "four to four to one" - G is the forth of D, and C is the forth of G. Lots of songs have that progression.
I'm a self-taught guitar player. I thumbed my nose at music theory for years. Then, a friend showed me a few concepts like this as it relates to Beatle songs. I was hooked. Liked and subscribed. Please do more Beatle chord analysis. I love this stuff!
Here's a hack: The relative minor of I is vi; the relative minor of IV is ii; the relative minor of V is iii. Since major-relative minor relationship is bright-somber sides of the same chord, try subbing them. You can change a standard blues 1 4 5 progression into an RnB or Soul feel by simply by singing the 1 4 5 as vi ii iii. This causes people to mistakenly think that the song is in a so-called minor key ( which does not by definition exist since minor is a chord ) when it is more correctly called Aeolian Mode. For example in C Aeolian one need never go to C just stay in Am tonal center with Dm Em turn around...thus prompting the common Am misnomer due to the aforementioned confusion. By staying around the ii one can create a Dorian feel; the iii a Phrygian vibe. Soloing around these different tonal centers is an easy source for creative ideas. Gospel blues uses these progressions a lot ref Dylan. Cheers.
You made a mistake there. C Aeolian is the C natural minor scale, and there's no Am, Dm, or Em in this scale. You either meant C Ionian or A Aeolian. Also, if the song goes just Am-Dm-Em then it definitely is in Am, not C.
You're delightful! I've always wondered how the Beatles got their distinctive sound and thought it was in the chords, but never knew how. For me, it would be helpful if you contrasted sort of the normal "expected" progression with the unusual one you're highlighting a bunch of times--back and forth. You tend to do it once, and I'm not sure what I'm listening for exactly.
Beatles’ songs sounds simple but if u dig in deeper it has a blues n jazz chord progressions in it. Oldies are amazing! In this video only that i understood the major 2nd and the II-V. Thanks a lot.
Other early Beatle (McCartney?) chord techniques include the use of the sub-dominant 7, or a IV7 chord. They did that a lot. Or they might make the IV chord a minor. A neat thing about She Loves You (in G) is that they varied the standard doo-wop I-VI-IV-V chord progression, making it a I-VI-III-V progression in the verse, before really shaking things up with the minor IV chord. Their vocal harmonies actually made a Cm6 chord. Meanwhile, Lennon loved to have a downward movement off the G chord - e.g. I'm So Tired, Day in the Life and Sexy Sadie - but all in different ways.
Wow, not sure why but I can completely understand what you are explaining. I know that sounds silly but I think it's simply the mark of a great teacher.
I appreciate the video and the fact that you think that we don't need music theory to understand this, but I followed about 20% of this. Enjoyed the video regardless, and will come back when I'm a bit more knowledgeable.
Lovely lesson, thanks from another teacher! I'd add that the d- chord targeted in the ii V i is actually a brief tonicization of d as the relative minor. This rather anticipates the key of d minor in the bridge, doesn't it? Much of the McCartney's composition sounds brilliant in its feeling when you hear it... Then on analysis it's also brilliant in its structure and logic. Dang, that's good.
Nice lesson. I like how they use the Em in there, I often swap out the diminished chord for a chromatic chord. And be able to break out and use chords not in the key you're writing in is very liberating. My jazz songs, written on piano, have more interesting chord progressions than my indie rock/country rock progressions have, but, I would like to write more sophisticated chord progressions for my newer guitar based indie rock/country rock songs. That's a must, so learning some things here was cool! Thanks
Nice vid. Here's a fun fact. Paul McCartney uses a guitar that has been tuned down one tone to play Yesterday, so he can play it in the key of G while singing it in the key of F, probably because G is easier to play than F on the guitar.
Maybe the arrangement was intended to have woodwinds or horns, making G a more difficult key than F to notate, and when it was decided to use strings instead, they kept it in F.
Hi!!! Hello there, I just found your channel, and you are terrific!! You have great style as a teacher. Question: What Guitar are you playing? Model? Thank you!!!!
We always referred to your "II Major" as a Secondary Dominant, in this case, a "V of V". Terminology aside, the point is well taken. I've observed this chord in many pop songs, but never so close to the beginning. and never quite this way. Thank you
Bravo, what I liked most was your lovely, lovely British accent......how so very charming and endearing.....for we USA blokes. Beatles tunes, especially Paul's, were incredibly delightful to the ear and the reason probably has as much to do with the musical theory and relativity factors between chords you note and how Paul in a calculated manner leveraged harmonics, descending bass lines, and chordal voicings that created tension but released that musical tension through resolution in the right chord in the progression chain. I know a little about music, but a lot of what you explain went right over my head or in and out of my ears regrettably. I don't think about music in the same principled manner that you do. But......I still enjoy the heck out of what I hear in my music, especially Beatles compositions.
The wonderful thing was that Paul had no idea he was doing all that when he woke up with the melody in his head! To me its the melody not the technical theory of harmony that is important but I can appreciate how it is fascinating to break down these classic songs
Called Double Dominant. Standard tool in chord progressions. Often used in a Bridge part. Sometimes also tripel or even 4th dominant is used. For a good example for double dominant see „Good Luck Charm“ from Elvis which is in G but starts with a A7 D7 G progression.
I have a Beatles music book. In the book the song is in F, but they’re not using the same chords as you’re showing. I’ve gone through the sheet music and changed the chords to match yours. Yours sounds more like the original than the ones in the book.
Just discovered your channel! Love it! Thank you for the wonderful analysis. Isn't it astonishing the depth and maturity of the writing in this and other Beatles songs coming from the mind of (at the time) such young men? I can't imagine Paul absolutely knew what he was doing in a technical sense, so one has to marvel at the level of intuition and 'feel' that helped him create such a masterpiece. Stunning, actually!
From no structure to tight structure and slowly loosen the "rules" when there are in fact no "rules" - only convention. This we learn as children by exposure and the music then prods and teases our mindset. Thus I would ask how much has to be learned by a form of brain-washing? How much is peer pressure (especially on the young)? How much is "new" sounds like the introduction of electrified and electronically processed guitars. New melodies, beats, and progressions that stretch us a little bit further until we break free once more into Modern Jazz whose structure is minimal and only contained by the original conventional instruments in use. Then I ask about the "hooks" in use. Does the lyric form the most powerful "hook"? Is there symbiosis or should the music and the lyric be considered separately? Fascinating, or for you, is it not? A fascinating noise is the music; A fascinating story are the words. The tickling of your brain cells, your mind, if you have one!
I found your great channel by accident, love it! Question: you (and others) state that Adom7 is a perfect 5th above D, the new 1. That math makes sense if you're counting up from D; but I think of that move A7 to D as going up a 4th, A-B-C-D, so my own mental rule is that a dom7 resolves up a 4th, not up a 5th (it goes down a 5th to D). Maybe this is just semantics, care to explain your way of thinking? I'm a pedal steel player who loves analyzing song structures, often passing on tidbits of that to my students. Keep up the great work!!
A long long time ago I remember trying to figure out the chords to Fleetwood Mac's Jewel Eyed Judy. I was doing I, ii, IV, I and I knew that second chord wasn't quite right but I couldn't figure it out. Now listening to her first example it reminded me of Jewel Eyed Judy, so I went back to JEJ and played I, II, IV, I to it and low and behold, that was it. Booya!
Wow! Thanks for this, I have just realised that a song I wrote 17 years ago (with a borrowed chord - that I knew nothing about back then), uses the same II Major7 chord exactly as described in the first part of this video 😮
I've done this often in my favorite key of D. Noodling around with D, Em, G, and A, I'd play E Major instead, and it gives a really bright sound. I also have a song where the main progression is II, IV, V. i.e. E, G, A. I play them all without the Third, so the tonality is neither major nor minor. Technically it's in the key of D, but D is never played. It's a great sound.
The Doors used the One / Two 7 / Four progression on the song " Follow me Now" or whatever it's called, I think from The Soft Parade album. Thanks for the video
Great explanation, thanks! I’ve tried to avoid ripping off the Beatles so much cos their work has permeated so far into today but little pointers like this really inspire me to delve deeper into their work and maybe burgle a technique or two for my own nefarious devices going forward 😃👍
They got a lot of those progressions from the Great American Songbook. Jazz standards and show tunes like Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It is ok to use parts and make them fresh.
New to your channel and already a subscriber: great breakdowns. BTW, Paul is a genius, one of the greatest songwriters of all times, but i guess we already know that 😊 Peace and blessings!
I love the way you elucidate the "why" behind chord progressions.
