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Beatles Cover Songs: Learning Songwriting from the Masters
In the years before getting signed to a label, The Beatles played hundreds of gigs in England and Germany—covers of now classic songs. They learned songwriting from the masters. Once they started recording, Beatles cover songs (about 25) included rock ’n’ roll tunes such as “Long Tall Sally,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Matchbox,” as well as non-rock material such as “A Taste of Honey” and the show tune, “Till There Was You.” Learning all those covers—everything from wartime dance hall tunes to American rockabilly and blues—and playing them over and over and over instilled in Lennon and McCartney a deep understanding and feel for the way masterful songwriters meld technical and psychological elements to create memorable songs. Any intelligent songwriter who learns how to do this (one way or another, not necessarily the way Lennon and McCartney mastered it), and applies it in his or her own original creative style, can compose brilliant songs consistently.
As you go through this book, don’t focus on rote-memorization of details. Just take in the major concepts (more on this in a minute). After a while, the most important techniques, summarized at the ends of Chapters 6 through 11, will become second nature to you. Habitual.
Once you’ve mastered the technical stuff, then write with unpremeditated emotional abandon. Without thinking about whether your methods are “technically correct.” It’s like learning and applying any skill. Riding a bike or a horse. First you nail the technique, then you take off and explore. (Even when you’ve become highly skilled, you’ll find yourself editing and revising initial drafts to make each musical and lyrical component as powerful and memorable as possible.)