How did the Beatles produce the extreme reactions of fans during “Beatlemania” and carry it on throughout their career? http://musicalitypodcast.com/170
Today we’re talking with a Beatles expert who also happens to be a member of Musical U. As a Professor of Communications at Clarion University, Scott is trained in the study of semiotics: the meaning within media such as pop music.
And he’s taken this lens of analysis to the music of the Beatles and specifically in the “Beatlemania” years of the early sixties when teenage girls would scream and faint at concerts and TV performances – to find out what exactly the band did that produced such extreme reactions. And how they carried that on throughout their career in ever-changing ways.
In this conversation we talk about:
– The combination of music and visuals that led to Beatlemania and the specific techniques the Beatles used to stoke that hysteria
– Whether the Beatles did all these clever things instinctively and subconsciously or if it was an intentional, conscious process
– And how the Beatles’ use of musical elements to support the message of the lyrics changed over time through the five distinct eras of their music that Scott identifies
We love when an interview on this show provides a new way of looking at or listening to music, and we think you’re going to enjoy the little “homework” exercise Scott sets at the end of our conversation as a way to open your mind and your ears to what made the Beatles so effective and so successful.
Listen to the episode: http://musicalitypodcast.com/170
Links and Resources:
Alan Pollack “Notes on …” Series – http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/awp-notes_on.shtml
Scott Kuehn on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/scott.kuehn.12
Clarion Faculty Profile for Dr. Scott Kuehn – http://www.clarion.edu/directory/employee-dir/communication/skuehn.html
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Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
What makes songs Beatles songs so infectious and catchy? http://musl.ink/pod169
Today we’re joined by Matt Blick, who is the man behind the Beatles Songwriting Academy, a website dedicated to analysing every single Beatles song to learn what makes them tick.
Since founding the site in 2009 Matt has written over 500 detailed posts on what he’s learned from studying the songs of the Beatles – and he’s written over 300 songs himself.
You see, unlike some song analysis websites you find, Matt’s site is particularly notable for being very practical in its focus. Although it’s fascinating to read his posts purely for interest, every one is written with the active songwriter in mind, to inspire and guide them to better and easier songwriting, inspired by the principles used by The Beatles themselves.
In this conversation we talk about:
– How The Beatles could obey and break the conventional rules of songwriting so expertly if they never learned music theory.
– Some specific ways The Beatles modified chord progressions to be more effective and distinctive in their songs.
– Matt also shares what actually causes writer’s block and how to fix it.
We also talk about the ways Matt has benefitted from all his Beatles studies in his own songwriting, including specific examples of songs he’s written using particular principles he learned from the Fab Four.
Ticket to Write 1: Use the flat 6 (bVI) chord in a major key song – http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ticket-1-flat-6-chord.html
Ticket to Write 33: Subvert a 12 bar blues by altering the chord sequence – http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.com/2014/07/ticket-33-subvert-12-bar-blues-by.html
Ticket to Write 67: Repeat Verse 1 – http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.com/2014/02/ticket-67-repeat-verse-1.html
Ticket to Write 24: Repeat words and sentence structures – http://beatlessongwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ticket-24-use-parallel-lyrics.html
Stream Matt Blick – “Let’s Build An Airport” – https://mattblick.bandcamp.com/track/lets-build-an-airport-2
Matt Blick on Twitter – https://twitter.com/realmattblick
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
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Today we’re talking with Scott Freiman, the creator of Deconstructing the Beatles, a series of uniquely revealing multimedia presentations about the composition and production techniques of the Beatles. http://musicalitypodcast.com/168
Scott has spoken about the Beatles to sold-out audiences, on college campuses and for companies around the USA. He skilfully draws on original multitrack recordings to reveal exactly how the songs we know and love were put together, drawing out new and fascinating insights about the Beatles and their music.
Scott is also a professional composer and distilled some of the songwriting lessons he’d learned from the Fab Four into a terrific online course, “Learn the Songwriting Secrets of The Beatles” which we found to be a great resource even for those who have no aspirations to write songs themselves but just want to understand music better.
