2 Comments

1. 
   Robin Tropper

   March 20, 2012 at 3:04 am

   Good one!
   My old composition mentor, Michel Perrault of Montréal (God Rest His Soul) used to use the word “serious” music as opposed to classical….. his definition was not any less prejudiced….

   But when it comes to the Beatles, it’s hard NOT to use “classical” or “serious” because they did get high-rate training when their career got underway and their music shows it. I’m always impressed by the sophistication of the drum-patterns in “In My Life”… Ringo Star was not a drummer, he was an artist.

   When a pop song exudes such potential that it can be re-arranged and re-instrumentalised to such an extent as much of the Beatles tunes are…. how can it not be classical, though it is clearly meant for the mass population!

   Hey, isn’t Bach the mirror image of this effect?
2. 
   Patty

   March 20, 2012 at 7:30 am

   I love the Beatles, but I’m not sure that the ability to arrange one of their tunes in a wonderful way means what they did was in the classical genre or music. But I’m not one to argue … not my cuppa. So you can think how you want to think and I’ll think how I want to think and there you go! 🙂

   (I had never heard, though, that they had any training. Recently my understanding was that Sir Paul had someone else orchestrate all of his “classical” music … perhaps I’m wrong about that after all?!)