Reading Paul’s biography, his father was a pianist who could entertain a party all night with the type of complex musical structures seen in popular music of the pre-war years. He taught Paul all these so that Paul could deputise for him - and in an age without TV (or computers), Paul proved a quick study. That put him way ahead of the competition in the beat generation - as we now understand through this analysis. But what I love so much about this story, is that Paul’s incredible success ultimately derives from his goodness at the heart of a good family background. They were humble folk who held onto strong moral and ethical values. It paid off - and it almost always does.
Explains why Lennon didnt have as much of a respecful career after the Beatles😢
@@blinkerz4676 McCarthy and Lennon are different. Lennon was also more experimental and political. Also, he was taken away too soon.
@@nedim_guitarThe only experimental thing Lennon did was the ear torturing stuff he did with Yoko. Paul was the experimental one.
@@akwilson1676 I thought they were a band that worked together, even though they didn't always right the songs together. 🤔
❤❤❤❤
Oh well hell, at my age I thought I didn't need to know or learn anything else about anything, nothing. Now just playing my guitars will never be same. After watching your enthusiasm about whatever the hell you were saying, has got me, now I need to look into this and take time learning something new, oh well hell. Very few people inspire me to do anything except what I want to do, play golf and my guitars, now look what you have done. Wonderful video, truly, I guess, thank you..
As a beginning song writer, these tips are gold to me! You've opened up so many options with these for me. I love your channel! Thank you.
Brilliant stuff..I remember my Spanish Guitar teacher calling them "Happy" and "Sad chords to make it easier for us. The major chords were happy/bold, the minors sad/soulfull and his tip was to make your song "Happy/Sad" . Thanks for this viddy, great teacher!
Keep spreading the good vibes and thankyou for the thumbs-up because it means the Emperor has decided to spare me!
I rarely sign-in to subscribe to a channel, but this great video made it absolutely necessary. I have been playing and studying for 45 years, including studying music theory with a famous professor, and have studied many songwriting books, and have learned and played thousands of pop songs, but I have never...really...got...it. I remember all the stuff about the II Major chord, and the "V of" manipulations, but hearing an explanation related to one of the most famous songs of all time, is just brilliant! Keep up the GREAT work!
It's called V / V in standard music theory. The almost immediate appearance of the E minor chord going to an A7 would be ii / V / i in D minor which is quite fascinating in itself. There are many wonderful things about this song. It starts on a suspension 2 - 1 (yesterday) and again on (far away) and 4-3 on (here to stay) and uses throughout creating a feeling of longing. In McCartney's writing (especially early on) he frequently uses the V / V to the IV. It's in "You Won't See Me," "Eight Days a Week" and "Baby's in Black" among others. Though his harmony is always wonderful, I think his sense of melody is the most outstanding element of his writing. Thank you for exploring what he does.
Spot-on !you can add to that list of songs Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts club Band -the actual song Another Macca composition!
She covered that part about E minor going to A7 being the ii-V leading into D minor.
Except McCartney did not write this chord progression, which comes from Georgia on My Mind.
@@johnmalcolm4822yeah yeah yeah.... 😂
The chord sequence (F-Gmaj-Bb-F) contains the descending sequence of notes C-B-Bb-A which make a nice counterpoint with the ascending chord sequence, and harmonizes nicely with the vocal. Try playing just the notes C-C-B-B-Bb-Bb-A, then play the chords again F-Gmaj-Bb-F and you'll hear what I mean.
And The Beatles did exactly that on the "Oo La La-La" part in "You Won't See Me"! 😀
Absolutely correct, and known as chromatic tonal motion. Here is another little secret, since your comment is "upscale". The song "Yesterday" is really in the keys of D minor and D major. The Beatles fooled around with movement between a major and a minor mode, having the same root note -- a Renaissance invention. D minor is the relative scale of F major, which changes the scale note, B to Bb, and subsequently uses the Bb chord in the song, and apparent key of F major.
In your final example, F to Cm7 to F7 to Bb, my ear felt a pull from Bb to Bbm. My brain wanted to hear another ii-V, only this time starting on the iv minor, Bbm, to its secondary dominant, G7. Ah ha, the II7 of F! I’ve seen that a lot in Jazz Standards and 20th century Pop, ii-V7’s moving up or down a whole step from the previous ii-V.
All your lessons are awesome. Thank you! You’re a great music teacher!!
I don't know if it helps other people, but when I listen to you tell this, I have the circle of 5ths up and trace the moves you made on it. It helps me. Great stuff.
Oh my! Lines and tigers and bears! You are honkin' on my bobo. Your guidance is completely inspirational. From across the pond, God be with you!
Hahaha, at 10:02 -- "told ya" !! Yes you did and you were right. I've written many songs with interesting chord progressions etc and I realize that I use the ii --> V a lot without realizing what I was doing. Most of your material is not new to me. but today I learned something!!! Thanks
The Beatles famously are quoted many times saying they took their chord progressions from old blues numbers. What i find fun and good about their tunes is the lyrical melodies. You can't copyright a chord progression. But when you lay lyrics and a melody on top, it becomes a song, copyrightable. They reused old progressions in a very smart way, making beautiful music that most people love!
"The Beatles famously are quoted many times saying they took their chord progressions from old blues numbers. " Never heard that, and I've watched a lot of Beatles interviews. Do you have a source for that claim? I'd say that 95 percent of their original songs don't use a blues progression. Here's a few I can think of that do use it - "Why don't we do it in the road?" "Birthday" ( but only in the verse part), "You can't do that" ( only in the verse, not in the chorus). So I could only think of one.
@@spindriftdrinker You've named a few, and the song discussed in this video is another. You're well on your way to agreeing with me lol. BTW a band I was in many years ago played Birthday just for the hell of it, and would throw it out at gigs, seeing as it's ALWAYS somebody's birthday, right? Fun tune, thanks for reminding me of it.
@@JeromyBranch "Yesterday" a blues progression?! That's an odd claim. A blues progression is like I IV I V IV I. "Yesterday" looks nothing like that. So far I have exactly one ORIGINAL Beatles song with a blues progression out of hundreds. There might be a couple more at most - can you name another? Oh, here is one more "Flying". And "Yer Blues". That makes a total of three.
@@spindriftdrinker I never said yesterday is a blues progression.
@@spindriftdrinker i saw her standing there, shes a woman, im down hmmm let me see
I am 72. I started teaching myself how to play in 65. Sometimes I will meet a youger person who will say something idiotic like "The Beatles are over-rated" The arent RATED high enough. I am lucky enough to live in the same time period as them.I always ask them, 'Do you play a musical nstrument? Any instrument....Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet! Accordion. I dont care. If you do, and you have any kind of curiosity..You woulld never say that.
That young person will hopefully figure it out one day
It seems to come and go when some people think it's cool to say they don't like The Beatles.
The Doors are better 😂
Tavistock creation. Beatles are a Cinderella story. Great music but they had LOTS of help.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. I need to take some music theory classes. Because all of this flies over my head when we talk about it. When we put fingers to strings and play chords it actually makes sense
yep me too but I'm wondering this,,,,why do I dig this chick?
I think of the chord you call a II (G in the key of F) a "V of V." It's only two ticks away from the tonic on the Circle of 5ths. Back in the 1920s a song called "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" went way around the Circle. If played in C it would be C E7 A7 D7 G7 C, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" from the 60s uses this progression, also. I to V of V of V of V to V of V of V to V of V to V to I. A progression of dominants that push your ear to the next chord. It's commonly used. McCartney's use of it preceding to the subdominant (Bb) is what makes it so notable. The Beatles frequently used the IV - I (plagal) progression (Eight Days a Week et al).. I like your video.
double-Dominant (secondary) - the rememberance of the happier times are expressed in a major chord from another key… only to go back to the original key of the present.
Also, a IV-I cadence shows that the story is not over, not resolved as the thoughts if the singer cannot rest yet.
Similar thing happens „Sailing“ in the second part.
I like the chord progression from II to V to I ( say, C to D (maybe D7 or even D9) to G and back to C. That gives us a "four to four to one" - G is the forth of D, and C is the forth of G. Lots of songs have that progression.
I'm a self-taught guitar player. I thumbed my nose at music theory for years. Then, a friend showed me a few concepts like this as it relates to Beatle songs. I was hooked. Liked and subscribed. Please do more Beatle chord analysis. I love this stuff!
me too! Now I'm hooked as well.
Here's a hack: The relative minor of I is vi; the relative minor of IV is ii; the relative minor of V is iii. Since major-relative minor relationship is bright-somber sides of the same chord, try subbing them. You can change a standard blues 1 4 5 progression into an RnB or Soul feel by simply by singing the 1 4 5 as vi ii iii. This causes people to mistakenly think that the song is in a so-called minor key ( which does not by definition exist since minor is a chord ) when it is more correctly called Aeolian Mode. For example in C Aeolian one need never go to C just stay in Am tonal center with Dm Em turn around...thus prompting the common Am misnomer due to the aforementioned confusion. By staying around the ii one can create a Dorian feel; the iii a Phrygian vibe. Soloing around these different tonal centers is an easy source for creative ideas. Gospel blues uses these progressions a lot ref Dylan. Cheers.
I once spent an evening learning about modes. A week later i forgot it .. oh well.
You made a mistake there. C Aeolian is the C natural minor scale, and there's no Am, Dm, or Em in this scale. You either meant C Ionian or A Aeolian. Also, if the song goes just Am-Dm-Em then it definitely is in Am, not C.
You are an excellent educator. These are well produced, insightful videos with cool examples demonstrating the concepts you explore
You're delightful! I've always wondered how the Beatles got their distinctive sound and thought it was in the chords, but never knew how. For me, it would be helpful if you contrasted sort of the normal "expected" progression with the unusual one you're highlighting a bunch of times--back and forth. You tend to do it once, and I'm not sure what I'm listening for exactly.
Beatles’ songs sounds simple but if u dig in deeper it has a blues n jazz chord progressions in it. Oldies are amazing! In this video only that i understood the major 2nd and the II-V. Thanks a lot.
Other early Beatle (McCartney?) chord techniques include the use of the sub-dominant 7, or a IV7 chord. They did that a lot. Or they might make the IV chord a minor. A neat thing about She Loves You (in G) is that they varied the standard doo-wop I-VI-IV-V chord progression, making it a I-VI-III-V progression in the verse, before really shaking things up with the minor IV chord. Their vocal harmonies actually made a Cm6 chord.
Meanwhile, Lennon loved to have a downward movement off the G chord - e.g. I'm So Tired, Day in the Life and Sexy Sadie - but all in different ways.
Thank you. Your explanations are clear - you're very good at this.
Wow, not sure why but I can completely understand what you are explaining. I know that sounds silly but I think it's simply the mark of a great teacher.
Would be helpful if you showed/played the parts of “Yesterday” you are referring to. Too abstract.
"To Sir With Love" uses that major II chord brilliantly, and yes, it goes from the major II to the IV chord, just like you say
When you played the chords quicker, and I play your video at 1.5 speed, it sounded like the opening chords of You Won't See Me. (Surprise surprise).
I heard that too. 😃
I appreciate the video and the fact that you think that we don't need music theory to understand this, but I followed about 20% of this. Enjoyed the video regardless, and will come back when I'm a bit more knowledgeable.
my 2 cents, learn your major scale, the 7 chords built on the major scale, and a lot of this will make more sense
@@migueldemaria3830 Thanks. Appreciate the help.
Lovely lesson, thanks from another teacher! I'd add that the d- chord targeted in the ii V i is actually a brief tonicization of d as the relative minor. This rather anticipates the key of d minor in the bridge, doesn't it? Much of the McCartney's composition sounds brilliant in its feeling when you hear it... Then on analysis it's also brilliant in its structure and logic. Dang, that's good.
Cheers, very good. Talking about songwriting, my most inspired songs arise spontaneously, with no thought at all. Well at least not consciously.
Thanks for taking the time to do this. Very interesting and informative 😊
Nice lesson. I like how they use the Em in there, I often swap out the diminished chord for a chromatic chord. And be able to break out and use chords not in the key you're writing in is very liberating. My jazz songs, written on piano, have more interesting chord progressions than my indie rock/country rock progressions have, but, I would like to write more sophisticated chord progressions for my newer guitar based indie rock/country rock songs. That's a must, so learning some things here was cool! Thanks
Great video and well explained - really enjoyed that. Can’t wait to watch some more of your videos!☺️
Nice vid. Here's a fun fact. Paul McCartney uses a guitar that has been tuned down one tone to play Yesterday, so he can play it in the key of G while singing it in the key of F, probably because G is easier to play than F on the guitar.
Maybe the arrangement was intended to have woodwinds or horns, making G a more difficult key than F to notate, and when it was decided to use strings instead, they kept it in F.
Right, on the 1966 tour they played it in G so they didnt have to detune their guitars
Very true! I would say furthermore that many Beatles songs are examples in composition and songwriting.
Thanks for providing so much quality content!
This was brilliant. Subscribed.
Hi!!! Hello there, I just found your channel, and you are terrific!! You have great style as a teacher.
Question: What Guitar are you playing? Model? Thank you!!!!
I love your passion about secondary dom chords. I think we should collab
Awesome stuff have not played in 20 years but what you just spoke of is part of why i loced playing good stuff
We always referred to your "II Major" as a Secondary Dominant, in this case, a "V of V". Terminology aside, the point is well taken. I've observed this chord in many pop songs, but never so close to the beginning. and never quite this way. Thank you
Only Woman Bleed is the song I relate that step to. Anytime you add two sharps to your tonality it perks up the ear. Although in OWB it's a G pedal.
Great stuff! NICE to hear an Aussie doing this! \m/
Thank You. You are an excellent teacher!
just discovered your channel. I laughed out loud when you played that progression near the end .. youre right. instantly subscribed .
Love this video. Thank you so much I learned a lot...... Cannot wait to learn more
That was very, very nice, Keppie. Even I understood that! Thank you!
Bravo, what I liked most was your lovely, lovely British accent......how so very charming and endearing.....for we USA blokes. Beatles tunes, especially Paul's, were incredibly delightful to the ear and the reason probably has as much to do with the musical theory and relativity factors between chords you note and how Paul in a calculated manner leveraged harmonics, descending bass lines, and chordal voicings that created tension but released that musical tension through resolution in the right chord in the progression chain. I know a little about music, but a lot of what you explain went right over my head or in and out of my ears regrettably. I don't think about music in the same principled manner that you do. But......I still enjoy the heck out of what I hear in my music, especially Beatles compositions.
British accent???!!!
@@TP-om8of British Isles vernacular maybe????
Australian, not British😁!
The wonderful thing was that Paul had no idea he was doing all that when he woke up with the melody in his head! To me its the melody not the technical theory of harmony that is important but I can appreciate how it is fascinating to break down these classic songs
True. Paul had this stuff hard-wired into his brain. The rest of us need a roadmap.
Awesome.... your explanation and his work. But what makes it really special is that he... didn't know theory.
new to her channel but love to “see” her play rather talk it. Nice job here❤ thank you!
Best harmony class ever.. Bravo.
Called Double Dominant. Standard tool in chord progressions. Often used in a Bridge part. Sometimes also tripel or even 4th dominant is used.
For a good example for double dominant see „Good Luck Charm“ from Elvis which is in G but starts with a A7 D7 G progression.
I would like to think that Paul & John were naively banging around cords thinking hey this sounds nice! 😊
Congrats !!!Great and easy lesson .You are my inspiration and help to understand my harmony knowledge .Thank you ever so much.
The Beatles are a great way of absorbing the tricks of the song writing trade... the I,II7, IV progression is of course the basis of 8 Days a Week.
I have a Beatles music book. In the book the song is in F, but they’re not using the same chords as you’re showing. I’ve gone through the sheet music and changed the chords to match yours. Yours sounds more like the original than the ones in the book.
Paul plays Yesterday with the guitar tuned down 1 step and starts it on a modified G chord- G F#m B7 Em etc
Just discovered your channel! Love it! Thank you for the wonderful analysis. Isn't it astonishing the depth and maturity of the writing in this and other Beatles songs coming from the mind of (at the time) such young men? I can't imagine Paul absolutely knew what he was doing in a technical sense, so one has to marvel at the level of intuition and 'feel' that helped him create such a masterpiece. Stunning, actually!
They had help from George Martin , George was their producer, a master arranger, and who some have referred to as " the fifth " beatle.
From no structure to tight structure and slowly loosen the "rules" when there are in fact no "rules" - only convention. This we learn as children by exposure and the music then prods and teases our mindset. Thus I would ask how much has to be learned by a form of brain-washing? How much is peer pressure (especially on the young)? How much is "new" sounds like the introduction of electrified and electronically processed guitars. New melodies, beats, and progressions that stretch us a little bit further until we break free once more into Modern Jazz whose structure is minimal and only contained by the original conventional instruments in use. Then I ask about the "hooks" in use. Does the lyric form the most powerful "hook"? Is there symbiosis or should the music and the lyric be considered separately? Fascinating, or for you, is it not? A fascinating noise is the music; A fascinating story are the words. The tickling of your brain cells, your mind, if you have one!
