Leonard Bernstein and Pop Music

Starting about 5:10 in this clip, Leonard Bernstein explains to a group of young people how jazz and pop music often incorporates the Mixolydian mode (which has a lowered seventh note in the scale). Some of his examples include The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood."

At the beginning of this documentary, Leonard Bernstein explains why he sees value in some of the rock music that is produced at the time. I really like his serious approach to rock music, and especially that he tries to help adults see the value and beauty in the music that teens were listening to during the 1960s. Leonard gives an introduction to pop music for the first twenty minutes of the film, and then the documentary follows the music of a few select singers and bands.

Bernstein starts his analysis of rock music at 4:00 in the clip, with the example of "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles. He explains how the music is unorthodox because one measure leaves out a beat (going from four beats to three beats). He continues to analyze the Beatles with "She Said She Said" and then moves on to discuss "Pretty Ballerina" (The Left Banke) and "I'm a Believer" (The Monkees). He analyzes 9:03 and says the Beatles "Got To Get You Into My Life" could have been something written by Shumann because it is so expansive (in range) and romantic (in interval). He then shows example of appealing "untrained voices" by Bob Dylan, the Association, and the Beatles. He also discusses how he likes the eclecticism of rock music, and how it can absorb styles from blues to a Bach trumpet (with the example of "Penny Lane") to a string quartet ("Eleanor Rigby") to Hindu music ("Love You To").