Here is an adaptation for Ukulele of this beautiful song from the Beatles in 1964: And I Love Her.
My discovery of the Beatles dates back to a period close to childhood. My mother-in-law took us to the movies to see A Hard Day’s Night. Indeed, Les Cinoches, a cultural centre at Ris Orangis, suburb from Paris, proposed a rebroadcast in the mid-1980s. There was also my father-in-law, originally from England, who had his own John Lennon vinyl with Imagine. Finally, my first walkman was offered to me with a tape from a Beatles’s live.
While the Beatles have left their mark on pop music in a very unique way, I am one of many people for whom this band inextricably blends with much of my personal memories.
Why this song.
In a surprising way, my motivation to make this adaptation does not come from the Beatles but from the cover from Esther Phillips that I find incredible. But also the version of Brad Mehldau that my wife sometimes listens to and that is just as incredible.
Music.
And I Love Her is a melody of great melancholy. In fact, we recognize the elegance of Paul McCartney and his melodic sense coming from another galaxy.
The original tonality is in C sharp minor. Generally speaking, it is a rough tonality on almost all instruments. No doubt chosen to be adapted to the tessitures of voices? That’s my opinion.
For my part, I chose D minor to optimize the range of the Ukulele.
The shape of the piece is AABA with A’s of 10 bars which is not so common.
Last observation on the end chord which is in D major when the whole piece is in D minor. This harmonic movement is called a picardy cadence. Some musicians do not like the strong colour of this cadence. Personally, I like it and find it amusing.
Score and tablature.
If you wish, the score and tablature of my adaptation are available in pdf format under this text.
This is a non-commercial sharing.