Register for ToneGym:.
John Lennon's "Help!" is a true Beatles classic, and like lots of Beatles classics it includes a crucial modification. However, unlike the overt crucial altering of tunes like Penny Lane or Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, this essential change is far less obvious to the ears and is nearly hidden in plain sight.
CORRECTION: Small typo with the B small scale I show on screen at various times in this video. The 2nd chord must be C# dim not C# m. I've utilized the YouTuber editor to blur out the inaccurate chord. It does not actually affect what I'm explaining in the video however I thought I ought to mention it in case anyone is puzzled! Thanks to ric8248 for bringing the typo to my attention!
Playlist of all my Beatles videos:.
This video was edited by David Hartley. Check out his YouTube channel here:.
And, an additional special thanks goes to Chase Heeler, Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel's Patreon saints!.
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON:.
0:00 Assistance!
1:05 Perfect Cadence.
2:19 Pivot Chord.
4:20 Carefully associated keys.
5:26 ToneGym.
6:09 Circle of 5ths & carefully related secrets.
6:36 Modal mixture and fluffy crucial changes.
8:05 Did Lennon do this on purpose?
9:15 Patreon.
Click Here To Learn Piano or Keyboard
David I really appreciate all your videos both the Beatles and their genius
I noticed! They are our generations’ (1950s) WAMozart. Genius musicians, my faves forever. 💖
I believe “Now and Then” features this key relationship as well, but it’s the verse that’s in minor (a minor) and the chorus that’s in major (G major).
Yes!!
@@NateRuvin414 😉
The Beatles knew none of this theory when they were actually writing the songs. They were just naturally great songwriters with years of practice behind them.
Yes, that’s pretty well established that a lot of what they did was based on intuition and experimenting. David says that in the video. However, their natural musical aptitude doesn’t negate a theoretical analysis and explanation of what makes songs effective. Not knowing music theory doesn’t mean there is no theory at work. They’re not mutually exclusive.
They knew some of the theory but not by the textbook names that is.
the beatles definitely knew basic keys tho. multiple interviews confirm this.
@@noahmorley9726 Yeah, they were clearly most likely like most musicians without years and years of schooling – a mix of intuition, some learned stuff, some experimenting, some genius, some happy accidents, some learning by repetition or trial and error, some stuff they just picked up along the way, learned from others, or guessed at and then became better and better at.
Paul and George definitely knew a bit of theory (perhaps they weren’t formally educated in it, but they worked out a lot for themselves)…John was more intuitive, though.
I call it a Perfect Cadence over here in the US…
3:15 pretty sure the D-G-A-Bm motion is III – VI – VII – i and the D chord is the pivot. And I think that’s the beauty of the change is that it, effectively, has already changed by the time we get to the A that wants to resolve to Bm.
Simply amazing. Very beautifully demonstrated. Thanks David.
When I listen to the song, personally it feels like the verse and chorus are both in A mixolydian; the note A still feels like the home note to me in the chorus. Everyone’s experience is different, though, so I appreciate your own analysis!
Like you said I can’t tell anyone how to feel about it but the ‘feel’ of mixolydian is usually adventurous or funky/bluesy and I don’t hear that at all here
100% agree. Chorus feels tense and unresolved, hanging on the 2 (B) in the vocal melody. That’s it.
great video!
Thanks!
I think the chorus is also in A major, that’s why it doesn’t feel like a modulation. It starts from the second degree
These days folks use the term “key change” more loosely than my training had it. The chorus of “Help” is just ii-bVII-V, leading back to A. bVII is just a passing chord.
Oh I agree, but it’s a clever surprise. ii-bVII-V-I hints at key changes – without executing them (we agree). Song starts in Bm, so is Bm key? Then fall 2 steps to an emphatic G, so will it be G? Then fall 1 1/2 to emphatic E. Land on A – and only then, your brain pieces together that it was A all along – the surprise revealed.
That’s an interesting take, but can you really call it a passing chord when you stay on it for three bars?
@@jtoddbrown I think so. The whole impetus of the chorus is a walk down from ii (Bm) to V (E) to get you back to I (A) on the verse. If the bass went B A G# you’d be arriving at the E too early. So you throw in G natural along the way to E.
7:37 Ah yes, my favorite mode: mixoldyian
Love your videos! really inspiring 🙏
I didn’t notice because I disagree lol. This one is very open to interpretation… personally I think the whole song is just modal interchange between A major and A mixolydian.
The chorus to me doesn’t feel like B is the new tonic note. It sounds hanging and unresolved, because it’s the 2. B being the second note in the A scale, of course. Just because the vocal melody in the chorus ends on B repeatedly doesn’t automatically make B the tonic does it? In context I think it’s pretty easy to say that B is the 2, as I said above.
It’s all down to the ear I guess. But I like the idea that the chorus is just one big tense thing, never resolving until the A at the very end of each chorus. That’s how my ear has always interpreted it.
Sign up for ToneGym: https://tonegym.co/?aff=2104 🎵
📌CORRECTION: Small typo with the B minor scale I show on screen at various times in this video. The 2nd chord should be C#dim not C#m. I’ve used the YouTuber editor to blur out the incorrect chord. It doesn’t really affect what I’m explaining in the video but I thought I should mention it in case anyone is confused! Thanks to ric8248 for bringing the typo to my attention!
Brian wilson is also amazing at the subtle key change. Sometimes in the middle of a verse (dance dance dance, girls on the beach) he doesnt get the credit he deserves alot of the time due to the lyrics being very childish and simple….but the music certainly is not.
Thank you sir
Interesting video, thanks! In the last movement of Mahler’s 1st symphony, the surprise modulation to D major is about as far as possible from “closely related keys”.
Hi David, thanks for the “Help” song analysis, i think that in this case we should also consider that the fact of starting the song with the Bm section, turns the key change softer than what it is, cause the listener’s ear was previously prepared for the change. So keeping this in mind, to me the jump from the A part to the Bm part, behaves as a straight key change modulation. All the best!
I really enjoy these theory lessons a lot!
This channel has thrived for so long.
I can’t imagine the amount of copyright nonsense you must have dealt with.