Chapter 6

Question 1

How would you define the sound of minor tonality?

Answer 1

At the heart of the sound is the use of a tonic chord featuring a minor triad. This is an instant and practical definition, but from that raw material of a tonic and 3, a number of scales can be built – of which our infamous Aeolian mode (a.k.a. the natural minor scale) is merely one option. In Beatles music alone we must also consider the Harmonic minor scale and two other minor modes (the seemingly exotic ‘Dorian’ and ‘Phrygian’) when appreciating some very specific and memorable sounds.

Question 2

Why do most songs not stay in minor keys for their totality.?

Answer 2

The answer no doubt lies in the profound effect of the minor tonality itself. For all the power of such songs, most songwriters know that, in minor, a little goes a long way. Another songwriting secret: the success of contrasting tonalities. After a major verse and chorus, for example, a minor bridge invariably brings sudden textural poignancy. And vice versa: when in minor, a chorus or bridge in major often creates a much needed emotional ‘lift’ that equally can make a song.

Question 3

What is the minor-key equivalent of the Three-Chord Trick?

Answer 3

This is no longer I, IV and V, of course, but the minor triads labelled ‘i’, ‘iv’ and ‘v’ as they each consist of a root, minor third and perfect fifth (1, 3 and 5).

Question 4

What is the sound of the minor ‘v’ in the repeated verse vamp of McCartney’s ‘Things We Said Today’?

Answer 4

you= i (Am)
you= v (Em7)
love= i (Am)
have= v7 (Em7)
go= i (Am)
thinking= v7 (Em7)
me= i (Am)
Notice also the particularly appropriate use of the chord – in a melodic sense – as the word ‘will’ appears as the defining 3rd.

Question 5

Breaking the diatonic minor rules – the ‘borrowed V7’

Answer 5

Aeolian cadences aside, many (indeed, probably most) minor-key songs break the diatonic rules in one fundamental respect. They adopt a ‘regular’ V chord – a dominant V7 – just as we expect in a major key. The purpose of the dominant V7 in minor is to create the same voice-leading that resolves so effortlessly to the tonic in a major key.

Question 6

Breaking the diatonic minor rules – the ‘borrowed V7’

Answer 6

The Beatles understood this distinction between v and V7 as early as what appears be their first minor-key original, ‘Cayenne’, dating apparently from the summer of 1960. McCartney’s instrumental consists of just these three chords: Em, Am and a dominant B7 – a major V7 chord that can now be rationalised as deriving from the leading tone in a closely related minor scale – the harmonic minor.

Question 7

Why use the “borrowed V7” ?

Answer 7

We already know that, in a major scale, the leading tone lies a semitone below the root. And it is this note that, when the scale is harmonised, appears as the 3rd of the V chord, thereby creating the resolution to the tonic as the note moves up a semitone to the root. This doesn’t happen in the diatonic natural minor scale because (as we know from the last chapter) the seventh degree is flattened.

Question 8

Why does the minor v not establish tonality or have the same pull as the ‘borrowed V7’ ?

Answer 8

‘A Taste Of Honey’ certainly had a very distinct flavour but classical theorists would say that the whole step between the 7 and root simply does not lead the melody (or the harmony) to the tonic with quite the same degree of ‘pull’. The characteristic half-step in a major key is a strong factor in establishing tonality, while its absence in natural minor often makes tonality less conclusive.

Question 9

Why is a major dominant chord needed when we move between major and minor tonalites?

Answer 9

we don’t question tonality in ‘A Taste Of Honey’, that’s because there’s no distracting potential major tonic to cloud the picture. But when we move between both major and minor tonalities as we will be doing throughout this chapter, a major dominant chord is often needed to reinforce our feeling of a minor tonic.

Question 10

How is the flaw in the natural minor scale corrected?

Answer 10

It is for this reason that this ‘flaw’ in the natural minor scale is ‘corrected’ by artificially raising this 7 note by a semitone, back to the natural 7th, thereby making it, once again, a leading tone. It is with this new minor scale, harmonic minor – with its new interval sequence – that the V7 chord is created.

Question 11

Creating V7 in minor – the harmonic minor scale

Answer 11

Here’s the harmonic minor scale in the key of A minor.

1= A
2= B
Flat 3= C
4= D
5= E
Flat 6= F
7= G#
8= A

Question 12

Creating V7 in minor – the harmonic minor scale

Answer 12

When harmonised conventionally in thirds, the scale yields some interesting ‘new’ chords:
i= Am
ii dim= B dim
flat iii augmented= C aug
iv= Dm
V= E
flat VI= F
vii dim= G# dim
And, if we add the sevenths, we can now spot the V7 itself:
The important point here is that minor songs tend to be based in natural minor using, chords that are within that family, and only occasionally ‘borrowing’ the odd chord from the harmonic minor family – the V7 being by far the most common.4 The two scales can therefore happily co-exist within a song.

Question 13

Why do minor songs based in natural minor occasionally “borrow” chords from the harmonic minor family?

Answer 13

The important point here is that minor songs tend to be based in natural minor using, chords that are within that family, and only occasionally ‘borrowing’ the odd chord from the harmonic minor family – the V7 being by far the most common. The two scales can therefore happily co-exist within a song.

Question 14

The relative minor bridge

Answer 14

We can take the presence of V7-i minor for granted in helping to establish and reinforce a feeling of moving to the minor tonic, noting also that this can be used either instead of – or in conjunction
with – the modal VII-i move from the last chapter. For these two chord changes together prove to be vital landmarks to look out for when navigating between major and minor sections in Beatles songs.

