"Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

I listened to SMiLE to-day as part of my new listening schedule, and I thought the ascending and descending phrases at the beginning of "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" would be pretty easy to figure out.  I was surprised to find that they're actually chromatic and that - while some instruments modulate up a fourth - the organ phrase remains the same.

I used only guitar and organ, but I think the guitar part is also played on piano and bass.

"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

Last night I finally figured out the rest of the chords for the verses of "Wouldn't It Be Nice."  I've been working on this since January.  I had the main part, but I got stuck when the rhythm changes.

I don't have an accordion, so I just did this on (fake) piano.  I've been practicing, but I'm still not a very good piano player, so this isn't the best, rhythm-wise.  I also figured out an-other instrument part (I think it's saxophone), which I included too, just so the ending isn't so abrupt.

"Let's Go Away for Awhile" and "You Still Believe in Me"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

I just listened to some of the recordings I made for this project.  The last two I did were the bass parts for "Let's Go Away for Awhile" and "You Still Believe in Me," and - even listening to the first few measures - I thought they sounded slightly similar.  So I played around with my recording software, and after plotting some MIDI notes, I confirmed that they have the same rhythm (for some sections, at least):

(That notation is meant to indicate only the rhythm; the pitch isn't relevant.)

Almost from the very beginning of this project, I've been wondering if there are certain musical elements that tie the Pet Sounds songs together.  I'd actually been thinking more about tonality, but rhythms certainly apply too.

"Pet Sounds"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

---&---

A few days ago, I listened to the last disc of The Pet Sounds Sessions, and I noticed a phrase in the bass part of "Pet Sounds."  I started figuring it out, but I don't have much more than the first phrase.

What I found interesting is that - when notated - that phrase forms a cross:

I should note that this phrase doesn't occur on the first beat as my notation would seem to suggest; it actually occurs on the third beat of the first measure the bass is in.  I'm not sure of the key, but based on what I know of the guitar part, I think it's Bb major.

I first ran across this idea of inscribing crosses in music while reading John Eliot Gardiner's Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven.  He illustrates how Bach does this in Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4:

I'm not sure if Brian Wilson was aware of this sort of thing, but I've read a few things where he talks about how he wanted the music on Pet Sounds to be spiritual.  In the liner notes to the 1990 CD re-issue, he says, "Carl and I were into prayer.  We'd pray together, and we prayed for light and guidance through the album."  That quote is included in the comments about "God Only Knows," but it seems that it could apply to the title track and its inscription of the cross too.