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MordentsJohn Lennon

Mordents and turns are common embellishments for Lennon [...].

— Walter Everett, The Beatles as Musicians, Vol. 1 (2001), p. 72

Many Beatles songs written by John Lennon contain mordents in the vocal melody: a note briefly ornamented by an adjacent scale degree before returning to the original note. He often places them near the ends of phrases where they're followed by a downward resolution to the tonic.

These ornaments are common in many styles of music, but they distinguish Lennon from his bandmates Paul McCartney and George Harrison, who use them much less often. Lennon himself uses them most in his R&B-inspired songs from the early '60s.

There are also conspicuous vocal mordents in "Do You Want To Know A Secret," which was sung by Harrison but written by Lennon.

References in later music

The Beach Boys

It was clear that the Beach Boys were listening to the Beatles in 1964; [...] [Brian] Wilson adopted Lennon's mordent in such songs as "Don't Worry Baby" and "You're So Good To Me."

— Walter Everett, The Beatles as Musicians, Vol. 1 (2001), p. 276

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SongPatterns.com is an encyclopedia of

• the musicological devices that contribute to the distinctive sounds of various artists, genres, and time periods
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  Taylor Swift often ends vocal phrases by singing 3̂, dropping to 7̂, then rising to 1̂.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• the elements that songwriters draw from preexisting songs
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  Sonantina in F Major (1807)Ludwig von Beethoven

  

  

  Anthony's Song (Movin' Out) (1977)Billy Joel

  

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[...] the production and perception of music—like language—relies on knowledge that is not easily articulated and, to some extent, unconscious. Anyone who can speak and understand English has some kind of knowledge of the rules of English grammar, but few such people are able to state exactly what those rules are. Similarly, [...] creators and listeners of rock music have knowledge about the norms and regularities of rock, but largely at an unconscious level. In large part, my goal [...] is to articulate this tacit knowledge, to uncover the mental processes and representations involved in musical creation and perception.

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