Help Me, Rhonda
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BEACH BOYS: The Beach Boys are an American Surf Rock band from the early 1960's The Steve Miller Band are a The bands line up, for this particular song, consisted of five members: 1. Brian Wilson - Chief songwriter/co-lead vocalist. 2. Dennis Wilson - Singer, songwriter and Drummer. 3. Carl Wilson - founding member, lead Guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. 4. Mike Love - songwriter and co-lead singer along side Brian Wilson. 5. Al Jardine - singer, songwriter and Guitarist. (The bass is done by the guitarists.) Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson are the only two members that have officially been replaced. Due to sadly passing away. The Beach Boys are a hugely successful surf rock band (1961-Present, that's over FIVE decades! 50 years!?) | A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SONG 'HELP ME, RHONDA': Help me, Rhonda is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The song is telling a story about a male who was attracted to a girl (Rhonda), but she has found another man. To get over the fact the she's (Rhonda) found someone else and to help him with the healing process, the male begs Rhonda to help him. It is one of many hit singles by The Beach Boys. For this particular song Al Jardine is the lead Vocalist. Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and Mike Love were all backing vocalists in this song. Seven different bands have covered this song. In fact, Al Jardine recorded a cover with Steve Miller for his solo album! The Steve Miller Band was my previous genre! Small world. |
WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE USED?:
Vocals - The lead vocals are one of three instruments to start the song. It is the first single by The Beach Boys to feature Al Jardine as the lead vocalist. The vocals are throughout the whole song with only really short breaks every now and then. The part where the vocals aren't in it for the longest is the piano/guitar solo towards the end (1.47 - 2.09).
I would probably say that Al Jardine has a Tenor vocal range. Throughout the song it sounds like he stays on one note, obviously with a few higher or lower parts.
I think the best part, vocally, in this song are the last three bars of the choruses.
During the verses the lead vocals sing very quaver based melodies. During the choruses the lead vocals sing very crotchet based melodies.
Bass Guitar - The bass guitar is the second of the three instruments to start of the song. The bass is very prominent in this song. It follows the guitar chords exactly but goes - Root, Third, Sixth, Fifth, Fifth, Third, Second. This phrase is done throughout the whole of the verses but just moves to different chords.
The choruses just play Root, Flattened Fifth (or sharpened forth), Fifth. And this is played on each chord as well.
I would say that both the bass and treble are set to about half way. It also sounds like this song is being played with a plectrum.
Tambourine - The tambourine is the third instrument. It is played throughout the whole song and acts as a sort of metronome. It is shaked on every beat of the song.
Guitar One - I guess this would be classified as the 'lead guitar.' This guitar does the short fills in the intro verse. The fills are at 0.04 and again at 0.11. This guitar is the one that also plays the short guitar solo after the piano solo.
Those three parts are the only time where the guitars are split apart. Other than that, the guitars play the same thing.
The guitar is very 'twangy' during it's solo parts. During the guitar solo, there is definitely a little bit of distortion.
The guitar is played very lightly throughout the rest of the song.
Guitar Two - This guitar is played very lightly as well. It does the same as the lead guitar during the choruses and verses. During the guitar solo, this guitar just does the same thing as the bass.
The way the guitars are both being played is in a very loose bluesy style.
Drums - The drums enter at 0.15 which is on the start of bar 5. From there on out, the drums are played continuously throughout the whole song.
They sit on a 4/4 swing groove. Rather than using a full size drum kit, they just use the hi-hat, bass drum and snare drum. The beat is the same throughout the whole song.. There aren't any variations with the drums.
Backing Vocals - The Beach Boys have so many backing vocals in their songs. It's what makes them so iconic. During the choruses of this song there are so many different voices doing completely different things. Below is the lyrics t o the song, the words highlighted white are when the backing vocalist are also singing:
Well since she put me down I 've been out doin' in my head
Come in late at night and in the mornin' I just lay in bed
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you look so fine (look so fine)
("fine" is held behind lead vocals) And I know it wouldn't take much time
("heart" is held behind lead vocals) For you to help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
("oh's" behind lead vocals) She was gonna be my wife (bo, bo, bo's) And I was gonna be her man (come on Rhonda)
("oh's" behind lead vocals) But she let another guy come between us (bo, bo, bo's) And it ruined our plan (come on Rhonda)
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you caught my eye (caught my eye)
("eye"is held behind lead vocals) And I can give you lotsa reasons why
("heart" is held behind lead vocals) You gotta help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart (bo, bo, bo's)
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
(INSTRUMENTAL)
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
WHAT WE CAN'T LOSE?:
Instrumentally this song is very simple. You can hear everything you need instrumentation wise but the vocals is definitely the toughest part to this song. I think we kept just about everything.
