John Lennon's imaginary note

[@peterstangl8295]

"Imagine there's no D note..."

[@illegal_space_alien]

"it's easy if you try. Could be voc mic bleedthrough. Still sounds great, don't ask why."

[@PowerRedBullTypology]

the video could be called "imagine there's a D note in Imagine"

[@lakrids-pibe]

Haha!

[@MarcoNegrisEye]

I can clearly hear it but some may say he's a D-reamer.

[@gatophonia]

to D or nor to D? Clearly audible, but I'm sure this is just an overtone or string resonance

[@metalpuppet5798]

To me its not even that faint. I can pretty clearly hear it stick out

[@Enatsu]

real

[@SteveWattisDrums1]

Never noticed it before but now I can't unhear it!

[@metalpuppet5798]

@SteveWattisDrums1 I also had not noticed it before because I am not much of a Beatles fan and havent heard that song that many times before

[@jeff__w]

@@SteveWattisDrums1 That's what I would say, too!

[@sourisvoleur4854]

Word.

[@slimhazard]

There‘s never been anything subtle or imaginary or ghostly about that note to me. I think it really stands out.

[@chitlitlah]

Same here. When I taught myself that riff years ago, that note was part of it. To me, on the occasion John plays the note, it stands out in the foreground in front of the other notes rather than something subtle in the background. I find it weird that a professional musician can barely hear it while it's so obvious to me, an amateur, but I guess we each hear music in different ways.

[@enkiitu]

I’ve always thought so.

[@michaelbyrd2]

@@enkiitulikewise…

[@niemann3942]

Same here. When I learned the song decades ago by listening to the recording, when I was a teenager, I put that note in. It was completely obvious to me.

[@ChrisOwenGuitar]

I can still hear the D note at 3:06 , even though he’s not playing it. Maybe it is an overtone?

[@sirbongos]

I agree, it might just be a harmonic

[@gonesnake2337]

I think you're right. I can hear it in the 'no D being played' footage, too.

[@stormx2827]

Same here. It's something to do with the piano

[@slidenaway]

okay so I'm not crazy, I heard it too even though it looks like he's not fingering the D key

[@stu-po]

You are absolutely right! I wonder if the original transcriber heard this note and wrote it down, then the transcribed music went through to other studio musicians who dubbed in parts?

[@elcapitanobeige7357]

I believe the missing solution here, rather than any overdubs, is that on the first beat of the C chords in the verses, he plays a power chord in the bass (giving a lovely, large and warm sound) - that is, with a G above the C in the bass. Another fifth (and another octave, as someone pointed out below) above that G is a D harmonic, and I reckon that it's this overtone of the G in the bass that can be heard in certain circumstances. I'd guess that this happens with speakers with a weak bass sound, such as phones, where the bass is cut out by some degree, muffling the G in the bass, and so leaving the D overtone especially audible.

[@6040nick]

Best answer. I only hear it the first time..

[@illchangemyfriend]

The conclusion I came to as well, the most likely theory

[@concerninghobbits5536]

I've always heard it but now I'm hearing it clearly on my shitty phone speaker, so maybe I'll try listening on good speakers and see if I hear it less or can make out how it blends into the bass as an overtone instead of a note.

[@concerninghobbits5536]

Anecdotally I was JUST playing around with the song just googling the chords and that didn't specify a D and I never tried playing one so clearly I didn't think it was missing.

[@modalmixture]

This is the way. The D can’t be the harmonic of the G in the right hand chord because it’s an octave too low. But if he plays a C5 power chord in the left hand, the D is then in the proper octave to be the second harmonic of that lower G.

[@PianowithNate]

In the footage on the upright at 3:04 you can hear that same D, despite seeing that he's not playing it. That's a pretty big point in favor of the "overtone" theory. I had also thought it might be an overdub, but then we should only hear the D after the stereo image of the piano opens up at that first verse...yet we still hear the D on the very first repetition in the intro on the lone, main piano. I'm betting it's an overtone, but it's interesting that there is some sort of psychological variance here. For me it's not ghostly, I've always heard it loud and clear and on every repetition. The color of the 9th feels like a core part of the emotion of the song to me. Great video!