Question 15

Take a look at our first example, ‘There’s A Place’, a criminally under-appreciated song from Please Please Me, which has a special place in the hearts of Beatles musos. For it appears, chronologically, as the group’s first convincing flirtation with the dual tonics of major and relative minor on a recorded original.

Answer 15

Key of E Major
IV(A)—————————–V(B) Pivot
Love—————————-you
Key of C# Minor
flat VI(A)————————-flatVII(B)
Love——————————-you

i (C#m)—————————IV(F#)
In———————————–no sorrow
flatIII(E)—————————V(G#)–i(C#m)
Reinforcing Minor Feel
Don’t——————————-So———–

Key of E major
————–I (E)
There’s a place

Question 16

How does “There’s a place” convince us of the minor tonality?

Answer 16

Here, the build-up on the B chord and the C# melody note soon makes us feel that we are more than just flirting with the minor tonality. As such, we subliminally reinterpret the entry to the bridge as ‘VII-i’. Meanwhile, we now also enjoy a ‘reinforcing’ feel from a V-i, as the G# chord primes the C#m at and again before the next verse resumes in E major.

Question 17

‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’

Answer 17

Key of C# Minor intro
i(C#m)–iv(F#m)–V(G#)–i(C#m)–iv(F#m)–

V(G#)—–i(C#m)—iv(F#m)—V(G#)–6VI(A6)-
Before—dance—-love——–too—–happy–
6VII(B6) Pivot
Key of E Major
V6(B6)—————I(E6)—V7(B7)—I(E)—–
Dance—————me—————–wanna–

iii(G#m)–ii(f#m)–V7–I(E)—-iii(G#)—ii(F#M)
hold——-hand———funny-un-der-stand-
V7(B7)—There is

Question 18

How does ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ get to the relative minor?

Answer 18

– ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ cleverly uses the same versatile pivot premise (remember ‘VII = V’?) but now in mirror image. Having earlier seen how McCartney’s ‘I-iii’ ‘formula’ accounts for the verse, we can now identify the bridge as in the key of C# minor – the relative minor of E. This time, instead of moving to the minor chord via the pivot as in both ‘There’s A Place’ and ‘When I Get Home’, The Beatles dive straight to the C#m from E (no problem with that, of course, as it’s just ‘I-vi’!), with the V7 of the minor key then helping to reinforce the feeling of the minor key.

Question 19

How does the song ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ pivot from C#m to E major?

Answer 19

But note how they emerge from the excursion with those A and B major chords not leading us to the minor tonic but back to the brighter world of E major. The crux is the B chord – it can be interpreted as either the VII of C#m (the key we are now leaving) or as the V of E major (our destination key), and duly creates a ‘Perfect’ V-I move to E major. Indeed, the very same structure starts the song,

Question 20

How does the song “Should have known better” Transition to the minor bridge?

Answer 20

Key of G major
IV(C)————–III7(B7)——vi(em)
Cant you see, Cant you see, That

Key of E minor
6VI(C)————V7(B7)———-i(em)
Cant you see, Cant you see,(pivot) That

the B7 and Lennon’s frantic cry ‘can’t you see’ is a clear point of transition, a harmonic delineation between the primitive major verse and the more intricate bridge in the relative minor.

Question 21

In the song “Should have known better” in the bridge we soon get another B7 (like an exclamation mark on ‘oh’) that reinforces the V-i minor feeling, at least for those first eight bars, before the D chord crucially succeeds in tilting us back to G.

Answer 21

Bridge
i(Em)————6VI(C)—– 6III(G)——–V7(B7)
That————-I tell——–love you—–oh

i(Em)————————III(G)—–III7(G7)
Your gonna say———too——–oh

          6VI(C)-----6VII(D7)---------I(G)--vi(Em) C Major IV(C)------V7(D7)Pivot---I(G)--vi(Em)
          And when---I ask--------mine----

IV(C)——-V7(D7)———I(G)—–V(D)——I(G)
you’re—-say you——–too

Question 22

How can the ‘IV-III7-vi’ formula lead to a new section?

Answer 22

I(E)—–vi(C#m)—IV(A)—III7(G#7)—vi(C3m)
never—–pow—always—day———please
(or V of vi)
The verse looks headed for a simple I-vi-IV-V, only for the dominant to be shunned as the IV backtracks to III7 (another G#7). Just like ‘I Should Have Known Better’. This effective formula is an inspired ‘IV-III7-vi’ that leads to a new section (this time a chorus) starting on the relative minor.

Question 23

This is in contrast to the cheeky euphoria of ‘Drive My Car’, where the same move is emotionally more of a major-ish ‘V-vi’ where we don’t feel as if we’ve really strayed too far from D major.

Answer 23

V7(A7) aug————vi(Bm)———IV(G7)
But you can———–baby————car

vi(Bm)—-IV(G7)—–vi(Bm)—-II(E)—–V(A)
yes———star———baby—–car—–maybe
– —–D Major
I(D)————–IV(G)———V(A)
Love you

Verse
I7(D7)———————————–IV(G)
I told that girl Prospects were

Question 24

The bridge of ‘We Can Work It Out’ establishes a minor-key quality far more strongly – with a bassline that drops purposefully to the F# chord that acts as the dominant of Bm thereby establishing the minor mood of the new key centre – i minor. The bridge is assisted in its task by John’s downbeat lyrical theme (which contrasts with Paul’s famously optimistic, major verse). In this way we can view the A chord as the ‘gateway’ to the minor territory, a ‘VII-V’ pivot that uses the VII element to reinterpret the A to Bm move as VII-i minor.

Answer 24

Chorus
IV(G)—————I(D)————-IV(G)——–V(A)
we out we out
Bridge
i(Bm)—-i(Bm)—–Bm/A——6VI(G)—Vsus4
Life short there’s time (F#sus4)
V(F#)——–i(Bm)—–Bm/A—Bm/G—Bm/F#
fussing fighting friend
Verse D Major
I(D)———Isus4(Dsus4)———I(D)
try to my way
I(D)——–Isus4(Dsus4)—-I(D)
only tell I

Question 25

Why do you not feel such a minor shift from the song ‘In My Life’, also on Rubber Soul, as you do on "Drive my Car" ?

Answer 25

The same goes for the short bridges of ‘In My Life’, also on Rubber Soul. A ‘vi’ starts each four-bar strain but each time the sequence is headed inexorably for the A major tonic. While the song is reflective and poignant, we don’t feel a dark, minor shift and, as with ‘Drive My Car’, this is partly because the relative minor chord is not heard subsequently in conjunction with either its V or VII chords.

Question 26

As with ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ there’s no priming V or VII chord to ‘segue’ us into the bridge, we jump straight in from the major tonic. But notice how both these chords do then appear, taking turns to reinforce our sense of the A minor tonality. There’s even a Dm chord that gives a feeling of iv, but McCartney brilliantly interprets this as the relative minor of F major, a chord that then helps him to exit the bridge by means of the easiest of all ‘retransition’ ploys: IV-V-I (again just as we saw in ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’). In particular, the G chord really earns its keep here by appearing as both VII of A minor and V of C, a dual manifestation for our favourite pivot chord.

Answer 26

Chorus C Major II(D7)-----V7(G7)-----I(C)---V(G)----I(C) When sixty four Bridge A Minor Relative Minor i(Am)----------------------6VII(G)--------------i(Am) Every summer of Wight dear reinforcing minor tonality ----V7(E7)--------i(Am)----iv(Dm)----------6VI(F) and save on your knee Vera further reinforcement C Major IV(F) 6VII(G)----------6III(C) Cmajor V(G)--------I(C) Chuck Dave V(G)---------------I(C) Send me

Question 27

Minor to relative major switches – a caveat

Answer 27

So far all our examples have focused on the ‘relative minor bridge’ – a phenomenon that appears in a song which has already fundamentally established the major tonality. But this is only one context in which The Beatles exploited the scope for switching between these same tonalities. There’s also the mirror image. Songs like ‘Girl’, ‘Wait’, ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, and ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ generate their effect from using the major-to-relative minor principle in reverse. They first establish a downbeat minor tonality from which a following major section emerges like a breath of fresh air.

Question 28

Lennon seem to be describing the time-honoured ‘I-vi-I-vi’ vamp, but there’s now an important twist in the tail. In both these songs Lennon crucially turns the sequence around – opening first with the offending minor chord.

Answer 28

Chorus vi(C#m)--------------------------I(E)----------------- wont be long wont be long vi(C#m)---------------V(A7)----A769----------I(E) wont be long till I you

Question 29

What effect does the vi----I create?

Answer 29

A rather small difference, you might think. But in doing so, Lennon creates a very different effect from the ‘I-vi-I-vi’ we know so well. Now the listener is dealt a sudden minor body-blow before he regains his senses as the tonality gradually confirms the ensuing major chord as the tonic.

Question 30

What effect does the vi----I create?

Answer 30

An opening minor chord creates a different atmosphere and tonal reference point right from the start. After all, if you stop the song after the first bar, what key are you in – major or minor? That’s just the point – for the name of the game even with such a simple two-chord structure is, once again, tonal ambiguity.

Question 31

Lennon seem to be describing the time-honoured ‘I-vi-I-vi’ vamp, but there’s now an important twist in the tail. In both these songs Lennon crucially turns the sequence around – opening first with the offending minor chord.

Answer 31

Chorus vi(Bm)--------------I(D)--------------V(A) at all at all vi(Bm)-------------IV(G)-----------V(A)-------I(D) at all call I'll there

Question 32

we can now sample some songs that start out more by establishing a minor-key verse before a transition to relative major. The latter is now, of course, defined as the key of the major triad built on III (for example, an A minor verse that moves to a chorus or bridge in C major). This can be seen as the mirror image of the major to relative minor move we’ve been examining so far this chapter – but note how the character of the song is now entirely different as a result. Lennon introduces the sound of the III first on the word ‘stay’, progressing to V7 and back to the tonic to remain in minor for the repeat. But just as with the vi chord in a major key, so the III is now the point of liberation – and when Lennon needs an upbeat chorus to swoon dreamily over the subject of the song, he knows he can to jump back to E major, and effortlessly begin a familiar I-iii-ii-V7 sequence.

Answer 32

Verse C Minor i(Cm)-----------V7(G)---------i(Cm)------i7(Cm7) anybody going to story iv(Fm)---------6III(E6)--------V7(G7)--------i(Cm) all stay shes kind V7(G7)---------i(Cm)--------i7(Cm7)------iv(Fm) want makes sorry still i(Cm)-------------ah day Chorus E Flat I(E6)--iiiGm)--ii(Fm)--V7(B67)--I(E6)---iii(Gm) Girl girl girl ii(Fm)--------V7(B67) When I think

Question 33

How does "Im Only Sleeping" advance the concepts in "Girl" ?