1.) The drums were kept exactly the same. The verses and choruses has a very 4/4 swing drum beat. Before the choruses and the instrumental there is a little pause but then the drums build up with crotchet hits back into the swing groove.
2.) The guitars were also kept the same. They enter 16 bars into the song and sit on a swing (dotted quaver, semi-quaver) rhythm. They do this throughout the whole song. The are very faint.
The instrumental 64 bars in sits on a 12 bar blues. The 'solo' kicks in on the 8th bar and plays off beat hits on bar 11.
3.) The bass is very prominent in this song. It was kept exactly the same. I had to hear out the bass line to this song. There isn't any variations. The verses are F, Bb, F Bb, F, F, F, F Bb, F. The choruses are C, C, F, F, C, C, F, F, Bb, Bb, F, F, G, C.
4.) The lead vocals must be kept the same. The lowest note sung is middle C. The highest note sung is a D above the octave of middle C.
5.) The backing vocals are the most important thing in this song. There are so many different backing vocals/harmonies in this song. The first verse doesn't have any backing vocals. Both pre-choruses are mostly made up of "oh's" and "ah's." The choruses have a lot of different things going on. The two obvious things are "Rhonda" and the "Bo Bo's." On top of that, there are harmonies.
The aim of what we have to do is basically replicate our chosen song. And to replicate something, it means to make an exact copy/reproduce something. So in order to do that we obviously can not lose anything! Not one single thing.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG:
The basic information of the song are things like structure, key, tempo etc.
The original key to this song is F Major.
The structure to this song is very basic. It contains the usual verse, chorus and instrumental.
- VERSE (0.00 - 0.14) 8 BARS
- PRE-CHORUS (0.14 - 0.28) 8 BARS
- CHORUS (0.28 - 0.56) 16 BARS
- VERSE 2 (0.56 - 1.09) 8 BARS
- PRE-CHORUS (1.09 - 1.24) 8 BARS
- CHORUS (1.24 - 1.50) 16 BARS
- INSTRUMENTAL (1.50 - 2.11) 12 BARS
- CHORUS (2.11 - 2.38) 16 BARS
- OUTRO (2.38 - 2.47) 4 BARS
The tempo for this song is a moderately fast (medium rock) tempo. BPM - 140.
WHAT'S MAKES IT SO ICONIC?
The thing that makes this song so iconic, without a question, are the vocals/backing vocals. That's why the Beach Boys are such an iconic surfer rock band.
Another thing that makes this song iconic is the lyrical content. As well as their close vocal harmonies. Their known for their lyrics usually referring to surfing, cars and romance.
Vocals - The lead vocals are one of three instruments to start the song. It is the first single by The Beach Boys to feature Al Jardine as the lead vocalist. The vocals are throughout the whole song with only really short breaks every now and then. The part where the vocals aren't in it for the longest is the piano/guitar solo towards the end (1.47 - 2.09).
I would probably say that Al Jardine has a Tenor vocal range. Throughout the song it sounds like he stays on one note, obviously with a few higher or lower parts.
I think the best part, vocally, in this song are the last three bars of the choruses.
During the verses the lead vocals sing very quaver based melodies. During the choruses the lead vocals sing very crotchet based melodies.
Bass Guitar - The bass guitar is the second of the three instruments to start of the song. The bass is very prominent in this song. It follows the guitar chords exactly but goes - Root, Third, Sixth, Fifth, Fifth, Third, Second. This phrase is done throughout the whole of the verses but just moves to different chords.
The choruses just play Root, Flattened Fifth (or sharpened forth), Fifth. And this is played on each chord as well.
I would say that both the bass and treble are set to about half way. It also sounds like this song is being played with a plectrum.
Tambourine - The tambourine is the third instrument. It is played throughout the whole song and acts as a sort of metronome. It is shaked on every beat of the song.
Guitar One - I guess this would be classified as the 'lead guitar.' This guitar does the short fills in the intro verse. The fills are at 0.04 and again at 0.11. This guitar is the one that also plays the short guitar solo after the piano solo.
Those three parts are the only time where the guitars are split apart. Other than that, the guitars play the same thing.
The guitar is very 'twangy' during it's solo parts. During the guitar solo, there is definitely a little bit of distortion.
