The Beatles’ 'Now And Then' In The Style Of 6 Composers

[@craigadam]

The Beatles. All that amazing output all before they were even 30 years of age.

[@remorrey]

Professor, I am so amazed and grateful for your in-depth knowledge of the back story. Thank you for your research. And a good evening to you from here in Utah.

[@johnboyd9854]

Just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful uploads that so generously offer your insight and appreciation for all kinds/eras of music. I've learned a lot from watching them. I'm also impressed by the level of detail you pack into your videos, like the blinking visage of Beethoven watching over your improvisation on 'Now and Then'. They're very fun as well as being very informative!

[@myouatt5987]

Gosh, I creased up when you went 'into the style of ...'! Reminiscences of Reizenstein and 'The Lambeth Walk' - congrats, thoroughly enjoyed this video. Credit to you! Nice one! :)

[@remorrey]

Kudos to Ian (sp) for his very good editing. He must spend a lot of time to make a flowing and entertaining final product. He's one of the best.

[@themusicprofessor]

Thank you! (From Ian)

[@craigadam]

I smiled all the way through your improvisations. Loved it. All those composers would have approved. Amazing, thank you.

[@ericleiter6179]

The original demo definitely has a vibe...could have fit on Plastic Ono Band almost. But I think the Twotles and Giles Martin made the right call ultimately with their edit and production...not to mention Peter Jackson! Thanks for your video on it. I enjoyed it (as I did the new release of Now and Then)! Loved the improv!

[@situdan89active-self82]

Fascinating! I really like how you make "then" resonate with more depth and originating well beyond the sixties...

[@peteragnew2224]

You, Sir, exude great joy with your love of music! I could listen to your music and your analysis all day, everyday! Thank you for sharing!

[@saibhandari]

This is such a great video - and huge congrats on the sponsorship!

[@susanfleming3128]

This is fun!

[@Davy.de.la.chakra]

The song was written about Paul. Listening to the lyrics, it adds a whole new dimension.

[@matthewking1873]

Yes - that is very moving actually

[@jayakamakshianandamayi7461]

clearly proven by the lyrics e.g. "Oh no, no, sweet darling" - sweet darling, of course, being Paul.

[@dev0nSA1nt]

I disaggre because when they were working on the song they cut out a precourus looking at the lyrics of the precourus in my opinion it is for his mother or maybe Yoko

[@fromchomleystreet]

I will never cease to be amused by the utter certainty with which people declare their intimate knowledge of what was going on inside the head of a now dead man while he was writing a song in 1977, based on no evidence whatsoever.

[@Jantango]

This video took me back to my teenage years when The Beatles made their US television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was a big fan while studying piano. Your improvisations are fabulous!

[@flemmingaaberg4457]

Wow - what a great way to showcase the classics' styles. FWIW I think the Moonlight Sonata style captures the mood of John's composition best. And I'm in awe of people (include yourself) that can master music and instruments to convey emotion so well.

[@matthewking1873]

And ‘Because’ (from Abbey Road) was inspired by the opening of the Moonlight sonata

[@wyattstevens8574]

​@@matthewking1873And so was the second half of "I Want You/She's So Heavy," I think: "She's so-"

[@petersantoro5323]

Simply brilliant

[@davidchristophersalomon8693]

Love it!🎶

[@izzyk9601]

And Congrats on getting a sponsorship! 🎉

[@kuglepen64]

Joni’s Pirates of Penanze is a very clever song. Perhaps even her best song.

[@justintroyka8855]

I LOVED your remarks about the cultural context of the song, and how the song fits into the Beatles' story. I absolutely agree that this song is another great example of John Lennon's style of melody writing. As you said, it's "conversational". It also has what I see as the essential John Lennon hallmark: staying near a certain note and emphasizing it in the melody, just hitting it over and over again in a plaintive, almost tedious way. The verse of "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a perfect example of this, with the entire first two measures having just one note repeated, the B in A major (the C in B-flat major?). "Come Together" is another great example, really emphasizing the F. What we hear in "Now and Then" fits into that pattern beautifully, with John emphasizing the E as it alternates with a few lower notes. That's the verse, and then the chorus has G emphasized.

[@musicisspecial1]

Great! Yes to a Joni feature please!

[@eupraxis1]

Love it!!!!!!

[@tomlabooks3263]

Delightful. I especially enjoyed the Liszt version.

