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[alexis]

... and then discarded because the Beatles were so good - that they could!

Pilz on another thread pointed out that lesser bands, even IF they happened on some musical gem that was unique and great, would likely have made a fetish out of it, including it in anything they might have developed. But the Beatles were so good they just wrote it, recorded it, and threw it over their shoulder, never to look back!

I'll start with two of them:

1) Song: All My Loving. In the chorus, while Paul sings "All my loving ...", John and George do "Ooohs" in harmony. It's hard for me to say who does the upper vs lower harmony, but the point is that they do three chords, and the 2nd chord is just so friggin' wild it is like from another space-time continuum -

All my "Oooh #1" = C#m, right in there with the song's key of E.
         "Oooh #2" = C augmented!! Where did this chord come from, a man on a flaming pie from outer space? I think, listening closely, that John or George's guitar is also strumming that chord.
         "Oooh #3" = Back in comfortable territory - an E chord.

Does anyone who is musically literate know any other song that has a C augmented in the key of E (or I guess this might be called the major 6th chord)? More to the point, how do you think the Beatles decided on that chord? Is Paul or John the one more likely to have come up with it? Anybody on this forum know British popular music from the mid-1950s ... was there a popular song that used that chord progression? I know Buddy Holly liked it, but he used it in such a different way, it's hard to draw a line from there to here (Peggy Sue, and I think one or two others, too).

This chord has really got a hold on me since I realized what it was ... any and all opinions on it are very welcome!

2) Song: "Ticket to Ride" - Key of A, but the second time John sings "She's got a ticket to ri-hi-hide" , they do this G chord, but John's vocal doesn't have any note that's part of a G chord! Complete dissonance between melody and backing chord, but Lawdy, how it sounds awesome! It's pretty close to the defining part of the song for me ...

[BlueMeanie]

The feedback at the start of I Feel Fine.

[DaveRam]

"I've got blisters on my fingers"
I like the little soundbites on some songs .

[alexis]

The feedback at the start of I Feel Fine.

Completely awesome example, BM ... not even Jimmy Hendrix could resist the temptation to use this a few times. Also, IIRC, the Vanilla Fudge seemed to fetishize it.

[Out Of Me Head]

The combs on Lovely Rita

[Casbah]

Sometimes the Beatles did things more than once...They got into backwards guitars for a couple of songs...Rain, I'm Only Sleeping..I think there was one more...

And something Paul had mentioned about the Gm chord in From Me To You... They also did the same kind of change in I Want To Hold Your Hand  - Dm ("And when I touch you...)  And also from that same period, the head shaking OOOooooO! 's which they stopped doing after She Loves you..

Thats all I can think of right now...tired.


But to the OP, I used to be amazed myself at the chord knowledge of the Beatles (Till There Was You blew me away when I first heard it), but when you start reading the backstory about the Beatles and their influences with music from the 30s and 40s growing up as small kids, jazz and big band stuff, especially Paul, who liked that sort of thing, up into the 50's music and all that brought, I think a lot of that stuck around in their heads and would come out as an interesting chord change from time to time... Don't forget they also had people, older guitar teachers, showing them some chords from time to time..

[Casbah]

Oh got another one!

In this world there's noting I would rather do-oo-oo-oo, cuz Im happy just to {WEIRD-CHORD) with you!