Continuation of description
Instrumentation and timbre
John Lennon recorded lead vocals and acoustic guitar and Paul McCartney added extra vocals and harmonies, bass guitar and the Lowrey organ. Harrison was lead guitar, Ringo played drums, and producer George Martin added piano. There is also distorted lead guitar played through a Leslie speaker and an echo effect added to create a surreal and spaced-out feel. Maracas and tamburaA long-necked folk string instrument. were also recorded.
Texture
The organ intro is monophonicA texture consisting of a solo musical line. but the overall texture is mainly melody and accompanimentA type of texture where there is only one clear melody and an accompaniment that plays different notes and rhythms but is supporting the melody..
Pitch and melody
The introduction is played by the organ. The intro is disjunctMoves in leaps. as there are large jumps of a minor sixth, perfect 5th and major 7th between some of the notes. This ostinatoA musical phrase which repeats. pattern is then repeated in the verse.
The verse melody uses a limited pitch range of only five notes. The C鈾 is sung ten times and there is repetitive use of A-G-F鈾. There is use of tone painting and augmentationA rhythm that is repeated with longer durations. on the words river and slowly. The accompanying instruments play the ostinato in the 2nd half of the verse and the last line of vocal melody is double trackedAudio recording technique where a performer sings or plays along with their own recorded performance, recording another layer. .
The pre-chorus also has a limited range in pitch as it is mainly sung around a single note - D. The vocal line is single-tracked and an echo effect is added. guitar bendA technique used in performance where the player pushes the guitar strings. As a result, the pitch increases. can also be heard. This guitar technique involves pushing a string across or over the fingerboard so that the string gets tighter and the pitch goes up.
Paul McCartney sings the opening two lines of the chorus. The melody is based around a descending major scale and is conjunctA melody that moves by step..
John Lennon adds harmony on the 3rd line by singing a third higher. A countermelody is played by the electric guitar through a Leslie speaker.
In the next chorus the 1st vocal line is a solo and lines 2 and 3 are harmonised in thirds. A countermelody is played by guitar.
The lead guitar has an improvisationComposing music on the spot or during a performance. countermelody towards the end and the chorus material is used as an outro which gradually fades out.
Dynamics
The introduction is played mezzo pianoMedium quiet volume (mp) and there is a dynamic change to forteShortened to f when written in the score. It means to play the music loud. (f) on the last word 鈥済one鈥 in pre-chorus. The chorus is also (f). The song ends with a diminuendo A dynamic change when the music decreases in loudness. and the music fades out.