As a composer himself he said that what the Deconstructing the Beatles project really showed him was how much work went into this music that we know and love. Just how creative the Beatles were and how that creative process happened, step by step – not just individually but collaboratively.
That’s what we dig into in this interview: If these songs didn’t magically spring into being overnight, what were the elements that made the band so unusually able to consistently write incredible songs that have stood the test of time. Scott has fantastic insight and there’s a ton to learn here for song writers, composers and for musicians and music fans as well.
We talk about:
– The development and growth the Beatles had already gone through as musicians before their recording career began
– How his training as an editor has influenced how Scott sees their music and how the Beatles themselves combined editing with experimentation
– One specific technique you can listen for in any music but which the Beatles utilised in new and unusual ways.
There’s some really instructive and inspiring ideas in this conversation that we know you’ll benefit from in your own music making and music listening. And it will make you hungry to go watch Scott’s full presentations and maybe check out his songwriting course.
You’re tuned in to Beatles Month at Musical U.
Listen to the episode: http://musicalitypodcast.com/168
Welcome to Beatles Month! Today we’re kicking off a very special series of episodes where we’ll be celebrating all things Fab Four – and particularly diving into all the musicality questions we’re so interested in here at Musical U – like what makes a song tick, how to understand what you hear in music, and what are the concrete, practical skills that underlie apparent musical “talent”. http://musl.ink/pod167
Now if you’re not already a Beatles fan, I’m confident you’re still going to find the upcoming episodes fascinating and useful – and I think we might just be able to convert you into a fan along the way too – because the Beatles are utterly unique and their success and their musical output is incomparable.
Wherever you are in the world, whatever age you might be and whatever style of music you like, the chances are there are Beatles songs or albums that you love.
So: an incredible band. But this band didn’t spring out of nowhere with a magical talent.
As you’ll be discovering in the episodes ahead there are clear, practical, learned skills and down-to-earth explanations behind all of the remarkable things they were able to do.
This month has been so much fun to put together, and thank you in advance to the six Beatles experts who’ve contributed, as well as the Musical U team for helping to put it all together. I hope you’ll enjoy it – and that it will increase your love of the Beatles as well as more broadly empowering you in a new way in music.
Listen to the episode: http://musl.ink/pod167
Links and Resources
About Active Listening – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/about-active-listening/
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
Join Musical U with the Special offer for podcast listeners http://musicalitypodcast.com/join
Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
Learning music can sometimes be frustrating. It can feel like you’re putting in a ton of effort with very little results to show for it. http://musl.ink/pod166
But at the same time we all know that persistence is the key to success.
So how do you know when you’re being virtuous for persisting – and when you’re just bashing your head against a brick wall?
How do you know whether to give up or stick with it?
Listen to the episode : http://musl.ink/pod166
Links and Resources
Is it time to “break up” with music? – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/time-break-music/
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
Join Musical U with the Special offer for podcast listeners http://musicalitypodcast.com/join
Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
Do you feel like giving up? Is your musical life driving you a bit crazy and you’re wondering if you should just throw in the towel? Get your free “Why should I stick with it?” cheat sheet from Musical U: http://musl.ink/pod165
We all hit sticking points in our musical lives. It might be a painful performance gone wrong, it might be a frustrating technical skill we’re struggling to get right, it might be a confusing quagmire of music theory, or the feeling that our brain or ears just aren’t made for music the way other people’s seem to be.
It can start to feel like you’re in a bad relationship where nothing ever goes right – and you might well find yourself wondering if you should “break up” with music.
And in fact many of our members at Musical U are returning to music later in life having actually hit that breaking point when they were younger. Built-up frustrations combined with life getting busy can mean music takes a backseat or gets dropped completely.
That’s a tragedy – because music is incredible and when things are going right I think there’s almost nothing better than the joy we can experience through music-making.
I’ve been through this myself – more than once! – so I wanted to record this to share what I’ve learned along the way for myself and with our members, in the hopes that it helps you avoid that breaking point or if you’ve broken up with music in the past I hope it’ll help make sure the next time is more like a marriage than a fling.
