Ethan Teaches You Music Podcast

Music in this episode:The Beatles - “Yellow Submarine” (1966)John Lennon - “Yellow Submarine (Songwriting Work Tape/Part 1)” (1966)The Beatles - “Yellow Submarine (Songwriting Work Tape/Part 2)” (1966)The Beatles - “She Loves You” (1963)“Le Rêve Passe” by Charles Helmer and Georges Krier (1906), performed by Major Roger G. Swift and the Regimental Band Of The Coldstream Guards (2009)Donovan - “Mellow Yellow” (1966)Yellow Submarine (film) (1968)The Beatles - “Hey Bulldog” (1967)The Beatles - “All Together Now” (1967)Ship’s Company and Royal Marine Band of H.M.S. Ark Royal - “Yellow Submarine” (1979)Revelation - “Yellow Submarine” (1980)Göran Söllscher - “Yellow Submarine” (1995)Roots Manuva - “Yellow Submarine” (2002)Stephen Spencer - “Apple Man (Living Room Version)” (2026)Correction: I say there are ocean waves in the first verse of “Yellow Submarine”; they are actually in the second verse.I didn’t mention that the song had a spoken intro at one point, but they eventually cut it. I don’t think it’s that interesting, but I include it here in the spirit of completion.I drew on Galeazzo Frudua’s helpful breakdown of the vocal harmonies in the chorus:After I recorded this, I did some more research on the question of whether the marching band was recorded live or spliced in from an archival recording of “Le Rêve Passe”. The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four by Kenneth Womack says that it’s spliced. The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road years 1962-1970 by Mark Lewisohn says it’s unnamed session musicians playing live. I want to believe Womack’s version of the story because it makes the track more interesting, but I trust Lewisohn more.Previously:Part 1 - “Twist and Shout”Part 2 - “She Loves You”Part 3 - “If I Fell”Part 4 - “Yesterday” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:The Beatles - “Yesterday” (1965)The Beatles - “Yesterday (Take 1)” (1965)Mantovani and his Orchestra - “Charmaine” (1958)The Beatles - “Yesterday (live in Munich)” (1966)Henry Bard - “Greensleeves” (2024)Sarah Vaughan - “Yesterday” (1966)Ruth Brown - “Yesterday” (1969)Marvin Gaye - “Yesterday” (1970)Boyz II Men - “Yesterday” (1994)I learned the concept of beginning-accented and end-accented melodies from The Musical Language of Rock by David Temperley. I say in the episode that the melody of “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees is beginning-accented throughout. Andrew Hickey, creator of the 500 Songs podcast and a major inspiration for this series, pointed out that the song’s bridge (“Somebody help me, I’m goin’ nowhere”) is actually end-accented.Previously:Part 1 - “Twist and Shout”Part 2 - “She Loves You”Part 3 - “If I Fell”Next:Part 5 - “Yellow Submarine” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:The Beatles - “If I Fell” (1964)Roberta Flack - “If I Fell” (2012)Small Axe Rhythm - “If I Fell (Version Instrumental)” (1985)føamēk - “From the Very Start” (2020)The jazz musician who described “If I Fell” as the first musically interesting Beatles song was the late Joe Giglio, who I took some guitar lessons from when I was younger.At one point, I say that Paul is straining to hit an A; I meant he’s straining to hit a G.For a classical theorist’s take on the song, check out Alan Pollack’s excellent analysis.Previously: Part 1: “Twist and Shout”Part 2: “She Loves You”Next:Part 4: “Yesterday”Part 5 - “Yellow Submarine” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:The Beatles - “She Loves You” (1963)Elvis Presley - “All Shook Up” (1957)The Andrews Sisters - “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (1941)John Williams - Imperial March (1977)The Isley Brothers - “Twist and Shout” (1962)Keely Smith - “She Loves You” (1964)Mary Wells - “He Loves You” (1965)Adam and the Ants - “Family Of Noise” (1979)The Beatles - “All You Need Is Love” (1967)I can’t find a direct attribution for the George W. Bush quote about the early vs late Beatles; the closest I can come is a reference to it in this article.As always, I refer you to the invaluable A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs podcast for historical background.Previously:Part 1 - “Twist and Shout”Next:Part 3 - “If I Fell”Part 4 - “Yesterday”Part 5 - “Yellow Submarine” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:The Beatles - “Twist and Shout” (1963)The Top Notes - “Twist and Shout” (1961)Ritchie Valens - “La Bamba” (1958)The Isley Brothers - “Twist and Shout” (1962)David Bowie - “Let’s Dance” (1983)Salt-N-Pepa - “Twist and Shout” (1988)For background on the song, I drew extensively on A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, which you will definitely enjoy listening to if you enjoyed listening to this.Next:Part 2 - “Twist and Shout”Part 3 - “If I Fell”Part 4 - “Yesterday”Part 5 - “Yellow