[@RoderickCairns]

Yeah, same for me. I'd never noticed it before, but now that my attention has been drawn to it I hear it plain as day even as I can see his fingers aren't playing it.

[@jjsant3250]

No reason to assume any particular video footage of piano playing is what ended up on the audio album track.

[@PianowithNate]

@@jjsant3250 I'm not assuming that at all! But it's telling to hear the D while you see him not playing it, even if it's just a rehearsal. It's likely that same piano used on the record so yea, my guess is it's bringing out the overtone.

[@PianowithNate]

@@jjsant3250 Oh, I'm not assuming that at all! It's just the fact that you can hear the D while simultaneously watching him NOT play it is telling, even if it's at rehearsal. And seems it was that same upright used on the record, so perhaps that instrument is particularly prone to accentuating the overtone.

[@hw343434]

Exactly, the video of him playing is still in the demo stage before the actual recording where he would spice things up

[@schaerfentiefe1967]

This "d" note is clearly audible for me!

[@jada90]

yeah, dude is laying too hard into "it's a ghost note", nah it's literally as loud as the rest

[@duckwithsunglasses9802]

same! definitely just hearing it played out, and not as an overtone

[@amos.rand_vfx]

I wonder if it's something to do with speakers, and some weird stereo cancelling out stuff?

[@ZorbaTheDutch]

Me too. In fact, after listening to the song again on headphones, the D note lasts (at least) the whole bar. Which might be an indication that it's on a different piano track, or there were two people playing on the same piano.

[@RoderickCairns]

@@jada90 I've never noticed it before. But now that my attention has been drawn to it, I can't NOT hear it. That's the case even as I'm watching Lennon's right hand clearly NOT play it. For me, that fact alone clinches that it's some sort of overtone-related psychoacoustic phenomenon, rather than a note anyone physically played during the recording.

[@andoros.7017]

after being pointed out, that high D note stands out more than any other note in the chord to me.

[@tabor503]

This sort of thing happens a lot in music 😂

[@ErnestoStaccolanana]

to me it was never meant to be part of the chord, instead it was a very good conclusion for the three ascending notes at the end of each repetition, it only happens to coincide with the very first chord of the next repetition. and it sounds great, definitely intended, always noticed, not an overtone

[@ewernoe]

It's almost as I hear a D at 3:37 too, so it could well be an overtone! Though it also feels like it could have some voice leading potential there at the top of the chord, going in a sort of Cadd9 - C - Cmaj7 - C motion

[@atrus3823]

I can hear it even clearer at 3:05 where you can clearly see him not playing it. It must be an overtone.

[@avijatsinharoy8944]

Might be an overtone,or John might have thrown in a Cadd9 because he thought it sounded cool

[@ak47dragunov]

​@@avijatsinharoy8944Yes but the original comment says that he isnt shown playing that

[@chinapaulo]

I’m hearing it clearly at 3:05 and 3:37!

[@avijatsinharoy8944]

@@ak47dragunov because like what david says,it is an overdub

[@ZacLJones]

There’s no limit to what notes you can… * looks to camera * Imagine.

[@pup64hcp]

Wrong kid died!

[@crescentfellcollecting]

Ngl Paul Rudd does a better Lennon than most actors in actual biopics 😂

[@sddeacon]

I just sit here while my guitar quietly whimpers...

[@philipeshefert1552]

A while back i tried to describe the difference of an acoustic piano and an electric one and why they feel and sound so different to me, especially when playing chords. My Eureka moment was that when you use the sustain pedal and play a low note, the second or third overtone of the bass note can make the strings of the higher notes vibrate. This does only work when the sustain pedal is used. But I still never noticed it in imagine. Thanks for making this video!! For all producers out there: record vocals right in front of an opened upright piano and put a directional microphone facing the strings and place a brick on the sustain pedal. With sufficient distortion/amplification it can give a really unique and dreamy sort of "tuned" reverb sound to your vocals. The recording will get messy but if that's a vibe you're going for do it. The beatles would be proud for recording vocals in a weird way like that.

