McCartney and the Magical Flattened Sixth

Posted On April 17, 2020

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.

I Saw Her Standing There

The flattened sixth throws a sudden element of drama into any chord progression. It is encountered early on in the Beatles’ career in I Saw Her Standing There in on the “ooh” after “I couldn’t dance with another”. The performance here is from Blokker, The Netherlands in June 1964, with Jimmie Nicol standing in for Ringo Starr on drums.

In the key of C major, the chord of the flattened sixth (or submediant) is Ab major. In G major it is Eb major and in D major it is Bb major. It is wise to think in terms of intervals instead of chords, as thinking in intervals allows us to compare songs in different keys.

I Will

Here is the flattened sixth later in their career from I Will on the White Album. As I mentioned in another blog post, the use of the flattened sixth here on the words “you know I will” forms an interrupted cadence. In this case the flattened sixth chord is Db major in F major. The emotional effect is again dramatic in the context of this easy-natured folk song:

Long Haired Lady

McCartney’s love affair with this remote chord continued after The Beatles into his solo career. In the song Long Haired Lady (1971) we can hear the flattened sixth chord on the phrase “sweet little lass you are…”. The chord used is that of Eb major7 in G major.

Major seventh chords are dreamy in nature. It is almost as though McCartney is pausing to collect his thoughts about Linda and is swept up by a fleeting moment of sublime reverie.

By the way, isn’t it touching that McCartney uses the Northern English noun “lass” to refer his American wife. Linda later responds in pronounced Midwest drawl. The entire song is an eccentric mixture of sounds.

Mary Had A Little Lamb

The next obvious use of the flattened sixth chord is in the 1972 song Mary Had A Little Lamb. As I have consistently maintained, the lyrics might be naive, but the song is very clever indeed on a musical level.

At 2:27 the harmony moves from G major to Eb major. A little chromatic riff descends up and down from G natural to Eb to almost justify this daring move.

Then, at 2:26, McCartney uses the flattened sixth chord to change key to Ab major, and the effect is absolutely striking.

And if that isn’t enough, at 2:47, McCarney uses a chain of what jazz musicians call tritone substitutions. But you don’t need to be a jazz musician to hear the magical effect:

Only Love Remains

McCartney uses the chord of the flattened sixth in the 1986 track Only Love Remains from the album Press to Play. Here, he draws on the enchanting effect of this imposter chord to create a feeling of other-worldliness; a recognition of the transformative power of love.

If you listen at 1:36 the harmony falls to the flattened sixth on “what would” and then returns to C major on “with”. From then on, the two chords – Ab major7 and C major alternate.

Yet more magic ensues at 1:58. McCartney uses the chord of the flattened sixth to modulate to the key of Eb major. He transforms the flattened sixth chord by placing a bass note of Bb below the chord and by dropping his own vocal from G4 to F4 to create a chord of Bb11 (Bb Ab C Eb F) And the effect is – well…I will leave you to decide for yourself.

Once Upon A Long Ago

The last example is from the 1987 song Once Upon A Long Ago. Like Only Love Remains, it is in C major and the flattened sixth chord is thus Ab major. Can you hear the striking move to the chord at 0:40?

You should now be getting an overall feel for the use of the flattened sixth chord. McCartney does draw upon this harmonic device in other songs, too.

For me, it’s a chord of both drama and magic; it represents a move to “another place”, with almost transcendent connotations.

I’d love to know what you think by leaving a comment.

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