Comments on: Your Mother Should Know

By: Mr. Kite

Mr. Kite — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 18:51:28 +0000

Who cares what the time was ?

By: Fixing A Hole

Fixing A Hole — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 13:51:42 +0000

Since this topic is trying to settle the 12/8 and 4/4 debate, I might as well weigh in.

First off, ANY NUMBER over /8 or /4 (or /2 or even /1 or /16 or /32 or /64, etc.) is a real time signature. It just depends on how many counts are in each measure and how you wish to notate the counts for any particular song. You can generally get away with only really needing #/2, #/4, or #/8, which makes are the most common and easiest for a musician to read.

A true shuffle is written in #/8 to give it that bounce feel, but AS A SHORTHAND many people will write the song in #/4, but they will ALWAYS notate that two eighth notes are to played as the first and last eighth triplet. Again, this makes the music easier to read than having to add a rest for the middle triplet every time.

12/8 and 4/4 are not the same, but you treat the eighth notes in 4/4 as the first and last eighth triplet in order to make 4/4 feel the same. That said, you can notate a shuffle song either way, and there is no “officially correct” time signature to use.

It is literally like having an argument about math, about whether 5/5 = 1 or if 7/7 = 1; they BOTH = 1, but it’s a matter of perspective and preference, and you’ll use the one that is easiest for what you’re trying to accomplish (e.g., if you’re adding 2/5 to 1, it’s easiest to think of 1 as 5/5 instead of 7/7).

One more note, 6/4 is NOT always the same as 4/4 + 2/4; it depends where the pulse is within 6/4. It could be 1/4 + 5/4, 2/4 + 4/4, 3/4 + 3/4, 4/4 + 2/4, 5/4 + 1/4, or even 0/4 + 6/4 (when there is no internal pulse, but then that would be easiest to notate as 6/8).

By: Michael O'Callaghan

Michael O'Callaghan — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 21:56:57 +0000

It is indeed. It’s awful. The only way to hear this song is on stereo.

By: EmileJ

EmileJ — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 23:47:56 +0000

A terrific song by Paul McCartney (I have a soft spot for his old-timey sounding songs like this one and Honey Pie). However, I definitely only like the stereo LP version. The first time I heard the mono mix, it felt like my ears were under attack. The phased/flanged effect on the cymbals are simply horrible, an unnecessary aural assault. I don’t really know what they were thinking when they decided on that stylistic choice. Apologies to those who may enjoy that mix, but to me it’s practically unlistenable.

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 19:58:13 +0000

And if I’m not mistaken, there’s a bar of 2 in there as well.

By: Hennyon

Hennyon — Mon, 01 May 2017 12:54:54 +0000

An example for those who have a hard time understanding all this:
Try saying “another example” two times really quick, and at the same time tap your knee on the “o” in another and the “a” in example, and you will have the 12/8 (triplet feel) in the words (syllables) and the 4/4 on your knee.
The 12/8 in YMSK is just too fast to really work as a time signature, so the more manageable 4/4 is the beat here, and the same goes for “All My Loving”. The opposite goes for “Oh! Darling”, where the 12/8 is slow enough to work as the time signature, while the 4/4 gets a bit too slow and heavy.

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 20:31:47 +0000

Are you seriously including the tracks on ‘A Hard Days Night’ in your worst Beatles songs ?

By: James Ferrell

James Ferrell — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 20:07:59 +0000

Another little thing I like about YMSK: The verses are 11 bars, a pretty odd length. Yet the strength of the melody makes it sound perfectly natural.

By: Young Fred

Young Fred — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 17:27:03 +0000

Yeah… Not one of the best, really simple, but well recorded, great bass and harmonies. It fits MMT’s concept and it gives some kind of break before getting into the beautiful vortex of I Am the Walrus

By: Young Fred

Young Fred — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 17:09:41 +0000

Really great drumming! Ringo keeps the basic beat of the song constantly giving it its characteristic feeling. Effective drummer!

