Show Notes
The opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" is one of the most famous sounds in rock history. Musicians still argue about what it is. In this deep dive into the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night album, we break down the chord note by note: John Lennon's and George Harrison's guitars, Paul McCartney's bass and George Martin's piano.
You'll hear how the chord works in G major, what George Harrison said about it, and how the Beatles reused the same voicing elsewhere. We also look at Harrison's Rickenbacker 12-string, the songwriting and arranging choices behind "Things We Said Today," "And I Love Her," "If I Fell" and "Can't Buy Me Love," and why simple ideas made the Beatles' music so lasting.
In this episode:
The history and theory of the “A Hard Day's Night” opening chord
How the guitars, bass and piano combine to make that sound
Other songs that use the same or similar chord voicings
Why the Rickenbacker 12-string shaped the Beatles' sound
Lennon and McCartney's songwriting, harmony and vocal choices in “If I Fell”
Raw-track listening and an odd quirk in the "Can't Buy Me Love" recording
Practical tips for playing along: use the melody and chord tones to embellish a song
Reworking Beatles songs live, from "Things We Said Today" to "Tomorrow Never Knows"
The hidden ties between “And I Love Her” and “The Honeymoon Song”
Chapters 00:00 Welcome and why this album still matters 08:01 Reinventing "Things We Said Today" live 09:26 About the RPM Beatles course 10:14 The Hard Day's Night opening chord: introduction 13:37 George Harrison on the chord, and what the chord is 19:03 George Martin's piano part 24:12 Other songs with the same chord 31:31 The 12-string guitar and "Ticket to Ride" 36:50 Simple building blocks, and why they work 46:23 McCartney's contributions and the "Paul McCartney After the Beatles" book 57:32 Haunting harmonies, key changes and vocals 1:16:53 "Can't Buy Me Love" and the raw track 1:25:37 "And I Love Her" and the "Honeymoon Song" connection 1:37:30 Harrison's melodic solos and a wrap-up of tips
Beatles class: six Mondays, 5:30 PM ET, starting November 2. Details and signup: https://www.rpm-school.com/
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