[@_girltype]

firmly in the camp that it's an overtone, but there's an extra wrinkle - my understanding is this is a quirk that's more noticable on upright pianos, where the sound is reverberating in a much more confined space. the D overtone of the G note is resonating with the closest D string and making that vibrate too, making it much more audible

[@spacekameel]

Yeah, that’s what I think too. The phenomenon is called sympathetic resonance.

[@nerdnam]

Did anyone ask Yoko? She's an accomplished pianist.

[@skeeter489]

what the hell how have i never noticed this before???? i’m never going to be able to unhear this

[@charlieyates5668]

I'm thinking maybe it's sympathetic vibration. That is: when he plays the lower notes with the damper pedal depressed, the strings of the D in question are made to vibrate from the pressure waves coming off the lower strings. You can try this on an acoustic piano (it doesn't work with electronic ones). Hold the pedal down and play D-F#-A, and you'll probably hear the D an octave above. Also, if you gently press the upper D key so the damper lifts but the hammer doesn't hit the strings (no pedal), then play D-F#-A hard and release them, that upper D will sound even after the other three have stopped.

[@fontagnus]

Not only have I heard it all my life, but I’ve always found it was the catchiest part of the song.

[@greenberrygk]

The issue with a lot of these explications is that you can HEAR the D note very clearly in that original recording video. So I think it is just a harmonic overtone of the piano for sure.

[@littleschnitzel8226]

Heard it all my life, never knew that was to be questioned.

[@petehealy9819]

Wow. Crazy that I never noticed that! I was a freshman student and Music major at Sonoma State College when "Imagine" was released. I was deep into ear-training (and had been a huge Beatles fan from the start), but I never caught this. Wild! Thanks, David, for another fascinating and insightful video!

[@ポールの赤テレ]

Yes, I've heard that D all my life, going all the way back to listening to "Imagine" on AM radio when I was a kid in the 1970s. I'm kind of amazed to learn there are people who didn't hear it.

[@rager-69]

Is it a Laurel/Yanni thing?

[@peckermusic]

Very strange. I've always heard the D note and thought your video was going to tell me it isn't there...

[@ak47dragunov]

I'm a little surprised at the premise of the video (even though its still a good one, dw), because I've heard that note clear as day since the first time I ever heard the song. Its never been faint or ghostly by any means

[@tabor503]

You could just be better at picking out the notes than us.

[@barbelarmbroster6524]

I never heard the D, but as soon as David mentioned it, it was so clear to hear, that I was astonished I didn't realized it earlier...

[@mastermind-2011]

Same, probably either our speakers or note identification skills but I can hear it very clearly, and I always could

[@Acceleronics]

Normally, I have a tin ear (and a gift for mishearing lyrics), but I've heard that D since the song was first played on the radio. Yes, I'm that old.

[@martinry0427]

David, I met you at NAMM this weekend at the Traveler Guitar booth and you were extremely kind and gracious. I’m a huge fan and was excited to meet you. Thanks for all you do brother! And thanks for shaking my hand!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

@@martinry0427 it was a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for your support 😊

[@adamguitar1498]

A quick guide to what we are hearing. The piano part is playing C1, C2, and G2 as the lowest notes in a C chord. These alone can prove this point. Sit at a piano and play those three tones, and you'll hear that D note right where you expect it to be. To C1 this is the 9th overtone and conveniently also what we call the 9th. The G2 also has that same overtone but its 3rd overtone or what we call its 5th. And wouldn't you know it, it's the same D note. The overtone becomes stronger with the rest of the harmony, because it follows the harmonic series, voicing a 1:2:3:4:5:6. On top of this the C3 in the left hand doesn't play together with G3, meaning in those moments G has extra influence on the overtones meaning D gets more power. With the sustain pedal down, and hitting the keys with the right intensity will cause a lot of sympathetic vibration, and can emphasize hearing that D. And you can hear this note echo (not from the 16th note delay added to the piano) each time the G and E are played together because its feeding some energy back into that harmonic, though, if you listen it's sound is strengthened by having G3 produce audible third overtone, a D an octave above the one we're discussing

[@soggy_burrito]

this is the correct answer

[@robking1240]

To me the D note has always been a stand out feature in this song, and never faint or imagined.

[@1oolabob]

I could hear it every time after you pointed it out, even when John didn't appear to be playing it.

[@lanatrzczka]

I've always heard something off when I played the bit. Something missing. That one note adds so much atmosphere.

[@peter-yh8mm]

There! 3:10 in the video. John is not playing a D but I can hear it. It has to be an overtone.

[@Clayviation_]

Yep!

[@FranklyNorman]

At 3:00, I can also hear the D in the raw audio from the video of him “not playing the D”. For a lark, I decided just now to listen on my studio monitors (good but not great) and on a pair of IEMs (excellent) to the same segment. I can still hear the phantom D in that segment. I’m convinced it’s to be found in the piano itself. Possibly an overtone, or maybe the “fifth voice” phenomenon (although that usually results in a minor 7th)

[@rabidpb]

I hear that D as clear as day in that clip, even though his hand goes nowhere near it.

[@charlesc920]

For me, I could always hear that D being there. But that arrangement at 2:25 on the sheet music looks like someone just made up how they think it's played too. I don't think the left hand does the octaves in 8th notes. Even when you see how John plays it from the Imagine clip, he just plays the left as bass notes on the down beats, the right takes the 8th notes. I was probably arranged as a piano solo rather than the accompaniment I guess.

[@fourtracks]

Yes ! You can clearly see he's playing the C (C - E- G) chord with his right hand. He's not using his left thumb. And the same goes for the next chords. I've never see an accurate tutorial for this song. And i think he plays the Walrus intro the same way.

[@MtsBrg-ob6gf]

I can hear it really clearly through my iPad speakers. Sometimes notes pop out better when you have a restricted frequency response and just hear the midrange

[@arnesaknussemm2427]

He sometimes plays it and sometimes not. Simple.

[@tesstesseract]

i’ve never noticed it but i absolutely love it, it’s so beautiful

[@ZorbaTheDutch]

When I learned to play this by listening, I quickly noticed that there was an added note at the top and that was this D. I've always played this with the D, at least at some points in the song. I don't have any doubts that there's a D playing. And it does not sound like an overtone at all to me. Just a slightly detuned piano part with lots of reverb.

[@michaelschnell5633]

I hear it very clearly when having been pointed to. An overtone (in fact resonating strings when pedal is pressed) would not feature a an attack as rather clearly heard.

[@PebsBeans]

personally, I hear it very clearly, to me that is without question an add2/add9 chord

[@arn3107]

sadly the human brain is often unreliable... we're literally built to fill in gaps and believe things that aren't there. i think a spectral analyzer would give us a more clear answer then again, i'm not a musician!!

[@scotttaylor7220]

That's what I was thinking 👍

[@12cmf]

I've always heard that D and can't un-hear it. And by "always", I mean since the track was released.

[@BurtBenz]

Yes! I was wondering about this just this last Friday. Witnessed a live cover of the song on an open singing stage, and the pianist kept playing this extra D.. I figured it must have been in the sheet music, but WHY?! In my head, in my memory, the extra D feels out of place.. Thanks for shedding your light on this, David

[@pensivepenguin3000]

The dude from You Can’t Unhear This is probably kicking himself right now for not thinking of this idea first lol

[@Bottled-Soap]

He focuses more or less on the recording quirks, not so much the notes and chords

[@jakubstatnik]

This was one of the first songs I learned to play on the piano too and I learned it from sheet music and the D was there in the notation, not sure if all of the time but definitely in the intro so I always heard it. To me it adds something to the song that I miss when I dont hear it being played. I think it's this resolution from D to C that creates an additional layer of melody, feels very nostalgic to me, kind of like a melancholic sigh

[@joey-pace]

I heard it even at 3:05, with the audio coming straight from the piano. I think this is the clearest indication of it being an overtone coming from the unique timbre of that upright!

