Understanding Hey Bulldog
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- I always knew I'd eventually revisit a band, and what better band to start with than The Beatles? Hey Bulldog is a bit of a deeper cut, but it's seen a bit of a resurgence in popularity, and compositionally it's actually really interesting. It's pretty simple, with only 6 unique chords in the entire thing, but it uses them in some pretty clever ways to create sections that stick together even as they stand apart. Plus, it's super blues-y. So that's cool.
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Hey Bulldog: • The Beatles - Hey Bull...
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Life On Mars video: • Understanding "Life On...
Script: docs.google.com/document/d/1k...
SOURCES:
www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic...
killersolos.wordpress.com/201...
tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/...
www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/beatl...
www.rollingstone.com/music/li...
books.google.com/books/about/...
• The Story Behind The B...
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Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold and Jade Tan-Holmes for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!
AAAAAAH I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE LINK TO THE TWITTER ACCOUNT APPLICATION: goo.gl/forms/iNSFW1iWlPfH4H6z1
Ok
It’s ok! :)
This is one of my favorite Beatles song and I feel like I’m in the minority.
Patrick Hogan Yeah it’s a pretty deep track only on certain copies of Yellow Submarine. But it’s one of my favorites too
Patrick Hogan one of my favs too tho
See Jeff Lynne and Dave Grohl do a cover
I think it may be Dave Grohl’s favorite. It’s what he chose to play for Paul and Ringo at a tribute a few years ago. I’ve always liked it.
Patrick Hogan Well if you’re lonely you can talk to me, cause I am also in this minority
The bass on this track is the definition of killer. The Beatles do that mix of major and minor tonality all the time (While My Guitar Gently Weeps goes from Am to A in the chorus) and their chord progressions were always super interesting without ever rubbing it in your face. Great stuff.
I think that's because the Beatles were more interested in getting sounds they liked than giving examples of music theory.
If you look on CZcams you will find the isolated bass to Hey Bulldog - it is amazing to hear!
You know a songwriter is at the peak of their powers when they can dash off a piece of brilliance and make it sound no more difficult than brushing their teeth, like Lennon does here.
Glad to see you shouted out Paul for a lot of the energy in this song.
Oh heck yes! "Hey Bulldog" is a fave of mine (to say the least... see my channel), but seeing the music analyzed makes it that much more interesting. I'm especially glad you dug in on McCartney's real bass line. Great work.
There's nothing better than The Beatles, thank you very much for this video
IF YOU'RE LONELY YOU CAN TALK TO ME!!!!
Brian Warner i lonely
That's what I appreciate about John's writing skill. The "You can talk to me..." was to be a completely different song, but it fit-in with his Bulldog riff so it stayed.
sorry Vic i busy
Brian Warner back to the 90s with you
That riff is genius
OMG YES MORE BEATLES THANK YOU SO MUCH
You didn't mention the change of the riff at the end otro. The play the first part as it is and the second part of the riff they play it in F#m and it sounds amazing it's my favorite thing in the song. Anyway, you did a really great job on the video thanks for this.
Whoops! I actually had noticed that and was planning to talk about it and then I guess I forgot when I went to write the actual script. Thanks for pointing it out!
12tone I’m so late to this discussion, but on the word “lonely,” is that a Bm or Bdim? It sounds like the melody is a F natural.
I’m here because I was going to mention the outro riff too...
Thank you so much for your work in putting these videos together. Whenever one comes out it’s the highlight of my day!
@@philotomybaar I played along with the instrumental track yesterday and it felt like he was playing a chord constructed of the notes FABD, then sliding down to E7, hope that helps.
FYI: You accidentally created the most engaging video for cats with this format. I’m at my folks place playing fetch with their preternaturally precocious cat (yes, fetch; I don’t know how) and he started chattering like there was a bird outside and followed your hands for the duration of this video.
That's funny. I'm watching this video with my two cats. One is at my feet staring at me. The other is playing fetch with her favorite toy mouse.
mine started playing the piano!
This song has one of Paul's best bass lines! I absolutely love playing this song on bass!
I absolutely love Hey Bulldog. A great sounding song and one of the best bass lines in music.
