Editing Magical Mystery Tour (section)

===Production techniques and sounds===
{{quote box|quote=They half knew what they wanted and half didn't know, not until they'd tried everything. The only specific thought they seemed to have in their mind was to be different.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=167}}|source=&nbsp;– EMI engineer [[Ken Scott]] on the band's approach to recording ''Magical Mystery Tour''|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
In their new songs, the Beatles continued the studio experimentation that had typified ''Sgt. Pepper''{{sfn|Prendergast|2003|p=194}} and the psychedelic sound they had introduced in 1966 with ''[[Revolver (Beatles album)|Revolver]]''.{{sfn|Reising|LeBlanc|2009|pp=94, 98–99}}  Author [[Mark Hertsgaard]] highlights "I Am the Walrus" as the fulfilment of the band's "guiding principle" during the sessions&nbsp;– namely to experiment and be "different".{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=167}} To satisfy Lennon's request that his voice should sound like "it came from the moon", the engineers gave him a low-quality microphone to sing into and saturated the signal from the preamp microphone.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=430}} In addition to the song's string and horn arrangement, Martin wrote a score for the sixteen backing vocalists (the [[Mike Sammes Singers]]), in which their laughter, exaggerated vocalising and other noises evoked the LSD-inspired mood that Lennon sought for the piece.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=166–67}} The orchestral arrangement and the vocal score were recorded on a separate four-track tape, which Martin and Scott then manually synchronised with the tape containing the band's performance.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=430}} The track was completed with Lennon overdubbing live radio signals found at random, finally settling on a [[BBC Third Programme]] broadcast of Shakespeare's ''[[The Tragedy of King Lear]]''.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=128}}

According to musicologist Thomas MacFarlane, ''Magical Mystery Tour'' shows the Beatles once more "focusing on colour and texture as important compositional elements" and exploring the "aesthetic possibilities" of studio technology.{{sfn|MacFarlane|2008|p=40}} "[[Blue Jay Way]]" features extensive use of three studio techniques employed by the Beatles over 1966–67:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=436}} [[flanging]], an audio delay effect;{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=156–57}} sound-signal rotation via a [[Leslie speaker]];{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}} and (in the [[stereophonic|stereo]] mix only) reversed tapes.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}} In the case of the latter technique, a recording of the completed track was played backwards and faded in at key points during the performance,{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}} creating an effect whereby the backing vocals appear to answer each line of Harrison's lead vocal in the verses.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=141}} Due to the limits of [[Multitrack recording|multitracking]], the process of feeding in reversed sounds was carried out live during the final mixing session.{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}}{{refn|group=nb|Described by Lewisohn as "quite problematical",{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=130}} the process was not repeated for the [[monaural|mono]] mix of "Blue Jay Way".{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|p=437}} Lewisohn adds that, like Lennon's "[[Strawberry Fields Forever]]" and "I Am the Walrus", the song "makes fascinating listening for anyone interested in what could be achieved in a 1967 recording studio".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=123}}}} A [[tape loop]] of decelerated guitar sounds was used on "[[The Fool on the Hill]]"{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=132}} to create a swooshing bird-like effect towards the end of that song.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=138}} Lennon and Starr prepared seven minutes' worth of tape loops as a coda to "[[Flying (Beatles instrumental)|Flying]]", but this was discarded,{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=127}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=182}} leaving the track to end with a 30-second burst of Mellotron sounds.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=122}}

Although he recognises ''Sgt. Pepper'' as the highpoint of the Beatles' application of sound "colorisation", musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] says that the band introduced some effective "new touches" during this period. He highlights the slow guitar [[tremolo]] on "Flying", the combination of female and male vocal chorus, cello [[Glissando|glissandi]] and found sounds on "I Am the Walrus", and the interplay between the lead vocal and [[viola]]s on "Hello, Goodbye".{{sfn|Everett|2006|p=88}} In MacFarlane's description, the songs reflect the Beatles' growing interest in stereo mixes, as "remarkable sonic qualities" are revealed in the placement of sounds across the stereo image, making for a more active listening experience.{{sfn|MacFarlane|2008|pp=40–41}}