[@mastermind-2011]

I don't know if it's my ears, my brain or my MacBook's speakers but the D note in 1:35 sounds very clear to me, more clear than the other notes even if I try to listen for it

[@michavandam]

5:21 Writing the names of the notes in the notes - I've never seen such clear sheet music before! It's a genius idea!

[@palms159]

It's an overtone of the G in the C-G fifth played by the left hand.

[@palms159]

@WolfgangGrebe you only hear it when he plays the G and I suppose he doesn't play it every time

[@jeffh8803]

Yeah I dont hear any played note there.

[@enkiitu]

Shouldn’t that be heard an octave higher then ?

[@palms159]

@@enkiitu If I'm correct, the G is below the C played by the right hand, which makes the second overtone the D as heard in the recording (the harmonic sequence is 1st overtone is an octave above the root, second overtone is a 5th above the 1st overtone, 3rd overtone is a 4th above the second overtone, which makes it an octave above the 1st overtone, then we have a major 3rd above the 3th ovetone, etc.)

[@incenseandpeppermints4625]

Okay, I think I've got it! Watching John play the upright piano, his LH has a claw-shape that looks like he's playing open 5ths on the downbeat of each new measure with the C chord. None of the published versions I've looked have show anything but alternating eighth-note octave C's in those measures. Now, IMAGINE if he DID PLAY C & G on the first beat, and that the sustain pedal holds that low G (and all other notes) through until it dies away (or he releases the pedal to play a new chord), whilst he goes on to play the traditional octave C's LH for the rest of the measure. That low G (the upper note of the open 5th) has a 2nd partial (overtone) that sounds the same as D just above middle C that most of us swear we're hearing on the record. On upright pianos, the shorter string length (versus a grand piano) often creates what is called "inharmonicity" which tends to over-emphasize certain overtones. Badly tuned pianos only make the problem worse. I propose that we are hearing that D harmonic ring each time John plays the low G in the open 5th, and that additionally, the G he plays in the RH (and that is held through by the pedal) is providing another D harmonic an octave above. A great bit of psycho-acoustic theory: If you play the note D just above middle C, you are hearing not only the fundamental tone, but the 1st harmonic which is an octave higher. Our ears oftencan even hear "ghost" fundamental tones by hearing just the harmonic series, such as when we listen to tiny phone speakers that can't reproduce bass tones. In "Imagine" the combination of the two D overtones on the downbeat of each "C chord" measure are creating the illusion of the D actually being played, because even those harmonics have an attack and decay that is similar to the attack and decay of the fundamental.

[@driesvanoosten4417]

I just experimented a bit on the piano and there is something weird going on. If I hit just the E or the G, I don't hear the D. But if I hit them together, I do.

[@jiminnorthdallas1227]

The D is part of a ‘hidden’ melody line that intertwines with the regular melody. D-C-B-C-A.

[@davidkerr4137]

I learnt it from the sheet music and just doesn't sound right now without that higher D. It adds more interest to the sound

[@Olafgolafpop1]

I can hear the D very clearly and cannot really imagine that its just an overtone. But I am bit surprised that you did not dig a bit deeper into the actually audio. When the overdub of the second piano beginns, its quite easy to hear with headphones that one piano pans to the left and the other to the right. So if one piano is the original audio that clip in which you can clearly see that Lennon does not play the D and in an overdubbed version someone else did actually play it, then that D should be only audible either left or right. Or - if the panning was not set to 100% - at least much stronger on one side that the other. I dont have any other tools that my ears to measure this. But when I listen to that riff only with the left side, I do feel that it sounds a bit diffrent from if I only listen the right side. But with proper tools that could be analyzed much better.

[@polygonalmasonary]

Reminder: there are only 13 notes, period

[@Pwrong]

If it was an overtone, it should sound an octave higher than it does. It wouldn't be in the same octave as the G

[@waldenmathews8059]

Also, if it were an overtone, you would not hear the attack, which is audible.

