The Key To Lennon
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:12 am
For those who perform Beatles' songs it is no secret that a key to the magic of Lennon lies, at least in part, in his usage of the key of G.
Whether this is based on Lennon's vocal range or his usage of the key during his formative guitar-playing years is not known to me. Nonetheless, both Lennon and Lennon and McCartney relied on G, frequently and for good reason. It seems to have held some magic for Lennon as he put it to very good use.
In looking at the Beatles' number one hits, one-third were written in the key of G and included Love Me Do I Want To Hold Your Hand She Loves You A Hard Day's Night I Feel Fine Paperback Writer Eleanor Rigby All You Need Is LoveIf your forgive the drop tuning, "Yesterday" is also played in G and raises the count to 9 out of 27 hits on the Beatles' One CD.
Before simply jumping to the conclusion that Lennon wrote many Beatles' songs and just preferred G, a quick look at the roughly 213 recordings released reveals that only 14 percent were written in this key by the Fab Four. Yet 33 percent of their top hits were written in the key of G.
Honourable mention goes to other songs that were written in G that were great songs but lesser hits Blackbird Cry Baby Cry A Day In The Life Got To Get You Into My Life Here There And Everywhere I Don't Want To Spoil The Party I'll Cry Instead I'm A Loser I'm Down I Should Have Known Better You've Got To Hide Your Love Away You Can't Do That Think For Yourself You Like Me Too Much P.S. I Love You Rain Not A Second Time Tell Me What You See Two Of UsWhile not complete, that is the lion's share.
So is there something magic about the key of G and Lennon in particular and the Beatles' in general? Do were prefer this key because of its full sound, our ability to sing along, or the suspended quality of the chord formations such as in "Rain", the captivating rhythm 12 string in "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" or the transitions from G to Bm used so skillfully by Lennon.
While I will be the first to say that I am guilty of over analysis when it comes to Beatles' songs, I am interested in your comments. Was this just random writing on Lennon and McCartney's part or is there something soulful and inherent in the use of this key? "G" I'm not sure. I do know, however, that the sum of the parts here is greater than the whole.
Whether this is based on Lennon's vocal range or his usage of the key during his formative guitar-playing years is not known to me. Nonetheless, both Lennon and Lennon and McCartney relied on G, frequently and for good reason. It seems to have held some magic for Lennon as he put it to very good use.
In looking at the Beatles' number one hits, one-third were written in the key of G and included Love Me Do I Want To Hold Your Hand She Loves You A Hard Day's Night I Feel Fine Paperback Writer Eleanor Rigby All You Need Is LoveIf your forgive the drop tuning, "Yesterday" is also played in G and raises the count to 9 out of 27 hits on the Beatles' One CD.
Before simply jumping to the conclusion that Lennon wrote many Beatles' songs and just preferred G, a quick look at the roughly 213 recordings released reveals that only 14 percent were written in this key by the Fab Four. Yet 33 percent of their top hits were written in the key of G.
Honourable mention goes to other songs that were written in G that were great songs but lesser hits Blackbird Cry Baby Cry A Day In The Life Got To Get You Into My Life Here There And Everywhere I Don't Want To Spoil The Party I'll Cry Instead I'm A Loser I'm Down I Should Have Known Better You've Got To Hide Your Love Away You Can't Do That Think For Yourself You Like Me Too Much P.S. I Love You Rain Not A Second Time Tell Me What You See Two Of UsWhile not complete, that is the lion's share.
So is there something magic about the key of G and Lennon in particular and the Beatles' in general? Do were prefer this key because of its full sound, our ability to sing along, or the suspended quality of the chord formations such as in "Rain", the captivating rhythm 12 string in "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" or the transitions from G to Bm used so skillfully by Lennon.
While I will be the first to say that I am guilty of over analysis when it comes to Beatles' songs, I am interested in your comments. Was this just random writing on Lennon and McCartney's part or is there something soulful and inherent in the use of this key? "G" I'm not sure. I do know, however, that the sum of the parts here is greater than the whole.
