|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
In Reply to: What's the opening chord to A Hard Day's Night? posted by Matthew G. on March 20, 2001 at 20:27:28:
Apparently, if you ring Rickenbacker you are greeted by this chord- I haven't tried this though.I've seen a few arguments about the chord in question- maybe some finger- pickin' Inmate can settle the matter ?
Follow Ups:
Chords are defined by the notes that are contained in it, not the kind of guitar, or who is playing it, or how many guitars, or how many strings the guitar has for that matter,
It's not G. It's F.
Dominant 9th of F.
The chord consists of the notes D F A C and G, so it can't be what you say. It looks to me to be more like a Dm7 chord with the G as a suspended fourth. Since the song is in G major, this chord acts as a dominant with respect to the chord on G which begins the first verse.
But, I don't think it's in G major. This tune is particularly subtle and quite a marvel.It doesn't establish any tonic key but flirst between C and F before
a flatted 7th, after which suggests C as the tonic with a strong pull
to B flat 7th. Dominant 7ths, sharpened 7ths, blues chords, and modal progressions follow, with G finally being reached in the "I feel alright" phrase. Because of cadential quality at this point in the music, I can see how one may regard the piece as being in G. But, G is the dominant of C - which has been implicit as the tonic all along. The piece leaves us in G and fades out, without, however, the feeling of having ended on the tonic
G is established right away and is the chord that begins every verse. The 8 bar bridge changes to the iii key (B minor)Here is the first twelve bars:
G C G F G
I IV I flatVII IG C G F G
I IV I flatVII IC D G C G
VI V I VI I
Paul
In any case, within the confines of what seemed to many as merely a simple pop song, we find incredible harmonic subtlety which is responsible for the effect of the music and how well it underscores it's lyric. The modal progressions, along with the tension between C and G and the pull to B flat, make this piece so remarkable. As scholars who looked at this music decades ago said, there just wasn't anything like this in the "textbook harmony of the 18th or 19th cent".
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: