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MUSICAL ELEMENT - HARMONY
One of the sound qualities that makes the Beach Boys recognizable is the way they sing harmony together. Harmony refers to two or more different pitches sounding together at the same time in what we call chords. In the Beach Boys songs, these chords produce a smooth, blended sound quality. The four voice parts are called lead, tenor, baritone and bass. The highest sounds are the lead and tenor, and the lower sounds are the baritone and bass. Today's song, "Barbara Ann", is a good example of the harmony heard in the Beach Boys' music. |
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That Christmas, Brian received a reel-to-reel tape recorder and Carl received a guitar. Brian learned to use the tape recorder to layer sounds on top of each other, called dubbing. The boys practiced in their bedroom and Brian began writing songs. When their parents were away on a short vacation, they rented drums, amplifiers and microphones, and practiced for three days. They soon began performing at their school.
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In 1966, Brian Wilson began an ambitious project that resulted in the song “Good Vibrations”. This record was unlike anything done before in any genre of music recording, and it was the most expensive single record ever recorded. The inspiration for the song title came when Wilson’s mother explained to him as a child that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their ‘bad vibrations’, or the bad feelings they sense about a person. Wilson used that idea of extrasensory perception to create the song.
“Good Vibrations” is like a little ‘pocket symphony’ because it contains a mixture of classical, rock and exotic instruments. Wilson recorded it in a layered, piecemeal style in several studios over eight months. The song was like some of the artwork of Henri Matisse. “Good Vibrations” was a cut-up mosaic of musical episodes.
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The Beach Boys were a group of five young men who were not afraid to experiment with new sounds, and new ways of making sounds. This fearless creativity made them the inspiration for many other musicians, including the Beatles.
In 1966, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys recorded an album called Pet Sounds. This album was an innovative “soundscape”. It was a groundbreaking pop album that started something new in music recording. It influenced other music groups of that time, including The Beatles. It set a high standard that challenged other composers. Many consider it one of the greatest pop albums of all time. 
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The Pet Sounds album, released in 1966, was the 11th album the Beach Boys made. Brian Wilson wrote and produced the album. He didn’t like touring and actually asked Glen Campbell to take his place so that he could focus on writing music. It was Brian’s goal to make this album the best rock album ever made. In 2004, Pet Sounds was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Today’s listening example, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” came from this album. Listen for the soundscape of non-standard instruments in this song that includes hawaiin sounding instruments and maybe some coca-cola cans.
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