Music Box: Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper's

By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)

Jackson Hole, Wyo. - The claim that John Lennon deliberately chose the song title “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” because key words form the acrostic “LSD” is but one of the urban legends and mystiques surrounding one of the most influential albums of all-time: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.Music aficionados and studio geeks take notice. The upcoming multimedia presentation by composer, producer and educator Scott Freiman, “Deconstructing the Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s,” will explore the history behind the music from multiple angles. Using rare and unreleased recordings, Freiman will guide the audience through the construction of songs from take one to the final version, exposing the genius writing of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, the drumming of Ringo Starr, and the sharp mind of producer George Martin.The Beatles catalog is extensive, and exploring the many facets of this single album will be covered in around two hours. Besides listening to isolated tracks, “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and hearing the beautiful string arrangement for “She’s Leaving Home,” audience members will learn about the experimental composition and studio techniques that were used to create “A Day in the Life.”In 2007, separated tracks of Sgt. Pepper’s were released to the public, enabling audio engineers to analyze the recording. One such groundbreaking technique that was used during these sessions (now commonplace) was the idea of “bouncing down,” also known at that time as a “reduction mix.” This is when a number of tracks are recorded across the four tracks of one recorder, then mixed and dubbed down onto one or several tracks of the master four-track machine. This enabled the Abbey Road engineers to give the group a virtual multi-track studio. New modular effects like the fuzzbox and wah-wah pedal, as well as running vocals through a Leslie speaker were used extensively.As for the lyrical drug references and the psychedelic style that emerged, McCartney was quoted in a 2004 interview as saying, “it’s easy to overestimate the influence of drugs ... just about everyone was doing drugs in one form or another and we were no different, but the writing was too important for us to mess it up by getting off our heads all the time.”Freiman’s background includes a B.S. in computer science and music from Yale University and a master’s of music composition from New York University. His original music has been featured in award-winning films and has been performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Freiman has also worked in television, contributing music to the BBC/Discovery Channel’s Emmy-award winning series “Life,” and mixing all of the music for the series.Freiman is also a sound designer and mixer with many credits, including the award-winning documentaries Budrus and Encounter Point, and the first 3D made-for-television film, David Attenborough’s “Flying Monsters.” In fall of 2012, Freiman will be teaching a semester course on the music of the Beatles at Yale University.Center for the Arts presents “Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper” at 7:30 p.m., Monday, in the Center Theater. $15, $10 students, available at JHCenterForTheArts.org, or 733-4900.