|
 The question, which has exercised Beatles fans since the song
appeared in the seminal 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band", could soon form part of an exam curriculum for
British teenagers.
Exam board AQA, which sets and marks papers for about half of
all GCSE exams taken by British 16-year-old high-school pupils,
plans to introduce three songs from Sgt. Pepper into the music
curriculum from September 2016.
"Pop music began in this country with The Beatles in the
swinging sixties, so what better band to look to for the study
of contemporary music than the Fab Four," said Seb Ross, head of
AQA's music department.
The addition of the Sgt. Pepper tracks to the board's music GCSE
curriculum puts The Beatles in the company of classical
composers Joseph Haydn and Aaron Copland as well as influential
guitarist Carlos Santana, whose works also feature.
AQA said students would be asked to look at the melody, harmony,
structure, rhythm and meaning of three songs from the Beatles
album, which influenced generations of musicians and changed
recording techniques.
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has long been the subject of
disagreement between those who say the title's letters refer to
the psychedelic drug LSD and those who accept John Lennon's more
innocent explanation.
[to top of second column] |
Lennon always maintained that the song was inspired by a drawing by
his five-year-old son Julian about a schoolfriend called Lucy.
The other two songs to be included are "Within You, Without You" and
"With a Little Help from My Friends".
This prompted Times newspaper columnist Daniel Finkelstein to
suggest the following multiple choice question, which might cause
dismay among fans of drummer Ringo Starr, who performed the lead
vocals in With a Little Help.
What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you:
A. Stand up and walk out on me?
B. Make me the lead vocalist on one of your most famous songs?
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