Answer 33

By the time of Revolver, Lennon had developed the principle a stage further. From a songwriting point of view, ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ is similar to ‘Girl’ in certain respects – but now Lennon cleverly makes use of a new chord from minor – the VI, which lies conveniently up a fourth/down a fifth from the III. Specifically, he exploits it as a ‘pivot’ chord when targeting the relative major (G), which once again represents the desired major harmony with which to generate the song’s lyrical contrast. But just watch how Lennon achieves the transition within the whole theme of bleary-eyed sleepwalking:

Question 34

The first time around, the VI just acts as an embellishment as we resume the same i-iv of ‘Girl’. But, on the repeat, the G-C move almost has the effect of making the VI chord a ‘local tonic’, with Lennon encouraging us to literally ‘float upstream’ as that same slide to C major defies the currents. We’ve labelled it however as a ‘pivot’ as, from here, a Plagal return to the G now has the effect of making this chord the ‘new I’, duly cueing the chorus action in the relative major as intended.

Answer 34

Verse E Flat Minor i(E6m)-------iv(A6m)-------6III(G6)------6VI(C6) when morning lift head 6III(G6)-----V7(B67)-----i(E6m)--------iv(A6m) I'm yawning when dream 6III(G6)------6VI(C6)------6III(G6)------6VI(C6) stay bed float stream Pivot Chorus Key G Flat Major----IV(C6) I(G6)---------------ii(A6m)--------iii(B6m) please dont no leave ii(A6m)-----------------IVMaj7(C6Maj7) am sleeping

Question 35

What is the special case of ‘And I Love Her’ ?

Answer 35

Here we drift ominously between tonalities, only ever establishing a firm foothold at certain fleeting moments. As a result, the song makes for an essential (if, at times, infuriating) case study against which to pit our understanding of tonality. It is also designed to lay the ground for other tonally ambiguous Beatles excursions that go far beyond this very specific major/relative minor context.

Question 36

The first complicating factor here is the presence of the E6 chord in the intro, which challenges the listener as to the predominance of major or minor because it can be regarded as an inversion of C#m. This author hears the intro as major, with the verse opening with a minor ‘iv-i’ as the F#m now settles into an alternation with the C#m itself. Meanwhile, the refrain: ‘You’d love her too, I love her’, would appear to reflect a clear ‘IV-V-I’ to at least the temporary tonic of E major. But it seems you can’t win, for even this overview is at odds with certain Beatles experts. But that’s just the point with genuine tonality ambiguity – it’s open to interpretation.

Answer 36

Intro F#m / F#m / E6 / E6 E Major ii I C# Minor iv 6III Verse F#m / C#m / F#m / C#m / F#m/ I give / my love / thats all / / and if / ii vi ii vi ii iv i iv i iv C#m / A / B / E / E / my love youd love I love her ii IV V I iv unambiguous IV V I

Question 37

The same goes for the bridge – the harmony now appears to be unequivocally minor, with the C#m now being even more at the centre of things, alternating against its natural minor dominant and an Aeolian VII. Once again, while on balance this author feels the bridge to be in minor, he accepts that others might analyse it in relation to E major.

Answer 37

Bridge C#m / B / C#m /G#m / A love like ours could never die i 6VII i v C#m / G#m / B / B7 / as long as I have you near me i v 6VII

Question 38

What makes "And I Love Her" good?

Answer 38

Whatever the view, the effect of this song is not just down to the simple pitting of major/minor verses and bridges against each other. For the ambiguity also results from the way the verse and refrain blend seamlessly as a single song section.

Question 39

Just to complicate things, the song "And I Love Her" has now modulated up a half step by the time we reach the coda (starting with George’s guitar solo.

Answer 39

the entire song has merely shifted up a semitone, creating a lift for the listener – but without changing the chordal relationships in any way. Our ear still hears the problematic ‘relative’ tonal ambiguity though, to the extent that C#m was perhaps slightly ahead in asserting its superiority, it’s now the Dm that is the strongest tonal draw with the F chord in the closing vamp heard as an inversion of this tonic.

Question 40

‘And I Love Her’ – the final chord – a Picardy third?

Answer 40

This interpretation means that we can reconcile that closing D major as a classical gambit whereby a minor tonic defers to its parallel ‘I major’ for a final confident coup de grâce. This is a trick known as a Tierce De Picardie, or ‘Picardy third’, whereby a minor tonic chord gets its 3rd tweaked up to a major 3rd to lift a sequence out of the gloom with all the overtones of ‘joy’, ‘enlightenment' and ‘relief’ that this implies.

Question 41

The ‘minor two-five-one’: ‘ii75-V7-i minor’

Answer 41

Given how we’ve trumpeted the incessant versatility of the ii-V-I progression and all its variations, it’s surprising that the chord built on the second degree in a minor context has so far been conspicuous by its absence. Compared with the major tonality, chords on this degree in minor pop are somewhat rare, partly because of the fact that V can be primed so easily by other chords (including, as we’ll see, VI7) while the tonic itself is easily reached directly from other scale members, like III, VI, and VII.