Submarine” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:Louis Armstrong - “What a Wonderful World” (1967)Louis Armstrong - “Hello, Dolly!” (1964)Louis Armstrong - “When The Saints Go Marching In” (1938)Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (1950)Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven - “Melancholy Blues” (1927)Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - “Hotter Than That” (1927)Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - “West End Blues” (1928)Jimmie Rodgers - “Blue Yodel No 9” (1930)Hoagy Carmichael - “(Up A) Lazy River” (1930)Louis Armstrong - “Lazy River” (1931)Louis Armstrong - ‘When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” (1931)Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers - “Old Folks At Home” (1937)References:Charles Hiroshi Garrett - Struggling to Define a Nation: American Music and the Twentieth Century (2008)Charles Hersch - “Poisoning Their Coffee: Louis Armstrong and Civil Rights” (2002) Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:Dolly Parton - “Traveling Man” (1971)Dolly Parton - “Jolene” (1973)Dolly Parton - “9 to 5” (1980)Dolly Parton - “Travelin’ Prayer” (1999)Dolly Parton - “Marry Me” (2001)Dolly Parton - “Stairway to Heaven” (2002)Dolly Parton - “Don’t Think Twice” (2014)Dolly Parton - “Purple Rain” (2023)References:I include excerpts of a couple of interviews with Dolly. There’s this one:and this one:I also include an excerpt of this excellent Paul Thompson video about the bassline in “Traveling Man”: Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode, not counting my Suno output:Fleetwood Mac - “Dreams” (1977)Thelonious Monk - “Round Midnight” (1968)Cordelia’s Dad - “Montcalm and Wolfe” (1998)The Bee Gees - “Stayin’ Alive” (instrumental) (1977)Catherine Sikora - “The Knowing of Sums” (2016)Ethan Hein - “The Knowing of Sums remix” (2020)The Velvet Sundown - “Dust on the Wind” (2025)Neil Young - “Out on the Weekend” (1972)Koji Kondō - “Super Mario Bros Underworld Theme” (1985)ReferencesI refer to Margaret Boden’s 2004 book, The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms.I also refer to a study of a songwriting class that quotes a student talking about the difference between musicians and artists. You can read that study here:Dweck, J. (2023). Children as songwriters: The social-emotional benefits of songwriting in the elementary grades. Research Studies in Music Education, 46(2).Here’s the interview with Mikey Shulman where he says that people don’t enjoy the process of making music.Here’s my summary of the research on the learning impacts of LLM use: Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:Mormon Tabernacle Choir - “Old Folks At Home (Way Down Upon the Swanee River)” (1968)Al Jolson - “Swanee River” (1950)Bing Crosby - “Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1945)Pete Seeger - “Swanee River” (1959)Paul Robeson - “Old Folks at Home” (1930)Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers - “The Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1937)Ray Charles- “Swanee River Rock (Talkin Bout That River)” (1957)The Honeys - “Surfin’ Down the Swanee River” (1963)Fu-Schnickens - “Sneakin’ Up On Ya” (1994)The Barbershop Singers - “Way Down Upon the Suwannee River” (2011)Hugh Laurie - “Swanee River” (2011)Al Jolson - “Swanee” (1945)Judy Garland - “Swanee” (1954)Aretha Franklin - “Swanee” (1966)Matthew Morrison’s book Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States is a must-read.Read more about the history of these songs and the music education challenges they pose.Here’s my 20th century American popular music history syllabus. Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe

Music in this episode:Julie Andrews - “My Favorite Things” (1965)John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things” (1960)Ethan Hein - “My Favorite Things jam track” (2026)Mary Martin - “My Favorite Things” (1959)Ariana Grande - “7 Rings” (2019)John Coltrane - “Acknowledgment” (1964)Miles Davis - “So What” (1959)John Coltrane - “Giant Steps” (1960)John Coltrane - “Chim Chim Cheree” (1965)John Coltrane - “Spiritual (C)” (1961)John Coltrane - “Greensleeves (B)” (1961)John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things Live in Comblain-La-Tour” (1965)ReferencesThembi Dunjana - “What McCoy Tyner does on My Favourite Things”Sami Linna - McCoy Tyner, Modal Jazz, and the Dominant ChordCristinel Manascurta - “My Favorite Things - transcription”Milton Mermikides - “‘Straight and Late’: Analytical Perspectives on Coltrane’s Time-feel” Aimee Nolte - “Discovering McCoy Tyner: My Favorite Things Transcription”Lewis Porter - John Coltrane: His Life and MusicJohn Seery - ““My Favorite Things” as Civil Disobedience: a Mingling Descant on Creativity and Contumacy”Vinnie Sperrazza - “Raindrops on Roses” Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe