Image by @bitterirony using DAL•E
This is a geeky music theory post so feel free to move along if that’s not your jam.
So I saw an interview with Paul McCartney recently where he talked about taking a bus across town in Liverpool because he heard about some guy that knew B7 and he only knew E and A at that time.
Well, I got to researching that and finally had to text my guitar teacher (with whom I had previously shared the interview) with this note -
So Paul and I took a bus across town only to learn that B7 means B DOMINANT 7 and not B ordinary 7 (let me know if you get lost in the technical lingo) which would be written as Bmaj7. Is that right? That is the most non-intuitive rule I’ve ever seen. And yes, I’m sure you have explained this to me ad nauseum but I had a lot of time to talk it over with Paul on the return bus trip and we agreed it makes no sense.
My teacher confirmed my thesis so I then moved on to my next beef with B7 which is -
OK fine, B7 is B dominant 7. Thus informed, I fire up my trusty keyboard and place my nimble fingers on B D# F# A. Easy peasy.
Then I pick up the book of ye olde guitar chords and what?! They’ve added another tonic and basically inverted the top half of the chord by playing B D# (so far so good) A (the flat 7th!), B (redundant but I get it, it would be hard to strum around that open string) F# (the one that should have been the 3rd note but is now the 5th note because we were running out of runway!). Dude, look at your life, look at your choices.
He agreed that the guitar chord committee had taken liberties.
I expect Paul did not have easy access to chord books, so had to learn from other players. Guitar chords are often a compromise as you have to fit four fingers (sometimes plus a sneaky thumb) onto six strings. I don't think Paul ever learnt much theory, but he has managed to write so much beautiful music.
Music theory is not a set of rules on how to make music, but it can explain why it sounds good and possibly give you short-cuts. Not knowing the theory may mean you find new sounds. Listening is what really matters.
Agreed. But I can’t help myself sometimes! 😬
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