Question 42

the ultra-dark sound of the m765 is most easily understood in ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’, where it appears as part of this same classical/jazzy ‘ii765-V7-i minor’ at the climax of each verse cycle. At the end of verse 2 McCartney exits those dark minor strains by means of our favorite pivot chord to take us to that contrasting bright major section. It’s that G major again, which leads us V-I to C major for the ‘out of college, money spent’ bridge. The chord also moved V-I within the minor cycle, of course, but now we stay there – as a key centre – and develop a simple, secondary dominant idea that we visited in Chapter 4. This is a great way of demonstrating to songwriters how unrelated ‘chunks’ of pop harmony can be pieced together.

Answer 42

A minor / Fmaj7 / Bm765 E7 and in the middle in- vest-i----ga-tion 6VI ii765 V7 Pivot / Am / C/G G / I break down i 6III 6VII C Major V Bridge / C E7 / Am C7 / college, money spent future , rent I III7 vi I7 / F G / C moneys gone Nowhere to go IV V I

Question 43

The diatonic minor Cycle Of Fifths Despite the term ‘fifths’, we can see that, not each and every one of these chord changes follows the formula quite as religiously as we saw in major. This is a quirk of the cycle in minor, and occurs because the drop between the F and B roots must be an augmented fourth in order for the roots to remain diatonic to the key. A further pure descent of a fifth at this point would maintain the visual symmetry but spoil the party by bringing in new notes from beyond the scale. Nevertheless, the ear is successfully fooled, and accepts the tritone root-jump for the very reason that, hot on its heels, our very same ‘ii75-V7-i minor’ cadence will yield such a perfect resolution of tension.

Answer 43

i-------- iv-----6VII----6III-------6VI------------ii Am Dm G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bm765 V------------i G Am

Question 44

This time the pivot nature of that G chord (which makes the same transition from minor to major) is made even more obvious by just continuing the V-I move throughout the whole major key section. Once again, here are The Beatles contrasting an intricate minor progression with a blatantly simple, two-chord vamp that acts as an instant ‘tension-breaker’. As a brief philosophical observation, this moment also provides a clue to the popularity of Beatles songwriting insofar as this type of careful structuring provides something for everyone, covering the bases for listeners of varying sophistication.

Answer 44

A minor / Fmaj7 / Bm765 E7 and in the middle cel-e-- bra-tions 6VI ii765 V7 Pivot / Am / G C G / I break down i 6VII 6VII C Major V I V Chorus / C / G7 / / C / Boy gonna carry weight time I V7 I

Question 45

The 6VI7-V7-i minor’ resolution A very common but effective way to cadence to a minor tonic involves using a 6VI7 chord as a ‘pre-dominant chord’ to prepare the V7. In this way the two chords together are just a way of extending the inevitability of the resolution to the tonic, with the semitone drop to V7 being as effortless as the following V7 cadence to the tonic is satisfying.

Answer 45

/ Gm / E67 D7 / love you say that al-ways i 6VI7 V7 / Gm / be mine i

Question 46

The 6VI7-V7-i minor’ resolution let’s jump grandly to Abbey Road to see how Lennon transports the same device majestically to the stirring classical coda of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’. But, notice that we don’t hear the cadence when we first hear the VI7-V7 in the intro. It seems like the identical premise, as B7 cues an altered V: an A augmented chord that is surely going to only one place (D minor) as it hangs in the air from. But no – for Lennon’s opening line does not unfold over the D minor tonic that we expect but, disarmingly, over an A minor chord that now dominates this fancy re-write of a standard minor blues sequence. Once again, The Beatles have thwarted our expectations as we wonder ‘where’s the tonic?’. It’s a question not answered by the final moment of execution at the end of the song which, according to Sod’s Law, just happens to occur on the very V-chord that we know can take us to two different places!

Answer 46

Chorus / Shes so / Dm / Dm/F / i / E769 / B67 / Aaug7 / Heavy Heavy II769 6VI7 Vaug7 / Dm / Dm/F / heavy heavy heavy i

Question 47

The minor rock runs: 6VI-6VII-i’ and ‘i-6VII-6VI-V7’

Answer 47

We can’t discuss the minor tonality without exploring a family of sequences that has become arguably the most famous in the history of minor-key rock and pop. These sequences all exploit the VII and VI, the major triads a whole step and two whole steps below the root, respectively.

Question 48

6VI-6VII-i ‘The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill’, in another relative minor bridge that follows a major verse structure. While this bridge sees a brief embellishment in the form of a 6III bass note, the overall effect gets right to the heart of the Aeolian sound.

Answer 48

Verse / Am Am/c / F G / went out tiger hunting elephant Gun i 6VI 6VII / Am Am/c / F G / in case accidents always his mom i 6VI 6VII

Question 49

‘i-6VII-6VI-V7’ Rather than retrieving the tonic by a modal ascent, this variation continues the descent, wrapping-up the cycle with the more classical-sounding ‘6VI7-6V7-i minor’ we dwelt on earlier. In fact, a look back at ‘We Can Work It Out’ shows this definitive minor progression being outlined by the bass line – another reason that we feel the sense of the minor bridge so strongly. Dating from 1961, here is the defining early blueprint for ‘Aeolian harmony’ – a term that describes decades of rock and pop music that plunder the coolest chords from the natural minor scale.

