ABSTRACT
The purpose of this class is to introduce twelve-bar blues form, illustrate the Beatles’ early adoption of same, and then examine one of their songs, “Day Tripper,” that expands the form for text-painting purposes. Analysis will touch on such points as tonicization, the German sixth chord, harmonic rhythm, phrase rhythm, and melodic blues inflections. The lesson is appropriate to a wide range of undergraduate or graduate courses. Analysis may be accomplished completely aurally or with score.
