Listening Guides

Listening Guide 17.1

Listening Guide 17.2

Listening Guide 17.1
"A Day in the Life" 4 beats per measure

iTune link = (no Link on Itunes) A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life" is the finale of the Sgt. Pepper album. Actually, it is more of an encore, since it follows the reprise of the "Sgt. Pepper" theme near the end of the album. It is a prime example of the ambitious creativity that the Beatles and their producer, George Martin, were exercising at this time. The piece—one can hardly call it a mere song—incorporates different rhythmic feels, surrealistic lyrics that arouse suspicion of reference to drugs, studio overdubbing techniques, and unusual use of orchestra and other instrumental colors.
         The song opens with acoustic guitar, followed shortly by piano. The tempo for the verse of the song is set with rhythm provided only by maracas. John Lennon sings the vocal; his lyric uses his avid newspaper reading as a point of departure. In the second verse his lyric becomes more surreal and disjointed, its growing strangeness made more dramatic by sporadic and aggressive rhythmic figures on the drum set. By the halfway point in the verse the drums settle into an easy rock beat. The accompaniment for the third verse is virtually the same. It is interesting to note that each of the three successive verses varies in length by one measure; the first verse is 10 measures long, the second verse is 9 measures long, and the third verse is 11 measures long. The extension of the third verse is created by the drawn-out line "I'd love to turn you on" (a drug allusion if there ever was one).
         A 40-piece orchestra now fades in, beginning with a two-note oscillating pattern that the "turn you on" vocal line just completed. Over the next 10 measures, each instrument of the orchestra begins climbing up in range, the note choices of the ascent left to the spontaneous discretion of each musician. The total effect is a slow, rising cluster of pitches with no key or chord center.
         The building tension of the rising orchestra figure is suddenly interrupted and "A Day in the Life" enters a new song section. The peppy, steady new rhythmic feel is provided primarily by the piano and drums. An alarm clock sound effect is heard, and Paul McCartney sings about waking up and hurrying to the bus. After singing "I went into a dream," there is an ethereal wordless vocal in deep echo, creating a dreamlike environment. The vocal is eventually overpowered by an ominous unison line played by the orchestra. The orchestra is abruptly cut off once again as Lennon returns with the first melody (verse melody). After the strangest lyric yet heard in the song, the line "I'd love to turn you on" leads into a second orchestra climb. This time the orchestra reaches its goal, a predetermined high note. There is a brief pause, followed by a powerful chord. The chord is allowed to slowly fade away over a period of some 45 seconds, a rather open-ended finish for an adventurous song and an adventurous rock album.

Listening Guide 17.2
"Satisfaction" 4 beats per measure

iTune link = Satisfaction

"Satisfaction," the Rolling Stones' first smash hit, was born from a riff Keith Richard conjured up while fooling around with a fuzz box (a device that distorts the sound of the electric guitar). He played the riff for Jagger, who set about composing a lyric for it. The new song was recorded in May 1965 and released that summer.
         The inspired guitar riff begins the song. The electric guitar's sound has a grating, brassy quality. The riff is played in the lower register of the instrument, giving it the character of a bass line. The rhythm of the riff strongly emphasizes successive downbeats; this gives it a strong, emphatic quality. Almost immediately, the bass guitar enters with its own line. Whereas the distorted guitar riff emphasizes downbeat quarter notes, the bass emphasizes lighter upbeat eighth notes, creating an interesting counterpoint between the two low-register instruments. The drums enter with a solid rock beat. The tambourine also enters with a distinctive rhythm of three consecutive eighth notes beginning on the third beat of each measure.
         After the eight-measure introduction, Jagger enters with a soft but menacing vocal. The phrasing of the line "I can't get no satisfaction" is fragmented; each syllable of the line is separated by three eighth notes, giving the rhythm of the melody the effect of a triple meter over the duple meter of the underlying rhythm section. This rhythmic duality somehow gives the simultaneous effect of floating and forward momentum—a forward spiraling effect, if you will. The vocal then builds to the shouting sound of the chorus.
         The words of the chorus are as repetitive as the verse, but they are set rhythmically in such a way as to perfectly complement the signature guitar riff of the song. It is, in fact, the interplay of rhythms between the voice and guitar riff, rather than the lyric itself, that ultimately accounts for the success of this song. We can be certain that this was Jagger's strategy when composing his melody line and lyric.