Answer 49

/ Am / / G / As I walk along I wonder i 6VII / / F / / what went our love a love that was 6VI / E / strong V

Question 50

‘i-6VII-6VI-V7’

Answer 50

It’s no exaggeration to say that this ‘i-6VII-6VI-V7’ progression has become legendary in its own right, a universally understood vehicle for ‘jamming’ guitarists everywhere. As well as ‘Runaway’ and The Ventures ‘Walk Don’t Run’, the identical sequence would later spawn such classics as The Animals’ ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, The Stray Cats’ ‘Stray Cat Strut’ and Dire Straits’ ‘Sultans Of Swing’. Each repeatedly cycles around a sequence whose slow-burning minor menace can also be spotted throughout Flamenco and Latin music.

Question 51

‘i-6VII-6VI-V7’

Answer 51

Without question, here is a progression that ‘works’, with that feeling of romantic inevitability as the roots fall down the natural minor scale. If further proof were needed, when MOJO magazine nominated their ‘100 Greatest Singles Of All Time’, in August 1997, they settled on The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’ as their No. 1, a 1966 song whose verse follows the same formula precisely.

Question 52

‘I’ll Be Back’ also features a parallel major bridge (in fact three!), the song is most interesting for the way it brings an A major chord back into a minor verse sequence! Ultimately Lennon is merely exploiting the basic theory that says that, having ‘arrived’ at E7, he can go just as easily to I major as i minor. But the icing on the cake here is the harmony part which features both the major/minor-defining 63rd and natural 3rd of A, in what creates one of the most ingenious of all the many Beatles musical manifestations of lyrical themes. Listen as the ‘resigned’ C natural moves to ‘optimistic’ C#, reflecting the change in sentiment as ‘I’ll go’ becomes ‘I’ll be back’ - and with a hopeful rising cadence.

Answer 52

Verse / Am / G6 / you know if you break my heart ill go i 6VII Classic Aeolian Descent / Fmaj7 / E / A / but Ill be back again 6VI V Classic Aeolian Descent Parallel Major

Question 53

parallel major/minor switches

Answer 53

Listen to the fundamental change in mood that accompanies the bridge of ‘Runaway’. After the haunting strains of the minor verse, the song receives a powerful emotional lift for the repeated cries of ‘I wonder’, with this upbeat feeling confirming that we are indeed back in ‘major territory’. This time the relationship is not one of relative major and minor as defined by ‘i-6III’ (our mirror image of ‘I-vi’) but i minor and I major. For Shannon’s song now unfolds with the commonest of sequences in the key of A major, including an alternation of A and F#m (yes, our original ‘I-vi’) – sounds that are light years removed from the earlier strains of Am and F natural.

Question 54

parallel major/minor switches How is ‘I’ll Be Back’ the embodiment of tonal ambiguity?

Answer 54

The parallel major/minor relationship defines every aspect of ‘I’ll Be Back’, from the A major intro that gives way to the A minor verse, only to reassert itself in each of the three bridges (with two different constructions). Finally, as if we were still in any doubt that the song is the embodiment of tonal ambiguity, Lennon even goes so far as to alternate A major and A minor repeatedly in the harrowing, two-chord closing vamp. Here are The Beatles once again breaking the rules of tonality. For just as we sometimes struggle to distinguish between relative major and minor so, here, we have no chance of separating parallel major and minor.

Question 55

Most of The Beatles’ parallel switches (which go equally to either major or minor depending on what key the verse starts out in) are clearly delineated in a bridge section. ‘Norwegian Wood’ is a case in point. It features a simple minor progression that is of most interest for the way that a ‘plain’ ii triad (in a minor key) leads us back from the bridge to the major verse with, yes, a ii-V-I sequence. Here we get a straight drop from Lennon’s major verse to a parallel minor bridge that’s usually attributed to McCartney.

Answer 55

Bridge (after a D major verse) / Dm / G / She asked me to stay---- any- where D Minor i IV / Dm / Em7 A / so I looked around and-----a chair i ii7 V Verse Parallel Major / D / I sat on a rug I

Question 56

This is interesting, as the parallel minor bridge of ‘Michelle’ is famously claimed by Lennon. The ‘Michelle’ sequence is in fact a brilliantly disguised outing for the famous i-6III-6VI-V7 progression, which was popularised on the evergreen jazz standard, ‘Sunny’. This too can be seen to feature a type of 6VI-V7-i resolution, but the sequence in this particularly quirky lyrical context gives subtle extra emphasis to that 6VI chord, over the word ‘say’ – another great example of The Beatles avoiding predictability in a simple sequence, helped here by altering the rhythmic flow of the tune.

Answer 56

Bridge (after an F major verse) / Fm / Fm / I love you, I love you, I Love you F minor i / A67 / D6 / Thats all I want to say 6III7 6VI / C7 Un-til I find a way V7

Question 57

no discussion of parallel major/minor in popular music would be complete without reference to Cole Porter, the pioneer of such juxtaposition in popular song, who often toyed with the two moods in disorientating fashion. Never more so than in ‘Night And Day’ where C major and C minor are repeatedly set against each other, teasing the listener with a juggling of the lyrical/musical associations of bright ‘day’ and dark ‘night’.

Answer 57

Vocals Minor / C6 / Cm / Night and day Major / G7 / Gaug / C / you are the one Minor / C6 / Cm / Only you beneath the Major / G7 / Gaug / C / the moon and under the sun

Question 58

Paul McCartney would resurrect a very similar musical/lyrical premise for ‘Fool On The Hill’. Just watch as the 3rd of D major drops by a semitone to depict – if not quite Porter’s ‘night’ – then certainly the setting sun, as dusk falls on the disconsolate subject at the end of another futile day. The parallel minor here forms a discrete chorus section before the D6 chord lifts the gloom by reflecting McCartney’s intuitive sense of musical ‘daybreak’. This extract is particularly important in the context of this chapter as it demonstrates Paul McCartney’s inspired use of the flat 6th note in a natural minor melody. In fact we see how both the 9th (here an E note) and this haunting flat 6th (B6) add a powerful melodic flavour to the basic five-note minor pentatonic ‘shell’. The result is the natural minor scale – or Aeolian mode – in all its glory.