I adore Hey Bulldog. Definately one of my favorite Beatles tracks. Doesn't help the music video in Yellow Submarine the movie was killer.
@Jim McCracken I totally agree! "Hey Bulldog" is my most favourite Beatles song of all time, and I am a hardcore fan! I found "Hey Bulldog" about a year ago, shortly after I discovered The Beatles, and I must listen to it 3-5 times a day at least. When I saw the scene from the movie, I was heartbroken :( but it was all about contractual obligations.
It should be on the White Album since it was recorded during those sessions
Ty for helping people see the Beatles were more complex then they thought.
Brilliant presentation of a great analysis! Glad you recognised how special "Hey Bulldog" is.
You had me worried at first with the bass line! Glad you got it closer to the actual lines. I personally feel like it’s one of Paul’s best bass lines. EPIC! And yes, MIDI does not do it justice.
Dude, thanks so much for this. I can't believe it took me this long to discover that you made a video explaining one of my song suggestions. Keep up the good work! 😁
About the history section at the end, besides "all together now" which is a song for children basically, the other 2 original songs of the album are absolute marvels and i feel they're incredibly overlooked in the beatles' and specially george harrison's catalogue. They are very unique sounding even by beatles' standards
What do you think "All together now" is about? Just as a point of childish interest...
Steven Edwards a song for children
Alvs Notes Let me be more clear. I was asking what you think the song is about. Or if you've gleaned or attached a meaning to it.
Steven Edwards oh no i haven't. It's a fun up beat happy song and i've seen it live and it was great. But other than that not much
Alvs Notes i think its about social unity and sweepijg acceptance of peoples of differing appearance and cultures...given the historical context it was written in. Disguised as a kids song.
Wonderful breakdown and analysis. Entertaining and timely sketching too.
Superb video presentation! Musical analysis is right on.
Amazing video, much respect for the knowledge you have.
I love your presentation and I follow you a little more than half the time. So I figure that I am ahead of the curve. Very informative and entertaining! Great job! I always knew that there was something special about that song.. thank you for explaining why.
Okay so I know I said I loved the Hurt video but then you go and do my favorite Beatles song. Well done!
Really nice job sir. One of my favorite Beatles songs you've helped me better understand.
Fascinating. Did not comprehend much but loved it.
When I listen to Hey Bulldog, I focus on Paul’s killer bass and John’s hammer. The rest of the song seams to fall on top while I boogie my ass off. Oh and the most endearing part of the song:
John: what do you say?
Paul: I say “ruff”
John: you know anymore?
Paul: howwwwllll!!
Great analogy. The ascending and descending bass lines give it push pull. Tension and release. I have disected this song and learned the bass piano and guitar for it. It is one of my all time favorites never get enough of it. Paul's bass playing is a song with in a song. So creative and powerful there is a lot going on there.
Great analysis!
Super excited for the Twitter project!
My favourite song of them. Thank you
Beautiful video man. Subbed.
Your Timing is impeccable and doodles darn cute.
i can play the guitar solo in this tune, it rips….it has all kinds of neat tricks. I've had The Beatles Complete Scores Book for about 20 years, it has come in pretty handy :)
Thanks. I really liked this video. I have to jot down some of your notes and whip out my guitar. I have liked the song since I first heard it many moons ago.
Thank you! I've always loved this song - thought it was an overlooked gem. Now I understand some of the reasons. I especially like defining the "Line Cliche" - an element they plug in to many melodies (thanks James Bond).
One of the reasons I love this song is the stereo imaging. Many tracks are only on one stereo channel or the other, and if your headphones cut out (or you flip a balance control hard over), what you hear sounds like a remix, with some elements completely stripped away and others a faint ghost of themselves.
the crossroad analogy -- 2:23 -- blew my mind!
Should totally do Roundabout by Yes!
It is I, Dio!
That song's a lil too long which makes it get repetitive but I love the first half of it.=)
Also Heart of the Sunrise!
I love your channel, and I’d be really interested to hear an analysis of Seal’s Kiss From A Rose. Any chance you could put that one in the lineup of planned videos?
Love this song so much, one of my favorites. It was actually the last thing they recorded before they took their trip to India. I feel like it's also the last song that has that original energy behind it we hear in a lot of The Beatles early songs. AKA: The last time they all had fun making a song together. To me it's a pivotal point in their careers, after that trip the rift in the band started to form and it only got worse until they decided to call it quits.
Great video of your left hand.
I haven't watched video, but I'm already sure it's gonna be amazing just by the title!
"The Beatles Complete Scores" published by Hal Leonard but created by anonymous musicians agrees in detail with your notion of the bass guitar line in the verses. The simplified line you have found in other publications is probably the bass line of the piano, and not the bass guitar. For youtubers who can read music, that book is an excellent resource, though of course not without the occasional flaws that occur in every Beatles publication. Also, Alan Pollack and a commenter here agree that the pitch in the recording is not based on A440, such that Pollack thinks the key the song was played in was C, not B.
If there are master classes in music analysis, your videos should be most of the curriculum. I'm a music lover and I play some, but to be honest I find a lot of the academic stuff really boring. But not yours. You always manage to explain how the notes create the feel of the music in a way that keeps me engaged, and I come away feeling like I actually learned something interesting, useful, and musical that makes me a better musician.
In conclusion, Ruff! Arf! AaOooo!
I love to see an "Understanding Mumbo" by McCartney/Wings , that would be a Challenge !!
What if i told you I loved that song? 🤔
Great video and content as always, I always look forward to new videos on this channel!! I’m taking an AP Music Theory class and am interested in analyzing some of my own favorite songs to further my education. Where do you find the chords and such when your analyzing a song? Do you buy sheet music for all instruments or do you look up the chords online? Or do you just have a really good ear and figure out the chords on your own?
Usually I look up transcriptions and then double-check them against the recording. I try to find official ones if I can 'cause they're more likely to be accurate, but if I have to use unofficial ones I check even more closely. Usually if something's wrong in one transcription I can find another one that has the correct chord, but sometimes I wind up having to work it out myself. But yeah, googling the song name along with "transcription" is how I usually start.
The home key mode shifts repeatedly throughout: minor for the intro, outro, and refrains, & Mixo-flavored Major for the verses. A touch of the blues lingers above all in song. So, even those supposedly Major mode verses are shot through with flat thirds and sevenths.
Understanding Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
That piano riff thing in the backround needs to be explained.
If I could listen to your explanations of music instead of eating I'd consider carefully. I mean both are such satisfying experiences.
I only recently discovered this song, and I love it. I’m also glad that my copy of yellow submarine has the song in the movie
Loved the video! Just wanna get this out of the way... Isn't it in c minor? Like a flatter c minor? Or is it really just a higher b minor..
can you do understanding Good Vibrations?
+12tone thank you very much for this brilliant analysis of one of my favorite songs from the beatles. though i think theres one (IMO quite important) part you missed or better say got wrong, which is at the end of the chorus, where the chord notes, to me, sound a lot more like A sharp, B, D and F played over B sharp in the base and then Emin (I'm not sure what the first chord is called like in english so i just wrote down the notes... i would be very pleased if you considered this IMO quite interesting ending of the chorus and told me your thoughts about it :).
i just heard this song for the first time and i saw this video next to it and i was like THANK GOD
I love this, and all the analyses you do, but I was wondering if you'd ever do an analysis that was more focused on the melody, because you never seem to bring that up in the videos.
Or the lyrics. I know, the channel mainly focuses on the Music, but still, the lyrics play a very big part in nearly every song. But maybe its just me, who knows
БΞΛТ ТłMΞ he usually talks about the lyrics and how the harmony goes with them
Hmmm. An awful lot of Pop/Rock lyrics are hardly worth analysing. There are people who can write well crafted lyrics, my favourites include Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, to name but two. I'm sure others will chip in with their suggestions, but personally i find most lyrics trite and/or simply bad. But, as ever, YMMV.
Tim Beaton while that may be, many songs also do have some lyrics worth thinking about, including many Beatles songs. While this song isn’t usually considered one of the more highly regarded ones, it would still be interesting to consider how the lyrics might be interpreted in relation to the music
Comfortably Numb is an example of a video where he analyses the lyrics too. I think he analyses lyrics when he finds them interesting, otherwise not.
