A Geometric Analysis Of The Harmonic Structure of "In My Life"

TL;DR

This paper uses geometric and spectrogram analysis to explore the harmonic structure and voice leading in The Beatles' song 'In My Life,' revealing a structured harmonic logic rooted in the Tonnetz.

Contribution

It introduces a geometric approach to analyze the harmonic progressions of the song, linking spectrograms, voice leading, and harmonic rhythms in a novel way.

Findings

Structured geometric logic underlies the song's chord progressions

Spectrograms visualize chordal harmonics and voice leading

Harmonic rhythms are effectively described through geometric methods

Abstract

After our book---Mathematics and Music: Composition, Perception, and Performance, 2nd edition, CRC Press, 2020---was published, we found a striking example of the importance of the Tonnetz for analyzing the harmonic structure of The Beatles' song, "In My Life." Our Tonnetz analysis will illustrate the highly structured geometric logic underlying the numerous chord progressions in the song. Spectrograms provide a way for us to visualize chordal harmonics and their connection with voice leading. We shall also describe the interesting harmonic rhythms of the song's chord progressions. A lot of this harmonic rhythm lends itself well to a geometric description.