The Beatles: Note By Note

By Note By Note Series

A Beatles podcast that goes song-by-song through every Beatles release in chronological order. We focus on the music itself, breaking down what you’re hearing and why it works.

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How many episodes does The Beatles: Note By Note have?

The podcast currently has 174 episodes available.

Best of The Beatles: Note By Note

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: I've Just Seen A Face - Lecture Series 100 (bonus)
In this Beatles lecture series, we are looking at I’ve Just Seen a Face, a song that captures the head-spinning rush of love at first sight. We examine how Paul combines deceptively simple musical and lyrical materials to create the song’s breathless and frenetic energy. Beneath the surface, its overlapping patterns continually pull against one another, while rising and falling gestures mirror the exhilaration of suddenly being swept off balance by another person. Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 25, 202639min
Number 2: I've Just Seen A Face - Episode 100 with Ian Leslie
Have you ever realized that another person will change your life forever? Author Ian Leslie joins us to talk about I’ve Just Seen a Face and his book, John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs. Together, we use Paul’s breathless love song to explore chance, recognition, conflict and the mixture happiness and sadness that can exist in a single moment. Could this song tell us something about Paul in 1965 or maybe about what he saw in John Lennon years earlier? We cover: -Ian Leslie’s John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs -This song's origins -John and Paul’s creative and emotional relationship -Love at first sight, fate, and chance -The acoustic arrangement and rapid-fire vocal phrasing -Take 3 from Anthology 4 -The opening of Rubber Soul -A legendary recording session, Paul's Event Horizon Check out Ian Leslie: https://www.ian-leslie.com/ Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 18, 20261h 15min
Number 3: Tell Me What You See - Lecture Series 99 (bonus)
In this Beatles lecture series, we analyze Tell Me What You See. We look at the way the lyrics gradually reveal that this promise is actually an attempt of persuasion. Musically, we explore Paul’s melodic contours, the song’s recurring question-and-answer phrases, and how its simple harmony takes on a more modal character. We also compare blues-inflected and warmer pop sounds, and how the unusual instrumental middle section develops the song’s Latin-influenced character. Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 11, 202643min
Number 4: Tell Me What You See - Episode 99 with Caro Kelley
On this episode of our Beatles podcast, musician, singer, songwriter and obsessive album listener Caro Kelley joins us for Tell Me What You See. Caro has spent a lot of time not just listening to music, but rating and ranking it and she brings that perspective to a song that Paul McCartney himself dismissed as not particularly memorable. Would you call this a filler track? For our storytime, we have a remarkable firsthand account of the Beatles actually working out the song in the studio with George Martin. Melody Maker journalist Ray Coleman was there as they rehearsed, argued over what was wrong, experimented with percussion, added the electric piano and tried to find a sound they admitted they couldn’t yet define. Tell Me What You See opens up bigger questions about singing, intimacy, imagination and why a song can become more interesting the closer you get to it. What we cover: - Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s conflicting memories of who wrote “Tell Me What You See” - John and Paul’s unusually loose rhythmic phrasing - Ringo Starr’s drum break - Paul McCartney’s Hohner Pianet C - A British post-war religious motto - A possible connection to Elvis Presley’s “Trying to Get to You” - Ray Coleman’s February 1965 Melody Maker article - George Martin’s orchestral version of “Tell Me What You See” Follow Caro Kelley: https://www.instagram.com/caro_kelley Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 04, 20261h 30min
Number 5: You Like Me Too Much - Lecture Series 98 (bonus)
In this Beatles lecture series, we look at the music and lyrics of George Harrison’s You Like Me Too Much. The uneasy relationship at the center of the song seems caught in a cycle: one person threatens to leave, but neither quite manages to end things. Musically, George builds that uneasy feeling into the song. The harmony repeatedly avoids landing on a firm resolution. We explore how these techniques make the verse unusually effective, and how George was already developing some distinctive songwriting instincts. But not every part works equally well. The middle eight introduces a collection of melodic, harmonic, and lyrical ideas that struggle to develop the song’s central premise. Finally, we look at the barrelhouse piano intro, instrumental break, and outro, and how George Martin’s arrangement helps frame the song and give its wandering structure a sense of unity. Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 28, 202643min