With a little shifting of tempo and pitch level, the opening theme of Mozart’s Horn Concerto, K. 412, fits rather nicely atop the verse of the Beatles’ Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da.
Here’s the chord progression, simplified slightly:
I / / / V / / / V7 / / / I / / /
I / / / IV / / / I / V / I / / /
Here’s the first line of each melody (Beatles on top, Mozart below, starting earlier with a pickup). Note that there are melodic similarities as well as harmonic ones, particularly the use of mi (D) as high note in m. 1, re (C) in m. 2, and fa (E-flat) in m. 3.
Why do the Beatles go to do (B-flat) in m. 4 and Mozart to mi (D)? I think it’s because of structural notes. Mozart clearly emphasizes every downbeat with a relatively long note, and these notes climb a third over the course of the line, going do-re–re-mi (B-flat, C, C, D). The Beatles, on the other hand, emphasize mi (D) rather than do (B-flat) in their first measure, and so their structural melody naturally falls rather than rises.
The next line of each is also similar, with sol (F) prominent in m. 5, la (G) in m. 6, and do (B-flat) to end the theme in m. 8. While m. 7 diverges a bit, it’s interesting that both melodies speed up a bit right at the end.
While mm. 5 and 6 emphasize the same notes in each case, there are some interesting differences. Mozart reaches the climactic high point of the melody in m. 6 and goes down almost an octave to G; Paul McCartney, on the other hand, reaches his climactic high note on the G in m. 6.
The little differences make it especially enjoyable, to me, to listen to the mashup above. I love especially the different resting notes in m. 4, and the way the two melodies reach G in two different ways in m. 6.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/chenettet/playlist/1kk8ByJhDdKBVU8SX5Ze4B
Music Theory Bridges 