Answer 58

/ Em7 / D7 / D6 / Nobody wants to know him -just a fool ii7 V7 I6 D Major Tonality / Bm7 / Em7 / A7 / Dm / Dm#5 / and he - answer fool on the hill iv7 ii7 V7 i D Major Tonality------------D Minor Tonality / Dm / Dm#5 / C7 / Dm / Dm7 / sees the sun-- head - world - round D Minor Tonality

Question 59

What song inspired the parallel major/minor switch for McCartney?

Answer 59

Meanwhile, McCartney fascinatingly reveals his personal source for this particular songwriting secret as ‘Besame Mucho’, the much-maligned fifties standard: ‘With “Besame Mucho” by the Coasters, it’s a minor song and it changes to a major, and where it changes to major is such a big moment musically,’ raves Paul, quite rightly (listen out at 0.15 on the Anthology 1 version).

Question 60

The Beatles had developed a most novel take on this ‘parallel trick’ by the time they reached Abbey Road. For ‘Come Together’ is best understood as a very subtle variation of this idea, as a downbeat D minor verse gives way to a very brief parallel major chorus. So where, then, is the D major chord? Lennon seems to have had his mojo (filter) not just workin’ but in overdrive. For instead of the obvious D major that would have completed a Three-Chord Trick chorus, he substitutes its relative minor, Bm. Yes, another ‘vi for I’ which then moves easily to IV and on to the V. Normally, as we have seen so often, such a vi introduces a downbeat twist by appearing as a relative minor in a major key. But notice here how it lifts the song.

Answer 60

Dm7 He wear no shoe shine----- CocaCola i7 A I know you , You know me V G7 One thing I can tell you is U got to be free IV7 / Bm / A / G / A / gether right now over me vi V IV V

Question 61

What tonality is Come Together in?

Answer 61

The song is clearly in a minor blues setting for the verse itself, and it is the fleeting incarnation of the parallel major tonality that is really responsible for the welcome respite from the moody atmospherics. The more positive refrain: ‘Come together, right now’ – complete with the introduction of the F# note (the major 3rd of D) in the melody – provides another example of The Beatles’ matching of music and sentiment before they plunge back into the menacing minor world of ‘old flat top’ and his disturbing idiosyncrasies.

Question 62

Answer 62

Notice also the particularly appropriate Ilse of the chord - in a melodic sense - as the word 'will' appears as the defining b3rd . However, the v minor chord in this context is by no means the most common dominant in minor -key pop music. Aeolian cadences aside, many (indeed, probably most) minor -key songs break the diatonic rules in one fundamental respect. They adopt a 'regular ' V chord - a dominant V7 - just as we expect in a major key.

Question 63

Answer 63

Question 64

McCartney's instrumental consists of just these three chords: Em, Am and a dominant B7 - a major V7 chord that can now be rationalised as deriving from the leading tone in a closely related minor scale - the harmonic minor.

Answer 64

Creating V7 in minor - the harmonic minor scale: The important point here is that minor songs tend to be based in natural minor using, for the most part, chords that are within that family, and only occasionally 'borrowing' the odd chord from the harmonic minor family - the V7 being by far the most common. The two scales can therefore happily co-exist within a song.

Question 65

Question 66

Answer 66

Question 67

Answer 67

Question 68

Answer 68

But note how they emerge from the excursion with those A and B major chords not leading us to the minor tonic but back to the brighter world of E major. The crux is the B chord - it can be interpreted as either the bVII of C#m (the key we are now leaving) or as the V of E major (our destination key), and duly creates a 'Perfect' V-I move to E major. I ndeed , the very same structure starts the song, as follows:

Question 69

Answer 69

Question 70

Answer 70

Question 71

Answer 71

Question 72

Answer 72

Question 73

Answer 73

Question 74

Minor to relative major switches - a caveat

Answer 74

Question 75

Answer 75

Question 76

Answer 76

Lennon introduces the sound of the bIII first on the word 'stay', progressing to V7 and back to the tonic to remain in minor for the repeat. But just as with the vi chord in a major key, so the bIII is now the point of liberation - and when Lennon needs an upbeat chorus to swoon dreamily over the subject of the song, he knows he can jump back to Eb major, and effortlessly begin a familiar I- iii-ii-V7 sequence.

Question 77

Answer 77

Question 78

Answer 78

Question 79

Answer 79

This author hears the intro as major, with the verse opening with a minor 'iv-i' as the F#m now settles into an alternation with the C#m itself. Meanwhile, the refrain: -You'd love her too , I love her' , would appear to reflect a clear ' IV - V -I' to at least the temporary tonic of E major. But it seems you can't win, for even this overview is at odds with certain Beatles experts. But that's just the point with genuine tonality ambiguity - it's open to interpretation

Question 80

The same goes for the bridge - the harmony now appears to be unequivocally minor , with the C#m now being even more at the centre of things , alternating against its natural minor dominant and an Aeolian bVII

Answer 80

Question 81

Just to comp licate things , the song has now modulated up a half step by the time we reach the coda (starting with George's guitar solo at 1.28).