Chord progression of Yesterday is from Georgia on My Mind
This was a really great video excited when I have the time to learn more. Thank you
An awesome lesson! Thanks so much and keep coming more of my favorite band of all times.
Cool breakdown. Thanks for doing that.
Excellent video thank you
You are a great teacher! Enjoyed watching this video.
Brilliant and comprehensible. Thank you!
I found your great channel by accident, love it! Question: you (and others) state that Adom7 is a perfect 5th above D, the new 1. That math makes sense if you're counting up from D; but I think of that move A7 to D as going up a 4th, A-B-C-D, so my own mental rule is that a dom7 resolves up a 4th, not up a 5th (it goes down a 5th to D). Maybe this is just semantics, care to explain your way of thinking? I'm a pedal steel player who loves analyzing song structures, often passing on tidbits of that to my students. Keep up the great work!!
A long long time ago I remember trying to figure out the chords to Fleetwood Mac's Jewel Eyed Judy. I was doing I, ii, IV, I and I knew that second chord wasn't quite right but I couldn't figure it out. Now listening to her first example it reminded me of Jewel Eyed Judy, so I went back to JEJ and played I, II, IV, I to it and low and behold, that was it. Booya!
Thank you so much. You've explained these concepts extremely well. I really appreciate you sharing your expertise in such a simply but explicit way.
Great lesson, very well communicated. Thank you
Very well explained. Regards, George Armstrong, ASCAP, NMPA, HFA
The major II chord is borrowed from the Lydian mode, and thus a modal interchange/ mixture. ❤
Yeah! Nice and jazzy
Absolutely subbed! Thank you!
Great video.Brilliant analysis!
I’ve heard it said, “Nothing is hard if you know how.” The light came on when you explained where the ii and V come from. 😊
Really interesting and helpful ! Thanks.
New subscriber !
No music theory problem. I was there when it happened. It sounded good !
Premium content! Total joy of how chords relate. And how to utilize them! Thank you
Imagine how much more satisfying this video would be if every time she mentioned a key (or chord structure), that key played
This video is a gem. Cheers!
A hell of a lesson, thanks!
Wow, brilliant analysis!
You are a smart young lady with your teaching.
I actually understood some of this.
Thank You.
Of course i subscribed immediatly after the video
LOVE this!!😍🎸 Thank you Keppie!!🙏🏾
Wow! Thanks for this, I have just realised that a song I wrote 17 years ago (with a borrowed chord - that I knew nothing about back then), uses the same II Major7 chord exactly as described in the first part of this video 😮
You're an awesome teacher! Thank you so much :)
Your demonstration at 3:19 was "ooh I need your love babe" from Eight Days A Week, perfectly illustrating your point.
Useful video - I was just going to work on a bridge for a new song too.
New sub here. I really enjoy and learn from your videos. You are an excellent teacher! Thanks.
Excellent video, nice to find you. Seen this broken down before but not this well, subscribed instantly
Brilliant. Thank you so much
Awesome lesson! Thank you
Thanks so much for explaining the secondary dominant. Finally makes sense to me. 😂
That was excellent and really informative. Thanks
Thank you for that although I dont understand the theory so much, its just so helpful.
I've done this often in my favorite key of D. Noodling around with D, Em, G, and A, I'd play E Major instead, and it gives a really bright sound. I also have a song where the main progression is II, IV, V. i.e. E, G, A. I play them all without the Third, so the tonality is neither major nor minor. Technically it's in the key of D, but D is never played. It's a great sound.
The Doors used the One / Two 7 / Four progression on the song " Follow me Now" or whatever it's called, I think from The Soft Parade album. Thanks for the video
YOUR HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME, its like giving crutches to me, I can finally walk and ill definitely run in sometime!!!!!
I love your way of explaining. I jusrt discovered your channel -keep up the great work
Great explanation, thanks! I’ve tried to avoid ripping off the Beatles so much cos their work has permeated so far into today but little pointers like this really inspire me to delve deeper into their work and maybe burgle a technique or two for my own nefarious devices going forward 😃👍
They got a lot of those progressions from the Great American Songbook. Jazz standards and show tunes like Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It is ok to use parts and make them fresh.
@@geraldfriend256 good point Gerald. We are all links in a chain as Pete Seeger once said.
New to your channel and already a subscriber: great breakdowns.
BTW, Paul is a genius, one of the greatest songwriters of all times, but i guess we already know that 😊
Peace and blessings!