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Musical Form

 Spotify playlist for this Musical Close-Up

Expanded & Irregular Forms

Organization of the Beatles' songs were more complex than most preceding rock music, which was typically in very symmetrical forms based on 8-, 12-, or 16-bar phrases; numerous examples are provided below:

• "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley
  • 12-bar blues form, divided into three vocal phrases (aab) that are 4 bars each
  • more examples of the 12-bar blues form 
• "I'm Walkin'" by Fats Domino
  • AABA form with each section consistently 8-bars in length
  • more examples of the AABA form 
• "Venus" by Frankie Avalon
  • AABABA with consistent 8-bar sections
• "Runaround Sue" by Dion & the Belmonts
  • I-vi-IV-V progression, in consistent 8-bar phrases (even the two brief sections that are not I-vi-IV-V), messing with the symmetry (slightly)
  • more examples of the I-vi-IV-V progression 
• "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis
  • also an AABA, but while the A sections are 8 bars, the B section extends to 12 bars
• "All I Have to Do is Dream" by the Everly Brothers
  • AABA made up of 8-bar sections (after brief 4-bar intro) ... midway through a 2-bar insertion occurs
• with some notable exceptions ("Yer Blues" and "Birthday," for example), during their later period, the Beatles avoided the typical 12-bar blues & AABA form of most early rock
• in music by the Beatles (even music of their early period), phrase structure was often made up of asymmetrical phrases and/or phrases of atypical length (e.g., 7-, 10-, or 11-measure phrases instead of the nice, neat 4- or 8- bar phrases of most previous rock)

 

A Day in the Life (complete)

This song has a very unique musical form ... not a copy of some preestablished formula; from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Verse: 10-measure phrases, rather than typical 8 measures

the phrase "I saw a photograph" added to the end creates the additional 2 measures

 

 

Click on any of the buttons below to initiate playback from the represented location in the song (A Day in the Life).

Intro
Verse 1       a a'
Verse 2       a a'
Verse 3       a a'
Transition tag      full orchestra
Bridge
Retransition
Verse 3      Can you hear the aa' form of this verse?
Transition tag

Irregular Phrase Length

Love Me Do

13-measure verse; released as a single in the UK, then included on Please Please Me (1963)

 

Michelle

6-measure verse (A), 10-measure bridge (B) in AABABA form; on Rubber Soul (1965)

 

Yesterday

7-measure phrases; released as a single, then included on Help! (1965)

 

I Am the Walrus

3-measure phrases; on Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

 

Hello Goodbye

15 1/2 measure section: 5 measures + 3 1/2 measures* (measure of 2/4 inserted into quadruple meter) + 3 measures + 4 measures; on Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

*one bar of 2/4 inserted into a quadruple meter

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