Michelle is one of the first Beatles-songs I’ve ever learned. Part of what attracted me to the song were the somewhat jazzy harmonies that push the song constantly between major and minor.
The fake iv-minor
On thing I’ve never understood about this tune, it that in the second measure (“ma belle”), the implied harmony is a iv-minor chord (Bbmi). It’s what the melody tells us (Db- Ab). This is actually what I always thought it was, and what most people play:
But if you listen to the background vocals, they outline a Bb7 chord. McCartney’s Db in the melody clashes with the D natural in the background vocals, creating a Bb7(#9) chord.
It works, but I think only because of the mellow background vocals and the quick jump down in the melody. If you play it on the piano though, it doesn’t sound great. The Bb7(#9) chord is just so obviously dissonant, and it’s not what the ear perceives when we hear ‘ma belle’. I think therefore most people just play a Bbmi chord in that spot.
McCartney called this Bb7(#9) chord a “great ham-fisted jazz chord”. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it is!
My own arrangement
In my own arrangement, below, I decided to avoid the iv-minor “controversy” by using different chords altogether, Eb7 and D7(#11). Furthermore, as a further twist to this song, I put it in a 3/4 meter. I hope you enjoy!
