Bronwyn Livezey

3.04.2016
Dr. Onderdonk
MHL 325-02

Musical Analysis of “Shut Down” by the Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are a prime example of the eclectic mix of styles and forms that encompass

Rock and Roll. Each style adds a unique tonal and rhythmic aspect to their music, giving it intriguing

variety and memorable features. “Shut Down” is a wonderful sample of this eclecticism and I hope to

address the origins of its stylistic features in this paper.

To approach analyzing “Shut Down”, one first must consider the form. As seen in the diagram

attached, it is a modified Tin Pan Alley style AABA form with a brief introduction and a coda. Although

AABA form is typically 32 bars long, this song deviates from the normal length. Each verse is 12 bars

and the bridge, the ‘B’ section, is a total of 16 bars.

As one may expect when seeing verses of 12 bars each, 12 bar blues chord progressions occur

here. However, strophic patter lyrics are used instead of the aab lyrical form typical of 12 bar blues. These

fast-paced lyrics, in addition to the use of the 12 bar blues chords, show influences of Blues style,

specifically Jump Blues.

Although the lyrics are strophic, there are a few repeated lines that return with the same melody. I

would not consider these lines a reason to question the overall strophic form because they serve as the

introduction and coda within the context of the song. The song tells the story of a drag race and it

becomes obvious by the end that the singer’s car is in the lead and will probably win. The subject matter

of these lyrics is not the typical cathartic, woeful tales found in Blues and are arguably Country. They

could also stem from Tin Pan Alley because of the cleanliness of the lyrics and the lack of sexual

suggestion.

The instrumentation alone is a great indicator of the stylistic influences in “Shut Down”. One can

hear an electric bass, two electric guitars, percussion, and vocals. Although guitars can show aspects of

Delta Blues or Country music, I would suggest that in this song they are referencing Electric Blues, like

the music of Muddy Waters. This is partly because the instruments, including the bass guitar, are
electrified, but also because of the distortion present. Although not extremely prominent, distortion can be

heard in the instrumental solo in the B section.

The vocals seem to draw from multiple styles. Although generally smooth, like Tin Pan Alley

voices, there is a light twang to the timbre of the Beach Boys that may be indicative of Country influence.

Additionally they sing in very close vocal harmony, a stylistic feature of County singers. Another

influence is the male quartet style vocals. Although this idea has its roots in Gospel music, the smooth,

controlled background vocals in this song remind me more of Gospel influenced Doo-Wop. They serve

almost as a call and response with roots that can be traced back to African folk music.

Connections to African folk music can also be heard in pitch bending found in the harmonies.

When the melody and harmony end together at the end of a phrase, for example in the third measure of

the introduction, the voices slide into the pitches. Also descended from African folk music is the riff-

based melody found in the vocal line of this song. The introduction also includes a quick reference to

Blues style because the first two measures are stop time. The vocal line begins alone except for the drum

and electric bass guitar hitting on beats one and three.

Style indication can also observed through time keeping. Nearly impossible to miss is the driving

8 beat rock rhythm present throughout most of “Shut Down”. This is one of the unique stylistic features

of Rock and Roll that replaced the shuffle rhythm of its predecessor Rhythm and Blues. The four main

beats are accentuated by a walking bass line, played on the electric bass, passing through each of the

chordal areas of the 12 bar blues. The off-beats are played by the snare drum, however sometimes within

the ‘A’ sections it drops some of the off-beats to create an occasional rebound back-beat. The snare drum

and electric guitar also provides fills in between the introduction and the first verse, before the second

verse, bridge, and between every repetition of the lyrics in the coda

Within the bridge one finds influence of New Orleans style Jazz by the use of a

partial clave rhythm. The first 8 bars, the modified clave rhythm is present in the electric bass and drums.

In the last 8 bars, the interaction between the electric guitar and honking sax, another Jump Blues

influence, form a similarly modified clave rhythm. This change in rhythm is interesting because the lyrics
prior to the bridge say, “Gotta be cool now, power shift here we go”. Perhaps this “power shift” is meant

to be exemplified through the change in rhythm. The bridge is the only point in the song where the

electric guitar takes a melodic, rather than rhythmic, role as well as the only moment where the

saxophone is heard at all.

As seen above, “Shut Down” is a perfect example of the multiple stylistic components in Rock

and Roll. The mix of these many aspects of music, ranging from African folk inspired riffs to white

Country vocals, has resulted in some of the most diverse and appealing music ever written.

Larger section A A B A
Vocal Instrumental
Coda
bridge bridge
Section   Intro   Verse 1  Verse 2  Verse 3 Fade aw

# of measures 4 12 12 8 8 12 14