Bass Transcription – The Beatles, Come Together by Andreas Farmakalidis… This month I am transcribing a great tune from the Beatles, Come Together. Everyone knows this track! If you don’t know who the Beatles are, firstly, I forgive you. Secondly, the history of rock forgives you. Lastly, here is their legendary status in a nutshell: In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth, and along the way, The Beatles.
The song is the opening track on the album “Abbey Road”. The song’s history began when Lennon was inspired by Timothy Leary’s campaign for Governor of California titled “Come together, join the party” against Ronald Reagan, which promptly ended when Leary was sent to prison for possession of marijuana. George Martin produced the song and it is ranked byRolling Stone Magazine as the #202 of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
This classic 1960s rock anthem with deep bluesy style was unlike any other song of its time in that it was constructed entirely of verse/refrains. There is no chorus and only one short guitar solo, acting as a bridge part to interrupt the radical song structure. For the first eight bars, the tonic note D is repeated, eventually moving to the V chord and then to the IV chord. It then moves to the VI minor chord, which is a progression rarely used back then. The refrain in actuality is three bars long, because the melody keeps going after the last A chord and comes to rest on the D chord after that. It is also important to mention the introduction of F# in the melody with a B minor triad. The tonic is held for four bars between each verse and is the same as the contents of the introduction.
I hope you enjoy this classic Bass Part!
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