Why Bb7#9 in 'Michelle' and not Bbm7?

Question

The second chord in the first Verse of the song 'Michelle' by the Beatles is often interpreted as Bb7#9. Isn't that a bit of an overkill? I actually don't really hear the major triad dominantly and if I emphasize the D it sounds pretty 'strong'. Playing it as just Bbm7 doesn't change the vibe much too me, so I wondered if there is a good reason to interpret the chord as a major chord with additional tones and not vice versa.

Answer 1

If we listen to the recording version (where the backing vocal in the mix is more audible) and look at what they are singing in this score, for the 2nd chord after the F, the backing vocal sings Bb7 for the full 3 beats during which the melody (2nd beat "ma" is having a Db, the #9). Bb7 makes perfect sense harmonically here, since it's the dominant 7th of the 3rd chord Eb6.

In contrast with your opinion, if we change Bb7 to a Bbm7 that WILL change the character of the accompaniment, so the "D" should be preserved to be consistent with the backing vocal and also serving as a more pointed dominant chord to Eb, which Paul McCartney consistently does.

But why does Paul McCartney also play the #9 (C#)? If we see the score linked above where the guitar part is fully written out, we can see the chromatic motif very evident in the 4-measure introduction, the motif he continues into the chorus right after the intro:

• In the intro, the most prominent single-note sequence we hear in the guitar (more obvious in the recording version) are the very notes responsible for the chord progression Fm-Fm(maj7)-Fm7-Fm6-Dbmaj7-C, which are F-E-Eb-D-Db-C.
• Right after the intro when he starts singing the melody, he then continues this chromatic motif in the top note that is also responsible for the chord progression F-Bb7#9-Eb6-Ddim7-C-Bdim7-C, which are C-C#-C-B-C-B-C, although not as audible as the intro, following the chromatic rising & falling contour of the melody. (We can hear this much better in the White House video. In the last 4 chords he didn't follow the score.)

Conclusion: In my opinion, Bb7#9 is fulfilling a dual function: as V7 to the 3rd chord, and as #9 preserving the chromatic motif. Adding the C# to the D in Bb7 also makes the chord more dissonant than a simple Bbm7, making it more consistent with the pattern of alternating consonant chords (F, Eb6, C, C) with dissonant chords (Bb7#9, Dbdim7, Bdim7).

Yes, I found a lot of scores on the Internet with Bbm7 chord such as here, here, and here. I also found scores with Gm7 when the key signature is D minor such as here and here. Even a score with F major as the key signature such as here which still has Bbm7 as the 2nd chord. I'm not sure whether they are official or not. But I also find 2 identical looking "for purchase" versions (a piano reduction score) here and here where the key signature is F minor and has Bb7#9 as the 2nd chord. In that version, the piano notes form a Bb7 chord (without the #9) vindicating my analysis above where the harmonic accompaniment (which is done by backing vocal in the recordings) is intended to be Bb7, but in live performances Paul McCartney adds the #9 in his guitar.

Answer 2

The answer to your title question is: because that’s what Paul wrote and played. The fact is, and I’m a little surprised to say, it IS a Bb7#9. I always thought based on the melody and the fact that his guitar is a bit buried in the mix there that it was a Bbm7 but was proven wrong by this video of Paul playing it:

He plays the song in C with capo 5 making it sound in the key of F (and F minor) and at 0:42 you can actually see him play this chord: 1-3-1-2-4-4 or 6-8-6-7-9-9, not accounting for the capo. The notes are: Bb-F-Ab-D-Ab-C#, Bb7#9. The guitar chord sounds crystal clear on the video, but not on the original studio recording.

Mike Pachelli, an amazing guitarist who does very accurate transcriptions of Beatles tunes confirms this at around 6:42 of this video:

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