Inside the solo: The Beatles “Something”

George Harrison wrote several of my favorite Beatles songs, including "Something." It has an unusual chord progression that has been borrowed enough times since then to have become almost a cliche, but the song is beautiful, and Harrison's solo is a masterclass in melodic playing and in using theme and variations to generate interest.

Because the chord progression is non-diatonic (meaning the chords don't all come from the same key), there aren't a lot of reusable licks or melodic ideas here, but it's still work studying to see how Harrison crafted a perfect solo to fit the song.

Check it out and leave a comment to let me know which other solos you'd like to see me analyze!