By: manteau

manteau — Sat, 15 Oct 2016 12:21:35 +0000

I enjoy this song, even my son loves it, but there’s a thing or two that make me react from the comments i’ve read so far. I don’t give a flying monkey wether it’s a 12/8, 4/4, or whatsoever rythm, though I understand it matters to some of you. So my first point is : It’s a good song that serves its purpose in the frame of the Movie MMT, it’s not brilliant, not a masterpiece, but we need songs like that if only to enjoy the masterpieces even better. Second point : in Europe, it wasn’t released on the compilation LP MMT before 1976, and in my opinion, the LP MMT is just a compilation, not a bona fide Beatles album. Third point : It’s a Paul’s song, and what mainly made the Beatles what they were was the partnership between John and Paul. I have always preferred John, but I acknowledge Paul’s work as well, and sometimes their work is so entertwined that 50 years or more later, we’re still arguing over who wrote what. I want to make plain that Paul’s role in the Beatles wasn’t to be John’s sidekick. Paul was chosen by John to be his working partner, even though they were different. Paul’s music sometimes touches me deeply ( with or without the Beatles ) , not always it’s true ( maxwell’s silver hammer comes to mty mind instantly as I’m writing ). But the combination of talent and the love ( yes, love!) they both shared IS the reason why we still love the Beatkles, and always will.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 16:56:24 +0000

Dig A Pony is weak? Wow, it’s one of the best songs on Let It Be. Certainly the best “live” song on the album..

By: martin lawler (@wopthedo)

martin lawler (@wopthedo) — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 22:48:31 +0000

Probably the worst Beatles song. It’s like bad fart, just hangs around. Great for pub sing-a-longs when everybody’s plastered

By: wopthedo

wopthedo — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 06:59:09 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly. The song starts so well, but it’s not developed, as if PM was saying ‘Where do I go from here?’. I suppose he could have asked Lennon. In fact, the laziest song the Beatles ever produced

By: Roland St Germain

Roland St Germain — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 09:31:54 +0000

By itself, Magical Mystery Tour is a great album, I agree – what makes it even more amazing is that it was released six months after Sgt. Pepper. Most groups today would follow the misguided advice of their management and just sit on such an album until sales of the current release started to die down, a strategy that doesn’t always work. I remember at the time watching the chart position of both albums in 1967 as they had a period of swapping back and forth between #1 and #2.

In typical Beatles fashion at the time, each album had its own unique feel – it was among the reasons why we all anxiously awaited the next release, and provided plenty of material for us to try to figure out “How did they pull THAT off?” in sooooo many garage band jams. There has not been another group since that continues to sell as well as The Beatles over 50 years later, and I doubt there will ever be another.

By: Bradlee TheDawg

Bradlee TheDawg — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:42:37 +0000

You don’t count 12/8 in threes – you count it 1-2-3-4 but in triplets. Tuck-a-tuh Tuck-a-tuh Tuck-a-tuh Tuck-a-tuh etc.

By: Bradlee TheDawg

Bradlee TheDawg — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:36:42 +0000

@PaulsBass, if you’ve never heard of 12/8 you don’t read music. It’s very common, and It is a shuffle. 12/8 is to 4/4 what 6/8 is to 2/4 (March music) Anything that sounds like dot dah | dot dah | dot dah instead of dot dot | dot dot is a shuffle – dotted eight notes. So you take the dotted eighth notes and you get 4 sets of triplets – thus the 12/8 meter. 6/8 is not a “fast waltz” waltzes are in 3/4 so the equiv. would be 9/8. 6/8 is commonly used in MARCH music. Sousa used it all the time. You might want to take a couple music theory classes at your local community college

By: Boo

Boo — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 20:21:35 +0000

It is 12/8. .. Compound quadruple time, ie: 4 slow beats each subdivided into 3.

By: Jay S

Jay S — Fri, 29 May 2015 17:07:46 +0000

LH fan…….are you daft? That’s akin to suggesting that A Day In The Life, Tomorrow Never Knows and Help! were filler songs as well. For crying out loud!!!

By: earwicker

earwicker — Sun, 24 May 2015 12:14:35 +0000

One thing you’d need to clarify further is:

> Another song that is commonly mistaken all over the internet as being a 12/8 but is actually a 4/4 with Triplet feel, is The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.

And then:

> Any of this 4/4 songs can be written either in 4/4 or 12/8 in sheet music software, and in both signatures they are going to sound correct and exactly the same as long as they have the above mentioned ‘Triplet Feel’ activated.

If “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” would sound exactly the same notated as 12/8 or 4/4-with-triplet-feel, what makes you say that it’s “actually” 4/4-with-triplet-feel and anyone calling it 12/8 is “mistaken”?