[@akka5465]

First thought watching this video was harmonics. The way you describe it as a "ghost" note and the way it feels in the mix is exactly how harmonics feel when I'm playing bass with inappropriate EQing - I'll play a note, but hear the harmonic on top of it, as though just floating above. The D note in that part of Imagine feels exactly the same to me. I don't know enough about the recording techniques used back then or about pianos to say with certainty that that's what we're hearing, but it's the first thing that came to mind!

[@PatrickHeadley]

I think what’s happening is a combination tone. If he is occasionally playing a G2 and C3 in addition to the C2 (a reasonable thing to do) to add an emphasis on the downbeat, the combination of these frequencies is within a few cents of D4. Add the fact that D4 is the 2nd harmonic of G2 and it’s very reasonable that there are sympathetic vibrations happening on the D4 strings to create this ghostly D that we hear.

[@PatrickHeadley]

So, I just tried playing it this way on my digital keyboard and I can faintly hear a D. I suspect on an acoustic piano with the sustain pedal pressed, it could get even louder.

[@ombrenightcores]

You know, I always heard that note, but I honestly thought it was a different instrument playing it. I actually thought it was a dulcimer the first time I heard it that was lightly tapped to create a more atmospheric background, the same way some songs have a very light double bass playing the bass notes of a piano chord to give it more of an “umph” or make it sound dreamier since the song is about “imagining”

[@Mike-oz3ox]

I can’t believe it’s an overtone. To me, it’s definitely there. Overtones’ amplitudes must be much, much smaller than this, or we’d hear them everywhere. Overtones determine timbre, not harmony. It would be interesting to experiment with a wave generator to see when the amplitude of an added 12th (say) moves from a feeling of “changing the timbre” to “changing the harmony”. Interestingly also that some organ low frequencies are generated as the fundamentals of mixed overtones.

[@petelasko]

The upright sounds super prone to resonating off its own notes. I have a resonator guitar on my stand that plays ghost notes, I have to move it out of the room when I record.

[@tabor503]

@@petelasko makes me wonder how Jacob gets a good recording in his room with all his instruments 😮

[@polygonalmasonary]

4:21 That harpsichord type sound is absolutely NOT a Whirlitzer nor a Fender Rhodes piano. The sound clip does NOT belong with the video, IMO (humble)

[@WolfgangGrebe]

The D can be heard the whole bar on every beat except for the last one (with the B). And it can be heard on your recording at 8:15 too (but very silent). Seems to have to do with the recording equipment or the sustain pedal (and resonance of other strings). On an electric instrument (keyboard) I would play it as it is a clearly audible part of the song. If it is created from the mechanics on an upright piano - ok. If it is not: play it. :)

[@Andyvan92110]

My question is where did all of the sheet music publishers get their note from? If it's that hard to hear, how did *they* hear it?

[@beaudure01]

1:13 - Took me a while to realize that the sheet music in question was written with a bass clef. The triad preceding it looked like C-E-G rather than E-G-B. So I had to unSEE that before I could unHEAR anything!

[@vanhetgoor]

I can imagine the note being there. It fits perfectly, it beautiful.

[@PavelFomenkov]

I knew about this D note from covers and arrangements my entire life. I'd say it's the piano and harmonics. Some instruments are incredibly "alive" and produce sounds that are impossible to explain. Also, the musician can sometimes produce these sounds because of his unique touch. But what seals it off, for me, is the fact the song just sounds better without this note.

[@matejsmetana3165]

I don't agree, I think it sounds more mysterious with the D added, but that's just my opinion

[@PavelFomenkov]

@@matejsmetana3165 I actually agree it does sound more mysterious with this note, whether it suits the song is another question. I think the song and the message are strong enough and don't need reinforcement with fancier chords, I'd keep it simple.

[@concerninghobbits5536]

I'd have to think about it but I'm thinking it might be for me that it's better without the D, but having the D show up on accident in the recording sounds good. Like if someone is covering it and is intentionally hitting a D note it maybe sounds not as good, it's too intentional?