I’m going to share the mindset and the way of thinking things through that can help you when you feel like you’re hitting that sticking point – and can actually be used proactively too, to prevent you ever getting close to the point of giving up in future.
Listen to the episode : http://musl.ink/pod165
Links and Resources
Hey! Where are you going? : https://www.musical-u.com/learn/hey-where-are-you-going/
Forget Being Realistic – Do This Instead : https://www.musical-u.com/learn/forget-being-realistic-do-this-instead/
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
Join Musical U with the Special offer for podcast listeners http://musicalitypodcast.com/join
Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
How can you make your music practice more effective and fun? http://musl.ink/pod164
Music practice doesn’t have to be boring, music practice is part of who we are, it’s part of what we do as musicians, and some of these very simple tricks and tips are gonna help you enjoy your process in the practice room much more.
One thing that we hear a lot from the members of Musical U, is how to take all of the things that they’re learning within Musical U, and they’re learning in their music education, and how to actually apply it their instrument. And for most musicians, that means in the practice room. How are we applying all these skills in practice, so that we can then go and perform, or continue to play, or experiment with different musical sounds? All of this comes down to how we’re actually applying things that we’re learning, to our instrument.
We’ve different tips and tricks that we’ve learned throughout all of the episodes of The Musicality Podcast. So each member of the team has picked a certain episode that really touched them, that really appealed to them and spoke to them, and they were able to use that in their own music practice. And we’d like to share those with all of you, and so that you can revisit old episodes of the podcast, and continue to apply these things in your music practice.
Listen to the podcast: http://musl.ink/pod164
Links and Resources
What Your Voice Can Do, with Jeremy Fisher – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-your-voice-can-do-with-jeremy-fisher/
About Hacking Habituation – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/about-hacking-habituation/
Emotion and Efficiency, with Marc Gelfo – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/emotion-and-efficiency-with-marc-gelfo/
Learning to Rock the Stage, with Kevin Richards – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/learning-to-rock-the-stage-with-kevin-richards/
Top Musicality Tools and Tech, with Katie Wardrobe – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/top-musicality-tools-and-tech-with-katie-wardrobe/
Making Music Learning a Picnic, with Ruth Power – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/making-music-learning-a-picnic-with-ruth-power/
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
Join Musical U with the Special offer for podcast listeners http://musicalitypodcast.com/join
Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
“Hey dreamer! Do you think you’ll ever achieve that musical fantasy? Get real!”
Chances are if nobody else has ever said that to you, you’ve said to yourself. Over and over and over.
But dreams are powerful. A Big Picture Vision gives you the mojo to go beyond living in someone else’s reality and become the creator of your own reality! So what’s holding you back?
In this episode, you’ll learn what that barrier is and how you can break through it to achieve your true musical potential. http://musl.ink/pod163
Links and Resources
Big Picture Vision episode: Hey! Where Are You Going? – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/hey-where-are-you-going/
If you enjoy the show please rate and review it! http://musicalitypodcast.com/review
Join Musical U with the Special offer for podcast listeners http://musicalitypodcast.com/join
Let us know what you think! Email: hello@musicalitypodcast.com
Basslines. Isn’t that what we do as bass players every day? Yet too often we have our bass blinders on and aren’t as connected with the chords and melody as we could be. Steve Lawson, our Resident Pro for bass, takes an innovative approach to learning basslines by ear. By learning to construct basslines with the tools of theory and our fretboard patterns, we can more easily hear them in the music we love, and more quickly put them under our own fingers: http://musl.ink/respackbreathbass
Including:
– A “magic triangle” for you to connect your theory knowledge, instrumental skills, and the actual sounds of the music you create.
– How the bassline integrates with the harmonic structure of a song.
– Breaking down the most useful bassline patterns and archetypes.
– Mapping these patterns and archetypes on your fretboard.
– Beautiful MP3 tracks to exercise your new bassline understandings
http://musl.ink/respackbreathbass
Learn more about Musical U Resident Pro Steve Lawson: http://stevelawson.net/