Beatles: Boyband to Revolutionaries

The Beatles had its start as a young band in the early 1960’s; they came about just as some of the most influential rock n’ roll artists were exiting the scene, as a result, their success and music had a great impact on music in their time. They brought with them a fresh kind of music which involved fusing of different musical sounds like rhythm & blues as well as different types of pop music at the time. With continual experimentation with non standard instruments, exploration of new recording techniques and incorporation of other worldly sounds, Beatles revolutionized music. As the world changed and a new, younger generation came about, their music transformed into complex artworks filled with their personal interpretation of the social situations of the time.

In my opinion, the Beatles’ music transformed in three stages: the early stage, the experimental stage and the revolutionary stage. The early stage in Beatles’ music was characterized by songs which were simplistic and almost shallow; their music was homogeneous and well balanced, basically tailored to attract a popular audience. Over their experimental stage, the Beatles used their curiosity and willingness to try new things to test different methods of making music with more depth. Finally, in the revolutionary stage, as technology became more readily available and the world was changing rapidly, the Beatles went beyond any other band has gone to make truly original music. As their music became increasingly complex and dense, the Beatles’ perception of themselves changed from being simply entertainers to revolutionary artists, and their music represented their interpretation of the social changes at the time. The Beatles musical transformation was a gradual process in which each album matured as the members themselves had, their music becoming increasingly complex and socially significant.

In the early stage, the Beatles’ main objective was to achieve fame; as a result they recorded their music very quickly, and the sound was more main-stream. They considered themselves entertainers and their music reflected that perception. Although they brought in different styles of music when they made their songs, in the end, the Beatles’ songs were tailored to attract a large, pop music audience. Their first three albums- “Please Please Me,” “With the Beatles,” and “A Hard Day’s Night,” contained songs with very simple melodies, memorable lyrics, standard instrumentation which were recorded in documentary style to give the essence of live performance. The standard instrumentation for rock n’ roll music- bass, drums, guitar and vocals were used to create upbeat music meant for dancing. For example, the song “She Loves You” had a binary rhythm coupled with a catchy tune which made it a hit song. Most of their early music was sung by John and Paul creating the perfect harmony in the songs which became their signature sound. Aside from making pop music, by appearing on shows such as the “Ed Sullivan Show” and making covers of popular songs such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” they sought to appeal to a young, popular audience.

After they became famous, the Beatles had a choice: to keep making the same kind of music that guaranteed more success or to take a risk and explore the different styles of music and instruments to make original music. They chose to go beyond the norm and use different recording techniques to make their music, and because of that, the Beatles became even more famous and made their place in music history. They used the recording studio to experiment with layering and created diverse songs with full sounds and became originators of important music genres popular today. In the song “Ticket to Ride,” their use of heavy drumming borrowed from the Rolling Stones became one of the roots of heavy metal. Not only did they become pioneers of music experimenting with musical space and adding non standard instruments into their songs, their music became more meaningful. Unlike the first three albums in which they sang about trivial things, in the following albums- “Beatles for Sale,”