[@PavelFomenkov]

@@concerninghobbits5536 I think you've described it perfectly. It was probably a happy accident. I've been transcribing music for 20 years, and all sorts of ghost notes and weird artefacts happen constantly, so we need to make choices like this all the time. Official sheet music doesn't care about minute detail, it only covers the tip of the iceberg, so I'm not surprised to hear the D everywhere.

[@hw343434]

Nah, the ocasional (it’s only once in a while D) makes a special appearance that gives the song more of the mystery/surreal nature that the song calls for

[@dalegreer3095]

I've always played it with that D on guitar, or rather alternating between that and C, kind of like how Knockin' On Heaven's Door alternates between Am7 and C. Oolimo says it's a Cadd9. For me it adds a wistful, hopeful tone that lends more certainty to the resolution to C. But you don't want to make the D too prominent, you don't want it to sound like "Here I am going up to D instead of C now!"

[@hw343434]

The occasional D-note (9th) is quite clear and mysterious on purpose. It’s that kind of song, John is that kind of artist who liked to throw little subtle twists into his chord progressions. John’s chords were outrageous so a 9th would be nothing extraordinary for him as a composer and player

[@PlasticKelly]

I learned this by sheet music in the 1970s (I'm 72) and there was no D in the printed score. I can hear it maybe, I suppose, at times, but I still play it without the D.

[@elliotgoldberg5657]

No. John did not play that D note. What your hearing is the overtone from the studio piano. Like in Hard Days Night Lennon implies notes and that is part of his genius, IMHO.

[@mhausb6436]

I just listened to several different versions of the song here on KZbin (all apparently studio recordings by Lennon) and to me that note is more pronounced on some than on others. I hear it most clearly on the "remastered 2020" version. So it may just be a matter of when and where one heard the song.

[@vincognito]

Quite honestly, I've heard this D note all my life but I never really thought about it. Even when I've taught the song on guitar, I never included it. It is indeed ghostly--sounding as if it's there but not really there. The sound is so subtle and subliminal that I'm going with the first, loudest harmonic theory. I say this because, when you quoted it at the end, even though you didn't place the D, I heard it anyway. It's so cool that you brought this up as a subject of inquiry. It's a unique thing to discuss in the song.

[@isomeme]

The D is definitely there, at least to my ear. The overtone explanation seems unlikely, since the D is almost as loud as the G. Overtones are generally much quieter than that relative to the fundamental.

[@ikjoyce]

I can even hear it in the clips at the end where no D is being played. I reckon it's an overtone, maybe made more noticeable because of the little run up of semiquavers before it that almost lead your ear to it, and possibly emphasised by the room/reverb in the original recording. Interestingly, I always heard it as four semi quavers and not two followed by a quaver as notated, so now I have two ghost notes (C and D)!

[@rlobosco1]

I’ve been aware of this for some time after adapting the song to guitar. Some notation showed the chord as Cadd9 at that point. It doesn’t sound right playing that chord on the guitar, but it made me notice it in the song. Now, I can’t un-hear it. I believe it’s an overtone b/c I can hear it even when John isn’t playing the D.

[@tranceemerson8325]

Now I can't unhear it.. even if you're not playing it it's still there.

[@martinfinnpiano]

Hi David, yes to me the D is very clear. I have been wondering about that for a long time now so thanks for making such a great video about it. There is a clip of John playing Imagine an octave higher on stage after the record came out and he is not playing the D. I think that there are three possibilities. Here they are in order of likelihood: 1. It was a feature of that piano where the D string wasn’t properly dampened after playing 2. It was added as a quiet separate note on a separate track by Phil Spector or John himself 3. It is actually a very subtle harmonic that is either boosted at the right frequency in the mix or is just more prominent because of that particular combination of notes on that particular piano. Keep up the great work and thanks, MarDtin :)

[@pup64hcp]

I think it rather well could be an overtone, as others pointed out, since I can still kinda hear it even in the footage where he is visibly not playing it.

