It was McCartney who played the song's distinctive opening passage on a Hammond organ (other sources claim it was a Lowry organ, but the two are very similar).

Together with McCartney's delightful bass line and Ringo's timely use of cymbals it all sounded weird and wonderful at the same time. George Harrison played the Indian tambura on the song, an Indian, guitar-like instrument which makes a drone sound. In addition, his microphone was put through a Leslie amplifier inside a Hammond organ (Beatles had used the same technique on 'Tomorrow Never Knows' from 1966's Revolver ). The Beatles used several effects in the recording studio to create the dream-like, surrealistic atmosphere that surrounds 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.' First, Lennon's child-like, high-pitched voice was created by recording him at slow speed before playing the track back at normal speed. Not to mention the fact that a symphony of instruments do their part to back up the basic bass, guitar, and drums played by John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Usually, a song stays within one key, possibly two to provide a dramatic shift towards the end, but three is unusual. It starts out in A Major in the verses, merges into B-flat Major in the bridge, and rounds out in G Major in the chorus.

The basic case-in-point is that the song jogs around between three different distantly related keys yet manages to maintain a coherent sound without jarring our ears. He says, 'The music is certainly as mercurial and elusive as the imagery of the words, especially in terms of the constantly shifting key structure and the rhythmic alternation of 3/4 and 4/4 meters.' ( Source) The rest of his thoughts, alas, are too full of music theory jargon to bring in here (if, however, you're well-versed in music theory, click through and read on.) Pollack, our go-to guy for Beatles music analysis, has a lot to say about the song's melodic texture. And if that isn't enough, it also puts forth some sound techniques that at the time were totally revolutionary. Like many of the Beatles' more experimental works, 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' isn't only a visual but also an auditory wonder.įirst of all, it's written in three different keys with two different beats (meters).

Lucy and the chorus line