Breaking The 12 Bar Blues Rules

For a band that played such a large amount of 12 bar blues songs in their early days, The Beatles wrote and recorded relatively few of their own. Often when they did they they departed in some small, but significant way from the standard pattern.

Here's a stock 12 Bar Progression

I  I  I  I

IV IV I  I

V IV  I  V

Which, in the key of C, would look like this -

C C C C

F F C C

G F C G

Compare that to the verse of Can't Buy Me Love

C C C C

F F C C

G F F C

Instead of V IV I V in the last four bars we have V IV IV I.

Subtle.

Delaying the root chord (C) keeps you hanging on and creates a bit of extra interest (because you weren't expecting it) and means the chords resolve on the word love rather than money.

Chuck Berry was a massive influence on the group, and Roll Over Beethoven (covered on With The Beatles) also adapts the 12 bar formula.

I     IV  I  I

IV  IV  I  I

IV  V   I  I

As well the IV substitution in bar 2 which is pretty common, he switches IV and V chords around in the 9th and 10th bar.

There's more where that came from, but for now try a 12 bar pattern with one bar altered in some way.

Thanks to 'Old Man' Taylor for corrections

Chapter 2.4 With the Beatles - I'll Get You The Covers

So in the new faster moving more streamlined ‘I want to get through all the songs before 2014’ style here’s the first overview of chapter 2 of the Beatles catalogue.

She Loves You 

is a classic, which I’ve already covered in great detail here.

B-side 

I’ll Get You

is an aimless song with no real spark at all. 

Update 29/06/10 - I do like the minor 5 chord (Ticket 44) on "it's not like me to pre - tend" and some of the melody flows really nicely, but it's all too fragmented... 

It’s also a strong contender for the top 10 worst Beatles lyrics (watch out for that post!).

Onto the 6 cover versions.

The Hot

Motown songs Money (That’s What I Want) and You Really Got A Hold On Me and Broadway show tune Till There Was You are all classics & though the first two may not yield much we can steal, songwriting wise, the latter is fascinating. It sounds like something McCartney could have written himself a few years later, all clever melodic cleverness and twee lyrics. Definitely one to pick over at a later date.

The Not

Chuck Berry’s was the Beatles most covered artist (after Elvis) but Roll Over Beethoven is pretty unremarkable, as is Please Mr Postman. Whereas Harrison’s soloing on Till There Was You sounds effortlessly classy, his cack handed attempt at the Roll Over Beethoven intro makes an average song cringeworthy.

Devil In Her Heart is a totally stock doo wop effort notable mainly for the occurrence of the 4, m4, 1 chord change that the Beatles used so often in their own songs.

Overall the Beatles are covering some better crafted songs than they tackled on Please Please Me.

Next time we’ll look at the original tunes.

Part Two: I Wanna Be Your Man, Little Child

Part Three: All My Loving, It Won't Be Long