Howard Goodall on the Beatles

I don't know if this has been previously posted. An excellent, in-depth analysis of The Beatles' work by the classical composer Howard Goodall.

Goodall states that Beethoven, Wagner and the Beatles changed the course of music.

Thoroughly engaging. This should be shown to high school students everywhere as a way of demonstrating (a) that the latest pop "singer" is actually not the greatest thing ever, (b) that music has a history and a progression (c) and that "theory" pervades all kinds of music--there's no harm in learning it, and it just might give them a greater understanding of what they're listening to.

Thanks for posting that video... great stuff. I was sharing what I learned from it with a few friends who don't get why everyone thinks The Fabs were such fab songwriters...

Originally Posted by Maia 66

Thanks for posting that video... great stuff. I was sharing what I learned from it with a few friends who don't get why everyone thinks The Fabs were such fab songwriters...

Maia, they were not just excellent song writers, they were also composers - what Howard Goodall is homing in on. He says they saved classical music. Howard Goodall is a classical composer.

As Howard highlights, they were excellent in the early days at writing catchy songs, using melody, putting in catchy guitar riffs and harmonies, etc. That is what catapulted them to fame. They just did conventional pop music so much better than any others. All this was mainly to the accepted rigid pop music formula of 12 bar, etc. Once classical & Indian instruments, electronic equipment and studio techniques was available to them they intuitively picked it all up very quickly merged the lot knowing no boundaries, inserting new techniques, technical and musical, and came out with something very different.

When people compare the Beatles to the Stones or ridiculously to the Beach Boys, I wonder what planet they are on.