Song Report “Hey Jude” was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was released for the first time on August 1968 by The Beatles under their label Apple Records. Jude is 8 minutes and 10 seconds long. The Beatles opt for a unique binary form which uses a full-length song and a jam with simple chord progressions. The song “Hey Jude” is a perfect example of how these two parts work together, as well as the simple musical material that was used.

“Hey Jude” can be heard in F Major at 4/4. Pop Rock is a ballad song. The song structure isn’t typical pop, but rather is quite unique for the genre. It seems to grow a lot through the song, from a slow start to a long outro. The song’s subtlety of texture is more important than its form. As the song progresses, the texture builds up and becomes more prominent. Verse 1 follows the same chord progression as all verses. It uses chords I to V7sus4, IV to V7sus4, and V7sus4 in the key F major. This makes it a memorable verse and hints at pop and rock. The vocal does not stop at unstable notes, but instead moves quickly back to the original song key. The first verse’s texture is very thin. It only uses a single melody line from a vocal to set the mood. This song plays on a ballad style. The song’s first verse is composed of a single vocal melody line. This structure doesn’t change throughout the song. In verse 2, we see a tambourine, as well as an acoustic rhythm instrument. This adds to the pop aspect of the song and helps to increase the song’s thickness and texture. The backing vocals are simple “ahhhh” sounds (The BeatlesVEVO 2015), which hint at the more rock-oriented genre. It is identical to the first verse. The verse ends with one more bar. Harmonically, the last verse chord is converted into a guitar/IV. This allows for a smooth transition between verse and bridge.

Because of the verse’s added bar to the end, each bridge’s first phase has five bars. The song is stable once more because of this. Tonally, the bridges’ ends and starts are very insecure. The bridge introduces a walking Bassline, drums and more emphasis on tapping the cymbals. This gives the song a rockier feel which engages listeners. Melodically, the main voice tends to drop throughout the bridge, only rising to the chorus.

Verse 3 has backing vocals added in the thirds. A distant backing vocal is also added. The distant vocal “so lets it out and let in” (The BeatlesVEVO 2015) leads to the next bridge’s lyrical ideas. This verse features a tambourine that is played in semi-quavers. It is easier to hear and plays more frequently, and the song feels faster. Bridge two mirrors the bridge one musically and harmonically. The lyrics are slightly different and there is no change to the lead vocal arrangements. However, the melody remains the same. There are some parts in verse four that change the rhythm and note of the “Hey Jude”, as well as harmonizing backing vocals. These vocals are used to create a thicker chorus and give the song more definition. The jam section is followed by the outro and a stunning vocal flourish (“better than …”) (The BeatlesVEVO 2015). The jam session’s outro is given a Mixolydian-like feel by the use of the flat VII chord. This contrasts the first part of the song.

Although the outro takes seventy-two seconds to complete, it feels much shorter than that. The momentum and instrumentation throughout this section are swelled and keep the listener interested. This section has instruments that are added gradually to give it a thicker sound.

A doubling of the bass is done over multiple repetitions. This repetition continues throughout the seventytwo-bar outro. You can hear strings in repeat 4, and a few octaves below the bass, trumpets. These trumpets bring a sense to the outro that is impressive and adds some excitement and style. The violins rise four octaves above their Bassline in the eighth repeat. As the song fades out, the vocal ad-lib becomes more frantic and almost panicky. The song relies heavily, in part, on strong contrasts. In the second, the song relies more heavily on large tones and chords. The song’s introduction is gentle and starts with a piano chord and a solo vocal.

There is a slight variation in the lyrical content throughout the track. The instrumentation and lyrics are varied, giving the listener an impression of repetition and contrast. Melodic dissonances that might be present there are always addressed. This allows for the outro’s full impact and engagement as it builds up to its conclusion.

Author

  • kaydenmarsh

    I am Kayden Marsh, 34yo educational blogger and school teacher. I am a mother of two young children, and I love spending time with them and learning new things. I also enjoy writing about education and children's issues, and I hope to continue doing so for the rest of my life.

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