Category: Blog

So what is an appoggiatura? It is an expressive device where a melodic note, which lies outside the harmony, is played on the beat. The creates a temporary clash or “dissonance” which is then resolved up or down. It can also be called an accented passing note. Mozart was...

Talk More Talk is the third track on McCartney’s 1986 Press to Play album. Even before tackling this work on a theoretical level, it is worth noting that it is one of McCartney’s more unusual tracks. It begins with a spoken-word introduction that features McCartney’s (then) young son, James...

The opening track on Wings’ 1979 album, Back to the Egg, is a curious number entitled Reception. It might be superfically regarded as a throwaway introduction to Wings’ most rock-based album. However, as I will explore here, there is perhaps a little more to the track than meets the...

In my recent blog post Lydian Beatles we covered the characteristic sound of the Lydian mode and its use in countless Sci-Fi films, to the extent that it is also called “the Hollywood mode”. The main point to bear in mind about the Lydian mode is the use of...

In the art of songwriting, it’s often advisable to not show all your cards too early in the game. This involves concealing the home, or tonic key, until the end of the first verse. When the tonic finally arrives, the listener feels a real sense of arrival, after a...

The word “chromatic” comes from the Greek noun χρῶμα (khrṓma), which means “complexion” or “color”. For a musician chromatic means the notes, or tones, that lie outside the key signature of a song. In layman’s terms, you can think of playing a tune on the white keys of a...

In part one we looked at the art of the interrupted or “deceptive” cadence in The Beatles with the examples of I Will (1968) and Here, There and Everywhere (1966). If you recall, an interrupted cadence involves taking the listener on a musical detour – we expect to arrive...

As I mention in Volume Two of Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation, the chord of the flattened sixth represents a daring excursion within a song. The chord of the flattened sixth is a true imposter chord. It is not a part of the song’s key centre....

In Volume Two of Paul McCartney After The Beatles: A Musical Appreciation I quoted Clive James on McCartney’s songwriting. Here is what he has to say: The key phrase is “he has the precious knack of making the unexpected sound inevitable”. But what does this mean in practice? We...