Classical music — a genre that may be deemed boring and dull by many, has sowed the seeds for many of the pop songs that we hear today. Here are five pop songs you may not know were directly inspired by classical music.
Be prepared to get your minds blown.
Written & illustrated by Soh En Xuan
The soundtrack of Netflix series ‘Bridgerton’ has caught many viewers’ attention.
The series took a twist with its soundtrack by adding a classical touch to pop songs by the likes of Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift — arranging them into the style of classical string quartet.
While we hear an obvious blend of old and new in the signature soundtracks of ‘Bridgerton’, pieces from classical music have actually been sampled often in many pop songs we hear today.
‘Memories’ by American pop rock band, Maroon 5 is a sentimental song dedicated to the band’s manager, Jordan Feldstein, following his passing.
The first line of ‘Memories’, also the main hook, is created by taking the notes from the very start of ‘Canon in D’ composed by German composer Johann Pachelbel.
Even though the song is not composed in the same key as the original piece, ‘Memories’ still follows the famous chord progression and style of the classical piece.
Who would have ever imagined German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach “collaborating” with K-pop girl group Red Velvet?
Red Velvet’s ‘Feel My Rhythm’ sampled Bach’s ‘Air on the G String'. The contradictions of genres create a smooth harmony that brings out the elegance of classical music and the powerful beats of K-pop.
Going into the chorus, the orchestral melody line reappears again, blending in well with the lyrical melody, especially as the members sing the lines “follow, follow my heartbeat”.
Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was definitely not expecting to have a hit single 32 years after his death. Yet, he now has a songwriter credit for the classic ballad ‘All By Myself’.
‘All By Myself’ was released in 1975 by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. He heavily sampled Rachmaninoff’s ‘Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor’ to create the main melody.
Carmen released the song thinking that the classical piece was public domain. However, the piece was copyrighted. As a result, Rachmaninoff also gets credit for the song.
We all know of the famous Abbey Road album released in 1969 by The Beatles. However, did you know that one of its songs, ‘Because’ was actually inspired by German composer Beethoven?
The inspiration came about when John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono was playing Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the piano. Lennon then asked her to play the chords backwards which formed the base of the song.
Lennon played around with the chords, eventually producing the song, ‘Because’. Lennon also used the same key and key changes as ‘Moonlight Sonata’.