When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
Composition
Composition
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"When I Grow Up" features multiple [key changes](/wiki/Key_change "Key change"), a hook based on a dissonant, [functionally ambiguous](/wiki/Diatonic_function "Diatonic function") chord, [tempo stretches](/wiki/Metric_modulation "Metric modulation"), and a long pause as a climax. Music historian Charles Granata wrote that the song "best exemplifies the \[band's] musical growth" through its "effective combination of odd sounds" and its "full and round" vocal harmonies. O'Regan brought special attention to the drum pattern for avoiding a traditional backbeat rhythm common to rock and roll songs of this era. Instead, it "effectively plays 'around' the vocals with interesting fills adding texture and drama to the passing of time in the lyrics. Each part of the drum kit works independently from each other, horizontally as four separate parts, rather than a whole set working together."

A prominent element of the song's composition is its use of [jazz harmony](/wiki/Jazz_harmony "Jazz harmony"). The chord that opens the song and repeats each chorus is traditionally notated as an A♭7\#5 chord. In his book *[Inside the Music of Brian Wilson](/wiki/Inside_the_Music_of_Brian_Wilson "Inside the Music of Brian Wilson"),* Lambert writes that this unusual chord "grabs our attention immediately." and interprets that it represents the "swirl of complications arising from the growth into adulthood described in the song’s lyric". According to Lambert, "As the song progresses, we realize that Brian is associating the dissonance of the initial chord, along with the vocal counterpoint at the end of the verse and the advanced chord progression of the wordless bridge, with a more “mature” attitude and life perspective."


What chord opens and repeats each chorus of the song?