[@AlbertoSegovia.]

I’m not exaggerating in saying that this video is one of the most musically meaningful there is. Great job!

[@Gameflix-Official]

Can you make a video on the I - II - iii - V chord progression (kind of Lydian I think)

[@happyron]

I think it's one of the subtle things that takes a very simple piano part and helps make it special

[@incompetent000]

Personally I felt I could hear it in the video where he wasn’t playing it. So, it may not actually be there

[@EdgarRoock]

Same here. I never heard the D note until recently when I listened to a tutorial. And now it's there. Mandela effect? 3:05 even if he doesn't play it, it's still there now in my mind.

[@j.lindback]

The Mandela effect is when you "remember" something that never happened, this is something else.

[@ManolitoMystiq]

As others have mentioned, it is an overtone from the G2 of the C2-G2 on the left hand (G3 first overtone, D4 second overtone). You even hear it on the very first second of the recording. You also hear it on the shown footage of when it was recorded (3:05).

[@ivo0789]

David, would you please make a video about the Adele vs. Martinho da Vila copyright case that is going on? It would be awesome to hear your take on it, and I guess would be great for the channel as well, I can see a legion of Brazilians sharing and watching it. Cheers!

[@roberth9197]

Great video topic! Imagine was one of the first songs I learned on the piano years ago, and my sheet music had the D on it. It was only years later when I saw other people playing it differently that I started to doubt myself and I stopped playing it after that.

[@barneyboyle6933]

I always hear it, but when I imagine the song in my head the note isn’t there

[@AndersRomin]

I can hear that D clearly at 3:06 in the video where John is playing the upright by himself. So I think it’s an overtone or possibly a bad damper on that D note on that piano that makes it resonate when G is played.

[@ggmarcondes]

I can hear the D note (I hear it played twice actually!) and it makes sense to my ear as it helps creating a line cliché at the top end

[@JohnARosemeyer]

Now I can't unhear it. Maybe John, being John, put it in there for fun.

[@EdgarRoock]

4:21 That one filler note is so reminiscent of Jealous Guy.

[@bimbettocavallo]

At 4:49 Nicky actually plays the D note with his right hand

[@NicholasAndre1]

There are a ton of these extra notes that are often missed in transcriptions. Another one I noticed recently is there’s a few quite subtle ones in Linus and Lucy and Vince Guaraldi is sufficiently insanely good that he hides them a bit.

[@rambomambo]

play it. for sure john plays it, he was always trying new things and never did the same thing twice

[@magneto7930]

I've always heard it loud and clear. It's nothing new. The D note was never dubbed in. He double tracked the piano playing the D note both times.

[@borxanderson8159]

Now i cant unhear it :(

[@TheSummoner]

It sounds good tho

[@tabor503]

@borxanderson8159 don’t look up the single ladies sample 😭 maybe the song was just bad all along.

[@tabor503]

@@TheSummoner music is subjective ;)

[@davegogo6131]

It's always been very noticeable to me. It's distinctive.

[@barfingobummergo]

I heard the piano was recorded twice, where he played the part twice and slightly differently. The first piano was slightly out of tune as well. You can hear it's a double played piano, it adds a slight echo effect. I remember this from when the song came out. When John does a live performance of the song there was someone else playing piano, and it is very clear the live performance. That D isn't just a harmonic. I think you are somewhat affected by the Mandella effect, because you have heard so many other performers not include that D, you accepted that it wasn't there.

[@mimic7975]

And that's a real musical investigation, good job!

[@Mourour]

This is something that is so often missed by those covering this song and it really irks me, haha. Glad you have done a video on this specifically!

[@TonyLovell]

I never would have thought it was there, but by 2:04 it seems clear as day.

[@millennialanimal]

I’ve heard notes in my recordings that I call “phantom notes”, often before I eq tracks and the stacked tracks imply note’s because of overtones, sonics do strange things.

[@PStewart1984]

Just as a side note, what a great pianist player Nicky Hopkins was. Would love to see a video on him. Thanks for all the great content you put out.