Beathoven
Studying the Beatles
(c) Ian Hammond 1999
All rights reserved
The Chromatic Subtonic (1) The Subtonic (i.e. the chord Bb in the key of C major) has many roots. Norwegian Wood has a folk/modal source. Got To Get You Into My Life fits into the Swing tradition. Love You To shows its Indian heritaGe. There are other sources, not to mention some songs that bear the indelible stamp of John Lennon's own style.
This article concerns the use of the Subtonic in a chromatic sequence. Although we can find various examples of the usage, there is no clear style tradition such as folk or swing for this particular use of the chord.
I apologise for the heavy use of technical language in this article. While I prefer a Jargon Free Zone, it's simply unavoidable in this kind of reference material. The summary, at the end of the article, discusses the expressive role of the chord and sequence in more reasonable language.
The Subtonic Sequence In fact, this article concentrates on a specific sequence of four chords:
C G Bb F Chord
I V bVII IV
The third chord, the Subtonic Bb, is not a natural member of the C major chord set and stands out like a sore thumb in the otherwise conservative pieces of music studied below.
The sequence contains a natural chromatic melody which may be used as a tune, or in the bass. The melody begins on C and drops a semitone on each chord.
C G Bb F Chord
c b bb a Bass
Here's a list of six pieces in which you can find this identifiable chord sequence. Most have the chromatic melody present.
181x Beethoven - Waldstein Sonata 186x Brahms - Violin Concerto 1965 Lennon - It's Only Love 1967 Lennon - Mr Kite 1967 Dylan - Lay Lady Lay 197x Elton John - Song For Guy
Beethoven: Waldstein Sonata Beethoven uses the Subtonic to power the opening of the main theme of his Waldstein sonata. This theme is unusual because it relies primarily on the sonorities of the chords: it has no tune as such. Beethoven has two variations of the pattern. The first is a clear-cut I-V-bVII-IV:
C G Bb F Beethoven, Waldstein
C B Bb A Bass
Tovey recognises the Bb as the bVII (the Subtonic).
On the repeat Beethoven, replaces Bb with D minor so as to approach a modulation to the mediant (C-G-d-a-B7-E).
C G d a Waldstein, Opening
c b d c Bass
Beethoven repeats the chords more or less vertabim at each point in the movement where the sequence reappears. He does not develop the chord in any obvious way.
Brahms: Violin Concerto Brahms' Violin Concerto is only mentioned in passing as it does not really match the other examples. The opening main theme is spread broadly over six bars of tonic D and closes on the dominant A. The transition enters on the Subtonic C.
[ Main Theme ][ Transition ]
D A |C d.... Concerto, link
Transposed to C major we have:
C G |Bb c...
The effect of the Subtonic is very pronounced. Brahms repeats the section for the soloist's entry.
In the recapitulation he replaces the Subtonic chord with bIII F, the next step in the flat side cycle. But he doesn't transpose the remainder of the section. It seems he was primarily interested in the color of the chord.
Lennon: It's Only Love Lennon's use is to drive the verse of this lyric piece. Musically, the sequence is central to the song, the more so because of the brevity of the work.
C e Bb F It's Only Love, verse
c b bb a Bass
Lennon's use is remarkably similar to Beethoven's. Like Beethoven, he uses the descending chromatic bass and finishs the sequence on an emphasised dominant (which Lennon augments).
In his Notes On series, Pollack described the Bb chord in the It's Only Love as the Subtonic (bVII) but more recently has expressed doubt that the analogous Bb in Beethoven's Waldstein sequence should be considered a bona fide Subtonic.
Lennon features the chord again in the chorus. Again he uses the Bb-G progression for maximum affect.
Bb G C a It's Only Love, chorus
This is, of course, a variation on F-G-C-a, one of Lennon's favorite Doo Wop idioms. Other examples are F-G-C-E in Imagine, or F-G-C-a as late as Watching The Wheels. The substitution here really does something for the word painting.
