This week concludes the “History of the Beatles” class and as somebody who grew up with the Beatles, I would have to say it lacked in understanding or explaining the emotion of the era.
The professor mentioned that he was 5 when he went to see “A Hard Day’s Night” – he didn’t understand why the girls were standing up and screaming at a movie. Well, you’d probably have to be a 10-year-old girl, which I was at the time. 🙂
My classmates asked questions like what made you a Beatles fan and why did you stick with them as they changed, etc. The students were trying to get to the heart of the whole Beatles thing and those of us who lived through it were able to tell them – not the professor.
But what I did get from the class was information about song form and how the Beatles’ song form changed over the years as they went from “craftsman” to “artist.” And I’m sure it was quite informational for those who didn’t grow up with the Beatles – I just wish the heart of it could have been expressed a bit more because that’s a key element to understanding Beatlemania.
As a budding songwriter, I would have to say that the class added to my overall songwriter curriculum and so it was beneficial to me.
I’m really looking forward to moving forward in my songwriting curriculum and musicianship is up next. This class focuses on how a musical ear can be useful in harmony, ear training, and reading/writing/playing music.