Whats to understand great so g as usual
I only recently found this song and it's a real favourite of mine now. Like others have said, Paul McCartney's bass in this is absolutely amazing and certainly one of my fave bass lines in a song. It would have made a good single but was too late since that video was actually being shot for Lady Madonna.
I know this isn't on Patreon so you prob won't pay much attention but your link in the most recent Q&A to Mari Mac made me fall in love with Great Big Sea...I would love it if you would do any of their songs (whichever you think is the most interesting)
I'm surprised you didn't mention the tuning of "Hey Bulldog". It definitely sounds higher than 440, but only sometimes.
One of my most favourite Beatles songs 👌
I really love this song :D
Really love your video's, can you please make a video on Alen Parsons - Silence and I
such a good song.
1:16 Which also sounds like (in the first bar and to a point the second) mansons cover of sweet dreams
6:20 - ...yeah, I was just about to jump all over you and say "Those are supposed to be 16th notes" but I'm glad you clarified...
Actually, since you brought up opening riffs, I wonder if you could analyze Black Sabbath's Iron Man.
A great Beatles song, a favourite!
Finally! My favorite song
PLEASE DO FIRE IN THE HOLE OR DEACON BLUES BY STEELY DAN
Can you analyze Strawberry Fields Forever (take 7 and the original released version), Rain, Here There and Everywhere, and Across The Universe by The Beatles?
• i don't know how many of these i've watched … but i JUST figured out those kidney beans you draw are actually faces.
• i was watching another clip about "hey bullfrog" and it was suggested that it's john's "answer" to paul's "lady madonna" - the song that they were filming the promo for. - you think you could make something of comparing them?
Amazing i didn't know the song at all
It's one of the most overlooked Beatles' songs, though many die-hard fans list it as one of their favourites.
ALRIGHT! Another Beatles entry!
6:13 Actually that tag has a diminished chord.
I love blues. You don’t get that major super optimistic feel that major keys can give you, and you don’t get that dark minor feel. You get a more neutral sound that can’t be put into words.
Wow. You're really smart. I just thought it was a fun song. I didn't know about this. Cool.
One of my favorite Beatles tracks.
Everyone needs to check the live version by Fanny from Beat Club 1971. That's ALL that needs saying really. ENJOY. B-)#
What about Sun King from Abby Road?
The Beatles never learned note grammar and probably music theory. They just knew notes and knew how to play it cool kinda instinctivly.
You made such detailed analysis of a pretty regular Beatles' song that they will probably go shock of their genious if they would watch this video
I think Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars is also in the blues scale. I played it in my school band.
Thanks, just thanks
Please analyze Here, There, and Everywhere!
The real question is what key the song is in... I can’t tell if it’s B or C, and I usually can tell these things no problem! It’s like they played it at a quarter-step between the two- or more likely adjusted the speed of the recording.
You're right; although it's played in B, it was mastered at a slightly higher speed so it winds up sounding in between B and C.
This was pretty commonly done, as it improved the final sound of the recording, sort of tightened things up.
I need that piano soundfont
You should do a John Mayer song! Gravity or Slow Dancing would be great
12Tone goes into the Hey Bulldog back story a bit (thanks!), and you can see a cool, much more detailed version here:
czcams.com/video/oeBdeGNbFXg/video.html
Your next analysis should be "Our Lips Are Sealed" by the Go-Go's
Harrison goes to f sharp in the riff and first note has slight hammer ons
I feel that somehow it's one of John's most personal songs before he completely changed.
At around 3:05, you showed that inaccurate bassline that you said people believed was what Paul is playing. I'm pretty sure this is just because it's what the piano is playing along with the bass.
CAN YOU PLEASE DO "NO QUARTER" BY LED ZEPPELIN
Why does this sound more like C blues (sounds kinda sharp) to me?
There's a great cover of this song, by Fanny.
YOU ROCK. MORE BEATLEZ PLS
All really fascinating, but...no doubt in my mind, John didn't know the first thing about any of this. It just came to him.
You missed the chourd under when he says lonely
PLEASE do Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles
can you do a video about bohemian rhapsody or how can someone get on the level of freddie mercury's voice?