Obladi Oblada – The Beatles

Here is a Ukulele and Bass adaptation of a song by Lennon and McCartney in 1968 with The Beatles : Obladi Oblada.

When we talk about the White Double Album, I have directly some songs in mind. Back in the U.S.S.R, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blackbird, Helter Skelter, Revolution 1 and of course, Obladi Oblada.

I have already mentioned my attachment to The Beatles on this blog. So it’s with a lot of pleasure and fun that I made this version.

Why this song.

I like this song for its fresh and dynamic side. And then this love story between Molly and Desmond seems so fun and spontaneous! Something to dream about, an uncontrolled smile on the face, to the rhythm of the song.

Also, in this month of October 2022, Obladi Oblada was the opportunity to respond to the theme of the forum-ukulele. Indeed, this theme is: onomatopoeias.
And as I wanted to try an arrangement on Ukulele, Bass and with choirs, this song fell at the right time.

The set up of the day : Ukulele Marc B. Music Man Stingray bass, Micro Zoom HD6 and Shure Beta 58

Music.

Once again, a harmonic grid that fits on the degrees I, IV and V. Here, for the range of my voice and also to ease my life, I chose to play in C. So I have C, F and G as chords.
This grid is rather conventional, the only mini singularity is perhaps in the chorus, with the brief appearance of the vi degree minor preceded by the iii degree minor. That is to say Am preceded by Em under life goes on, bra.

And yet, with this bass line, this piano bastringue, these voices doubled to give a chorus effect, these crazy choirs, this Beatles’ song has nothing conventional to my eyes.
I find it amusing to observe that the simplicity of a grid sometimes leaves a great freedom of arrangement.

Video capture.

When I have to make a video with different instruments, there is always the question of the method. Here I preferred to start with the Ukulele and the voice. This way I could record the music track and the main image without headphones on. Then I did the bass and finally the choirs. Moreover, this choice follows the musical sense of the song which puts forward the voice and the Ukulele.

Score and tablature.

If you wish, my transcript and adaptation are available in pdf format just below this text.
This is a non-commercial sharing.