10 Beatles Innovations that changed Music

The Beatles certainly didn't invent the music business, but like Beethoven, they had an undeniable steamroller effect that forced everyone to completely and permanently change nearly everything about the way the industry functioned. These items are not listed in any particular order of importance.

1.) By 1968, the American radio dial preferred to have music on AM and talk radio on FM , and most AM stations played music in a three minute single format.

2.) The typical music industry standard recording contract of the 1960s required a band to record and release enough singles for a company to release at least one album per year, and the Beatles went way above and beyond the call of duty (they released two albums per year in every year with EMI Records except 1996.)

3.) The first pop album to feature actual printed lyrics on the album was the Beatles '1967 epic release " Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band." Soon, it would be considered non-standard to not do so.

4.) This item (Studio Techniques) could almost be a separate list in and of itself.

5.) Although many different musical acts hold variously scattered chart-topping marketing successes, no specific artist has ever come closer to the nearly inexplicable global phenomenon the Beatles enjoyed in the spring of 1964.

6.) Although the Beatles did not invent satellite television,they were the highlighted subject of the first ever live global satellite television broadcast in June,1967.

7.) This was one of those magnificent ideas where everybody learned more from Beatle mistakes than Beatle successes.

8.) Although the Beatles were highly successful in selling out their early concerts in 1963, 1964 and 1965, they were only playing shows booked in auditoriums, theatres, and amphitheatres that seated anywhere between 1000 and 10,000 ticket-holders.

9.) Prior to 1966, popular musical acts went into the recording studio in order to create a  stack of singles.

10.) Although early jazz artists created short music film performances of their songs, and Elvis filmed unique settings of his songs that were parts of  movies,the Beatles were the pioneers of marrying the two ideas into the concept we now know as the music video- a short, stand-alone film of a musical act presenting a current song that may or not be a live performance.

A review of the Beatles -Abbey Road.

It has been a very good experience for me to listen to the songs of the Beatles-Abbey Road. It is a Rock Band and I also liked Reading about the history of it as well. I didn't know about the Beatles before. This is a new experience for me. I have recently relocated from India. The song which I liked the most from the Beatles is ' Hey Jude' because as they keep performing, many people come and join and then they start singing together and of course I liked other songs as well. I like all the singers of this group band. My favourite Musician is Paul McCartney as he plays the piano very well. Especially when I was listening to the Song " Because" and my favourite Instruments are the piano and keyboard.I also John Lennon playing the Keyboard. Now, I know that the Beatles is a very old Band and it is very Interesting to hear their music and see them performing.I also liked the Medley of the Rock band Songs.

Production techniques:-

According to Rodriguez, Revolver marks the first time that the Beatles "deliberately incorporated" the studio into the " conception of  the recordings they made", rather than using it "merely as a tool to capture performances". A key production technique that the band began using was automatic double tracking ( ADT), which EMI engineer Ken Townsend invented on 6 April. This technique employed two linked tape recorders to automatically create a doubled vocal track. The standard method had been to double the vocal by singing the same piece twice onto a multitrack tape, a task Lennon particularly disliked. The Beatles were  reportedly delighted with the invention, and used it extensively on Revolver. ADT soon became a standard pop production technique , and led to related developments such as the artificial chorus effect.

Another EMI engineer , Geoff Emerick, recalled that the Beatles encouraged the studio staff to break from standard recording practices, addings. " It was implanted when we started Revolver that every instrument should sound unlike itself : a piano shouldn't sound like a piano, a guitar shouldn't sound like guitar."

Musical style and lyric Content( Music and lyrics):-

Rad rogues writes that Revolver has been recognised as having " sparked (musical) sub genres with every track," anticipating electronica, punk rock, baroque rock and world music, among other styles. The album itself covers many genres, including acid rock, chamber music R and B and raga rock. In Rodriguez's view, the influences of Indian music permeates the album; aside from the sounds and vocal styling used on much of the recording, this influence is evident in the limited chord changes in many of the songs, suggesting an Indian-style drone.

Author and critic Kenneth Womack writes of the Beatles' exploring "phenomenologies of consciousness "on Revolver, and he cites as examples "I'm Only Sleeping"'s preoccupation with dreams, and the references to death found in the lyric to . " Tomorrow Never Knows". In Womack's estimation, the songs represent two important elements of the human life cycle that are " philosophical  opposites".

Side one:-

        The guitar solo from "Taxman"

Womack characteristics the solo " like nothing else in the Beatles' corpus to date; for that matter, it hardly bears any resemblance to anything in the history of recorded music." He credits the track with announcing a sweeping shift in the essential nature" of the Beatles' sound. 

  The backwards guitar solo from "I'm Only Sleeping":-

"I'm Only Sleeping" was the first of the three tracks cut from the US version of the three tracks cut from US version of Revolver.

 Side two:-

" Good Day Sunshine" was written by McCartney,whose piano playing dominates the recording. Music critic Richie Unterberger describes it as a song that conveys"one of the first fine days of spring, just after you've fallen in love or started vacation."

Sound and Instrumentation:-

The album's sounds include the incorporation of tape loops and backwards recordings on the psychedelic "tomorrow never knows", the use of a classical string octet on "Eleanor Rigby", and the Indian - music backing of " Love You too."

Although strings were commonly used on pop recordings George Martins suggestion that a string quartet be used on pop recordings George Martin's suggestion that a string quartet be used for the recording of " Yesterday " marked a major departure for the Beatles. McCartney recalled playing it to the other Beatles and Ringo saying it did not make sense to have drums on the track and John and George saying there was no point having extra guitars. George Martin suggested a solo acoustic guitar and a string quartet.

During the recording of "Eleanor Rigby" on 28 April 1966, McCartney said he wanted to avoid "Mancini" strings. To fulfil this brief ,Geoff Emerick close-miked the strings-the microphones were almost touching the strings.

George Martin had to instruct the players not to back away from the microphones.

Microphones began to be placed closer to the instruments in order to produce a fuller sound. Ringo's drums had a large sweater stuffed in the bass drum to 'deaden' the sound while the bass drum microphone was positioned very close which resulted in the drum being more prominent in the mix:" Eleanor Rigby " features just Paul and a double string quartet that ' the musicians were in horror'. In " Got to get You into My Life ," the brass were miked in the bells of their instruments then put through a Fairchild limiter.

According to Emerick, in 1966, this was considered a radically new way of recording strings ; nowadays it is common practice.

John Lennon- Guitars, Keyboards , Vocals.

George Harrison-Guitars, Sitar, Bass, Vocals.

Paul McCartney-Bass,Piano,Vocals.

Ringo Starr- Drums,Percussion, Organ, Vocals.