10 Greatest Beatles Songs With Orchestral Arrangements, Ranked
The Beatles’ use of orchestral arrangements helped expand the sound of rock music, with producer George Martin’s classical training guiding experiments that the band embraced. The article ranks ten Beatles songs featuring orchestral arrangements, highlighting how strings and other classical instruments shaped their mood and impact.
“Eleanor Rigby” is described as an especially distinctive example: Paul McCartney sings over George Martin’s string arrangement in a story about two lonely people. “She’s Leaving Home” uses strings and harp to tell of a teenager leaving home, while “Something” adds a restrained orchestration to George Harrison’s love song. The article says McCartney was inspired to write “She’s Leaving Home” by a news report about a 17-year-old girl.
- George Martin helped bring classical arrangements into the Beatles’ rock sound.
- “Eleanor Rigby” is almost entirely driven by strings.
- “She’s Leaving Home” drew on a real news story.
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The Beatles were a British band whose songs helped shape popular music in the 1960s. Their producer, George Martin, had classical music training and worked with the band to bring instruments such as strings and harp into rock recordings.
These arrangements could change the mood and storytelling of a song. “Eleanor Rigby” uses strings to accompany Paul McCartney’s account of two lonely people, while “She’s Leaving Home” pairs strings and harp with a story of a teenager leaving home. George Harrison’s “Something” uses orchestration more subtly in a love song.