Discussing their songwriting goals, Asher disputed the notion that they were following the Beatles or rock music in general. Rather, "Brian had defined it as wanting to write something closer to classical American love songs, like Cole Porter or Rodgers and Hammerstein." During the writing sessions, Asher and Wilson regularly introduced different albums and types of music to each other. In particular, Asher said that Wilson "was blown away" after being played  jazz records including Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" and Lionel Hampton's rendition of "All the Things You Are". He remembered that Wilson had minimal awareness of Tin Pan Alley songs and "hadn't given much thought to the structure or instrumentation of orchestral jazz compositions." Having had experience with recording orchestras, Asher encouraged Wilson to employ instruments such as violins, cellos, and bass flutes.