Form and Voice Leading in Early Beatles Songs

Abstract

In the early music of the Beatles, form, harmony, and voice leading are intricately related. The most common form of this period—AABA where each A section contains an SRDC (Statement–Restatement–Departure–Conclusion) phrase structure as defined by Walter Everett (2001 and 2009)—carries with it harmonic and melodic implications which allow for the creation of a voice-leading model for this form. This paper examines how this model interacts with various songs from the early Beatles catalog. While not every song fits the model perfectly, there is always a dialogue between the model and the specific voice leading and form of the songs in question.