Five Instrumental Music Composed and Recorded by the Beatles

Between 1960 and 1970, the quartet of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr - better known as The Beatles - recorded more than two hundred songs. Some of these songs are instrumental pieces, or musical compositions sans any sort of vocal music or lyrics. One example is "A Beginning," which was composed by George Henry Martin, producer of The Beatles. This instrumental music was recorded by The Beatles in 1968 and is included in the album Anthology 3.

But The Beatles recorded at least five other instrumental pieces which they themselves (or at least one of them) composed. Here they are:

1) "12-Bar Original" - This instrumental music was one of the few collaborations of all four members of The Beatles; it was recorded on November 4, 1965. However, it was only made commercially available more than thirty years later as part of the album Anthology 2. John Lennon and George Harrison were on guitars, Paul McCartney on bass, and Ringo Starr, as always, was on drums. In addition, George Martin was on harmonium. The entire music, when played, runs for two minutes and fifty-four seconds.

2) "Cry for a Shadow" - A John Lennon/George Harrison composition, this instrumental music was recorded by The Beatles on June 22, 1961. It was first released as a single on March 27, 1964 and, more than thirty years later, as part of the album Anthology 1. John Lennon was on guitar, Paul McCartney on bass, George Harrison on lead guitar, and Pete Best, the original drummer of The Beatles, was on drums. This instrumental music runs for two minutes and twenty seconds.

3) "Flying" - Another instrumental music composed by all four members of The Beatles. It was recorded on September 8, 1967 and is included in the album Magical Mystery Tour, which has three releases: a long play (LP) record album in the United States on November 27, 1967; an extended play (EP) disc in the United Kingdom on December 8, 1967; and another LP also in the United Kingdom on November 19, 1976. John Lennon was on mellotron (an electro-mechanical, polyphonic keyboard), Paul McCartney and George Harrison on guitars, and Ringo Starr on drums and maracas. The entire length of this instrumental music is two minutes and seventeen seconds.

4) "Carnival of Light" - The composition of this experimental instrumental music was solely credited to Paul McCartney. The Beatles recorded it on January 5, 1967, but has remained unreleased to date. According to Mark Lewisohn (an English author and historian who is said to be the leading authority on anything pertaining to The Beatles), the sounds of a drum, an organ, a lead guitar, and some screaming done by John Lennon and Paul McCartney can be heard from this piece. The length of this instrumental music is said to be approximately thirteen minutes and forty-eight seconds.

5) "Cayenne" - Paul McCartney wrote this instrumental music, and The Beatles recorded it in April of 1960. It is included in the album Anthology 1 (released in the United Kingdom on November 20, 1995 and in the United States on November 21, 1995). On bass was Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe, the original bassist of The Beatles. There is nothing much that is known about this instrumental music, which runs for about a minute and thirteen seconds.

Two other instrumental music, "Jazz Piano Song" (co-written by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and recorded by The Beatles in 1969) and "Winston's Walk" (composed solely by John Lennon, and recorded in 1960) remain unreleased.

Sources: "List of The Beatles songs" (and all pertinent links), Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Beatles_songs