Answer 81

While we haven't yet form ally introduced moves to different ke y signatures, this represents a gentle introduction as the entire song has merely shifted up a semitone, creating a lift for the listener - but without changing the chordal relationships in any way.

Question 82

Answer 82

Question 83

The 'minor two-five -one': 'ii7b5- V7-i minor'

Answer 83

Question 84

Answer 84

This is a great way of demonstrating to songwriters how unrelated 'chunks' of pop harmony can be pieced together. Here The Beatles do it in almost cut -and-paste fashion (in keeping with the whole history of the medley), with a pivot chord just linking two seemingly disparate sections. The first of these can now be revealed as nothing more than the minor -key version of the diatonic Cycle Of Fifths.

Question 85

Answer 85

Despite the term 'fifths', we can see that not each and every one of these chord changes follows the formula quite as religiously as we saw in major. This is a quirk of the cycle in minor, and occurs because the drop between the F and B roots must be an augmented fourth in order for the roots to remain diatonic to the key. A further pure descent of a fifth at this point would maintain the visual symmetry but spoil the party by bringing in new notes from beyond the scale. Nevertheless, the ear is successfully fooled, and accepts the tritone root- jump for the very reason that, hot on its heels, our very same ' ii7b5-V7-i minor cadence will yield such a perfect resolution of tension. And how appropriate that McCartney should negotiate this particular quirk of music theory over the very word 'negotiations'

Question 86

the same minor Cycle Of Fifths soon reappears as 'Money' is reprised in the minor -key 'filling' in the 'sandwich' between the two choruses of the upbeat pub sing-a-Iong, 'Carry That Weight'. This time the pivot nature of that G chord (which makes the same transition from minor to major) is made even more obvious by just continuing the V-I move throughout the whole major key section.

Answer 86

Once again, here are The Beatles contrasting an intricate minor progression with a blatantly simple, two- chord vamp that acts as an instant 'tension- breaker'. As a brief philosophical observation, this moment also provides a clue to the popularity of Beatles songwriting insofar as this type of careful structuring provides something for everyone, covering the bases for listeners of varying sophistication.

Question 87

The ~ VI7-V7-i minor' resolution

Answer 87

Question 88

The ~ VI7-V7-i minor' resolution

Answer 88

Question 89

The minor rock runs: bVI-bVII-i and i-bVII-bVI-V7-i We can' t discuss the minor tonality without exploring a family of sequences that has become arguably the most famous in the history of minor - key rock and pop. These sequences all exploit the bVII and bVI, the major triads a whole step and two whole steps below the root, respectively

Answer 89

Question 90

Answer 90

Question 91

Answer 91

Question 92

parallel major / minor switches Listen to the fundamental change in mood that accompanies the bridge of 'Runaway'. After the haunting strains of the minor verse, the song receives a powerful emotional lift for the repeated cries of 'I wonder ', with this upbeat feeling confirming that we are indeed back in 'major territory'.

Answer 92

This time the relationship is not one of relative major and minor as defined by ' i- bIII (our mirror image of 'I-vi') but i minor and I major. For Shannon's song now unfolds with the commonest of sequences in the key of A major, including an alternation of A and F#m (yes, our original ' I- vi') - sounds that are light years removed from the earlier strains of Am and F natural.

Question 93

And while 'I'll Be Back' also features a parallel major bridge (in fact three!), the song is most interesting for the way it brings an A major chord back into a minor verse sequence!

Answer 93

Question 94

Most of The Beatles' parallel switches (which go equally to either major or minor depending on what key the verse starts out in) are clearly delineated in a bridge section. 'Norwegian Wood' is a case in point. It features a simple minor progression that is of most interest for the way that a 'plain' ii triad (in a minor key) leads us back from the bridge to the major verse with , yes, a ii -V-I sequence.

Answer 94

Here we get a straight drop from Lennon's major verse to a parallel minor bridge that's usually attributed to McCartney.

Question 95

Answer 95

Question 96

no discussion of parallel major/ minor in popular music would be complete without reference to Cole Porter, the pioneer of such juxtaposition in popular song, who often toyed with the two moods in disorientating fashion. Never more so than in 'Night And Day' where C major and C minor are repeatedly set against each other , teasing the listener with a juggling of the lyrical/musical associations of bright 'day' and dark 'night'

Answer 96

Question 97

Just watch as the 3rd of D major drops by a semitone to depict - if not quite Porter's 'night' - then certainly the setting sun, as dusk falls on the subject at the end of another futile day. The parallel minor here forms a discrete chorus section before the D6 chord lifts the gloom by reflecting McCartney's intuitive sense of musical 'daybreak'.

Answer 97

Question 98

'While we've only a seen a few extracts so far, this parallel major/ minor contrast emerges as critical to the structure of several songs from all three Beatles songwriters - dating once again all the way back to the debut album. Here's an at-a-glance reference to their use of the device, albeit in a range of contexts of varying subtlety.

Answer 98

Question 99

Answer 99

The song is clearly in a minor blues setting for the verse itself, and it is the fleeting incarnation of the parallel major tonality that is really responsible for the welcome respite from the moody atmospherics. The more positive refrain: 'Come together , right now ' -complete with the introduction of the F# note (the major 3rd of D) in the melody - provides another example of The Beatles' matching of music and sentiment before they plunge back into the menacing minor world of 'old flat top' and his disturbing idiosyncrasies.