On 4/17/2013 4:40 PM, Andrew Schulman wrote:
> On Apr 17, 4:14 pm, Steven Bornfeld <
dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>> Mostly it's the superlatives about the Beatles "changing music
>> forever", singlehandedly (or 8-handedly) bringing back tonality to
>> modern composition, bringing harmonic complexity to popular music.
>>
>>
> He makes a case for this, you disagree. I ask again, what "outright
> errors" and "inaccuracies"? You are stating an opinion, he makes his
> case, you say he's wrong, then make your case as well.
I don't have a "case" and this is not a court of law. My overall
impression is that Goodall would have us believe that popular music
before the Beatles had no use of harmony (well, only 3 chords)--that
previously sophisticated musical language was used only in pre-atonal
classical music, that it had been rejected by "serious" composers, and
that the Beatles more or less alone liberated popular music from musical
illiteracy, and saved classical music from the anarchists. That is the
case I believe he seems to be making; I don't think this is an accurate
representation of popular music in the 20th century. Not to discount
the influence of the Beatles on musical composition (I have no argument
that the did not), but making the case that the Beatles in some way
influenced the academy to abandon atonality is probably overstating the
case. I think there is plenty of evidence that there were plenty of
composers moving away from atonality long before the Beatles--just as
there were composers moving into microtonality and absorbing information
from the ethnomusicologists. In fact, the Beatles may have had a
greater influence in bringing eastern musical forms to modern
composition than they did in burying the second Viennese school--though
that influence is only very briefly touched on.
>>
>> Goodall is more than entitled to "hate" (his word, I believe) Boulez,
>> Stockhausen, Cage, etc. for composing difficult music..
>>
>>
> I don't think what he objected to is the difficulty of the music!
What do you think his objection was?
>>
>>
>> But the Beatles did not introduce key modulations into popular
>> music.
>>
>>
> Did he say that? I just finished reading an interview with McCartney
> where he talks about the Great American Songbook composers influencing
> him, and specifically mentions modulations. I guess it's a good thing
> at least Paul McCartney knows he didn't introduce key modulations into
> popular music.
>>
> > There was also something about what Bach learned from Vivaldi.
>>
> Are you saying that Bach didn't learn from Vivaldi!?!
I know Bach was influenced by Vivaldi--I see that Wolff writes that
"the Toccata in F major for organ, BWV 540" is "directly indebted to
the Vivaldi-style ritornello concerto...".
I may be mistaken--I remember a rather specific claim for a direct
influence. That's not the main thrust of this film (of course).
Again, I want to say that I have no quarrel with the idea that the
Beatles were extremely influential in popular and more formal music--it
would be foolish to deny that. But I still think this is a very narrow
view of popular music in the twentieth century--basically ignoring not
only Berlin, Gershwin, Porter et al, but Armstrong, Charlie Parker,
Coltrane, Ellington and others that not only changed the language and
form of popular music, but of composed formal music as well.
>>
>> Please don't make me listen to this again!!
>>
> I promise you I won't, I didn't even know until now that that was even
> possible.
>
> Andrew
Maybe I will--if time allows.
Steve
>