Editing Rubber Soul (section)

===Studio aesthetic and sounds===
{{quote box|quote= [On ''Rubber Soul''] the Beatles demonstrated an ability to reach beyond the confines of acceptable rock and roll techniques and bring to the studio truly innovative ideas such as layering bass and fuzz-bass guitars, creating rhymes in different languages, mixing modes on a single song, utilizing tape manipulation to give instruments entirely new sounds, and introducing the sitar – a most unusual instrument for a rock band.{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=47}}|source=– Music journalist Chris Smith|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
Lennon recalled that ''Rubber Soul'' was the first album over which the Beatles took control in the studio and made demands rather than accept standard recording practices.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2020|p=74}} According to Riley, the album reflects "a new affection for recording" over live performance.{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=153}} Author [[Philip Norman (author)|Philip Norman]] similarly writes that, with the Beatles increasingly drawn towards EMI's large cache of "exotic" musical instruments, combined with their readiness to incorporate "every possible resource of the studio itself" and Martin's skills as a [[Classical music|classical]] arranger, "Implicitly, from the very start, this [music] was not stuff intended to be played live on stage."{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=415}}

According to [[Barry Miles]], a leading figure in the [[UK underground]] whom Lennon and McCartney befriended at this time, ''Rubber Soul'' and its 1966 follow-up, ''[[Revolver (Beatles album)|Revolver]]'', were "when [the Beatles] got away from George Martin, and became a creative entity unto themselves".{{sfn|Heylin|2007|p=115}} In 1995, Harrison said that ''Rubber Soul'' was his favourite Beatles album, adding: "we certainly knew we were making a good album. We did spend more time on it and tried new things. But the most important thing about it was that we were suddenly hearing sounds that we weren't able to hear before."{{sfn|Kruth|2015|p=8}}{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=194}}

During the sessions, McCartney played a solid-body [[Rickenbacker 4001]] bass guitar, which produced a fuller sound than his hollow-body [[Höfner|Hofner]].{{sfn|Everett|2006|p=80}}{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=121}} The Rickenbacker's design allowed for greater melodic precision, a characteristic that led McCartney to contribute more intricate bass lines.{{sfn|Everett|2006|p=80}} For the rest of his Beatles career, the Rickenbacker would become McCartney's primary bass for studio work. Harrison used a [[Fender Stratocaster]] for the first time, most notably in his lead guitar part on "[[Nowhere Man (song)|Nowhere Man]]".{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=157}} The variety in guitar tones throughout the album was also aided by Harrison and Lennon's use of [[Capo (musical device)|capo]]s, such as in the high-register parts on "[[If I Needed Someone]]" and "[[Girl (Beatles song)|Girl]]".{{sfn|Everett|2006|p=80}}

{{multiple image|perrow = 1|total_width=220
| image1 = Sitar MET 259651.jpg
| image2 = Mannborg Harmonium - 5.jpg
| footer = A [[sitar]] (top) and a Mannborg [[Pump organ|harmonium]]. Along with [[fuzz bass]] and [[varispeed]]-treated piano, these instruments were among the unusual sounds the band used for the first time during the ''Rubber Soul'' sessions.
}}
On ''Rubber Soul'', the Beatles departed from standard rock and roll instrumentation,<ref name="Unterberger/AM" /> particularly in Harrison's use of the Indian [[sitar]] on "[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)|Norwegian Wood]]".{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=47}} Having been introduced to the string instrument on the set of the 1965 film ''[[Help! (film)#North American release|Help!]]'', Harrison's interest was fuelled by fellow [[Indian music]] fans [[Roger McGuinn]] and [[David Crosby]] of the Byrds, partway through the Beatles' US tour.{{sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|pp=153, 173–74}}{{refn|group=nb|McGuinn later likened the exchange of ideas between British and American musicians during the mid 1960s to an "international code going back and forth through records".{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=22fn}}}} Music journalist [[Paul Du Noyer]] describes the sitar part as "simply a sign of the whole band's hunger for new musical colours", but also "the pivotal moment of ''Rubber Soul''".{{sfn|Du Noyer|2020|p=75}} The Beatles also made use of [[Pump organ|harmonium]] during the sessions,{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=155}}{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=172}} marking that instrument's introduction into rock music.{{sfn|Kruth|2015|p=195}}

