"Ticket To Ride"
he main guitar part of “Ticket to Ride,” played by George Harrison, serves not only a melodic function but also plays a crucial role in defining the song’s distinctive groove. The syncopated picking pattern of an A major arpeggio locks tightly with the drums and bass at key points, reinforcing the rhythmic feel. The guitar’s note on beat one aligns with both the bass and kick drum, establishing a strong downbeat. The note on beat two is complemented by the snare drum, while the “and” of two coincides with simultaneous hits from the bass and kick drum. The “and” of three pairs with a snare flam, and the “and” of four with a tom flam, creating precise rhythmic interplay.
One of the more distinctive moments is the held note on the “and” of three, which sustains through a syncopated rhythm, stretching the beat and generating tension before resolving with a quick note on the following downbeat. his rhythm functions like a stretched out rubber band—pulled taut to create suspense, then released to propel the music forward. Harrison later recalled that he modeled the arpeggiated riff on the strumming pattern John Lennon used when first demoing the song, which may explain the shift to strumming during the chorus.
In the chorus, the guitar shifts to a strummed approach while maintaining syncopation. Each measure begins with a downstroke on beat one, followed by a strum on beat two. The pattern then either continues with eighth notes on beats three and four or ties across to emphasize the “and” of three, which aligns with a snare hit.
The bridge introduces a different syncopated strumming rhythm that contrasts with the driving rock backbeat of the drums and bass. Quarter-note strums articulate beats one, two, and three, but the “and” of three and the “and” of four are accented instead of the main beats where the snare hits, subtly shifting the groove and adding a bouncing feel around the backbeat of the snare to the song’s texture.