MUS 05 — The Songwriting of The Beatles: Abbey Road and Let It Be
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Joel Phillip Friedman
Date(s): Apr 16—May 21
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $415
Refund Deadline: Apr 18
Unit(s): 1
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Spring
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 16—May 21
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $415
Refund Deadline: Apr 18
Instructor(s): Joel Phillip Friedman
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
Many Beatles fans think the story is clear: first came the sunny Abbey Road (1969), then the dreary swan song Let It Be (1970), documenting the band’s breakup. In reality, things were vastly different. Multiple, intertwined solo and group projects rode a frenzied crest of activity during that period.
This course explores how these two sonically and conceptually different albums—one designed as a live performance, the other as a glittering, polished studio creation—sprang from the same Beatles source. It’s a great “detective story,” beginning with the band’s 1968 retreat in Rishikesh, India, where dozens of songs were written. We’ll draw on recent scholarship by Beatles authority Mark Lewisohn, Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back, and the 50th-anniversary Abbey Road and Let It Be box sets to show that Let It Be was mostly recorded first, that sessions for both albums overlapped, and that many later solo tracks began as Beatles songs. Even more than 50 years later, this story still surprises.
This course explores how these two sonically and conceptually different albums—one designed as a live performance, the other as a glittering, polished studio creation—sprang from the same Beatles source. It’s a great “detective story,” beginning with the band’s 1968 retreat in Rishikesh, India, where dozens of songs were written. We’ll draw on recent scholarship by Beatles authority Mark Lewisohn, Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back, and the 50th-anniversary Abbey Road and Let It Be box sets to show that Let It Be was mostly recorded first, that sessions for both albums overlapped, and that many later solo tracks began as Beatles songs. Even more than 50 years later, this story still surprises.
JOEL PHILLIP FRIEDMAN
Composer and Music Scholar
Joel Phillip Friedman's concert, theater, and film music has been performed worldwide at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, in London’s West End, and in off-Broadway theaters. He has taught courses in composition, theory, and history at Swarthmore, Georgetown, Stanford Continuing Studies, and elsewhere. He received a DMA from Columbia, where he was a President’s Fellow. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.