The band's willingness to experiment with sound was further demonstrated in McCartney playing [[fuzz bass]] on "[[Think for Yourself]]"<ref name="RS500 2012">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-rubber-soul-20120524 |author=Rolling Stone staff|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 5. The Beatles, 'Rubber Soul' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=31 May 2012|access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref> over his standard bass part,{{sfn|Smith|2009|pp=35, 47}} and their employing a piano made to sound like a [[baroque music|baroque]] [[harpsichord]] on "[[In My Life]]".<ref name="Easlea/BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5gn8/|first=Daryl|last=Easlea|title=The Beatles ''Rubber Soul'' Review|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|year=2007|access-date=11 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620093118/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5gn8/|archive-date=20 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter effect came about when, in response to Lennon suggesting he play something "like [[Bach]]",{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=591}} Martin recorded the piano solo with the tape running at half-speed;{{sfn|Howard|2004|pp=19–20}} when played back at normal speed, the sped-up sound gave the illusion of a harpsichord.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=65}} In this way, the Beatles used the recording studio [[Recording studio as an instrument|as a musical instrument]], an approach that they and Martin developed further with ''Revolver''.{{sfn|Luhrssen|Larson|2017|p=26}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/studio-as-an-instrument-part-2/|author=Ableton staff|title=A Brief History of The Studio As An Instrument: Part 2 – Tomorrow Never Knows|publisher=[[Ableton|ableton.com]]|date=28 October 2016|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621115906/https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/studio-as-an-instrument-part-2/|archive-date=21 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In Prendergast's description, "bright ethnic percussion" was among the other "great sounds" that filled the album.{{sfn|Prendergast|2003|pp=191–92}}

Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's three-part harmony singing was another musical detail that came to typify the ''Rubber Soul'' sound.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=155}}{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=310}} According to musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]], some of the vocal arrangements feature the same "pantonal planing of three-part root-position triads" adopted by the Byrds, who had initially based their harmonies on the style used by the Beatles and other [[British Invasion]] bands.{{sfn|Everett|2001|pp=277, 318}} Riley says that the Beatles softened their music on ''Rubber Soul'', yet by reverting to slower tempos they "draw attention to how much rhythm can do".{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=154}} Wide separation in the stereo image ensured that subtleties in the musical arrangements were heard; in Riley's description, this quality emphasised the "richly textured" arrangements over "everything being stirred together into one high-velocity mass".{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=157}}{{refn|group=nb|Everett comments on the significance of the band's interest in the harmonium, sitar and fuzz bass each occurring during the same period, pointing out that the three sounds overlap in their offering a wide vibrative quality and "more richly discordant" tones.{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=354}}}}

McCartney said that as part of their increased involvement in the album's production, the band members attended the mixing sessions rather than let Martin work in their absence.{{sfn|Womack|2017|p=305}} Until late in their career, the "primary" version of the Beatles' albums was always the [[Monaural|monophonic]] mix. According to Beatles historian [[Bruce Spizer]], Martin and the EMI engineers devoted most of their time and attention to the mono mixdowns, and generally regarded stereo as a gimmick. The band were not usually present for the stereo mixing sessions.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ives|first1=Brian|title=Why Do Beatles Fans Care So Much About Mono?|url=http://radio.com/2014/07/22/the-beatles-mono-lps-paul-mccartney-george-martin-apple-records/|publisher=[[Radio.com]]|date=2 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728061457/http://radio.com/2014/07/22/the-beatles-mono-lps-paul-mccartney-george-martin-apple-records/|archive-date=28 July 2014|access-date=2 July 2018}}</ref>