The Brilliance of the Beatles

The brilliance of the Beatles and their creative process has been such a part of our lives for so long that we often forget it all began with these four kids from a working class port in England. Their music and the changes they brought to our culture is unprecedented and will likely never be repeated. To say they have been the soundtrack of an entire generation is an understatement. With the release of the Beatles Rock Band for Xbox and PS3, along with the digital remastering of their entire catalogue of music, their impact continues to inspire a whole new generation of fans.

The creativity that came primarily from the Lennon and McCartney collaboration over a period of roughly 10 years is simply beyond comparison. Whole albums of music were completed in 15 hour recording sessions and the process to create another one would begin all over again with another remarkable record due in only a matter of months.

So how did it happen? What was the secret that separates the Beatles from any other band in the history of rock, for that matter, the history of music? What creative tips and techniques can we learn from the genius of Lennon and McCartney? The answers are far too complex and too encompassing to be dealt with in a simple post on a blog, but there are some great insights that we can learn and apply in our own daily search for inspiration even if we are only skimming the surface.

Over the next few days I’m going to be sharing some of the tips and techniques that I’ve found on my search into the greatest musical and poetic geniuses of our time. I invite you to join me on this journey as we travel the back roads of Liverpool, Hamburg and America to find the inspiration behind the brilliance of the Beatles. For now I’ll leave you with a list of Seven Sources of Creativity that sparked the minds of Lennon and McCartney and unlocked a treasure trove of amazing music. Tomorrow we’ll just how many Beatles songs sprang from these Seven Sources.

1. People
2. Places
3. Things
4. Emotions
5. Environment
6. Childhood
7. Sounds