[@stevemarshall5249]

These are great fun. I'd love to hear some of them filled out to more complete versions. And some others: since it's melancholy, what about John Dowland? Schubert? Stravinsky? Wagner? Puccini? The mind boggles!

[@pearsonlennon]

Loved this one. You should stay with The Beatles.

[@kandelz]

That bach sounded great!

[@jamestharp7880]

You nailed it! Can you do more Chopin?

[@izzyk9601]

A Joni Mitchell Video sounds so interesting! Love Amelia 🎶

[@tomhenninger4153]

Thanks for the video! Wow, when you go thru the various composers, it's brilliant. So cool. I don't like taking things that are works in progress, and using them like this. John may not have liked it enough to release it! Maybe he would've only used the F# part as the main theme after rethinking it. All we know is that he didn't think enough of it to record it. I guess I'm saying it's hard for me to listen to it because it's got the shimmer and veneer of an artist I LOVE, but it's a fake. Like when Ian Anderson laughs about getting one over on someone and them not knowing "til the copper fades away" on Up To Me. Anyway, thanks for doing these videos, I enjoy your analysis'.

[@susanfleming3128]

It would be interesting to consider if the personalities or characters of the individual Beatles correspond to certain composers!

[@themusicprofessor]

Yes - so it would be possible to make a Viennese comparison: Macca is Mozart, John is Lennon, Harrison is Schubert. (it's a bit absurd but there are some correspondences)

[@galeem713]

Never was a fan of the beetles but a fan of John and George

[@zetmoon]

“beetles”?…… Clearly not a fan! A fan would always write The Beatles!

[@ausdudetriboy]

Yes please to your reflections on Joni Mitchell.

[@themusicprofessor]

Yes. I will do it...

[@87linceed]

i lovee that you covered the beatles! you should do an analysis, on junk, or everyday by mccartney, he has a lot of songs that need analysis, also gratia! by mccartney!.

[@themusicprofessor]

Junk is good, yes.

[@PaulGTerry]

Your Chopin version was my favourite - seemed to be the most natural.

[@EddieReischl]

The Ravel interpretation sounded the best to me. That makes sense to me, because Lennon's music often seems to have Debussy elements in it, he often writes pentatonic melodies, adds unusual chords, and has a lot of pauses. McCartney's Beatles' songs seem more rooted in Bach, his perfectionist tendencies and use of counterpoint. These tendencies make it surprising to me that "In My Life" was written by John and "Eleanor Rigby" was written by Paul. I suspect they helped each other out on those two, or by that time had been influenced enough by the other.

[@vikingbeard]

I love your approach to music. Even the most boring and depressing tune can be turned into something exciting by the right person. It was a joy listening to your beautiful and playful melodies.

[@ordjk4797]

The song matched most similarly to something that Beethoven would have written. Certainly not a Mozart piece in any sense.

[@karensmith5580]

I think you could succeed Victor Borge!

[@DanSolo871]

The song could have almost been written by Kurt Cobain.

[@robertmueller2023]

Supreme respect for this craft. But one push of that A.I. machine button and every possible melody will be composed in 48 hours?

[@themusicprofessor]

I suspect that AI's talent in this respect is severely overrated!

[@robertmueller2023]

The trick is sorting them out for quality. But A.I. still can create them all. Every one. Mathematical fact ... right Bill Gates?

[@haggler]

Ah good, your microchip is working. I will set you to relax mode.

[@nickedwards9198]

Don't be fooled. This man uses midi and his fingers are AI xD

[@keinname629]

"Amelia" is really beautiful, but very repetitive and therefore rather boring unfortunately ...

[@opussy]

At 02.49 I was shocked though I should not have been that your students were ignorant of the event but it surely cannot now be too long before at the word Beatles students respond with a blank look. I walked into my local HMV to see - merely out of curiosity - if they were stocking the 7" single, and they were. Ringo is unmentioned by you as a songwriter but I think Octopusses Garden my favourite Beatle song .

[@themusicprofessor]

Ringo was a key person in the band, but his songwriting skills were somewhat less impressive than the other 3.

[@robertmueller2023]

Professor Dan: Composing pop music is much harder. No doubt. A thoroughly-trodden diatonic scale?

[@revelry1969]

You are a maestro. Bravo

[@revelry1969]

15:47 Improvisation start