Now, if we look at Help!, written around this time, we find a (passing cadential) subtonic in the verse and a chorus sequence that features the same kind of use of the Subtonic as the chorus of It's Only Love. I've transposed the progression to from A major to C major:
g... g... g... Tune
d(4) Bb(6) G C(7) Help!, chorus
Lennon aggressively exploits the clash of the Bb-G progression. He sings a fourth against the D minor chord and a sixth against the Subtonic Bb.
Lennon: Mr Kite Mr Kite is in a minor key, so the Subtonic is a natural member of the chord set. However, the song has enough similarities to It's Only Love and the idiom in general, to justify consideration here.
c G+ Bb d G G+ Mr Kite, verse
c b bb a g g Bass
Like Beethoven, Lennon alters the chord sequence on the repetition to modulate to D minor. Later he uses the same device to modulate another step to E minor, which is quite astounding, but then most of Lennon's songs in Peppertime were bitonic (i.e. had two alternating tonics). It's interesting to see Lennon exploit the modulatory potential of the sequence.
Dylan: Lay Lady Lay By the time Dylan wrote this song, other chromatic sequences of four chords had become common. I've transcribed Dylan's hypnotic pattern from A major to C for comparison here.
C e Bb d Dylan, Lay Lady Lay
c b bb d
The remainder of the song stresses V, ii, iii and vi. The only subdominant chord comes in the composed coda I-ii-iii-IV-I. There's something Lennonesque about the song's chords and melody in general.
Dylan made a career out of interesting four bar patterns (and patter). Frankie Lee And Judas Priest on his preceding album is archetypical of the style.
Elton John: Song For Guy Elton John uses the sequence as the basis of his instrumental Song For Guy:
C G Bb F Song For Guy, verse
c b bb a
After a static section decorating the tonic, Elton John launches into dreamy area which reintroduces the subtonic in much the same way It's Only Love and Help!.
Bb6 d(4) G E Song For Guy, break
Note how Elton John's progression uses the same decorative notes on Bb (a sixth) and D minor (a fourth) as Lennon's chorus in Help!. This is very close material.
Summary There's sure to be other examples of other artists using the Chromatic Subtonic. In retrospect, the examples above show a number of similarities in the way the chord is used.
For some unknown reason most of the pieces were written in C major. The Subtonic chord is bedded in a repeated four bar phrase. The composers tend not to have reused the sequence in other works.
Of course, we don't expect a songwriter to paint by numbers. These composers introduce the Subtonic to express their ideas and feelings and to make their song architectures work. I find a remarkable concordance between Lennon, Dylan and Elton John's expressive use of the chord.
All three use the chord and the sequence to express a breathless, conspiratorial intimacy and a sense of fragility. Brahms is not much different.
Lennon stands out because we can see him systematically exploring the use of the chord in song after song in 1964. The double use of the chord in It's Only Love is masterly. In the verse, the chord expresses uncertainty. But, in the chorus, it portrays his determination to solve this equation in many unknowns. Love is a very mysterious thing.
It's Only Love is a deeply passionate song, as is Elton John's Song For Guy, which likewise tries to wrestle with the unfathomable, in this case the accidental death of a young colleague. This unique work demonstrates that a lyric is not always required. The verse counterpoints the passion of the chromatic sequence with the metronomic stoic acceptance of mechanical bit. Elton's lunge to Bb6 in the visionary dream section has almost exactly the same affect as Lennon's Bb beginning of the chorus.
Dylan's song is equally tender, although in this case the lyric might cloud the issue. Like Van Gogh, Dylan is seeking love in precisely the space where love's been sold out. It's opportunities that this contradiction raises that Dylan explores. Love in the dirt.
Lay across my big brass bed fights with Why wait any longer for the one you love, when he's standing in front of you. Dylan's desolate junkyard hobo Blonde On Blonde style does battle with the warm, intimate Nashville country setting and that great slide guitar part.
Another thing these songs share is that they each have a special place in the canon of their creators as well as in my affection!. Three very noble pieces of work.
There are one or two other related topics which fall out this area which I will handle in a separate post. This post is long enough.
Copyright (c) Ian Hammond 1999. All rights reserved. ============================================================= "Just the sight of you makes night time bright. Very bright."