The guitar is played very lightly throughout the rest of the song.
Guitar Two - This guitar is played very lightly as well. It does the same as the lead guitar during the choruses and verses. During the guitar solo, this guitar just does the same thing as the bass.
The way the guitars are both being played is in a very loose bluesy style.
Drums - The drums enter at 0.15 which is on the start of bar 5. From there on out, the drums are played continuously throughout the whole song.
They sit on a 4/4 swing groove. Rather than using a full size drum kit, they just use the hi-hat, bass drum and snare drum. The beat is the same throughout the whole song.. There aren't any variations with the drums.
Backing Vocals - The Beach Boys have so many backing vocals in their songs. It's what makes them so iconic. During the choruses of this song there are so many different voices doing completely different things. Below is the lyrics t o the song, the words highlighted white are when the backing vocalist are also singing:
Well since she put me down I 've been out doin' in my head
Come in late at night and in the mornin' I just lay in bed
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you look so fine (look so fine)
("fine" is held behind lead vocals) And I know it wouldn't take much time
("heart" is held behind lead vocals) For you to help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
("oh's" behind lead vocals) She was gonna be my wife (bo, bo, bo's) And I was gonna be her man (come on Rhonda)
("oh's" behind lead vocals) But she let another guy come between us (bo, bo, bo's) And it ruined our plan (come on Rhonda)
("oh's" behind lead vocals) Well, Rhonda you caught my eye (caught my eye)
("eye"is held behind lead vocals) And I can give you lotsa reasons why
("heart" is held behind lead vocals) You gotta help me Rhonda, Help me get her out of my heart (bo, bo, bo's)
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
(INSTRUMENTAL)
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda
Help, help me Rhonda
Help me Rhonda yeah
Get her out of my heart
WHAT WE CAN'T LOSE?:
Instrumentally this song is very simple. You can hear everything you need instrumentation wise but the vocals is definitely the toughest part to this song. I think we kept just about everything.
1.) The drums were kept exactly the same. The verses and choruses has a very 4/4 swing drum beat. Before the choruses and the instrumental there is a little pause but then the drums build up with crotchet hits back into the swing groove.
2.) The guitars were also kept the same. They enter 16 bars into the song and sit on a swing (dotted quaver, semi-quaver) rhythm. They do this throughout the whole song. The are very faint.
The instrumental 64 bars in sits on a 12 bar blues. The 'solo' kicks in on the 8th bar and plays off beat hits on bar 11.
3.) The bass is very prominent in this song. It was kept exactly the same. I had to hear out the bass line to this song. There isn't any variations. The verses are F, Bb, F Bb, F, F, F, F Bb, F. The choruses are C, C, F, F, C, C, F, F, Bb, Bb, F, F, G, C.
4.) The lead vocals must be kept the same. The lowest note sung is middle C. The highest note sung is a D above the octave of middle C.
5.) The backing vocals are the most important thing in this song. There are so many different backing vocals/harmonies in this song. The first verse doesn't have any backing vocals. Both pre-choruses are mostly made up of "oh's" and "ah's." The choruses have a lot of different things going on. The two obvious things are "Rhonda" and the "Bo Bo's." On top of that, there are harmonies.
The aim of what we have to do is basically replicate our chosen song. And to replicate something, it means to make an exact copy/reproduce something. So in order to do that we obviously can not lose anything! Not one single thing.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG:
The basic information of the song are things like structure, key, tempo etc.
The original key to this song is F Major.
The structure to this song is very basic. It contains the usual verse, chorus and instrumental.
- VERSE (0.00 - 0.14) 8 BARS
- PRE-CHORUS (0.14 - 0.28) 8 BARS
- CHORUS (0.28 - 0.56) 16 BARS
- VERSE 2 (0.56 - 1.09) 8 BARS
- PRE-CHORUS (1.09 - 1.24) 8 BARS
- CHORUS (1.24 - 1.50) 16 BARS
- INSTRUMENTAL (1.50 - 2.11) 12 BARS
- CHORUS (2.11 - 2.38) 16 BARS
- OUTRO (2.38 - 2.47) 4 BARS
The tempo for this song is a moderately fast (medium rock) tempo. BPM - 140.
WHAT'S MAKES IT SO ICONIC?
The thing that makes this song so iconic, without a question, are the vocals/backing vocals. That's why the Beach Boys are such an iconic surfer rock band.
Another thing that makes this song iconic is the lyrical content. As well as their close vocal harmonies. Their known for their lyrics usually referring to surfing, cars and romance.